Surya Namaskar A
This video runs just under 7 minutes and moves through 3 cycles of Surya Namaskar A. I am teaching the flow as a beginner variation with the knees on the ground, but feel free to hold plank and lower down to a full Chaturanga Dandasana and then into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana if your practice is more advanced.
Simple Open Hip Practice
This is a simple 15 minute practice to help open up the hips.
Prana Mudra
Form 1: In each hand, with a light touch, bring the tip of the thumb to the tip of the ring and pinkie fingers together. Extend the index and middle fingers out long and together.
Form 2: Do as in Form 1, but wrap thumb over finger nails of the ring and pinkie finger. This form, in addition to the benefits listed below, helps balance the two hemispheres of the brain to function more in unison with each other.
Prana Mudra energizes our root chakra and our pelvic area. It helps ground us and increases vitality, helps reduce fatigue and nervousness and can improve vision. It also helps digestion, assimilation and elimination, as well as, improve concentration and will power.
Prana Mudra can be done anywhere, at any time, and in any position to gain its benefits. When practicing, lift the perineum and contract the anus lightly. Keep the ribs and chest relaxed and the breath slow and smooth. Mudra can be held for 5 - 45 minutes.
Combined with the Bhastrika Pranayama Meditation, Prana Mudra helps us be more stabilized and calm.
Bhastrika Pranayama
(Bellows Breathing Meditation)
Sit comfortably on the floor or in a chair with the back free and the chest lifted. You can sit with the hands in a comfortable position or in Prana Mudra (aids in moving the breath and life force through the body - see details on position below).
The video runs 5 minutes and 30 seconds and contains three cycle of the breathing each being 21 breaths. The breath is a pumping in and out of the belly to create a bellows effect in the abdomen. If you find it challenging to do all 21 to start, simply do as many as you can and build up to the 21 from there.