Lie down on your back. Rest your arms on your stomach, near your sides, wherever they are most comfortable. Close your eyes and just breath in and out. Concentrate on your breath. Go through your entire body and see what's tense, and untense those places. Just breath in and out until you are totally relaxed.
Get as comfortable as you possibly can, making sure your neck muscles are not tense. Now, concentrate on the toes of your left foor. Tense them as hard as you can while leaving all the rest of your muscles relaxed. Tense your whole left foot. now slowly tense your right toes and your right foot. Move through your body, tensing every muscle, still remembering to breathe evenly. Now begin to let go, starting with your head and face muscles and continuing on down the way you came, as slowly and smoothly as you can. When you have relaxed the last toe, simply lie there, breathing in and out.
The spine is very important in yoga. It is very important to properly warm up your spine. Slowly sit up in what most people think of as the traditional yoga position - legs indian style but with one leg on top of the other. Make sure that you are sitting up very straight, and that your spine is straight.
Lean forward and start to rotate your upper body clockwise. Can you feel the stretch in your back?
After you have done this for a while, reverse and do the same counterclockwise.
Remember to NEVER forget your breath.
The final warm up exercise is called empty sleeves. Slowly stand up straight. Let your arms fall at your sides. Pretend that you are wearing a very large t-shirt and just twist, letting your arms fling from side to side.
Are you ready to move on to the Sun Salutation?
To return to the main yoga page, click on Gabby and Aiden.
