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

Butterfly. You have my permission to play a little and be curious, like a child; sneak in an assessment
after even thirty seconds of conscious breathing. You’ll be able to gauge a palpable difference and
will likely be very surprised at how far you’ve come in that short time.
Caution: If you suffer from lower-back pain, sciatica, or spinal issues of any kind, be careful as
you come into this or any of the other forward-bending poses in the practice. If, after a few breaths, a
pose doesn’t feel right for any reason, trust your inner wisdom and either opt to do a reclining version
of the Butterfly (you lie back instead of bending forward) or bypass it altogether, replacing it with a
modification or an alternate pose that better suits your body once you have cycled through the full
collection of poses and can choose what feels best.
1. Sitting on your mat, bring the knees toward the chest and then spread them open. Bring the soles
of your feet together, forming a diamond shape resembling butterfly wings with your legs. Your
feet should be about a foot away from your groin, with their outer edges resting on the floor.
2. Bring your hands behind you and extend your fingertips long into the floor, so that they’re facing
away from you and your shoulders are rolled open and back. Energize your fingertips and arms
as you push the floor away, using your hands to leverage your spine so that you can sit tall. Reach
the crown of your head toward the ceiling in opposition as you expand your chest.
3. Drop your head gently forward and soften your spine so that you start to relax your torso,
rounding as far as you can go forward without straining. Wherever you meet resistance is where
you are meant to begin. If you feel excessive restriction when you try to round forward, then
leave your hands behind you at least for the first few breaths to serve as support for your spine. If
your body naturally rounds forward without issue, then bring your hands in front of you.
4. Stay where you are for a few breaths and sense how you feel. Inhale deeply, and then exhale all
the stale air from your lungs. Feel your spine melting forward toward the floor, as your body
releases and gets heavier. Breathe into your shoulders, arms, and hands. As you exhale, feel the
weight of the world sliding off your shoulders and releasing into the earth. Feel that when you
breathe into your arms and then exhale, you’re sending any of the discomfort you experience in
your spine, neck, or shoulders out through the exit points that are your fingertips into the earth.
5. After moving through the full sequence of the pose, slowly rise up through the spine, stretch your
legs out in front of you and make your way into the Child’s Pose.
Dragonfly
Meridian pair: Liver and gallbladder
IN BALANCE: Decisiveness, action
Shadow emotion: Anger
The Dragonfly offers you a bonus gift. Not only does it target the liver and gallbladder meridian; it
also stimulates and opens the spleen and stomach meridian and the kidney and urinary bladder