Warrior II - Virabhadrasana II

Warrior II is a powerful stance in which we open our hips, strengthening us from our foundation, being the feet all the way up to the neck.  This powerful stance that if practiced will enable us to find calm amidst our storms.  As we hold this posture, we find ourselves very aware of it's difficulty.  Tune into the breath, even counting the breath or attaching a color to our breath.  Find a focus point. Envision a beautiful lake and imagine the lake with it's crystal clear refection of the sky.  Distract the mind from the uncomfortable with breath and focus.  All else will melt away as you practice this posture.  Hold for at least 5 breaths.

Warrior II - Virabhadrasana II

1. Make sure your stance is wide. Turn your front foot facing forward(begin with left or right).  Take your back foot with toes angling forward slightly.
2. Take a look at your front knee.  Make sure it is over the ankle and you can see your toes.
3. Keep your shoulders in line with legs and torso, with your shoulder blades flat against the back.  Also ensure your shoulders are over your hips. Do not lean forward or backwards.
4. Keep your hips open, as if you're right up against a wall and you can feel both hip bones on the wall, chest flat against the wall.
5. Press into the outside of the back foot and ground down through the heel of the front foot.
6. Engage the thighs upward, so there is no sinking into the knees.

*hands on hips to begin is helpful in creating your foundation before raising the arms.  You may also keep your gaze forward looking right above your front hand or you may look forward of your torso, whichever helps your balance and neck.

One more tip that may help you as you practice yoga: Take pictures or use a mirror while you practice.  Often we think we are in the pose, and when we look at the picture, we find that we are bending a knee or that we are leaning forward or backwards too far.  Maybe our elbows are bent?  We see that and can use it to notify that part of our body when we visit the posture again.  It helps us to be aware of a part of our body we didn't notice before because our brains were consciously paying attention to something else.  In time, our sub conscious takes over and we don't have to consciously think about every aspect of this posture.  Our bodies will naturally go there.

Garland Pose - Malasana & Crow Pose - Bakasana

Arm Balances are one of the most challenging aspects of Yoga.  It is also one of the most rewarding!  There is nothing like finding yourself balancing your entire body weight on just your hands!  It boosts confidence and builds incredible strength.  Crow Pose - is one of the most commonly seen yoga poses.  It involves balance the inner knees on the backs of your triceps.  Sounds simple, right?!  It can be :)  Yoga is all about finding the balance point.  Yoga is also about mindfulness.  What does that mean?  Well, much of what we practice on our mats, is a direct reflection of how we practice life.  Our yoga practices are an opportunity to learn about ourselves, to grow, and to be strengthened in mind, body and spirit.  We are prepared for more difficult postures like Crow, when we practice Sun Salutations.  Sun Salutations are a wonderful way to implement mindfulness, focus, breath and strength.  Grab a notebook and jot down what enters your mind as you practice.  This is mindfulness - to be aware of what is happening in our minds.  Find the patterns of your mind and redirect the unhealthy patterns by focusing on breath.  If we aren't mindful, what may happen when we move into challenging postures is a tendency to "beat ourselves up", through thought and maybe even vocally.  Our bodies listen.  They obey.  It's in our subconscious to do so.  With this in mind (pun intended :), we move into Crow Pose!!

Garland Pose - Malasana - Low Squat

(pictured - top right)

1- Begin by standing.  Stand with feet a little wider than hips distance.  Turn your toes outward diagonally.  Keep tailbone tucked slightly and core engage.

2- Slowly begin lowering your hips down to the inside of your ankles.  KEEP YOUR FEET FLAT! If you're struggling with feet flat and you feel your heels lifting as you lower, step your feet wider, or place a folded blanket under your heels.

3- Bring palms together in prayer or namaste mudra.  Press the palms in and allow the triceps to press the inner thighs outward.  Try not to lean forward too much, although this will happen naturally.

**This pose is a wonderful leg strengthener and hip opener and is very helpful to take before moving into Crow Pose.  

***You may also place a block under your sits bones if you have trouble bending your knees this far down or feel that this compromises your balance too much.  You may still bring palms together with hands at heart center and open the hips, while sitting on the block.

Crow Pose - Bakasana

1- From Malasana (Garland Pose) - Place your hands down on your mat directly in front of you.  Keep your hands inside shoulder distance apart - as if you were moving into a plank position.  Keep your elbows inside your thighs and keep them tucked in ward, so the elbows don't splay outward.

2- Bring the inside of your knees as high up on the back of your triceps as possible, but KEEP YOUR HIPS LOW - not higher than your shoulders.

3-  Keep looking forward, and begin to rock forward. Squeeze your inner thighs and knees IN, almost like you're keep your elbows and triceps in and not allowing them to bow outward.

4-  As you slowly rock forward, you may feel your feet have some small lift.  If so, great!  If not, thats OK!  Stay in "mock crow" for as long as you're able.

