Beginner Friendly Spinal Awakening

Join Ellie for a flow class focused on awakening and bringing movement into your spine. The class starts with a wide stance on the mat for a "sunflower pose," which is Ellie's favorite yoga pose.

Key movements and poses in this flow include:

Sunflower Pose: With a wide stance, inhale deeply as your hands come up overhead, and then exhale as you squat down, letting your fingertips sweep the mat
Forward Fold with Twist: Holding your sword overhead, slowly fold forward one vertebra at a time, with your head and neck being the last to fold. Then, with the sword in your right hand, reach your left hand to your right ankle to create a full twist in your spine while looking up at your sword. You will repeat this on the other side, holding the sword in your left hand.
Chair Pose with Twist: Step your feet toward the center of your mat and sit back into a chair pose. With your hands at your chest, twist by dropping your elbow just behind your knee. From the twist, you will drop your left hand to the mat, extend your right hand (holding the sword) up tall, and transition into an "outside flower". This sequence is repeated on the opposite side.
Squat with Spinal Stretch: While standing with feet just under your hips and the sword at your chest, squat down. Then, take your left hand to your right ankle and lift the sword to feel a deeper spinal stretch.
Seated Twist: From a seated position, cross your left hand over to your right as you move into an overhead flower and look behind you. Ellie suggests thinking about lengthening your spine toward the ceiling and imagining a string pulling up on the crown of your head. This is followed by a seated lateral bend, where you think of opening and lifting your chest toward the ceiling instead of lowering toward the ground.
Seated Twisted Pose: Cross your right knee over your foot and turn toward your lifted thigh for a seated twist, moving into an overhead flower and looking back at your sword.
Spinal Flows: After a brief rest in child's pose, transition into "luxurious, exaggerated spinal flows". From child's pose, scoop your nose close to the mat, lift your hips, and extend up into Cobra pose. Then, bending at your elbows, sweep back into child's pose, repeating this movement twice more.
Low Lunge with Shoulder and Quad Stretch: Bring your right foot up to meet your right hand. Your left hand stays on the mat, and with your right arm, reach back and pull on your right foot, letting your front knee drop out to the side to deepen the spinal stretch.
Supine Twist: Finish the class flat on the mat. Bend your left knee and touch your toe over to the right side. Reach your right arm out, gently pressing up through the mat with your left hand. This is repeated on the other side.

The class concludes with a final child's pose.