Yoga Class by Katy Wright – Part 13

Sitting & breathing

Come into an easy sitting position – whether that means crossing your legs, kneeling, or sitting with your knees bent and your arms wrapped around the front. Just make sure you can sit up straight.

Gently close your eyes and take a few long, deep breaths – lifting up through the crown of the head as you inhale, and releasing all tension from your body as you exhale…

Again, inhale and take the breath up into your ribs, and then your chest… And exhale, breathing out through your mouth as you draw your lower abdomen in and empty your lungs.

Now if you’ve started your yoga practice with a busy mind, begin to bring your awareness to what you are doing now, in this moment. So once more, breathe in as you lift and lengthen the torso… And as you breathe out, visualise your thoughts as smoke coming from your nostrils, which is then carried away on the wind. Inhale clean air and a clean mind, and exhale any distracting thoughts…

Table top – cat/cow

Come onto all fours, placing your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your knees directly beneath your hips – so the joints are stacked on top of each other.

Spread your fingers, to root yourself down into the mat.

You can have your toes tucked under, or you can place the tops of your feet flat on the mat – whichever feels most comfortable for you.

Now we’re ready to do a few rounds of cat-cow, to warm up the spine. So as you inhale, drop your belly and lift your gaze and chest. And as you exhale, press your hands into the mat, lift up through the mid-back and bring your chin towards your chest.

Another round… inhaling as you lift your gaze and your bottom – stretching out the front of your body… And exhaling as you lower your gaze, lift your back, and tuck your tailbone under – stretching out the back of your body.

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…

One more round, keeping your movements soft and fluid.

Come back to table top pose.

Child’s pose

Bring your big toes together and separate your knees, then lower your hips towards your heels, for child’s pose.

Take your hands out in front of you, shoulder width apart with your fingers spread. If your shoulders are pulling up to your ears and crowding your neck, outwardly rotate the upper arms and slide your shoulder blades down the back of your body.

Take a few long, deep breaths in the posture. Feel the back of your body opening and expanding with each inhale, and then, as you exhale, release any tension you might be holding in your shoulders or hips.

Again, inhale and let the breath move into your belly, your ribs and then your chest – feel your body filling up, your ribs expanding, your back opening…  and as you exhale, let your whole body melt into the mat.

Downward facing dog

Come back to table top and tuck your toes under, before exhaling as you take your hips up and back for downward facing dog.

Once you’re there, bring a bit of movement to the posture… You might want to ‘peddle’ your feet, bending one knee and lifting the heel, as you simultaneously stretch and straighten the leg on the other side. Keep swapping sides until your calves feel softer.

Let’s give the hamstrings an extra stretch now. So lift your heels up and bend your knees a little, then lift your hips up even higher. Push into your hands, stretch out the sides of your body – careful not to let the shoulders ride up to the ears.

And then see if you can straighten your legs without altering the length and shape of your spine. Stay here for a couple more breaths – dropping your head if the back of your neck is tight.

Forward fold – halfway – forward fold – mountain – forward fold – halfway – fold

Slowly walk your feet to the front of your mat, bringing them together or leaving them hip-distance apart as you fold forward. Inhale, halfway lift, lengthen the spine… Exhale and fold… engage the core and inhale up to mountain, taking your arms over head…. And exhale as you swan dive forward… Inhale halfway… Exhale fold…

Downward dog – runner’s lunge – twist – wideleg forward bend – halfway lift – wide fold – lunge – side plank – child’s pose – RIGHT

Inhale as you step back to plank… And exhale to downward facing dog. Now we’re ready for our first sequence.

First, inhale as you take your right leg back, and then exhale into runners lunge – stepping the foot outside the hand. You can leave your back leg straight, or drop down onto the knee.

Keep your left hand on the mat, directly under your left shoulder, and take your right hand onto your waist as you open your chest to the right side. Extend your arm up to the ceiling if that feels good for you.

As you inhale, bring your hips into alignment, so they’re facing the front of the mat. As you exhale, draw back through the lower abdomen and bring your right shoulder up a bit more – eventually, you want both arms in a straight line.

Exhale as you bring your right hand back down and turn to face the mat again. From here, you’re going to begin straightening your legs as you walk your hands around to your left, into a wideleg forward fold.

Make sure your feel are parallel with each other, toes pointing straight ahead (to the long edge of the mat) or turned in ever so slightly. Your hands or fingertips are shoulder-width apart.

Inhale halfway, like you do after a regular forward fold, and exhale as you fold back into your wideleg forward bend.

Now turn to your right and bend your right knee, so that you come into lunge. Keep your back leg straight and push into your heel. At the same time, press down into the sole of your right foot, to send the right hip back – into alignment with the left. Your chest is lifted throughout, and the shoulders are dropping back.

And from here, we move into our final posture in this sequence – side plank. So step your right foot back, into plank, and then drop onto the outer edge of your right foot as you lift your left arm up towards the ceiling.

