Fundamentals of Yoga

Welcome to Fundamentals of Yoga!

This online course focuses on the fundamental principals of hatha (or physical) yoga. It walks you through the most important aspects of practicing yoga from a very high place, where you can see and experience specific video examples of each section. These sections coincide with how a skilled yoga instructor would cue students when taking a live class. You can learn these skills in this class, and be extremely prepared to take live classes, bringing with you an intimate understanding of what the instructor means when they are walking you through the class sequences and routines.

In addition, this course includes ten 1-hour yoga classes filmed on the beaches and in the jungle of Baja California Sur that are all narrated by Inge, with meditational guidance and rolling ocean waves in the background. This 10-pack includes the fundamentals of yoga class, a variety of flows, a yin lesson, a restorative lesson, and a self-care lesson. The downloadable Youtube link is included in this sections resources.

Many topics are covered in this course, such as:

-Posture, Breathing and Focus

-Limb Stacking and Joint Alignment

-Flow Sequencing and Form

-Separate Leg Postures

-Balancing

-Using Your Focus and Intention to Pull Your Body Into Alignment

-Coming in and out of Deep Postures

-Listening to Your Own Voice and Feelings

-Meditation

The topics that have been chosen for this course are the most important aspects to be familiar with in your yoga practice. They are the building blocks for a strong and successful lifetime of not only yoga practice, but physical strength and mobility in general.

This course will bring you to a higher level of practice that will have long-term value for you in many ways.

Let's begin!!

This section guides you through how to place your yoga mat when you are taking this course.

It's always nice to open up your shoulders before you begin your yoga practice, as shoulders are usually pulled out of alignment from our daily lives at the wheel, the computer, and the cell phone. We are living in a "rounded forward" world, that has emotional symbology as well. We tend not to lead from our hearts, but our minds. Opening the shoulders at the beginning of your yoga practice opens the heart chakra up for connection to oneself and a higher consciousness, which is ultimately what all of the limbs of yoga practice are about. Going within...

One of the most important things about body mechanics and posture is alignment. Alignment refers to how the head, shoulders, spine, hips, knees and ankles relate and line up with each other. Proper alignment of the body puts less stress on the spine and helps you have good posture.

Proper body alignment allows you to safely perform different tasks throughout the day, and to do so in a way that does not require you to exert unnecessary energy. When your body is not in alignment, your muscles and joints must compensates in ways that increase strain and fatigue.

Standing Alignment:

• Keep your head high, chin in and shoulder blades slightly pinched together.

• Maintain the natural arch of your lower back as you flatten your abdomen by gently pulling it in.

• Point your feet straight ahead with your knees facing forward.

Ujjayi Breath (Ujjayi Pranayama)

Ujjayi breath is achieved by breathing in and out through the nose while constricting the glottis at the back of the throat. Here’s how to do it:

Sit on a block and place one hand a few inches from your mouth. Breathe in through the nose and then breathe out through the mouth as if you were fogging a mirror or a pane of glass. Repeat this three times. Now drop the hand and create the same experience in your breathing but with the mouth closed. This breath supports the quieting of the mind, creating a sense of calm and a centering of the body and focus. Inhale for six counts and pause at the top of the breath, then exhale for six counts and pause. Repeat and keep breathing this way, in and out of the nose with sound on both the inhale and on the exhale for 5-10 minutes.

Physical And Mental Benefits Of Ujjayi Breath

When practiced properly, both nostril breathing and ujjayi have great benefits. Both activate the vagus nerve which turns on the parasympathetic nervous system. When this system is activated, our heart rate slows and steadies, our mood improves, and our immune response is boosted. 

Ujjayi is considered a cleansing breath, as is all nostril breathing. As the air passes through the nose, it is humidified and tiny particles are removed. Ujjayi’s bronchial vibration is said to have a further cleansing effect, as it causes the cilia in the lungs to oscillate, grabbing even smaller particles as the air comes in.

The full, reflexive breath of ujjayi maintains steady pressure in the main branches that carry air from the trachea to the lungs, the bronchi. This allows for a fuller emptying of the lungs on the exhale breath, creating space for air that’s fresh and new.

Physical benefits aside, ujjayi breathing offers us the benefit of mindfulness. The breath’s ocean-like sound should be just loud enough for you to hear. This audible quality helps us hold attention on the breath. When we’re mindful of breath, we’re more likely to breathe fully, patiently and slowly, in an even and steady manner. Because breath and prana are connected, mindful breathing brings greater ease to both body and mind.

