A Yoga Routine for Jeannie
A yoga routine I designed for larger ladies.
It's public, share with your friends if you want.
The most important things about yoga are form, alignment, and breathing.
So, you only do a pose as far a you can, but you try to keep your back straight and your neck straight at all times, and you try to hold the pose in the right way. If your knee is supposed to be bent over your toe, you should try to do that, if your hands are supposed to be by your ankle, it is important to try to do these things.
Also, you focus on your breathing. One breath per pose, and breathe from the belly. It's kind of hard, but it really makes you feel nice if you do it right. It's not suppoed to be strenuous like jogging or anything like that.
Begin seated
Sit here for a while, breathing in and out, focusing on your breath. Relax, close your eyes if you want to. Breathe from your lower abdomen, imagine pulling the air all the way down to a point about 3 inches below your navel.
The stomach will move out as you inhale and move in as you exhale.
I would spent about 5 minutes here, focusing on your breathing.
Try to stay focused on your breathing and let go of thoughts that may enter your mind, letting them drift away and returning your focus to your breathing.
WARM UP:
Breathe in and bend your neck forward, bringing your chin to your chest.
Breathe out, bring your neck back to centre, and then bend it backwards, bringing your face to the sky.
Breathe out and return to centre.
Breathe in and bend your neck, bringing your right ear to your right shoulder.
Breathe out and return your head to centre.
Breathe in and bend your neck, bringing your left ear to your left shoulder.
Breathe out and return to centre.
Breathe in and swivel your legs to the right side of the chair. Turn and place your arms on either side of the back of the chair and twist your shoulders to face the back of the chair while keeping your legs out to the side.
Breathe out and return to a central seated position
Breathe in and swivel your legs to the leftt side of the chair. Turn and place your arms on either side of the back of the chair and twist your shoulders to face the back of the chair while keeping your legs out to the side.
Breathe out and return to a central seated position
Breathe in and rise from the chair and position yourself facing the seat of the chair.
Breathe out and bend over at the waist, keeping your back straight, and grab the seat of the chair for Down Dog with Chair.
Place your palms flat on the seat of the chair, with the fingertips pointing away from you.
Breathe in, lifting to your toes, sweep your upper body forward, allowing your back to arch, and your legs to straighten, for Up Dog with Chair.
Breathe out and sweep your derriere back outward, bending at the waist, for down dog
Breathe in: Up Dog
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Up Dog
Breathe out: Down Dog
Frow down dog, breathe in and straighten your body up into Mountain.
Your feet should be shoulder-width apart.
Feel firm, strong, and as immovable as a mountain, this is a foundational pose.
This is the pose you can return to when you are doing standing poses and you need to take a break.
Breathe in and roll your shoulders out front and up.
Breathe out and roll your shoulders back and down.
Repeat this for two more full breaths, ending back in mountain.
WORKOUT:
Breathe in and raise your arms above your head: back extention
Breathe out and lower your left arm for lateral side stretch
Reach as far up as you can with the arm in the air. Bend some like she is if you still aren't feeling the stretch in your side.
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and lower your right arm for lateral side stretch
Breathe in: back extention
Using a chair (and a pillow if you need it because you can't bend all the way to the seat of the chair), breathe out and bend down into Forward Fold
Let your arms and head go limp.
If you would like, instead of doing it with the chair, you can do an all-out forward fold
Remember, the goal is to keep your back straight (and your legs are shoulder-width apart), just bend at the waist.
It's more important to keep your back straight than to touch your toes.
Let your arms and neck hang loose.
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and sit back like you are sitting on a chair. Lower your arms in front of you like the arms of the chair. This position is called chair.
(raise your arms higher if you want to increase the intensity of this pose)
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out: forward fold
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and step back with your left foot for Warrior 1
Your front foot should still be pointing foward, but your left foot should be straight pointing out, to the left. Your arms are straight up and you are looking up slightly. Keep your shoulders relaxed.
