All right so with that said today we are going to focus on our hips.
Let's start by finding in whatever position that feels good for you.
I'm just gonna go get my blocks over here.
I am going to start off with actually laying on my back on a supportive bridge.
Now if you have a block you feel free to slide the block underneath you but if you don't that's okay.
I am 100% positive that you will have a blanket or a pillow at home.
So if you have a pet maybe push them off the mattress a little bit.
Finding yourselves in a comfortable position laying on our backs.
Okay and then we're going to slide whatever props that you might have underneath your hips and of course Maple is going to block everything but if you have a blanket sliding that blanket underneath your hips.
If you have a block feel free to slide the block underneath your hips.
Now you're in control of how much height you want it to be.
If you want it to be a little bit more gentler today maybe have the blanket a little bit flatter.
Maybe you want it to be a little bit more intense.
Maybe fold the blanket a few more times and then just letting your arms be wherever is comfortable.
Maybe it's by your side palms facing up or maybe you're like me on my belly and also notice where do you want your legs to be.
Do you want them to be straight out keeping in mind this could be quite intense in the front of the hips or maybe you want them to have feet planted and letting those knees touch each other.
Now we're going to stay here for a few moments as we're starting to settle into our practice.
If it feels good to close the eyes,
Close the eyes or maybe gazing somewhere just right in front of you.
And let's start by taking a deep breath in through your nose and exhale let it go.
And just for the next few moments or two give yourself permission to arrive onto your yoga mat.
When we practice at home we don't have that extra time to kind of settle in to drive to a studio.
So just for the next few moments noticing what thoughts might be coming through.
Maybe it's about what just happened today.
Maybe it's about what you're thinking in this moment.
Or maybe it's about the future.
Now whatever that might be can you see these thoughts as if they're pieces of clouds.
You know after all you have dedicated those next 20 to 25 minutes for yourself.
So not just allow yourself to be here physically,
But maybe even being in this moment mentally.
And then for the next few breaths I want you to think about something that you might be grateful for today.
Maybe that's a person,
An object,
Whatever that might be.
And you let that thought fill your mind.
Now as you come back to your breath knowing that even though we are at different places but we're here right now in this moment together.
So knowing that within this breath we're also creating a safe space for each other.
And in this safe space there is no judgment,
No expectations.
And then let's start by taking a deep breath in through your nose and exhale let it go.
And we'll do that one more time.
Deep breath in and long breath out.
Now whatever support you have underneath your hips we're going to slowly start to remove that support.
Gently starting to lift your hips up,
Removing the support to the side.
I want you to do whatever movement that feels good.
For me right now it's asking me to plant my feet down onto the mat and windshield wiper the legs.
For others it might be bringing our knees into the chest and rock yourself from side to side.
Wonderful.
And then eventually we're going to roll over to one side.
Doesn't matter which way.
I'm going to roll over to my right so that you're not or my back's not facing you.
Just stay here for the next few moments.
Letting your body adjust to this gravity in this different plane.
And then whenever you're ready gently we're going to push ourselves back up into our tabletop.
So coming on to our hands and knees.
I'm going to start off with a few cat and cows to really free up the spine.
So bringing your palms underneath the shoulders,
Knees underneath your hips,
Upper hip width distance apart.
And on your next inhale let's lift the tailbone up to the sky,
Shining the chest forward,
Broaden the chin,
Float the chin.
And as you exhale scoop your belly button in,
Push that ground away,
Tuck your chin into the chest.
Just a few more of these cat and cows at your own pace.
Inhale coming into a cow pose and exhale rounding out into a cat.
Now you're welcome to make this movement as big as you wish or as small as you want.
Just noticing the movement of your spine,
Maybe even one bone at a time.
One more cycle here.
Wonderful.
And then on your next inhale start to make your way back up into that tabletop.
We're going to shift our hips back coming into a child's pose.
So maybe bringing those big toes together,
Knees at the hip width and mat width distance apart.
Letting your forehead rest down onto your mat or maybe onto stacked palms,
Fists or maybe that blanket or a block that you had earlier.
Just staying here in this child's pose for the next few moments.
Maybe noticing where do you feel the stretch?
Maybe you feel it in the top of the ankles.
Maybe you feel it into your thighs and your hips.
Just staying here for a couple more breaths.
Wonderful.