Drishti Focus

Drishti is the yogic practice of focussed gaze, used as a means of developing concentration. It can help to enhance focus during asana, pranayama or meditation, and aids in the withdrawal of the senses for a heightened sense of self-awareness. The term drishti is Sanskrit for “eyesight” or “vision,” and the practice is believed to help cultivate insight and inner wisdom through the third eye.

In every asana, the prescribed drishti assists concentration, aids movement, and helps orient the pranic (energetic) body. The full meaning of drishti isn't limited to its value in asana. In Sanskrit, drishti can also mean a vision, a point of view, or intelligence and wisdom.

How to Practice Drishti:

1. Gaze softly. Soften your gaze in whichever direction you are looking, and avoid straining the eyes.

2. Look beyond the material world. Avoid over-focusing on whatever physical object is in the direction of your gaze.

3. Focus on an unmoving point.

4. Gaze forward in certain poses.

5. Try an inward gaze.

Benefits of Drishti Focus:

1. The First Layer Of Focus

If you are new to the practice of yoga, or if you are working on new postures that your body is not used to yet, drishti can be utilized in its purely physical and mechanical expression.

The first thing that drishti offers you in your yoga practice is balance. If you are in a posture that is challenging your balance or your ability to not fall face first to the floor, drishti is your best friend.

Having a clear focus point when attempting Vrksasana (tree pose) can mean the difference between a strong standing tree and a “timber” moment. This focused view will help you find your center and connect with the stability within your own body.

2. The Second Layer Of Focus

The next layer of drishti you can begin to utilize is that of focused intention on a mental level. When you are in a challenging posture, or if you start to feel a sense of boredom in your practice, you may notice that you have the desire to dissociate from the experience.

One of the easiest ways to dissociate yourself from an uncomfortable situation is to avert your eyes. Looking around the room to other practitioners, looking out the window, scanning the floor for stray hairs and dust can all help to take you out of the experience you are having within your body.

What you are doing when you start to incorporate drishti into all of your postures—those that are old and familiar as well as those that are new—is training your mind to stay with the present moment.

You are teaching yourself how to stick with experiences as they are happening, even when they are slightly (or more than slightly) unpleasant. This builds up your ability to do this in life. The gift of focused, present attention in everyday life is invaluable in problem solving, communication, and general living.

By training your mind to stay with your practice, you will be training your mind to stay with your life. This is direct mindfulness training built straight into asana.

3. Focus In Meditation

Taking drishti into your meditation or contemplative practices is one of the more subtle incarnations of this tool. By allowing the eyes to focus on a point, you will be allowing the mind to settle as well. You will be utilizing your physical body to communicate to your mind that all is well, that it may relax and let go.

Developing the ability to sit with your eyes open focusing upon a single point is a powerful exercise that will translate into great powers of mind in your life.

You may find that your meditation practice deepens very quickly when drishti is utilized. It is a concrete way to help steady the “monkey mind” that we all seem to have to some degree.

4. Focus In Life

Now, if you like, you can take the concept of drishti and expand on it even further. The term can be translated to mean a point of view, intelligent vision, or to have a vision. This tool of drishti is one that can be used to help you create the life that you want to live, both on and off your mat.

Having a clear vision for your life, where you want to go, and who you want to be is the first step in creating that vision. Creating vision boards, writing goals on paper, and telling your friends and family about your dreams are all examples of practicing drishti in real life.

By developing the ability to stay present in uncomfortable situations, the ability to steady and focus the mind, and the ability to have a vision for yourself and your life, you will be giving yourself the foundational tools for manifesting your dreams into reality.

I invite you to use this powerful tool in your next asana, meditation, or life design practice. See how it transforms the mundane into the divine and purposeful.

It is important to honor your own breathing pace. Catch the flow of breathing instructions at your own rhythm. This is a much more connected way to practice, rather than stopping your breathing to catch the instruction.

What is integration of breath and movement in yoga?

Yoga incorporates a conscious breath into every posture or movement. Without this attention to the breath, you are simply moving or exercising the body.

Why is connection of breath to movement important?

Like an embedded code, every gesture is scripted with an inhale or an exhale, programming our nervous system to work with our musculature in a way that can both calm and energize. So when body and breath work together, movement flows naturally requiring far less effort.

Not only should breath be linked to movement, but the breath should initiate the movement.

Always listen to yourself and your first, before your instructors guidance. You know what is best for your body by the way that it feels inside of you. Trust your inner feelings and voice.

Forward Fold (Standing Forward Bend)

Sanskrit: Uttanasana (OOT-tahn-AHS-ah-nah) uttana = intense stretch

Standing Forward Bend: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Begin in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) at the front of the mat with your hands at your hips.

