This sequences requires you to find a quiet place with freedom to focus on your breathing. Read the notes with the video to gain the most out of these poses.
Go through each pose at least once to each direction.
Take at least 5 deep inhales as you stabilize through your core.Yoga utilizes the timeless yogic combination of breath work with postures to develop a deep sense of awareness that is essential to moving in harmony with horse. Focus towards awakening and opening the areas of the body that are integral to successful riding. These postures can be done pre-workout as a way to warm up your muscles and prepare them for engagement, or post workout to help prevent injury and soreness.
NOTES ON THE TOP POSES
THREAD THE NEEDLE
Bend both knees keeping the thighs parallel and hip-distance apart. Next, cross your right ankle over the left thigh flexing through the right foot to stabilize the ankle and knee joints.
Draw your left knee towards your chest and thread your right arm through the triangle between your legs, clasping your left hand around your left thigh. Make sure to relax through the upper back and neck as you work on opening the hip. As you continue to draw the left knee in towards your chest, at the same time, press your right knee away from you.Take 5 deeps breaths and then switch to left side.
The combination of movements should activate a perceptible sensation of opening in the hip.
BOAT/ NAVASANA
Come on to your hips and bend knees. Tilt your upper body backwards at an angle to which you feel the core engage. Make sure to keep a long spine, lifting through your chest. Do not let the belly collapse when you are breathing, instead engage the muscles to stability the stomach. Take between 5-10 deep breaths feeling the core awakening.
SIDE OPENERS
Walk your right hand out to the side and inhale as you life the left arm up. Reach through your left fingertips expanding the left side of the body and with an exhale bend to the right.
Keep both hips firmly rooted to the ground and focus on creating a space along the left rib cage. As you stretch through the left fingertips relax the shoulder away from your ear. Draw your chin away from the chest opening the throat space. Take 5 deep breaths then repeat the other side.
GROUNDED LATERAL ANGLE POSE/ ARDHA PARSVAKONASANA
Inhale; draw the upper body back to center. Exhale; plant your left hand down to the side of your left knee. Inhale; sweep your right arm up and over your head. Ground down through the outer edge of your right foot and reach through your right fingertips creating a long line of energy all along the right side of the body. Relax your shoulder away from you ear and draw the chin out opening your throat space. Take 5 deep breaths.
GATE OPENERS/ PARIGHASANA
Draw the hips up off the heels and your right leg out. Let your right hand rest on your right leg. Inhale; reach up through your left fingertips. Exhale; bend towards the right. Engage the core pulling the pelvis into alignment with the spine to come out of any low back bending. Take 5 deep breaths as you feel your left side opening all the way from your hip flexor through the sides of your shoulder blades.
