6 poses for Energy this January

Happy New Year guys!I hope I find you all well rested and ready to grab 2018 by the horns! I on the other hand am currently recovering from a pretty nasty allergic reaction (face cream, who would have known!?) which happened to leave my immune system somewhat distracted, and I seem to have managed to catch every single cough, sneeze and sniffle that everyone I encountered over the festive period happened to have. But, nevermind, after a few days in pyjamas feeling sorry for myself, and countless hours in the black hole of netflix, I am now feeling a little more optimistic, and looking forward to leaving the house, eventually.One step at a time though. It would seem somewhat rude to do a blog post on the second of January, and not mention new years resolutions. Now, I was never a huge one for resolutions, as I always ended up trying to make it too hard for myself, and of course they were never kept. So for last year and this year, I tried to keep it more simple. This year I am focusing on using my time more wisely. OK, I know this is going to be tough, I am a Master Procrastinator! This is quite broad, I know, but I am aiming for this to be the link towards better self care. Meaning, I am intending to use my time better regarding my routine, planning classes, around my full time job, being stricter with what I take on, accepting that sometimes, a lot of the time I am trying to do too much, and being more mindful of what I say yes and no too, resulting in taking better care of myself.What are your resolutions for 2018? I'd love to hear them!So with that in mind, if like me, you're feeling a little worn out from the festive season, or  you're feeling great and want to keep that higher energy going whilst you return to work,  here are 6 yoga poses to increase energy! The twists, back bends and inversions in this little sequence will give you a boost of energy at any time of day. Like all practices, please make sure you are warm enough, and move carefully from pose to pose, using any props you may need to not over do it. Don't forget to switch legs where appropriate, and feel free to add in a vinyasa between poses if that is within your practice.

• Low Lunge with Brain Cradle; Make sure the front knee is above or behind the ankle, as you press down through the front foot and the top of the back foot, simultaneously scooping the elbows up towards the sky as you lean back keeping the spine nice and long.
• Twisting Lunge; Keeping the legs as they are, still pressing through the feet, press the ground away from you with your left hand, whilst you reach up with the right, creating space between the shoulder blades and the ribcage.
• Warrior 3; Aiming for the body to be like the capital letter T, angle the toes of the lifted leg down towards the ground, keeping the hips nice and square. Ground down through all four corners of the standing foot, and draw the belly button in towards the spine. Engaging your core helps with balance.
• Seated Spinal Twist; Keep both sit bones in contact with the ground, and keep lengthening through the spine, as you twist. Option to straighten the bottom leg if this is uncomfortable for you.
• Bridge; Feet slightly wider than hip width, and hands open towards the sky to encourage the shoulder blades to wrap down the back. Imagine you are pressing the knees forwards past the toes to lengthen through the hamstrings. Engage the glutes and breathe right up to the top of the chest.
• Shoulder Stand; Aim to get your ankles, knees, hips and shoulders stacked, drawing in through the core, and pointing the toes towards the sky. (I'm not quite stacked here, but turns out doing shoulder stand in a lot of layers on a wonky block isn't so easy). Option to use a wall if you're new to inversions like this.

And there you go! Happy Energising! Thanks, Grace xo