By Yoga Journal
Prep work
Start seated in Sukhasana (Easy Pose), placing both palms over your heart, connecting with awareness and compassion. Find a rhythmic breath. After a few minutes of centering, remain seated and move through a sidebend and twist on each side, then a seated Cat-Cow. Repeat five times.
Do all five poses on the left side, and then on the right.
Low Lunge, variation
Anjaneyasana, variation
Move into Table Top, with your toes curled under. Take four breaths here. Then inhale to step your left foot between your hands, with your left knee over your left ankle. On an inhalation, bring your hands to your left knee. Hug your legs toward each other like a pair of scissors closing. Lengthen your tailbone down as your bellybutton draws in. Reach through the crown of your head.
Half Monkey God Pose, or Half Splits
Ardha Hanumanasana
Lower your hands onto the floor or blocks on either side of your left leg. Exhale to shift your hips back, stacking them over your right knee, and start to straighten your left leg as you flex your left foot. Inhale to lengthen out of your waist, making sure not to round your back. Reach through the crown of your head. Draw the left hip back to meet the right, energizing the left leg.
Lizard Pose, variation
Utthan Pristhasana, variation
Inhale to shift your left knee back over your left ankle. The top of the right foot can rest on the earth. Exhale to bring your hands to the inside of your left foot. Inhale to hug your legs toward the midline and reach up through the crown of your head. On an exhalation, let your heart soften toward the earth without rounding the spine.