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Ardha Chandrasana / 2-legged Half Moon
(targets: side body) Begin standing. With big toes together, inhale arms out to the sides and up, bringing palms together overhead. Interlace all fingers but index fingers, pulling shoulders down and together. Inhale to lengthen the arms upward; exhale to pull to the left as your hips move to the right.
Inhale back through center and repeat on the other side. |
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Alanasana / Low Lunge
(targets: hip flexors, thighs, spines, shoulders) From standing, step the left foot back, lowering the knee to come into a low lunge posture. Bring your hands to your hips and keep the torso upright. Square the hips by pushing the left hip forward, pulling the right hip back, and tuck the tail slightly. From here, you can reach the right hand toward the front knee. Inhale the left arm up, reaching your fingers toward the ceiling. Let your gaze follow your raised fingertips. Lengthen the spine and reach up as you inhale, and sink deeper into the front hip as you exhale. Repeat on the left side.
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Ardha Hanumanasana / Half Splits
(targets: hamstrings, calves, glutes, hips) From the lunge posture described above, shift your weight into the back leg, sending the hips back and straightening the front leg. Flex the front toes, and place hands on either side of the extended leg’s calf or ankle. Consider placing blocks on either side of the front leg to allow for more comfortable hand placement. Inhale to lengthen the spine and look forward, then exhale, hinging forward at the hips maintaining a straight spine. When you’ve hinged forward as much as you can, let the spine round and the head hang heavy. Focus on expanding your rib cage with every inhale, and sinking the torso towards the earth with every exhale.
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The Rack / Flexion of the Arm & Wrist
(targets: shoulders, forearms, wrists, chest) Begin this posture from a seat. Walk the hands back, fingers pointed to the back of the mat and wrists in line with shoulders. Flip the hands to be palms face up and reach the fingers toward their respective wrists. Inhale the chest and chin up to feel the front side body expansion. To deepen, keep a “proud” chest and scoot the booty forward. If at any point this feels too deep, bring the hands in closer to the hips to lessen the intensity. Come out of this posture on an inhale by bringing knees into chest and using the legs to rock forward to a seat.
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Tag me on Instagram @brooke_being if you try any of these suggestions, I’d love to see and hear your feedback!
And above all, remember: practice and all is coming. ॐ |