Welcome Spring With This Practice for the Change of Seasons

Spring is always such a welcome respite from the bitter cold of winter. The first chirp of birds and buds of flowers lets us all release a sigh of relief: spring is coming. Spring is often considered to be a time of fresh beginnings and starting anew. It’s a chance to reinvigorate your yoga practice as you open yourself up to new possibilities. So welcome spring with this spring equinox yoga sequence designed to open your body and mind to fresh beginnings.

Use This Spring Equinox Yoga Sequence to Guide the Change of Seasons and Welcome Spring

No props are essential for this practice, but you may wish to grab your favorite props for a comfortable practice.

Relaxation Pose (Savasana)

Start your practice with a very wintery posture to allow yourself to gradually adjust. 

1. Lie down on your back. 
2. Relax your legs out long toward the bottom of your mat and let your feet be roughly as wide as your mat. 
3. Release your arms by your sides and turn your palms to face up toward the sky as a gesture of surrender. 
4. Allow your weight to surrender into the mat as you soften your gaze or close your eyes and release into this relaxing shape. 
5. Imagine yourself in a state of hibernation, almost ready to awake.
6. Set an intention for your practice to start fresh today and open yourself up to the many possibilities of new beginnings. 

Reclined Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana)

Start to gently awaken your body with this gentle leg stretch. 

1. Gently draw your right knee toward your chest and hug your arms around it. 
2. Option to stay as you are or option to stretch your right leg toward the sky and either hold behind your thigh, calf, ankle, or around your big toe.
3. Relax the weight of your right thigh bone into your pelvis as you simultaneously stretch your right foot up toward the sky.
4. Surrender into this gentle stretch for a few deep breaths before releasing and switching sides. 

Boat Pose (Navasana)

Further awaken your body in this spring equinox yoga sequence with a bit of core activation. 

1. Bend into both of your knees and catch hold behind your knees. 
2. Gently rock along the length of your spine until you gain enough momentum to rise up to sit. 
3. Root down firmly into your sitting bones and lift up tall through your spine. Gently press your chest forward toward your thighs. 
4. Flex your ankles and squeeze your legs toward each other. 
5. Lean your weight back ever so slightly to be able to balance on your sitting bones and float your feet off the floor. Draw your shins roughly parallel to the mat. 
6. Option to stay holding behind your knees or stretch your arms forward in front of you. 
7. Hold still for a few deep breaths as you feel your core fire up and then slowly release your feet to the floor. 

Bear Pose (Ardha Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Build more heat in your core and arms and activate even more like a bear awakening from hibernation. 

1. Cross your ankles and roll forward onto all fours. 
2. Align your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees. 
3. Spread your fingers and evenly space between them. 
4. Tuck your toes underneath and ground down firmly into your palms to float your knees to hover just above the floor. 
5. Lengthen your back body by stretching your tailbone and the crown of your head in opposite directions.
6. Hold for a few long, deep breaths before lifting your hips all the way toward the sky into Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana). 

Plank Rolls (Phalakasana) For The Change of Seasons

Continue to build heat by shifting forward and back through Plank Pose, following the rhythm of your breath to tap into the building heat of the spring equinox. 

1. From Downward Facing Dog Pose, inhale to roll your weight forward into Plank Pose. Stack your shoulders over your wrists. 
2. As you exhale, lift your hips up high toward the sky back into Downward Facing Dog Pose. Root down firmly into your palms and lengthen across your whole back body. 
3. Continue to flow like this, following the rhythm of your breath. Like a wave, inhale roll forward and exhale lift back up. 
4. Take a few long, deep breaths like this before pausing in Downward Facing Dog Pose. 

High Lunge Backbend Pose (Anjaneyasana) for a BalANCED SPRING PRACTICE

Create some openness in your heart center to welcome all that spring has to offer. And start to find your balance on your feet to balance into spring as well. 

1. From Downward Facing Dog Pose, step your right foot forward next to your right thumb.
2. Scissor your legs toward each other—both front to back and side to side.
3. Root down firmly into your front foot and kick back strongly through your back foot as you press the floor away and lift your arms up overhead. 
4. Lengthen your back body and release your arms by your sides to interlace your fingers behind you. 
5. Roll your shoulders down your back and hug your shoulder blades toward each other. 
6. Peel open through your heart as you expand your chest forward toward the top of your mat. Option to lift your gaze toward the sky. 
7. Pause and hold for a few long, deep breaths before releasing and switching sides. 

Extended Hand-to-Big Toe Pose (Hasta Padangusthasana)

Find balance, strength, and flexibility to fully take on all the new possibilities of spring with this standing balance pose—the perfect culmination of strength and flexibility for a spring equinox yoga practice. 

1. From Downward Facing Dog Pose, walk your feet forward toward the top of your mat. 
2. Ground down into the floor to lift your torso toward the sky and rise up to stand.
3. Shift your weight into your left leg and rise to the ball of your right foot. 
4. Focus your eyes on one nonmoving point in front of you. 
5. When you feel stable, float your right foot off the floor and hug your knee toward your chest. 
6. Option to stay as you are or the option to stretch your right leg forward toward the top of your mat and either hold it behind your thigh, calf, ankle, or around your right big toe with a strap or your fingers. 
7. Kick your right foot forward strongly and scissor your legs apart from each other. 
8. Ground down into your standing leg and lift up tall through the crown of your head. 
9. Hold for a few long, deep breaths before slowly releasing and switching sides. 

Standing Backbend to Welcome Spring

Give your heart one last big opening to welcome in the change of season. 

1. Come back to your strong Mountain Pose, standing tall with equal weight in both of your feet.
2. As you inhale, sweep your arms up over your head and lengthen your back body. 
3. As you exhale, bend your elbows as you pull your arms down into a cactus shape by your ribs. 
4. Draw your shoulder blades toward each other, peel open through your heart, and expand your chest forward toward the top of your mat. 
5. Equalize your weight in your feet and subtly press your hips forward. 
6. Hold for a few deep breaths before slowly releasing. 

ADD Shoulder Stretch Standing Forward Bend TO THIS SPRING SEQUENCE

Stretch open through your shoulders and heart space one last time with this simple forward fold to ground down into spring’s essence. 

1. From Mountain Pose, either hold a towel or strap or interlace your fingers behind your back. 
2. Soften your knees and release your torso forward and down over your legs, bending from your hip joints. 
3. Relax the weight of your arms up and over your head toward the top of your mat. 
4. Feel free to keep your knees bent or to work your legs toward straight.
5. Allow gravity to draw your arms and torso closer toward the floor as you subtly open through your heart center. 
6. Surrender to the grounding pull of gravity and the softening of your heart space. 
7. Hold for a few long, deep breaths as you return to your intention to start fresh. 

Welcome Spring into Your Yoga Practice and Your Life With This Spring Equinox Yoga Sequence

Let this welcoming practice open your body and your mind to new possibilities, opportunities, and fresh starts, keeping in the spirit of spring. Happy spring equinox!