Hello sweet yogis,
Welcome to your practice today.
My name is Julianne Arce and I'll be your guide during this time.
I invite you to roll out your mat if it's not already and find a comfortable position where you can sit.
Once you're in your seated position,
Bring your hands onto your lap.
Elbows underneath the shoulders.
Slightly tucking your chin,
Slight smile in your face.
I invite you to soften your gaze or close your eyes.
And giving yourself this time to arrive onto your mat.
Letting go of the distractions of the day and distractions of the week.
Knowing that this time that you carved out is just for you.
Begin to notice how your body's feeling.
Notice any sensations that come up.
Good,
As you're bringing awareness into the body,
If there's any places that you're nurturing,
Whether that's an old injury,
A new injury.
Honor your body as you go through the practice,
Making modifications or adjustments as you need to.
And shift your awareness into your brain.
Feeling your body's natural breathing.
Not trying to force it,
Not trying to direct it.
A simple observation.
Notice how by just bringing awareness into the breath,
It already gets fuller and deeper.
Take a few intentional deep inhales.
Letting each one get fuller and deeper than the one before.
And if your eyes are still closed,
I invite you to open your eyes.
Start to take a couple of shoulder rolls here.
Sending your shoulders up towards your ears,
And then just allowing them to release back in.
Go ahead and find stillness within your shoulders.
As you inhale,
Bring your hands up overhead.
Now come down to the right,
Your left arm rainbows up and over.
Pull your right shoulder forward some,
Left shoulder back some.
Breathing into your side body as if you could.
Bring your hands back up over.
Come down to the second side.
Right arm,
Left arm comes down.
Right arm rainbows up and over.
Again,
Pull your left shoulder forward some,
Right shoulder back some.
Inhale,
Hands come up over head.
As you exhale,
Twist to your right.
Bring your left hand onto your right knee.
Right hand comes back behind you.
Use it as a second step spine or a kickstand.
As you're anchored down through your sits bones,
Get really tall through the crown of your head.
Inhale,
Hands come back up.
Exhale,
Twist to your second side.
Your left hand comes back behind,
Right hand onto your left knee.
Anchor down through your sits bones,
Get really tall.
Inhale,
Hands come up.
Exhale,
Just let your hands release down.
Unite the soles of your feet,
Making a diamond shape within your legs.
You can have your heels as close into the groin as you like,
Or making your diamond a little bit bigger.
Once you have your diamond into place,
Cup your feet from underneath.
Lengthen to your spine.
And then start to hinge forward into them.
And come right to where you're feeling the sensation and linger in that sensation.
Not forcing,
Fighting the body.
And slowly begin to rise up.
Make your way onto all fours,
Crossing your ankles,
Rolling over onto your knees.
Once you're onto all four,
Stack your hands directly underneath of your shoulders,
Knees come directly underneath of your hips and tops of your feet are onto your mat.
Spread your fingers really wide,
But bring your thumbs in slightly.
As you inhale,
Let your head and hips go high,
Your belly sway down.
Good,
Exhale,
Round in,
Bring your chin into your chest,
Coil through your spine.
And again,
Inhale,
Head and hips go high,
Your belly sways down.
And exhale,
Round.
Inhale,
Make your way back into a neutral tabletop.
From your neutral tabletop,
Extend your right leg out at a diagonal,
So the sole of the foot's onto the ground.
With the sole of your foot onto the ground,
Send your glutes back towards your left heel,
Arms are stretching forward.
Feel the length through your arms and through your side body.
And slowly begin to rise up.
Bring your left arm underneath of the right for a thread the needle.
Breathe into the internal rotation through your left shoulder,
Placing your left ear,
Left cheek onto the mat.
Breathe down through your right hand.
As you inhale,
Slowly begin to rise up.
Place your left hand underneath your left shoulder.
Invite your right knee back to meet your left.
Bring your left leg out at a diagonal and sole the foots onto the ground.
Send your glutes back towards your right heel.
Arms are stretching forward,
Lengthening through your side bodies.
And slowly begin to rise back up.
Preparing for our thread the needle,
Bring your right arm underneath of your left.
And placing your right ear,
Right cheek onto the mat,
Or even a block if you want more elevation here.
Notice where your breath is at.
If you're holding your breath,
Invite it back in.
Bring your left hand under your left shoulder.
Bring your right hand under your right shoulder.
And bring your left knee back to meet your right.
Gently sit your hips onto your heels,
Preparing for a child's pose.
Child's pose,
You can have your knees as close together or as far apart as you like.
Then walk your hands forward.
Placing your forehead tip of your nose onto the ground.
Walk your hands forward so much so that your elbows are lifting up off the earth,
Maybe tenting through your fingers.
And we're here for just a couple more breaths.
And slowly begin to rise.
And cross your ankles once again.
And sit onto your glutes by sending your legs out in front of you.
Once your legs are out in front of you,
Scoot your bum towards your heels and release all the way down onto your yoga mat.
