Summer mini flows

This sequence is also available on YouTube.

DISCOVER YOUR SUMMER HOME PRACTICE
Summer is the perfect time to take the brave step of rolling your mat out and getting your home practice going. These sequences will work anytime of the day. But starting your morning off with your practice, before the busyness of the day takes over, is a great way to build a healthy habit into your daily routine. Getting up that extra few minutes early is much more doable when the sun is shining outside! You might even find you get the taste for practicing outdoors into your garden or your local park. You can also practice these mini flows on your summer holidays. They are the perfect way to stay active, while still getting all the benefits of your relaxing holiday vibes.

THE BENEFITS OF SALUTE TO THE SUN FLOW
The sun brings out the best in us and for that we salute it. This sequence has lots of standing poses with arms reaching for the sky. Standing poses are very strengthening to the legs, core and glutes. The addition of the arms raised, wakes up the shoulders and the arms and gives you a full body workout. They are also great for getting the circulation going and building focus, concentration and stamina. The standing poses where one leg is lifted will strengthen and stabilise the ankles and knees and are valuable support if you are a seasoned runner.

THE BENEFITS OF ENERGY BURSTS FLOW
Starting the day off with this sequence will set you up for whatever the day has in store for you. It’s hard to not feel a burst of energy in the afterglow of poses like Camatkarasana/Wild Thing and Ardha Chandrasana/Half Moon. They are challenging poses that require balance, concentration and a small leap of faith! Wild Thing has the added benefit of being an inversion (where the heart is above the head) and eases stress, tension and anxiety; boosts the immune system; aids good digestion; increases circulation; and most importantly, gives you that yogi glow to your complexion! There is also a healthy splattering of twists and side bends in this sequence which are very energising. Anytime you’re feeling tired sit up tall and take a twist to wake yourself up again.

THE BENEFITS OF SUNNY BACKBENDS FLOW
Backbends are the perfect summer poses. It feels really good to open up the chest and shoulders after months of guarding ourselves from the cold weather. Backbends are energising; aid good digestion; ease stress, tension, anxiety, fatigue, depression; and boost the immune system. On top of that already impressive list of benefits they press and stimulate the colon and help you stay regular over the summer months. Look for strength in the whole extent of the back body in locust pose to counteract all the sitting you might do through your day.

THE BENEFITS OF COOLING FLOW
We may not always need cooling down on your average Irish summer day but this sequence is also very calming and soothing. Forward bends ease insomnia, stress, tension and anxiety and are very relaxing and calming. If you’ve had a busy day and your mind is rushing this is the sequence for you. It can also be practiced in the morning if you wake up feeling less than refreshed and still need to get on with your day. Spend a few minutes in your Salamba Sarvangasana/Shoulderstand and feel the effect of the reverse of blood flow through the body.

EXPLORING SUMMER MINI FLOWS IN YOUR PRACTICE
Each mini flow will take around 15mins. If you would like to practice for longer add more rounds of Surya Namaskara C illustrated above in between each standing mini flow. When flowing through the mini flows indicated between the arrows, start with the right leg forward first, and then repeat this group of poses on the left side. Keep your transitions simple and when in doubt link pose through a Downward Dog or come back to Tadasana at the top of your mat and step back into your next pose. See how it feels to practice outdoors. You will find the surface you roll your mat out on can change the sensations of the poses. Grass adds a softness, challenges your balance and works all your balancing muscles, while sand adds surfaces to dig in and press your heels against in poses like downward dog. Being outdoors also helps you to really breathe deeply during your practice in the fresh air. Take your time and enjoy the poses that nourish you, remember you are the boss of your practice.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Move & restore

This sequence is also available on YouTube.

DOING & NON-DOING
When I completed my recent studies on the nervous system and restorative yoga with Yoga Medicine I was curious to experiment more with the benefits of restorative yoga to the nervous system. I started including restorative poses at the end of my practice as a way to add more of this deeply heeling therapeutic practice into my day and continue to relearn how to relax. I started to notice that by adding some restorative at the end of my practice I was teaching my nervous system to be more malleable, swapping more smoothly from activity to relaxation, and appreciating the value of both. I noticed a few incidents where I was able to pause before I reacted to situations with the kids, and deal with it in a logical way rather than a knee jerk reaction. I felt less depleted at the end of a day when I felt I had given something back to my energy stores at the end of my yoga practice. On the days where I practiced a purely restorative session in the evening I noticed I would settle to sleep the minute my head hit the pillow, and better still, not experience the 4am disturbances to my nights sleep that I had slipped into.

I am currently teaching this style of class online on a Friday morning. You can practice live with me or practice in your own time with the class recording. Experience the benefits for yourself!

Here are some of the many benefits of restorative yoga: regulates the nervous system, balances emotions, balances hormones, eases stress & anxiety, boosts immune function, improves healing capacity, eases muscle tension, eases back and neck pain, reduces chronic pain, eases fatigue, improves sleep, improves overall wellbeing.

BUILDING A RESILIANT NERVOUS SYSTEM
While we can’t consciously control the nervous system we can create favourable conditions to influence our bodies response to external and internal sensory stimulus. Stress, or the sympathetic nervous response, is where we create, get our day's activities done and exercise. Resting or the parasympathetic nervous system is where the body clears out the ‘doing’ hormones, restores homeostasis balance to the body and creates an optimum environment for all the functions of the body. Both work in tandem and are a natural part of being human. This blended method of moving and restoring honours both the yin and yang within our day and helps build a resilient nervous system. To lean more about how the nervous system works and what happens when it tips into too much ‘doing’ have a read of my Finding calm article.

