Home Practice - 30+ Minute Gentle Flow

1. Uttanasana

1. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) for 10 breaths (hold your elbows and let head and neck relax completely, or rest your hands lightly on the floor or your ankles, or support head and hands on bolster and blocks as needed)

2. Balasana

2. Balasana (Child's Pose) for 5 minutes with knees open to the width of your mat.

3. Supta Virasana

3. Supta Virasana (Reclined Hero) for 5 minutes, with or without bolsters and blankets for support.

4. Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) for 3-5 minutes using folded blankets under the shoulders. Slide off the blankets so your shoulders are on the floor and rest for a few breaths after you come down.

5. Full headstand, headstand variation or handstand for up to 5 minutes, starting and ending in child's pose.

• Headstand variation: facing a wall, make a headstand base with your hands, support head in hands (head against wall), and slowly walk your feet towards your head.  Ideally back should be flat against the wall.
• Handstand against the wall – 3-5 times, hold each one up to 12 breaths.
• Handstand variation (L or half handstand): Facing the wall, walk your feet up the wall until you are forming an L shape with your body.

6. Viparita Karani - Legs up against the wall for 5 minutes using 1-2 folded blankets, or block, or bolster, to lift the hips and buttocks.

Note:  For a 20 minute practise you may choose to hold each asana for three minutes, or choose to do a shorter flow such as uttanasa, balasana (child’s pose), supta virasana (reclined hero), and salamba sarvangasana (shoulderstand).

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With thanks to my daughter Sarah Bird for demonstrating 

these yoga poses, and to David Forster for his photography.

More on Salamba Sarvangasana

Despite practicing this posture for thirty years, I still find it can be challenging if I haven't been doing it regularly, while I can easily hold a headstand with joy.  Having recently added it back into my daily practice, I thought it would be helpful to provide a few tips.  

Salamba sarvangasana can be practiced for 30 seconds or for as long as 30 minutes, though I usually strive for about five minutes.

Why do the shoulderstand?  It has so many benefits: 

• calms the nerves
• reduces anxiety, insomnia and irritability
• decreases depression
• improves your metabolism (so it can help you lose weight)
• good for digestion and blood circulation.

It is best to practice the shouldstand on 2-3 folded blankets, lying with the edge of your shoulders lined up with the edge of the blankets.   The blankets will prevent pressure on the vertebrae of the neck. It is important to centre yourself on the blankets and not turn your head while in the pose.

 This asana is also called the candle, and can be started with the legs bent slightly in a half or quarter plow position, and gradually straightened with time.  If you have difficulty getting into the posture, a variation against the wall is a beautiful way to get comfortable with this challenging pose.  

Place the short end of your mat against the wall, and lie on your back with your shoulders on your blanket stack.  Then lift yourself up, placing your feet flat on the wall and supporting your back with your hands.  

Hold this posture, and then move into the full shoulderstand away from the wall.  When you need to come out of the asana, move into plow by bending the legs over your head, until the toes touch the floor (or you can place a block if you don’t reach the floor).  Return to sarvangasana, and then ease yourself out of the pose and rest on your back for a few breaths before you sit up.  Start with 1-3 minutes, and gradually increase the length of your asana.

Ideally, after sarvangasana you would do a headstand for an equal length of time!

The art of finding balance...

The art of finding balance is ever fluctuating.  The trick is to keep things as close to balanced as possible, and have faith that life will always return to that sweet spot, no matter what storms may cross your path.

From time to time, I find myself sliding away from my practice that I love.  As time goes by, it becomes the new practice, avoiding practice.  And slowly, the body turns to marshmallow, the mind loses its clarity, and the feeling of being in tune with your mind and physical and emotional body slips away. As that balance shifts, it is as if your lifeline to your soul also subtly moves out of perfect balance.

Yoga is beautifully forgiving, it is always there, does not feel slighted if you have been ignoring it, and warmly embraces you whenever you turn to it.

Last week I made a conscious effort to renew my practice, and to increase my awareness of what that means. Ideally, having a healthy sleep, getting up at the same time each day, and starting the day with meditation and yoga.  After eight days, I am again astounded at how quickly yoga transforms the  physical and emotional bodies.

