Warm-up sequence: your ideal start to practice

Übung 1

Sprung- und Handgelenke

Quick sun salutations are not always the ideal, healthy preparation at the beginning of practice. This supine warm-up sequence warms and strengthens the helical muscle-fiber chains and creates healthy floating tension in the joints most at risk. Take 1-2 minutes for each exercise before you continue with sun salutations and/or your usual practice.

1. Ankles and Wrists

Lie on your back and lift your arms and legs vertically. In this position, circle your hands and feet. Make the circles generous and change direction from time to time.

2. Knees and Elbows

Now, while lying on your back, form right angles with your arms and legs: rest your upper arms on the floor while the forearms stay vertical, and lower your lower legs to horizontal while the thighs remain vertical. Keep the knees together. Rotate the feet alternately outward and inward: first the heels move toward each other, then the toes. At the same time, rotate the palms of your hands forward and back.

3. Shoulders and Hips

Stretch your arms and legs vertically again and rotate them back and forth in opposite directions from the shoulder and hip joints, much like screwing a light bulb in and out. Let your shoulders move freely as you do this.

You can find a detailed tutorial for this warm-up sequence and healthy floating tension in the joints in our Online Yoga Studio - Watch now!

Auch erschienen in

Yoga Journal Nr. 76 – 04/21 (Juli/August)

4. Shoulder Blades and Neck

The next movement is a little more complex. In the arms it resembles a backstroke swimming motion, while the arms and legs remain loosely extended upward: first lift one shoulder forward off the floor and, after a circular movement, place it back down toward the rear. As it lowers, the other side rises, and so on. Once this alternating circling becomes fluid, you can add the legs: lift and lower one half of the pelvis at a time and circle backward as well, again alternating right and left. If you like, you can also reverse direction and circle forward.