2. Bend your knees slightly and fold your torso over your legs, hingeing from the hips, not the lower back.

3. Your hands may land next to your feet or on the ground in front of you.

4. Inhale and extend your chest to lengthen your spine.

5. Exhale and gently press both legs toward straight without hyperextending. Lift the kneecaps and gently spiral your upper, inner thighs back.

6. On an exhalation, extend your torso down without rounding your back. Lengthen your neck, extending the crown of your head toward the ground, while you draw your shoulders down your back toward your hips.

Beginner’s tip

Hinge forward from the crease at the front of the hips, moving the pelvis and sacrum together, to protect the lower back.

Half Lift (Standing Half Forward Bend)

Sanskrit Name: Ardha Uttanasana

(are-dah oot-tan-AHS-anna) ardha = half, uttana = intense stretch

Standing Half Forward Bend: Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. From Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), press your palms or fingertips into the floor (or blocks on the floor) beside your feet. With an inhale, straighten your elbows and arch your torso away from your thighs, finding as much length between your pubic bone and navel as possible.

2. With your palms (or fingertips) push down and back against the floor, and lift the top of your sternum up (away from the floor) and forward. You might bend your knees slightly to help get this movement, which will arch the back.

3. Look forward, but be careful not to compress the back of your neck. Hold the arched-back position for a few breaths. Then, with an exhale, release your torso into full Uttanasana.

Contraindications and Cautions

With any neck injury, don’t lift the head to look forward; otherwise same as those of Uttanasana

Beginner’s Tip

If you can’t easily touch the floor with your knees straight, support each hand on a yoga block set just outside each foot.

Benefits

Stretches the front torso
Strengthens the back and improves posture
Stimulates the belly

Why do we stack our joints in yoga?

From a biomechanical perspective, properly aligned muscles and joints optimize your available power. This means you're able to achieve maximum results in a shorter period of time. Correct alignment also stacks your joints together, allowing you to use your strength more efficiently. As a result, there's less straining.

Why is joint alignment important?

Being able to “stack the joints” is an important skill. It means not only that all joints have to be aligned to be able to receive the oncoming force, it also means that they have to react in sequence.

It is imperative that your muscles and joints are properly aligned to function well. ... Sound alignment allows your muscles and joints to function without excess stress on them and may delay degenerative changes that occur in your joints and muscles over time.

Downward-Facing Dog 

Sanskrit: Adho Mukha Svanasana (AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna)

Downward-Facing Dog: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Come onto your hands and knees, with your hands a tiny bit in front of your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Spread your palms, rooting down through all four corners of your hands, and turn your toes under.

2. Exhale and lift your knees from the floor, at first keeping your knees slightly bent and your heels lifted off the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and draw your inner legs from your inner ankles up through your groins.

3. On an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels toward the floor. Straighten your knees without locking them.

4. Firm your outer arms and press the bases of your index fingers actively into the floor. Lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and draw them toward your tailbone. Keep your head between your upper arms.

5. Stay in the pose for 10 or more breaths, then bend your knees on an exhalation and lower yourself into Child’s Pose

Beginner’s tip

To stretch the backs of your legs more, lift slightly up onto the balls of your feet, pulling your heels a half-inch or so away from the floor. Draw your inner groin deep into the pelvis, lifting actively from the inner heels, then lengthen your heels back onto the floor.

Chaturanga (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)

Sanskrit: Chaturanga Dandasana (chaht-tour-ANG-ah don-DAHS-anna)

Chaturanga: Step-by-step instructions:

1. From Plank Pose, align your shoulders slightly ahead of your wrists and come onto the balls of your feet.

2. Push back through your heels to engage your quadriceps as you reach your sternum forward, creating a straight, taut line of energy from the crown of your head through your feet.

3. On an inhalation, draw your shoulders and the tops of your thighs up and away from the floor. Pull your lower body up and in, and release your tailbone toward the floor.

4. On an exhalation, bend your elbows and slowly lower your body (keeping it as straight as a plank of wood) until your elbows are at around 90 degrees. Keep your elbows directly over your wrists and drawn in against your sides. Press your hands firmly into the floor.

5. Bring your gaze to the floor, about 6 inches in front of you, and continue to lower until your shoulders are at the same height as your elbows.

6. Continue to reach through the heels, sternum, and crown of your head as you breathe.

7. To come out of the pose, exhale and lower down to your belly or push back up to Plank Pose.

Plank Pose (no sanskrit equivalent)

Plank Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Start in Downward Facing Dog. Then inhale and draw your torso forward until the arms are perpendicular to the floor and the shoulders directly over the wrists, torso parallel to the floor.

