Something strange has been happening lately.
I’ve been craving gentle yoga.
My usual tendency towards a quick-paced vinyasa has taken the back seat to something much softer. Maybe it’s the sticky heat outside that’s hampering my movement. Or it could be my chronic runner’s knee that’s telling me to chill the fuck out.
Regardless, this super slow yoga sequence came quite naturally one morning in my home practice. I popped on My Moon playlist, and my body knew exactly what to do.
The flow is based on Moon Salutations, Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar A) and Surya Namaskar B.
Go through each salutation for 2 songs — that means Moon Salutation for 2 songs, Sun Salute for 2 songs etc…I usually get through about 3 or 4 rounds of each one. The total practice lasts less than 25 minutes.
As a vinyasa girl, these salutations come natural to me. But if they’re not really working for you — fill in your own variation. I actually encourage you to riff off the sequence, and let your body lead the way.
The practice isn’t in the actual movement itself, it’s about moving slower than you think.
Try to feel what’s really happening in the body, in every corner and crevice. Having repetition in the sequence will help you go deeper within. You don’t want to think so much about what you’re doing. You actually don’t want to think at all. You want to feel your way through.
When you’re done, take a few moments in Mountain pose to absorb the benefits of your home practice.
What do you think about slow yoga?
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I love it, of course, being a more slow moving person :). I do a different moon salutation than the one you have here – although I like the look of yours too! Different yoga for different seasons…all good.
I love listening to music and letting my body lead the way while doing yoga. Instead of thinking about it, you feel it, you flow it.
I’ve never consciously adjusted my yoga practice to the seasons, but I can see how that would make perfect sense in an Ayurvedic kind of way. The super slow flow is just what my body’s been craving so maybe on an unconscious level I’m balancing the pitta nature of the season which just goes to show that the body truly does know best.
Yoga to music is one of my favorites! The right playlist totally takes me deeper into my practice, or as you say –> I stop thinking and start feeling it. Thanks, Lisa!
It sure does 🙂
Thank you for the post!