The first day, there was a small cross on the hill. The next day, there was a pirate flag.
Last week I vacationed w/family in the Outer Banks. A big shady deck with an ocean view might just be my dream yoga spot, and I don’t even like the beach. I have not felt so motivated to get up and practice in a while. Morning practice was easy, and daily! My aunt and sister joined a couple days, which helped. It reminds me of the importance of environment — and how weird it is to do yoga in a huge city.
On tired days, I started off with some reclined hip openers and seated spinal stretches. On energized days, I went straight into gentle sun or moon salutations, and did more standing poses, bends, and balances. I came up with a new warrior sequence that I liked a lot, I did it all week. Here are the chunks:
“I’M TIRED” WARM-UP
- Wind Relieving Pose (hug the right knee into the chest)
- Reclined Spinal Twist
- Straighten leg to the sky and point/flex/circle the foot
- Pilates Circles with the whole extended leg
- Reclined Side Soldier (take Yogi Toe Lock and open the leg to the side)
- Reclined Extended Spinal Twist (switch hands on the foot and take it across the body)
- repeat on the other side
- Single Leg Raises (10x, up and down to the count of 4)
- Double Leg Raises
- Bicycles (10x, holding for 3 counts each side)
- Full Body Stretch and sit up
“I’M TIRED” QUICK WAKE-UP
(short version of http://www.yogogogo.com/classes/?p=10)
- Camel Ride (sitting with hands on knees, flex spine forward and back w/Breath of Fire)
- Chinese Drum (hands on shoulders, twist left and right w/Breath of Fire)
- Shoulder Shrugs (hands on thighs, lift and drop shoulders w/Breath of Fire
BUILD-A-SWEAT
- Sun or Moon Salutations (3-6 each side) with focus on BREATHING and LIGHTNESS
- Triangle (both sides)
- Wide-Legged Forward Bend
- Extended Side Angle (right side)
- Forward Angle (right side)
- Forward Angle Bind (hands clasped behind back)
- Humble Warrior (slide back foot back, drop head to floor)
- Warrior I
- Warrior II
- Reverse Warrior
- Vinyasa and repeat on other side
Balance on Jockey's Ridge
BALANCE POSES (choose a few)
- Topping Tree (from Humble Warrior, straighten front leg and lift back leg towards sky)
- Half Moon
- Crow
- Tree
- Dancer
- Flying Crow
BACKBENDS (just the Sivananda basics)
- Sphinx or Cobra
- Locust
- Bow
GROUNDING
- Seated Forward Bend
- Reverse Plank
- Seated Spinal Twist
- Various Seated Twists (Marichyasana I-IV) after boogie boarding hurt my back
LONG-TIME POSES (essentials, held 10 breaths to 5 minutes)
- Headstand
- Shoulder Stand
- Bridge
- Full Wheel
- Fish
- Corpse
Each day’s version varied slightly, and at no point did I do all poses listed above, but the general arrangement stuck. I lost my breathing practice, though. I did some Breath of Fire in the poses, but I only did Alternate Nostril Breathing once. (That instance, however, was delicious and way more appreciated after missing it.) I meant to do both this morning before leaving for the airport, but 5:45 was already way early for my freelax body.
I’m heading out to Amanda’s Sweat & Flow tonight… or the park?