2. Press your outer arms inward and firm the bases of your index fingers into the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then spread them away from the spine. Also spread your collarbones away from the sternum.

3. Press your front thighs up toward the ceiling, but resist your tailbone toward the floor as you lengthen it toward the heels. Lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and look straight down at the floor, keeping the throat and eyes soft.

4. Plank Pose is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. You can also perform this pose by itself and stay anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Updog (Upward-Facing Dog Pose)

Sanskrit: Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (OORD-vah MOO-kah shvon-AHS-anna)

Upward-Facing Dog: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Begin on your belly with your feet hip-distance apart and your hands placed beside your lower ribs.

2. Extend your legs and press down with all ten toenails to activate your quadriceps.

3. Rotate your inner thighs to the ceiling while firming your outer ankles into your midline.

4. Press down with your hands and feet.

5. On an inhalation, straighten your arms and lift your legs.

6. With your arms perpendicular to the floor, your feet anchored, & your legs active, draw your chest forward and up.

7. Draw your shoulders back while rooting down with your hands.

8. Make sure that the curve of your neck is a continuation of the curve of your mid and upper back.

9. Hold for 5 breaths, then release.

Beginner’s tip

As you press through the palms, draw your hips and chest slightly forward, toward the front of the mat. It brings expansion despite the strain of the pose.

Low Lunge (Crescent Low Lunge)

Sanskrit: Anjaneyasana (AHN-jah-nay-AHS-uh-nuh)

Low Lunge: Step-by-Step Instructions

1. From Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), exhale and step your right foot forward between your hands, aligning the right knee over the heel. Then lower your left knee to the floor and, keeping the right knee fixed in place, slide the left back until you feel a comfortable stretch in the left front thigh and groin. Turn the top of your left foot to the floor.

2. Inhale and lift your torso to upright. As you do, sweep your arms out to the sides and up, perpendicular to the floor. Draw the tailbone down toward the floor and lift your pubic bone toward your navel. Lift your chest from the firmness of your shoulder blades against the back torso.

3. Take your head back and look up, being careful not to jam the back of your neck. Reach your pinkies toward the ceiling. Hold for a minute, exhale your torso back to the right thigh and your hands to the floor, and turn your back toes under. With another exhale, lift your left knee off the floor and step back to Adho Mukha Svanasana. Repeat with the left foot forward for the same length of time.

Beginner’s Tip

To improve balance practice this pose facing a wall. Press the big toe of the front foot against the wall and stretch your arms up, finger tips to the wall.

High Lunge (no Sanskrit equivalent)

High Lunge: Step-by-Step Instruction:

1. From Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), bend your knees and, with an inhale, step your left foot back toward the back edge of your mat, with the ball of the foot on the floor. Step back far enough so that your right knee can form a right angle.

2. Lay your torso on your front thigh and lengthen it forward. To soften your right groin, imagine that the thigh is sinking toward the floor under your torso’s weight. Look forward. Simultaneously, firm the left thigh and push it up toward the ceiling, holding the left knee straight. Stretch your left heel toward the floor.

3. Exhale and step your right foot back beside the left. Repeat the above instructions, but reverse left and right. Or come into Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog), inhale, and step the right foot forward between your hands.

Warrior I Pose

Sanskrit: Virabhadrasana I(veer-uh-buh-DRAHS-uh-nuh)

Warrior I: Step-by-step instructions:

1. From Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), step your right foot forward so your toes are in line with your fingertips, and shift your foot slightly to the right.

2. Bend your front knee 90 degrees. Your thigh should be approximately parallel to the floor, your knee stacked over your ankle, and your right outer hip pinned back.

3. Pivot your left heel to the floor so your foot forms a 45-degree angle to the side of the mat. Align your left heel with your right heel, or place the feet slightly wider for more stability.

4. Press your left thighbone back so your left knee is straight.

5. As you inhale, raise your torso and reach up with the arms, hands shoulder-distance apart and palms facing each other. Allow your shoulder blades to open out and up, away from your spine and toward your outer armpits. Rotate your biceps back, and firm your triceps into your midline. You may bring your palms together and look up at your thumbs.

6. Keep pressing your left femur back while releasing your tailbone toward the floor. Draw your lower belly back and up away from your right thigh.

7. Hold for 5–10 breaths.

8. Release your hands to the floor, step back to Downward-Facing Dog, and repeat on the other side.

Beginner’s tip

When bending the front knee, beginners have a tendency to tip their pelvis forward, which duck-tails the coccyx and compresses the lower back. As you practice the pose, be sure to lift your pubis toward your navel and lengthen your tailbone toward the floor. As you bend your knee, continue to lift and descend these two bones, keeping the top rim of your pelvis relatively parallel to the floor.

