Today's brief practice focuses on navigating through our current circumstances, which include social distancing and drastic changes to our daily lives. We will focus on the practice of acceptance and letting go of what we cannot change. These are largely themes of the second chakra or Svadhisthana chakra so we will focus on the hips.
Our practice will begin with Viloma 1 pranayama, a breathing practice that divides the inhalation into three parts and includes short pauses. This breath pattern is generally considered uplifting and helps to steady our focus and re-center. I think we can all use a little uplifting at the moment! Then we will do a few rounds of Cat/Cow and break down the alignment in low lunge. Next we will get moving with two full rounds of Surya Namaskar C (Sun Salutation C) and then end with your choice of hip opener - either Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) focusing on stretching the inner groins or adductor muscles or Agnistambhasana (Double Pigeon) - targeting the outer hip rotator muscles or abductors. And never skip delicious Savasana!
I'd love to hear how this practice goes for you and please let me know if any poses were too difficult or challenging. I am happy to provide modifications or alternatives to make the poses more accessible. We all have histories and injuries and find ourselves in different places, physically and mentally, on any given day. It is important to accept where we are in the moment and start there! Asana is not meant to be one-size-fits-all; I would love to help you find a practice that keeps you coming back to the mat. Namaste!