Yoga Practice: Heart Opening, Backbends, Hip Openers

Untether your heart with backbends and hip openers

Stand with hands, palms open, elbows bent at heart center

Close the eyes and gaze inwards as if gazing down into your heart and ask the meaning of the practice, the journey you are open to receive from your deepest highest self.  Be courageous and listen to your heart’s desire

From there the practice begins

Move the arms forward as you inhale around the circumference of your body

As you exhale sweep the hands back behind your side body and back to the center of your heart

Repeat this movement 5 cycles or as many times as you like to syncopate breath and movement

Place the hands on your low back, fingertips up

As you lift your heart, inhale as you roll your shoulders down the back and gently back bend

On exhale slowly lift up and fold forward into forward fold

Repeat this movement 3-5 times

On inhale Step back into plank pose

Exhale hold plank and bow head down towards heart slightly rounding the shoulders to the sky

Release the pose and lower to earth

Inhale to cobra pose as you loop the shoulders up and down the back

Exhale lower to earth

Inhale up to upwards dog with more expression of heart opening

Exhale downward dog

Repeat this sequence from the standing back bend 3 times

Crescent pose hands interlace behind back and back bend

High lunge twist with one hand on floor as other arm opens to sky open/close 3 times

Low lunge to half split 5 times back and forth

Hip opener with low lunge  

Grab hold of back ankle to open back leg quadriceps opening

Back bend on belly hold both ankles and lift up danurasana

Happy baby to twist both sides

svasana