This flowing power yoga sequence will raise your heart rate while introducing you to relaxation and meditative techniques you can use off the mat.

Moon Piercing Breath 1

This pose has a calming effect on the body and the mind. This exercise can be done at the beginning of a yoga practice or whenever you need to calm down after dealing with a tough situation.

1. Sit at the front of your mat in a comfortable cross-legged position. Allow your eyes to close, ground your tailbone to the floor, and lengthen upward through the crown of your head.
2. Lift your right hand to your face. Place the tip of your index and middle finger on the space between your two eyebrows. Focus there as you breathe.
3. Block your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
4. Block your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through the right.
5. Repeat, breathing slowly and deeply from the left side to the right for 10 to 20 rounds of inhale and exhale.

Moon Piercing Breath 2

This pose has a calming effect on the body and the mind. This exercise can be done at the beginning of a yoga practice or whenever you need to calm down after dealing with a tough situation.

1. Sit at the front of your mat in a comfortable cross-legged position. Allow your eyes to close, ground your tailbone to the floor, and lengthen upward through the crown of your head.
2. Lift your right hand to your face. Place the tip of your index and middle finger on the space between your two eyebrows. Focus there as you breathe.
3. Block your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
4. Block your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through the right.
5. Repeat, breathing slowly and deeply from the left side to the right for 10 to 20 rounds of inhale and exhale.


Half Sun Salutation – Mountain

1. Begin in a standing position (Mountain pose) with your hands in a prayer at your heart center. Focus inward and breathe deeply for five to 10 rounds of inhale and exhale.

Half Sun Salutation – Upward Reach

2. Inhale. Sweep your arms overhead.

Half Sun Salutation – Forward Fold

3. Exhale. Keep your back straight, hinge from your hips and fold forward taking your fingertips or palms to the floor.


Half Sun Salutation – Half Lift

4. Inhale. Lift to your fingertips and lengthen the spine forming a right angle between your torso and legs.

5. Exhale. Hinge from your hips and fold forward again, deepening the stretch to the backs of your legs.
6. Inhale. Keep your spine straight and sweep back to standing, extending your arms overhead. Exhale. Take your hands together in a prayer at your chest. Repeat the full cycle 10 times.

Note: If transitioning with straight legs bothers your back, feel free to bend your knees when folding forward and standing back up.

Intense Pose

1. After finishing your last round of the Sun Salutation, bend your knees and reach both hands overhead with an inhale. Lengthen the spine by gently scooping your tailbone toward your heels. Lift your belly muscles up and in.
2. To relax your shoulders, turn your palms inward toward your face and allow your shoulder blades to slide downward like melting snow sliding down a metal roof. Hold for 10 full breaths.
3. To exit, straighten your legs and take the hands to prayer at your chest in Mountain pose.

Transition pose – Chaturanga

Transition: Inhale. Sweep arms overhead. Exhale. Hinge from your hips and fold. Inhale. Lift to your fingertips and lengthen your spine.

Exhale, step back, squeeze your elbows into your ribs and lower to low pushup position (Chaturanga dandasana).


Transition pose — Upward Facing Dog

Inhale. Roll over your toes to the Upward Facing Dog, straightening your arms and bending your back.

Exhale. Curl your toes under and lift your hips into Downward Facing Dog (next slide).

Downward Facing Dog

1. To protect your wrists, be sure that your middle fingers are facing directly forward. Imagine that your hands are resting on sand and try to leave even indentations under all parts of your palms.
2. Keep the spine long and straight by pressing outward through your crown and scooping your tail as though it could touch the space between your heels.
3. To engage your legs, rotate your heels slightly outward and press them toward the floor, drawing your kneecaps toward the waist as you do so. Press your heels closer to the floor every time you exhale. Hold for five full breaths.

Note: If keeping your back straight is difficult, practice the Down Dog with bent knees.

Warrior II

1. Lift your right foot into the air from the Downward Facing Dog. Look forward and step your right foot to the right hand.
2. Turn your left heel down with the toes of your back foot facing forward about 25 degrees. Inhale.
3. Bend your right knee and sweep to standing with your torso facing left and your arms extended outward at shoulder height. Keep your right knee stacked directly above the ankle and scoop your tailbone between the legs until the tailbone aligns with the right heel.
4. Allow your shoulders to stack directly above the pelvis. Hold for 10 breaths.

Take a vinyasa: Exhale. Return to the high pushup and flow to the Low Pushupposition. Inhale. Roll over your toes to the Upward Facing Dog. Exhale. Lift your hips to come into Downward Facing Dog. Repeat Warrior II on the other side.


Extended Side Angle

1. Step your right leg forward to Warrior II from Downward Facing Dog. Keep your right leg bent and either stack your right arm on your right leg or place your right hand on the floor near the inside of your right foot.
2. Keep the sides of your torso long and extend your left arm over the left ear creating a long line from the side of the left foot all the way out through your left fingertips.
3. Extend with your inhales and twist your torso open every time you exhale. Hold for 10 breaths.
4. To exit, take a vinyasa and repeat on the other side.

