Yoga offers an optimal way to center your mind, connect with your breath and get a good workout as you develop strength, flexibility and balance. A properly planned 20-minute practice progresses from a simple meditation to moving with your breath and holding poses comfortably to final relaxation. Take it slow and focus on breathing fully in each pose.
Step 1
Sit on your mat in a comfortable cross-legged seat. With your sitz bones firmly rooted, pull your navel in toward your back, lengthen your spine upward, relax your shoulders down and lift your chest. Gently close your eyes. Notice each inhalation and exhalation for five minutes.
Step 2
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides in Tadasana (mountain pose). Press your feet into the floor and stick your bottom out slightly. Drop your tailbone into that space. Lift the sides of your body and relax your shoulders down. Draw the upper palate of your mouth back and lengthen the sides of your neck.
Step 3
Inhale and stretch your arms overhead. Exhale, bend forward into Uttanasana (standing forward bend). Inhale and lengthen your spine toward the front of the room. Exhale into Uttanasana. Repeat the entire sequence four times.
Step 4
Place your hands flat on the ground, shoulder-width apart, and walk your feet, hip-width apart, to the back of your mat for Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog). Your body is in an upside V with your bottom in the air and your heels off the floor. Firmly root the balls of your feet and reach your heels back and down. Firmly root your knuckles, fingertips and the heels of your hand. Hold for five full breaths.
Step 5
Inhale and bring your shoulders forward over your hands so you are in the top of a push-up, or plank pose. Exhale, push back into downward-facing dog. Repeat four times.
Step 6
Inhale and step your right foot forward between your hands. Swing your left arm behind you and your right arm forward as you stand in Virabhadrasana II (warrior II pose). Turn your left foot out to a 90-degree angle. Keep your right knee bent, your left leg straight. With your arms parallel to the floor, palms facing down, focus your gaze directly over your right hand. Hold for five full breaths.
Step 7
Exhale and place your hands down at the front of your mat on either side of your right foot, and step back into downward-facing dog. Inhale, step your left foot forward and swing your arms up into warrior II on this opposite side. After five full breaths, exhale back into downward-facing dog.
Step 8
End your practice and incorporate its benefits into your body and mind by lying on your mat in Savasana (corpse pose) with your legs slightly apart and your arms about 45 degrees away from your body, palms facing up. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for at least five minutes.
Tips and Warnings
- To find the correct posture in your poses, follow the directions in Step 2. Tadasana provides the alignment template for all other poses.
- Check with your physician before you begin your yoga practice.
Things You'll Need
- Yoga mat
- Loose, comfortable clothing
- Bare feet, no socks
References
- Yoga: the Iyengar Way; Silva Mehta, Mira Mehta, Shyam Mehta; 1990.
- Standing Yoga Poses
- Iyengar Yoga
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