// Work Out 1

// Hybrid Flows / Yoga Work Out

Sometimes we can get a solid yoga practice and work out at home. Here is a series that you can do quickly at home (or use parts of it with your regular work out at the gym.) 

We start with breathing that is crucial for awareness and a sense of presence, moving through dynamic movements that will create warmth in the body and provide some strengthening, stability, and flexibility, and end with nourishing poses that are soothing to the body. 

Bare foot is fine. 

Make sure you have an open space with enough room to move without hitting things. 

Always drink water after practice. 

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Start laying back with the legs out, in a reclined cobblers pose, extending the feet as far from the seat as needed to maintain a comfortable position without excess pressure on the knees or hips. Do not press the knees to the ground, it will only make things worse if you’re already tight. Focus on settling the pelvis down, while keeping the spine and neck long. 

Breathe for 19 full breathes. 

Coming up as you bring the legs together, find a boat pose, with the chest lifted and feet elevated. Stay here, or do a series of out and in’s with the legs and the arms. Extending the legs out as you open the arms wide on an inhale, keep the chest open as you lean back, opening the V shape of the pose, and on a solid exhale, bring the knees back in the arms to the original position extending alongside the legs. 

Repeat 5-6 times. 

Find a table top position on all 4s. Extend the right leg back as you extend the left arm forward. Core stays tight as you bring the knee to meet the elbow under the body. Repeat this 3-6 times on each side of the body. 

Press back to a child pose and immediately come forward into a plank position. Lower down slower, elbows close to the body, chataranga form. Press back into a child's pose. 

Repeat this 3-6 times. if you’re used to a traditional yoga flow, by all means take upward dog and downward dog in leu of child’s pose. 

Come to stand at the front of the mat for a squat / lunge series. Start with the feet hip distance apart, ready for a squat. Step the right foot back into a lunge, hands at the heart, step back to the front of the mat in the original position, taking a squat, hands dropping in between the legs. Step the left foot back into a lunge, hands at the heart, step back to the front of the mat, taking another squat as before. 

Repeat 10 lunges on both sides. Feel free to add weight here if you have it. 

Come to a plank position for a double knee tuck, plank variation. Bring in the knees, right, then left, quickly but with control. Immediately after bring in the right knee so as to thread the leg under the body extending it out to the left side, balancing on the side of the foot, lift the left arm, and look up with control and balance. Place the hand down, and bring the legback to the starting plank position. 

Repeat with the left leg. So the pattern goes knee in, knee in, leg under body/lift arm…back to plank. knee in knee in, other leg under body/lift arm… back to plank. 

Repeat 5-6 times on each side. Press back to child's pose. 

Repeat the squat/lunge series with the plank positions if you would like and have time up to 3 times. 

Finish with a comfortable seated position, with the eyes closed, shoulders back. Place the hands on the heart center and abdomen or together at heart center. Breathe. Use this time to reflect, possibly creating an intention to take with you after your work out.