Runner’s Lunge
Come onto your hands and knees with hands directly below shoulders and knees aligned with hips. Bring right leg forward, placing right foot beside right hand. Keeping left knee in place, shift body weight forward so you feel a stretch in left hip. Walk yourself up placing both hands on front knee and guiding front knee forward to deepen stretch in left hip. Hold 3 to 5 breaths.
Runner’s Lunge: Extended
Raise right arm straight in the air, with thumb reaching back to open the shoulder. Hold 3 to 5 breaths.
Crescent
Place both hands down on floor with tented fingers. Keeping your shoulders relaxed, curl the toes of left foot under and come to ball of foot. Lift left thigh away from ground and slowly lift both arms in air, stretching left thigh. Keep left knee as straight as you can and sink a little lower. Hold 3 to 5 breaths.
Release hands to floor. Bring left knee to ground, straightening right leg for hamstring stretch. Keeping fingers on ground for balance, flex right foot and shift weight back, stretching right leg. Hold 3 to 5 breaths.
Plank
Exhale, moving forward through lunge, bring right let back to meet the left in a high pushup position.
Upward Dog
Lower slowly into small push-up. Come to tops of feet and, straightening arms, lift chest up with torso and pelvis hovering off the ground.
Downward Facing Dog
Curling toes under, push back into Downward Facing Dog.
Come down to knees on all fours and repeat entire series on opposite side.
Pigeon
Starting in Downward Facing Dog, bend right knee, bringing it forward toward chest.
Turn right knee out to the right, place knee on floor, right knee behind right wrist, right foot behind left wrist.
Form tip: Right knee is straight in front of right hip, right shin is parallel with front of mat.
Inverted Pigeon
If Pigeon strains the knee, try this variation: Lay on back and cross right foot over left knee. Bring legs close to chest for a stretch in right hip.
Folded Pigeon
In Pigeon, walk fingertips about 18 inches in front of right shin. Place elbows on the floor, forearms parallel with each other. Stretch arms farther in front of you, fold torso over right leg, lower head to floor. Hold for 5 breaths.
Downward Facing Dog
Walk arms back toward hips and shift back into Downward Facing Dog.
Downward Dog: Extended Leg
In Downward Dog, raise right leg in air, flexing foot and rolling right hip open so pelvis rotates toward right wall. Release back into Downward Facing Dog.
Butterfly
Come to a seated position and bring soles of feet together so knees splay open, as close to the floor as possible. Hold for 8 breaths.
Repeat the second series on opposite side.
