mh yoga success

8/9/2019 MH Yoga Success

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YOGA FOR SUCCESS




YOGA FOR SUCCESS

A FinAnCiAl ExpERt dOwnwARd dOGGEd hiS wAY

Up thE CAREER lAddER‚ And SO CAn YOUby: Amanda Junker

Warm Up: 5-10 rounds Sun Salutations

Hold each pose or 5-10 breaths unless directed otherwise. Work toward

repeating the sequence 3-5 times.

1. MOUntAin pOSE with CORE StREnGth CiRClES

HOW TO:

Stand tall, big toes together. Root into both eet equally.

Breathe slowly [3-5 seconds on both the inhales and exhales] through your

nose, because it makes you ocus better and ups your endurance or everypose. Keep the breath going or the whole practice.

Ground down through your eet as you lit through your head or a longer spine.

Drawing your navel toward the spine slightly helps release stress rom your

lower back.

Inhale, circle your arms out and up. Exhale, press your palms together overhead

and draw them down past your heart, nishing with sts at the low belly. Repeat

three times.

Press your hands together and ocus on the physical sensation o the palms

pressing rmly together.

2. lUnGE with FiStS OF FiRE

HOW TO:

From Mountain Pose, Step one leg back until your ront bent knee is over your

heel. The back heel is lited. Power up that back leg.

Hug your eet towards one another or stability, and draw in your abs.

On the inhales, reach your arms overhead and lit your chest. On the exhales,

make sts and bring them into the side waist strongly.

Do this pose at least three times on each side.




3. StAndinG FORwARd FOld

HOW TO:

Step orward to the ront o your mat, eet together.

Bend your knees and press sts into opposite elbows. This helps your low back

relax as you old orward.

Ater a ew breaths here, press your hands into your calves and aim or

straighter legs. Keep your back rod-straight, reaching chest toward toes. I you

start rounding your low back or chest too much, back o, bend the knees and

maintain the integrity o your spinal alignment by keeping your back, sides and

ront torso equally long.

4. plAnk pOSE pUShUpS

HOW TO:

Plant your palms at the ront o your mat, shoulder-distance. Your middle ngers

are pointing orward, appropriate or your obstacle-obliterating attitude. Pressyour ngers into the foor like you’re grabbing a steering wheel.

Step back until your body and legs are straight, heels over the balls o your eet.

You should lit your navel and lengthen your hips towards your heels to avoid

stressing your low back.

Float your heels and chest orward, as you bend your elbows and lower halway

down. Think right angles here: your orearms are perpendicular to the foor, and

your shoulders never go lower than your elbows. Don’t move your elbows open,

keep them directly over your wrists.

*I it’s too much at rst, put your knees down and don’t lower as much. Keep

your navel liting into your spine. Just don’t go lower than your elbows, or you’ll

strain and lose power. As in your quest or success: collapse is not a preerred

course o action.

Repeat 3-5 times.

5.dOwn dOG

HOW TO:

Plant your palms at the ront o your mat, shoulder-width apart, ngers wide

and evenly grounded.

Tuck your toes under and, lit your hips into the air. You should be in a triangle

shape, stepped ar enough back so your heels are slightly o the foor and

you’re getting a stretch through the back o your legs.

Lit your navel towards your spine, and hug your leg bones gently up into your

hips. Relax your shoulders away rom your ears to integrate your arm bones

into your body. Think o a magnet in your belly drawing everything closer to

it. Simultaneously stretch back out rom center through your hands, eet and

crown, without letting your extremities dis-integrate rom their natural placement.




6. CORE plAnk pOSE

HOW TO:

From Down Dog, any time you step orward into a standing pose, you can use

Core Plank. Inhale, right leg lits high, hips stay squared. Exhale, round your

back, bring your knee to chest. Shoulders are over wrists now in Plank Pose

arms, but your back and hips are liting as high as possible.

Hold here or 1-5 breaths, then on an exhale, step your right oot lightly orward

to your right thumb.

Repeat on the let side, taking the next pose, Fan, rom Core Plank on both sides.

7. FAn pOSE

HOW TO:

From your Down Dog, using the Core Plank transition, step your right oot

orward inside your right hand. Turn both eet to ace the let long side o your

mat, and make them parallel. Walk your ngertips like tree rog hands to thecenter o your stance. Bend your knees i needed to keep your back straight.

Come halway up with a fat back and, using the navel liting or support,

interlace your ngers behind your back. Exhale, old at the hip creases, going

or a long side waist, open chest and straighter legs over time. Stretch your

arms away rom the back, elbows slightly bent to avoid joint pressure. Roll your

shoulders back and drop them away rom the ears. This shouldn’t be noose-

asana.

Ater a ew breaths here, release your hands, turn your ront toes orward again,

and lit your back heel.

Take 5 breaths or more on each side.

Return to Down Dog and do Fan Pose again, stepping your let oot orward and

turning both eet to the right. Come into Down Dog or a ew breaths when you

nish both sides.

8. Child’S pOSE

HOW TO:

From your Dog Pose, bring your knees to the foor, turn the tops o your eet

into the mat and take the hips onto your heels. Bow your head to the foor, a

block or a double st i you’re not getting that low. Press your orehead gentlyinto something here will ease your worried mind and allow you to ocus on what

really matters: making space between your actions so you can more clearly see

which one to choose next and have the energy to tackle it with ease.

Remain in the pose or at least one minute.




9. BOw pOSE

HOW TO:

From Child’s pose, reach orward and snake onto your belly. Bend your knees

behind you, keeping your legs a ew inches apart. Maintain your shins and eet

over your knees, reach back there and grab a hold o your outer ankles. I this

isn’t happening right now, then just reach toward your eet, or or more stretch,get a sot belt, tie, or yoga strap to loop around the ront o your ankles and hold onto.

On the inhale, press your eet back and up, opening your chest, shoulders and

reclaiming your lower back curve rom all those long hours at the oce. Bend

the elbows slightly and lit your toes higher or an even greater stretch.

10. piGEOn pOSE

HOW TO:

Move back into Down Dog, through Core Plank, hovering the right knee on your

upper right arm or an extra credit core strength boost. Slide the knee down

behind your right wrist, and scoot your oot orward so you’re not sitting on it.

Stretch your let leg straight out behind you and level your hips so you aren’t

tipped to one side. I you don’t eel a stretch here, widen your ront knee and

move your let leg back more.

Walk back and open your heart into one last backbend. Then old orward on

your palms, orearms or a block to intensiy the stretch.

Stay here or one minute then return to Down Dog and switch sides.

11. FinAl REStinG pOSE

HOW TO:

Stay in Final Rest or 2 minutes i you’re continuing with the sequence, or 5

minutes i it’s your last time through.

When you’re nished with Final Rest, move slowly onto your right side and come

to sit. Inhale, circle your arms up, down through your chest taking one last Core

Strength Circle until sts are at the navel. Inhale, expand the chest, and exhale,

bowing over your sts, sealing this Success Cycle deeply into your body, mind

and intentions.Pull your chin over the bar and then lower your body back down.

mh yoga success

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