And then on your next inhale we're going to make our way back up into that tabletop.
Now we're going to do a little bit of hip circles.
So I'm going to start off by bringing that left knee towards the front of the room.
And then starting to bring that left knee out to the left side.
And then starting to bring that knee out to the back.
And then starting to bring your knees back towards the top of your mat.
So making these big circles.
Now trying our best to keep our hips and our spine in line.
So as you bring these circles big we're not like moving and arching the back.
Keep tucking the belly button in.
For some of us you might even starting to notice the engagement on the left side as well.
Now our body needs to be strong and flexible and mobile at the same time.
So this will be just a tiny little movement to strengthen those little stability muscles and also those big muscles.
All right we're going to reverse that direction.
So starting to bring your knees towards the back.
Keep those belly button,
Get that belly button in.
Knee out to the side.
Knee out to the front.
And once you sort of get the hang of it maybe move a little bit slower.
I know we tend to move quite fast.
So you kind of move past these movements.
Just another breath or so in here.
Beautiful.
And then releasing the knees back down.
Maybe it feels good to come back into that child's pose just for a couple more breaths before coming to that second side.
And then whenever you're ready we'll do the same thing on the second side.
Now I'm just going to turn over to this other side.
Wait so that again you can see a little bit better.
So this time I'm going to bring my right knee in front of me.
Bringing the right knee out to the side.
Bringing that knee to the back.
And then bringing that knee back to center.
Now as you keep moving in these circles really be mindful of that spine,
Of that hip.
It really helps to imagine that you are wearing a corset.
Not just bringing that belly button towards your low back but almost like bringing everything towards the midline.
About one to two more cycles here depending on how fast you're going.
Beautiful.
And then we're going to reverse this.
So starting to bring the knee towards the back.
Knee out to the side and then forward.
Beautiful.
Hopefully,
I know I'm feeling it on that left hip.
So hopefully you're feeling it too.
If not,
Great you have graduated this pose.
Good.
One more cycle here.
Wonderful.
And then releasing it out.
Coming back into the child's pose if that feels good.
Again we're only settling here for a couple of breaths.
Not too long.
Wonderful.
And then on your next inhale,
We're going to start to make our way back up into that tabletop.
We're going to come into a pigeon pose.
So it doesn't matter which knee you bring up first.
I'm going to bring my right knee out in front pivoting that right foot out to the side.
That back leg can either be long or if it feels good maybe having a little bend.
I know that my dog is just fully blocking the whole demo.
But if you don't understand this,
Let me know after class.
I'm always happy to stay a little bit longer to help you figure a posture that feels good for you.
Now as always if it feels good have some support underneath you.
Maybe that's a pillow,
A block.
You have a big dog,
Maybe a big dog.
So keeping in mind that as we stay in this posture that we never want to have any discomfort in that front bent knee.
If you do,
Do come out of it.
Readjust and come back.
We'll stay here for about five to six more long deep breaths.
Two more breaths in here.
One more breath in.
And if it feels good sigh it out.
And then whenever you're ready,
If you want to stay longer,
I want you to stay.
You're ready to come out of it.
Start to make a way back up.
Maybe it feels good to come into a tabletop.
For others it may actually feel better to come to a downward facing dog.
Now I'm going to lift that right leg up to the sky doing some circles of in and out.
Bring some feel good motion back into that space.
Wonderful.
And then we do the same thing onto the opposite side.
So I'm going to start to bring my left knee in front of me,
Keeping that left foot out to the side.
That back leg once again can either be straight.
I do find that sometimes,
At least for me lately,
I feel a lot more on this side with that back knee bent.
So bringing your chest towards the front of the mat.
Option to stay upright.
Option to start to make a way down onto your mat,
Onto props,
Onto whatever support that can help you settle into this shape.
And once again reminding ourselves that we never want to have any discomfort in that front bent knee.
We'll stay here for about five to six more long deep breaths.
Two more breaths in here.
One more breath in.
If it feels good,
Sigh it out.
Wonderful.
And then whenever you're ready to come out of the shape,
Starting to slowly bring ourselves back up,
Once again it may feel good to come into that tabletop or downward facing dog.
It's your choice.
For me on this side,
I'm going to come back into that down dog just to keep it even.
And again,
If it feels good to lift that leg,
Do some in and out,
Do some circle,
Whatever movement that feels good for you.
