Lion’s Breath

Benefits:

• Keeps tonsils and throat healthy
• Builds a strong voice
• Gives confidence in speaking and singing
• Relieves tension

Steps:

• Kneel on the floor and sit back on your heels
• Place your hands on your thighs
• Inhale through your nose
• As you exhale, open your mouth as wide as you can, stick out your tongue and let out a long, fierce roar, “aaaaggghhhh.” 
• Be careful not to strain your voice
• Repeat 3-4 times

Cat Flexes 

Benefits:

• Improves flexibility of the spine
• Loosens up the neck and shoulders
• Teaches how to coordinate breath with movement

Steps:

• Start on all fours (shoulders over wrists, hips over knees)
• Exhale, drop your head and tailbone as you round your back
• Inhale, drop your belly towards the floor and pull your shoulders back to open your chest
• Repeat 4-6 times
• Kid Variation: as you exhale, try meowing like a cat

Snake

Benefits:

• Increases back strength
• Improves flexibility of spine
• Strengthens arms

Steps:

• Lie on the floor face down, resting your forehead on your mat
• Place your hands just under your shoulders
• Inhale, draw your elbows back and lift your head
• Exhale, press down with your hands to lift your chest and hiss like a snake
• Slowly lower back down
• Repeat 3-4 times

Down Dog

Benefits:

• Develops arm strength
• Improves hamstring and ankle flexibility
• Stretches the back

Steps:

• Start on all fours (shoulders over wrists and hips over knees)
• Curl your toes under
• Inhale, press your hips back and up as high as you can, so your body forms a triangle
• Exhale, pushing your heels down toward the floor
• Stay here for 3-4 breaths
• Kid Variation: on each exhalation say “woof” like a dog

Sun Flower

Benefits:

• Energizes the body
• Strengthens the legs
• Stretches the hips

Steps:

• Start standing with feet a little wider than hip width apart, toes turned out about 45 degrees
• Inhale, reaching your arms over head
• Exhale, sweep your arms towards the floor as you squat down, keeping your head and chest up
• Repeat about 8-10 times

Volcano

Benefits:

• Energizes the body
• Strengthens and stretches the arms and shoulders
• Uses the imagination

Steps

• Start standing with feet a little wider than hip width apart and parallel (toes facing forward)
• Bring your palms together in front of your chest
• Begin shaking your hips from side to side, like a mountain that’s beginning to rumble
• Think of what you would like to have come out of your volcano (ice cream, tennis balls, toys, etc.) and say it out loud
• Inhale
• As you exhale, say “psshhhh” like a volcano exploding and press your hands together overhead then release them to your sides
• Repeat 4-6 times thinking of new things to come out of your volcano each time

Airplane

Benefits:

• Strengthens the legs
• Develops coordination and balance
• Increases arm strength

Steps:

• Start standing
• Inhale, stepping your right foot in front of you as you bring your fists to your chest
• Exhale, put your weight on your right foot as you lift your left foot off the ground and spread your wings like an airplane
• Stay there for 3-4 breaths
• Bring your hands back to your chest and lower your left foot back to the ground
• Repeat on the other side

Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana 1)

Benefits:

• Strengthens the arches, ankles, knees and thighs

• Stretches the hips and shoulders

• Strengthens the arms

• Broadens the chest

• Increases muscular endurance

Steps:

• Start standing towards the back of your mat with your hands at your sides and feet hip width apart and parallel

• Place your hands on your hips and step your right foot forward

• Turn your back foot out slightly, so your heel and outside edge of your back foot press against the floor

• Use your hands to square your hips forward (so hips are not turned to the side)

• Inhaling, sweep your arms overhead with your palms facing each other about shoulder width apart

• Bend your right knee until it is directly over your right ankle

• Draw your shoulders slightly back and down to open your chest

• Look forward or slightly up

• Take 4-5 breaths in this position

Tree

Benefits:

• Helps with balance and poise
• Strengthens your legs
• Improves posture
• Calming for mind and body

Steps:

