Hot Yoga Poses for Hot Summer Days

The summer heat offers an opportunity to stretch.  The sun lifts our spirits and makes us feel alive.  A warm environment can loosen up our tense muscles allowing us to stretch just a little further than we normally do.  The green grass in our lawn or a park is a wonderful invitation to play, as well as a soft spot to fall if we lose our balance.  Here are 4 summer stretches from Yoga Teddy Bear to you!

1.  Crescent Stretch. (Parighasana) (from the coloring book Moons, Stars & Earthly Delights)  

This gentle side stretch will keep your spine & ribs flexible.  As a bonus, you can even air out your underarms while you move!  Stand with your feet firmly planted.  Breathe in and reach your arms long overhead. Breathe out and bend to one side like a crescent moon.  Breathe deeply.  Inhale back to center and exhale to make your crescent moon on the other side.  Look up if it feels nice.  Let the warm air fill your chest and lungs.

2.  Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana) (from the coloring book Yoga Teddy Bear and Friends Too)

This western version of Pigeon Pose is a fantastic hip opener, and it can also be restful.  Letting go of tension in your hips is worth trying when you’re warm.  Begin on all fours or in Downward Facing Dog.  Bring one knee forward toward your wrist.  Turn your leg so your ankle is behind your other wrist.  Slide your other foot back along the floor.  Come up on your fingertips and tuck your chin like a pigeon.  Cluck.  Cluck.  If it feels nice, bend forward and rest your forehead on your hands.  Breathe deeply.  (Note: the coloring is from our free App!  Get yours today on iPhone or iPod)

3. Wheel Pose (Urdhva Danurasana) (from the coloring book Things & Stuff)

Wheel Pose is the perfect pose to open your heart.  It’s best to try Wheel Pose after warming up with a few gentle backbends, like Bridge Pose or Baby Cobra.  Lay on your back with your feet on the ground close to your tail and your hands by your ears pointing toward your shoulders.  Breathe in and press down through your hands and feet while you lift your hips into a backbend.  Keep your knees close together.  Your whole body is curved like a big wheel.  Breathe deeply and calmly for 5-8 breaths, lifting upward when you inhale.  Come down mindfully by tucking your chin first.

4. Bird of Paradise Pose (Svarga Dvidasana) (from the coloring book Balance & Bend)

This balancing posture looks much more difficult than it actually is.  If you balance easily in Tree Pose and you’re good at Garland Pose (Squat), you can learn this pose with just a little practice and faith in yourself.   Start in Warrior 2.  Reach inside and under your bent leg with your front arm, then reach the other arm behind you and clasp hands.  Step your back foot forward into a squat and shift your weight to it.  Breathe in and focus on one point.  Breathe out and slowly stand up.  Straighten your bound leg slowly like an opening flower.  Balance & breathe. 

Wherever you are in your practice, summer is a great time to move and the outdoors are the perfect place to do it.  Namaste!

4 Poses to Make You Feel Good About the World

What do we do with all the bad news and violence swirling around us in our modern world?  How do we cope?  How do we feel safe?  How do we adjust our focus to feel good about the world in which we live? 

A good place to start to feel good - and feel safe - is in your own body.  Yoga allows us to look inside and cultivate positive qualities within ourselves so that we can be a light in the world.  The more lights there are in the world, the brighter humanity will shine.  Here are four poses that will help you start to feel good about the world today.  Give them a try.

1. Peaceful Warrior.  (Baddha Virabhadrasana)

This beautiful pose embodies the idea of both internal and external peace.  From a standing position, take a big step forward.  Bend your front knee so you can see your toes.  Turn your back heel down.  Keep your knee over your ankle and open your arms wide front to back in a straight line (Warrior 2 pose).  Take slow, deep breaths, then turn your front palm up and reach forward just a little to make space in your back ribs.  Gently see-saw your arms by lifting your front arm to the sky and sliding your back arm down your leg.  Make sure your front knee stays over your ankle as you look up at your hand.  You can even drape your lifted arm around your head.  Close your eyes and feel peaceful inside as you breathe deeply.  Next do the same pose with the other foot in front.

2. Gate Pose.  (Parighasana)

Have you ever noticed that you hold your breath when you’re nervous or afraid?  Gate Pose creates space in between your ribs so that your breath can flow more freely.  Breathing freely is critical to both feeling good and feeling safe.  Start on your knees, using a blanket under your legs if needed.  Stretch one leg to the side.  Slide your hand down your extended leg while your other arm reaches up and over your head.  Bend at your waist and look up to stretch open your side ribs like a gate.  Breathe deeply and luxuriate in the stretch for a while.  Then switch sides.

3. Crab Pose (Ardha Purvottanasana)

Think of this pose as a way to open up to the sky above - the sun, the stars, and the whole Universe.  Also called “Reverse Table,” this pose is a playful way to stretch your shoulders, hips and thighs while you also strengthen your wrists and your core. Start seated with your knees bent and your hands on the floor behind you with your fingers pointed toward your tail.  Press your hips up high so that you don’t see your knees any more.  Yogi’s choice: drop your head back, look up at the sky or look forward.  Breathe deeply, pressing upward with your inhale and relaxing in the pose with your exhale.

4. Side Splits (Upavistha Konasana)

Also known as “Wide Angle Seated Forward Fold,” this pose provides a means to release the fear that’s naturally held deeply within our hip joints.  Sit on the floor and spread your legs apart as wide as you can.  Keep your spine long and tall as you lean forward. Stretch your arms out in front of you and if you can reach, rest your forehead on the ground it feels nice.  Close your eyes and reflect upon all the things in your life that bring you joy.  Say to yourself “I trust the process of life.”  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

Life is too short to focus on all the bad stuff.  That doesn’t mean we ignore the world around us, but we can take little time-outs from the news in order to focus on our bodies and the things that bring us joy.  In so doing, we’ll add just one more drop to the ocean of love that has the ability to swell in the heart of humanity and carry us forward to peace.  Namaste.