Flow No. 1

Breath work

Sitting in your (non-rolling) chair, put your feet flat on the floor.

• Knees over ankles
• Shoulders over hips
• Ears over shoulders

Breathe.

• Inhale for a count of 4.
• Hold for a count of 4.
• Exhale for a count of 6.
• Repeat.

Seated warm up

Gentle neck stretch

• Tip your head toward your left shoulder and feel a gentle stretch on the right side of your neck.
• For extra stretching, place your left hand lightly on your head.
• Repeat on right side.

Torso circles

• Place your hands on your knees.
• Bend from the waist over your legs — a little or a lot, depending on how your lower back feels — and moving clockwise making a full circle — up to 5 or 10 times.
• Repeat to the left.

Seated twist

• Put your right hand on left knee, left hand on back of your chair.
• Inhale through the crown of your head, lengthening your spine.
• Exhale and twist gently to the left.
• Inhale and rise, exhale and see if you have a little more space to twist farther.
• Repeat on other side.

Seated pigeon

• Sit at the edge of your chair and cross your right ankle over your left knee.
• Flex your right foot.
• For a more intense stretch, press down on right knee and lean over legs.
• Repeat on other side.

Standing active work

Mountain pose

• Stand in alignment — knees over ankles, hips over knees, ribs over hips, shoulders over ribs, ears over shoulders.
• Hands are down at your sides.
• Allow those shoulder blades to slide down the backside of your body.
• Breathe.

Forward fold

• Maintaining the alignment in your upper body, hinge from your hips into a forward fold.
• Allow your fingers to reach the floor, rest on your shins or hold the opposite elbow.
• Nod your head yes, shake your head no.
• Let the worries of the world roll off your back.

Tree

• Begin in mountain pose.
• Keeping hips forward and level, bring left foot to the side as a kickstand.
  • Or bring left foot to inside of shin.
  • Or to inside of thigh.
• Arms can point down toward floor with hands open wide, hands in prayer at heart center or arms stretched high and fingers wide, pointing toward the sky.
• Switch legs.

Warrior 1

• Step your left leg back, placing your weight in the outer edge/blade of that back foot, while bending the front knee over the ankle.
• Keep the “headlights” of your hips level and facing forward.
• Reach up toward the sky and look straight ahead or up toward the sky.
• Hold and breathe.
• Repeat on other side.

Warrior 2

• Open up your right arm behind you and left arm to the front of the mat as you open your body to the side of the mat. (Headlights of your hips face the side.)
• Keep your left knee over your left ankle and shoulders over your hips. (You might find it feels better to lengthen your stride from what it was in Warrior 1.)
• Gaze out over your middle fingers.
• Hold and breathe.
• Repeat on other side.

Reverse warrior

• Bring your front arm to the sky, while allowing the back arm to slide down and touch the back of your leg.
• Repeat on other side.

Pyramid

• Shorten your stride, straighten both legs, and arrange your feet so all 10 toes face the front of your mat.
• Bring your arms behind your back … or into prayer position.
• While maintaining the alignment of shoulders over hips, lean over your front leg.
• Repeat on other side.

Warrior 3

• Bring feet together and transfer your weight onto the left foot, left leg straight but not locking out the knee.
• Bring right foot back like a kickstand, with arms reaching to the sky …. or at heart center.
• Or lift right leg up so it becomes parallel to the floor, while arms are reaching forward, at heart center or back in “airplane arms.”

Mountain

• Return to mountain pose, hands at heart center.
• Breathe.
• Return, refreshed, to your day.