Yoga in October - Week 1

Welcoming you to Yoga in October!

As the nights draw in and it gets harder to keep motivated with exercise I will be guiding you through a yoga pose a day in the month of October. Why not take 5 minutes to explore a pose and it's modifications. Here are your first 5 poses for October! There will be one for each day this month - don't forget to join me on Facebook/Instagram and tag yourself in the pose too!

Facebook: @energiseyoga

Instagram: #ruth.energiseyoga

✨Medical Disclaimer: Yoga in October information is not a substitute for medical advice. All information, content, descriptions, comments, and material is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified General Practitioner or healthcare provider.

The use of this content is at your sole risk. Please seek advice from your General Practitioner or Health Care Professional before commencing any physical activity✨

Tadasana – Mountain pose - Day 1

-Stand with feet hip distance apart toes facing forwards

-hands relaxed by side of body palms facing outwards

(option to stand hands together prayer position)

-Knees can have a soft bend or knees can straighten to activate through the quadriceps (thigh) muscles

-Lengthen through the crown of the head and spine and softly tuck the pelvis and lower well in to activate through the front of the pelvis

Benefits:

-A resting pose often used at the start before movement/flow practice. Draws awareness into the feet and allows a sense of finding balance as well as improving and drawing awareness to posture. Mountain Pose acts as the foundation for other poses.

Easy seat/contented pose – Sukhasana - Day 2

Getting into the pose:

-Sit with both legs outstretched on the mat

-begin by bending one knee in, then the other

-Sitting with legs crossed (elevated on cushions/blocks)

-Lengthen through the spine and the top of the head

-Allow the hands to rest onto the knees/thighs

-Take a moment to focus on the breath extending your awareness from the sit bones and breathe into the sides of the body

Modifications

-Support under knees with blanket/blocks or come against a wall to support the back

-Benefits

- Easy Pose isn’t always that easy! But if you can modify it to make it comfortable it can be calming and relaxing. It improves postural awareness, creates a foundation for meditation practices, and can help manage stress

Bridge pose- Setu Bandhasana - Day 3

Getting into the pose:

-Start by lying flat on your back

-Bend both knees and keep the soles of the feet resting down to the mat

-Have the feet in line with the knees and the knees hip distance apart

-Inhale- Activate the back of the hip muscles (squeeze the gluteals!) and start to lift the navel to point up to the sky. Hold at the top of the bridge. Exhale- slowly peel the lower back and pelvis back down to the mat

Benefits:

-Strengthens the gluteals (back of the hips), the lower back muscles and front of the abdominal muscles. Can help to improve spinal movement

Modifications:

-Supported bridge: Use a block under the hips to allow the hips to rest

-Use a block between the knees

-Arms can move away from the body

Childs pose - Balasana (one of my personal favourite poses!) - Day 4

Getting into the pose:

-Start in table top position on your hands and knees. Support your knees if you need with a blanket

-draw big toes together and knees apart

-sink the hips down towards the heels and soften the head/neck down to the mat

-You may wish to place a cushion under the hips and under the head

Modifications:

-Arms can reach infront

-Support with block under head

-Hands can reach to big toes

-Arms can reach out to sides of mat (diagonal stretch)

-Rolled up blanket under the toes/forefoot

Benefits:

-Calms the nervous system, improves external rotation of the hips, lengthens through the lower back muscles, stretches into the shoulders

Butterfly – Bound angle pose - Day 5

Getting into the pose:

-Start sitting on the mat with the knees pointing up to the sky and feet on the floor

-draw the soles of the feet together and allow the knees to gentle fall to the side to create a diamond shape with the legs

-option to lengthen through the spine, or round the spine and hold onto the ankles/toes to stretch deeper into the hips

Benefits

-improves external rotation of the hips

-When done lying down or supported allows a sense of calmness and stability. Often used at the end of classes or held for several minutes in a Yin class.

Modifications

-Blocks under the knees to support

-for a deeper stretch into the hips block under the ankles

-can be done lying down supporting the back of the head with a block

-can be done supported with the back against the wall

Wishing you a wonderful October and hope you find your favourite pose this month- let me know! What poses do you like? Which ones do you find a challenge?

Ruth x