The vinyasa or flow that I want to teach you today is an integral part of Sun Salutation as practiced in Ashtanga and Vinyasa flow yoga. It is challenging sequence but is another fantastic strength building practice, as long as it is done safely, with attention paid to shoulder, elbow and wrist alignment. 

If you are keen to build strength in your yoga practice, you can choose some of our static postures and then add one round of the following sequence between each one. 

Over the last few weeks we have learned all the elements to pull this flow together, take it slowly and listen to your body, if its telling you to stop or take a break please do so! 

Come to standing in tadasana and take a few settling breaths. 

Then inhale and take your arms up to the ceiling filling the lungs. 

Exhale drop forward into your standing forward bend. 

Inhale and extend the head and the chest forwards whilst keeping the hands by the toes or on the shins. The spine will be long and the chest open. 

Exhale drop back down to standing forward bend. 

Inhale and then exhale as you step back into downward facing dog – don’t forget to reach the heels to the floor and the hips to the ceiling, open the chest and extend the shoulder joint opening out the armpit. 

Inhale and exhale forward into plank – keep the whole body firm and engaged. 

Inhale and exhale down into Chathuranga – take a breath here if you can. 

Shift the weight forwards and up inhale into Upwards facing dog. 

Exhale into down dog. 

Either repeat the sequence or drop the knees to the floor and come to rest in child’s pose. 

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Serena is a yoga teacher and the founder of The OM Space . She is a passionate believer in yoga as a life enhancing practice and runs several classes in Colombo including the very popular Yoga for Children and Yoga for Pregnancy. Serena trained in the UK with the British Wheel of Yoga and is a UK Yoga Alliance registered Senior Teacher.