Are you thinking about trying yoga? It’s a beneficial practice that builds strength, flexibility, and balance and may help with health issues like inflammation and migraines. Yoga also reduces stress and anxiety, which is one reason it may be a good fit if you’re working from home. Try this short sequence, holding each pose for six breaths.
- Child pose: Sit on your knees and heels, with your eyes closed. Inhale and open your eyes. Stretch your neck, raise your spine, and bring yourself forward, all the way down, until your face touches the floor in front of you. Stretch, pulling in your abdominal muscles and exhaling.
- Locust pose. Bring your body into a prone position, stretching the arms and legs while you lie on your stomach. Inhale, then exhale while raising the upper and lower body about 30 degrees from the floor with your arms stretched behind you. Take a breath and maintain the pose, going deeper and raising the neck as you’re comfortable. Slowly release, placing the palms on the floor, and repeat after a few breaths.
- Downward facing dog: Placing the palms on the floor close to your chest, inhale and place your foot on the floor, raising the body upwards. Exhale completely as you shift your body weight to your feet and palms. Hold the pose, loosening the body as you inhale and deepening the stretch when you exhale.
- Warrior pose 1: Moving the body upwards, bring your left foot close to your palms, and stand up. Inhale, raising your arms above your head and shoulders, bending the left knee, and looking up. Exhale. Turn the right foot to about 20 degrees and the left foot out to 90 degrees and hold the stretch.
- Reverse warrior pose: Raising the left arm and stretching it behind you, put the right hand on the right calf. Inhale and loosen the body, then exhale, expanding and extending the stretch, tilting the head back to look at the left hand. Hold the pose, preventing the knee from bending beyond the ankle and foot.
- Extended triangle pose: Bring the body up and straight, then inhale, raising the back. Exhale, bending at the hip towards your left, reaching for your left foot with your left hand, then placing the palm on the floor. Raise your right arm above the shoulder and look at the right palm. Turn your shoulders to bring the chest and thighs into alignment without bending the left knee.
- Intense leg stretch pose: Keeping the same distance between your feet, raise your spine, and stand straight. As you inhale, stretch the spine upwards, then bring the upper body down as you exhale, bending at the hip and placing the palms and, if possible, the head on the floor.
- Garland pose: Raise your body and keep your spine straight. Bringing your feet a bit closer together, inhale, expand the spine upwards and then bend the knees and bring the body down to sit with your feet. With palms in Namaste, place the arms close to the inside of the knees and thighs. Don’t let the buttocks touch the floor, and do not strain your knees. Look up, if possible, and focus on your core.
At Wellbridge Athletic Clubs, yoga is just one of the practices taught by the top-notch instructors in our fitness classes. World-class trainers are the heart of our fitness club, and we stay up to date with the latest breakthroughs in health and wellness. No matter what kind of workout suits you, when you walk into one of our clubs, you’ll know you found a place where you fit in. Join today or contact us to learn more.