Waking Energy 7 Timeless Practices Designed to Reboot Your Body and Unleash Your Potential

you stretch your arms away from your legs with the energy and intention that this exercise calls for,
you truly feel as though you are reaching across space and time. It strengthens the abdominals,
increases flexibility in your hamstring-gluteal connection, and stimulates and balances your third
chakra, clearing anger and ushering in self-love that arises from a job well done, the kind of selffulfillment
that is born from deep commitment.
1. Lying on your back, lengthen your legs straight out along the floor with your feet firmly flexed,
hip-width apart, and stretch your arms high overhead with your fingertips reaching as far away
from your feet as possible. Reach farther than you ever have, and apply the principle of
opposition, in which the energy of your fingertips is as far away from that of your feet as
possible.
2. Lower your navel toward your spine to activate your abdominals and make sure that your ribs are
drawing together, so that your spine is safely anchored to the mat beneath you rather than arching
up off the floor. You should feel a slight space between you and your mat, which means you are
encouraging the natural curve of your spine against the floor without pushing or straining to get it
down to the floor.
3. Inhale as you flex the left foot and, using your deepest abdominals, lift the left leg up, bringing the
toes of your left foot up to touch your right palm, which should meet it at around a ninety-degree
angle above your chest. As you exhale, lower both the left leg and the right arm back down into
their starting positions. Because this exercise is especially challenging on a few different levels,
you will want to rely on your compass, your mantra, so from the very start, inhale Sat as the leg
comes up to touch your hand and exhale Nam as the leg and opposite arm descends.
4. Then immediately, without pausing, repeat the entire sequence using the right leg and the left arm,
inhaling to lift the right toes up to touch the palm of the left hand. It is as though you are aiming
your toes like an arrow at the bull’s-eye, the target of your opposite hand, and it should feel
satisfying each time you are able to spatially perceive with exactitude the “sweet spot” of your
own palm. This sensation is similar to the satisfaction you would feel while playing tennis or
baseball, when the ball connects to the sweet spot on your racket or bat. It takes practice to hit
your toes into the middle of your opposite palm, but when you do, there is no mistaking the
solidity and the integrity of the connection. Don’t get frustrated or angry if you miss the bull’seye,
because the point here is to clear anger. Do your best, and over time, with practice, your
coordination and spatial awareness will improve, resulting in a feeling of great satisfaction and
pride.
5. After you complete about five sets, alternating sides, I guarantee, you will want to stop. Don’t!
Keep going, and challenge the voices in your mind that say, “No” and “I can’t.” Call upon Kali,
the goddess of destruction and transformation, now and remember it isn’t perfection we’re after.
It’s the bravery you bring to your yoga practice that makes all the difference. Think of how
incredibly powerful you are becoming, clearing anger, committing to yourself and a higher
purpose. Keep going! You will be so proud of yourself and enjoy an unparalleled satisfaction that
will build on itself, strengthening your resolve for when you need to call upon it next.
6. Ultimately you will want to work your way up to doing this for up to seven minutes, but try three
minutes to start. After completing your three minutes, hug your knees into your chest and rock