*One of the most helpful things I learned was to not put my actual knee on the back of my triceps as this created a lot of bruising.

*Use your core - almost as if you are sucking a basketball into your belly button.  Your belly button being the vacuum.

*KEEP HIPS LOW. I began with my hips very high and I would face plant into the ground.  You are very low to the ground, gaze continually forward, never looking at your feet or at hands.

*The backs of your triceps act as a shelf, however, if you move into this pose with the idea that your arms and chest are doing all the work, then you will not learn this pose in a healthy way.  Draw energy up into the center of you, to your power source, the 3rd chakra or solar plexus.  It's called your core for a reason!  It is the center of you.  Also, engage your Mula Bandha (bandha = lock), by pulling in the parts of you that would sit on a bicycle seat.  This helps create an internal lock inside this core, enabling you to find more strength in this posture, rather than sinking into the palms, wrists and upper body.

Most of all -----  HAVE FUN!

The journey is the destination :)  Enjoy your journey!

Child's Pose - Balasana

Child's Pose is a common posture taken in Yoga.  I immediately think of being a child or of my children when I see this pose.  It's an amazing pose to take as it's an opportunity to come back to myself.  It can an incredibly calming posture!  In the beginning there were aspects of this posture that was difficult for me and sometimes finding comfort here was a challenge.  Do not worry if this happens to you.  I've found that children visit this pose all the time!  As we grow into adults, we get out of the habit of this.  Our bodies become tense, tight and full of tension and stress and our ability to fold ourselves into a little ball is foreign for a little while.  As we practice this, our spirits remember and we find peace.  So... in the beginning, this may be just fine for you, but if you struggle, take it slowly.  Rest in this posture with breath and mindful focus for as long as you're able before moving out of it slowly.

As I move into my practice, and even in life, I move outside my normal comfort zone and challenge myself.  I learn, grow, change, and become stronger.  However, like a long night of rejuvenating rest to recover and restore, Child's Pose calls me home.  It is an opportunity to come back to me, to reflect and turn inward to those things I've learned about myself from my adventure outside.  It's an opportunity to find my breath.  

“Home is where you go to find solace from the ever changing chaos, to find love within the confines of a heartless world, and to be reminded that no matter how far you wander, there will always be something waiting when you return.” 
― Kendal Rob

Child's Pose

** There are many variations, pictured a few I enjoy.  Feel free to move into the variation that calls to you.

1- From a tabletop position (hands and knees on mat).  Bring your knees to the *width of your mat, big toes touching.

2- Begin to draw your sits bones down toward your heels.  If you feel pain or discomfort, you may place a blanket behind the knees.  If you feel pain in your knees, kneel on a blanket or extra mat for relief.

3- Bring your forehead down to the mat, with hands extended out in front of you, palms down OR down by your sides, palms up.

4- Relax your jaw and neck.

5- Breathe.

*Variation - Keep your knees closer together as you sit back on your heels.

Dolphin Pose - Pincha Mayurasana Prep

This is a wonderful shoulder strengthener!  It also lengthens the hamstrings and opens the front part of the shoulder.  It releases the low back, if hips are drawn high and low belly engaged inward.

To enter this pose:
1- Begin on hands and knees.  Place forearms down on the ground with your hands extended out in front of you.

2- Make sure your palms are face down or in karate chop with the pinkie side of your hand down and thumbs pointing upward, to ensure writs stay in line with elbows and elbows in line with shoulders.

*Often when entering this posture our elbows like to move outward away from the body.  Make sure elbows are place on the ground right inside shoulder distance apart and wrists are right in line with elbows and hands don't move in toward each other.

3- Press into your toes, and straighten your legs.  If your legs don't straighten all the way, that's OK!  Allow your mind to focus on hips moving upward, as if someone were gently pulling your hips skyward, and pressing the hip bones down toward your heels.  Press into your heels.  Do not allow your back to round, so keep knees bent if need be to have a nice long straight spine.

4- Broaden the shoulders by allowing the crown of the head to melt down toward the mat, shoulders will move away from the ears, making them nice and square.

5- Hold this for 5 breaths.  You may play around with raising one heel up toward the sky, and then the other.

