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

pot” almost immediately. It’s entirely natural to feel the mind racing and strategizing, trying to
figure out the best route for escape! You might need a Horse Breath right now. Do it! Take a deep,
smooth breath into your busy brain, and when you exhale, let all concern cease and feel the
release. Let it all go. Know that with each breath, you are clearing, activating, and harmonizing
the energy pathways and creating the space for balance to thrive—for new life-giving energy to
surge and bloom inside you.
5. With as little effort as possible, start to come out of the pose. Move carefully and slowly. Your
hip ligaments are strong and will feel stiff when you try to move them to come out of the pose,
since you’ve gone deep and stretched the body’s canvases in ways they are not at all accustomed
to. Breathe as you use your hands and upper body to take the weight out of your hips in order to
shift them back and drag the right leg back toward the left, coming into the Child’s Pose. Savor
the buzz and flow of prana flowing through your body. Breathe gratitude into your belly and heart.
Rest and let go.
6. Repeat the steps on the other side, stepping up with the left foot and lengthening the right leg
behind you. This is the moment in my classes when I say, “Be happy you’re not a millipede and
have only two legs!” Each side is different because of how we use our bodies in life: our
posture, our habits, our awareness. If one side is tighter than the other, it is already time to bring
your breath and your compassion to your body in the first stage of the pose. Inhale into every area
of greatest sensation in your body and then let it go. Repeat the entire journey on your left side,
and afterwards, slowly and gently, come into the Child’s Pose.
Forward Bend
Meridian pair: Kidney and urinary bladder
IN BALANCE: Wisdom, courage
Shadow emotion: Fear
After the intensity of the Dragon, the Forward Bend should prove especially soothing to your mind
and bring you into an introspective state, where you can thoughtfully integrate the work you’ve done
up to this point. Because it increases the range of motion in the hamstrings, which connect to the
muscles of the lower back, this pose is especially beneficial for improving chronic lower-back
conditions. A great stress reducer, it also improves digestion, relieves fatigue, and calms the mind.
1. Sit tall with your legs extended in front of you, hip-width apart. Place your arms behind you,
fingertips facing away from your body, and press the floor away with your palms, reaching the
crown of your head toward the ceiling in opposition. Breathe deeply into your chest and belly
while you simultaneously strongly flex your feet and engage your quadriceps—this helps you to
experience contrast in the pose before you greet it.
2. Now relax your legs and feet entirely, letting them go limp, allowing every other muscle in your