Invite a quality of flow as you switch back and forth between these poses 3 times. Shift the weight of your body to your left knee as you bring your left hand to the mat underneath your shoulder and extend your right arm alongside your right ear for knee-down Extended Side Angle Pose. Press down through the outer edge of your right foot as you elongate the left side of the body.

Extend your right leg straight out to the side and slide your right hand down your right thigh while extending your left arm alongside your left ear to come into Gate Pose. (Photo: Tamika Caston-Miller) Gate Pose to Knee-Down Extended Side AngleĬome to standing on your knees. Don’t force your knees to come closer to the ground than feels comfortable. Slowly lower your knees to the right, then ease them to the left, noticing where and how the movement begins as well as when movement ceases. (Photo: Tamika Caston-Miller) Seated Windshield Wiper Twistsĭraw your knees toward your body and place your feet on the mat about hip-distance apart. To release, extend both legs long and straight into Staff Pose and pause here. Feel for an opening along your left side body and all of the body parts that are used to create each part of the shape.Īlternatively, you may wrap your left arm around your back for a half bind. (Photo: Tamika Caston-Miller) Seated with Side Bendingįrom seated, with your left leg crossed on top of your right, place your right arm down a foot or so from your right hip and reach your left arm alongside your ear for a seated side bend.

Begin slowly rotating your torso in a circular motion, beginning with moving toward the right, noticing the initiation, middle, and end of the circular movement. (Photo: Tamika Caston-Miller) Seated CirclesĬome to seated in a cross-legged position ( Sukhasana or Easy Seat), with your right leg on top of your left. In each posture, bring your awareness to the muscles and joints that are working together to create each movement. Try this somatic flow to reconnect to yourself whenever you need inspiration to get out from underneath the comfy throw blanket. A somatic yoga flow for when you need to move…but slowly Connected movement reminds us that we move to feel good, embrace all of who we are, and experience the world in visceral ways. This is a practice that builds interoception through deep listening and sensing, an excellent melding of our modern understanding of wellness and the ancient practice of self-study and mindful movement. It’s an approach that cultivates movement that comes from an embodied space, something that can easily become lost when we move through familiar or fast-paced classes. The term “somatics” has been used to describe practices that elicit a mind–body connection, that inspire us to turn inward and attune to our body’s signals of discomfort or intensity. And when avoiding being out in the cold means less connection to nature, we can get a little disconnected from, well, everything.Īll of this makes it an ideal time to cultivate exactly the opposite through a somatic flow that allows us to move in a way that is slow and easeful and deeply connected to our bodies. Studies have shown that longer nights are correlated with darker moods, and colder days can inspire bouts of creature comfort-seeking behaviors. What I know for sure is that being in a part of the world where it’s cold at this time can evoke a desire to do very little, if anything. Or perhaps choosing to embrace the malaise is the rebellion. For me, that can bring a sense of rebellion, at best, or general malaise, at worst. There is a lot wrapped up in all the messages about doing better. The first month of the year has come and gone, and we find ourselves in that familiar space of ending the old, welcoming the new. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!

Yoga journal hatha sequence