Blend Asana and Meditation for a Centering Practice

Students often ask me what my personal practice is like. TodayI describe my morning practice, straight from my sticky mat. Blending the meditation in to this degree is new to me. It felt really sweet.

Note on times: I actually used a clock to time these poses and meditations. I typically don't use a timer in my practice, but it worked well in this practice. For the most part, 5 minutes in a pose means holding the pose for 5 minutes, although this practice would work equally well if you need to rest and then re-enter the pose during the 5 minutes.

The selection and order of the asanas was spontaneous in the practice. I encourage you take the basic template of the practice - alternating long holds of challenging poses, long holds of relaxing poses, and 5-minute meditation periods - and substitute the poses that call to you in the moment.

5 minutes seated meditation in sukhasana.
5 minutes of breathing kriyas.
5 minutes downward facing dog.
5 minutes in seated forward fold (paschimottonasana).
5 minutes dolphin pose and variations.
5 minutes seated meditation in virasana.
5 minutes headstand.
5 minutes seated meditation in virasana.
5 minutes upward facing bow pose.
5 minutes reclining bound angle pose.
5 minutes meditation in a heart-opening, supported backbend (one blanket rolled under shoulder blades/midspine; one blanket rolled under knees, one folded blanket to slightly elevate the back of the head).
Savasana.

Total practice time: 1 hour. How I felt at the end of the practice: Centered, balanced, and inspired.


When I finished my practice, had released my savasana. I was still lying there. A luxurious moment at the beginning of a busy day. The light of day was just beginning to seep into my practice space illuminating the walls and ceilings. It was them that I heard the geese. At first I thought it was sea gulls and I was in a dream. But then it was the geese, flying to their second home. My body is my home. It is the only one I will ever know. The sound of the geese call out harsh and exciting. ( Mary Oliver) It is fall. A time of change.

My other realization on the mat today was that I clutter my life. My practice was so simple and spartan this morning and it felt right and authentic. I will write more about this later.