Part I. Warm Up

1.Warm-Up Sequence

9 Poses

Focus:Hips, Shoulders, Spine

A quick warm-up series that touches on the major tension-holding areas of the body. You can do a few of these poses if you get to class early or do the whole sequence at home.

1. Pelvic Tilts

Pelvic tilts are an exercise comprised of very subtle spinal movements that strengthen the support muscles around the low back, particularly the abdominal muscles. They are a good preliminary exercise for those seeking low back painrelief, and they feel great because they give your back a little massage.

1. Lie on your back with the knees bent and the soles of the feet on the floor. This is your neutral position, with the naturalcurve of the lumbar spinecausing the low back to be slightly elevated from the floor.

2. On an exhale, gently rock your hips towards your face. Your butt will not actually leave the floor, but you will feel your low back press into the floor. You are essentially taking the curve out of the low back. Think of the pelvis as a bowl of water. When you do the pelvic tilt, the water would be spilling towards your belly.

3. After a few seconds, inhale and return to your neutral position.

4. Repeat this movement 5 to 10 times.

2. Eye of the Needle Pose - Sucirandhrasana

Type of Pose: Hip opener

Benefits: Stretches the hips.

Remaining on your back, cross one ankle over the opposite knee for eye of the needle pose. Since you are just getting started, you can stay in this position if you have tight hips, or you can draw the bent knee toward your body for a bigger stretch. Go easy since your hips may be stiff at first.

Instructions:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor.

2. Hug your left knee into your chest.

3. Cross the left ankle over your body and rest it on the right thigh.

4. Let the left knee relax away from your torso.

5. Bring both your hands to your right shin, lifting your right foot off the floor and threading your left hand through your legs to do so.

6.Using your hands, draw your right thigh toward your chest. This will cause your left hip to open.

7.Keep both feet flexed.

8Continue to relax the left knee to open the hips.

9.Repeat on the other side.

Beginners: If you have very tight hips, stop after step 4, keeping the right foot on the floor.

Advanced: To deepen the stretch, draw the right knee closer to your chest.

3. Easy Pose - Sukhasana

Type of pose: Seated Sukhasana is really any comfortable, cross-legged, seated position. It is a good pose for meditation orpranayamapractice.

Come up to sit in a comfortable, cross-legged position. Place one to three folded blankets under your seat so that your knees are lower than your hips. Do a few neck rolls here. First, let your chin drop toward your chest. Then roll your chin over to the left shoulder, circle the head back, then bring the chin to the left shoulder. Continue circling slowly, moving through any areas of tightness, for about five rotations. Then do an equal number of rotations in the opposite direction. If you have trouble with your neck, skip the part where you let the head drop back. Just move the chin from ear to ear instead.

Instructions:

1.Arrange padding under yoursit bonesso that your hips come above your knees.

2.Come to sit in a comfortable, cross-legged position.

3.Bring one heel in towards your groin. The other foot may rest on the floor in front of you or you may bring it into your lap.

4.Root your seat down as your spine grows long. Stack the shoulders over the hips and slide the shoulder blades down your back. The crown of your head rises towards the ceiling.

4. Eagle Arms

Type of pose: Standing, balancing

Benefits: Strengthens legs, improves balance, stretches the shoulders

While staying seated in easy pose, take the arm position for eagle pose. This gives you a really nice stretch across the shoulder blades and center of the back, an area that is otherwise hard to get in to. If you do the position with the right arm on top first, make sure to spend equal time with the left arm on top.

Instructions:

1. FromUtkatasanashift your weight onto the left leg.

2. Bend the right leg, lifting the foot from the floor and cross your right thigh over your left.

3. Hook the right foot around the left calf.

4. Bring the arms out in front.

5. Cross the left arm over the right and bring the palms to touch.

6. Lift the elbows while keeping the shoulders sliding down the back.

7. Hold 5-10 breaths.

8. Repeat on the other side.

Beginners: If you have trouble with the balance, rest your backside on a wall. If you can't hook the lifted foot around the calf, put a block under the foot instead.

Advanced: Start to come into a forward bend, bringing the elbows in front of the knees. Bring the thumbs to yourthird eye.

5. Seated Spinal Twist

Also Known As: Seated Spinal Twist

Type of pose: Seated Twist

Benefits: Opens the shoulders, neck and hips while stretching the spine.

You can also take a gentle spinal twist without coming into full ardha matsyendrasana. Keep your legs in easy pose and twist to the right, bringing your left hand to your right knee and the right hand behind your back. Then twist to the left, bringing the right hand to your left knee and the left hand behind your back. Remember that this is just a warm up, so this shouldn't be your deepest twist.

