Letting go is one of life’s important lessons. Reconnecting with our sense of grounded ness helps us to relax right in the midst of our busy schedules. When we let go, we can sometimes experience a renewed sense of freedom, like taking a heavy bag off our shoulders. The process of letting go is one aspect of yoga practice.

Extra tension that is stuck in our bodies cannot be helpful. So, piece by piece we begin to relax and we can simultaneously feel a rebounding lightness. You might feel instantaneous relief or it might take some practice.

The tension of holding an in-between state of neither here nor there, not up or down is unsettling for our nervous system. Give your shoulders a vacation right now. Release some of the burden of tension and feel your breath flow. Where else in your body might you be able to release some other unnecessary tension? Then using your breath, find a renewed sense of being — rebounding with lightness from the earth.

I love to begin my yoga practice lying down, smoothing myself out on the ground and letting go of extra tension. Yet as the weather starts to get colder, I want to warm up more quickly. So, this warm up is meant to give the delicious feeling of release while standing up. Hopefully this will give a feeling of fluid release and rebound to start off your yoga practice.

1. Mountain Pose — Tadasana

2. Upward Hand Pose — Urdhva Hastasana
Lift arms up overhead stretching your waist up along the front, sides and back of your waist. Hands are as wide as your shoulders.

3. Mountain Pose – Tadasana
Lower your arms to your sides bending the elbows. Release your body weight fully down. Spread your feet and let yourself settle. Do you dare?

4. Shoulder Opener
Interlace your fingers behind your back and feel a rebounding wave rise from the floor through your body emerging up through your chest.

5. Uttanasana — Standing Forward Bend
Keeping your fingers interlaced behind your back, fold forward from your hips. This deep hamstring and shoulder stretch is meant to feel like a release. For support, strongly activate your arm and leg muscles simultaneously.

6. Bend Knees
Bending the knees here reduces the strong pull on the hamstrings. With this freedom, find a deeper fold in your hips and let your chest drapes down closer to your thighs. Maybe now your shoulders will open a bit more with the increased pull toward gravity. Work to move your shoulders up away from your ears in opposition to your arms releasing further down towards the floor.

7. ½ Way Up Roll half way up with your hands lying across your lower back. The spine is curved forward while your hips and head are level with each other equidistant from the floor.

8. Release Then Rebound
Let your arms swing heavily down and then catch their rebound like a wave and follow your arm swing all the way up.

9. Upward Hand Pose — Urdhva Hastasana
10. Side Bend
Release your right hand down alongside your body for this side of the body opening.

11. Upward Hand Pose — Urdhva Hastasana

12. Descending Twist in 3 Parts
Part 1: Twist slightly to the right while your hands slip down so that your fingers touch the back of your head, opening your elbows and bend your knees just a little. Part 2: Your hands fall further so that your fingertips touch your shoulders, bending your knees just a bit more and twisting a little further to the right. Part 3: Twist even further, bend your knees and open your arms wide, left arm forward and right arm back. Your chest opens to the right.

Start over from 2. for the second side: Side Bending and Twisting to the left.