Australian_Yoga_Journal_October_2017

26

october 2017

yogajournal.com.au

SHAPE: Warrior 2. Set the legs in a

way that feels natural and doesn’t hurt your

knees. Keep equal weight through both feet

and both arms extended evenly.

ACTIONS: Reach super long through

the middle finger of both arms, and expand

the chest to the thumbs. The upper back

should stretch all the way out to the pinky

side of the hand. Balance your feet by

pushing into the outer blade of your back

foot and big toe of your front. For one more

action, take your inner front sitting bone,

(it’s specific I know!) to the inside of your

front knee.

SHAPE: Twisted Lunge. Find a deep

twist toward the leg side of your lunge,

hook the elbow past the knee and point it

backwards.

ACTIONS: Extend again from the

crown of your head to your back heel, look

for space through this line any way you

can. When twisting to the right, take the left

side of your chest and move it toward the

top. To add another layer, take your back

left ribs (think behind your left ear) and take

them down towards the ground. Those two

actions working together will change your

life and work with every twist. (Don’t forget

to repeat on the other side!)

SHAPE: Handstand. Some of us might

be balancing against a wall for this, and

that’s all you need. The shape is the same as

a perfect standing posture with your hands,

shoulders, outer hips and ankles in one line.

ACTIONS: Here, it’s all about finding

lift. Push down with the hands and lengthen

the arms as much as you can, then lift your

inner ankles up the wall ... a lot! As much

as you can, try to get taller and taller. As a

bonus you can work with all the actions in

the arms from plank and take your tailbone

toward your heals for more length in the low

back.

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