Happy 14th December! Your intent today is, in each pose, to ask yourself ‘What part of this can I enjoy?’. Focus on pleasurable sensations as you move and breathe.

Do each pose for five to eight breaths (or five to eight breaths on each side, if it’s asymmetrical). Do five to eight rounds of abs.

Never stretch into pain. Take care of your body. If you’re pregnant then skip the abs exercise and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right.

  1. Take three deep breaths, focussing on the sensation of breathing.

  2. Gentle stretch: Forward Bend in Baddha Konasana

    Baddha Konasana Forward Bend

    How to do it: Sit on your mat and bring the soles of your feet together in front of you. Press the balls of your feet together, press the heels of your feet together, and flex your toes back to support your ankles and knees. This is Baddha Konasana. For the forward bend, on inhale lift your heart up towards the ceiling, and on exhale walk your hands forward. Find your way into a forward bend which lengthens the front of your torso as well as the back of your torso. Relax your forehead, neck, jaw and shoulders. Take five to eight breaths into where you feel the stretch. To come out, walk your hands back towards you and sit up.

  3. Abs exercise: Elbow to Knee

  4. Something zingy: Warrior II Kite Hawk

    Warrior II Kitehawk 1

    Warrior II Kitehawk 2

    How to do it: For Warrior II feet, stand facing the long edge of your mat and step your feet about four feet apart. Turn your left toes towards the front of your mat, and turn your right toes in about 30 degrees. Your left foot is your front foot. Align your front heel with the arch of your back foot. Bend your front knee deeply, and activate your front foot by lifting the toes up and spreading them wide apart. Tuck tailbone to keep low back spacious. For Kite Hawk see the video below.

  5. Final relaxation: Lie on your back in a warm place for at least a minute and let tension drain from your body.

Click here for December 15th’s mini sequence.