MEDITATE||REALIZE

YoGA Warm Up Poses

*Neck Stretches

Neck stretching exercises are useful for warming up
your neck and relaxing your neck, head and face. You
may also find that neck stretches can relieve mental
tension or stress that you may be experiencing.
As you perform neck stretches, you should focus on
sending your breath to the muscles in your neck that
you want to relax. By focusing on your breath while
stretching your neck, you can also help improve your
awareness of your breathing as you practice yoga.





1.Begin in Easy Pose.
2.Exhale and lower your and chin toward your chest.
* Visualize the space you are creating in the back of your neck.

3. Inhale and raise your chin toward the ceiling.
* Visualize the front of your neck and throat gently stretching and opening.
* Make sure you keep the back of your neck long and do not allow your
head to drop back.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 three times to 5 times and then return your head
to the center.

Shoulder stretches

Shoulder stretching exercises are useful for relieving
tightness in your upper back, shoulders and neck. You
may also find that shoulder stretches can relieve stress
and help clear your mind. Regular practice of shoulder
stretches can increase the range of motion in your
shoulders.





1. Begin in Easy Pose.
2. Inhale and squeeze your shoulders back, bringing your shoulder blades
toward each other.
* Visualize your chest opening and expanding.

3. Exhale and bring your shoulders forward, creating space between
your shoulder blades.
* Allow your arms to follow the movement of your shoulders.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 three to five times

Arm Stretches

Arm stretching exercises are an excellent way to warm
up your arms in preparation for a yoga session. You
can perform these exercises to improve the circulation
in your upper body, particularly your arms, hands,
fingers and the area around your heart. These exercises
can also relieve tension from your shoulders and neck
and even release tension from your mind.

As you perform these arm stretches, you should feel
the lift coming from your waist as you raise your arms.
At the same time, you should feel your chest lifting
and expanding. Expanding your chest can increase
your capacity for deep breathing in this exercise.






1. Begin in Mountain pose.

2. Position your hands in Prayer Pose.



3.Inhale as you circle your arms out to each side and then bring your
palms together overhead.
* Your fingertips should be touching, with your fingers pointing toward
the ceiling.
* Make sure your shoulders are relaxed down away from your ears.
* Your arms should be straight but your elbows should not be locked.

Spinal Rocking

Spinal Rocking, also called Rocking Chair, is useful
for massaging and warming up your spine. Massaging
your spine helps relax your nervous system. You can
perform Spinal Rocking to alleviate drowsiness or
stiffness you may experience when you wake up in
up your spine for inversions, such as Shoulderstand

Do not practice Spinal Rocking on a hard surface.
Instead, spread a blanket the length of your body flat
out on the floor. Make sure that when you roll back,
your head stays at the same level as your spine and
does not roll off the edge of the blanket.




1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent, as close to your chest as possible.
* Your feet should be flat on the floor, hip width or slightly wider apart.
2. Hold your legs just below or behind your knees.



3. Tilt your head toward your chest to lengthen the back of your neck.
4. Keep your spine rounded as you exhale and roll backward.
5. Straighten your legs slightly as you roll back.
* Make sure you do not roll too far back on your neck.