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A Yoga Practice for Elevating Peace

Move with intention and ease through these powerful postures, sequenced by Elena Brower, to reach towards peace within yourself.

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On September 2nd, I’ll be co-teaching with two of my first teachers, Colleen Saidman and Rodney Yee, for the  Löle White Tour in New York City. Here is a little sneak peek of the sequence we’ll lead at the event. Each posture helps create a stable structure, open us architecturally, and elevate us internally. As you work through the poses, remember to breathe, smile, and stay close to yourself and to those who fill your day with peace. Breathe three to five breaths in each pose and repeat on the opposite side.

Kneeling Rock Pose

kneelingrock

Center yourself, welcome yourself. Land in your practice.

Cat and Cow

cat

cow

Create a frame with hands and feet. Inhale to round your spine; exhale to arch. 

Downward Dog

downwardog

Bend your knees a bit, root your index finger knuckles, reach your seat high, and lengthen your spine. 

Chair on Balls of Feet

chaironballs

Take opposite elbows with your palms, and frame your head with your arms. Lift your heels, bend your knees, reach your seat back, and smile. 

Standing Forward Bend

standingforwardbend

Bend your knees, place your heels in your palms (like a ball in a mitt), and fold your armpits right onto your kneecaps until they’re connected. With slightly bent knees, keep those connections and reach your seat and pelvic floor high.

Triangle with Flipped Wrist

triangle

Turn the fingers of your bottom hand out to the side and all the way back. Note how that broadens that collarbone, and opens your bottom lung. Keep your arches high, and from your pelvis to your feet, stretch your legs long.

Half Moon Pose

halfmoon

Be sure your standing knee is aligned with your third toe, lift your standing arch up, elevate your kidneys, and expand from the inside.

Warrior III 

warrior3Smile and lift your inner body up; arms at your sides. Enjoy a serene flight. 

Tree

tree

Bring hands to prayer in front of your heart for a moment of grounding, then lift your hands high up to hug your head gently with your arms. Breathe and sway quietly like a majestic tree. 

Modified Side Plank 

sideplank

Press down into the perimeter of your palm; root your outer back foot down and lift the arch. Note how your inner body rises as you expand breath into your high hand.

Cobra cobra

Root the tops of your toes, especially your baby toes; elevate your back body and light up your heart. Soften your eyes and gently smile. 

Revolved Bent-Knee Seated Forward Bend 

sidestretch

Ground your bent-knee sitting bone and your bottom forearm against your lengthened inner leg; use that leverage to lift your organs, open your interior spaces and breathe deeply.  

Bound Angle Pose

baddhakon

Draw your feet toward your hips until you feel a soft opening in your belly. Ground your seat and feel a quiet lift inside. 

Seated Forward Bend, 3 Variations 

pashima1

Variation 1: Bend your knees as you did in your Standing Forward Bend; place your belly on your thighs, armpits on your knees. Gaze forward, smile with your whole face.

pashima2

Variation 2: Reach your seat back, lengthen your front body forward, and lift your back body long towards your feet.

pashima3

Variation 3: If you wish, reach your seat back even farther, press your belly downward and reach your hands for the mudra. Still smiling, breathe into the smallest spaces to create a widespread peace throughout your body.

Seated Meditation 

meditate

Observe the pause at the end of each exhalation. Let your body, now more quiet, be filled with waves of peace.

Savasana 

savasana

Drop into a tranquil rest. Let your muscles relax completely, and as Colleen says in her book, Yoga For Life, “Clean the slate.”

Photos by James Fideler

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