#soulfulasanachallenge: 5 Heart-Opening Poses from Erin Salvetti
To celebrate International Yoga Month, we teamed up with yogi Erin Salvetti from @livinglately to host a 5-day yoga challenge featuring soulful, heart-opening asanas. If you missed out on the challenge, keep reading for all of Erin's asanas!
#soulfulasana No. 1: Warrior II
This pose is one of my favorite asanas, as it allows you to feel strong yet graceful at the same time. With this posture, your front toes are pointed forward and back toes are facing the side. Open the knee on your front leg to track in line with your front pinky toe. Feel the energy throughout your entire body, down to the fingertips!
#soulfulasana No. 2: Low Lunge
Let your heart shine! This low lunge with heart opener is a fantastic asana for your back, hips, quadriceps, shoulders + soul! Place your front heel under your knee so your shin is straight up and down, alleviating any pressure on the knee. You can also reach back to grab your back leg for an extra quad stretch.
#soulfulasana No. 3: Big Toe Pose
Begin in tree pose. With your peace fingers, grab in between the big toe and second toe. Lift the knee first, then extend through your heel. Try closing your eyes even just for a moment to really test your balance. Just like in Big Toe pose, life is all about finding the beautiful balance. How do you make time for it all?
#soulfulasana No. 4: Seated Arm Bind
When you take time to move and care for your body, you bring in more love to your entire being. When I am moving my body in ways that make me happy, I experience a joy that is indescribable. It’s a feeling I crave which makes me come back for more each week. Start by opening your heart to yourself. Creating movements of self-love, joy + strength is a big part of my practice. Tip: If your arms don’t exactly reach, hold a towel between your hands. For an extra challenge, fold forward at the waist while keeping your hands in the bind.
#soulfulasana No. 5: Dancer Pose
Through self-love in your practice, you’re also able to give more love to others. Smile a bit more today—you never know what your smile can bring to their day. And open your heart! The more you give, the more you receive. Tip: Make sure the palm of your hand is facing toward your back foot. As your back flexibility increases, begin to extend your back leg to the sky so both legs become straight.
Even though our #soulfulasanachallenge is over, we'd love to see your soulful asana photos! Tag us in them on Instagram or Facebook at @malaandmantra and @livinglately!
Erin Salvetti is a yoga, barre, cycling + dance instructor and author of the lifestyle blog Living Lately. Check her out on Instagram, Facebook or at www.livinglately.com.
