102. Start the Day SHINING

Cultivate Tejas, Sanskrit for "lustre" or "majesty", with Ujjayi, Sanskrit for Victorious Breath

101. Energy of the Day

Yoga teaches that there are three Gunas, or energy forces, that inhabit all matter.  Rajas is the active energy of the early part of the day, of spring and of youth.  This makes up a cycle with sattwa, balance, and tamas, inertia.  Think how you can benefit from the active force rajas today -- to pitch a new idea, for example, or simply to adopt a can-do attitude.

100. Golden Visualization

Lie on your back, breathe deeply and focus on your spine.  Bring your attention to the left side of your body and try to tune into how it's feeling.  Then do the same on the right side.  Does one side feel more depleted of energy than the other?  If so, visualize that side being bathed in glowing, gold energy for a few minutes, then open your eyes.

99. Chair Pose Vinyasa

For a quick boost before you begin working at a desk, crouch in Chair Pose, without the yoga block, and practice the following flowing movements.  Exhaling, reach your arms forward until you fold into a forward bend.  Inhaling sweep your arms up and sit back in Chair Pose.  Repeat 5 times flowing with your breath.

98. Utkatasana :: Chair Pose

Utkatasana This posture strengthens and enlivens the lower body so is useful in the morning if you have to spend much of the day sitting at a desk.  Place your feet hip-width apart and parallel, gripping a yoga block or thick book between your thighs to enliven the inner "seams" of your legs.  Bend your knees as if skiing, with your knees directly over your toes with the block still in place.  Swing your arms skyward and take 5-10 deep breaths, focusing your gaze on a fixed point in front of you, then relax into the asana/pose while being mindful of the neck.

97. Play Your Instrument

Yehudi Menuhin said of yoga, "Reduced to our own body, our first instrument, we learn to play it, drawing from it maximum resonance and harmony."  When you do asanas, think of your body as a harp and each movement as a note being played.  Let energy flow through your tuned strings.

96. Self-Knowledge Mudra

Jnana Mudra To start the day feeling engaged with the tasks ahead, sit with your spine straight and your hands on your knees, palms upward to receive.  Outstretch your fingers, like starfish.  Now curl the index fingers in to touch the tips of your thumbs.  Your index finger signifies your ego - the self that separates you from the universe - and your thumb the cosmic Self.  Imagine the small self melting into the greater Self, absorbing its wise energy.

95. Opposite Energies

When dressing, consider the yogic belief that the left side of your body signifies your intuitive, feminine energy and your right side logical, masculine qualities.  The Hindu god Prajapati embodied both polarities. 

Can you recognize both masculine and feminine qualities within yourself?

94. Inner Energy

"Yoga is not attained through the lotus posture and not by gazing at the tip of the nose.  Yoga ... is the identity of the psyche with the transcendental Self." - kula arnava tantra

75. Drop Anchor

As you stroll down the street/isle at Target/your hallway, picture your body as a ship drawing an anchor into port.  This brings your pelvis into a safe "neutral" position, neither tilted too far forward or arched too far back

74. Attach Skyhooks

Each time you step outside today, imagine a hook at your breast-bone lifts your heart within your rib-cage, and another at the crown of your head connects you to the sky.

73. Dual Focus

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads" - hdt

72. Taking Root to Fly

As well as grounding yourself at the start of the day, it's important to embody ground's opposing force, ascension.  To do this, stand with your feet hip-width apart and try to gain a sense of drawing up your thigh muscles and knee caps, while your pelvis (your center of gravity) stays firmly on top of your legs, like Stonehenge.  Relax your spine and lift your rib-cage up and out of your pelvis.  Feel how the experience of grounding and ascending simultaneously brings a sense of renewed energy.

71. Energy Visualization

The Sanskrit word kundala refers to the coil of a rope, and the term kundalini describes a coiled female serpent, a symbol of divine energy.  Sitting comfortably, close your eyes and visualize her lying coiled at the base of your spine, near mooladhara chakra, the ground energy center.  The aim of yoga practice is eventually (with a teacher's guidance) to rouse this symbolic sleep serpent so she rises up the spine, vitalizing the chakras.

70. Supportive Energy Lock

Bandha is Sanskrit for "gate" or "lock".  Moola Bandha, at the site of Mooladhara Chakra, around your pelvic floor, is the first of the three main energetic locks.  Applying this helps to set your inner foundations at the start of the day, stabilizing your body and providing a sense of unshake-ability on which to build your day's activities.  To do this, lift your pelvic floor without contracting your abdominal muscles, and hold as you inhale.  Exhale and release.  Repeat several times.

69. Alternate Nostril Breathing

Anuloma Viloma This calming technique stabilizes your energy levels at the start of the day by regulating the flow of energy through your body's main subtle energy channels.  Sit with your spine straight, resting your hands on your thighs, palms facing upward.  Take a few deep breaths to center yourself.  Inhale through both nostrils, then raise your left thumb to depress your left nostril.  Exhale slowly through your right nostril.  Relax your left hand and inhale though both nostrils.  Raise your right thumb and close your right nostril.  Exhale slowly through your left nostril, then relax your right hand and inhale through both nostrils.  Repeat up to 12 breaths (6 on each side), aiming to lengthen each exhalation until it becomes twice the length of the inhalation

68. Sink Into a Pure Heart

An Indian swami told the tale of a man who asked a yoga disciple, "where can I find a place to discipline myself to understand my spirit?"  The disciple replied, "That place lies in the pure and honest spirit where there is no false vanity."  Try to connect with this sense of honesty and integrity within yourself each morning to infuse your day with a sense of purity.

67. The Importance of Trust

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon, and to let hime know that you trust him." - btw

66. Partner Squat

Doing a trust exercise with your partner in the morning sets you up well encounters with other people later in the day.  Stand facing each other at arm's distance, then grasp each others wrists.  Take a deep breath in.  As you exhale, descend into a squat together, keeping your backs straight.  To return to standing, inhale in unison, then push up through your feet.

65. Solid Grounding

"The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground." - the buddha