National Yoga Month Week 3

This week we are focusing on improving your balance! Below are the full details on how to perform each pose.

Mountain

1. Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Press your weight evenly across the balls and arches of your feet. Breathe steadily and rhythmically. Draw your awareness inward. Focus on the present moment, letting all worries and concerns fade away.
2. Press your big toes together (separate your heels if you need to). Lift your toes and spread them apart. Then, place them back down on the mat, one at a time.
   • If you have trouble balancing, stand with your feet six inches apart (or wider).
3. Draw down through your heels and straighten your legs. Ground your feet firmly into the earth, pressing evenly across all four corners of both feet.
4. Then, lift your ankles and the arches of your feet. Squeeze your outer shins toward each other.
5. Draw the top of your thighs up and back, engaging the quadriceps. Rotate your thighs slightly inward, widening your sit bones.
6. Tuck in your tailbone slightly, but don’t round your lower back. Lift the back of your thighs, but release your buttocks. Keep your hips even with the center line of your body.
7. Bring your pelvis to its neutral position. Do not let your front hip bones point down or up; instead, point them straight forward. Draw your belly in slightly.
8. As you inhale, elongate through your torso. Exhale and release your shoulder blades away from your head, toward the back of your waist.
9. Broaden across your collarbones, keeping your shoulders in line with the sides of your body.
10. Press your shoulder blades toward the back ribs, but don’t squeeze them together. Keep your arms straight, fingers extended, and triceps firm. Allow your inner arms to rotate slightly outward.
11. Elongate your neck. Your ears, shoulders, hips, and ankles should all be in one line.
12. Keep your breathing smooth and even. With each exhalation, feel your spine elongating. Softly gaze forward toward the horizon line. Hold the pose for up to one minute.

Tree Pose

1. Begin standing in Mountain Pose (Tadasana), with your arms at your sides. Distribute your weight evenly across both feet, grounding down equally through your inner ankles, outer ankles, big toes, and baby toes.
2. Shift your weight to your left foot. Bend your right knee, then reach down and clasp your right inner ankle. Use your hand to draw your right foot alongside your inner left thigh. Do not rest your foot against your knee, only above or below it. Adjust your position so the center of your pelvis is directly over your left foot. Then, adjust your hips so your right hip and left hip are aligned.
3. Rest your hands on your hips and lengthen your tailbone toward the floor. Then, press your palms together in prayer position at your chest, with your thumbs resting on your sternum.
4. Fix your gaze gently on one, unmoving point in front of you.
5. Draw down through your left foot. Press your right foot into your left thigh, while pressing your thigh equally against your foot.
6. Inhale as you extend your arms overhead, reaching your fingertips to the sky. Rotate your palms inward to face each other. If your shoulders are more flexible, you can press your palms together in prayer position, overhead.
7. Hold for up to one minute. To release the pose, step back into Mountain Pose. Repeat for the same amount of time on the opposite side.

Chair Pose

1. Begin in Mountain Pose (Tadasana). Stand with your feet together, with your big toes touching. Beginners can stand with their feet hip-distance apart.
2. Inhale and raise your arms above your head, perpendicular to the floor.
3. Exhale as you bend your knees, bringing your thighs as parallel to the floor as they can get. Your knees will project out slightly over your feet and your torso will form approximately a right angle over your thighs.
4. Draw your shoulder blades into your upper back ribs as you reach your elbows back towards your ears. Do not puff your ribcage forward. Draw your tailbone down to the floor, keeping your lower back long.
5. Bring your hips down even lower and lift through your heart. There will be a slight bend in your upper back.
6. Shift your weight into your heels. Enough weight — approximately 80 percent — should be transferred to your heels so that you could lift your toes off the mat if you wanted to.
7. Keep your breath smooth, even, and deep. If your breath becomes shallow or strained, back off a bit in the pose until breathing becomes easier.
8. Spread your shoulder blades apart. Spin your pinky fingers toward each other so your palms face each other, rotating your arms outward through your thumbs.
9. Gaze directly forward. For a deeper pose, tilt your head slightly and gaze at a point between your hands.
10. Hold for up to one minute. Then, inhale as you straighten your legs, lifting through your arms. Exhale and release back to Tadasana. Those practicing Sun Salutations should move directly fromUtkatasana into Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana).

Take Hand to Big Toe Pose

1. Begin standing in Mountain Pose (Tadasana) with your feet together and arms at your sides. Breathe deeply and draw your awareness to the present moment. Let your mind be calm.
2. Shift your weight to your left foot. Very slowly, draw your right knee up toward your chest. Bring your right arm to the inside of your right thigh. Then loop your index and middle fingers around your right foot’s big toe. Place your left hand on your left hip.
3. Straighten your spine. Strongly engage your abdominal muscles and the muscles of your left leg. Straighten your left leg, but do not lock your knee.
4. On an exhalation, extend your right leg forward. Straighten your right leg as much as possible.
5. Keep both hips squared forward and keep your spine straight. Do not scrunch your neck or shoulders; keep them soft and relaxed.
6. Drop your right hip slightly so it is in line with your left hip. Bring your awareness to your midline — the line that runs directly down the center of your body.
7. Hold for 5-20 breaths. To release, draw your knee back into your chest, then slowly lower your foot to the floor. Come back to Mountain Pose. Then repeat on the opposite side for the same amount of time.

