Yoga for Fat Burn

In the last few years, Yoga has become very mainstream. People no longer look at it as New Agey or Hippyish and are starting to take it up in their regular exercise and health routines.

Excellent strides we have made as yogis! But it does not end there. As yoga becomes more popular, it also becomes more commecialized and many of the fundamental principles and most important mental and physical benefits get lost under the marketing. Never forget your steady connection to the breath.

Many people who have come to love yoga are athletes who like an intense workout. When I came into yoga, I was an avid runner who loved a high intensity cardio workout. In my practice I enjoy flow yoga that elevates the heart and gets you sweating. In my classes, while still keeping a calm and steady breath; I like to get hearts racing, muscles shaking, and sweat pouring. By the time you're done, you feel like you've run a marathon.

This is what I have coined as CardiYoga. This is how it's done:

• 1. Heat the room that you are practicing to at least 75 degrees. Our muscles are more flexible at warmer temperatures and more responsive to stretching. Keep the lights low in the room and maybe light a candle or two to set the mood...
• 2. Sit on your mat in a cross legged position that is comfortable. Make sure to with even weight on the floor. Close the eyes. Sit up tall and keep you abdomen engaged. Let your arms rest at your sides with your palms face up on your knees. Take one inhale and lift your shoulders up to your ears and squeeze. Exhale, and let the shoulders drop down the back, then slightly press the shoulder blades together to open the chest. Sitting up tall with the shoulder blades moving down the back and the chest open take a deep breath in through the nose, inhaling for four counts and then pausing for a second at the top of the breath. Exhale slowly through the nose, exhaling for the same length of time as the inhale; four slow counts and then pausing. Continue this slow breath through the nose. As you breathe, notice if the chest is rising and falling.You want the breath to come from the pit of the abdomen, so if the breath is light and from only the chest cavity, take a moment, place both hands on the abdomen by the belly button and breathe so that when you inhale your hands are pressed out away from you and when you exhale your hands are drawn towards you, as if the navel was reaching for the spine. This deep belly breath should be maintained through the entire practice. The mouth remains closed, and the breath flows only through the nose.
• 3. When a calm and steady breath is established, slowly transition from a crossed legged position onto all fours. Your knees are directly under your hips and your wrists are directly under your shoulders. Soft neck, belly pulled in. On an inhale reach the right arm forward and left leg back while pressing the left palm firmly into the floor. Abs are pulled in tight. Reach the right arm forward and left leg back as if someone was pulling you in two different directions. Feel as your spine lengthens and expands. Feel your spine growing taller as you stretch and breathe. After five full breaths, place the right hand and left knee back on the floor. In all fours, inhale as you look up and arch your back up, stretching deep into your chest, and exhale as you drop the head and round the back, still pulling in the navel to help the back round further to the sky. Inhale, arch up; exhale, round down. After four cycles, return to a neutral position on all fours. Inhaling reach the left arm forward and right leg back, pressing the right palm and left knee into the floor. Breathe slowly and calmly as you reach these opposite appendages further apart and feel the spine growing and lengthening again. Breathe into the spine, feel the spine filling with oxygen and decompressing. After five full breaths return to a neutral position in all fours.
• 4. With your palms shoulders width apart pressing evenly into the floor and your shoulders directly over your wrists, step one foot back at a time to come into a Plank pose, or a top of a push up pose. Notice that your hips are level with your head and your back is parallel to the floor. Feet together. Hold Plank pose for five breaths, feeling the breath moving up through the earth and into the palms, up the arms and into the shoulders, in the shoulders and through the muscles on the back. On the fifth exhale press back to Down Dog position.
• 5. The palms are still planted into the earth with the fingers spread wide and weight spread evenly between the palm, thumb and first finger. From plank position change nothing but the position of the hips, lift the hips towards the sky as if someone was lightly lifting you on a string. Palms press down so that the weight does not fall into the wrists. Chest still open, shoulder blades still moving down the back. Hips lifting and reaching towards the sky. Feet planted at hips with, with the heels reaching towards the floor but not touching the floor. The calf muscles are lengthening, the arches of the feet are lengthening. Breathing slowly and calmly through the nose into the body, inhale a slow deep breath and point the air into any part of the body that feels tension. Exhale and release the tension out of your body. Continue to inhale and exhale, trying to carefully focus the attention of the breath to any spots that need relief. Hold Down Dog for eight breaths.