Your right knee should be straight over your ankle, and preferable your knee is bent at a 90 degree angle, but that may take a while before you are strong enough for that. Move your left leg closer to the right to un-bend your right leg if you can't hold it at a 90 degree angle. Eventually you want to get to where you can hold it like that though.
Your upper body should be facing forward, and your hips should also be facing forward (the direction of your right foot)
(I really like the warrior poses, they DO make me feel like a warrior)
Breathe in and lower your arms out to the sides as you rotate your body toward the left side (the direction your left foot is pointing). Keep your head turned so that you are looking over your right arm. This is Warrior 2.
Breathe out and rotate your right palm up until it is facing the sky. Bend your body back toward your left leg and move your arms with your body so that the right arm is pointing to the sky and the left arm is pointing to the ground. Look up at your right hand.
This is Reverse Warrior.
You can let your left hand rest on your leg like the photo, or let it fall to the ground behind your leg, just don't use it to support your weight, use your abdominals to do that.
Breathe in and straighten your right knee as you straighten your torso up and let your arms wingspan out to the sides, in five-pointed star (except that your right foot is still pointing forward).
Breathe out and bend at the waist, lowering your right arm straight down to your leg (not moving your arms, but your torso), and your left arm to the sky. Keep your hips facing the same direction as your left foot.
This is triangle pose.
You want to keep your back and arms straight, like you are against a wall. If you want, you can do this pose against a wall to learn the proper feel for it.
It is not important that you bend down all the way to touch the floor, but that you are straight in that line with the wall, your hips square against it.
Breathe in and lower your left arm, twisting your torso so that you are looking down at your right foot.
This is pyramid pose, but unlike this photo, keep your back straight. It's not important that you touch the floor, but that you keep your back straight. I rest my hands just below my knee when I do this one, but do not use your hands to hold up your upper body, use your upper body to do that. :-)
Breathe out and lower your hands to the floor. Bend your left knee and set it on the floor, and take the weight off of your toes and set the top of your foot on the ground. Lift your arms above your head and place the palms together. Arch your back in crescent moon.
Your right knee should be directly over your ankle.
If you would like to increase the intensity of this, pose, stand on your left toes and raise the left knee off of the ground.
Breathe in and lower your left knee and arms to the ground.
Breathe out and move your right leg back next to the left and lower the knee to the ground, for neutral spine.
This is the pose you can return to when you are doing kneeling poses and you need to take a break.
Breathe in: Cow
Breathe out: Cat
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
To modify this one, bend your knees and stand on your toes, but keep your back, arms, and neck straight. Your legs should be hip-width apart. (This is also one that I have to heavily modify because I have the tightest hamstrings in the world.)
When I do down dog, it feels like I am really pressing back from the palms of my hand until my behind. It almost feels like I'm bowing myself backwards on my upper body there. So, really push back good to make sure your upper body is nice and straight.
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out and lift your body from the ground, your arms extended in front of you. Lean back on your knees, keeping your back straight and your arms at a 90 degree angle from your body, into raised serpent.
Breathe in and step up into back extention
Try to use your legs only if you can. One of the goals of yoga is to flow nicely between each pose.
If you can't though, that's okay. Eventually you will gain strength and be able to rise with just your legs.
(This is a repeat for the other side of the body)
Breathe out and lower your right arm for lateral side stretch
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and lower your left arm for lateral side stretch
Breathe in: back extention
Using a chair, breathe out and bend down into Forward Fold
Let your arms and head go limp.
Or, if you would like, you can do an all-out forward fold
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out: chair
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out: forward fold
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and step back with your right foot for Warrior 1
Breathe in and lower your arms out to the sides as you rotate your body toward the right side (the direction your right foot is pointing). Keep your head turned so that you are looking over your left arm. This is Warrior 2.
Breathe out and rotate your left palm up until it is facing the sky. Bend your body back toward your right leg and move your arms with your body so that the left arm is pointing to the sky and the right arm is pointing to the ground. Look up at your left hand.
This is Reverse Warrior.
