If you’re anything like me, life seems like one big balancing act. Between overnight road-trips to festivals, dancing to my favorite producers until early morning hours, and writing about all the antics in between, sufficient time to practice yoga can seem a little unrealistic. Truth be told, most of us don’t have several hours a day to dedicate to yoga. Luckily, there are a few quick fixes for the yogi on the go, and I’ve compiled a list of my favorite poses for anyone curious about getting into yoga.
I’m going to start focusing on a quick pose of the week and writing about it on here on a regular basis to keep myself accountable. All of the poses I will feature will be chosen specifically because they can be done on the road, at a festival or even in an airport! (Please note: I’m not a certified yoga instructor, but I am a yoga enthusiast. Please practice at your own risk and use caution when learning new poses).
Pose of the week: Child’s Pose (Sanskrit – Balasana)
This basic, restful yoga pose is incredible for stretching out the back and hip joints. It’s also a great tool for confronting your attitudes and patterns of breathing. Thus, it’s fantastic for dealing with negative emotions like anxiety, which can be extremely high during times of heavy travel and low stability while on the road. For me, this pose has always been a symbol of surrendering to the universe and opening up to a love affair with the unknown.
Child’s Pose is very easy to get into, making it great for beginners. You can get into the pose in five easy steps:
1. Begin my kneeling on the floor, sitting on your heels and touching your big toes together. Make sure to separate your knees as wide as your hips.
2. Take a deep breath out and bring your torso down between your thighs as you broaden your tailbone across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward your belly button.
3. Rest your mid-forehead area between the eyes (your third eye chakra) on your mat (or the ground). It’s beneficial to activate this area by massaging it on the surface in which you are practicing on.
4. Surrender by stretching your arms out in front of you. (An alternative to this is laying your arms along your torso, with your palms up).
5. Continue to cycle your breathing in a rhythmic pattern as you stay in this position anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. To come out of this pose, lengthen the front torso and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone as it presses down and into the pelvis.