EXPLORING MOVE & RESTORE IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence starts with a movement practice with simple purposeful flows to build mobility and strength. There are three mini flows in the movement practice. Move slowly through the poses within each flow and then repeat each one with the breath guides above the poses. The sequence then transitions from doing to non-doing with a restorative practice to target the nervous system. In restorative yoga we consciously relax the body to bring it into a deep state of rest and create a healing environment. The goal of the restorative stage of this sequence is to replenish, absorb the benefits of moving and give back to your body's energy stores. The poses are held for longer periods (you will see the suggested hold times in the sequence) with the support of your blankets to help you to feel effortless comfort. Although props are king in restorative yoga there is plenty you can achieve with just a few blankets to support you and keep you warm. You will need three blankets for this practice. See below for alignment cues on your main restorative pose.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device.

The peak pose of the movement sequence is Salabhasana/Locust, a fantastic full back body strengthener:

• Lie on your front, arms by your sides, palms facing your body, forehead resting on the ground.

• Inhale, press into your pubic bone, lift your head, upper torso, arms and legs, lift with the whole back. Reach your chest forward and up

• Extend your arms towards your feet, lift your legs up and press through the balls of your feet, roll your inner thighs up.

• Broaden through the collarbones, firm your shoulder blades onto your back, back of the neck long, gaze slightly forward.

RESTORATIVE POSE ALIGNMENT CUES
Below are the restorative techniques used in this sequence. The props you’ll need are:
1 x bolster - or 2 towels, wrapped around a horizontally rolled pillow and tied to secure.
2 x yoga blankets - or any wool, thick cotton or fleece blanket with density.

No.1 - Constructive rest
Start lying on your back, your knees bent, feet mat distant apart and knees knocked in together. Place your hands on your belly and feel the breath move through you. Take four rounds of 4/6 breath, inhaling for the count of 4 and exhaling for the count of 6. Keep the breath as gentle as possible, notice if you are holding any tension in your shoulders and upper chest. Pause after and notice any change this simple breath observation has made to your body and mind.

No.2 - Supine twist with raised hips
Fold a blanket in four, smooth it out and accordion fold it in three along the short side and place it in the centre of your mat. Place your second blanket folded at the top of your mat and a third blanket folded beside your mat. Sit your left hip and left thigh along your accordion fold blanket, place a the third folded blanket between your thighs, lie on your side. With arms in cactus position, open your right arm to your right and come into the twist. Place the second blanket under your right shoulder to ensure it is supported.

No.3 - Savasana
End your practice with at least 10 minutes of Savasana or Resting Pose. Lie supine on your back, legs stretched out, arms slightly away from your body, palms facing up. Legs slightly apart, feet fall out to the sides, soften your shoulder, back of the neck long. You can add an optional bolster under the knees or a blanket roll under the neck. Gently close your eyes, let the body become heavy and melt into the support of the ground. Soften the muscles across your forehead, releasing all tension, gaze inwards. Let all the muscles and bones of your body release.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

What nourishes you?

This sequence is also available on YouTube.

YOUR NOURISHMENT LIST
Self care and nourishment go hand in hand. Taking time to look after ourselves nourishes us physically and mentally. Nourishment can be found in lots of different ways. My nourishment list includes yoga, meditation, fresh air, long walks, short walks, mountain walks, sea swims, reading for knowledge, reading for pleasure, being creative, connecting with others and best of all a good night's sleep after a restorative yoga session! Sitting down and writing your nourishment list is time well spent. Sometimes when you’re in a bit of a spin or feeling low it is hard to believe that there is a way out of it. Just take out your list and pick one of your guaranteed nourishment ‘pick me ups’.

WHAT YOGA POSES NOURISH YOU?
You can do the same with your yoga practice by building a list of poses that feel just right for you and nourish every part of your body and mind. They don’t need to be big statement poses. They are the poses that feel like you have arrived to a familiar place. Favourite poses are very personal and highlight how amazingly different we all are physically and mentally. Some days my nourishing pose might be Bakasana/Crow to help boost my energy and other days I will come back to Tadasana/Mountain throughout my practice to help me focus and notice how my practice is sitting me that day.

Most of us have poses that are our favourite, and similarly poses that challenge us. Some days meeting yourself on your mat with one of your challenging poses can help you overcome everyday challenges in life and give you the lift you need. Alternatively it can teach you to sit with discomfort and that not everything in life is to be conquered.

One of the benefits of a personal practice is that you are addressing your needs and tailoring your practice to meet them. Investing a little bit of time to work out which poses nourish you, and how they help you, will make your time on your mat more productive. Keep your list beside you as you practice and add some of your favourite poses into your practice regardless of what sequence you are following. Below are some of the poses that nourish me and how they help me. Some of the poses tick more than one box, but to give a variety examples I have picked all different poses for each list.

EXPLORING WHAT NOURISHES YOU IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence is a collection of some of my nourishing poses which I regularly add to my practice. You can add your nourishing poses into the mini flows in the sequence or add them as stand alone poses. If your pose is a standing pose add it into the standing section, if your pose is a seated pose add it into the end of the sequence etc. As you are running through the sequence notice how the poses are sitting with you. See what effect the poses I have picked have on you.

ALIGNMENT CUES
The peak pose of this sequence is Ardha Chandrasana/Half Moon, one of my favourite poses that helps me feel strong, focused and energised.

Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• From Trikonasana with your right leg forward, bend your front knee. Place your right hand a foot forward to the little toe side of your right foot, on a brick, or the ground, left hand on your hip.

• Step your left foot forward a little, press down through the three points of your right foot.

• Inhale, float your left leg up to hip height or slightly above, toes facing forward. Flex your foot parallel to the ground, press out through the heel, firm your lifted leg.

• Hips and shoulders stacked, reach your left arm up high, palm facing left, gaze down or to your left fingertips.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru