“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote”} }”>

After a recent day-long yoga-thon—including two sound baths, a Restorative Yoga session, and an intense guided meditation—I used to be so within the yoga zone that I actually got on an elevator, rode to the fourth floor, and took two more yoga classes before I spotted that I had left my shoes downstairs.

I can have been experiencing what some people call “yoga high.” It’s that light-hearted, possibly light-headed feeling chances are you’ll get after a very rewarding rehearsal. You will have it after an asana practice, during pranayama, or in yoga nidra. It’s not only in your mind. Yoga practices activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which releases feel-good hormones and makes you are feeling contented and relaxed. In my case, the meditation leader asked us to assume ourselves floating outside of our bodies. Perhaps I didn’t quite come back to mine.

While we love having blissful yoga sessions, in some unspecified time in the future we now have to re-join the true world and resume day by day activities that require things like, um, shoes. But that doesn’t mean you may have to carry back in your practice. A grounding asana practice may allow you to find each bliss and balance.

Listed below are some poses curated to allow you to discover a sense of stability any time you may have an experience that shifts you off center—say, waking from a deep dream, experiencing a surprise, or engaging in a smooching session. These poses also activate your sense of proprioception–your sense of where your body is positioned and the way it’s moving in space—to allow you to feel less wafty. The thought is to grow to be more balanced and settled, so you’ll be able to give attention to whatever you’re inspired to—or must—do next.

Try a couple of of those poses when you could center down after an uplighting yoga session, or practice them as a sequence every time you could feel more grounded and secure.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

Sukhasana (Easy Pose)

Sit in your mat and cross your legs in front of you. Take a moment to make note of where your body makes contact with the bottom. Then notice where your body connects with itself–your feet against your shins, your hands in your knees, your arms against your side body. Breathe naturally, noticing the feeling of your breath coming into and leaving your body. From Sukhasana, find some movement in your upper body while your lower body stays rooted and level.

• Head and neck–Slowly move your head to the left and right, allowing your ear to come back toward your shoulder.
• Side Bend–Reach your right hand up and, on an exhale, curve your torso as you reach to the left. Inhale as you stand up, then repeat on the opposite side.
• Side twist–Place your right hand in your left knee or thigh. Support yourself by placing your left hand behind you, near your left hip. Twist at your waist, moving your shoulders and torso to the left while keeping your hips facing forward. Breathe and explore the feeling in your back. On an inhalation, return to center. Repeat the twist to the alternative side.

(Photo: Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

Tabletop

Come to all fours, aligning your hips over your knees. Your hands could also be under your shoulders, a bit of out to the side, or a bit ahead. Discover a hand placement that feels sturdy and cozy. Anchor your hands into the mat and press the ground away, keep your shoulder blades moving down your back. Engage your core, lengthen your neck, and look straight down.

(Photo: Andrew Clark. Clothing: Calia)

Balasana (Child’s Pose)

From Tabletop, press your hips back toward your heels for Balasana. Bring your arms down by your sides along with your hands reaching toward your feet. (If this will not be comfortable, cross your arms and make a pillow to your brow.) Allow yourself to melt into the pose, feeling length along your spine and across your back from shoulder to shoulder. Take several breaths. If you’re ready, press as much as Tabletop.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

From Tabletop, walk your hands forward, ahead of and a bit of wider than your shoulders. Lift your belly to activate your core, then lift your knees a few inches off the ground. You might hover here for a moment or two. Then slowly lift your hips up toward the ceiling and press back into Downward-Facing Dog. You might you straighten your legs or keep them barely bent. Press your hands and feet into the mat and push away from the ground. Stay on this position for a couple of breaths. Find movement within the position–bending your knees or exploring the position of your shoulder blades. If you find yourself ready, walk forward until your feet meet your hands, or bend your knees and walk your hands toward your feet. Roll as much as standing.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