Supported Headstand - Sirsasana

One of the most exhilarating aspects of yoga for me has been my ability to conquer balance upside down.  Headstand was the first "scary" inversion I attempted to learn.  I will share with you some things I've learned over the last 18 months as I continue to learn Headstand :)

Supported Headstand - Sirsasana

• From hands and knees, come down to your forearms and hug your elbows with your hands.  This is how far apart your elbows should be and STAY as you move into headstand.
• Clasp your hands with the outside of the pinky fingers on the mat and the inside of your clasped hands, your palms, will be on the back side of your head.
• Place the crown of your head in that space prepared for it.  The crown of your head down on the mat (as if standing in Tadasana or Mountain Pose, with neck long, and chin slightly angled down).  
• As you engage your abdomen muscles or core, press into your toes, straightening your legs as much as you're able and come into a "headstand downdog".  At this point, you may feel a lot of pressure on the top of your head.  Press into your forearms, and allow the shoulders to square away from your ears, providing a solid base for you.  30-40% of your weight will be in your head - 30% in your core center - 30% in your legs.  
• Walk your toes in close to your face - bringing your hips high over your shoulders.  This requires some hamstring flexibility, so this may be difficult and thats ok!  Work with where you are and stop anywhere along the way!
• As your hips come over your shoulders, you may find some lift in the toes OR you lift one foot and tuck that knee into your chest. You may find some lift here.

NEVER kick into headstand!  Use a wall for support if needed. ***Stop anywhere along the way!

See Videos below - This will show you some ways to enter Headstand, finding lift, instead of kicking in.  It also provides some insight as to how to move away from the wall and tuck and roll out!  Remember, when your feet are extended up in the air, your balance will be harder!  The more you keep your knees bent, or legs extended wide, you may find some stability here.  One more tip - as you extend your legs - FLEX YOUR FEET!  This keeps the legs engaged and sends energy upward and not sinking into your head.  

This video shows tucked knees in and stag legs - bottom left box will show the struggle to want to kick into headstand if feet are too far away from face and hips are not over shoulders.

This video will show how to "tuck and roll" or fall out with soft surroundings :)

This video will show how to bring your feet wide.  This helps with those who struggle with hamstring flexibility.

Remember - This is your journey!  Take a look at my first headstand, and keep in time this took me diligent work.  Everyone learns their inversions in their own time. Don't compare as this will make the body feel as though it isn't "performing" for you and it will not feel safe and loved.  You want to love your body into these postures.  Allow your body to invite you in, when it's ready, not when you think it is.  

VIDEO - Classical Sun Salutations

Classical Sun Salutation - Surya Namskar

As you begin Yoga, the Classical Sun Salutations are simple and get the body warm.  It is also relatively easy for most.  As you begin these sun salutations, always remember to take extra breath if needed, and in time you will begin to attach breath with movement.  Also, remember to modify anywhere along the way.  I'll add those modifications in each picture explanation.  See Quick Tips below!

To Begin: Stand in Tadasana or Mountain Pose

INHALE: Reaching your arms up and over head

EXHALE: Bring hands in namaste to heart center.

CONTINUE EXHALE - Hinge at hips, engage core as you fold forward

Finish your exhale in Forward Fold - Beginners, please place hands on a block, or hands on shins/knees.

INHALE: step your left leg back.  You are now in a lunge.  Lift your heart forward and lower hips, so ankle, hips and shoulders are in a nice diagonal line.  Bring your gaze forward.  

CONTINUE YOUR INHALE: step your right leg back (you are now in a plank.)

EXHALE: Bring your knees to your mat

CONTINUE EXHALE: Bring chest and chin to the mat. (keep your elbows in at your side.  If you can't bring your chin to the mat, lower as best you can)

INHALE: Cobra Pose

EXHALE: Down Dog (from Cobra, move to your knees or if you have the strength, hips lead you to Down Dog (a reverse push up, AVOID hips sagging below the line of the shoulders)

INHALE: Step the LEFT foot forward - lift heart, engage right quad upward, lower hips slightly, gaze forward

EXHALE: Step the right foot forward to your Forward Fold

INHALE: Reaching arms wide to the sides of you and up to the sky

EXHALE: Bring hands to heart center in Anjali or Namaste Prayer hands at your heart.

A few quick tips about Classical Sun Salutations:

• First always begin seated tuning into your breath.  Begin Ujjayi breath before your practice.  This expands your lungs and prepares you to move fluidly with breath.
• If you linger in each of these postures, very worried about the exactness of it, your breath will be off.  That's ok.  However, I encourage you to work on a specific part of the sun salutation at any time without concern for anything but continuing to breathe deeply.  It takes time to fine tune your Sun Salutations, so in the beginning, it won't look like you want it to.  Let go of the perfection and just move.
• Memorize the movement with the breath, so you aren't shackled to these pictures and can move on your own.
• Once you have this memorized: close your eyes, if needed and just move with breath.

Do you sense a common theme?  Move with breath on your own.  Let go.  Breathe, and feel your body moving. Tune into you.  If pain happens, then adjust.  Grab a chair for balance.  Get up and move your foot forward.  It's ok to adjust for yourself!  Just don't stop.  Greet the Sun each day.  It will fill you and in time you will feel stronger.

Deepak Chopra said that if you do nothing else but Sun Salutations, it is all the workout you need.  It is a full body workout.  

Namaste