Are you ready for your Daily Yoga Vitamin?
Last post I defined our Yoga Vitamin as a group of components essential to maintaining your body, mind and spirit. To be the most effective, your yoga vitamin should consist of six essential ingredients: centering & opening positions, standing & focus poses and inversion & relaxation postures.
This week I will give you a “prescription” for a universal health sequence. This is a good yoga multivitamin – one that you can use as an overall general practice. It emphasizes the principal of contraction and extension for the muscles – a benefit unique to yoga.
Prescription for a Daily Yoga Multivitamin
- Centering & Breath Awareness: Begin in Supported Savasana to open intercostal or rib muscles and the pectoralis or chest muscles. During this phase, focus on balancing the inhalation with the exhalation with a slight pause between breaths to keep the body centered.
- Opening Poses: Kneeling Dog to Half Plank, repeat this set of poses – a great start to establishing upper body strength.
- Standing Poses: Chair & Half Moon poses to build heat and stability.
- Focus Poses: Bound Angle & Seated Twist for flexibility and digestion.
- Inversion: Standing Forward Bend to lengthen the hamstrings & bring the head below the heart.
- Restorative Pose: Savasana with blanket & bolster to promote deep release.
As promised, here is a helpful set of supplements for you to pick and choose from. These extras will, hopefully, boost your daily practice and give you added vigor for the day!
Mantra: So Hum = I am always changing or choose the more challenging Gayatri Mantra (click here to get the words and a recording).
Mudra: Rudra Mudra for centered strength or the Pushan Mudra to target digestion.
Props: This sequence of poses may require a blanket and a bolster to support your opening and closing postures.
Essential Oils: Specifically geared toward the musculature system is peppermint, copaiba, marjoram and, for aches and pains, Young Living’s PanAway blend.
Music: Great music for balancing and flowing can be found from artists Dean Evenson or Soulfood.
If you want more clarification on definitions for the Daily Yoga Vitamin, just click back to my previous post.
And, if you have anything else to add, I’d love to hear your comments! ☯️