Stretch.
Remember - practice safely & mindfully. And check with your doctor before venturing into any exercise program.
Come to lie on your back, knees bent, feet more than hip-width apart.
Remember - practice safely & mindfully. And check with your doctor before venturing into any exercise program.
Come to lie on your back, knees bent, feet more than hip-width apart.
Let your knees fall in to touch one another.
Rest your hands on your belly, fingertips just touching.
Allow your shoulders to broaden and slide away from the neck. Let your shoulders blades be heavy but relaxed into the ground.
Take a few minutes and breathe here. Allow your inhalations and exhalations to flow smoothly and evenly.
Release your hands to the ground. Rest with your arms slightly away from your body. Bring your heels in line with your hips.
As you inhale, feel your belly inflate in all directions like a balloon.
As you exhale, allow your lower back to gently touch the floor.
Notice the rocking of pelvis, the slight arch of the back with the inhalation, the compression of the belly with the exhalation.
Allow yourself a few cycles of mindful breathing.
Now begin to exaggerate this movement.
As you inhale allow your back to arch a bit more.
As you exhale press the back into the floor and lift the tailbone.
Do this for 5 - 10 cycles of breath.
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Bring your fingers to your hip bones. Press down into your feet & lift your hips and lower back just a couple inches off he ground. Not too high.
Isolating the movement in the hips and abdomen, begin to slowly move the hips side to side.
Try to keep your knees as stable as possible. See if you can feel the sensation in the deep abdominal muscles.
Allow the movement to follow your nice natural breath. Inhaling to one side, exhaling to the other.
Give yourself 5 - 10 cycles of breath here
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Bring the lower back to the floor. Separate your feet a little bit more than hip width apart. Without trying to force your knees to the ground, move your knees like windshield wipers - dropping them to one side as you exhale - inhale to center - dropping to the other side with an exhale. Slowly and mindfully. Enjoy the feeling of the hips stretching and opening. 5 - 10 cycles of breath here.
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Bring the heels back in line with the hips. Keep your shoulder on the floor & lift your left arm towards the sky. Bend the elbow so your forearm lines up with the chest. Bring your right forearm to rest on the left. Fingertips of the right hand rest on the crease of the left elbow. Fingertips of the left hand rest under the right elbow. The forearms are held away from the chest at chest level.
Exhale - drop the bent arms to the right. Inhale back to center & exhale the back to the right. Move slowly and mindfully for 5 - 7 breaths.
Then as you exhale the arms to the right, drop the knees to the left. Hold here. Breathing deeply and completely.
Maintain the drop of the knees.
Release the arms and spread them wide at shoulder level. Take a few breaths here in simple twist. If both shoulder blades are not connecting the floor, lower the bent knees away from the chest a bit, or shift through the upper back to get a nice grounded & connected feeling through the shoulder blades.
The palms of both hands are facing up. Lightly press the edges of the fingernails of the right hand into the floor.
With a nice deep exhalation draw the hand and arm in an arch over the top of the head. Right hand will end up on left. Allow the whole body to move so that you end up on your left side. As you inhale reverse the movement - keep your knees on the left side of the body - opening back up into simple twist.
Allow your breath to guide this movement for about 5 - 10 cycles of breath.
Draw yourself back to center and repeat everything on the opposite side.
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Bring yourself back to center and take some time for yourself in savasana.
Namaste
Bring the lower back to the floor. Separate your feet a little bit more than hip width apart. Without trying to force your knees to the ground, move your knees like windshield wipers - dropping them to one side as you exhale - inhale to center - dropping to the other side with an exhale. Slowly and mindfully. Enjoy the feeling of the hips stretching and opening. 5 - 10 cycles of breath here.
_______
Bring the heels back in line with the hips. Keep your shoulder on the floor & lift your left arm towards the sky. Bend the elbow so your forearm lines up with the chest. Bring your right forearm to rest on the left. Fingertips of the right hand rest on the crease of the left elbow. Fingertips of the left hand rest under the right elbow. The forearms are held away from the chest at chest level.
Exhale - drop the bent arms to the right. Inhale back to center & exhale the back to the right. Move slowly and mindfully for 5 - 7 breaths.
Then as you exhale the arms to the right, drop the knees to the left. Hold here. Breathing deeply and completely.
Maintain the drop of the knees.
Release the arms and spread them wide at shoulder level. Take a few breaths here in simple twist. If both shoulder blades are not connecting the floor, lower the bent knees away from the chest a bit, or shift through the upper back to get a nice grounded & connected feeling through the shoulder blades.
The palms of both hands are facing up. Lightly press the edges of the fingernails of the right hand into the floor.
With a nice deep exhalation draw the hand and arm in an arch over the top of the head. Right hand will end up on left. Allow the whole body to move so that you end up on your left side. As you inhale reverse the movement - keep your knees on the left side of the body - opening back up into simple twist.
Allow your breath to guide this movement for about 5 - 10 cycles of breath.
Draw yourself back to center and repeat everything on the opposite side.
_________________
Bring yourself back to center and take some time for yourself in savasana.
Namaste
