9 short and sweet warm-up sequence

14 November, 2022 (updated 16 November, 2022) | By Pranali | 0 Comments

Monica
Ālaya Yoga

9 short and sweet warm-up sequence

November 14, 2022

Here's a quick and gentle warm-up sequence for your practice

A gentle warm-up right before the Yoga practice can make a lot of difference in how you feel throughout your practice. Warming up can make your movement easy and smooth by removing the morning stiffness of the body.

Very accessible warm-up you can catch up before heading to your day to open your body and still your mind.

Asanas to include to cover all the key stations in your warm-up sequence

Start in Sukhasana: 2 minutes

1. Cross your legs and sit with spine straight, aligning your neck, spine and your hips.

2. Rest your palms on your knees with palms facing down.

3. Gently close your eye and draw your awareness inwards. Observe your breath.

Side Body Release: One minute (30 seconds each side)

1. Inhale – Raise both your arms up to lengthen your spine.

2. Exhale to place your right hand on the right side and bend to your right.

3. Left arm stretching up, stretching your side rib cage.

4. Inhale to come back in the center.

5. Exhale and repeat on your left.

Forward stretch: One minute

From side release, come back in the centre, lengthen your spine, place your palms in front shoulder distance apart, and fold forward.

Side Twist: One minute (30 seconds each side)

1. From the forward fold come back to the centre. Inhale to lengthen your spine.

2. Exhale to place your right palm behind your right hip, left palm over your right knee and twist.

3. Look over your right shoulder.

4. Come back to the centre, lengthen, and repeat on your left.

Shoulder Rotation: 30 seconds

1. Bring your knees together from Sukhasana, and swing them back to place your sit bones over your heels to sit in Vajrasana.

2. Spread your arms parallel to the floor in a T-shape.

3. Rotate your arms from the shoulder socket – clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Shoulder opening: One Minute

1. From the T shape, sitting in Vajrasana, stretch your arms back.

2. Interlace your fingers.

3. Lengthen your Spine, and stretch your arms towards the floor while opening your chest.

Cat & Cow: Ten Rounds

1. From Vajrasana, place your palms forward, shoulder distance apart.

2. Knee hip distance apart.

3. Wrist in line with shoulders, and knees in line with hips.

4. Inhale and move your chin and chest up, arching your spine.

5. Exhale, bring your chin to the chest, rounding your spine.

Move to Downward Dog - 30 Seconds

1. From Cat & Cow – Tuck your toes, lift your knees and bring your hips back.

2. You can walk your heels to get rid of the stiffness from your hamstrings.

Relax your Body & Mind in the Child Pose: One Minute

1. From Downward dog, bring your knees down on the floor, bring your sit bones over your heels and fold.

2. Relax your head and hands.

3 Breath and take this time to connect back and relax your whole body.

Hope this helps you catch up with your practice when you have only a few minutes to move. All you need is a small corner to practice this warm-up, so the place is no constraint. Of course, if you have everything you need for the entire practice, then jump to our live class schedule and join your favourite class now

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Yoga to Boost Your Immunity

28 February, 2022 (updated 11 August, 2022) | By Pranali | 0 Comments

Sarah
Ālaya Yoga

Yoga to Boost Your Immunity

February 28, 2022

YOGA FOR IMMUNITY

Our immune system plays a very important role in our health. Medical practitioners for years have stressed how important our immune system is to our overall health – and how one can boost their immunity by adopting a healthy lifestyle, indulging in activities that are good for our body and being mindful of what we eat. A strong immune system has been linked to relaxation as well as reduced levels of stress.

Our immune system defends and protects our body from disease-causing germs, viruses and bacteria and helps us get back on our feet when we’ve been sick. Some people fall sick more than others, and some people may take longer to recover from health ailments and injuries. Even a mild cough or a cold can hinder our productivity levels and act as an irritant.

This is why it’s important to be proactive when it comes to our immunity. We all get sick from time to time but it’s important to be mindful of our bodies so that we can overcome any health ailments quickly.

Exercising boosts our metabolism, but choosing the right kind of exercise can also boost our immunity. Practising yoga is a great way of staying on top of your health on a regular basis and it does wonders for your immune system, metabolism, respiratory system, digestion as well as the nervous system.

Our immune system defends and protects our body from disease-causing germs, viruses and bacteria and helps us get back on our feet when we’ve been sick.

HOW YOGA BOOSTS YOUR IMMUNITY

Yoga reduces stress:

We all experience some level of stress in our day-today-lives, be it from work pressures, or family responsibilities. We often store this stress in our body which can lead to us feeling stiff and tight in our muscles and joints, but this stress can also come in the form of health ailments or sickness. Stress can make it harder for our immune system to do its job which can, in turn, make us more susceptible to health problems and infections.

Yoga improves your respiratory health and your lung capacity:

Pranayama is at the heart of a good yoga practice. When we move through different yoga asanas, we are told to be focused on our inhalations and exhalations. This infusion of the mind and the body has an incredible effect on our general health and well being. Practising pranayama, or breathing exercises before and after a yoga session can help us boost our respiratory health and immunity and can help us prevent as well as fight off respiratory ailments such as the common cold or cough more quickly by increasing the efficiency of our lungs.

Yoga improves blood circulation

Yoga is all about movement and flow and the marriage of flow to breath. This helps improve our blood circulation. Holding different asanas can direct that blood flow to different parts of the body providing us with many health benefits. Improved blood circulation throughout the body leads to all our organs working more efficiently. Good blood circulation also leads to reduced levels of stress, anxiety and blood pressure, all of which in turn affects our immunity levels.

Holding different asanas can direct that blood flow to different parts of the body providing us with many health benefits.

Pranayama to improve the health of our lungs:

Nadi shodhana or alternate nostril breathing is a widely used breathing practice in yoga that reduces our stress and anxiety levels in the body, calms the nervous system to help us feel more relaxed as well as help balance our chakras, all while increasing the efficiency of our lungs.

Bhramri or humming bee breath has an almost instant effect on our mind and body. When we practice the bee breath, we produce vibrations that activate the nerves around the forehead and the brain and stimulate our pineal and pituitary glands. The bee breath helps increase the production of thyroid hormones which in turn helps our body fight off any foreign intruders. Bee breath is also a wonderful practice to improve other health problems such as anxiety, panic, insomnia, migraines, seizure, as well as sexual dysfunction.

SOME YOGA ASANAS BOOST THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Corpse pose or Savasana – This pose helps reduce stress, blood pressure, anxiety, and insomnia. The pose brings you intense relaxation and is highly restorative.

Child’s pose or Balasana – This asana is all about active rest where you focus on your breath. It reduces stress levels in the body while actively stretching and releasing your shoulders and your legs, as well as lengthening the spine.

Triangle pose or trikonasana – This pose improves your blood circulation. It also stimulates your thyroid gland which in turn improves your immunity level.

Dhanurasana – This pose helps increase the flow of white blood cells by directly applying pressure to your digestive system which in turn also strengthens your digestive system.

Conclusion

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the many health benefits that yoga provides. There are many asanas and breathing exercises you can incorporate in your regular yoga routine to help target and boost your immunity. But another important facet of yoga is to be conscious of the things you eat and drink and to practice restraint when it comes to consuming things that may affect your body negatively. Practice mindfulness daily so it becomes a habit, and with regular practice you will begin to notice how your body begins to restore, heal and strengthen itself.