Warrior II Pose

Sanskrit: Virabhadrasana II (veer-ah-bah-DRAHS-anna)

Warrior II: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Face the long side of your mat, arms stretched out to the sides with your feet parallel to each other in a wide stance so your feet are approximately beneath your hands.

2. Turn your right foot and knee to face the front of the mat.

3. Turn your left toes slightly toward your right foot. Line up your right heel with your left inner arch.

4. Bend your right knee and stack it over your right ankle.

5. Press your left thigh bone back while releasing your tailbone down.

6. Keep the crown of your head stacked over your pelvis and your shoulders over your hips.

7. Reach strongly through both arms toward the front and back of the mat and turn and look past your right fingertips.

8. Hold for 5–10 breaths.

9. To exit, press down through your feet on an exhalation, then use an inhalation to straight your legs and return your feet to parallel facing the left long side of the mat.

10. Repeat on the other side.

Beginners’ tip

When you bend your front knee to a 90-degree angle, aim the inside of your knee toward the little-toe side of your foot.

Tree Pose

Sanskrit: Vrksasana (vrik-SHAHS-anna)

Tree Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Stand in Tadasana. Spread your toes, press your feet into the mat and firm your leg muscles. Raise your front hip points toward your lower ribs to gently lift in your lower belly.

2. Inhale deeply, lifting your chest, and exhale as you draw your shoulder blades down your back. Look straight ahead at a steady gazing spot.

3. Place your hands on your hips and raise your right foot high onto your left thigh or shin. Avoid making contact with the knee.

4. Press your right foot and left leg into each other.

5. Check that your pelvis is level and squared to the front.

6. When you feel steady, place your hands into Anjali Mudra at the heart or stretch your arms overhead like branches reaching into the sun.

7. Hold for several breaths, then step back into Mountain Pose and repeat on the other side.

It's so nice to flow down to the ground, and flow up to standing when given the chance!

Always come out of a posture when your body is ready to come out. Don't wait for the cue that it is time to come out, if it does not resonate. Listen to yourself first.

Always come into deep postures one level at a time. Make sure that you are comfortable and ready if you are going to move to the next level. Give yourself enough time in the fullest expression of a deep posture that you are ready to be in, so that you can feel a sense of releasing. Just one layer is all that you need to be making forward and positive progress. When complete, exit the posture slowly in the reverse order that you entered it. Allow for a few breaths of integration afterward.

Reclined Wide Hero Pose

Sanskrit: Supta Prasarita Virasana (soup-tah pra-sa-REE-tah ver-ah-sah-nah)

Reclining Hero Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Perform Virasana. Exhale and lower your back torso toward the floor. First lean onto your hands, then your forearms and elbows. Once you are on your elbows, place your hands on the back of the pelvis and release your lower back and upper buttocks by spreading the flesh down toward the tailbone. Then finish reclining, either onto the floor or a support blanket or bolster.

2. If your front ribs jut up sharply toward the ceiling, its a sign of tight groins, which pulls your front pelvis toward your knees and causes your belly and lower back to tense. Use your hands to press your front ribs down slightly and lift your pubis toward your navel. This should lengthen your lower back and lower it toward the floor. If it does not, raise yourself onto a higher support. Then lay your arms and hands on the floor, angled about 45 degrees from the sides of your torso, palms up.

3. Sink the heads of the thighbones deep into the back of the hip sockets. Its alright to lift your knees a little away from the floor to help soften your groins; in fact, you can raise your knees a few inches on a thickly folded blanket. You can also allow a little bit of space between your knees as long as your thighs remain parallel to each other. Do not, however, allow the knees to splay apart wider than your hips this will cause strain on the hips and lower back.

4. To begin, stay in this pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Gradually extend your stay to 5 minutes. To come out, press your forearms against the floor and come onto your hands. Then use your hands to lift your torso into Virasana. As you come up, lead with your sternum, not your head or chin. Come out of Virasana in the recommended manner.

When you come out of a deep posture, give your body a few breaths to assimilate all of the benefits of what has happened, before moving on to the next pose.

Upright Seated Pose (Staff Pose)

Sanskrit: Dandasana (dun-DAHS-anna)

Upright Seated Posture Step-by-step instructions:

1. Begin seated with your legs extended forward.

2. Bring your hands alongside your hips and straighten your arms.

3. Touch your big toes together and keep a small amount of space between your heels.

4. Flex your ankles, drawing your toes back.

5. Press forward with your big toe mounds. Rotate your inner thighs in and down and press down with your femurs.

6. Extend your sternum away from your navel and broaden your collarbones.

7. Draw the heads of your upper arms back while softening your front ribs.

8. To exit the pose, release your arms and shake out your legs.

Beginner’s tips

• Lay props or a blanket across the tops of your thighs at the hip crease to help ground your thighs.