Instructions:

1. FromStaff Pose - Dandasana, bend your left knee and bring the sole of your left foot to the floor on the outside of the right thigh.

2. Bend the right knee, and tuck the right foot in near the left buttock.

3. Inhale and bring the right arm up near your right ear.

4.Exhale and twist the to the left, bringing the right elbow to the outside the of left knee and the left palm to the floor, just behind yoursit bones.

5. Look out over the left shoulder, but dont overturn the neck -- the twist originates in the belly, not the neck.

6. On each inhale, draw the spine long, and on each exhale, twist a little deeper.

7. Be sure to keep the sole of your left foot flat on the floor.

8. When you release the pose, take a slight counter twist to the opposite direction.

9. Release the legs and switch their position as you prepare to twist to the other side.

Beginners: You may want to sit on some padding if you are uncomfortable. If you cannot bend it into the ideal position, you may also keep the right leg extended.

Advanced: Come into a bind with the arms. Thread the right arm back underneath the left knee. Reach the left arm behind your back, and clasp the left wrist with your right hand.

6. Cat-Cow Stretch

Also Know As: Chakravakasana

Benefits: Improves spinal flexibility and abdominal strength.

The cat-cow stretch is a yoga classic, and with good reason. It consists of moving the spine from a rounded position (flexion) to an arched one (extension). It's a simple motion, but one that is enormously beneficial inpreventing back painand maintaing a healthy spine. Each movement is done in conjunction with either an inhalation or exhalation of the breath, making this a simplevinyasa. If you already have back pain, check with your doctor before beginning to make sure these movements are appropriate for your condition.

If you still have some time, do a few rounds ofcat-cow stretches. These will further loosen the spine. Since you are doing this on your own, take care to synchronize your body to your breath, letting the breath initiate the movement. Begin each motion in your tailbone, letting it ripple up the spine until your head is the last thing to move.

Instructions:

1. Start on all fours, bringing the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.

2. Think of the spine as a straight line connecting the shoulders to the hips. Try visualizing the line extending forward through the crown of the head and backwards through the tail bone. This is the position of a neutral spine.

3. Keep the neck long, as the natural extension of the spine.

On aninhale:

1.Curl your toes under.

2. Drop your belly, but keep your abdominal muscles hugging your spine.

3. Take your gaze up toward the ceiling.

4. Let the movement in the spine start from your tailbone, so that your neck is the last part to move.

On the nextexhale:

1.Release the tops of your feet to the floor.

2.Round your spine.

3. Drop your head.

4. Take your gaze to your navel.

Repeat the cat-cow stretch on each inhale and exhale, matching the movement to your own breath.

Continue for 5-10 breaths, moving the whole spine. After your final exhale, come back to a neutral spine.

7. Downward Facing Dog - Adho Mukha Svanasana

You may want to come into adownward facingdog, primarily to stretch out the legs. Pedal the heels up and down here to lengthen the calves and hamstrings.

Also known as: Downward Dog, Down Dog

Type of pose: Standing, Mild Inversion, Resting

Benefits: Stretches and strengthens the whole body. Can help relieve back pain. Downward facing dog is done many times during most yoga classes. It is a transitional pose, a resting pose, and a great strengthenerin its own right. It may be thefirst yoga poseyou encounter as you begin a yoga practice.

Instructions:

1.Come to your hands and knees with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.

2. Curl the toes under and push back raising the hips and straightening the legs.

3. Spread the fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips.

4. Outwardly rotate the upper arms broadening the collarbones.

5. Let the head hang, move the shoulder blades away from the ears towards the hips.

6. Engage the quadriceps strongly to take the weight off the arms, making this a resting pose.

7. Rotate the thighs inward, keep the tail high and sink your heels towards the floor.

8. Check that the distance between your hands and feet is correct by coming forward to aplankposition. The distance between the hands and feet should be the same in these two poses. Do not step the feet toward the hands in Down Dog in order the get theheels to the floor. This will happen eventually as the muscles lengthen.

Beginners: Try bending your knees, coming up onto the balls of your feet, bringing the belly to rest on the thighs and thesit bonesup high.

Then sink your heels, straightening the legs keeping the high upward rotation of the sit bones. Also try bending the arms slightly out to the side, drawing the chest towards the thighs. Then restraighten the arms.

Advanced: If you are very flexible, try not to let the rib cage sink towards the floor creating a sinking spine. Draw the ribs in to maintain a flat back. Try holding the pose for five minutes, placing ablockunder your head for support.

