Remember: Please always take the advice of the teacher

Downward Facing Dog

A pose for whatever ails you, combining the benefits of an inversion, arm balance, forward bend and restorative pose.

Tips: spread your fingers wide apart and distribute the weight evenly across your hands. As you deepen into the pose rotate the shoulders outward. Keep your head in line with your spine.

Please note there are contradictions: do not do this pose if you suffer from high blood pressure, injury to the wrists or RSI, glaucoma or a detached retina.

Benefits:

• Energizes the body
• Calms the mind
• Strengthens the wrists, arms and shoulders
• Relieves tension in the back and neck
• Stretches the hamstrings, calves and feet
• Great for flat feet

For a 10 minute practice combine with:
• Cat
• Extended childs pose
• Pigeon
• Or as part of the sun salutations

The Five Tibetans: A perfect 10 minute practice

The energizing exercises we did in the 2* course to “increase physical strength, suppleness and mental acuity”. Each rite is repeated 21 times but please take your time to build up to this.

Rite 1: Spin clockwise in a full circle
Rite 2: Double leg raise whilst simultaneously lifting your head and tucking your chin into your chest.
Rite 3: Half Camel with your toes tucked under. Place palms against the back of your thighs. Tuck your chin into your chest. Inhale and arch back.
Rite 4: Staff pose to table. Tuck your chin to your chest in staff pose
Rite 5: Up dog to Downward facing dog but keeping your toes curled under. In down dog keep you heels up and tuck your chin into your chest.

Benefits:

• Relieves muscular tension
• tones and strengthens the major muscle groups
• Stimulates the cardiovascular system and nervous system
• Improves respiration and digestion

Hip opening practice

Having open, flexible hips help to protect your back and increase mobility. And lotus is one of the more comfortable positions for prolonged meditation. Here is a practice at home session specifically to open the hips. We ran through some principles in the 2* class which I will repeat here, but please ask me in class for more detailed instructions. Please always take care to protect your knees. The best way to do this is flex the foot bringing your little toe back towards you.
In each and every pose go through the below step by step: -
(1) Turn your attention to your breath and soften
(2) Hug all your leg muscles in – raise the knee caps – take the thighs back
(3) Inner spiral your thighs so you bottom comes out a bit
(4) Outer spiral – tuck tail your bone in taking your bottom back in
(5) Feel the energy coming up from your feet (muscular energy); as you exhale send energy back down from our pelvis to your feet
The poses (please always ask in class if you are unsure of these poses). Please remember to do both the left and right legs.
• Standing forward bend
• Leg lunge
• Elbow lunge Warrior 1
• Downward Facing Dog
• Leg Lunge with a twist Downward Facing Dog
• Resting Pigeon
• Resting Pigeon with a twist
• Cat
• Cow faced pose (use just the legs and, with a lengthened spine, bend forward)
• Head to knee pose (one leg forward bend)
• Half Spinal Twist
• Wide angle seated forward bend
• Bound Angle pose
• Rock-the-cradle
• Half happy baby pose
• Reclined rock the cradle
• Hero’s forward bend (one leg in hero, one leg extended)
• Easy pose twist
• Fire log pose
• Half lotus twist
• Lotus