Yoga Class by Katy Wright – Part 3

Standing

Come to the front of your mat with your feet hip-width apart – have a look down and check that’s where they are – we often think our hips are much wider than they are!!

Bring your shoulders to your ears… and then release – let your shoulders drop back down, so your shoulder blades slide down the back of your body, leaving your neck feeling free

Inhale through your nose and notice the breath moving up from your belly into your ribs and finally, your chest… Then exhale through your mouth… Your belly will draw back in, followed by your ribs and then your chest. Your shoulders should be relaxed.

Again, breathe in – let the breath come up so that your ribcage expands and your chest lifts a little, and then breathe out, letting everything move back in and down.

One more time inhaling… and exhaling…

Standing – forward fold

We’re going to set the foundation for our next posture now. Just like buildings, postures have foundations – and they’re at the base of the pose.

So make sure you have a good connection with the mat through the soles of your feet – your weight should be spread evenly. Then lift your kneecaps to engage your quads, so your legs feel solid.

Bring your awareness to your pelvis next… it’s common for people to tilt their pelvis too far forward or backward, so notice if you’re sticking your bottom out and compressing your lower back, or if you tend to push your hips forward. Play around as you tilt your pelvis backwards and forwards – like Elvis! – and find a middle ground.

Okay, we’re ready to put the next layer on our ‘building’. So with an inhale, lift your arms overhead and extend your fingertips towards the ceiling – without lifting your shoulders to your ears!

If it’s too hard to hold this position, you can always bring your arms down halfway, in a ‘cactus’ position, or down by the sides of your body.

Notice what your upper body is doing… Are you pushing your ribs forward? Or maybe you’re rounding your back and collapsing your chest? Again, experiment with the posture until you find a neutral position.

Take one more breath here… And then with an exhale, bring your arms out to the side and ‘swan dive’ into a forward fold – placing your hands on a block if it’s not comfortable to put them on the floor or on your shins. Just make sure that you feel a nice stretch across your spine – if there’s any pain in your lower back, come up a little. Then let your head fall forward, drawing length into your neck.

Halfway lift

Come up halfway, so your spine assumes its natural shape again – it should feel long and straight, and you should be able to push your hips up and back, to create a natural lumbar curve. You can do this with your hands on your knees, your shins or on blocks.

Inhale… And exhale as you drop back down into your full forward fold. Then engage your core so that with the next inhale, you can lift back up to standing, bring your arms out and up overhead.

Exhale and fold forward… Inhale, come up halfway… Exhale, fold forward again, releasing your head and neck.

Plank

Plant your hands firmly on the mat and step back to plank. Check that your hands are directly beneath your shoulders – we’re always looking to stack up the joints, to give them some protection.

You can either drop onto your knees, or you can stay on your toes. Either way, keep your torso and your legs in a straight line by engaging your core. Avoid lifting your hips to make the posture easier, and if you find yourself slumping, so that it feels a bit like a backbend, consider dropping your knees.

It’s ALWAYS better to do a modified posture correctly, rather than doing the full posture badly!

Take another inhale here, keeping the back of your neck long so the breath flows smoothly… And as you exhale, slowly lower yourself to the mat, keeping your elbows close to your ribs.

Cobra

When you reach the mat, untuck your toes so you’re resting on the tops of your feet and check that your hands are underneath your shoulders.

Then draw your shoulders back – and keep them back and down as you lift your head and then your chest. Keep lifting your chest, but avoid scrunching up the back of your neck – keep your neck long and free of tension.

As you exhale, come back down. Then tuck your toes under, in preparation for moving into child’s pose.

Child’s pose

Lift your hips, so you’re on all fours. Bring your big toes together and separate your knees, then take your hips back towards your heels, leaving your arms stretched out in front of you.

Child’s pose is a great restorative posture, so if you ever need to rest during a yoga practice, come into child’s pose. Or, if you don’t find it relaxing, just find another posture that is – whether that’s lying down on your back or sitting up with crossed legs.

Transition to downward dog

With renewed energy, you’re going to come back up onto all fours and press back into downward facing dog, sending your hips up high, so your spine feels long.

You don’t have to remain static once you’re in a posture – and downward dog is no exception. So play around with the posture – ‘peddle’ your feet, bending one knee at a time, bounce on your tip toes, slowly move your head up and down, side to side… ‘Feel’ your way into the posture.

Downward dog hip opener RIGHT – downward dog – downward dog hip opener LEFT – downward dog

From downward dog, lift your right leg up and then bend your knee, so your heel starts to move towards the left buttock, or the left side of your body.