8. Child's Pose - Balasana

Child's pose is always a a good addition to a warm-up routine. Though often thought of as a resting pose, child's pose also offers a nice stretch for the hips and thighs and gives you a chance to turn your attention inward in preparation for your upcoming class.

Type of pose: Resting

Benefits: Gentle stretch for the hips, thighs and ankles.Can help relieve back pain.

Instructions:

1. FromDownward Facing Dog, drop the knees to the floor.

2. Spread the knees as wide as the mat, keeping the big toes touching.

3. Bring the belly to rest between the thighs and the forehead to the floor.

4. There are two possible arm variations:

Either stretch the arms in front of you with the palms toward the floor or bring the arms back alongside the thighs with the palms facing upwards.

Do whichever feel more comfortable to you.

Beginners: Rest in Childs Pose at any time if you get tired or out of breath. Rejoin the class when you are ready

9. Goddess Pose - Supta Baddha Konasana

Many people like to await the start of class in goddess pose to further open the hips. (Indeed, many people would skip the preceding eight poses in favor of a long stint in goddess. If this is your preference, by all means do it.) You can place blocks or blankets under your knees for support if this feels like a bit too much, or come into the seated version of the pose (cobbler's pose) or just return to easy pose for a few minutes until your class begins.

Type of Pose: Supine, Restorative

Also Known As: Reclined Bound Angle Pose

Benefits: Opens the groin

Instructions:

1. FromCobbler's Pose Baddha Konasana lean backward, bringing your elbows to the floor.

2. Lower the back all the way to the floor.

3. Stay here several minutes. To come out, roll over to your side and sit up, using your hands to support you.

Beginners: If you are not comfortable reclining on the floor, you may use a bolster or several folded blankets to support the spine.

2.Ten Simple Yoga Exercises

10 Poses

Focus:Hamstrings and Hips

Yoga poses don't have to look like a crazy, twisted pretzel in order to be effective. The ten poses in this series are likely positions that are familiar to you. Do them regularly and you will definitely feel a difference in your body.

1. Mountain Pose - Tadasana

Just because these poses are simple doesn't mean that they are going to be easy. Bringing new awareness to a position you think your know can actually be very challenging. Take mountain pose, which may look like just standing around. In a yoga context, however, there is a lot going on in this position. The heels root down, the muscles of the legs are engaged, the bones are stacked with the shoulders directly over the hips, the shoulder blades slide down the back, and the crown of the head rises. Don't forget to breath!

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Type of pose: Standing

Benefits: Improves posture, strengthens thighs,can help relieve back pain

Instructions:

1. Come to stand with the big toestouching.

2. Lift up all your toes and let them fan out, then drop them down creating a wide solid base. You can separate your heels slightly if your ankles are knocking together uncomfortably.

3. Let the feet and the calves root down into the floor.

4. Engage the quadriceps and draw them upward, causing your knee caps to rise.

5.Rotate both thighs inward, creating a widening of thesit bones.

6. Maintain the natural curves of your spine.

7. Tone the belly, drawing it in slightly.

8. Widen the collar bones and make sure the shoulders are parallel to the pelvis.

9. The neck is long, the crown of the head rises toward the ceiling, and the shoulder blades slide down the back. It may seem like you are just standing there, but bringing the body intoalignmentis hard work. The alignment for Tadasana carries in to many of the standing and inverted poses.

Beginners:Take a block between the thighs. Squeeze the block and roll it slightly backward to feel the engagement and rotation of the thighs.

2. Raised Arms Pose - Urdhva Hastansana

Type of pose: Standing

Benefits: Improves posture, strengthens thighs, opens shoulders

Inhale and bring your arms up and over your head. This is your basic morning stretch, but you are focusing on keeping thegood alignmentyou established in mountain pose, particularly staying grounded in the heels and keeping your shoulders moving away from your ears at the same time that you reach up through your fingertips. Your gaze can come up to the hands, which can be shoulder's width apart or palms touching.

Instructions:

1. FromTadasana, bring your arms out to the side and up.

2. Press the palms together, keep the arms straight and take the gaze up toward your thumbs.

3. Slide the shoulder blades down the back.

4. Maintain youralignment.

Beginners: Practice the pose with your back to the wall so you can feel the alignment.

Place a block between the thighs, squeeze it and roll it slightly backward to feel the engagement and rotation of the thighs.

