Beat the winter blues with these fun, fiery transitions

It’s easy to feel sluggish and demotivated with the cold and wetness on the Ayurvedic Kapha season in full swing. Bring some fire back into your life with these fun transitions centered around pistol squat, working the whole body through strength and flexibility of the legs and core engagement to balance.

Standing split -> Pistol squat

Inhale – prepare in standing split

• Send weight through all 4 corners of standing foot
• Hips square to the mat

Exhale – bend the standing leg and bring raised leg down and through to pistol squat

• Bend the raised leg in towards your chest as you lower
• Continue to send leg straight out in front, engaging through the quads and hip flexors
• Bottom lowers towards the mat, lifting through the chest
• Flex the extended foot and bring hands together at heart centre

Pistol squat -> Wild thing -> Marichyasana A

Inhale – prepare in pistol squat

Exhale – lower bottom to mat, place hand one foot behind your bottom on side of the extended leg

Inhale – press firmly through feet and hands to lift to wild thing

• Press hips upwards first, then extend the stretch into the chest
• Other arm reaches overhead and gaze follows the hand

Exhale – lower to floor and reach forwards to marichyasana A

• Reach towards the extended foot then turn palm outwards
• Wrap the arm around the bent knee reaching towards your back
• Other hand reaches behind you to meet it
• The hand wrapping round the knee grasps the wrist of the other hand

Pistol squat -> Pyramid -> Warrior 3

Inhale – prepare in pistol squat

Exhale – pyramid pose

• Lower extended heel to mat, hands down to frame front foot
• Send weight forwards, lifting onto the ball of the back foot
• Root down firmly through both feet as you lengthen from the hips to crown of the head

Inhale – hands to heart cenntre lift up to warrior 3

• Shift weight into front foot, slightly bending the knee
• Squeeze your glutes as you straighten the front leg
• Lift the back leg, flexing firmly through the foot
• Hips square to the floor
• Find length from the top of the head to sole of the foot

Shoulder stand -> Pistol squat -> Standing split

Inhale – start in shoulder stand with one knee bent and drawn towards your forehead

Exhale – roll down with momentum into pistol squat

• Send arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor as you lift hips/bottom
• Engage strongly through the core to balance 
• Extended leg is active, foot strongly flexed

Inhale – bend extended leg and tuck towards body

Exhale – lift to standing split

• Hands frame the standing foot
• Straighten the standing leg, chest folded towards it
• Squeeze your bottom as you extend you leg towards the sky
• Hips square to the mat