Valentine Yoga Quickie

This won't be another rant about the crass commercialisation of all our festivals - I already did that with Christmas. It is interesting that, as always seems to be the case, this festival, the festival of the one or several martyred St Valentines, is pre-dated by a history of earlier fertility festivals taking place in February - just as Spring starts to loom on the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere.

It is a festival where people show their love for one another, and if you have time for yoga practice today, you might want to do some heart-opening back bends, opening to giving and receiving love.

How about a quick little sequence like this:

Dynamic Tadasana -
Stand in Tadasana. Become aware of your breath, of your heart beating, of your whole system working in unity.
When you are ready, inhale to raise your arms out to the sides and up, rising on to tiptoes, bring your palms to meet overhead. Exhale to bring hands to your sides and heels to the mat.
Repeat 6 times

Warrior 1/Warrior 2 Vinyasa -
Step your left foot forward, your right foot back, aligning the feet through the midline of the body if you can.
Inhale to come into Virabadrasana 1 (Warrior 1), exhale to straighten the front leg and draw your hands to your heart in namaste.
Then inhale to come into Virabadrasana 2 (Warrior 2), exhale to straighten the front leg and draw your hands to your heart in namaste.
Cycle through this vinyasa 6 times on each side.

Sun Salutes -
As many as you want, spend extra time in your lunges and upward dogs.

Then lie down in a comfortable supported backbend like Supta Baddha Konasana, sometimes known as Reclining Goddess Pose. In this position, let your breath become smooth and even, matching inhale to exhale. When you feel centred, and your breath feels steady and comfortable, imagine that you are sending love to those who need it with every exhalation, and receiving love with every inhalation. Notice who comes to mind when you think of giving love, and who comes to mind when you think of receiving love. Spend as long as you want with this imagery.

When you have finished your practice, think about phoning the people who visited you during your visualisation. I am going to phone my best friend. She is pregnant, and I haven't heard from her for long enough to get me worried.