3. Standing Forward Bend - Uttanasana

Type of pose: Forward bend

Benefits: Stretches and lengthens the hamstrings

Exhale and fold over your legs into a forward bend. If the hamstrings feel a little tight at first, bend the knees so that you can release your spine. Let the head hang heavy. Slowly straighten the legs if you like but keep the head hanging. The feet can be touching or hip's distance apart, whichever feels better.

Instructions:

1. FromUrdhva Hastasana, swan dive the arms out to the side while folding forward.

2. Make sure the fold come from the hips, deepening the hip creases, and not from the back.

3. Bring the fingertips in line with the toes and press the palms flat.

4. Engage the quadriceps muscles of the thighs. The more you use your quads, the more the hamstrings (the muscles on the back of the thighs) will open up.

5. Bring your weight a little bit forward into the balls of your feet so that your hips stay over the ankles.

6. Let your head hang.

Beginners: Bend the knees if you need to in order to bring the palms flat. Then work on straightening the legs.

Advanced: If you are very open in the hamstrings, bend the elbows out to the sides while holding the big toes in ayogi toes lock. If you are holding the pose for a long time, bring the palms flat underneath your feet.

4. Garland Pose - Malasana

Also known as: Squat

Type of pose: Hip opener

Benefits: Opens the hips and groin

Move your feet out to the edges of your mat and bend your knees, coming into a squat. The toes may turn out if necessary. If your heels do not reach the floor, take a rolled up blanket under them. This is a position that is quite natural for children but we lose the knack for it as adults. It's great for the hips and to counteract the effects of toomuch sittingin chairs and riding in cars. It's also a veryuseful pose.

Instructions:

1. Come to stand with the feet about mat's width apart.

2. Bend the knees, coming into a squat.

3. Keep the feet as close to parallel as possible.

4. Take the upper arms inside your knees and bend the elbows. Bring the palms together intoanjali mudra(prayer position).

5. Try to bring the hands to your heart center with the forearms parallel to the floor to open the knees slightly.

6. Keep the spine straight and shoulders relaxed.

7. Stay here for five breaths, then straighten the legs to come out.

Beginners: Bring a folded blanket under your heels for support if your heels come up when you squat. This is better than trying to balance on the balls of your feet.

Advanced: If your feet are parallel, work on bringing them closer together.

5. Lunge Pose

Type of Pose: Standing

Benefits: Opens the hips and groins; stretches the calves, thighs, and hamstrings.

Straighten your legs and move your feet back under your hip before stepping your left leg to the back of your mat and bending your right knee for a deep lunge. Try to bring your bent knee directly over your ankle so your right thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep the left leg straight and strong with your heel reaching back. If this is too intense, you can drop your left knee to the mat instead. Stay five breaths before returning the left foot to the front of your mat next to the right one. Then repeat the lunge with the left foot forward and the right leg back.

Instructions:

1. Fromdownward facing dog, step the right foot up inside your right hand on an inhalation. If the foot doesn't make it all the way up, move it into position with the right hand.

2. Bend the right knee so that it is directly over the right ankle with the right thigh parallel to the floor. Take particular care that your knee does not get ahead of your ankle, since this places the knee in a vulnerable position.

3. Line your fingertips up with your toes.

4. Come onto the fingertips to avoid placing too much weight in your hands.

5. Roll your shoulder blades down your back, lengthen your spine, and bring your gaze to the horizon line.

6. Extend from your back heel to the crown of your head.

7. Hold up to five breaths, then return back to downward dog on an exhalation.

8. Repeat with the left leg forward.

Beginners: See our advice onadjusting your foot position manually.

Advanced: Play with straightening your front leg for a hamstring stretch. You can move back and forth between abent and straight frontleg a few times.

6. Plank Pose

Type of pose: Arm Balance

Benefits: Strengthens the arms and spine. Preparation for more challenging arm balances.

After your second lunge, step the left foot back so that it is next to the right foot at the back of your mat. This is the classic preparation for a push-up. Stay five breaths here while making sure that your hips do not drop too low or rise too high. If your elbows tend to hyperextend,microbendthem. Bring your knees down if necessary. After five breaths, release your knees to the mat and come back to sit on your heels, resting for a moment.

Instructions:

1.Fromdownward facing dog, bring your hips forward until your shoulders are over your wrists and your whole body is in one straight line from the crown of your head to you heels. This is very similar to the position you would take if you were about to do a push-up.

2. Spread your fingers and press the firmly down into your palms.

3.Microbendyour elbows.

4. Press back through the heels.

5. Move your shoulders away from your ears.

6. Keep the neck in line with the spine and look at the floor.

Beginners: Move back and forth between down dog and plank without moving your hands or feet. The distance between your hands and feet should be the same in both poses.