• Stand with your feet together
• Shift your weight onto your left leg
• Spread the toes of your left foot into the floor to feel grounded
• Find a point in front of you to focus on
• Become as still as possible
• Lift your right foot and place the sole of your right foot on your left leg, anywhere from your ankle to your thigh (wherever you can remain balanced)
• Stay here for 3-4 slow breaths
• Lower you right foot
• Repeat on the other side

Frog

Benefits:

• Increases strength in the legs
• Improves hip flexibility
• Energizes the body

Steps:

• Stand with feet a little wider than hip width apart, feet turned out slightly
• Squat down, bringing your hands to the floor between your feet
• Imagine you are a frog in a pond
• Inhale through your nose
• As you exhale, say “ribbit” and jump into the air
• Come back down into your squat and repeat 4-6 times

Camel (Ustrasana)

Benefits:

• Energizes the body

• Stretches the front of the body (chest, abdomen, hip flexors, quadriceps)

• Strengthens the muscles in the buttocks

• Stretches the shoulders

Steps:

• Start in a kneeling position with knees about hip width apart and your body in one straight vertical line from your knees to the top of your head

• Bring your palms to your low back with your fingers pointing up (you can point them down if you have limited wrist flexibility)

• Variation - If you have a flexible spine and hip flexors, you can try holding onto your heels or soles of your feet, rather than placing your hands on your back. 

• Draw your elbows back, squeezing your shoulder blades together

• Press your hips forward and (if your neck is strong) let your head fall back

• Take 3-4 long slow breaths in this position

• Make sure that your hips stay forward, directly over your knees

• Come back up and round forward into Child's Pose (see below), bringing your hands to either side of you on the floor

Stirring the Pudding (Seated Straddle)

Benefits:

• Increases flexibility in the back of legs
• Stretches and tones lower back and waist
• Uses imagination

Steps:

• Start sitting with legs in front of you
• Spread your legs into a straddle position
• Sit up tall, reaching up through the crown of your head to lengthen your spine
• Place your hands in front of you side by side
• Keeping your hands together, begin making big circles on the floor in front of you
• Imagine what you are mixing and making (soup, a cake, pudding, etc)
• Make about 8-10 “mixing circles”
• Repeat in the other direction making something different

Bridge

Benefits:

• Improves flexibility of the spine
• Strengthens core muscles
• Relieves tension in shoulders and upper back

Steps:

• Lie on your back, knees bent and feet placed about hip-width apart on the floor
• Place your hands at your side with your palms down
• Inhale, press down through your hands and begin raising your hips off the ground towards the ceiling
• Exhale, roll your shoulders back as you keep pressing your hips up
• Stay here for 3-4 slow deep breaths
• Unroll your shoulders and slowly roll down until your tailbone is back on the floor
• Repeat 1-2 more times

Child’s Pose

Benefits:

• Calming and relaxing for mind and body
• Relieves tension
• Provides a gentle massage to abdominal organs, which can help digestion
• Gently stretches the back

Steps:

• Sit on your heels with your knees together
• Place your hands on the floor in front of you
• Lean forward, using your hands as support, bringing your belly to your thighs and resting your forehead on the floor
• Relax your arms by your sides, palms up
• Breathe slowly into your belly
• Stay here for a minute or two, focusing on your breath
• Release from the pose slowly, lifting your head up last

Wave Breathing and Relaxation with Duck on Belly

Benefits:

• Strengthens your diaphragm
• Improves breathing efficiency
• Calming and soothing to mind and body

Steps – Wave Breath:

• Lie on your back with your legs extended and place a rubber duck or small stuffed animal on your belly button
• Place your hands at your sides, palms up
• Gently close your eyes and relax your body, starting with your feet and working your way up to your belly, chest, arms and head
• Begin taking slow, full breaths through your nose
• As you inhale, breathe into your belly, allowing it to gently rise (feel the duck rise)
• As you exhale, allow your belly to relax (feel the duck sink)
• Take 5-6 more abdominal breaths
• Let your breathing return to its natural effortless state

Steps – Relaxation:

• As you continue your natural breathing, begin to imagine your favorite color
• With every breath, imagine that color filling up your body, making you feel warm and comfortable
• Relax with this comfortable peaceful feeling for a few minutes