Once you're down onto your yoga mat,
Have the soles of your feet rooted down onto the ground,
Knees up towards the sky.
Reach down and touch your heels with your fingertips.
Root down through your heels,
Root down through your big toes.
And tilt through your pelvis by imprinting your lumbar spine into the ground.
Rounding through your tailbone.
But now we're down through your heels and through your big toes and as you inhale lift your hips up towards the sky.
Maybe lifting up so much so that your thighs are coming parallel with the ceiling or energetically in that direction.
Your chest is peeling towards the wall behind you.
And then slowly begin to release down,
Feeling each vertebrae sit onto the mat one before the next.
And take your time,
There's no rush in it.
Your tailbone unwinds very last at the bottom.
You've got to allow yourself a moment to reset.
Root down through your heels,
Root down through your big toes,
Tuck your tailbone and print your lumbar spine.
Lift your hips up towards the sky.
Peel your chest towards the wall behind you.
Your gaze stays center and your gaze is down the midline of your body.
Gently release down.
And go slower than you want to go on the release.
Soles of the feet are still onto the ground.
Bring your right ankle to the top of your left knee corner.
Flex the toes of your right foot in towards your knee.
Now bring your left knee in towards your left shoulder.
Interlace your hands either around your hamstring or your shin on your left leg.
See if you can anchor down through both hips and both shoulders,
And your chin slightly tucked in,
Getting the length of your spine onto your mat.
Use your breath to soften through the sensation.
And release your left foot down.
And release your right foot down onto the ground.
We'll prepare for the second side.
Bring your left ankle to the top of your right knee corner.
Flex the toes of your left foot and toward your knee.
Bring your right knee into your right shoulder.
Interlacing your hands on your hamstring or your shin on your right leg.
To get more sensation,
Bring your shin closer in towards your chest.
Continue to flex the toes in,
Protecting through your knee.
And release your right foot down.
Invite your left foot down to meet your right.
Come back into a butterfly,
Supta baddha konasana,
Your butterfly on your back,
Uniting your soles,
Letting your knees fall open.
You can place one hand onto your heart,
One hand onto your belly.
And again,
Just connecting with the breath.
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath.
Noticing the rise and fall of your belly.
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath as your belly rises and falls.
Release your hands,
Let your legs go long.
Bring your right knee into your right shoulder,
Interlace your fingers about two inches below your right knee.
Actively pull your right leg in,
Feeling the pinch through your hip on the right side.
Flex the toes of your left foot in towards your nose and activate the muscles through your left leg.
Use the strength of your hands,
Your biceps,
Your triceps to pull your right leg in.
Release your right hand down,
Grab a hold of your right knee with your left hand.
Guide your right leg up and over towards the left.
Gentle supine twist.
Right shoulder stays anchored down onto the mat,
Twisting from the mid-spine down.
Allow yourself to settle into the gravity.
Release out,
Bring your right leg back up and over.
Squeeze your right knee into your right shoulder.
Release your right leg down to meet your left.
Bring your left knee into your left shoulder.
Interlacing your fingers around your shin.
This time take the counterintuitive grip where you always usually come into the same grip.
Switch the opposite pinky,
Opposite thumb on top.
Squeeze in,
Feel the pinch within your left hip.
Your right leg is activated.
Both hips,
Both shoulders are anchored down and your gaze is down the midline of your body.
This posture is called our Puva Matasana,
Wind Removing Pose.
Good for digestion.
Make your way into your twist and bring your left leg up and over towards the right.
Your gaze will come over to the left as your knee surrenders into the gravity towards the right.
Check in with your left shoulder,
Anchor it down.
And bring your left leg back up and over.
Squeeze your left knee into your left shoulder.
Now release your grip just enough to invite your right leg in to meet the left.
I'm grabbing onto opposite wrist,
Forearms,
Or elbows.
Feel your thighs pulling into your belly.
Your belly pulling into your spine.
Your spine flat down onto your mat.
And gently release out.
And to your final Shavasana,
Letting your legs go long.
Your heels touch,
Your toes fall open,
And hands come down beside you.
Give yourself this gift of just a few moments of stillness,
Knowing that rest is not a luxury,
It's a necessity.
Invite the awareness back into your body.
Feeling your body resting down onto the ground,
Onto the earth.
Fully supported.
Invite in your small movements,
Maybe wiggling through your fingers and wiggling through your toes.
And rocking your head from side to side.
And feeling your slow awakening.
Bring your hands up overhead,
Interlace your fingers,
Flip your hands towards the wall behind you,
And give yourself another stretch from the fingertips to the toes,
Like you're waking up for the first time today.
Make your way into a fetal position,
Side of your choice.
In your fetal position,
Use your bottom arm as a pillow.
Let your knees draw in close.
In taking this time to acknowledge yourself for showing up onto your mat today.
And slowly rise up into your seated position.
Sitting with your legs crossed.
Hands come into heart center.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you through this practice today.
It's always my honor,
My privilege,
My pleasure to be here with you.
Many blessings,
Sweet friend.