Breathe in and straighten your left knee as you straighten your torso up and let your arms wingspan out to the sides, in five-pointed star (except that your left foot is still pointing forward).
Breathe out and bend at the waist, lowering your left arm straight down to your leg (not moving your arms, but your torso), and your right arm to the sky. Keep your hips facing the same direction as your right foot.
This is triangle pose.
You want to keep your back and arms straight, like you are against a wall.
It is not important that you bend down all the way to touch the floor, but that you are straight in that line with the wall, your hips square against it.
Breathe in and lower your right arm, twisting your torso so that you are looking down at your left foot.
This is pyramid pose, but unlike this photo, keep your back straight. It's not important that you touch the floor, but that you keep your back straight.
Breathe out and lower your hands to the floor. Bend your right knee and set it on the floor, and take the weight off of your toes and set the top of your foot on the ground. Lift your arms above your head and place the palms together. Arch your back in crescent moon.
Your left knee should be directly over your ankle.
If you would like to increase the intensity of this, pose, stand on your right toes and raise the right knee off of the ground.
Breathe in and lower your right knee and arms to the ground.
Breathe out and move your left leg back next to the right and lower the knee to the ground, for neutral spine.
This is the pose you can return to when you are doing kneeling poses and you need to take a break.
Breathe in: Cow
Breathe out: Cat
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out and lift your body from the ground, your arms extended in front of you. Lean back on your knees, keeping your back straight and your arms at a 90 degree angle from your body, into raised serpent.
Breathe in and step up into back extention
Repeat the entire workout segment 5 to 10 times.
For reference, here is the flow of the workout:
Back Extention
Lateral Side Stretch
Right
Back Extention
Lateral Side Stretch
Left
Back Extention
Forward Fold
Back Extention
Chair
Back Extention
Forward Fold
Back Extention
Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Reverse Warrior
Five Pointed Star
Triangle
Pyramid
Crescent Moon
Neutral Spine
Cow
Cat
Neutral Spine
Down Dog
Neutral Spine
Down Dog
Neutral Spine
Raised Serpent
Back Extention
Repeat for other side
COOL DOWN:
Breathe out and lower your arms into mountain
Breathe out and bend over at the waist, keeping your back straight, and grab the seat of the chair for Down Dog with Chair.
Breathe in and step forward, letting your head and arms rest on the chair for forward fold
Breathe out as you step back and lower your knees and hands to the floor for netural spine
Breathe in and lower to your derriere, sitting on the floor with your legs out in front of you.
Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Gently lower down, one vertebrae at a time, so that you are laying down with your knees up.
Lower one leg to the ground. Place your hands behind the knee that is still raised. Lift this leg into the air. You want to keep the leg straight, and left it up as far as is possible.
Point your toe at the sky. Then flex the heel so the sole of your foot is facing the sky.
Rotate your foot around a few times, then rotate it in the other direction a few times.
Point your toe, flex your heel, and lower the foot back to the ground.
Lower that leg, and bring the other leg back up, so that the knee is bent and the foot is on the ground. Place your hands behind that knee and repeat pointing the toe, flexing the heel, and rotating like you did for the previous leg.
Put that foot back on the ground.
If you have lower back discomfort, bring the other foot up so that both knees are in the air, otherwise lower that leg so that you are laying flat.
Place your arms at your sides, in corpse pose.
(Remember, if you need to, you can put your knees up in this pose).
Relax here for 5-15 minutes, focusing on the breath, breathing with the abdomen. Feel the heat and warmth in you body. With each exhalation, release tension from your muscles, imagine this tension flowing out with the air you are exhaling.
After you have relaxed, roll onto your side into newborn pose, which is much how you would sleep on your side, with your knees pulled up close to the body, your ankles crossed, your arms bent in front of you, and crossed.
Lay in this pose for a few minutes. Then sit up again.
You may end here, or you may finish with "Namaste."
To do this, either stand or sit in the chair. Sweep your arms out and over your head, bring the palms together as they are over your head, and lower them down to your heart.
Bow your head and say "Namaste." (Nah-mah-stay)
It's public, share with your friends if you want.