Last week, I could not feel my body really, it just felt like a soft marshmallow.  Today, a week into my renewed practice, I am aware of muscles, I sit and stand taller, and I feel that I am moving towards a state that is closer to beef jerky than marshmallow.

Each day is different, one day I am an enthusiastic warrior, and the next my body protests and is reluctant to move.  Day by day I feel a deeper connection to myself, tapping into the inner peace, while in my body the muscles wake up again, even my bones feel stronger, reminding me of the gentle power of yoga.

Supta Virasana - Reclined Hero

Supta virasana is a beautiful pose that can actually be enjoyable!  

In addition to stretching the hamstrings, knees and ankles, it strengthens the arches.  Practised daily it will noticeably improve digestion and elimination.  It helps relieve the symptoms of menopause.  It is also therapeutic for high blood pressure and asthma.

To practise comfortably, place a folded blanket on your mat, and have at least one bolster, additional blankets, and/or blocks handy.

First, come into virasana by kneeling, sitting on a block between your feet.  Adjust as needed to meet your flexibility - you might be able to sit on the floor without a block, or may prefer a bolster or two blocks for more height.

Place one or two bolsters behind you, and fold yourself down.  Again, adjust as needed by adding height with additional props (blankets, another bolster), or by removing the bolster.  If your knees are lifting, you need additional height.

To seal the energy, you can place the palms of your hands on the soles of your feet. Alternatively you can extend your arms overhead for a greater abdominal stretch.

Yoga for high blood pressure

If you suffer from high blood pressure, avoid all inversions, that is, all postures where your head is lower than your heart, and explore variations that will give you some of the same benefits of these poses.

Specifically, do not practice:

•   Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand)

•   Sirsasana (Headstand)

•   Bakasana (Handstand)

•   Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose)

•   Trikonasana (Triangle)

•   Halasana (Plow)

•   Matsyasana (Fish Pose)

•   Downward Facing Dog

However, if you have high blood pressure but are taking medication and have it under control, the opposite applies. Inversions such headstand and shoulderstand are recommended for relieving headaches and helping control high blood pressure.

A gentle 30 minute yoga flow (holding each about five minutes) could include:

•   Anuloma Viloma (Alternate Nostril Breathing)

•   Adhomukha Virasana – Supported Child’s Pose

•   Supta Baddhakonasana – Supported Reclined Butterfly

•   Bubbling Brook Reclined Posture

•   Viparita Karani – Legs up against the wall

•   Savasana

Gentle yoga for everyone

Adhomukha Virasana

Before beginning a new yoga practice, it is strongly recommended that you consult with your doctor if you suffer from a medical condition, or have recently been injured or had surgery. If you are going to a yoga class, make sure that the yoga teacher is experienced, and aware of your medical condition.

Find a gentle yoga practise that suits you. Listen to your body, and move into and out of asanas smoothly and slowly, keeping your breath smooth and even. Find that sweet point of balance, where you are stretching without overextending yourself, and where you feel good without causing any physical pain.

When we think of doing yoga we often think about how it will improve our flexibility, and how it affects our tight hamstrings or other muscles, rather than its profound effect to calm and balance our nervous system.

Regardless of what you are dealing with, there are always three things available to you (unless you are unconcious!) – pranayama, meditation, and savasana. These three yoga techniques are immensely beneficial.

There are various forms of pranayama that can be practised to promote relaxation. Analoma Viloma, alternate nostril breathing, is a good calming and balancing breath. Another good technique is the 2 to 1 breath, where the exhale is twice as long as the inhale. Start slowly, such as inhaling to the count of four and exhaling to the count of eight, and gradually lengthen your breath as much as you can without feeling uncomfortable.

A regular daily meditation practice of 10-20 minutes, preferably in the early morning, can also have a tremendous benefit to your health. This can then be followed by at least five minutes of lying in savasana with your eyes closed and body completely relaxed.

Three of my favourite restorative asanas that are deeply calming are:

Adhomukha Virasana – Supported Child’s Pose

Supta Baddhakonasana – Supported Reclined Butterfly

Viparita Karani – Legs up against the wall

Go slow, breathe deeply, and keep on practising…