Written by Chrissy Usher
Looking to get yourself moving and increase flexibility, and your overall mobility? This 30-minute at-home yoga sequence is fun and challenging enough to ignite your inner warrior and yogi! Roll out your yoga mat, and turn on your favorite tunes for a quick yoga flow to keep your body moving with a simple Sun A Series. If you're new to the practice of yoga, start slowly and be careful not to force your body into any position. Never push too hard or overstretch the body. And, ask your doctor if this exercise is suitable for you.
What you'll need
- Yoga Mat
- Music
- Bottle of water
Yoga Warmup
As you begin this practice, you'll notice each movement is paired with an inhale or exhale. Yoga is all about pairing your body with your breath to bring you awareness and inner peace. Try your best to follow along with each breath cue, but if you haven’t practiced yoga, feel free to get used to the movements before pairing them with a breath.
Steated Prayer
Start in a comfortable seated position, bring your hands to prayer hands, press your thumbs together at your heart center, and close your eyes.
Take 8 breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, creating big, open mouth exhales.
If you would like to create some added heat inside your body after your full 8 rounds of open mouth exhales, you can use ujjayi pranayama breath. You can maintain this breath throughout your practice to maintain tapas (heat) inside your body and build up more sweat. If at any point you need to cool down, you can switch to breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
To prepare for your ujjayi pranayama breath:
- Close your mouth
- Inhale through your nose
- Exhale out through your nose while constricting the back of your throat
- Breathe 6 breathes in through your nose
- Breathe 6 breathes out through your nose
Table Top Neutral Position
Bring yourself to all fours, press your hands into your mat shoulder-width apart, root your palms into the earth, tuck your toes, and extend a full line of energy from the crown of your head all the way through to your low back.
Inhale: Cow Pose
Drop your belly towards the ground, bring your gaze up towards the ceiling, reach your chest forward and up.
Exhale: Cat Pose
Press all four corners of your palms into your mat, round your back, and reach your chin towards your chest.
Inhale: Return to Tabletop Neutral
Sun A Yoga Series
Exhale: Downward Facing Dog
Send your hips up and back, relax through your head and neck, reach your heels towards the earth, take a gentle bend in your knees.
Transition: Forward Fold
Inhale to look forward.
Exhale slowly walk towards the front of your mat to a forward fold.
Exhale: Standing At Attention Pose
Inhale to slowly roll up one vertebra at a time, close your eyes, and bring your hands to heart center
Inhale: Mountain Pose Tadasana
Root your heels into the earth, send your arms up to the ceiling, shoulder-width apart, relax through your head and neck.
Exhale: Forward Fold
Inhale: Halfway Lift
Bring your hands onto your thighs or shins, extend up and out through your chest, and keep your gaze toward the ground.
Exhale: Chaturanga High to Low Plank
High Plank:
Step back to a high plank, or high plank on your knees. Root your hands into your mat, press up and out through your shoulder blades, and untuck your chin from your chest.
Low Plank:
Hinge forward 3 inches, either stay lifted or drop down to your knees. Squeeze your arms into your side bodies, keep your body off the ground by 3 inches. Hold here for one full breath. Keep your toes tucked!
Inhale: Upward Facing Dog
Untuck your toes and press all ten toenails into the earth. Lift your thighs off your mat and press up through your arms and chest, shine your chest towards the front of your space.
Exhale: Return to Downward Dog.
Repeat the Sun A sequence 8 times through for a full 30 minute workout.
