Your assignment for today is: Half Sun Salutation !
Okay so this is an exception to this series, it’s not a “pose” but it’s a sequence of movements called “Sun Salutations” that make up a good portion of a typical yoga class.
When your mind is exploding with scary negative thoughts, Sun Salutations give your mind a distraction, and teaches you to breathe and think clearly again.
Sun Salutations are a series of movements that a matched by an inhale or an exhale. Flowing through these movements helps even your breathing and rid of anxieties. It also heats the body, increases flexibility, and can help digestion. There’s many types of Sun Salutations, but we’re going to start with the basic Half Sun Salutation.
How to Practice
Try it at a speed that feels natural for you 3 times, and play with one of the following:
1. If you are depressed but angry, try and slow down the last 2 times, and aim to double your EXHALE when you end back in a standing position.
2. If you are depressed but sad and fatigued, try and speed up the pace for the last 2 times, and when you end back to standing, take in a deep INHALE, and EXHALE down the spine, and into the earth.
3. If you are anxious or panicky, you’ll most likely want to move fast. So move fast! Get out all the anxious energy, and the hold the last forward fold for 3 breaths focusing on releasing your EXHALES as slowly as you can.
Written Instuctions (instead of my cute pic xox)
1. Inhale, sweep your arms up and over your head
2. Exhale, fold over (your knees can be bent or straight)
3. Inhale, half way up (hands are at the shins for a flat back)
4. Exhale, fold over
5. Inhale, sweep up, come up, touch your palms, bring your palms to your heart’s center.
How I feel after Half Sun Sals
When I start to feel a tinge of anxiety, I love to practice half sun salutations (or full sun sals, but we’ll get into those later <333) until I’ve burned off the negativity and gained back full, and calm breathing.
When I feel completely depressed, but fatigued, I start out with slow Sun Sals, and then begin to speed up to bring life and energy back into my body.
When I feel depressed but angry and tense, I start out at a a speed that feels natural (which is usually fast and aggressive…), and then begin to slow it down and expand my breath.
Sometimes I repeat these as much as 15 times to calm down, and as little as 3.
