A 10-minute yoga sequence for post-run, post-walk, or chronically tight low back, hips, and hamstrings.

I call this a “Run Salutation” because it flows like a Sun Salutation, but it’s a version that feels better to me after a run or long walk. 

Half Sun Salutation

From standing, inhale arms overhead, keeping shoulders rolled down and relaxed. As you exhale, hinge from your hips and fold toward the floor (stopping wherever your body says to stop). Inhale and sweep back up to Arms Up Mountain. Exhale and sweep arms back down toward Forward Fold. You can take your arms out to the side, move them in front of you, or keep them on your hips. Experiment. :) 

Forward Fold

Pause in Forward Fold, knees bent as much as they need to be. If your hands don’t touch the floor, you can extend them down as if they will, rest them on your shins or thighs, hang in Rag Doll with opposite hand to elbow, or interlace hands behind you in Yoga Mudra. Keep your back flat if there’s any discomfort. As you inhale, imagine lengthening the line from your tailbone through the top of your head. As you exhale, bring your belly a little closer to your thighs. Don’t force – hamstrings don’t like to be pushed and will tighten up even more if you’re too aggressive. Be nice! :) 

Table and Cat/Cow

Come to Table, hands and knees, with hands under shoulders and knees under hips. Begin to move in Cat/Cow, inhaling to arch your back and look up, exhaling to round your back and look toward your belly. You can rest on flat palms, fists, or forearms, and your toes can be curled under or the tops of your feet can rest on the floor. You can move in straight lines, rounding and arching, or you can let your hips and shoulders create circles or diagonals. For a more Lateral Cat, move side-to-side, parallel with the floor, taking your hip and shoulder in a C-curve. Your hips can make a half-circle (like a smiley face) behind you. You can move with your breath, or just take a couple of breaths in one position. What feels the best to you?

Downward Facing Dog

From Table, curl your toes under and lift your hips up on an inhale, so that your body creates an upside-down “V” shape with the floor. Explore the position of your hands and feet, side-to-side and front-to-back, until you find the position that feels the best right now. Knees can be bent or straight, or you can alternate, bending one and straightening the other. Keep your back flat, head in line with your spine, shoulders rolled down away from your ears, and shift forward and back until the weight feels equally distributed between your hands and feet.

Lunge

From Downward Facing Dog, take an inhale and float one leg into the air behind you, then engage your core and step that foot forward, placing it on the floor beside your hand. Wiggle your toes or move your foot forward with your hand until your knee is in line with your hip and not extended past your ankle. Your hands can rest flat on the floor or you can “tent” your fingers, bring your forearms to your thigh, or reach your hands overhead or behind you. Explore.

Runner’s Lunge

From lunge, bring both hands to floor on the side inside your bent knee. Turn your front foot out 45 degrees. You can stay up on your hands to build core strength or set your back knee down to build more flexibility in your hips. Your front foot can be grounded, or you can roll onto the outside edge of your foot. You can stay still, of inhale arms straight and exhale elbows bent. You can face forward, or twist and turn. You might set an elbow down and reach the other hand out in front of you. If your knee is down, you might draw the foot of your back leg in toward your bottom to create more sensation in the front of your hip and thigh. Search for the sensation feels the best.

Pigeon

From Runner’s Lunge, heel-toe your front foot across toward the other side of your mat, then lay that shin down. If your hips are tight, that foot will be back near your other hip. If your hips are flexible, your shin will be closer to parallel with the front of your mat. You can stay up on your hands, arching your back and lifting your heart to create length all the way down the front of your torso to the front of the back hip. You can come down to your elbows or the floor for more sensation in the outside of the front hip. You can keep you torso centered, lay it down over your bent knee, or extend it out toward the other front corner. You can always prop a pillow or blanket under the front hip or under the bottom of the hip with the bent knee.

Seated Twist

From Pigeon, come back up to your hands and roll to the outside of the hip corresponding to your bent front knee, sitting up. You can leave your front leg bent or straighten it out in front of you. Draw your other leg around and cross it over with the knee bent and the foot on the floor. Adjust your position until both of your sit bones connect with the floor. Cross opposite hand or elbow to the knee that’s on top and sticking into the air. On an inhale, lengthen from the tailbone through the top of your head, reach the other arm overhead, then exhale, setting the raised hand down behind you, and turning your shoulders toward the side wall. With each inhale, lengthen up, with each exhale, relax your shoulders away from your ears and imagine them being parallel with the side wall.

If you’d prefer to be on the floor, lie down on your back with your arms reaching out in a “T” with your body, bend your knees and draw them in toward your chest. Take an inhale, and on the exhale lower your knees toward the floor on one side. Inhale to the center then exhale to the other side.

Repeat Sequence on Other Side

You can move directly back to Table and proceed through Downward Facing Dog, Lunge, Runner’s Lunge, Pigeon, and Seated Twist on the other side. If you’d prefer, you can move through Plank on your way to Table or from Plank directly to Downward Facing Dog. Play with it until you find your preference in the moment.

