MORNING MOVES
Ease into your day with seated sun salutations,
Sun salutations are traditionally practiced at dawn to prepare body and mind for the day ahead. Before you night owls write off the idea of morning practice altogether, why not give seated sun salutations a try? They gently ease you into wakefulness by limbering up your spine. Seated sun salutation 1. Sit cross-legged in the centre of your yoga mat. 2. Inhale, sweep your arms up and touch the palms overhead. Gaze up with a long neck. 3. Exhale, lower your right hand and slide it away toward the right as the elbow lowers. The other arm reaches enthusiastically up and over. 4. Inhale, lift to centre and rejoin the palms above in prayer. 5. Exhale, lower your left hand and slide it away as elbow bends. Reach strongly with your right arm. 6. Inhale, lift to centre again. 7. Exhale, fold forward over your legs with arms outstretched and head surrendering to gravity. 8. Inhale, drag the hands halfway back and lift the chin for a mini backbend. 9. Exhale, curl the spine around your heart. 10. Inhale, move the hands 20 centimetres behind you with fingers facing forward then lean into your arms and lift heart to sky. 11. Exhale, return to your starting point. Repeat a second round of seated sun salutation. 12. Switch the cross of your legs and complete two more rounds on this side, initiating each movement with your breath. YuMee Chung is a recovering lawyer who teaches yoga in Toronto. She is on the faculty of a number of yoga teacher training programs and leads international yoga retreats. Learn more about her at padmani.com