Nourishing Moves Floor Flow

A 15 minute routine to improve strength, flexibility, co-ordination and body awareness. These simple nourishing moves also help your brain to relearn how to activate deep core muscles for improved posture, and resilience offering life long movement and strength. This can be used by beginners or people with more movement practice experience. Just listen to your body and don't force any of the exercises. You can follow this routine as a daily health practice or as a warm up before your training session.

Follow the video or the descriptions below. Enjoy!

1. 10 Dragons Running Through the Forest

10 dragons running through the forest is a traditional qi gong exercise to help clear thoughts and release tension from the mind. The 10 dragons are your fingers and the forest is your hair.

Create a claw shape with your hands and bring them up to hair line. Run the fingers tips through the hair all the way to the back of your head and the beginning of the neck. Feel the dragons eat the tension as they storm across your head.

 2. Face Tapping

Tapping the face with the tip of your fingers creates a vibration to improve circulation, qi energy and stimulating the nerves. Tap lightly at first and harder as you get used to it. It should be painless so back off if it hurts.

Key areas of the face to cover include: 

Between the eye brows / third eye

Top of the head / crown

Side of the eyes / temples

Below the eyes / check bones

Between upper lip and nose

Between lower lip and chin

Behind ears at the base of the skull 

3. Face Wash

This movement stimulates the five external organs of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and mouth. The eyes relate to the liver, ears to kidneys, nose to lungs, tongue to heart and mouth to spleen. So from the external organs, the energy will go back to the internal organs.

Rub your hands together to generate heat. Then as if you have face wash on your hands rub them all over your face. Don’t miss a spot

4. Kidney Brushing

Traditional Chinese Medicine states that the area around the kidneys is where the bodies energy is produced. By stimulating this area it can boost your energy.

Turn your hands into fists and rub your knuckles up and down around your lower back. You should feel this area getting warmer. 

5. Floor Ankle Circles

Sit on the floor with legs out straight, shoulder width apart and hands behind for support. Focus attention on the big toe and draw large circles to mobilise the ankle joint.

6. Ape Sit

Sit with the left foot flat on the floor, knee pointing to the sky with right leg dropped to the side. Left hand should be next to the left foot with right hand by the right thigh for support. Sit up tall through the spine stretching the crown of the head to the sky. Roll to repeat this position on the opposite side. Continue to switch for the desired number of repetitions.

7. Ape Sit Lunge

Sit with the left foot flat on the floor, knee pointing to the sky with right leg dropped to the side. Left hand should be next to the left foot with right hand by the right thigh for support. Sit up tall through the spine stretching the crown of the head to the sky.

Press your left foot into the floor to sit your backside off the floor coming onto your right knee and letting your hands come off the floor.

Lower from the lunge position and roll to the Ape Sit position on the opposite side before coming back up into the lunge position. Continue to switch for the desired number of repetitions.

8. Spine Twist Assisted

Sit with legs crossed. Lengthen through your spine as you breathe in and begin to twist to the right taking your left hand to right knee. You can use your right hand as support helping you to sit up straight. On the exhalation twist further through your spine using your left hand to assist the stretch.

When you need to breath in use the breathe to lengthen again taking the ribs away from your hips and begin twisting to the left, exhaling in to the stretch with the help of your right hand. Continue to repeat alternating from side to side and in time with your breath.

9. Seated Body Roll

Sit cross legged with hands on knees. Roll your body forward in a semi-circular clockwise motion using your arms for support on the exhalation. On the inhalation make a semi-circle with an anti-clockwise motion. Continue to alternate in time with your breath. 

10. Shoulder 8

Sit with legs crossed, spine straight with head stretching to the ceiling. Take your left hand up your back with right hand over the same shoulder and down your back. Try to make your finger tips meet. S soon as you have stretched as far as you can switch the other way around. Keep alternating in a gentle flow for the desired number of repetitions.

11. Alternate Toe Touch

Sit on your backside with left leg out straight and right knee on the floor with sole of the foot tucked into the left thigh.

Reach both hands to the left toe, as soon as you have stretched forward as far as you can switch legs and stretch to the right toe. Continue to alternate for the desired number of repetitions.

 12. Lying Hip Circle

Lay flat on your back with head on the floor. Tuck your right knee into your chest with both hands on the shin. Keep the left leg out straight. Use your hands to make circles from the right hip both clockwise and anti-clockwise. Repeat on the other side.

13. Shoulder Bridge Spine Curl

The spine curl helps you to articulate the vertebra, strengthen the backside muscles and open the hips. A perfect antidote to sitting.

Start on your back in the semi supine position. Feet and knees should be hip width apart with feet directly under the knees.