The most important things about yoga are form, alignment, and breathing.
So, you only do a pose as far a you can, but you try to keep your back straight and your neck straight at all times, and you try to hold the pose in the right way. If your knee is supposed to be bent over your toe, you should try to do that, if your hands are supposed to be by your ankle, it is important to try to do these things.
Also, you focus on your breathing. One breath per pose, and breathe from the belly. It's kind of hard, but it really makes you feel nice if you do it right. It's not suppoed to be strenuous like jogging or anything like that.
Begin seated
Sit here for a while, breathing in and out, focusing on your breath. Relax, close your eyes if you want to. Breathe from your lower abdomen, imagine pulling the air all the way down to a point about 3 inches below your navel.
The stomach will move out as you inhale and move in as you exhale.
I would spent about 5 minutes here, focusing on your breathing.
Try to stay focused on your breathing and let go of thoughts that may enter your mind, letting them drift away and returning your focus to your breathing.
WARM UP:
Breathe in and bend your neck forward, bringing your chin to your chest.
Breathe out, bring your neck back to centre, and then bend it backwards, bringing your face to the sky.
Breathe out and return to centre.
Breathe in and bend your neck, bringing your right ear to your right shoulder.
Breathe out and return your head to centre.
Breathe in and bend your neck, bringing your left ear to your left shoulder.
Breathe out and return to centre.
Breathe in and swivel your legs to the right side of the chair. Turn and place your arms on either side of the back of the chair and twist your shoulders to face the back of the chair while keeping your legs out to the side.
Breathe out and return to a central seated position
Breathe in and swivel your legs to the leftt side of the chair. Turn and place your arms on either side of the back of the chair and twist your shoulders to face the back of the chair while keeping your legs out to the side.
Breathe out and return to a central seated position
Breathe in and rise from the chair and position yourself facing the seat of the chair.
Breathe out and bend over at the waist, keeping your back straight, and grab the seat of the chair for Down Dog with Chair.
Place your palms flat on the seat of the chair, with the fingertips pointing away from you.
Breathe in, lifting to your toes, sweep your upper body forward, allowing your back to arch, and your legs to straighten, for Up Dog with Chair.
Breathe out and sweep your derriere back outward, bending at the waist, for down dog
Breathe in: Up Dog
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Up Dog
Breathe out: Down Dog
Frow down dog, breathe in and straighten your body up into Mountain.
Your feet should be shoulder-width apart.
Feel firm, strong, and as immovable as a mountain, this is a foundational pose.
This is the pose you can return to when you are doing standing poses and you need to take a break.
Breathe in and roll your shoulders out front and up.
Breathe out and roll your shoulders back and down.
Repeat this for two more full breaths, ending back in mountain.
WORKOUT:
Breathe in and raise your arms above your head: back extention
Breathe out and lower your left arm for lateral side stretch
Reach as far up as you can with the arm in the air. Bend some like she is if you still aren't feeling the stretch in your side.
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and lower your right arm for lateral side stretch
Breathe in: back extention
Using a chair (and a pillow if you need it because you can't bend all the way to the seat of the chair), breathe out and bend down into Forward Fold
Let your arms and head go limp.
If you would like, instead of doing it with the chair, you can do an all-out forward fold
Remember, the goal is to keep your back straight (and your legs are shoulder-width apart), just bend at the waist.
It's more important to keep your back straight than to touch your toes.
Let your arms and neck hang loose.
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and sit back like you are sitting on a chair. Lower your arms in front of you like the arms of the chair. This position is called chair.
(raise your arms higher if you want to increase the intensity of this pose)
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out: forward fold
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and step back with your left foot for Warrior 1
Your front foot should still be pointing foward, but your left foot should be straight pointing out, to the left. Your arms are straight up and you are looking up slightly. Keep your shoulders relaxed.
Your right knee should be straight over your ankle, and preferable your knee is bent at a 90 degree angle, but that may take a while before you are strong enough for that. Move your left leg closer to the right to un-bend your right leg if you can't hold it at a 90 degree angle. Eventually you want to get to where you can hold it like that though.
