Jessica Johnson
February 15, 2013
Yoga Mid Term

1.) Corpse Pose * Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and lean back onto your forearms. Lift your pelvis slightly off the floor and, with your hands, push the back of the pelvis toward the tailbone, then return the pelvis to the floor. Inhale and slowly extend the right leg, then the left, pushing through the heels. Release both legs, softening the groins, and see that the legs are angled evenly relative to the mid-line of the torso, and that the feet turn out equally. Narrow the front pelvis and soften (but don't flatten) the lower back. * I chose this post because it is a great restorative pose to begin or end a routine with. * The benefits of this pose is that it calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression, relaxes the body, reduces headache, fatigue, and insomnia, and helps to lower blood pressure. * "Corpse Pose." Http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/482. Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. * First roll gently with an exhalation onto one side, preferably the right. Take 2 or 3 breaths. With another exhalation press your hands against the floor and lift your torso, dragging your head slowly after. The head should always come up last.

2.) Childs Pose * Kneel on the floor. Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips. Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Broaden your sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck. Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Feel how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back. * I chose this pose because it feels good when it stretches my neck and back. * The benefits of this pose is that it gently stretches the hips, thighs, and ankles, calms the brain and helps relieve stress and fatigue, and relieves back and neck pain when done with head and torso supported. * "Child's Pose." Http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/475. Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. * To come up, first lengthen the front torso, and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone as it presses down and into the pelvis.

3.) Cow Pose * Start on your hands and knees in a "tabletop" position. Make sure your knees are set directly below your hips and your wrists, elbows and shoulders are in line and perpendicular to the floor. Center your head in a neutral position, eyes looking at the floor. As you inhale, lift your sitting bones and chest toward the ceiling, allowing your belly to sink toward the floor. Lift your head to look straight forward. Exhale, coming back to neutral "tabletop" position on your hands and knees. * I chose this pose because it also feels good on my back and it’s a great transition pose. * The benefits of this pose are that it stretches the front torso and neck, and it provides a gentle massage to the spine and belly organs. * "Cow Pose." Http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2467. Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. * Inhale, exhale, pull stomach to the spine and stand up.

4.) Downward Dog * Come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms, index fingers parallel or slightly turned out, and turn your toes under. Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the groins. Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. Straighten your knees but be sure not to lock them. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly. Narrow the front of the pelvis. Firm the outer arms and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. From these two points lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the head between the upper arms; don't let it hang. * I chose this pose because it feels good when it stretches my calves and back. * The benefits of this pose are that it calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression, energizes the body, stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands. It strengthens the arms and legs. It helps relieve the symptoms of menopause. It relieves menstrual discomfort when done with head supported. It helps prevent osteoporosis, and helps improve digestion. It relieves headache, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue. It is therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica, and sinusitis. * "Downward-Facing Dog." Http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/491. Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. * Inhale, exhale, pull your stomach to your spine and stand up straight.

5.) Mountain Pose * Stand with the bases of your big toes touching, heels slightly apart (so that your second toes are parallel). Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then lay them softly down on the floor. Rock back and forth and side to side. Gradually reduce this swaying to a standstill, with your weight balanced evenly on the feet. Firm your thigh muscles and lift the knee caps, without hardening your lower belly. Lift the inner ankles to strengthen the inner arches, then imagine a line of energy all the way up along your inner thighs to your groins, and from there through the core of your torso, neck, and head, and out through the crown of your head. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor and lift the pubis toward the navel. Press your shoulder blades into your back, then widen them across and release them down your back. Without pushing your lower front ribs forward, lift the top of your sternum straight toward the ceiling. Widen your collarbones. Hang your arms beside the torso. Balance the crown of your head directly over the center of your pelvis, with the underside of your chin parallel to the floor, throat soft, and the tongue wide and flat on the floor of your mouth. Soften your eyes. * I chose this pose because I like to end routines in this pose. * The benefits of this pose is that is improves posture, strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles, firms abdomen and buttocks, relieves sciatica, and reduces flat feet. * "Mountain Pose." Http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/492. Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. * Nomaste