To initiate the movement tuck your tailbone under which will draw your hip bones closer to your ribs creating this closed feeling in the abdominals. You should also look for the feeling that the vertebra in your lower back are lengthening and opening.

Press your feet into the floor and peel your spine off the floor one vertebra at a time, starting with your lower back to mid back and upper back.

Once in the bridge position relax the chest, feeling the shoulders relaxing into the floor. Squeeze the backside muscles, tuck the tailbone under and drive the hips up a little higher.

Slowly lower your spine one vertebra at a time back into the mat.

Breathe out as you curl up. Pause at the top of the bridge to breath in and breathe out as you lower back down. Remember to move in time with your breath.

14. Hip Twist With Leg Kick

Lay on your back with legs up in table top position and arms out to the side. It works best if you face your palms to the ceiling.

Take both legs over to the right and straighten the left leg creating a stretch through the waist and left leg.

Return back to the start position and repeat on the left side stretch the right leg this time. Continue to alternate form side to side for the desired number of repetitions.

15. Scorpion Kick

Lay on your front with arms out to the side to help stabilise your upper body. Lift your left leg up from the floor and reach your foot towards your opposite shoulder like a scorpions tale. Feel the stretch through your spine and hip. Once you have stretched as far as you can lower the leg and repeat on the other side. Alternate for as

16. Child's Pose

The child’s pose is a rest position to open the lower back with a chance to practice low wide breaths. The position will easily let you feel the breath in the back and ribs so you can practice opening and expanding this area.

From box position drop your backside onto your heals and let your hands slide your forward. Rest your chest on your thighs and forehead on the mat, straighten your arms and connect your palms to the mat by spreading the fingers out.

Take a deep, low and wide breath into the back letting it inflate.

As you exhale relax and sink into the mat softening off.

17. Thread the Needle

Thread the needle is a gentle movement to help build your spines rotation.

Get set up in the box position with shoulders above hands and hips above knees. Spread your fingers out and connect your hands with the mat.

As you breathe out thread your right hand under your torso and allow your straight spine to twist with it.

When you need to breathe in take the right arm away and up into the air behind you while keeping your eyes focused on the hand.

Continue to move in time with your breath for the desired number of reps before switching to the other side.

18. Cat Cow

The cat stretch will teach you to mobilise and co-ordinate the pelvis and spine while working the deep postural muscles around the midsection.

Get set up in the box position with shoulders above hands and hips above knees. Spread your fingers out and connect your hands with the mat.

As you breathe in lengthen and lift from your chest, chin and tail bone. This creates a smile shape in your spine.

As you breathe out pull your belly up into your spine, tucking your tailbone between your legs and chin to your chest. Now your spine should be making a rainbow shape.

Continue to move in time with your breath flexing and bending the spine. 

19. Bird Dog

The bird dog develops co-ordination and co-strength.

Move into the box position with hands below shoulders and knees below hips. Spread your fingers out and connect your hands with the mat.

Find your hip/rib connection and maintain a straight spine.

Without moving your spine or pelvis, slide your left leg and right arm away from you. When you get near to the extended position lift the arm and leg from the floor towards shoulder and hip height.

If you lose hip/rib connection don’t lift so high.

Lower and draw the arm and leg back to the box position and move the opposite arm and leg away.

Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Breathe out as you move your arm and leg away from the box position.

Breathe in as the arm and leg return to centre. 

20. Bear Walk

Start in the box position with knees below hips, hands below shoulders and back flat.

Lift your right hand and left knee off the floor, lower and lift the left hand and right knee off the floor and lower. Continue to alternate from side to side. 

21. Cobra Flow

Cobra flow works as a perfect anti sitting exercise by opening the upper back, lower back and hips.

Begin in a child’s pose position with your bottom on heals, chest on thighs, forehead on the mat and arms out fully straight. Spread your fingers out as if creating snow shoes with your hands and feel them connect with the mat.

As you breathe in drive the hips forward and down while lifting and lengthening from the crown of your head and through your spine.

Keep your arms straight and draw your shoulders down your back, opening your chest.

When you need to breath out sit your bottom back on your heals keeping the arms straight.

Continue this flow in time with your breath.  

Try to find a position where your palms can stay fixed through the flow 

22. Baby Dog

The baby dog stretch is perfect to open the upper back and shoulders in a more passive position than then downward dog.

Start on all fours in a box position with knees below hips and hands below your shoulders. Slide your hands forward, spreading out the fingers while pushing your sit bones up to the ceiling and forehead down to the mat.

As you breathe in lengthen through your spine. On the exhalation sink further into the stretch.