ASANA

7-MINUTE YIN-STYLE FORWARD FOLD

Do this posture once a day for 30 days OR do it three times a week if

combining with a regular asana practice.

• Sit with your legs out in front of you. Legs can be hip-width apart or wider.
• Don’t muscularly engage the legs. Allow the feet to roll out to the left
and right. Let the lower body get heavy and relax.
• Draw your chin into your chest. Fold your torso over your legs like a rag doll.
• Deeply round the spine. Think “chin into chest.”
• Don’t reach for your feet. Rest your forearms on the floor, palms up.
Shoulder blades drift apart on the back.
• Set a timer for 7 minutes. Be completely still in this relaxed Forward Fold.
• Encourage yourself to round more. Let the upper and lower body get
heavier. Bring the chin even deeper into the chest.

BONUS TIPS:
• Add Intuitive Movement: Be still for the first 4 minutes, then allow
yourself to gently rock side-to-side for the last 3. Keep the range small,
your movements subtle.
• Place sandbags on the thighs to weigh your lower body down.
• Internally rotate the legs. Try taking a strap around the feet so your toes
point inward, without you having to hold them there. Experience if this
changes any of the sensations.
• Stay longer than 7 minutes. Once you feel comfortable, try an 11-minute
or 18-minute hold.

observe: What is the quality of your energy when you

come back up to sit?

Sensation will travel to different

sections of the spine as you con
practice. It’s normal to experience tinue to
sensation in the neck, low back
back, or often all three. Jot dow or upper
n where you feel sensation each
journal. Refrain from practicing day in your
this posture if you have been diag
a herniated or bulging disk. Prac nosed with
tice “Legs Up the Wall” instead.
PRANAYAMA

• Inhale for 4 counts. • Allow this connection between you and the earth to deepen. See the
red glow of your Root Chakra extend all the way down into the center
• Exhale for 6 counts.
of the earth. If you choose, see the center of the earth as a glowing
• If it feels safe, hold the breath out of the body for 1 count at the end ball of fire - HOT, like molten lava.
of your exhale.
• Inhale and connect with this power source. Draw the earth’s energy
• Repeat for 3 minutes.
up into you.

• Exhale and release your fears or unwanted emotions down into the
MEDITATION
earth’s core.

To begin:
Sit comfortably in such a way that your spine is erect. Prop yourself up on
a cushion seated in crossed-legs. Or sit on the edge of a chair.
• Bring to your awareness a glowing red ball of light at the base
of your spine.
To close:
Retract this red cord of energy from the center of the earth, back into your
body. Feel warmth and stability just below your pelvic floor. Thank Mother
Earth. Know that you can connect with her stability at any time.

• Slow down your breathing. Imagine this glowing red ball of light
extending down beneath your body, seeping into the earth beneath For ALL THE BREATHING EXERCISES AND MEDITATIONS in this book, you
you. Regardless of whether you are practicing on the ground outside can use the following chart when combining pranayama and meditation:
or the upper floor of an apartment building, sense this red glowing
energy within you dropping deep into the earth. OPTION 1 OPTION 2
• Sense a connection (like string) between the very bottom of your
pelvic floor and the earth beneath you.
PRANAYAMA 3 minutes 5 minutes

• Sense this red light penetrating deeper into the soil of the earth. See MEDITATION 8 minutes 13 minutes
it from below your pelvic floor, extending 6 inches below the soil.
Total 11 minutes 18 minutes
• As you breathe in, draw in energy from the earth, up into
your lower body.

• As you breathe out, release any unwanted energy down

into the earth.