Keeping Up With Yoga, If Not With My Blog

My 'online presence' has been lacking lately, due to some 'real life' factors, and I apologize for that. My blogging will pick up soon, I hope. In the meantime, I've been doing a new series of yoga poses and stretching that I thought I'd share. I try to do it in the morning and before bed, as well as whenever I need a quick mental break.

As always, look into this stuff yourself to learn the proper way to do it and whether or not it's right for you...this is just what *I* do....


I start in a Seated Forward Fold to get myself focus and centered. I loop my index and middle finger around my big toes to hold the pose and breathe. Sometimes I use my fingertips to push my toes towards my body, one at a time. I started doing this because I once had a massage that included some stretching of my toes, and I was shocked how good it felt just to stretch the toes around. I think it must help with circulation or something. Perhaps someone knows about reflexology and can fill us in?



Next I do the Bound Angle Pose. I do the variation where I also fold forward from the hips for a deeper stretch.



From there, I ease my body back into the Reclining Bound Angle Pose (I've also heard it called the Goddess Pose), using my hands and arms to get into this position, not my ab/back muscles. I like this pose because it makes me feel very grounded, and when I think of it as the Goddess Pose, I feel like I can relax into the pose in a more spiritual sense. I just find it really calming.


Here I do a couple stretches that aren't exactly yoga (I don't think), but they just feel good. Still lying on my back, I keep one foot on the ground with my knee bent, while stretching the other leg straight up. I hold the back of my thigh and pause for a few moments for a hamstring stretch, then switch legs. Then, with both feet on the floor and knees bent, I let my knees fall to one side while I look to the other side, then switch.



Then I sit back up and move forward onto all fours so I can get into the One-Legged Pigeon Pose. I do it slightly different from the image, with my lower leg at an angle behind my hand, rather than in front. I've always liked this pose because it just plain feels good to stretch out the hips.



Finally, I sit back into the Easy Pose to become centered, focused, and relaxed.

Namaste~

All images from www.yogajournal.com, a great source for all things Yoga.