Revolved Side Angle

1. From Downward Facing Dog, lift your right foot into the air and step your right foot forward to your hands.
2. Keep your left heel facing upward, bend your right knee and sweep to theCrescentlunge extending arms overhead. Square your hips to the front of the mat and scoop your tailbone.
3. Place hands in a prayer position at your chest, lift your belly up and in and twist to the right.
4. Cross your left elbow over the leg and gently twisting your torso to the right. Hold for 10 full breaths. (This image shows the pose modified, with the left knee on the ground.)
5. To exit, inhale your arms overhead, take a vinyasa and repeat on the other side.

Eagle

1. Inhale. Step forward to your hands from Down Dog, lifting onto your fingertips to lengthen the spine. Exhale.
2. Take a forward fold. Inhale.
3. Bend your knees and reach both arms overhead in Chair pose.
4. Cross your right arm under the left. Bend your arms and bring your palms together.
5. Cross your right leg over top of left and hook your ankles if you can. To help balance the pose, lock your eagle’s eyes on one solid point and breathe deeply for 10 full breaths.

Note: Don’t worry if you can’t hook your ankles. Simply cross one knee over the other and work toward it patiently.

Transition: Unfurl your arms and reach them overhead. Draw your right knee to your chest and straighten the standing leg. With your arms still extended overhead, step your foot back to Warrior I posture (next slide).


Warrior I

1. Turn your back heel down with the toes of the back leg facing forward at about 45-degrees and your front foot facing directly ahead.
2. Square your hips and torso with the front of the mat and extend your arms overhead. To stabilize your foundation, ground down through your back foot as though you were squishing a grape under your heel and scoop your tailbone to lengthen the lower back. Hold for 10 breaths.
3. To exit, take a vinyasa and repeat from the Eagle on the other side.

Pigeon

1. After returning to Downward Facing Dog, lift your right foot into the air and swing your right ankle toward your left wrist.
2. Take your knee and shin to the floor. Shift your right knee to the right until the knee is in alignment with your armpit.
3. Draw the foot of your right foot back toward your left hip bone. Keeping hips relatively square, curl your back toes under and slide your rear leg backward until your left sit bone comes to the floor.
4. Lengthen the spine, hinge from your hip crease and fold forward. Rest your head on top of your hands in prayer position like a pigeon resting its head on its wing. Hold for 10 full breaths.

Note: If your hips are tight and you can’t get your behind to the floor, place a block or a folded blanket under your right hip.

Cow Face Pose

1. Place your hands on either side of your leg in Pigeon pose. Inhale and come up to a backbend.
2. Swing your left knee over the top of the right knee with an exhale.
3. Draw your left foot back near your right hip and stack your knees if possible. Hold your feet like the handlebars on a bicycle, ground down through your sit bones, lengthen upward and fold. Hold for 10 breaths.


Cow Face Twist

1. Keep your legs in Cow Face position and sit up.
2. Place your right hand on the left knee and your left hand behind you on the floor.
3. Try to keep the bottom of your ribcage level with the floor as you twist. Lift your belly muscles up and in.
4. Lengthen upward on your inhales and twist on the exhales. Hold for 10 full breaths.

Transition: Uncross your legs. Plant your hands near the front of the mat and jump back through a vinyasa. Take five full breaths in Downward Facing Dog and repeat the last three poses (Pigeon, Cow Face, Cow Face Twist) on the other side.

Double Leg Forward Stretch

1. After finishing five breaths in your Downward Facing Dog, sit down or hop to a seated position on the floor.
2. Extend your legs to the front of the mat with your toes facing straight up. Roll the flesh of your buttocks back and out of the way and separate your heels by about six inches.
3. Grab your big toes or wrap a strap around your feet if you can’t reach.
4. Keep your back straight and fold forward. Imagine that your spine could lengthen like a tape measure, and draw the crown of your head toward your toes. Hold for 10 full breaths.

Corpse Pose

1. After sitting up from the Double Legged Forward Stretch, extend your arms outward toward the front of the mat, and slowly roll down your back one section of spine at a time.
2. Extend your legs on the floor and allow your feet to be slightly wider than your hips.
3. Extend your arms outward to the sides with the palms facing up.
4. Allow your eyes to close and relax for 10 minutes.

Savasana Meditation
This body scanning technique can be used to release tension, lessen anxiety and deal with stressful situations. Though the technique can be used anywhere, it works particularly well with the Corpse pose. Depending on how quickly you scan, the exercise can take between five and 15 minutes to complete.

Technique:
Imagine that your body were made of candle wax. Shift your awareness to the crown of your head, and melt that space with your gaze. As the wax begins to melt, feel the tension releasing from your scalp. Scan downward slowly through your face, neck and the rest of the body until you reach your toes, spending extra time melting any areas that feel tense. To finish, scan from the toes all the way back to the crown of your head. When you have finished, focus your mind on the sound of your breath and simply relax.