Finding Ease In The Effort: A 47 Minute Vinyasa Flow

A 47-minute all-levels vinyasa flow that moves your body and asks something of you. It is challenging, and the practice is to keep looking for ease inside that: breath steady, jaw soft, no more tension than the shape actually needs.
We move through a full-body sequence with standing shapes, balance, twists, and a slow unwinding at the end. Strength and steadiness are the point, and so is noticing where you grip when you do not have to.
Suitable for all levels, with options offered throughout. Props (blocks, bolster, blanket) welcome. Move slowly, listen to your body, and never push into sharp pain.
"Sthira sukham asanam. The posture is steady and comfortable."
Patanjali, Yoga Sutras 2.46

Transcript

So coming to your mat, Bring your knees as wide as the mat, Your big toes together, And start to walk your hands forward, Just folding over your thighs. Coming to child's pose. Allow your forehead to rest. Either on the mat or maybe on a block if that feels better. You can always stack your hands and bring your forehead to your hands if that feels good. Wherever you are, Your hips are moving towards your heels. They're not necessarily touching. Just begin to arrive. Begin to Saddle. Feeling the areas of your body that are touching the mat. And see if you can ground in those areas. Starting to bring your awareness to your breath. Just notice how your breath feels today. Without trying to change it. Notice the areas of your body that move as you breathe. Now take a deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth and slowly sigh it out. Let it go. Two more like that. Inhale through the nose, Feel your body expand. Sigh it out through the mouth. Let it go. And last one like that, Deep breath in. Exhale, Sigh it out. Now slowly start to activate your arms, Pressing your fingers and your hands to the mat, And maybe lifting your elbows up if they're on the mat. And just actively pushing your hips back towards your heels, Feeling this length on the sides of your body. Feeling the length of your spine. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. And from here, Tend to your fingers and slowly start to walk your hands towards the right side of the mat. Feeling the stretch on the left side of your body, And then actively pushing your left hip towards your heels. Okay, Taking deep, Long breaths, See if you can soften your shoulders, Down your back, Away from your ears. And just breathe here. Becoming aware of how your body feels today. Noticing any parts. That are maybe a little tight or sore. That may need a little bit more love during practice. Slowly walk your hands back to center and all the way towards the left side this time. Keep your fingers tented or bring the palms of the hands to the mat, To the ground. Feeling the stretch on the right side of your body. If anything I say during practice doesn't feel right in your body, Please don't do it. Let's come out of the pose and take a resting posture like child's pose. And then join me when you're ready. Slowly walk your hands back to center and then push your hips back towards your heels. Good. As you inhale, Come onto your hands and knees, Bring your knees under your hips. Wrists under your shoulders, Spread your fingers wide, Coming to tabletop position, Pull your belly towards your spine, And you're looking straight down so the back of your neck is long. Good, As you inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale to round your back, Tuck your tail, Look down. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale, Round your back, Tuck your tail, Look down. Good, One more inhale. And exhale. Good, From here, Bring your left palm just closer to the middle of the mat. As you inhale, Reach your right arm all the way up. Maybe look up towards your fingers. And then as you exhale, Cross your right arm under the left and bring your right shoulder right side of the head on the mat Good. You can keep your left palm on the mat in front of you. You can bring your hand to your lower back, Your palm faces up. It. This should feel really good in your right shoulder. It should be a really good stretch being mindful that there's no pain or discomfort. Make sure your head and your neck are comfortable. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. Bring your left hand on the mat if it's not there already. On your next inhale, Reach your right arm all the way up. And exhale, Bring it back down coming to tabletop position. Moving to the second side, Inhale, Left arm reaches up, Maybe look up. Exhale to cross it under the right and bring your left shoulder left side of the head on the mat You can keep your right hand in front of you, Or you can bring your hand to your lower back, Your palm faces up. And this should feel really good in your shoulder. Make sure there's no pain or discomfort. Take a deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. Bring your right hand on the mat. Inhale to reach your left arm all the way up. And then come back to tabletop position. Bring your knees together and just sit back on your heels. If that feels good, You can always sit on a block if that feels good. That feels better on your knees. And just interlace your fingers and you're just going to make circles with your wrist. So making circles in one way, Maybe figure eights. Whatever movement feels good to