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 Orchid Sun Salutation
Perform asanas each time with a fresh mind and with a fresh approach.
1. Tadasana
Translation
Mountain Pose
 yoga mountain pose How to Do It
Stand with big toes touching, heels slightly apart. Create a straight line from ear to shoulder to hip to knee to heel. Relax your shoulders. Engage the legs; lift your kneecaps. Bring your hands together in front of your heart, keeping the collarbones and chest broad. Lift the crown of the head upward, as you take deep breaths in and out through your nose.
Modification
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes facing forward.
What It Does
Energizes the legs and focuses your attention, grounding you in the present moment.
 yoga upward hand pose 2. Urdhva hastasana
Translation
Upward Hand Pose
How to Do It
On an inhalation, sweep your arms out to your sides and bring the palms to touch up above your head, keeping your shoulders down. Reach through the sides of your body so your torso becomes long, gently bringing your gaze to your hands.
Modification
If you begin to feel compression in the shoulders, keep your hands 6 inches apart, palms facing each other, and look straight ahead.
What It Does
Opens the chest area and the lungs, increasing your lung capacity. “From the yogic perspective,” says Rea, “this pose activates the solar, or expansive, energy in your being.”
 yoga forward bend 3. Uttanasana
Translation
Standing Forward Bend
How to Do It
As you exhale, sweep your arms out to the sides and bend at the hips to come into a deep forward bend. Bring your fingertips to the floor alongside your feet. Let your head gently release toward the floor.
Modification
If you feel tight in your hamstrings or lower back, bend your knees so that you can bring the fingertips to the floor, or rest your hands on blocks.
What It Does
Stretches the backs of the legs and lengthens the spine. “This bowing forward is the essence of the Sun Salutation,” Rea explains. “You are bowing to the perfection of our solar system — how we’re moving around the sun and how it forms the rhythm of our life.”
 yoga lunge pose 4. Lunge Pose
How to Do It
Keeping your fingertips where they are, inhale and take a giant step back with the right foot. The left knee bends at a 90-degree angle. (Note: In your subsequent rounds of Sun Salutation, alternate the lunging leg to keep both sides of the body evenly balanced.)
What It Does
Opens the legs and pelvis; warms up and energizes the base of the body; elongates the spine.
 yoga plank pose 5. Plank Pose
How To Do It
As you exhale, bring your palms to the floor and step the left foot back to meet the right (a starting push-up position). Grip the mat with your fingers to take the weight off your wrists. Reach the top of your head forward and your heels back. Engage the abdominal muscles to come into one even line. Be careful not to let the hips either rise up higher than the lower back or sink down toward the floor.
What It Does
Activates the entire body; builds upper-body and core strength; creates heat; develops your sense of confidence and power.
 yoga four-limbed staff pose 6. Chaturanga Dandasana
Translation
Four-Limbed Staff Pose
How to Do It
At the end of an exhalation, bend your elbows straight back and lower your body down to the bottom of a push-up. Keep elbows close to your sides. Continue lengthening through the heels and the crown of the head to keep your entire body long and engaged, as you draw the navel in to activate your core muscles.
Modification
Lower the knees to the mat, coming into a modified push-up.
What It Does
This pose helps to build strength throughout the entire body. “Being strong is just as important as being flexible,” notes Rea.
 yoga upward facing dog 7. Urdhva mukha svanasana
Translation
Upward-Facing Dog
How to Do It
As you inhale, roll forward over your toes and straighten your arms. Your hips, thighs, and shins should all be off the floor. Press into the tops of your feet and palms, as you melt the heart forward past your arms. Gaze straight ahead.
Modification
Come into cobra pose instead: Rest hips and legs on the floor and straighten the arms comfortably, reaching the chest forward through the arms.
What It Does
Creates suppleness in the spine while opening the chest, lungs, and heart. So vital to our well-being, this area is frequently compromised by chronic bad posture. “Creating openness across the chest is strengthening and revitalizing,” explains Rea.
 yoga downward facing dog pose 8. Aadho mukha svanasana
Translation
Downward-Facing Dog
How to Do It
As you exhale, roll back over the toes and lift the hips to come into an inverted V shape. Press your fingers into the mat and reach the thighs back, lengthening the sides of the body and the spine. Keep your shoulders down. Release the weight of your head.
Modification
If the hamstrings or lower back feel tight, bend your knees slightly. If you are unable to keep your arms straight, bring the knees to the floor and push back into Child’s Pose.
What It Does
Serves as a counterpose to Upward-Facing Dog; cools the mind; improves circulation.
 yoga lunge pose 9. Lunge Pose
How to Do It
As you inhale, step forward with the leg you initially stepped back with, coming back into Lunge pose. Keep your front knee at a 90-degree angle and your fingertips on either side of the front foot.
10. Uttanasana
How to Do It
Exhale and step your back foot forward; fold over your straightened legs, keeping your fingertips on the floor. Take a moment to notice whether your hamstrings or back muscles feel any looser than they did at the beginning of the cycle.
12. Tadasana
How to Do It
Exhale and float your arms back into prayer position. Keep the chest broad, the legs engaged, and the spine long as you enjoy the stillness of this pose. You can choose to end your session here or go on for another round.
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adapted from Body + Soul Magazine
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1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Yoga Timer, Yoga Timers by Now & Zen
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