• To activate your legs in this pose, flex your ankles, pressing out through your heels.

Focusing on having a strong and engaged core will benefit both the upper and lower body and their ability to perform movements with strength and precision. Additionally, the ability to engage the core during certain parts of yoga practice can help to boost digestion and elimination.

Why is it important for your core to be engaged?

A strong core helps improve balance, decrease the risk of injury, and support your spine during forceful movements. Overall, your core muscles are involved in the stability and mobility of the spine. They're the “core” of all movements that your body does throughout the day.

This section exemplifies how to use a yoga bind to pull the body into alignment. Through learning skills like this, we develop the capability to correct our own postural and muscular misalignments.

Wind Removing Pose

Sanskrit: Pavana Muktasana (PAH-VAH-NAH-MOOK-TAHS-ANNA)

Wind Removing Pose Step-by-step instructions:

1. Lying on your back, inhale both knees into your chest. Wrap the arms around the knees, holding on to opposite elbows, forearms, wrists or fingers.

2. Tuck the chin into the chest with the head on the floor. Press the sacrum and tailbone down into the floor as you pull the knees into the chest using the arms.

3. Press the shoulders and the back of the neck down into the floor, trying to get the back and whole spine flat to the floor. Relax the legs, feet and hips.

4. Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths, breathing deeply into the belly, actively pressing it against the thighs on the inhalation.

5. To release: exhale and release the arms and legs to the floor.

Benefits:

Wind Removing Pose improves digestion and elimination as well as stretching the low back and lengthening the spine.

This section exemplifies how to use abdominal engagement to pull the body into alignment. This particular technique forces core strength to be developed from a foundation of structural alignment. Through learning skills like this, we develop the capability to correct our own postural and muscular misalignments.

Bridge Pose

Sanskrit: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (SEY-tu-BAHN-duh sahr-vahng-GAHS-ah-nuh)

Bridge Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Lie on your back in the center of your mat with your knees bent, your legs and feet parallel and hip-distance apart.

2. Move your feet closer to your buttocks. Press down firmly through both of your feet and inhale to raise your hips, lifting from the pubic bone rather than the navel.

3. Clasp your hands under your back on the floor. Broaden your collarbones and get on top of your shoulders. Firm the outer shins and roll your upper thighs inward. Press down firmly through your heels and lift the back of your thighs and the bottom of your buttocks even higher while keeping the thighs parallel.

4. To finish, exhale, release your hands, and lower to the floor. Allow your back to rest in a neutral state as you observe the spaciousness within your chest.

Beginner’s tip

To activate your inner thighs and glutes, place a block between your knees and hold it there firmly as you lift and lower your hips.

It's so nice to flow with your transitions, when given the chance!

Seal or Cobra Pose

Sanskrit: Bhujangasana (boo-jahn-GAHS-ah-nah)

Cobra Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Begin on your belly with your feet hip-distance apart and your hands beside your ribs.

2. Extend your big toes straight back and press down with all ten toenails to activate your quadriceps.

3. Rotate your inner thighs toward the ceiling to broaden the lower back.

4. Pressing down lightly with your hands, start to lift your head and chest, rolling your shoulders back and down.

5. Keep the back of your neck long and focus on lifting your sternum instead of lifting your chin.

6. Straighten your arms while keeping your shoulders remaining away from your ears. Keep at least a slight bend in your elbows.

7. To exit the pose, release back to your mat.

Beginner’s tip

If you feel any discomfort or compression in the lower back, don’t come up as high in the pose. Focus instead on creating strength in the upper back, between the shoulder blades.

Side Plank Pose

Sanskrit: Vasisthasana (vah-sish-TAHS-anna)

Side Plank Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Begin in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), then shift forward into Plank Pose.

2. Roll onto the outside edge of your right foot, and stack your left foot on top of your right.

3. Swing your left hand onto your left hip, turning your torso to the left as you do. Support the weight of your body on the outer right foot and right hand.

4. Align your body into one long diagonal line from your heels to the crown of your head.

5. Stretch your left arm toward the ceiling, so it is in line with your shoulders. Keep your head neutral, or gaze up at the left hand.

6. Stay in the position for several breaths, then return to Plank and repeat on the other side.

Beginner’s tip

Make sure that your supporting hand is not directly under its shoulder; instead, position it slightly in front of your shoulder.

Half Moon Pose

Sanskrit: Ardha Chandrasana (are-dah chan-DRAHS-anna)

Half Moon Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Start in Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle) with your left foot forward.

