Home Sudoku Variants Yoga Our Books Web Links About Us / Contact Us Printing Problems Notelets Holidays/Retreats banner

10- MIN YOGA  SESSION  BASED AROUND ALL FOURS POSE    (5)

All Fours Pose Session 5
FIRST EXERCISE OF SESSION (1.5 minutes)
Move into the all fours position with your knees under your hips and your hands placed under your shoulders. Make sure your fingers are spread wide and the middle fingers of your hands are parallel and pointing forwards away from your knees. Very slightly bend your arms sideways and then rotate your arms (leaving your hands where they are) so that your elbows end up pointing backwards (towards your hips). Have a sense of sinking the heel of your hand, the pad of your forefinger (i.e. the pad at the root or base of your forefinger) and the pad of your little finger. With your awareness resting in these three parts of your hands, consciously attempt to press your hands down against the resistance of the floor, as if trying to straighten your arms (which may indeed straighten). Very slowly move your trunk forwards (relative to your knees and hands) until you reach the edge of what feels comfortable for your wrists (taking care, of course, to avoid moving so far forwards that your wrists start to feel uncomfortable). Then consciously attempt to straighten the wrists against the resistance provided by the floor. Hold for several breaths (say 5 breaths). Then slowly release by gradually reducing the degree of pressing the hands down; then move your trunk backwards to a neutral position.

SECOND EXERCISE OF SESSION (3 minutes)
From the all fours position you are already in, lift one hand up and place the back of the hand on the floor with the fingers pointing towards your knee – finger-tips where the heel of the hand used to be and wrist roughly where the finger-tips were. Gently and slowly redistribute weight so it is evenly spread between your two hands. Slowly and gently move your trunk backwards (relative to knees and hands) until you reach the edge of what is comfortable for your wrist (taking care of course to avoid moving so far forwards that your wrists start to feel uncomfortable). Then consciously attempt to straighten the wrist of the hand with the upwards facing palm against the resistance provided by the floor. Hold for several breaths (say 4 breaths). Then slowly release by gradually reducing the degree of downward hand pressure; then move your trunk backwards to a neutral position. Lift the hand with its back to the floor and place it down under the shoulder with palms face down. Repeat to other side.

THIRD EXERCISE OF SESSION (1.5 minutes)
Lie in semi-supine position – that is, on your back with your legs in the crooked position. Bring your hands into the prayer position with fingers pointing upwards. Keeping the little finger edge of your hands together, turn the palms to face your head – then turn palms downwards until the fingers point downwards and the backs of the fingers rest against each other. Continue this hand rotation so that the backs of the fingers separate so that just the forefingers are touching; then lift the hands so that the palms face the feet. Continue the movement to bring the palms of the hands together. Reverse this hand rotation movement. Repeat 2 to 4 more times to each side.

FOURTH EXERCISE OF SESSION (4 minutes)
Either, lie down in a comfortable position and practise a relaxation method of your choice, or, stand or sit for some breathing or meditation. You could try the following relaxation exercise. On each in-breath and out-breath, think the word and meaning of the word ‘trust’. Remember not to rush sitting up and standing after practising relaxation as it causes the blood pressure to fall, which can cause dizziness if one moves too quickly.