This is a really great hip opener, but it requires a lot of wrist strength to maintain. If it’s too much for your wrists, come back onto all fours and extend your right leg behind you, before bending your knee to open the right hip.

Now, when we do this move, it’s easy to close the left side of the body, so bring your awareness to your ribs and your waist and notice if the right side feels more open than the left – if it does, make some adjustments so it feels more even.

Take another full breath in and out here… Then with the following inhale, straighten your right leg behind you again and come back into downward dog or onto all fours.

Of course, now we have to do it all again on the opposite side! So inhale as you left your left leg and exhale as you bend your knee, bringing the heel of your foot towards the right side of your body.

Your hands should be firmly rooted to the mat with fingers spread wide. Press into your hands to get a full extension through your spine and allow the left hip to open a little more with each exhale – without closing up the right side of your body!

Straighten out your leg with an inhale… And exhale back to downward facing dog.

Low lunge – RIGHT

From downward dog, step your right foot forward until it’s in between your hands – it doesn’t matter if you manage to do this in one step or several. But when you get there, if it isn’t possible to lift your chest and keep the front of your body open, put your hands on top of a couple of blocks instead.

From here, bring your torso to a vertical position with your hands on your right thigh, and find a neutral position in your pelvis by lifting you hip bones whilst dropping your tailbone – so that you feel a good stretch across your left hip.

Now we have the foundations set, we’re going to lift our arms overhead to bring us into crescent moon pose…

Crescent moon – RIGHT

Just like when you were standing at the start of this yoga session, if it’s too much to hold up your arms up, either bring them into a cactus position, or all the way back down, with your hands resting on your hips or thighs.

And with the next few breaths, focus on keeping the pelvis neutral while you lift and lengthen the upper portion of your body on each inhale. With the exhales, move your hips forward and down a little. Let your body ‘ebb and flow’ with the breath – use these small movements to find more stability and ease in the posture.

Half splits – RIGHT

Inhale…. And exhale as you bring your hands back down either side of your right foot – or your blocks if you’re using them – so we can make the transition to half splits.

For this, you’re going to tuck your back toes under and slowly take your hips back towards your heels. As you do this, your right leg will begin to straighten – and we can increase the stretch by flexing the right foot, so that you’re pushing your heel forward and drawing your toes towards you.

Now, your body is going to try to fight this hamstring stretch by pulling your right hip forward – but you’re not going to let it! You’re going to keep your hips facing the front of your mat, and you can do this my drawing your right hip back whilst pushing your left hip forward.

Downward dog

When you’re ready, come back up onto your hands and knees, and then push back to downward dog, and we’ll repeat the sequence on the opposite side.

Low lunge – LEFT

From downward dog, step your left foot forward between your hands. Use your blocks for your hands if you need them.

Now lift yourself up into a vertical position with your hands on your left thigh, and find a neutral position in your pelvis – engaging the lower abdomen will help you with this.

Now you have a solid foundation, you can lift your arms overhead, into crescent moon pose – or you can keep them on your hips or in cactus position if that’s better for your body…

Crescent moon – LEFT

Wherever you have your arms, there’s an ebb and flow in this posture – each time you breathe in, you’re lifting your chest and lengthening your spine, like a flower growing out of the soil. And when you breathe out, you’re moving your hips forward – without disrupting the neutral position of your pelvis.

Half splits – LEFT

Take another inhale in crescent moon pose…. And when you’re ready to exhale, bring your arms down and place your hands either side of your right foot – or on your blocks.

Tuck your back toes under and slowly take your hips back towards your heels. As you do this, your left leg will begin to straighten. Just like on the other side, we can increase this hamstring stretch by flexing the front foot.

Come back to your breath – make sure it’s flowing freely and smoothly, and use your exhales to soften the back of your left leg. This will make it easier to realign your hips if they’re not facing the front of your mat.

Child’s pose

And now we’re ready for our final posture – child’s pose. So bend your left knee and bring your hips back up. Then tuck your right toes under and lift your right knee away from the mat, so that you can step your left leg back and drop both knees onto the mat.

Separate your knees and bring your toes together, then send your hips back towards your heels and drop your head onto the mat or onto a block. Keep your arms outstretched, but pull your shoulders back so your neck is free of all tension.

You can stay in this posture as long as is comfortable – just take your time coming back up when the time comes, so you don’t get dizzy.

Namaste!