• 6. At the end of eight breaths, keeping the hands and feet in the same position, rock forwards back to plank position. Pivot back and forth a few times from Plank to Down Dog to get familiar with this transition. Back to Down Dog. Exhale. Inhale, pivot forward to Plank. Exhale, keeping the core very engaged, bend at the elbows and slowly lower the body so that it hovers between the elbows just two inches from the floor. Exhale, press your palms to straighten your arms, roll over your toes, and bring your chest through your straightened arms for Upward Dog. Your hips are still hovering above the floor. Shoulder blades squeezing together, chest and heart opening, and you can even look up to the sky if you want to. Inhale, arms bend back down, roll back over the toes and again with a very engaged core, press up and back into Down Dog. This is your first Sun Salutation, and this little series will get the heart pumping. Rest in Down Dog for five breaths and then flowing with each move following each change in breath, cycle through this Sun Salutation 5-8 times until your biceps are shaking and begging you for a break. When that happens, take your knees to the floor, sit back on your heels, and take your forehead to the floor into Child's Pose. Your arms can be parallel extended in front of you or resting at your sides.
• 7. After five of those lovely breaths, it is time to transition back into Down Dog for a little more flow action. From Down Dog, on an inhale, reach the right leg up to the sky and on an exhale step it through to the hands. Inhale, press the right foot evenly into the floor, with the knee pressing directly above the ankle and the ankle into the foot, press to lift the chest and arms up to the sky. Arms lifting towards the sky, chest opening because the shoulder blades are squeezing together and moving down the back. You are breathing calmly. The front thigh is parallel with the floor and the back leg is straight with the back foot at a slight angle inward to that the outside edge of the back foot is gripping the earth. The inner legs are isometrically squeezing together and up to the sky and guess what- you're breathing slowly and calmly. After six breaths here, exhale, take your hands down to the floor shoulder width apart, press them flat and on an inhale, step back to plank pose. Exhale, press up and back to Down Dog. Repeating on the other side, inhale and lift the left leg to the sky, exhale and step the leg through to the hands. Pressing evenly into the foot, focusing onto the ball of the foot, outer edge of the foot and heel, feel the weight moving from the knee directly into the earth through the foot. Pressing evenly lift the chest and arms to the sky, keeping that left thigh parallel to the floor, knee directly above the ankle, and back leg straight and firm. Arms reaching to the sky, chest open, heart open, and breathing. Inner thighs pulling together and up, outer edge of the back foot rooted to the floor. Breathe. Six full breaths. Exhale, take the hands to the floor; inhale, step back to Plank; exhale, press up and back to Down Dog.
• 8. Now you've got Warrior One down pat. Nice! Now that you know how to set up Warrior One, we are going to flow through Warrior One. During this flow, again, each change in the breath will correspond with a change in position. We are moving with fluidity. The breath carries the body from one move to the next. Down Dog. Inhale, lift the right leg to the sky, exhale, step the foot through to the hands, inhale, pressing the right foot into the floor and left outside edge of the foot into the floor, lift the chest and arms to the sky and REACH, exhale, lower the hands to the floor, inhale, step back to Plank, exhale, bend the arms at the sides and lower to hover two inches above the ground, inhale, press the palms to straighten the arms, roll over the toes and come to Upward Dog, exhale, roll back over the toes press the hands and lift up and back to Down Dog. Inhale, lift the left leg to the sky, exhale, step the left leg through to the hands, inhale, pressing the left foot into the floor and right leg firm and straight, lift the chest and arms to the sky and REACH, exhale, lower the hands to the floor, inhale, step back to Plank, exhale, bend the arms at the sides and lower to hover two inches above the ground, inhale, press the palms to straighten the arms, roll over the toes and come to Upward Dog, exhale, roll back over the toes press the hands and lift up and back to Down Dog. That, my friends is ONE round of flowing through Warrior One. I want you to put on some music that gets you going, I like Deep Forest myself, and flow through that series three to five times on each side. All you are focusing on is keeping a steady and calm breath. No thought or judgments are crossing your mind because you are just moving through the breath. Let the breath carry you through the series.
• 9. If the Sun Salutation flow and the Warrior One flow didn't get your heart racing and some beads of sweat dripping down your face, then I don't know what to tell ya. But I bet it did!

That's my first installment of CardiYoga, please check back for much more to come.