Step 1

Begin in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) with your feet together and arms alongside your body. Distribute the weight evenly in your feet. If you have a hard time staying balanced here stand with the feet hips distance apart and parallel to one another. On an inhale circle the arms up overhead.

Step 2

Straighten the legs but keep a microbend in the knees so as not to lock them out. Lift through the inner ankles and arches of the feet as you press the outer shins gently towards one another.

Step 3

Engage the quads as you rotate the inner thighs towards the back of the room. This will naturally widen your sit bones.

Step 4

Draw the tailbone down towards the earth without exaggerating and rounding the spine. Hips should remain even and neutral.

Step 5

Bring a slight engagement to your belly without constricting your breath

Step 6

Lengthen the spine as you broaden the collarbones and elongate your neck. Shoulders draw away from the ears. Make sure the ribcage is not sticking forward. Keep an engagement in your belly (drawing your naval towards your spine) as you lengthen the tailbone towards the earth.

Step 7

Ankles, hips, shoulders and ears should be in one line and the chin should be parallel with the ground.

Step 8

The triceps rotate in towards one another and your fingertips are active reaching up towards the sky. Arms are straight but don’t lock out the elbows.

Step 9

Draw the shoulders away from the ears as you keep reaching up. Palms of the hands can come together or are shoulder distance apart.

To release, exhale the arms back down alongside the body to come back into Tadasana.