AS YOU PRACTICE
You can alter this Sun Salutation by playing with its pace. If you move through the sequence rapidly (by transitioning into the next pose each time you inhale or exhale), you’ll warm up fairly quickly. Start with five or six repetitions and gradually build to 12. Or try moving slowly and deliberately, and you’ll feel how the sequence becomes a sort of moving meditation. As you practice this way, center your awareness on some point in your body (such as your third eye or your heart) and challenge yourself to keep your focus there for the duration of the practice.
1. Tadasana (Mountain Pose) Stand with your feet together and parallel to each other. Stretch your arms (but not rigidly) alongside your torso, palms forward, shoulders relaxed.
2. Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute) Inhale and sweep your arms overhead in wide arcs. If your shoulders are tight, keep your hands apart and gaze straight ahead. Other-wise, bring your palms together, drop your head back, and gaze up at your thumbs.
3. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) Exhaling, release your arms in wide arcs as you fold forward. Bend your knees if you feel pressure on your lower back, and support your hands on blocks if they don’t reach the floor. Release your neck so your head hangs heavily from your upper spine.
4. Ardha Uttanasana (Half Standing Forward Bend) Inhale and push your finger-tips down into the floor or a block, straighten your elbows, then lift your front torso away from your thighs. Lengthen the front of your torso as you arch evenly along the entire length of your spine.
5. Alanasana (High Lunge) Exhale and step your right foot back into a lunge. Center your left knee over the heel so that your shin is per-pendicular to the floor, and bring your left thigh parallel to the floor. Firm your tailbone against your pelvis and press your right thigh up against the resistance. Inhale, and reach back through your right heel. Lengthen the torso along the front of the left thigh. Look forward without strain.
6. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) Exhale and step your left foot back to Down Dog. Spread your palms and soles. Press the front of your thighs back as you press your inner hands firmly against the floor. Imagine that your torso is being stretched like a rubber band between the arms and legs.
7. Plank Pose Inhale and bring your torso for-ward until your shoulders are over your wrists. Your arms will be perpendicular to the floor. Try not to let your upper back collapse between the shoulder blades: Press your outer arms inward, and then—against this resistance—spread your shoulder blades apart. Firm your tailbone against your pelvis and press your thighs up.
8. Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) Exhale as you bend your elbows and lower to Chaturanga with your torso and legs parallel to the floor. Keep your shoulders lifted, away from the floor, and down, away from your ears. Lift the thighs away from the floor, lengthen your tailbone toward your heels, and draw the lower ribs away from the floor to avoid collapsing your lower back. Look at the floor or slightly forward. If you can’t maintain your alignment, place your knees on the floor until you have built more strength.
9. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose) Inhale, straighten your arms, and sweep your chest forward into Up Dog. Keep your legs active, firm your tailbone toward your heels, and press your front thighs upward. Draw your shoulders away from your ears. Look straight ahead or slightly upward.
10. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) Exhale back to Down Dog. To finish the Sun Salutation, step the right foot forward into a Lunge, then step the left foot to meet it and inhale into Ardha Uttana-sana and exhale into Uttanasana. Inhale into Urdhva Hastasana and exhale to Tadasana. Observe your body and breath. As you repeat the sequence, alternate legs in High Lunge each time. End in Savasana.