Do Five Pointed Star Pose in Yoga

The five pointed star pose is one of the most basic yoga poses. This pose improves your circulation and respiration by opening up your chest and realigning your spine. Once you've perfected five pointed star pose, you can easily incorporate it into a workplace yoga break routine, or teach it to kids to help them relax and unwind.[1]

Steps

Perfecting Five Pointed Star Pose

  1. Start in mountain pose. Mountain pose is a basic standing pose that will help you center yourself and get ready to begin your practice. To get into mountain pose, stand with your big toes touching and your heels slightly separated.[2]
    • Balance your weight evenly across your feet and drop your shoulders so that your shoulder blades are flowing down your back. Extend your arms and open your palms facing forward.
    • Take a few deep breaths in this pose to clear your mind and get ready to focus on your practice.
  2. Step your feet apart. On an exhale, step your feet wide apart as you extend your arms out to your sides. Ideally, your feet should be directly under your wrists. However, don't step out any further than you feel comfortable or stable.[1]
  3. Press through your feet. As you inhale, firm up your thighs to lift your kneecaps. Distribute your weight evenly across all four corners of your feet. Make sure your back is neutral and your tailbone is tucked in.[1]
  4. Reach out through your fingertips. When you exhale, move your awareness to your fingertips and gently reach out toward the walls. Keep your shoulders relaxed and rolled back, with your shoulder blades tucked alongside your spine.[1]
  5. Extend your head to the ceiling. As you inhale, think of lifting the crown of your head up toward the ceiling. You don't want to lift from the chin, however. Keep your chin roughly parallel with the floor as you look straight ahead.[1]
  6. Get in touch with your breath. Continue this cycle of awareness with your body as you stay in the five pointed star pose for 20 to 30 deep breaths. As you inhale, root yourself to the Earth. As you exhale, lift yourself to the sky.[1]

Doing Yoga at Work

  1. Do five pointed star pose from your chair. Although you won't get the same benefit to your lower body, you also can do a modified version of the five pointed star pose at your desk at work, provided you have the space to extend your arms.[3]
    • Take a seat on the edge of your chair (preferably a stable chair and not a chair with wheels) with your feet flat on the floor. Extend your arms out to either side and breathe deeply.
    • Keep your back neutral and focus on your breath. When you exhale, think of reaching out through your fingers. As you inhale, think about lifting the crown of your head toward the ceiling.
  2. Stretch with a seated crescent moon. The seated crescent moon stretches the side of your body, which can get crunched if you're sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day. Stretching your sides can help relieve shoulder and neck strain.[4]
    • Come to a comfortable seat on the edge of your chair with your feet on the floor. Make sure your back is neutral and your shoulders are rolled back so that your shoulder blades fall alongside your spine.
    • Raise your arms overhead and press your palms together, fingers wide. Lean to one side as far as you can go and feel a good stretch. Take two or three deep breaths, then return to center and repeat on the other side.
  3. Open your hips with chair pigeon pose. Chair pigeon pose is a good pose to add to your work yoga routine because it helps balance your hips and spine and gives your hips and inner thighs a good stretch.[4]
    • Sit on the edge of your chair with both feet on the floor. Make sure your back is neutral and your shoulders are rolled back. Bend your right knee and cross your right leg over your left so that your right ankle is resting just above your left knee and your knee is at a right angle.
    • Make sure your weight is evenly distributed on your sitting bones. Hold the pose for 5 to 10 breaths before releasing and switching sides.
    • You can reach your opposite arm around to grip your knee if you want to add a gentle twist to your chair pigeon.
  4. Work in the cat/cow flow on a chair. The cat/cow flow is a favorite among yoga instructors, and with the chair modification you can use this flow as part of your work yoga routine. This pose helps increase circulation and loosen up your spine.[5]
    • Find a steady chair without a back, or sit sideways in the chair so that you'll be able to curl your back freely. Place both feet firmly on the floor and extend your arms straight out in front of you.
    • As you inhale, press your stomach forward and arch your back to come into cow pose. Keep your face soft and avoid jutting out your chin.
    • When you exhale, open your shoulder blades and curve your back outward, tucking your chin to your chest for cat pose. Continue moving between the two for 10 to 20 breath cycles with a breath for each movement.
  5. Open your chest and shoulders with desk upward dog pose. Desk upward dog pose can improve your posture in your upper back, especially if you sit hunched over a computer all day. It also gives a good stretch to your shoulders and chest.[4]
    • Stand next to your desk, about arm's length away, and rest your hands on the edge of the desk about shoulder width apart. Lift up towards the desk, keeping your arms straight and rolling over onto the tops of your toes.
    • Keep your legs straight and arch your back slightly, opening up your chest. Roll your shoulders back by turning the insides of your elbows to face forward.
    • As you exhale, push your hips back and lower your torso, maintaining a flat back as you come even with the top of your desk. Repeat the movement for 5 to 10 breath cycles.

Trying Yoga with Kids

  1. Add balance with the bird or airplane pose. From the five pointed star pose, bring your feet back together in mountain pose. Bird pose is a balancing pose that you do first with one foot then with the other.[6]
    • Reach behind you with both of your arms, palms facing down. Your arms are like the wings of a bird. Find a point in front of you on which to focus, then raise one foot behind you.
    • Balance for two or three deep breaths, then slowly lower your foot and repeat the pose with the other foot raised.
  2. Use bee's breath to release tension. Bee's breath is a form of yogic breathing that has a very calming effect. If you know a child who is prone to anxiety attacks or temper tantrums, bee's breath can be a way to help them calm down.[7]
    • Sit on your knees with your arms behind you. As you inhale through your nose, lengthen your spine and think about filling your lungs with air from the bottom to the top.
    • Pause after your inhale, then lower your forehead towards the floor as you begin your exhale. Buzz like a bee as you exhale through your mouth. Pause again at the end of the exhale, then repeat the cycle.
  3. Teach meditation through guided visualization. A guided visualization can help even younger kids relax and relieve stress while also allowing them to use their imagination. Start by having the child lay on their back, palms on the floor at their sides.[8]
    • Tell the child to imagine they are lying on a fluffy cloud. Have them breathe slowly and deeply in and out. You can point them to certain aspects of the cloud, or encourage them to share their visualization with you.
  4. Squat in ladybug pose. The ladybug pose is a yoga squat that helps open your hips. If you sit in a chair at work all day, or if your trying yoga with kids who sit at a desk all day in school, this pose will help release tension in your hips and lower back.[8]
    • From a standing position, extend your feet a little wider than hip-width apart and slowly lower your hips. Adjust your bodyweight until you find a comfortable squat.
    • Press your palms together in front of your chest and press your elbows against your inner knees to bind the position. Take several deep breaths in and out, and then release the position.
  5. Stretch with downward facing dog pose. Downward facing dog is one of the most common poses in yoga, and provides a whole body stretch for kids and adults alike. The pose also helps you relax and let go of stress.[8]
    • Have the child start on all fours. Then have them roll over their toes and extend their legs and lift their hips up in the air. Pull back with the upper body, lifting the weight away from the wrists. Press down through the heels to lengthen the legs and give the hamstrings a good stretch.
  6. Rest in child's pose. From downward facing dog, it is relatively easy to lower down into child's pose. Simply bend the knees and lower the hips until you are sitting on your heels. You can keep your arms extended overhead or draw them to your sides, palms facing up.[7]
    • Child's pose is a relaxing pose. If you're teaching it to kids, they may find it familiar and comforting. Since child's pose is so gentle, you can stay in this pose as long as you like, meditating and breathing deeply.

Sources and Citations

You may like