15 Minutes of Yoga in the Morning

ByElizabeth

Here’s a good way to invite in the day (if you have more time, do longer holds for the various standing poses):

Balasana (child’s pose) with hands stretched out.

Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog)

Dynamic movement between downward facing dog and palakasana (plank pose).

Uttanasana (standing forward fold) to tadasana (mountain) with hands on hips to rise.

Standing sun breath.

Modified sun salute series (tadasana, uttanasana, (A) lunge on both sides with uttansana in between,  adho mukha svanasana, palakasana, lower through chatturanga, bhujangasana, adho mukha svanasana; (B) virabhadrasana I on both sides with uttanasana in between, adho mukha svanasana, palakasana, lower through chatturanga, bhujangasana, adho mukha svanasana; (C) parsvokonasana on both sides, adho mukha svanasana, palakasana, lower through chatturanga, bhujangasana, adho mukha svanasana).  Add trikonasana and ardha chandrasana if you have time.

Handstand or half handstand.

One more sun salute variation, with eka pada rajakapotasana (pigeon pose) on both sides.

Seated twist and forward bend of your choice.

Seated meditation (five minutes or more).

Have a great day!

Similar Posts

  • | | |

    State of the Garden

    ByElizabeth

    After having at long last (years), had the back sleeping porch and deck repaired and improved, the garden has expanded to the sleeping porch. I’m trying beans, cherry tomatoes, and hops as trailing vines. It will be interesting to participate. Everything except the geranium and the strawberries were volunteers or plants outgrowing their space below.

    I’ve given away lots of starts and divides and have plenty more, as well as cuttings. Locals—let me know if you want some. Soon I will be fully vaccinated. If you will be also, we could even do some yoga.

  • |

    A Weekend of Practice (Ways of Maintaining Focus for the Long Resistance)

    ByElizabeth

    This was the first weekend in some time where I did not have any commitments. I knew I’d have to get some errands and correspondence done, but I’d thought it might be nice to find an asana class on Saturday morning. I ultimately decided to go to the opening class at the new Yoga Shala studio in Shaw . I really enjoyed the class, the studio itself has a good vibe, and they are looking to integrate into the neighborhood, sharing the block with Bread for the City. I expect to return. After class, I took a long walk and a good nap and then made a nourishing meal and went to bed early.

    On Sunday, I noticed in my “promotion” emails, that Dharma Mittra was leading a day of classes at the convention center; Yoga District had arranged for him to come. I’ve never felt a calling to study with him, but I like Yoga District’s community focus, Dharma Mittra is an iconic figure in Western Yoga, and there he was and there I was and I’ve recently had a few different students ask me about the Dharma yoga classes in town, so I took the master class and stayed for yoga nidra.  It was a deep three hours with an enthusiastic group of practitioners.  I found some of the darshan of interest, though Dharma Mittra speaks too much of God and is [insert politically correct way to say sexist; he’s 78 and originally from a macho culture]] to resonate with my beliefs, and I prefer more focus on alignment with the physical postures.  I liked very much that he says the first principle of yoga is compassion and that one must maintain the state/practice of compassion throughout all the other practices or they do not have any import.

    It was good to reinvigorate my practices and my intentions for all that I can offer.

    And it was really a treat top watch Dharma Mittra demonstrate poses.

  • | | | | |

    Fine Weather for Walking

    ByElizabeth

    The past several days in DC have been perfect for walking.  The mornings, for me, require a winter coat and gloves and a hat or scarf.  At the warmest part of the day, the air is refreshingly cool, and I can shed some layers.  In spring and fall, there is little I want to do more than take long walks.  And so I take to the sidewalks even more than the usual walk to work, to the Farmers’ market, to the metro, to visit with friends, to teach, to go to the nursery or the grocery store, to go to the bank and post office, to go get a massage.  I make no effort to be efficient and consolidate errands; every errand is an excuse to take a walk.  I add a block or seven onto an errand walk.  I walk and think and then my attention is seized by the beauty of the color and the light.  I have to pause and drink it in.

  • | |

    A Trip to the Spa, Restorative Yoga (and Serenity Saturday at Capitol Hill Yoga)

    ByElizabeth

    A few weeks ago, when I was planning how to use my “use or lose” vacation time, recognizing that I could not take a long vacation because of the pressures of a project that is supposed to go fully public at the end of the year, I scheduled a long spa treatment for this afternoon.  When I woke up and reviewed the day of the week and the month to remember what was on the schedule for today, I remembered my spa appointment, and the thought of surrendering to luxury and relaxation brought a big smile to my whole being.  I got up and meditated, did a little asana, and started getting ready for work.  I will shortly walk into the office and work hard to make it possible to leave early without stress.  I planned this mini-retreat for myself because I know I get overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the parties and the expectations of the holidays and that some time out would help keep me in good cheer for all that was to come.

    I have also been doing lots of restorative yoga in the evenings before bed — especially after a day when there has been a party — just to settle down and let myself release all the chatter.  If you are feeling like it is all a little too much (whether you think the holidays are the best or end up with challenges, it can still be a bit much), take some time to practice vipariti karani (legs up the wall) and a few of your other restorative poses.  If you’re in town, do join me (friends, family, and guests welcome) at Serenity Saturday at Capitol Hill Yoga for two blissfully uninterrupted hours of restorative yoga.

  • |

    Different Ways of Turning Your World Upside Down

    ByElizabeth

    Yesterday at the William Penn House class, we were emphasizing strong working of our tailbones.  One of the regular students came to class even though she was still exhausted from recent and sudden major loss and upheaval in her life.  She wanted to be with the spirit of the class even if she would not be able to do everything.

    When we went to the wall to work on half and full arm balance, I advised her to give it a try if she felt up to it and then said to do legs up the wall if she knew trying to hold the arm balance would be too much.  After all, I pointed out, legs up the wall (vipariti karani) is just half handstand upside down.  And what is awesome about both the poses is that the both turn us upside down (albeit in energetically different ways) and can thus help give us a fresh perspective on how we are in our bodies and minds.

2 Comments

  1. Thanks Elizabeth, I’ll try it tomorrow. Any suggestions for what to do at the office?

  2. Thank you for outlining a short practice for home. I tried it after work. Sometimes it is hard to impose structure on oneself … so it was great to have this. And I find once I start, I practice longer than I thought I would.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.