Your upper body should be facing forward, and your hips should also be facing forward (the direction of your right foot)
(I really like the warrior poses, they DO make me feel like a warrior)
Breathe in and lower your arms out to the sides as you rotate your body toward the left side (the direction your left foot is pointing). Keep your head turned so that you are looking over your right arm. This is Warrior 2.
Breathe out and rotate your right palm up until it is facing the sky. Bend your body back toward your left leg and move your arms with your body so that the right arm is pointing to the sky and the left arm is pointing to the ground. Look up at your right hand.
This is Reverse Warrior.
You can let your left hand rest on your leg like the photo, or let it fall to the ground behind your leg, just don't use it to support your weight, use your abdominals to do that.
Breathe in and straighten your right knee as you straighten your torso up and let your arms wingspan out to the sides, in five-pointed star (except that your right foot is still pointing forward).
Breathe out and bend at the waist, lowering your right arm straight down to your leg (not moving your arms, but your torso), and your left arm to the sky. Keep your hips facing the same direction as your left foot.
This is triangle pose.
You want to keep your back and arms straight, like you are against a wall. If you want, you can do this pose against a wall to learn the proper feel for it.
It is not important that you bend down all the way to touch the floor, but that you are straight in that line with the wall, your hips square against it.
Breathe in and lower your left arm, twisting your torso so that you are looking down at your right foot.
This is pyramid pose, but unlike this photo, keep your back straight. It's not important that you touch the floor, but that you keep your back straight. I rest my hands just below my knee when I do this one, but do not use your hands to hold up your upper body, use your upper body to do that. :-)
Breathe out and lower your hands to the floor. Bend your left knee and set it on the floor, and take the weight off of your toes and set the top of your foot on the ground. Lift your arms above your head and place the palms together. Arch your back in crescent moon.
Your right knee should be directly over your ankle.
If you would like to increase the intensity of this, pose, stand on your left toes and raise the left knee off of the ground.
Breathe in and lower your left knee and arms to the ground.
Breathe out and move your right leg back next to the left and lower the knee to the ground, for neutral spine.
This is the pose you can return to when you are doing kneeling poses and you need to take a break.
Breathe in: Cow
Breathe out: Cat
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
To modify this one, bend your knees and stand on your toes, but keep your back, arms, and neck straight. Your legs should be hip-width apart. (This is also one that I have to heavily modify because I have the tightest hamstrings in the world.)
When I do down dog, it feels like I am really pressing back from the palms of my hand until my behind. It almost feels like I'm bowing myself backwards on my upper body there. So, really push back good to make sure your upper body is nice and straight.
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out and lift your body from the ground, your arms extended in front of you. Lean back on your knees, keeping your back straight and your arms at a 90 degree angle from your body, into raised serpent.
Breathe in and step up into back extention
Try to use your legs only if you can. One of the goals of yoga is to flow nicely between each pose.
If you can't though, that's okay. Eventually you will gain strength and be able to rise with just your legs.
(This is a repeat for the other side of the body)
Breathe out and lower your right arm for lateral side stretch
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and lower your left arm for lateral side stretch
Breathe in: back extention
Using a chair, breathe out and bend down into Forward Fold
Let your arms and head go limp.
Or, if you would like, you can do an all-out forward fold
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out: chair
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out: forward fold
Breathe in: back extention
Breathe out and step back with your right foot for Warrior 1
Breathe in and lower your arms out to the sides as you rotate your body toward the right side (the direction your right foot is pointing). Keep your head turned so that you are looking over your left arm. This is Warrior 2.
Breathe out and rotate your left palm up until it is facing the sky. Bend your body back toward your right leg and move your arms with your body so that the left arm is pointing to the sky and the right arm is pointing to the ground. Look up at your left hand.
This is Reverse Warrior.
Breathe in and straighten your left knee as you straighten your torso up and let your arms wingspan out to the sides, in five-pointed star (except that your left foot is still pointing forward).
