Yoga Flow: Practise with the elements

When you move your body through the asanas (poses) in yoga and raise your breathing capacity through pranayama (breath), you are putting these elements in motion.

Earth

• Earth is a grounding and centering element which represents slowing down and finding stability. For this practice, you can include poses like tadasana (mountain pose), various forward folds such as pyramid pose, as well as child's pose and savasana. This type of flow connects you with your root chakra. This grounding practice is perfect to find stillness if you have a fast-paced lifestyle. 
  

Water

• Water is the element of connection and adaptability. It represents letting go and encourages non-attachment. This element is connected to our sacral chakra. A water flow encourages you to move freely with the breath and includes hip opening poses like pigeon or lizard pose, backbends and gentle chest opening asanas.
  

Fire

• Fire is the element of inner power and strength. A fire yoga flow builds up heat in the body, engages your core and activates your muscles. The fire element is related to our solar plexus chakra. This energising flow ignites inner power, motivation, and will tap into your masculine energy. This flow focuses on twists and torso extensions and includes poses like Warrior III, twisted extended side angle pose, twisted extended triangle pose and boat pose.
• We can supercharge these poses and make them feel less challenging using an Ujjayi breath. This pranayama technique allows you to sit in the fire of a posture and feel the heat yet still feel calm and composed.  For the Ujjayi breath you breathe in and out of the nose with the lips closed and create a constriction in the throat as if breathing in and out of a thin straw. When you breathe out, be mindful of the tension held in your neck and jaw and let it go.

Air

• Air is an element that involves lightness, movement and expansion. This element represents clear communication, self expression and new possibilities and is connected with our heart chakra. Our main intention in this flow is to create space for love and compassion whilst staying connected to the breath. The quality of Air in yoga centres around backbends like camel and bow pose, quad stretches, and heart opening poses which open up the front of the body.

Ether/Space

• Ether is the fifth element which is associated with clarity, awareness and intution. This element is connected with the throat chakra and holds space for the other four elements. To harness the ether element in asana, I suggest poses which create space such as the cow or fish pose. Meditation is also great to do as this will help us create more awareness and mindfulness in our practice.

I hope you find a flow that suits you!