Swell Yoga Moves

Swell yoga moves to beat the blues. This vinyasa can be interspersed within your practice or be a stand alone energy pick up. Challenge yourself, get the heart pumping more, and put a spring in your step. If you have sore joints - hips, knees, ankles - step rather than jump, step and hold poses longer rather than creating a vinyasa. And if you have heart problems keep arms shoulder height.

Attitude is always of primary importance in your practice. When you center in the first pose, Tadasana, with hands in prayer position at the heart, notice what's motivating the practice. Close your eyes, if you wish, and release tension from the shoulders in your favorite way. Feel the sensations in the back of the body and shoulders.

The swell yoga moves consists of a shooting Star, stabilizing Chair, and tall Mountain. Let's visualize these moves before practicing them. See the Mountain grow tall as you inhale and gracefully raise your Namaste hands from the heart to reach for the twinkling star overhead. Invite that star to join you as you move fingers apart while keeping the base of the palms, sides of thumbs and little fingers together forming the lotus mudra. Tone or chant here, if you like, then close fingers gently around that sparkling star when it arrives, thanking the star for coming and showering you with bright light. Of course you can create your own visualization and play even more.

Now are you ready to create fireworks? Breathe in drawing the hands with star to your heart and as you exhale bend the knees moving them behind the toes taking the hips behind the heels into stabilizing Chair pose, Utkatanasana. Then inhale and on the exhale jump or step wide into five pointed star pose with feet facing forward and arms outstretched shoulder height palms facing down. Breathe fully using ujjayi breathing technique if you know it. Feel and/or imagine or visualize your whole body as light with sparkles of shooting stars at or leaving your finger tips. Stay and embody the star for as long as you wish.

When you are ready jump or step back into the stabilizing Chair pose with arms raised overhead if you like. Stay here allowing energy to build for a few breaths, then straighten your knees and become a tall Mountain.

So catch a falling star, become a shooting Star and come back to reality or not in your Chair and tall Mountain.

Heather Greaves is an avid yoga explorer and the owner of Body Therapies Yoga Training. She organizes annual yoga and meditation retreats and workshops in Ontario and Barbados, and has been helping yoga enthusiasts learn to teach yoga in a certified program. For more yoga tips or to sign up for our monthly newsletter visit http://www.yogatogo.com/

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