2. Bring your right hand to your hip and turn your head to look at the floor.

3. Bend your front leg and shift your weight into your front foot.

4. Reach your front hand a little forward and place it on the mat or a block directly beneath your front shoulder. Press down through your fingers to steady yourself.

5. Lift your back leg until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Slowly turn your chest to face the right, twisting your torso and hips. Reach your top hand to the ceiling.

6. Either keep your gaze on the floor or slowly bring it to your top hand. Keep a slight bend in your standing leg so you don’t hyperextend your knee.

7. Exit the pose the same way you came into it and return to Extended Triangle.

Beginners’ tip

If you have difficulty touching the floor with your lower hand, support your hand on a block. Start with the block at its highest height and, if your balance is steady and comfortable, lower it down first to its middle height, then finally if possible to its lowest height.

Triangle (Extended Triangle Pose)

Sanskrit: Utthita Trikonasana (oo-TEE-tah tree-cone-AHS-ah-nah)

Extended Triangle Pose: Step-by-step instructions

1. From Tadasana (Mountain Pose), step or lightly jump your feet 3 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down.

2 .Turn your left foot in slightly and your right foot out to 90 degrees. Align your right heel with your left heel. Firm your thighs and rotate your right thigh outward, so the center of your right kneecap is in line with the center of the right ankle.

3. Exhale and extend your torso to the right, bending from your hip joint, not the waist. Reach out directly over the plane of the right leg. Counter the reach by anchoring your left hip to the left. (Imagine someone is trying to pull your hips to the left.) Ground this movement by strengthening the left leg and pressing the outer heel firmly to the floor.

4. When you have reached as far as you are able, hinge at the hip and bring the torso to the right, moving toward your upper body being parallel to the floor. Reach your right hand down toward the floor and stretch your left arm toward the ceiling, in line with the tops of your shoulders. Your hands, arms and shoulders will form a straight line, perpendicular to your mat.

5. Open your torso to the left, keeping the left and right sides of the torso equally long. Let the left hip come slightly forward and lengthen the tailbone toward the back heel.

6. Rest your right hand on your shin, ankle, or the floor outside your right foot—whatever is possible without distorting the sides of the torso. Keep your head in a neutral position or turn to look up at your hand or down at the ground.

7. Stay in this pose for 30 to 60 seconds. Inhale to come up, strongly pressing the back heel into the floor and reaching the top arm toward the ceiling. Recenter, then reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time on the other side.

Are yoga blocks necessary?

Yes. Yoga blocks make poses more accessible to you by providing length, support, and ensuring proper alignment. They also help yogis looking to advance their practice by acting as a tool for strength building and balance in more advanced postures.

Yoga blocks help beginners go “lighter,” but also help advanced practitioners enter, and advance into, postures that would otherwise be inaccessible. When your body is attempting to enter a pose that’s (currently) past its limits, your muscles tense up (in the wrong ways – not in the muscle-building ways), actually keeping you from going deeper into the pose.

What are yoga blocks good for?

A lot of people don’t realize just how important yoga blocks actually are, and therefore completely disregard them in their practice. Whether you are a beginner or a long-time yogi, yoga blocks are a great tool to use and can benefit your practice greatly.

What are yoga blocks good for?

• Releasing Tight Hips in Seated Postures.

• Bringing the Floor to You

• Maintaining Proper Alignment of Your Knees

• Maintaining Proper Alignment of Your Arms and Shoulders

• Eliminating Fear in Crow Pose

• Relaxing Into Poses

• Help Moving Into Advanced Postures

Upright Seated Pose (Easy Pose)

Sanskrit: Sukhasana (sook-HAHS-ah-nah)

Easy Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

Do the words ‘comfortable seated position’ feel like an oxymoron to you? Do you struggle to keep you back straight while sitting cross legged, or maybe it’s your hips which are crying out after 10 seconds? I feel you. Never fear, the use of a block is going to transform this position for you, stretching out the hips and allowing you to get a beautiful long straight spine without struggling. Result: a perfect back from which to relax pre- or post-practice, and take up meditation comfortably.

1. Sit on your mat in Dandasana (Staff Pose). Bend and widen your knees and cross your shins. Slip each foot beneath the opposite knee and bring the shins toward your torso.

2. Relax your feet so their outer edges rest comfortably on the floor and the inner arches settle just below the opposite shin. There should be a comfortable gap between your feet and the pelvis.

3. Keep your pelvis in a neutral position, without tilting forward or back.

4. Lengthen your tail bone toward the floor, firm your shoulder blades against your back to lengthen your upper torso. Don’t over arch your lower back or poke your lower front ribs forward.