Breathe out and bend at the waist, lowering your left arm straight down to your leg (not moving your arms, but your torso), and your right arm to the sky. Keep your hips facing the same direction as your right foot.
This is triangle pose.
You want to keep your back and arms straight, like you are against a wall.
It is not important that you bend down all the way to touch the floor, but that you are straight in that line with the wall, your hips square against it.
Breathe in and lower your right arm, twisting your torso so that you are looking down at your left foot.
This is pyramid pose, but unlike this photo, keep your back straight. It's not important that you touch the floor, but that you keep your back straight.
Breathe out and lower your hands to the floor. Bend your right knee and set it on the floor, and take the weight off of your toes and set the top of your foot on the ground. Lift your arms above your head and place the palms together. Arch your back in crescent moon.
Your left knee should be directly over your ankle.
If you would like to increase the intensity of this, pose, stand on your right toes and raise the right knee off of the ground.
Breathe in and lower your right knee and arms to the ground.
Breathe out and move your left leg back next to the right and lower the knee to the ground, for neutral spine.
This is the pose you can return to when you are doing kneeling poses and you need to take a break.
Breathe in: Cow
Breathe out: Cat
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out: Down Dog
Breathe in: Neutral Spine
Breathe out and lift your body from the ground, your arms extended in front of you. Lean back on your knees, keeping your back straight and your arms at a 90 degree angle from your body, into raised serpent.
Breathe in and step up into back extention
Repeat the entire workout segment 5 to 10 times.
For reference, here is the flow of the workout:
Back Extention
Lateral Side Stretch
Right
Back Extention
Lateral Side Stretch
Left
Back Extention
Forward Fold
Back Extention
Chair
Back Extention
Forward Fold
Back Extention
Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Reverse Warrior
Five Pointed Star
Triangle
Pyramid
Crescent Moon
Neutral Spine
Cow
Cat
Neutral Spine
Down Dog
Neutral Spine
Down Dog
Neutral Spine
Raised Serpent
Back Extention
Repeat for other side
COOL DOWN:
Breathe out and lower your arms into mountain
Breathe out and bend over at the waist, keeping your back straight, and grab the seat of the chair for Down Dog with Chair.
Breathe in and step forward, letting your head and arms rest on the chair for forward fold
Breathe out as you step back and lower your knees and hands to the floor for netural spine
Breathe in and lower to your derriere, sitting on the floor with your legs out in front of you.
Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Gently lower down, one vertebrae at a time, so that you are laying down with your knees up.
Lower one leg to the ground. Place your hands behind the knee that is still raised. Lift this leg into the air. You want to keep the leg straight, and left it up as far as is possible.
Point your toe at the sky. Then flex the heel so the sole of your foot is facing the sky.
Rotate your foot around a few times, then rotate it in the other direction a few times.
Point your toe, flex your heel, and lower the foot back to the ground.
Lower that leg, and bring the other leg back up, so that the knee is bent and the foot is on the ground. Place your hands behind that knee and repeat pointing the toe, flexing the heel, and rotating like you did for the previous leg.
Put that foot back on the ground.
If you have lower back discomfort, bring the other foot up so that both knees are in the air, otherwise lower that leg so that you are laying flat.
Place your arms at your sides, in corpse pose.
(Remember, if you need to, you can put your knees up in this pose).
Relax here for 5-15 minutes, focusing on the breath, breathing with the abdomen. Feel the heat and warmth in you body. With each exhalation, release tension from your muscles, imagine this tension flowing out with the air you are exhaling.
After you have relaxed, roll onto your side into newborn pose, which is much how you would sleep on your side, with your knees pulled up close to the body, your ankles crossed, your arms bent in front of you, and crossed.
Lay in this pose for a few minutes. Then sit up again.
You may end here, or you may finish with "Namaste."
To do this, either stand or sit in the chair. Sweep your arms out and over your head, bring the palms together as they are over your head, and lower them down to your heart.
Bow your head and say "Namaste." (Nah-mah-stay)