Plank

Plank is just a high or low push-up position on your hands, fists or forearms. Your knees can be down on the floor, or your legs can be straight. Create a straight line from your shoulders through your hips, through your knees or heels, as if you’re a plank propped against a stair.

Corpse

After Seated Twist on the second side, come down onto your back. You can draw your knees in and rock side to side, or move in any other way your body wants to before settling into a minute of ease. Corpse is an important “seal” for every practice, even super short ones, as it helps to integrate the experience. Rest on your back or side, with your knees bent or straight. Relax the muscles of your feet and legs, hands and arms, hips, glutes, abs, chest, shoulders, neck, and face. 


Keep your mind present as your body relaxes completely – you can always just “watch” your breath as you inhale and exhale. When you’re ready to get up, roll to one side, let your hands press you back up to hands and knees, and find your way to standing. You might move through a low squat up to Mountain, from Table to Downward Facing Dog to Forward Fold to Mountain, or you might find another way. Once you’re up, take a couple more deep breaths, then head back into the rest of your day. :)

For dedicated videos for Mountain, Arms Up Mountain, Forward Fold, Lunge, Plank, Downward Facing Dog, Seated Twist, and Corpse visit: http://www.jenasawyer.com/poses.html.

A guided meditation to help you relax :)

4th in a series of 6 to decrease low-back pain.

Stand Up - Sit Down

Stretch Calves & Hamstrings

Release Neck Tension

Move Your Spine

Balance On One Foot

Everything that happens takes place in the present moment. Yet we are often so preoccupied with our stories about the past or the future, our regrets, our worries, or even our victories and hopes, that we miss this moment. We miss this moment. The time where everything happens. 

The quickest paths to the present moment I have found are sensation and breath. The sensations of your body are the five senses - sight, smell, taste, touch, sound. Thoughts are the sensations of your mind, and emotions are the sensations of your heart. Just taking time to take a couple of deep breaths and notice the sensations you're experiencing in your body, the thoughts in your mind or the emotions on your heart brings you into this moment.

One thing that can make a huge difference in our ability to notice sensations is slowing down. Slowing movements seems particularly effective, as we often rush from one place to another at a breakneck pace. I invite you to try this experiment: As you drive to or from work the next time, notice what you see in the couple of blocks nearest your house. Stay present and aware of your driving as you drink in every sensation you can. Then travel that same couple of blocks on foot, and notice what you see. 

When I do this experiment, I notice more colors, plants, animals, and changes in terrain when on foot than I do in the car (not to mention the smells and sounds). And if you think it has to do with your feet on the earth more than the speed, you can try the same experiment running or riding a bike versus walking, or even walking slowly versus quickly.  

Keep in mind, there's no way to mess this up, and you can't "get it right" either - it's simply an exercise in slowing down and noticing what you notice... in the name of being fully present.

I'd love to hear what you notice. Please post your experiences in the comments.

Here's to the power of sensations and this moment!
Jena

Are the knots in your back & shoulders so familiar you joke about naming them?  

With two tennis balls and a crew sock, you can be on your way to relaxation.
 * No fancy tools or huge time commitment.
 * You don’t even need to leave the house.

Put the tennis balls into the foot of the sock; tie a loose knot. Lie on your back on the floor with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place the sock at the base of your skull and move your head side-to-side, back-and-forth, and any way that feels good (hold the sock in place with your hands, arms resting on the floor). Breathe deeply in through your nose, out your nose or mouth. (Note: if you have long hair, you may want to tie it up to keep it from getting pulled.)

From the base of the skull, move the sock to the base of your neck (one tennis ball on either side of your spine). Rest your arms by your side. Begin to roll by pressing into your feet and scooting toward the space behind your head. For more pressure, lift your hips and press more weight down onto the sock. For less pressure, place a blanket over the sock. Continue rolling along your spine, up and down, side-to-side, into your shoulders, middle and upper back, low back, hips and glutes. There's generally a fair amount of tension near the lower ribs, just above and below the waist, and in the glutes.  When you get to the glutes, you may want to move the balls further apart so that each one is centered on a "cheek" :)

If you find places that are particularly tight or sore, adjust the pressure accordingly. Remember to have compassion for your body - this is an exercise in relaxation, not aggression.

When you're done rolling, lift your hips and slide the sock out from under you, then rest in Savasana, Corpse Pose, for a few minutes. Lie on your back or side, with your knees bent or straight. If your knees are bent, take your feet out wider than your hips and let your knees fall together to support each other. If your legs are straight, let your toes fall out wider than your heels. Relax your feet and legs, your hips, glutes, and low back. Let your arms rest comfortably, and relax your hands, arms, and shoulders. Allow your spine to curve naturally, not forcing it into the floor. You can place a bolster or rolled-up towel or blanket under your knees if that makes you more comfortable. Fee the connection of your tailbone, head, and back of your heart to the floor. Imagine your bones sinking into the floor and your muscles melting away from the bones. Visualize ease and relaxation washing over you with each breath.

When you're ready to get up, roll first to one side and pause there for a moment. Then let your hands gently press you back up to seated or all fours. Let your body move the way it wants to move - it knows exactly what it needs. :)