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Using preparatory stretches at the beginning of a session is still very important, if not more so, due to practicing yoga flows and hopefully challenging the young people with asanas.
We can still use simple stretches to warm up the body, such as:
Sitting in staff pose and then wide leg stretch, flexing the ankles and reaching up and to the toes
Butterfly (baddha Konsana) stretch gently pressing the knees to the floor (reminding students not to press on their knees with their hands, just use their muscles)
Head of the cow to loosen shoulders
Twists such as Lord of the Fishes
Knees to Chest (Wind-Relieving Pose)
Table Pose (on all fours)
Desk Pose (half chatush padasana)
Child’s Pose, with hands by the thighs.
Seated lower back stretch (half uttanasana on a chair)
Seated Corpse Pose (Savasana with lower legs supported on a chair)
The main warm up is still a sun salution but we no longer use music. Teaching the correct breathing for the sequence is now included and this should always be the focus of the first class with a new group and practiced in every session. The transitions between poses are also given more consideration than in ages 5-12 years and extra poses are discussed, such as Four Limbed Staff Pose being used to get to the floor.
Warming up and performing preparatory stretches is an important part of a yoga practice. It involves focusing on specific areas of the body to increase the range of motion in that area which will then be incorporated into the postures.
We can either perform a general warm up stretch of the entire body in preparation for our practice or focus on one specific area to be ready to work on one particular pose. A sun salutation sequence is an excellent warm up as it includes all the muscle groups and raises the heart rate.
Sun Salutation (surya namaskar)
This can be used to warm up the body and is generally considered a way to heat up the body. A Sun Salutation can then be incorporated into each following class and gives teens a good base to explore more poses.
All the muscle groups are used during the sequence of postures in the Sun Salutation, but it particularly stretches the hamstrings and opens the muscles of the shoulders and chest, whilst also relieving tension on the spine. The sequence alternately contracts and relaxes different groups of muscles to improve blood flow to the vital organs and increases heat in the body which results in sweating away toxins. The lungs, digestive system, the muscles and joints all benefit from this sequence. The increased blood flow to muscles makes the tendons and ligaments more pliable making the Sun Salutation an excellent warm up sequence and if we combine the movements with the breath it can become a moving meditation to find a calmness of mind. Aim for one movement to one breath. You can explore Surya Namasker A and B
Lotus Legs
Stretch one leg out in front of you, bring the other foot in towards the thigh. Stretch both arms up above the head, then bending from the hips reach down to hook the hands around the sole of the foot, or as close to the foot as possible. Make sure to repeat on both sides.
Benefits: Stretches muscles in the back of the legs.
The muscles in our bodies are used for everyday activities such as walking and sitting. Our body does not need to think about how to do these movements we perform them subconsciously. Muscle awakening is when we begin to use these muscles for new activities and positions. Yoga can reawaken these muscles by placing new demands of the body and train us to reactivate them and use them consciously to deepen our practice.
Body clairvoyance is when these awakened muscles ‘anticipate an action and use the most efficient muscles to accomplish it’ (Long (2008) p. 51)
Regular yoga practice can increase the feeling of body clairvoyance as the body starts to recognise the sequence of actions.
