My childhood girlfriend has become the at home yoga guru and I asked her to share the details on some of the yoga basics, because if you are anything like me, even though I've been to dozens of yoga classes over the year, I'm just quite literally "going with the flow" and pretty sure I'm not nailing all the poses (I'm just eyeing what the gal next to me is doing). Vanessa breaks it down for us here so we can keep our gaze at the horizon and not on our neighbors.
Side note- I love how she takes all the pretentiousness out of yoga. You can practice anywhere- by a pile of laundry, while your kids are running around, and it all works.
Standing Mountain Pose
Stand with your feet hips width apart and feet pressing firmly into the mat. I like to raise all 10 toes to help really ground down. Keep a slight bend in the knees
Slightly tuck your tailbone and pull your belly to your spine
Raise your arms overhead with biceps up by your ears and pulling shoulder blades together
Chair Pose
Bring feet together with big toes touching and heels slightly apart or, alternatively, place feet hips width apart. Ground down into your feet.
Start to bend at the knees, lengthening your tailbone to the back of the room. Slightly tuck your tailbone to engage your lower abdominals. Height is to your comfort, the lower the more intense engagement
Raise your arms above your head, biceps by ears. Alternatively, you can bring your hands to heart center in prayers pose.
Gaze forward
Down Dog
Bring palms to mat, spreading fingers wide, and focusing your pressure into the first three fingers or the triad of your hands. Press your fingertips into the mat as if they are suction cups. Keep slight bend in elbows.
Pull shoulder blades together.
Pull belly to spine
Ground down into the foot pad below toes, extending heels towards the floor (heels DO NOT need to touch the floor. Keep slight bend of the knees.
Imagine a string is attached to your tailbone and is pulling it up towards the ceiling.
Gaze through your feet and find a focus point.
Warrior 1
Bring forward one leg, bend at the knee with knee stacked over ankle. Rotate thigh laterally, ensuring knee is in line with hip. Pull femur back into hip socket, which will rotate your other hip forward. Your hips should be aligned anteriorly.
The heel of the front foot should line up around the heel of the back foot, railroad track style.
The back leg is straight, keeping a slight bend in the knee. Foot is rotated at 60-90 degrees. Ground down into the posterior edge of the back foot. Flex the muscles of the quads and glutes.
Pull belly to spine, bring heart forward, raise arms to ceiling, biceps by ears, and bring shoulder blades together.
Gaze forward.
I am a nurse practitioner by weekday and all things yoga the rest of the time. Vanessa recently received her 200RYT, but has been practicing yoga for the past 4 years, starting in her basement. She wants others to understand basic tips of yoga that will lead to a successful practice, regardless of their level of practice. In her spare time, she is having fun with her husband and three daughters traveling around the PNW, who loves reading and eating anything that is a carb.
You can find her on IG @lotusyogaflow or on FB at Lotus Yoga Flow.
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