Spend some quality time getting grounded in your Mountain Pose. Start along with your feet roughly hip-bone width apart and have interaction your belly as when you are zipping up out of your pelvis to your navel. Level your hips and create space in your lower back. Be sure all edges of your feet are rooted to the bottom and your arches are lifted away from the mat. You might wish to lift your toes, wiggle them, or spread them apart to allow you to feel the connection between the balls of your feet and the mat. Perhaps shift your weight barely forward, back, left, and right, to explore your sense of balance. Return to center, extend the crown of your head toward the ceiling, allow your shoulders to maneuver away out of your ears and your hands to succeed in toward the ground.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

Vrksasana (Tree Pose)

From Tadasana, shift your weight into your right foot. Begin to lift your left foot off the ground, finding balance. Raise your knee as high as you’re comfortable. If you feel regular, open your knee out to the left, keeping your hips facing forward. Bring the only of your left foot to the within your right calf or thigh for Tree Pose. Press your leg and your foot gently, but equally, toward your center line. Find balance. Lengthen your spine and reach your head up as you proceed to root down. Place your hands in your hips, bring them to Anjali Mudra at your heart, or reach up toward the ceiling.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

Virabhadrasana 3 (Warrior 3) variation with movement

From Tree Pose, release your left foot out of your standing leg and rotate at left hip to bring your knee back to face the front of the mat. Check your balance. If you’re ready, begin to succeed in left foot back behind you, straightening each legs as you tilt your torso forward. Proceed to tilt until your body creates a straight line out of your head to your heel in Warrior 3. Stay within the pose for a couple of breaths.

In the event you’d wish to play along with your balance, chances are you’ll decide to proceed to tilt your body forward, bringing your hands to the mat or to blocks, and lifting your leg up high behind you into Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (Standing Split). If you find yourself ready, return to Warrior 3.

(Photo: Andrew Clark. Clothing: Calia)

High Lunge

From Warrior 3, bend your right knee and reach your left foot back and down until your toes and the ball of your foot find the ground. Adjust your stance to make sure that your back foot has solid contact with the bottom. Square your hips, deepen the bend of your right knee, and take a High Lunge, allowing gravity to lower your torso straight down toward the ground. Keep your hands in your hips or reach your arms alongside your ears as you proceed to root down with each feet. Your back leg could also be straight or barely bent. Take a moment to note your breath. If you find yourself ready, step your right foot forward into Tadasana.

Repeat poses 6-8 on the alternative side.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

Utkatasana (Chair Pose)

From Tadasana, bring your feet together. Bend your knees and lower your hips, taking care to not arch your low back. Hinge barely on the hips to bring your body out at an angle over your knees. Keep your hands in your hips or lift them alongside your ears. From Chair Pose, chances are you’ll lower down right into a deeper knee bend, and produce your torso forward until your body is parallel to the bottom in Bear Pose. Reach your arms forward consistent with your body. If you find yourself ready, return to Tadasana.

Goddess Pose

Step your feet about three feet apart and switch your toes out. Engage your core, level your hips, and lengthen your spine, reaching the crown of your head toward the ceiling. Bend at your knees, directing them in the identical direction as your toes, and lower your torso right into a wide-legged squat. You might keep your hands in your hips, bring your arms out to the side parallel to the mat, or raise them overhead. Breathe and play with going deeper into the pose. If you find yourself ready, inhale, release your arms down and straighten your legs.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

Malasana (Garland Pose)

From standing, bring your feet a bit of wider than hip-width apart. Engage your core, bend your knees, and lower your body straight down between your legs. This time, proceed to lower your body all the way in which down right into a deep squat, opening your knees wide. You’ll be able to support yourself along with your hands on the mat in front of you or, bring your hands to Anjali Mudra at your heart, open your elbows wide, and use them to press your knees away from one another. If you find yourself ready, reach forward to support yourself along with your hands. Come to your knees, then sit back to return to Sukhasana.