Twist and Heat
Core, Arms, Strength, Shoulders, Glutes
This yoga twist sequence will fire up the core with it's strength-based movements and refresh the spine through rotating motions.
Tabletop (Bhramanasana)
Start in tabletop position by coming to all fours and stacking your knees under your hips and your wrists under your shoulders. Engage your core so you have a flat spine, and gaze down between your hands. Spread your fingers wide and press palms down into the mat.
Knee to Nose (Bhramanasana Variation)
Press into the palms and dome your back up to the sky, creating a cat-like shape in the upper back. As you do this, begin to pull your left knee in towards your nose, and drop your head. Pull your belly into your spine.
Tuck your right toes and press into your palms. Send your left leg up and back, extending into a three-legged dog pose. Make sure your chest and hips are square to the mat and you are pressing evenly through both hands.
Three-Legged Dog (Tri Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Downward Dog Hip Opening Variation (Adho Mukha Svanasana Variation)
Bend the left knee and kick your heel in towards your seat. Begin to roll the left hip open, maybe it stacks on top of the right hip. Continue to work to square your chest to the mat and press evenly through both hands.
Downward Dog Forearm Variation (Adho Mukha Svanasana Variation)
From here, keep your hip open and carefully lower down onto your right forearm. Press your forearm down into the ground to lift through your shoulder. Just as carefully, see if you can tent up onto the left fingertips.
Three-Legged Dog (Tri Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Lift back up to both palms and square your hips and chest back to the mat. Extend your left leg up and back, coming through three-legged dog as a transition.
Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
Step your left foot forward and place the foot in between your hands. Drop the right knee down to the mat and untuck the toes. Engage your core to lift your torso and extend your arms up to the sky.
Low Lunge Twist (Parivrtta Anjaneyasana)
Bring your hands to heart center. Then shift the torso forward and twist the chest open to the left side of the mat. Hook your right elbow on the outside of the left knee. Find length in the spine and gaze up to the sky or down towards your front foot.
Chair (Uktanasana)
Untwisting from the previous pose, tuck your right toes and engage through both legs. Step your right foot forward to meet the left and sink the hips to find a chair pose. In your chair pose, keep your weight in your heels. Find a slight tuck of the tailbone and a proud chest. Shoulders relax away from the ears as the arms extend to the sky.
Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
From your chair, straighten the legs and drop your chest over your thighs to find your forward fold. Fingertips or hands are on the ground. Head can hang heavy or chin can be slightly tucked. Breathe deeply.
