Homemade Yoga
- Begin with the breath. Sit quietly or stand in mountain pose. Breathe softly in and out through the nose, observing your breath. Become aware of your chest area and your lungs drawing energy into your body. If you are seated, come to mountain pose (standing pose).
- Inhale the arms overhead, palms come together, exhaling to namaste. Repeat, drawing the arms up with the inhale, palms coming together, exhale to namaste. Do this three times or more, until you feel the breath connecting with the movement of the arms.
- Next inhale arms up, exhale forward fold. Relax….drop the arms towards the earth, let gravity do it’s work. Relax the facial muscles. Relax the neck and shoulders.
- Inhale to mountain pose. Repeat the forward fold twice more.
- Next, inhale forward fold, exhale as you bend. Step back with the left foot into a lunge. Breathe. Step the foot back between your hands. Rest in fold. Inhale and step back with the right foot into lunge. Breathe. Bring the foot back to meet your left. Inhale mountain pose (standing pose).
- Breathing in and folding forward, step back with the left foot, ground the back foot, draw arms overhead to Warrior 1. Cartwheel arms to floor, step back to down dog.
- Move to high plank, then low plank, scoop the heart forward to upward dog, press to down dog, then step up to forward fold.
- Repeat on the right foot. Stepping back to lunge, ground the heal, sweep the arms into Warrior 1.
- Move to down dog, then high plank, then low plank. Scoop the heart towards the sky to up dog. Press to down dog.
- Coming into Warrior 1 by sweeping the left foot between the hands. Exhaling the arms to Warrior 2. Breathe. Watch the knee. Keep it over the ankle. Cartwheel arms to floor. Step back to down dog.
- Repeat the flow (high plank, low plank, up dog, down dog).
- Sweep the right foot forward between the hands. Ground the back heal to Warrior 1. Exhale to Warrior 2. Breathe. Be present. Cartwheel arms to floor, step back to down dog, then plank, low plank, and up dog. Press to down dog.
This will warm the body and prepare it for further asanas or postures. From here, you can move into what feels right for the day. Add your sun salutation between your standing poses to flow into other postures. If you want to stretch the legs and back, flow to a triangle pose with your Warriors leading you into it. Add chair pose to strengthen the quadriceps and glutes (tuck the tailbone down to protect the lower back and bend deeply in the knees). Add a prayer twist to your chair, hooking the elbow to the outside of your knee. Turn your gaze (drishti) to the sky. Repeat on the other side.
For the floor work, you can move to all fours and “thread the needle”. Remember this one? Slide your right hand under the left armpit along the floor. Drop the right shoulder to the mat and then the right ear. Walk the left hand to the top of the mat or extend it to the sky. Extend the left leg and place it at a right angle to your body, foot flat on the floor. Stay here and relax the neck and shoulders. Let the tension ease out with your breath. Repeat on the other side.
Move onto your seat and sink into forward bend. Add a straddle stretch or from your forward fold, bend one knee, bringing your foot to the inner thigh and stretch towards your extended leg and foot. Repeat on the other side.
Some other poses you can do seated:
- Reverse plank
- Boat pose
- Cobbler’s pose (a.k.a. Butterfly)
- table pose
- Cow face: Cross the knees tightly so that knees are stacked. Bring palms to namaste and allow your hips to sink into their new position. Inhale the arms overhead and fold forward for a deeper stretch.
- Half Lord of the Fishes: From seated staff pose, bend right leg and drop the foot over the left knee onto the floor. Left elbow hooks the outer bent knee, hand in a “Queen’s waive”. Place the right hand on the floor behind the tailbone. Turn your gaze to the back of the room.
Some back bending poses:
- Locust: Lie flat on tummy. Arms at your sides, palms up. Lift chin and chest, feet and thighs
- Sphinx pose: From your belly, sit up on your forearms, palms to the earth, gaze forward. Pull shoulders down away from the ears.
- Bow: From belly, bend the knees and reach behind with your hands to grasp the top of your feet. Push the feet into the palms and lift the chest and thighs off the floor. Turn the tailbone towards the floor to protect the lower back. Soften your gaze and your heart. Gently pull your angel wings together and breathe….Relax and release when you feel ready.
Some Supine poses:
- Spinal twist: Lying flat, bend one knee or both and twist to one side. With one knee, let it fall over the body and drop gently to the floor. Repeat on other side and shift hips for comfort as needed.
- Scissor leg abdominals
- Dead Bug (a.k.a Happy Baby)
- Hip stretch: Bend both knees, feet flat on floor. Place right ankle on left knee. Reach around and pull the left shin towards your belly. Hold for five or so breaths and repeat on other side.
- Shavasana or Corpse pose: Lie flat on your mat, palms in a receptive position at your sides. Relax the legs, hips, belly and chest. Relax the shoulders, neck and face. Let your jaw go slack and your tongue fall back. Close your eyes and breathe into stillness….Let everything else drop away and be in that soft place in your heart….Namaste.
Remember, never, ever, ever should you feel pain when doing your postures. Back away if you feel its too much and just be where you are. It’s suppose to feel good! With practice, your flexibility will improve immensely. Be patient and kind to your body. These are suggestions taken from my classes and meant to encourage you to begin a personal practice at home or when you travel. Make it fun and enjoyable. Do the postures that YOU want to do. It’s YOUR practice. Trust me, in India, they do what feels good at the time. No worrying, no rushing. In fact, I don’t think they know how to rush and worry in India! Try not to get too caught up in what you’re “suppose to do”. Once you start pulling together your sequences, start checking out some books to help you create and learn more. Some good books are by Rodney Yee and Baron Baptiste. They are really, really experienced american yogis and have a way of motivating you and prompting you to seek within. I love their dvd’s too. Go to amazon.com and type in their names. Dvd’s and books are a valuable way to learn more and motivate you to practice more frequently.
Enjoy yourself!
With Love and Light,
Donna