5. Either stack your hands in your lap—one inside the other, palms up—or place them on your knees, palms down.

6. You can sit in this position for any length of time, but be sure to alternate the cross of the legs, so that the left leg and right leg have equal time on top.

Beginner’s Tip

Sit with your back to a wall, slightly closer than the length of a yoga block, and wedge the end of the block between the wall and your lower shoulder blades.

Variation: Easy Pose with hip and knee support

Sit on the front edge of a folded blanket or bolter. Lean slightly forward on the prop to help tilt your pelvis forward and create a more neutral spine. If your knees are lifted, place blocks or folded blankets underneath them to alleviate pressure in your hips and knees.

Unlock Your Backbends With Yoga Blocks Using Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose):

1. Start by lying on your back with your feet on the ground and knees up.

2. Keep your feet and knees parallel to one another.

3. Press through the inner edges of your feet to lift your hips.

4. Place a block on its tall, medium, or low height underneath your sacrum.

5. Roll inner thighs down and relax through your gluteals. You can lift heels to create more space in the low back.

6. Lift your chin away from your chest slightly and soften through the muscles of your neck and throat.

7. Stretch through your belly as you engage through your back and hamstrings. One way to engage your hamstrings is to press down through your heels.

8. Hold for 5–10 breaths.

9. To come down, remove the block from underneath you and gently lower, one vertebra at a time.

Block benefit:

• Releases hip flexors and low back

• Supports extension of the spine

Overall pose benefits:

• Stretches chest, neck, & spine

• Stimulates thyroid

• Lowers blood pressure

• Strengthens legs

Plow Pose

Sanskrit: Halasana (hah-LAHS-ah-nah)

Plow Pose: Step-by-step instructions:

1. Stack three blankets so that their edges line up. Place the stack near the front of your mat so that their edges line up near the middle of the mat.

2. Sit at the front end of your mat and lie back over the blankets so they support your torso. Adjust your position so that the tops of your shoulders are about an inch over the edge and the back your head rests on the floor. Lie face up so that the front of your neck is long and there’s space between the back of your neck and the floor.

3. Bring your knees toward your chest, then straighten your legs toward the ceiling.

4. Using the strength of your abs—and supporting yourself with both hands at your low or mid back—lift your hips off the floor and roll up until you are supported by your shoulders. Stack your hips above your shoulders.

5. Slowly lower your legs backward over your head until your toes reach the ground behind you. Rest your toes on the ground, feet flexed.

6. Release your hands and place your arms no the floor, palms down or with hands clasped. Press down with your outer upper arms and shoulders to create more lift along the spine.

7. Hold for 5 breaths or more.

8. To exit, unclasp your hands, press your arms and hands into the mat, and slowly roll down one vertebrae at a time.

9. Take a few moments to allow the back to settle back into its normal curves.

Integrative Meditation (Corpse Pose)

Sanskrit: Savasana (shuh-VAHS-ah-nah)

Corpse Pose: Step-by-step instructions

1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Lean back onto your forearms.

2. As you inhale, slowly extend your legs with your feet apart and toes turned out equally.

3. Narrow the front of your pelvis and soften (but don’t flatten) your lower back. Lift your pelvis off the floor, slightly tuck your tailbone. (You may use your hand to sweep your buttocks away from your lower back. ) Lower your pelvis.

4. With your hands, lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck creating length. If it’s more comfortable, support your head and neck with a folded blanket. Make sure your shoulders are down and away from your ears.

5. Reach your arms toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the floor. Rock slightly from side to side and broaden the back ribs and the shoulder blades away from the spine. Then release your arms to the floor, angled evenly away from the sides of the body.

6. Turn your arms outward and extend them toward to bottom of the mat. Rest the backs of your hands on the floor. Make sure your shoulder blades rest evenly on the floor.

7. Soften your mouth and tongue, and the skin around your nose, ears, and forehead. Let your eyes sink to the back of your head, then turn them downward to gaze toward your heart.

8. Stay in this pose for at least 5 minutes.

9. To exit, exhale and gentle roll onto one side. Take 2 or 3 breaths. With another exhale, press your hands against the floor and lift your torso, bringing your head slowly after.

Beginner’s tips

To help relax the eyes, gently place a soft cloth or eye pillow over your eyes to block out the light and relax the pupils.

To bring ease to your abdomen, place a block, a pillow, or a few folded blankets horizontally across your lower abdomen.

To support your neck, place a folded blanket or cushion under your neck and head until your forehead is slightly higher than your chin.

To reduce tension in the lower back, place a rolled-up blanket or cushion beneath your knees.