Slim Calm Sexy Yoga: 210 Proven Yoga Moves for Mind/Body Bliss

are right now, take a deep breath through your nose. Exhale all the air out. Then inhale starting from your belly and count 1, move up through your ribs and count 2, 3, and finally through your upper chest and count 4. Hold for 2 counts and slowly exhale. Nice, right?
      FOCUS YOUR MIND. Alignment doesn’t stop with the body. When your mind is in the right place, everything else falls into position. Keeping your mental focus sharp and reining in wandering thoughts is essential.
    Try it: Try setting an intention—or focus—for yourself each time you practice. An example of an intention is “I will try to focus on my breath instead of my thoughts during the whole class. This will help me focus in my life and control impulses so I can reach my weight-loss goal.” It sets a mood for your practice that keeps you on target.
      KEEP YOUR ELBOWS SLIGHTLY BENT. Locking your elbows during weight-bearing poses such as plank and down dog is another recipe for wrist and shoulder injury. This is especially the case if your elbows tend to hyperextend. Aim to keep your arms slightly bent (they’ll be closer to straight than you think) and you’ll get strong and toned even faster.
    Try it: Come to all fours. Spread your fingers and bend your elbows out to the sides. Slowly start to straighten your arms, and stop when your upper arms and forearms are in a straight line. If you hyper-extend naturally, they’ll feel bent but will actually be straight.
      SPREAD YOUR FINGERS. Many poses—plank, down dog, handstand—place your weight on your arms, so it’s important to have a solid base. Spreading your fingers helps build strength by engaging your arms and shoulders; weak, passive fingers can overstress your wrists and shoulders, leading to injury.
    Try it: Practice spreading your fingers while doing a common pose like down dog: Come to all fours with your knees under your hips and hands under your shoulders. Bend your elbows slightly and spread your fingers as if you were digging into wet sand. Straighten your arms, keeping your fingers spread wide. Tuck your toes under, lift your hips, and extend your legs. Press your shoulders toward the floor and relax your neck. Press your palms against the floor a few inches in front of your feet. Walk your feet back, lift your hips, and press your heels toward the floor. Relax your shoulders and head.
      KEEP YOUR FEET UNDER YOUR HIPS. Take notice of your foot placement habits in standing poses. You are the most efficient when your feet are directly under your hip bones and your heels are aligned behind your toes.
    Try it: Stand naturally at the front of your mat. Now take a look at your feet. See if they are set wider or narrower than your hip bones. Are your toes pointing out or in, or straight forward? Make sure your feet are parallel to each other. They can be together or slightly apart.
    UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL
    Kundalini yoga, brought to the West by Yogi Bhajan in 1969, is a practice of awakening an enormous reserve of untapped potential within each of us. It is normally depicted as a coiled or sleeping serpent, located in the area at the base of the spine. Kundalini practice works to raise the energy up through the spine and employ its power to attain benefits of elevation in consciousness, physical well-being, and expansive awareness.

align
your body
    Alignment is key to an efficient yoga practice. Proper body alignment is all about stacking your bones so your muscles and circulation can work effectively. When your body is in the correct position, you get the most benefit out of each pose.
    The more you practice yoga, the better you’ll be able to sense your alignment and make automatic fixes. You’ll start to notice how you feel in the poses and find subtle ways to adjust. But don’t overthink it! Yoga is designed to put you in tune with your physical, mental, and spiritual states of being. It’s easy to get so consumed with alignment that you lose touch with those senses and don’t derive as much benefit from your practice.
Here’s how to line up your body—and mind—to get the most from each pose.
      TAKE A DEEP BREATH. You’ll need to slow down and deepen your breathing to get the most benefit from the poses. Whenever you notice yourself breathing short and fast, guide your breath back to long and deep.
    Try it: Start by practicing a 4-count long, deep breath. Wherever you are right now, take a deep breath through your nose. Exhale all the air out. Then inhale