Dreamy Descent
Hips, Hip Flexors, Hamstrings
Don't let this cool down fool you, there's some strength involved! Enjoy stretches for your legs and hips, even as you find a bit of core engagement and play with transitions.
Low Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
Bring your right foot to the top of your mat, inside your right thumb, coming into a low lunge shape. Then, drop your back knee to the mat. Tuck or untuck your toes. Tent your fingertips on the mat to lengthen your spine. Engage your core and lift your arms overhead.
Half Splits (Half Hanumanasana)
Bring your hands back down to the mat, framing your front foot. Start to straighten your front leg and send your hips backwards to stack over your back knee. Flex your front toes back towards your face and keep your hips level with one another.
Rebend into your front knee, moving back towards a low lunge. Then, kickstand your back foot off the mat. As you do this, reach down and around with your left hand to the back of your yoga mat. Pivot your right toes to face in as you straighten your right leg and square your hips to the side of the mat. Place your left hand at the back of your mat and sweep your right arm over head, reaching to the back of the room.
Modified Side Plank (Vasisthasana Variation)
Half Pigeon (Ardha Kapotasana)
Come out of your modified side plank the way you come in, sweeping your top arm down, around and back to the front of the room. Pivot your back knee in and square your hips down. Plant both hands at the top of your mat and tuck your back toes. Pree into your hands to lift your top foot off of the mat, and lower your right shin to the top of the mat, followed by your back knee, setting up for half-pigeon. Stay lifted in this shape, or settle in.
Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
Rise onto your finger tips from half-pigeon, then gently ease weight into your right hip. As you do this, swing your back leg up and around. Straighten both legs out towards the front of your mat, sitting tall on your sitz bones. Inhale with a long spine, then hinge at the hips and fold forward.
Corpse (Savasana)
Ease out of your fold, and engaging your core, lower all the way down onto your back. Take a moment to rest all your muscles on the ground. A brief rest.
Bridge (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
Plant your feet on the mat an inch below your sitz bones with your knees pointing up to the sky. Bring your arms by your sides, with your palms facedown on the mat. Press into your feet to slowly peel your hips and then your low back off of the mat. Keep your shoulders and head planted on the mat with the gaze up to the sky. When your hips reach almost the same height as your knees, you can tuck one shoulder and then the other under your back and clasp your fingers together, with the arms pressing down into the mat.
Reclining Hand to Big Toe I (Supta Padangusthasana I)
Lower your hips back down to the mat. With your first two fingers, on your right hand, grab hold of your right big toe. Keep your left foot planted and start to straighten your right leg. Option here to extend the left leg down to the mat. Pull into your right leg, bringing it closer to your chest. Breathe here, then switch sides.
Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana)
Bend your knees into your chest, giving yourself a squeeze, then reach through bent knees for the outer-edges of your feet. Use your hands to pull your feet downwards, pulling your knees down towards your armpits. Rest your head and shoulder on the mat. Engage your core and tuck your tailbone to keep your lower back rooted firmly on the mat. Breathe deeply here, enjoying the gentle stretch in the hamstrings, inner thighs, and groin.
Corpse (Savasana)
Hug your knees into your chest a final time and give yourself a squeeze. Then, allow your heels to open to the bottom corners of your mat and your arms to spread wide, palms up to the sky. Shift your shoulder blades under the chest. Close your eyes. Allow your whole body to soften into the mat. You may cover yourself with a blanket or use a bolster under your knees. Allow yourself to rest here for as long as you’d like.
