Here is the yoga sequence we did at Bonnie’s in Crystal Lake. Let’s do a Facebook live for the sequence at Ohm Mother Yoga especially for those of you who wanted a slightly more active class. 🙂 I’ll keep you posted with a date for July. Photo credit to my joy filled mom Joyce Zender-Hodnett for the pictures by her roses. 

Centering with mudra: touch index and thumb together, place left palm up on thigh and right hand over heart. Find your breath. Inhale from base of the spine up and exhale from crown of the head down. Hold 2-10 minutes 

Shoulder shrugs and upper body alignment. (Not pictured) sit at end of seat feet hip distance apart. Inhale shoulders up to ears and exhale shoulders down. Let movements match breath. 

Lengthen the exhale: inhale shoulders up 

Exhale squeeze shoulder blades then slide shoulder blades down into back pockets

Feel the shoulder girdle grounded (we return to this in chair downdog)

Seated pigeon pose with over head stretch

Square hips and cross ankle over opposite thigh, let knee open 

Inhale arms up, exhale opposite arm back for extra stretch use other hand on elbow as pictured 

Inhale arms to T exhale and twist as far as upper body allows, take a breath here then deepen with hand behind you and on thigh if you wish

Take opposite hand to opposite thigh and take the other arm into a side stretch 

Take the arm in side stretch to opposite knee or thigh and round the back

Curl up from rounded back by crossing arms at elbows in eagle arms, soften shoulders and lift elbows. Palms work towards facing each other or clasping

Seated Cat

Inhale arch back and reach arms out in soft cactus position

Exhale round spine and reach arms forward 

Do 3-6 rounds

Chair lunge 

Swivel to the side of chair, back leg can be straight or bent, you could even put a block under a bent knee for support

Chair dog

Check your arm pit to feel the head of the humerus plugged into the socket, in downdog we feel this by releasing the shoulders away from the ears like we did in the beginning of class only now you are partially upside down 

Chair dancer

Keep the knees in line and bend your knee, bend the elbow and hold your hand out like you would holding a tray feel your chest open, stay here or scoop the inside of your ankle

Remember these fun stretches that open the meridians and nerves of the hands? Arms in a T ground the shoulders down, draw the ribs in and press the heel of the hands out as fingers reach toward shoulders, play around with fingers and wrist location for a different stretch, go deeper by slowly and gently tilting the head from side to side 

Seated band bend

Take hands to side of chair or back of chair depending on how open your chest and shoulders feel, lift up through the chest let the head and throats soften back

Chair fold

Rest torso on thighs and fold forward, reach for ground or block

Seated twist

One hand on block or floor and one reaching up, head can be neutral, looking up or down 

Closing

Hands in prayer, thumbs resting on third eye