Yoga Class by Katy Wright – Part 12

Standing – mountain – forward fold – halfway – fold – plank – chaturanga – cobra – child’s – downward dog

As usual, come to the front of your mat and stand tall, shoulders back, fingertips drawn down.

Inhale and lift your arms into mountain – keep your shoulders away from your ears… And exhale as you take a swan dive forward, folding from the hips. From your forward fold, inhale up halfway, and exhale as you drop back into your fold…

Now inhale and step back to plank, making sure your wrists are directly beneath your shoulders. Press back through the heels. Lift up in the space between your shoulders blades – and at the same time, draw your chest forward.

Inhale in plank – feel yourself growing in the posture, becoming longer! Now, on the exhale, begin to bend your elbows, keeping them close to your body, and lower yourself to the mat.

Flip onto the tops of your feet and take an inhale into cobra… And exhale to child’s pose. Take a couple of breaths here… Expanding with each inhale… And retracting with each exhale… One more inhale here, and then exhale as you move back to downward dog.

Lunge – Crescent lunge  – warrior 2 – ‘rebel’ warrior – extended side angle – rebel triangle – downward dog – RIGHT

Inhale as you bring your right up behind you, and exhale the foot through, landing it between your hands. Firm up your legs – push into the left heel and engage your quads… Push down through the inner edge of the right foot.

Inhale as you lift up to crescent lunge, chest lifted, arms over head if possible… Try to bring your pelvis into a neutral position and then let your hips move forward and down.

The next posture in the sequence is warrior 2, so on the next inhale, bring your arms down into a ‘T’ shape – hands level with your shoulders.

At the same time, drop your back heel, so your foot’s flat on the mat (but keep the leg straight). And turn your chest and hips to the left, so your body is facing the long edge of the mat.

As you exhale, turn your gaze across your right hand.

We’ll take a few breaths here in warrior 2, so use that time to make a few adjustments… Check that your right knee is in line with the right foot… Notice if you’re putting more of your weight in the front foot – if you are, you maybe just need to pull your torso back slightly, to a vertical position.

We’re going to do ‘rebel warrior’ next, so drop your left hand onto your left thigh and as you inhale, bring your right arm up over head, stretching out the right side of the body in the process.

Inhale as you come back into warrior 2, and exhale as you rest your right elbow on your right knee, for extended side angle pose. The left arm comes up, with the palm facing the front of the mat. You can turn your gaze up.

Next, a posture that’s going to give your right thigh a rest, at last – rebel triangle. For this, you straighten your right leg, put your left hand on your left thigh, and lift your right arm up – like rebel warrior, just without bending the front knee.

Take a couple more breaths here, and then with a long exhale, ‘cartwheel’ your hands back down to the mat, either side of your right foot – and step back to downward dog.

Lunge – Crescent lunge – warrior 2 – ‘rebel’ warrior – extended side angle – rebel triangle – downward dog – LEFT

Inhale as you bring your left leg up behind you, and exhale to lunge. Strong legs, neutral pelvis, firm abdomen…

Inhale up to crescent lunge, chest lifted, shoulder blades sliding down the back of the body… Feel your upper body moving away from your hips and legs – and notice how this draws length into your spine.

Get ready for warrior 2 next… With an inhale, bring your arms down into a ‘T’ shape – hands level with your shoulders. And turn your chest and hips out, so they’re facing the right side of your mat.

Flatten the back foot to the mat (but keep the leg straight)… And then exhale as you turn your head in the direction of your left hand.

Stay here in warrior 2 for a couple more breaths, and, like you did on the opposite side, bring your body into a vertical line so your weight is evenly distributed across both legs.

Now, keeping  your legs where they are, take your right hand to your upper right thigh and inhale as you sweep your left arm up, into rebel warrior. Take a couple of breaths here, and feel the left side of your ribcage opening up each time you inhale.

Come back to warrior 2, and place your left elbow on your left knee, taking care not to let your left hip swing out – try to keep it in line with the left knee, as much as you can. The right arm then comes up, with the palm facing the front of the mat. Extended side angle pose.

And now comes that delicious rest for your left thigh: rebel triangle! So straighten your left leg, put your right hand on your right thigh, and lift your left arm up – like rebel warrior, remember, just without bending the front knee.

Take a couple more breaths here, and then bend your front knee and ‘cartwheel’ your hands back down to the mat, and step back to downward dog.

Forward fold – halfway – fold – mountain arms up – standing

Walk your feet to the front of the mat, so you can come into a forward fold… Inhale and come up halfway, lift the chest… Exhale fold… And on one long inhale, come all the way up to mountain, taking your fingertips to the ceiling… And exhale to standing.

Tree pose – standing splits – half moon – loose forward fold – RIGHT

We’re going to be doing some balance postures next, starting with tree pose, so bend your right knee a little, so that your weight moves into your left foot. Keep your left leg strong and active as you root down through the foot, whilst lifting from the crown of your head.

Find something to focus your gaze on, and when you’re ready, bring your right heel to the inside of your left ankle – you can use your toes to help you balance.

Going further, you can bring your foot a little higher, onto your calf – so that the only thing now supporting you is your left leg. Or even the inner thigh. Wherever the foot is, gently press it against your leg as you open your right knee out to the side – keeping your hips forward as you do.