you. In your wrist here and then switching directions to the other side and just moving our wrists in directions that they don't usually move. We're always on our phone and this will feel really good on your wrists. Slowly come back to tabletop, Walk your hands forward, Tuck your toes under, Push your hips up and back, Downward facing dog. First sound dog of our practice. Bend one knee and then the other walking your dog. You can walk your feet wider apart or closer. Maybe rock your hips from side to side, Looking under your arms if that feels good. Then come to stillness, Bend your knees a lot so you're moving your belly towards your thighs. Allowing your head to be heavy. You can nod your head yes, Shake your head no. Your heels are moving towards the mat, Not necessarily touching. Good and then inhale to lengthen your spine good Exhale, Push your hips back. Take a deep breath in. Open your mouth, Sigh it out, Let it go. On your next inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward between your hands. And then as you exhale slowly, Make your way to the top of the mat. Fourfold. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale. Two more like that. Inhale, Lengthen your spine, Halfway lift. Exhale, Fold forward over your thighs. Last one like that, Inhale. And exhale. Good on your next inhale reach your arms all the way up palms touch overhead And exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Good. Standing tall in mountain pose, You can have your feet hip distance apart or closer or wider. Inhale to roll your shoulders up towards your ears and down your back. Two more like that, Inhale. And exhale. Last one. And exhale. Shoulders down your back, Slight tuck of the chin so the back of your neck is long. Pull your belly towards your spine, And then feel the four corners of your feet on the ground. Visualize. Roots growing from your feet. And then your body growing. Your spine lengthening. The crown of your head reaching towards the sky. Inhale reach all the way up and then grab the right wrist with the left hand. As you inhale reach arms up, Exhale lean towards the left side. Feeling the stretch on the right side of your body from your right foot all the way to your right fingertips. Good, Pressing both feet down evenly, Inhale. Exhale, Maybe lean a little bit more. As you inhale, Slowly come back to center and grab the left wrist with the right hand. Inhale to get long. Exhale, Lean to the right this time. Good, Feeling the stretch on the left side of your body. Deep breath in. Exhale maybe lean a little bit more. Good, Inhale, Come all the way up to center, Bring your palms together and enhance your heart. Good, Bow your head to your hand. And think of one thing you're grateful for today. And how to reach up. Exhale, Fold forward over your thighs. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. And fold forward as you exhale. Okay, Time for palms, Step out, Right leg back. And then drop the back knee down. Coming to a low lunge, Your left knee is right over your ankle. You can keep the right toes tucked if that feels better in your knees, Or you can come to the top of the foot. Good. You can stay here with your fingertips on either side of your foot. You can bring your hands on two blocks. You can bring your hands on your left thigh or as you inhale reach your arm all the way up and as you exhale soften your shoulders good check your front knee make sure it's still over your ankle and feel the stretch on top of your right thigh. Good, Take a deep breath in. Exhale soften your shoulders Good coming into a twist bring your right hand to the outside of the left knee and then reach your left arm back Your thumb faces up Good. Inhale, Lengthen your spine. Exhale, Twist from the belly. One more inhale. And exhale. Good. Inhale, Come back to center. Reach your arms all the way up. Exhale, Bring your hands to either side of the front foot. Now moving with our breath, As you inhale, Pull your hips back, Straighten the left leg, Flex your foot, Lean forward towards your legs. Exhale, Come back to your lunge, Open up your heart to the front, Maybe look up. Exhale, Pull your hips back, Straighten your legs, Flex your foot, Lean forward. Exhale, Come back to your lunge, Open up your heart, Maybe look up. Good. One more like that. Inhale. And exhale. Good, Come back to center, Plant your right palm. We're gonna come to a twist, So if you want to lift the back knee, Tuck the back toes, And as you inhale, You're gonna lift the back knee up and twist towards the left side. You can bring your left hand to your hip or reach it all the way up, Stacking your shoulders wherever you are, And then check the front knee. It's probably trying to move away from you. See if you can bring your knee towards your body. Good, Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. One more inhale. Exhale plant your palms step it back to plank so your knees can be up or down take a deep breath in and then as you exhale lower down so all the way or halfway Inhale to backbend, Upward dog or cobra. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Coming back to your breath in down dog, You can stay in stillness. Or you can move just listening to what your body needs Good, Keeping your knees bent if you're in stillness. Lengthen your spine. Pushing your hips up. Take a deep breath in. Open your mouth, Sigh it out, Let it go. Next, Inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward. Exhale, Slowly make your way to the top of the mat, Fold, Fold. Bring your hands to your shins, Lengthen your spine, Halfway lift. Exhale to fold forward. Good, Next inhale, Come all the way up. Reach up, Palms touch overhead. Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Good, Standing tall in Mountain. Come back to your strong, Steady. Grounded Mountain Pose. Grounding through the feet. Lengthening through the spine. Reaching up with the crown of the head. And then notice if you're holding on to anything you don't need to hold on to. Notice if there's any part of your body that you can soften. It's your shoulders, Maybe it's your jaw. Maybe it's your gaze. Inhale, Reach all the way up. Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart. Inhale to reach up. Grab the right wrist with the left hand. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Lean towards the left side. Good. Deep breath in. Exhale, Lean a little bit more. Good, Come back to center, Switch sides. Grab the left wrist with the right hand. Inhale to lengthen. Exhale, Lean to the right this time. Feeling the stretch on the left side of your body. Inhale, Come back to center, Bring your palms together and hands to your heart. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Fold forward. Hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale, Plant your palms. Step the left leg back this time. And then drop the back knee, Coming to your low lunge. So you can come to the top of the back foot. You can tuck your toes if that feels better on your knees. Make sure the front knee is right over your ankle and then decide where you want to be. So fingertips on the mat. Hands, Unblocks on your side or reach your arms all the way up Soften your shoulders down your back. Good. Feeling the stretch on both sides. The top of the left thigh. Deep breath in. Exhale, Soften your shoulders. Good, From here coming to our twist, Left hand to the outside of the right leg, Reach your right arm back, Your thumb faces up. You can look back towards your thumb if that feels good in your neck. Good, Inhale, Lengthen your spine. Exhale to twist from the belly. Deep breaths in. Long breath out. Good. Inhale, Come back to center. Reach your arms all the way up. And then exhale, Bring your hands to either side of the front foot. Moving with our breath, Inhale here. And exhale. Good, Next inhale, Pull your hips back. Straighten your leg, Flex your foot, Lean forward. Exhale, Come back to your lunge, Open up your heart, Look up. Good, Inhale, Pull your hips back, Straighten your leg, Flex your foot, Lean forward. Exhale come back to center Open up your heart, Look up. Good, One more like that, Inhale. And exhale. Come back to center plant the left palm this time if you want to lift the back knee Tuck the back toes as you inhale lift your knee up Twist towards the right side right hand can stay on your hips or you can reach it all the way up. Maybe look up towards your thumb if that feels good in your neck. Think about moving the right knee towards your body. Right knee still right over your ankle. Take a deep breath in and exhale, Hands down, Step it back to table or plank. And exhale, Hold. Take a deep breath in. And exhale, Lower. All the way or halfway chaturanga. Inhale, Upward dog or cobra, Your backbend. And exhale, Downward facing dog. Good, Take a deep breath in. And a long breath out. Inhale, Let go. Your right heel all the way up. As you exhale, Bend your knee, Bring your knee to your nose, Come forward so your shoulders are right over your wrists. Inhale, Reach your heel up. Exhale, Knee to your nose. One more inhale. Exhale, Knee to your nose. Inhale reach it all the way up and then as you exhale step it forward to the top of the mat front knee over your ankle. You can always drop the back knee down. If you like. You can stay here, You can bring your hands to blocks. Or if you like, Inhale, Come all the way up, Coming to your high lunge. Good. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, Soften your shoulders. One more inhale. And exhale good stay here or if you like you can come to a twist reaching the right arm back left arm forward good Whenever this becomes too much, You can always drop the back knee. You can look back towards your right thumb. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. Good. Inhale, Come back to center. Reach your arms all the way up. Exhale, Hands down, Either side of the front foot. Now moving with our breath, As you inhale, Pull your hips back, Straighten the front knee, Lean forward. You can flex your foot or keep your foot on the mat. Good. Exhale, Come back to your lunge. Open up your heart, Maybe look up. Inhale, Pull your hips back, Straighten your legs, Flex your foot. Lean forward. Exhale, Come back to your lunge. Open up your heart. One more like that. Inhale. And exhale. Good. Coming back to our twist, Plant the left palm. As you inhale, Reach your right arm all the way up. Maybe look up. Good, You can stay here or reach your arm overhead, Your palm faces up. Good, Check the front knee. Make sure it's moving towards your body. Back heel is pressing back. Good, Inhale, Reach your arm up. Exhale, Hand down either side of the front foot. Step it back, Table or plank. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, