Yoga Class by Katy Wright – Part 5

Standing

Today’s yoga practice will ask a little bit more from your body, so take a moment now, to observe your body in a standing position.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and make your legs strong – let’s get a good foundation set up here…

‘Hunch’ your shoulders up to your ears, and then release – feel the tension leaving your neck…

Turn your palms to face the front of your mat, to begin opening the chest area, and gently close your eyes… This can feel a bit wobbly, so begin to use your breath to enhance the structure and stability of the pose… The inhale will help you lift your ribs and lengthen your spine… and the exhale will give you a sense of being more deeply ‘rooted’ to the mat.

A couple more breaths – inhaling through the nose and exhaling through an open mouth – ahhhhhhh!

Mountain pose – ragdoll

Open your eyes, take another inhale… exhale… and get ready to inhale again, this time lifting your arms overhead…

As you do this, be sure to keep your shoulders away from your ears. The lower abdomen should be drawn in.

Another inhale…. and exhale as you fold forward into a ‘rag doll’ pose. You can bend your knees a bit here and either fold your arms or hold on to your elbows.

We’re just going to hang out here for a bit, allowing the weight of the arms and the head to draw more length into the spine, so play around with the posture, moving side to side, nodding your head – whatever feels good!

Ragdoll body circles – LEFT & RIGHT

From this same position, we’re going to do a few ‘body circles’ now. All you need to do is turn to your right so that the left side of your body opens up. Come up and lift your folded arms overhead… And then move to the left as you come back down to ragdoll.

For the next two rounds, see if you can co-ordinate your breath with the movement. So inhale as you come round to your right and up, and exhale as you move back down the left side.

Once more, in your own time…

And back to neutral ragdoll position, so we can work on the opposite side…

So this time, inhale as you move to your left and then up, come over the top, and then come back down the right side as you exhale.

Again, inhale to your left… and exhale back down to your right.

Last one on your own…

And as you come back to the centre, release your arms so you can put your hands down and move into forward fold.

Halfway lift – forward fold – mountain – forward fold – plank

Inhale, lift halfway and draw length into your spine…. And exhale, fold forward

The next inhale brings you all the way back up to mountain pose, with your arms sweeping out and up overhead. And as you exhale, you’re folding forward and planting your hands on the floor so you can step back into a plank position.

Your wrists should be stacked under your shoulders… And as you inhale, you want to draw forward with the top of your head, whilst pushing back through the heels. Everything in between should be strong and straight!

And exhale as you slowly move down to the mat, elbows close to the sides of your body.

Cobra – plank – downward dog

When you reach the mat, come onto the tops of your feet and check that your hands are beneath your shoulders, then with an inhale, ‘curl up’ to cobra – one by one, lifting your forehead, nose, chin, and chest. Exhale and come back down the opposite way – chest, chin, nose, forehead.

We’re moving back to plank and then downward facing dog from here, so tuck your toes under and push up to plank (or, if that’s not possible, come to table top), before exhaling as you take your hips 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.

Or, if it’s your neck that’s feeing tense, take a few nods and turns here – slowly and mindfully…

Now see if you can take your hips up and back a little further, to draw more length into your spine… And exhale.

Low lunge – crescent lunge – low lunge twist – RIGHT

Next inhale – lift your right leg and bring it through on the exhale, placing your foot between your hands.

Drop your left knee to come into a low lunge and put your hands on your blocks if you find yourself closing up too much with your hands on the floor – you need to be able to keep your chest lifted, like in the halfway forward fold.

Now engage your abdominal muscles and come up, so your torso is in a vertical position. Maintain this strength through your core as you lift your arms into crescent moon. Shoulders stay down.

Check in with your pelvis – remember, we want a neutral position so you’re not compressing your lower back.

Inhale here one more time, and then with the exhale, bring your arms down so they’re parallel with the floor, in a ‘T’ shape, and twist to your right. Your right arm will end up pointing towards the back of the mat, and your left arm will be reaching to the front.

Inhale as you lift and lengthen in the pose, and then as you exhale, squeeze the lower belly and see if you can turn a little deeper into the twist.

Inhale to the centre – arms back up for crescent moon. And exhale as you put your hands back on the mat, either side of your right foot, and step back into downward dog.

Low lunge – crescent lunge – low lunge twist – LEFT

Same sequence now, but on the opposite side. So, inhale and lift your left leg… Exhale, step forward – foot between your hands.

Inhale to crescent moon – keep everything strong and active… And exhale… Inhale one more time… And then exhale and bring your arms into a ‘T’ shape.

Inhale, lift through the torso… Exhale, twist to your left, imagining a pole through the centre of your body – this is the axis on which you should be turning – your hips aren’t involved, they’re static. The twist is coming from your spine.

