Step the right foot to meet the left then spend a few breaths standing tall in Tadasana, feeling all four corners of the feet in contact with the ground. Pivot to face the back of your mat and practice Warrior II then Warrior I on the left side. Sit tall and feel the strength and stability of the pose. Have a little wiggle of the hips and you’ll probably find you can get a bit lower to the ground. Bring the arms to a cactus arms position, elbows in line with the shoulders. Sit down into a squat, checking the knees are pointing in the same direction as your feet. Turn to face the left side of your mat, bring the feet a little closer together and point the toes slightly outwards. Sense how the palms of the hands face down to the ground. Feel the strength of the legs and the firm, grounded foundation of the pose. Slightly draw the feet towards each other to fire up the muscles of the legs. Draw the outer edge of the right hip towards the back of the mat and press the outer edge of the left foot into the ground. Extend the right arm ahead of you and the left arm behind you, gazing at the right hand. Open to Warrior II, rotating the left foot to a 90 degree angle and turning the torso to face the left. Feel how the legs create a firm and grounded foundation for the pose from which you can reach up and lengthen through the upper body. Bend the right knee to stack above the ankle and square the hips drawing the right hip back. Press the feet in to the ground as you come to stand. Step the right foot forwards between the hands and place the left foot at a 45 degree angle to the right foot. Feel the connection of your hands and feet to the ground. Plug the arms back into the shoulder sockets so the posture feels firm and stable. Make length through the spine, then send the heels down towards the floor. Lift the hips and send the chest back to the thighs, tilting the sitting bones to the sky. Place the hands on the mat and step back into plank. Try to hold each pose for 10 breaths, maybe longer if you feel able to, rather than rushing through them.ĭownward Facing Dog - Adho Mukha SvanasanaĬome in to a forward fold, bending from the hips. Feel all fours corners of the feet in contact with the ground. Spend a few breaths in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), standing tall at the top of your mat. Including a twist helps to counteract constipation.īefore you begin, warm up the body with a few rounds of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) but keep the pace slow and steady. Find the strength of the earth element in standing poses such as warrior I and II and find a calm stillness in forward folds. Draw that excessive energy from the mind and send it down into the legs and feet. To bring that earth element into your yoga practice think strength, stability and stillness, feeling the ground beneath you and putting down roots. When my mind is swirling around like those autumn winds, an earthy grounding yoga practice really anchors me down and helps me feel calm and steady. As my dosha is predominantly vata, I often practice this way to bring myself back into balance. We can counteract the effects of too much vata by working with the opposing energy of the earth element in our yoga practice. Vata is a combination of the elements air and ether. Physically it can cause dry skin, dry hair and constipation. Too much vata energy can make us feel unsettled, anxious, scatty, overwhelmed and have difficulty focusing. Think of blustery autumn days with the wind whipping up the fallen leaves. Just as each person has a dosha that predominates, each season is also dominated by one of the three doshas.Īutumn is the season of vata dosha, cold, dry, rough, light, changeable and constantly moving. According to Ayurveda, there are three primary doshas, or energies. As the seasons change, it can sometimes knock us off kilter, but our yoga practice can support us through this transition.Īyurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, focuses on bringing our minds and bodies into balance. Try a grounding autumn yoga sequence to bring you back into balance.Īlthough it’s a beautiful sunny day as I write this, there’s no mistaking a chill in the air that says autumn is well and truly here. Autumn brings an increase in vata energy, which can make us feel anxious and unsettled.
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