1. Sukhasana
Sit up on a folded blanket or cushion to help keep the spine erect. Place your right hand on your belly and your left over your heart. Inhale and exhale through the nose, observing your breath moving from the belly to the heart on the inhale, and from the heart to the belly on the exhale. Set yourself a goal, focusing on how you would like to feel at the end of the session. Keep it simple. It can be one word like calm or centered.
2. a.) Table Top b.) Cat Arch c.) Cat Tilt
a.) Kneel on all fours with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Line your feet up behind your knees and keep a flat back.
b.) Exhale and push into fingertips. Drop head and tailbone and arch your spine.
c.) Inhale, let your spine sink into the middle, lift tailbone and crown of head.
3. Downward Dog
From table top position, tuck toes under, exhale and straighten legs. Pull up on thigh muscles and push heels towards the floor. Push into fingertips, particularly thumb and forefinger. Relax neck and head. You can “walk the dog out” by placing alternate heels on the floor and bending the knees one at a time.
4. Low Lunge
Step your left foot forward between hands and place right foot on the floor.
5. Warrior 1
Inhale, straighten back leg, and place foot at a 45 degree angle. Keep front knee bent with front foot at a 90 degree angle. Your hips should face forward. If you are struggling to keep your hips facing front, move your back leg out to the side. Raise arms in line with ears, keeping shoulders relaxed.
6. Warrior 2
Inhale, open right hand out to the side with ribs and torso facing center. Keep back straight. Look down your front arm and align front knee with the middle toes of your front foot with the back foot rooted to the floor.
7. Parsvakonasana
Rest right arm on front knee, or, if you’re flexible, take hand to the floor behind your front foot. Inhale and bring your left hand over the top, rotate belly, ribs and chest to the ceiling. Feel the stretch from the little toe, to the tops of your fingers.
8. Trikonasana
Straighten front leg, rest right arm on shin, or, if you’re flexible, on the floor behind front foot. Move left hip back and extend left arm to the ceiling. Look up towards your thumb if you feel no strain in the neck, otherwise face forward.
9. Warrior 2
Repeat step 6.
10. Reverse Warrior
Bend front knee, inhale and move front arm back into a gentle back bend and rest back hand on back leg. From reverse warrior, cartwheel hands over toward feet, then step feet back into Downward Dog (step 3).
11. Downward Dog
As in step 3, pull up on thigh muscles and push heels towards floor. Push into fingertips, particularly thumb and forefinger. Relax neck and head. You can “walk the dog out” by placing alternate heels on the floor and bending the knees one at a time.
Now repeat poses 4-11, this time starting on your left side, bringing the left foot into a low lunge. You can repeat the sequence two to four times on each side before proceeding to the next posture.
12. Child Pose
From Downward Dog, move onto knees and slide back towards heels. Rest head on the floor with arms on either side of body, palms facing up. Breathe deeply. This is a resting posture after the dynamic previous sequence, so take the opportunity to release and let go.
13. Bridge Pose
a. Lie on your back with knees bent, feet towards buttocks, knees parallel. Keep arms out to the side with palms facing down.
b. Inhale, peel your spine off the floor, raising hips as high as possible with shoulders and feet pushing into the floor. Interlace fingers underneath and push into elbows. To come out of the posture, let hands fall out to the side and release the spine down, one vertebra at a time.
14. Apanasana
Lift knees to chest, placing hands on kneecaps.
15. Savasana
Lie flat on back, with palms facing up, feet apart and ankles rolled out to the sides. Cover eyes with a towel. If you feel any discomfort in your back, you can place a rolled up blanket under your knees, or simply bend your knees with feet on the floor. Close your eyes and observe your breath moving in and out of your body. Let go of any residual tension in your mind and body. This is a pose of being—there is nothing you need to do. Don’t skip this pose, as it is an essential part of the practice and gives your body and mind a chance to absorb the benefits of the previous postures.
To close your practice, come back up to a sitting position, place palms together in front of your heart, and release your head downwards.
