The third section of Journey Into Power is Vitality. Vitality means energy, and this section of the practice helps to increase your energy and heat in your body. At this point in the practice, we begin to slow down a bit more and create longer holds in the poses. After Awakening, this section of the sequence will feel welcome to your body as you slow down your breath.
This part of the practice has many twists to help open up the mid back and chest to allow for deeper breaths. It is a helpful part of the practice for those that sit a lot because it counteracts the posture of sitting all day. Vitality requires you to use your quad and glut muscles, and since these muscles are large comparatively to the other muscles in your body, it is what ends up creating a lot of heat in your yoga practice. The strengthening of these muscles will also help you in your daily life when you go to lift heavy things from the ground or just moving with ease from sitting to standing.
Crescent Lunge
Crescent lunge aides in increasing flexibility and strength of the legs. It also challenges your balance due to the staggered stance you are taking. Finally, it helps with learning pelvic alignment. Due to a staggered stance, this makes the muscles of the pelvis be pulled in option directions. This requires you to begin to understand how to create a neutral alignment of your pelvis, which is beneficial off your yoga mat.
Alignment:
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Feet hip width distance apart
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Front foot at 12 o’clock
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Heel of the back foot lifted and in line with ball of the foot
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Front knee at 90 degrees
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Back knee as straight as you can tolerate
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Hips are facing the front of the mat
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Shoulders are in line with hips
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Finger reach towards the ceiling
Modifications:
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Drop back knee to the mat
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Slight bend in back knee if your low back is bothering you
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Front knee less than 90 degrees to decrease intensity
Benefits:
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Strengthens quads and gluts
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Helps to stretch the hip flexor muscle which can be tight from sitting for many hours throughout the day
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Improves your balance
Revolved Crescent Lunge
This pose adds to crescent lunge by twisting the upper half of your body. This pose helps to create movement through the thoracic (mid back) spine. Creating this movement allows you to have the ability to take bigger breaths and improve your standing posture. It also challenges your balance, and having better balance as we age is incredibly important.
Alignment:
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Feet hip width distance apart
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Front foot at 12 o’clock
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Heel of the back foot lifted and in line with ball of the foot
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Front knee at 90 degrees
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Back knee as straight as you can tolerate
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Opposite elbow on outside of opposite knee
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Press hands actively together
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Lift chest away from thigh
Modifications:
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Drop back knee to the mat
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Place hand on block to twist rather than having hands in a prayer position
Benefits:
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Strengthens quads and gluts
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Improves your balance
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Improves the mobility of your thoracic spine (mid back)
Warrior II
Warrior II is a pose that continues to build the fire during your yoga practice. It continues to challenge your quad muscle, which is probably already a bit fatigued after crescent lunge. This pose challenges your focus and strength.
Alignment:
- Place your heels in one line with each other.
- Face your front toes to 12 o’clock
- Your back foot is parallel with the back edge of the mat
- Back knee is straight
- Front knee bent to 90 degrees
- Hands reaching in opposite directions
- Hands are at shoulder height
Modifications:
- Shorten your stance
- Decrease the bend in the front of your knee
- Drop back knee to mat, so you are half kneeling
Benefits:
- Strengthens your quadricep muscles
- Strengthens your shoulders
- Stretches your inner thigh muscles
- Improves your focus during a challenge
Extended Side Angle
This pose deepens warrior II into a side bend. Here you will feel a stretch through your side body and it begins to open your chest so you can expand your breath. And again, this pose continues to build heat within your body.
Alignment:
- Place your heels in one line with each other.
- Face your front toes to 12 o’clock
- Your back foot is parallel with the back edge of the mat
- Back knee is straight
- Front knee bent to 90 degrees
- Elbow rests on front knee
- Reach top arm over your head
Modifications:
- Shorten your stance
- Decrease the bend in the front of your knee
- Drop back knee to mat, so you are half kneeling
- If this bothers your shoulder, you can place your top arm behind your back
Benefits:
- Strengthens your quadricep muscles
- Stretches your side body
- Stretches your inner thigh muscles
- Improves your focus during a challenge
Chair Twist
Yet another twist in this part of the sequence. You will notice as you progress to more twists throughout the practice, you can go a little deeper each time. You will also notice that your breath can expand a little more after you move out of the twist into the next pose.
Alignment:
- Big toes touching
- Knees bent – working towards 90 degrees
- Hips drop back towards the mat
- Opposite elbow on outside of opposite knee
- Press hands actively together
- Lift chest away from thigh
Modifications:
- Decrease knee bend
- Bring feet hip width distance apart
- Place elbow between thighs
- Use a block in front of feet and place hand on block to perform the twist
Benefits:
- Strengthens glutes and quad muscles
- Improves mobility of the thoracic spine (mid back), hips and ankles
- Creates heat in the body to improve flexibility throughout the rest of the practice
Gorilla
This is a variation on the forward fold. It challenges your balance because you are putting your hands underneath your feet. Remember, bend your knees a lot if you are hamstrings are tight!
Alignment:
- Feet hip width distance apart
- Walk hands underneath feet
- Spin inner thighs towards back of mat
- Torso folds towards thighs
- Crown of head reaches towards mat
- Lift sit bones toward ceiling
- Shift weight towards balls of the feet
- Slight bend in knees (or big bend depending on how flexible you are)
Modifications:
- Rag doll
- Place hands on blocks in forward fold
Benefits:
- This pose helps to stretch your hamstrings.
- It also helps to relax your neck. You get a natural traction from gravity when folding forward.
Crow
At Bright Heart, we find when first starting out, most students freak out about this pose. We don’t walk on our hands during the day – unless you are a gymnast – so doing a balancing act on your hands can be scary. We encourage you to try it anyways. There are baby steps to get to the full pose, so you can do it!
Alignment:
- Place hands shoulder width apart
- Place knees on backs of triceps
- Bend elbows
- Shift weight into your fingertips
- Lift feet of your mat
Modifications:
- If you have wrist pain or are just opposed to balancing on your hands – take yogi squat (pictured below)
- Place your feet on a block to help lift your hips
- Keep your feet on the ground until you feel strong enough on your hands
Benefits:
- Creates energy within your mind and body – because when you are flying off the ground it feels exciting!
- Crow helps to push through resistances and negative thoughts
- And it strengthens your upper body
Thanks for learning about this section of the sequence Vitality. We hope this gives you more confidence as you practice. Stay tuned for next week’s Journey Into Power section, Equanimity.