Week 4 – Legs

Week 4- Legs 2/9/20

Time is flying and we are now past the halfway point in our 6-week Beginners Yoga journey- I hope you have enjoyed it so far and are feeling some benefits after class. This week we are channelling our inner warriors and working on strengthening and lengthening our legs. It would seem that tight hamstrings are almost endemic within our profession, so gently encouraging them to release will be hugely beneficial, especially if you also enjoy running or cycling.

As well as working on our legs this week, we will be aiming to improve our balance and focus. If you find it challenging to free your mind of thoughts, putting your body into postures where you have no choice but to concentrate on what you are physically doing can be really calming! If you have any knee injuries or issues, please take care this week and if you have two fully functioning knees then I will show you how to hopefully keep them that way whilst working through the postures.

Week 4 Feature Pose: Tree Pose

Given that over lockdown working in practice has been pretty manic, I have deliberately chosen a really grounding and earthy asana for this week’s feature pose. Tree pose, or Vrksasana, has many benefits including strengthening of the standing leg, improved balance and focus, and calming of the mind. You may find that you find it easier to balance on one leg more than the other, and that is perfectly normal! If you’re practicing yoga in your own time I encourage you to spend a bit more time working this posture on your less comfortable side to feel maximum benefits- it’s a great one to find a few moments of peace in between consults, and you can play around with your arm ‘branches’ exploring different variations. If you struggle with your balance ensure you are practicing near a wall for the coming class, or have a chair/something to support you nearby.

Check out the step-by-step guide here: https://vetyogi.com/blog-details/tree-foundation-yoga-pose-series

If you would like to work on your legs but don’t have much time in between classes, you can try the legs class from my VetYogi YouTube 5-minute series, or my 20-minute ‘Yoga for Runners’ (featuring Nat from This Vet Runs as my live student!) free class to put a spring back in your step!

Legs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPMf6DqpeSI

Yoga for Runners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgj8tMwsHks

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch via email: chloe@vetyogi.com, or follow VetYogi on social media for more info.

‘See’ you on the mat!

Namaste,

Chloe