Inhale back to the centre – your arms come back up to crescent moon. And exhale as you take your hands back to the mat and step back to downward facing dog.

Lunge – crescent lunge – standing splits – downward dog – RIGHT

Inhale and bring your right leg up behind you…  Exhale and step your foot between your hands

Keep your left leg straight and active, with your toes tucked under so you can really push back through the heel.

With strong leg and a strong core, inhale as you rise up into a high lunge crescent moon pose… Arms overhead, in cactus pose or resting on your right thigh.

And breathe… Inhale strength… Exhale tension…

Once more, inhale… And exhale as you bring your hands to the floor in front of you, so we can set up for standing splits.

For this, just walk your left leg in a bit so you’re able to shift your weight onto your right leg, while you lift your left leg up – it doesn’t have to come up all the way!! Now, if you’re feeling a bit scrunched up on the right side of your body, bring your right hand to your right hip, so you can ‘peel’ it back and open the ribcage.

Exhale as you bring your hand back down. Now bend both knees and put your left knee behind right, so you can do a little ‘curtsey squat’.

Inhale back up to standing splits. And exhale as you bring your left leg down (feet together) and come into a forward fold.

Inhale – halfway lift. Exhale – fold down again. Then plant your hands firmly on the mat and step back to downward facing dog.

Lunge – crescent lunge – standing splits – downward dog – LEFT

Inhale – left leg comes up…  Exhale – bring the foot between your hands.

Your right leg is going to remain straight and active, so push back through your heel and contract your quads to activate the glutes.

Then, with a strong core, inhale as you rise up into a high lunge crescent moon pose… Arms overhead, in cactus pose or resting on your left thigh.

And breathe… Inhale length… Exhale resistance…

Once more, inhale… And exhale as you bring your hands to the floor in front of you, so we can set up for standing splits on the left side.

Walk your right leg in and shift your weight onto your left leg, while you lift your right leg up. Find your balance and then, take your left hand to your hips, so you can open that side of the body, leaving both sides feeling open and even.

Exhale as you bring your left hand back down. Now bend both knees and put your right knee behind left, as you come into your ‘curtsey squat’.

Inhale back to standing splits. And exhale as you bring your feet and legs back together, and come into a forward fold.

Inhale – halfway lift… Exhale – fold forward. Hands to the mat, and step back to plank.

Stay in plank for the inhale, and as you exhale, lower yourself fully onto the mat.

Cobra – downward dog – forward fold

Inhale to cobra – keeping your shoulders back and down. Exhale and release.

Tuck your toes under and press up to plank or onto your knees, and exhale to downward dog

Inhale here and exhale through an open mouth…

Walk your feet to your hands and come into a forward fold

Inhale halfway… Exhale fold forward.

Chair pose – chair twist – mountain – airplane – mountain – RIGHT

Now, for chair pose, you can have your feet together or hip distance apart, so choose which is best for you, then bend your knees while you take your hips down and back.

Swing your arms up to wherever it’s good for you… And as you exhale, bring your hands into prayer position, in front of your chest.

Inhale, lift and lengthen through the upper body. Exhale, turn to your right and see if you can put your left elbow on the outer edge of your right knee. If it’s not possible, just take the twist a little higher.

The main thing is to keep both knees pointing forward – the twist should come from your spine, not your hips, even though they’ll want to swing round in the same direction as your chest.

Inhale here… Exhale… Then inhale all the way back to standing, arms overhead, palms facing each other, but apart.

Then exhale as you sit back down in chair pose – but this time, take your arms behind you (palms facing down) so we can make the transition to airplane pose… So, to do this, you need to bring your right knee to your chest, then extend the leg behind you as you begin to straighten your standing leg and take your chest forward. Keep your hips level…

And release from the pose, bringing your feet together so you can come up to mountain, arms overhead, before taking a swan dive into forward fold on the exhale…

Inhale halfway, exhale and fold, before bending your knees and dropping your hips back for chair pose…

Chair – chair twist – mountain – airplane – mountain – LEFT

Inhale as you bring your arms up, and exhale into prayer position.

Inhale lift and lengthen, exhale twist – from the centre of your body – to your left. If you can put your right elbow on the outer edge of your left knee, you can press them against each other to help deepen the twist.

Then inhale as you come up to standing, arms overhead… And exhale back into chair, taking your arms behind you this time, for airplane pose.

Bring your left knee to your chest, find your balance, and then extend the left leg back as you take your chest forward. Fix your gaze on something and breathe evenly…

And coming out the pose… Bring your feet together, inhale and come up, arms overhead. Exhale and fold forward.

Inhale to halfway, and exhale forward. Gather all your energy for a final lift and then inhale as you come all the way back up, arms over head, and exhale as you bring your arms back to the sides of your body.

That was a tough session – but you did it! Well done!