It’s the end of the first week of my Kiss My Asana challenge. It’s a Yogathon I’m taking part in to raise awareness and funding for Mind Body Solutions, an organisation that helps people experiencing loss, trauma and disability, through yoga. My challenge is to practice a different adaptive pose each day. I’ve really enjoyed it so far. Not only has it reminded me that however my body feels, there’s yoga I can do, but also how refreshing it is to take yoga away from formal practice on the mat.

1. Supported Backbend with Bolster

My back felt wonderfully supported as my body started to release. My heart opened and emotions I’d been holding onto began to surface. I started with my arms resting by my side before reaching them up and over my head for a deeper stretch. Keeping my legs bent helped me engage with my spine. When I later straightened them, my body melted even further into the bolster and mat.

2. Supported Child’s Pose (Balasana)

This is already a regular pose in my practice. I find it incredibly comforting, both physically and emotionally. My hips gently open. My spine starts to soften. My breathing deepens. My heart rate slows. Sometimes I cry. At times I add a hot water bottle, either between my tummy and the bolster, or on my lower back with a blanket on top. It really is a soothing and releasing pose.

3.  Chair Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

It was a bitterly cold day wheeling around Thaxted. This twist felt equally invigorating. I breathed in lengthening my spine, before breathing out and twisting, using my chair to help deepen the stretch.

4.  Legs on a Chair

This was a more accessible version of legs up the wall, whilst still reaping the soothing and rejuvenating qualities of the full pose. My back broadened into the mat as my breath deepened, my heart rate slowed and my head cleared.

5.  Supported Head to Knee Forward Bend (Janu Sirasana)

Once I’d found a comfortable position for my arms, this pose felt surprisingly restful. I felt a good stretch in my hamstrings and hips, whilst my upper body relaxed into the bolster.

6.  Corpse Pose with Bolster (Savasana)

Lying in Savasana at the end of my practice allows my mind and body to come together in rest. Placing a bolster under my knees relieves pressure on my lower back and makes the pose even more relaxing. I later put on cosy socks and a blanket – it’s surprising how quickly your body temperature drops during this pose.

7.  Eagle Arms (Garudasana)

Even restricted by layers of winter clothing and cold, tense muscles, I still sensed my shoulders opening and my back lengthening as I reached my arms up into Eagle Pose. It was a beautiful setting too, by the lake in Hatfield Forest, with my sister, brother-in-law and little nieces. What a lovely way to end the first week of my challenge.

If you’d like to read more about my challenge and maybe even sponsor me, you can find my fundraising page here.