If it’s too much to hold the pose like this, you can put your right knee down – and maybe work on your core by lifting your left leg away from the mat.

If you’re in the full posture, you want to make sure that your supporting hand is directly beneath your right shoulder. And don’t let the right hip sink towards the mat – keep lifting up, so you can hold your body in a straight line.

One more inhale here… And then an exhale as you bring your left hand and toes back onto the mat, before dropping your knees and entering child’s pose.

Downward dog – runner’s lunge – twist – wideleg forward bend – halfway lift – wide fold – lunge – side plank – child’s pose – LEFT

Inhale to table top… Check the positioning of your hands and knees, and then send your hips up and back, into downward dog. Ready to repeat the sequence on the left?

Okay, inhale as you take your left leg back, and exhale into runners lunge – stepping the foot outside the hand. Back leg up or down – you choose.

Keep your right hand on the mat, directly under your right shoulder, and take your left hand onto your waist or up towards the ceiling, as you open your chest to the left side. You’re aiming to draw your right ribs under, whilst rolling your left ribs back.

Don’t let your hips swing round to the left – keep them facing forward, so your twist comes from your spine.

Exhale as you bring your left hand back down and turn to face the mat again.

From here, we go into our wideleg forward fold. So begin straightening your legs as you walk your hands around to your right.

Make sure your feel are parallel with each other, toes pointing straight ahead or turned in slightly. Your hands or fingertips should be shoulder-width apart.

Inhale up halfway and lengthen through your spine. And exhale as you fold back down.

Now turn to your left and bend your left knee, so that you come into lunge. Strong legs, strong core, chest drawing forward, shoulders back.

And from here, side plank. So step your left foot back, into plank, and then drop onto the outer edge of your left foot as you lift your right arm up towards the ceiling.

This is a strong pose, so remember, if it’s too much for you right now, you can put your left knee down on the mat – and maybe lift your right leg away from the floor so you can build your core strength.

If you’re in the full posture, you want to expand as much as possible – from your heels to your head, and from one hand to the other.

One more inhale here… And then an exhale as you bring your right hand and toes back onto the mat, before dropping your knees and entering child’s pose.

Forward fold – chair – chair twist RIGHT – mountain – forward fold – halfway – fold – chair – chair twist LEFT – mountain – fold

Almost there now… Just a bit of work on your thighs and core in chair pose to go.

So first press back into downward dog, and from there you need to walk your feet forward so you can come into a forward fold…

On the next inhale, bend your knees and sweep your arms up (keeping your shoulders back and down!) as you come into chair pose. Arms where it suits you – straight out in front, parallel with the floor… further up, with your fingertips reaching towards the sky… or hands on your waist.

Each exhale takes you a little lower into the pose – with the weight moving down evenly through your knees and hips.

One more inhale… And as you exhale, bring your hands into prayer position, in front of your chest.

Next step: the twist. First, we need to lift the chest with the inhale, and then we take the twist to the right on the exhale, placing the left elbow to the outside of the right knee.

Have a look down at your thighs – are they parallel and pointing forward? If not, use your left elbow to push the right knee back into place – and as you do this, push your knee back into your elbow, to help you turn into the twist.

Okay, inhale to centre and all the way up to mountain – legs straight, arms over head. Stay here for an exhale. One more inhale in mountain… And then swan dive forward. Inhale to halfway. Exhale and fold. And now, that chair sequence all over again, but on the left side.

Ready? On the next inhale, bend your knees and sweep your arms up (keeping your shoulders back and down!) as you come into chair pose. Exhale as you sit back in your chair – bring your knees forward at the same time.

Bring your awareness to the soles of your feet. Is your weight mainly in your heels or toes? Or is it spread evenly? – that’s what we want to achieve in this pose.

What about your chest – is it facing down? If so, lift it up – just be aware of how that alters the distribution of weight and adjust accordingly.

One more inhale in chair pose… And as you exhale, bring your hands into prayer position, in front of your chest.

Next step: the twist. So inhale as you lengthen your spine, and then turn to your left on the exhale, placing your right elbow to the outside of your left knee.

Check that your hips and knees are pointing forward. Remember, you can use your right elbow to push the left knee back into place.

Another inhale… and an exhale…

Then inhale to centre and all the way up to mountain – legs straight, arms over head. Stay here for an exhale. One more inhale in mountain… And then swan dive forward. Inhale to halfway. Exhale and fold.

Frog pose – forward fold – shake out

Step your feet a little wider than your hips – about the width of your mat.

Turn your toes out and come down to a low squat, knees pointing in the same direction as your toes, hands in front of your chest in prayer position. If you can get your elbows in front of your knees, then pressing back into the knees will help lift the chest.

You can bounce a little in frog pose, to ease out your hips. And then straighten your legs as you come into a wide forward fold and shake it all out, before coming back up to standing.

Excellent job! Well done for sticking with it. Enjoy your day, and I’ll see you next time.