Begin in Mountain pose with the feet together and parallel. Inhale and raise your hands overhead. Feel your ribcage expand. Press your palms together, although you may also keep your hands shoulder-width apart if you feel that is more comfortable for you. Draw your shoulders down, keeping your chest lifted. Continue to stretch your tailbone down. On the next exhalation, bend your hips and knees. Try to keep your hips aligned behind your heels and your knees back behind your toes. Stretch your tailbone down and feel the extension out of the low spine. You can look up at your thumbs as you draw them back. Take time to breathe deeply, opening the chest. Keep your shoulders moving away from the ears. Be sure the neck is comfortable so there is space in the back of the neck. If you are uncomfortable at all, continue to look straight ahead. Otherwise take the focus up toward your hands. Feel the inside of the knees pressing together and keep the knees aligned with the toes. Notice that your hips feel as if they are being pulled backward and down, while during each inhalation your chest feels like it is lifting higher toward the sky. Find yourself in the space where you are the most comfortably challenged, and continue to focus on your breath.https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/yoga_crit_inst/1041/thumbnail.jp