Whenever you finish moving that leg,
We're going to come into a comfortable seat.
We're going to do one more kind of like a twist and also stretching of the side of the body.
So we're going to start off by bringing our right knee or left knee or hip.
Thank you.
We're going to bring one leg out to the side.
I am going to extend my right leg long.
We're going to either couple up option with that left leg.
We're going to cross it over or if it feels good for some of us,
Actually tip over and tuck that right foot out to the side.
This might be like the most pretzel pose I ever teach,
But find something that feels good for you.
If you feel like that,
If you have that bottom leg bent and it feels wobbly,
Have that bottom leg extended.
All right,
Once you have it sitting nice and tall,
We're going to reach our right hand up to the sky and as you exhale,
I'm going to twist over towards the left.
Maple,
She is just being like a camera hog today.
Letting your gaze be wherever is comfortable.
Maybe that's towards the side of the room or for some of us it may actually feels good to gaze towards the back,
Adding into that little extra twist.
I'm going to stay here for about three to four more breaths.
One more breath in.
If it feels good,
Sigh it out.
And then whenever you're ready,
Starting to release this pose,
If it feels good to extend the legs out long or maybe even when you're wipering the legs.
Now whenever you're ready,
We'll do the same thing onto the opposite side.
So for me,
I'm going to extend my left foot long,
Crossing that right foot over.
Option one,
Keep that bottom leg extended as you hug that knee into the chest.
If you do want to add a little bit more,
Starting to swing that left foot out to the side.
Keep reaching the left hand up and then hugging that knee into the chest.
Let that back hand be wherever is comfortable.
Also let your gaze be wherever is comfortable.
Now this time as you're starting to settle,
Maybe noticing the difference between the left side and the right.
We'll stay here this time for about six,
Seven more long deep breaths.
Two more breaths in here.
One more breath in.
And if it feels good,
Sigh it out.
Wonderful.
And then whenever you're ready,
Starting to release this pose,
It might feel good to either windshield wiper the legs once again,
Or maybe it feels good to extend the legs out long and just shake them out.
Beautiful.
Now if you want to stay for a little extra five minutes for Shavasana,
Feel free to stay.
But if you're like,
No,
I am done.
I am going to have something else to do.
All good.
Thank you for joining us for this short little mini 20 minutes of yoga.
But if you're joining me in Shavasana,
Find yourself in a comfortable position.
I am going to actually keep that blanket underneath my hips for a little bit longer of a supported bridge.
So letting your hands be by your side,
Palms facing up,
Or maybe it feels good to bring it onto your belly.
Your feet maybe extended long,
About mat width distance apart,
And letting those toes fall to the side.
Maybe having a slight tuck of the chin and feel the length of the back of the neck.
And let's take a deep breath in through your nose.
And exhale,
Let it go.
Shavasana,
Our final resting pose.
Start to bring awareness to the top of your head.
And relax the crown of your head.
Allow your eyes to sink deep into their sockets.
Feel that space between your teeth.
And releasing your neck.
And let your shoulders come back down towards the ground.
Allow your arms to be heavy.
Releasing your spine.
And notice the rise and fall of your abdomen as you breathe in.
Releasing your hips.
And let this relaxation run down towards your legs,
Allowing your legs to be heavy.
Feel the release of your ankles.
And allow this relaxation to move through to each and every toe.
Let yourself be surrounded by this warmth and by this peace.
Reminding ourselves to fill your jar with the things that you love to do.
And as always,
Keep being you.
The world needs more you.
And slowly start to deepen your breath.
Bringing sensation back into your body by wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Rolling your head from side to side.
Rolling your hands and your feet.
Now if you do have a support underneath your hips,
Slowly start to remove that support underneath you.
And imagine we'll all reach our arms towards the back,
Take a deep breath in and exhale,
Sigh it out.
Bringing your knees into the chest,
We'll all roll over to the right,
Coming into a ball,
Enjoying this little moment that you have created for yourself.
And knowing that this peace and quiet is always here for you whenever you need it.
And then slowly,
Let's push yourself back up into a comfortable seat,
Sitting nice and tall.
On your next inhale,
Let's reach your hands up to the sky.
And as you exhale,
Hands towards your heart center.
Thank you for sharing your practice with me today.
Namaste.