Pay close attention to the position of your hips. Do not stick your butt in the air or let it sag towards the floor.

Advanced: Hold the pose for five breaths. For an extra challenge, try lifting one foot off the floor at a time.

7. Staff Pose

Type of pose: Seated

Benefits: Strengthens legs; improvesalignment

Dandasana is the basic seated pose from which all the others originate. Think of it as a seated version ofMountain Pose - Tadasana.

After catching your breath, swing your legs around so that they are outstretched in front of you. This is the seated equivalent of mountain pose, in that it seems very simple but has a lot going on. The legs stay strong with the feet flexed. The shoulders stack over the hips so that the spine is long and straight. The arms may bestraight or slightly bent.

Instructions:

1. Sit with the legs outstretched straight in front.

2. Engage thethigh musclesand flex the feet. The heels may come up off the floor.

3.Make your spine long.

4. Stack the shoulders directly on top of the hips.

Beginners: Put padding under yoursit bones, if necessary.

Advanced: This pose looks easy, but if you are really working the thighs, you can break a sweat.

8. Seated Forward Bend - Paschimottanasana

Type of pose: Seated

Benefits: Stretches the hamstrings and spine

On an exhalation, bring your torso over your legs in a forward bend. Your hamstrings should be warmer now than when you did your standing forward bend earlier. Work with your breath, lengthening the spine on each inhale and deepening your forward fold on each exhale. Stay for five breaths, keeping the feet flexed.

Instructions:

1. FromStaff Pose - Dandasanabring the arms straight out to the sides and up over your head.

2. Inhale and draw the spine up long.

3. As you exhale, begin to come forward, hinging at the hips.

4. On each inhale, extend the spine, and on each exhale, come a bit farther into the forward bend.

5. Keep the neck at the natural extension of the spine.

6. Do not round the back.

7. Take hold of the ankles or shins, whichever you can reach.

Beginners: Put padding under the bones if necessary. Imagine the belly coming to rest on your thighs, rather than the nose coming to the knees. This will help you keep the spine long instead of curving over.

Advanced: If you can easily grab the soles of your feet, try taking a block in front of the feet and holding that instead.

9. Head to Knee Pose - Janu Sirsasana

Type of Pose: Forward Bend

Benefits: Stretches the hamstrings, hips, and groins

Come back up to sit and bend your left leg, bringing the sole of the left foot inside your right thigh. Use the same technique described above to deepen the pose using your breath. After five breaths, sit up and switch legs.

Instructions:

1. FromStaff Pose - Dandasana, bend your knee and bring the sole of the left foot to your inner-right thigh.

2. Square your torso over the extended right leg, and begin to forward bend over that leg.

3. Keep the right foot flexed while pressing the back of the right thigh down toward the floor.

4.In order to not collapse your back, keep the heart center lifted as long as possible as you come forward.When you reach your limit, bring the heart and head down toward the extended leg.

5. On each inhale, extend the spine long, and on each exhale, deepen theforward bend.

6. You may hold on to the extended leg or place the hands on the floor wherever they reach.

7.Repeat the pose on the other side.

Beginners: You may sit up on a blanket if the hips are tight.

If you like, place a strap around the extended foot. Hold an end of the strap in each hand as you forward bend.

Advanced: Clasp your hands under the sole of the extended foot.

Try the pose with the bent leg in aHalf-Lotusposition.

10. Happy Baby Pose - Ananda Balasana

Type of pose: Supine

Benefits: Releases the low back, stretches the hamstrings

This pose is appropriate for both beginners and advanced students.

Lie down on your back and hug your knees into your chest. Then separate your knees and bring each ankle directly over its knee so that the shins are perpendicular to the floor. Flex your feet and hold onto them from the outside as your draw your knees downward. Roll side to side a bit on yoursacrumif it feels good. This is a position that is familiar to anyone with children. Resist the urge to put your toes in your mouth. After five breaths, stretch your legs out on the floor and rest.

Instructions:

1. Come to lie on the back.

2. Bend the knees into the chest.

3. Open the knees, bringing them towards the armpits.

4. Stack each ankle directly over the knee, so that the shins are perpendicular to the floor.

5. Flex the feet.

6. Hold the outer edges of the feet at you draw the knees towards the floor.

3.Daily Stretch Routine

10 Poses

Focus:Hamstrings, Hips, Spine

This is my go-to sequence for a short practice you can do every day. It's also a good place to start a longer practice. On the days when you have more time, add on one or more of the sequences below.