Breath Awareness     5 Minutes

Begin in a comfortable seated position, placing your hands gently on the knees. Take a gentle breath in and elongate the spine, raising the crown of the head upward. Relax down through the shoulders and arms. Now bring the awareness to the natural breath. Without changing the way you are breathing, simply become aware of each inhalation and exhalation. Continue to follow the natural breath with full awareness. More Rest & Relaxation Postures

Stretching      10 Minutes

Come into the base position and take in a gentle breath. On the exhalation, clasp your hands under your kneecap and bring the right knee to the chest. Inhale straightening the leg, releasing it back to the starting position. Continue bending and straightening the leg for a total of 7-10 times. Repeat on with the left leg. Continue the warm-up by choosing at least one exercise for the feet, ankles, hips, shoulders, neck, abdomen, and back. More Stretching…Warm-up Feet/Ankles/Knees/Hips

Once skates are on, warm-up with a few breathing exercises to open the lungs. Start by standing with the skates directly under the hips with your knees slightly bent, hands on thighs. Relax the whole body and balance your weight equally on both skates. Inhale deeply through the nose and slowly raise your arms above the head. Bend the head slightly backward as you keep your focus on the hands. On the exhalation, slowly lower the arms and head back to the starting position. Repeat 7-10 times On-Skate Warm Up Drills

Heel Stop Video

Skating Tips #1

Skating Tips #2

 Push & Glide Rhythm      15 Minutes

Transition into a mindful skating push and glide rhythm by connecting each stroke with your breath: inhale stroke, exhale stroke. Once a 1:1 relationship has been established between the stroke and breath, begin to focus on the breath in the abdomen. Breathe deeply through your nose and direct the breath to the abdominal region. Continue to breathe this way for as long as possible. Breathing this way will improve oxygenation of the muscles, reducing muscle fatigue and improving breath capacity. 
Basic Skating Terminology

Beginning Skating Skill Instruction-Rollerblade Animated Skate Lesson

Postures      5 Minutes

After focusing on the natural push and glide rhythm of skating, integrate a few of your favorite yoga postures.

ex. Rolling Prayer Position
Begin by skating into a glide with the skates shoulder width apart. While gliding, place the hands at the heart in prayer position. If comfortable, shift the weight to the left leg and lift the heel of the right foot, bending the right knee slightly. Continue to breath fully and deeply. Repeat on the other side.

More Rolling Postures

Cool Down       10 Minutes

Complete the workout with postures that stretch the muscles you have been using.

ex. Mountain Pose/Parvatasana
Begin in Table Position placing your hands directly underneath the shoulders, knees under the hips, roll the toes under. Inhale raise the hips upward.   Exhale, pressing the hips back and heels downward while allowing the head to lower between the arms.   In the final position the back and legs form two sides of a triangle and  heels will be against the ground.  Repeat 7-10 times.  Additional Cool-Down Postures