Start your practice with some alternate nostril breathing. It helps to balance both hemispheres of the brain.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
- Sitting in easy, cross-legged poses (or on a cushion or chair) and with a straight spin, put the left hand in gyan mudra (thumb and index finger joined, with the rest of the fingers outstretched).
- With the right hand, use the thumb to close the right nostril. Breathe long and deep through the left nostril, holding slightly at the top of the breath before placing the index finger of the right hand on the left nostril. Exhale completely through the right nostril.
- Repeat this procedure for approximately three to five minutes, following the steps: inhale left, exhale right each time.
Spring Sun Salutations
To begin an asana sequence, it is always a good idea to warm up the spin and heart with a series of sun salutations. A series of five sun salutations (for ten in total; five on each side of the body) will get the heart pumping. Sun salutations are a great way to salute the beginning or ending of the day, and what better practice during this season when the days of the sun’s light are growing every day.
Balance Postures: The Tree
Some examples of standing balance postures are: the tree, the eagle and the dancer. The tree is particularly appropriate at this time of year, when trees and plant life awaken from their long winter sleep.
- To do the tree pose, start in mountain – standing upright, feet together, toes outstretched, with a long, straight spine, tail bone and chin slightly tucked in, hands extended at the sides.
- Starting on the left, slowly shift weight over to the left side of the body, until the right foot feels the urge to lift off the ground. Place the right foot either on the calf, or on the thigh above the knee (depending on one’s ability that day).
- Place the hands in prayer pose at the heart centre, and if one’s balance allows, raise the arms overhead.
- Stand balanced in tree for a few minutes
- To come out of the pose, lower the arms to the sides, release the foot from the calf or thigh, and return to mountain pose. Take a moment to notice the difference in each side of the body.
- Repeat the procedure on the right side, placing the left foot on the right leg and balancing on the right side of the body.
Embodying Fertility: The Rabbit
Another spring-appropriate posture is the Rabbit. Rabbit has often been considered a symbol of fertility because of the abundance of offspring born in a rabbit litter. Going into the pose, reflect upon what you would like to see grow and multiply in your life in the coming fertile months.
To do the rabbit pose:
- Start in the Child’s Pose, placing forearms and hands on the ground so that hands are in line with your ears and resting on the ground.
- Pushing gently from you lower spine, raise yourself into your knees as you roll onto the crown of your head. Use your hands and arms as support.
- Then extend your arms upward, clasping your hands beyond your back.
- Contract your abdominal muscles and round your spine to assist you in holding the pose. Hold for 4-8 breaths then reverse to the original position.
Always conclude a yoga sequence with a short rest period in savasana.
Kelli Hanrahan - Kelli brings to Suite 101 her experience as a writer and book reviewer for Edwards and Ascent magazines, as well as freelance editor for ...