Your hands can go on your hips, out to the sides, or overhead – wherever feels good.

Now, it is possible to transition to our next posture – standing splits – without putting the right foot down, but if you’re feeling quite wobbly in your tree pose, you might want to just bring your right foot down to the mat first and go from there.

Otherwise, bring your right foot away from your left leg, and then bring your knee around to the front of your body. Do whatever you need to do with your arms to keep your balance.

Next, bend the left knee and take your right knee behind it. Bend the left knee a little more, so you’re able to put your hands on the mat in front of you. Take a moment to check your hips are level, and then extend your right leg behind you, with the foot moving up to the ceiling.

Now from standing splits, we’re going to move into half moon…

So keep your left hand on the floor and bring your right hand to your waist. Strengthen and straighten your back leg. Wait here a moment, while you steady yourself. Then, when you’re ready, begin to open your chest and hips to the right side of the mat, and take your right hand towards the ceiling.

Focus on extending in all directions – use your inhales to expand into the posture, and use your exhales to roll the right hip back and the left hip under.

On an exhale, bring your right hand and leg down and come into a loose forward fold.

Tree pose – standing splits – half moon – loose forward fold – LEFT

Roll back up to standing and take a few breaths standing on both feet, before shifting your weight into your right leg this time. Root down through the foot, lift up through the crown of your head… Find your focus point. And then bring your left foot onto your right ankle, calf, or inner thigh.

Your hands can go on your hips, out to the sides, or overhead – if they’re overhead, make sure you’re not lifting your shoulders up towards your ears.

Draw your left knee out, to deepen the hip opening – that’ll set you up nicely for the rest of this sequence.

So next, either come back to standing or, if you can keep your balance, bring your left knee around to the front of your body, and then bend your right knee. Put your left knee behind your right and lower yourself enough to be able to put your hands on the mat.

Take a moment to check your hips are level, and then extend your left leg back and up, as you straighten your standing leg.

From standing splits, we’re going to move into half moon…

So keep your right hand on the floor and bring your left hand to your waist. Strengthen and straighten your left leg. Wait here a moment, while you steady yourself. Then, when you’re ready, begin to open your chest and hips to the left side of the mat, and take your left hand towards the ceiling.

Push into the supporting hand while you reach up through the fingertips of your left hand. Draw your head forward whilst pushing back through the heel of your left foot. Breathe deeply and evenly.

And on an exhale, bring your left hand and leg down and come into a loose forward fold.

Table top – cat/cow

We’re coming down onto our mats for the last couple of postures in today’s sequence. And first, I want you to come onto your hands and knees, into table top. Check your alignment – wrists beneath shoulders, knees beneath hips.

As you inhale, drop your belly and lift your gaze. And as you exhale, press your hands into the mat, lift up through the mid-back and bring your chin towards your chest.

Two more rounds, in your own time… Be mindful of your breath – try to co-ordinate your breathing with your movements, so that each transition lasts as long as it takes for you to inhale, and exhale…

Come back to table top pose, and then sit on your heels in a kneeling position.

Seated twist – RIGHT

From kneeling, drop your hips to one side, onto your mat, and then swing your legs out in front of you, so we can move into a seated twist.

Bend your right knee and then take your foot to the outside of the left leg, toes pointing forward. Now put your right hand behind you, and place your left hand on your right knee. This is option one.

Let’s try option two before we do the twisting part of the posture… Uncross your legs but keep your right knee bent and propped up. Now bend your left knee and put your foot just in front of your right sit bone, with your thigh resting on the mat. And now cross your right leg over your left thigh.

If you’re sitting evenly, stay here for this posture. If you feel like you’re tipping to one side, come back to option one, with your bottom leg straight along the mat. Either way, your hands are in the same position – right hand behind you, left hand on your knee.

Press into your right hand as you inhale… Lift up and feel your spine lengthening… And then as you exhale, gently turn into the twist, taking your gaze over your right shoulder.

Now stay here for a few more breaths, repeating this mantra to bring a little more depth to the posture: Inhale, lift…. Exhale, twist.

Come back to the centre on and inhale and uncross your legs before setting up on the opposite side.

Seated twist – LEFT

So whether you have your right leg bent and your foot in front of your sit bones, or whether it’s straight out in front of you, place your left foot outside the right thigh.

Your left hand comes behind you, and your right hand should be on your left knee.

Press into your left hand as you inhale… Lift up and feel your spine lengthening… And then as you exhale, gently turn into the twist, taking your gaze over your left shoulder.

As you inhale, feel yourself growing up, from the base of the posture… And as you exhale, gently pull on your left knee, whilst pushing your knee back into your right hand – this will help you turn your chest towards the left side of your mat. Don’t be too forceful with this though – you don’t want to bring tension into the posture.

Now come back to the centre on an inhale and uncross your legs, so you can give your knees a little bounce on the mat.

Corpse pose

And when you feel ready, lie down on your mat in corpse pose, to give your body and mind time to take on board all the new information they’ve received – so that next time, your yoga practice is that little bit easier.

Enjoy this moment – you’ve earned it! Well done and see you next time.