Australian Yoga Journal — November 2017

28

november/december 2017

yogajournal.com.au

FORWARD FOLD

Standing comfortably in a neutral position, step

the feet hip-width apart or even a little wider if

it feels more comfortable. Bend the knees and

fold the body forward, taking the chest over the

thighs. Allow the body to comfortably melt here

in this position, keeping the hands resting on your

shins, ankles or even the floor. Stay here for a few

moments and allow the spine to lengthen and the

whole back body to stretch out. Your option is to

stay here or take the hands to opposite elbows, or

interlace the fingers behind your back, to stretch

out the shoulders.

This is one of my favourite poses to do on a

flight or once I come off the flight at the airport.

In fact, it is a great pose to do any time of day or

night. You can even stay here for a few minutes

to receive the Yin benefits of the pose.

EASY SQUAT

Starting in your Mountain Pose, take the feet a little

wider than hip distance. Imagine that you were

doing a gym squat as you allow yourself to lower

all the way down. You can always use a pillow and

some blankets to give you some height here for

the hips. Otherwise take the heels down toward

the earth. To make it more accessible, widen your

stance and turn the feet outwards. Once here, you

have the option to keep the hands on the earth or

knees for support, or bring your palms into prayer

at the heart and use the elbows to press the knees

apart for a deeper hip stretch. Keep the spine long,

chest lifted and chin drawn in. Stay here for as long

as you like — receiving Yin benefits if you stay

between three to 10 minutes. This is another pose

that I will often do on a plane or when I get to my

hotel room, to ground, open the hips and stretch

the spine.

EASY STANDING

TWIST

From Mountain Pose, step the left foot back about

half a step. Raise the arms up and out to the sides

and, keeping the hips as stable as possible, rotate

the chest toward the right, eventually aligning the

arms up with the shoulders. Extend through the

arms and relax the shoulders. Stay here for three

to four breaths. If it feels comfortable for your neck,

you can gaze back over the right shoulder. Slowly

inhale back to centre and exhale to the left.