Downward Facing Dog

1. Begin on your hands and knees. Align your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. The fold of your wrists should be parallel with the top edge of your mat. Point your middle fingers directly to the top edge of your mat.
2. Stretch your elbows and relax your upper back.
3. Spread your fingers wide and press firmly through your palms and knuckles. Distribute your weight evenly across your hands.
4. Exhale as you tuck your toes and lift your knees off the floor. Reach your pelvis up toward the ceiling, then draw your sit bones toward the wall behind you. Gently begin to straighten your legs, but do not lock your knees. Bring your body into the shape of an “A.” Imagine your hips and thighs being pulled backwards from the top of your thighs. Do not walk your feet closer to your hands — keep the extension of your whole body.
5. Press the floor away from you as you lift through your pelvis. As you lengthen your spine, lift your sit bones up toward the ceiling. Now press down equally through your heels and the palms of your hands.
6. Firm the outer muscles of your arms and press your index fingers into the floor. Lift from the inner muscles of your arms to the top of both shoulders. Draw your shoulder blades into your upper back ribs and toward your tailbone. Broaden across your collarbones.
7. Rotate your arms externally so your elbow creases face your thumbs.
8. Draw your chest toward your thighs as you continue to press the mat away from you, lengthening and decompressing your spine.
9. Engage your quadriceps. Rotate your thighs inward as you continue to lift your sit bones high. Sink your heels toward the floor.
10. Align your ears with your upper arms. Relax your head, but do not let it dangle. Gaze between your legs or toward your navel.
11. Hold for 5-100 breaths.
12. To release, exhale as you gently bend your knees and come back to your hands and knees.

High Lunge ( Crescent Lunge)

1. Begin in Downward-Facing Dog ( Adho Mukha Svanasana). With an exhalation, step your right foot forward between your hands.
2. Bend your front knee to 90 degrees, aligning your knee directly over the heel of your front foot. Your feet should be hip-width apart with both feet facing forward, and your front shin should be perpendicular to the floor.
3. Come on to the ball of your back foot, lifting your heel and drawing it forward so it aligns directly over your back toes.
4. Lift your back leg strongly, drawing your knee and quadriceps up toward the ceiling. Straighten your back leg completely.
5. With your back leg strong and active, gently draw your left hip forward as you press your right hip back, squaring your hips so they are parallel to the top edge of your mat.
   • If it is too difficult to keep your back leg raised while keeping your toes on the mat, lower your knee to the floor and slide your leg back a few inches. Un-tuck your back toes and rest the top of your back foot on the floor.
6. Inhale as you raise your torso to an upright position. Sweep your arms overhead. Draw your tailbone toward the floor. Spin your pinky fingers toward each other, opening your arms so your palms face each other. Gently tilt your head and gaze up at a space between your thumbs.
7. Make sure your front shin stays vertical. Widen your stance as needed to make sure that your knee does not move forward past your ankle.
8. Tuck your tailbone under and engage the muscles of your abdomen to help stabilize your core.
9. Extend up through the crown of your head, lengthening your upper body. Draw your shoulder blades firmly into your upper back.
10. Draw your lower front ribs in and down toward your belly — do not let them poke forward.
11. Hold for up to one minute. Release your hands back to the mat and step back into Downward Dog. Repeat on the other side.

Twisting Lunge

1. Begin in Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). With an exhalation, step your right foot forward between your hands.
2. Bend your front knee to 90 degrees, aligning your knee directly over the heel of your front foot. Your feet should be hip-width apart with both feet facing forward, and your front shin should be perpendicular to the floor.
3. Come on to the ball of your back foot, lifting your heel and drawing it forward so it aligns directly over your back toes.
4. Lift your back knee and draw your quadriceps up toward the ceiling. Straighten your back leg completely. Keep the ball of your back foot firmly on the ground.
5. With your back leg strong and active, gently draw your left hip forward as you press your right hip back, squaring your hips so they are parallel to the top edge of your mat.
   • If it is too difficult to keep your back leg raised, lower your knee to the floor and slide your leg back a few inches. Un-tuck your back toes and rest the top of your back foot on the floor.
6. Inhale as you raise your torso to an upright position. Sweep your arms overhead. Draw your tailbone toward the floor. Spin your pinky fingers toward each other, opening your arms so your palms face each other. Gently tilt your head and gaze up at a space between your thumbs. This is Crescent Lunge.
7. Lower your arms and bring your palms together in prayer position at your chest.
8. Exhaling, twist your torso to the right. Bring your left elbow to the outside of your right thigh.
9. Press your upper left arm against your thigh and draw your right shoulder blade into your back to turn your chest to the right.
10. To deepen the pose, extend both arms and reach your right fingertips to the sky and your left fingertips to the mat. You can also place your left hand on a block.
11. Turn your gaze to the sky. If your arms are extended, gaze at your top thumb.
12. Make sure your front shin stays vertical. Widen your stance as needed to make sure that your knee does not move forward past your ankle.
13. Tuck your tailbone under and engage the muscles of your abdomen to help stabilize your core.
14. Extend up through the crown of your head, lengthening your upper body. Draw your shoulder blades firmly into your upper back.
15. Keep your extended leg straight, strong, and lifting.
16. Lengthen your spine even further on your inhalations and twist even deeper on your exhalations. Stack your top shoulder above your bottom shoulder. Draw your thumbs to your heart, and heart toward your thumbs.
17. Hold for up to one minute. Inhale as you return to center, reaching both arms overhead. Exhaling, release your hands back to the mat and step back into Downward Dog. Repeat on the other side.

Information for this post was sourced by YogaOutlet.com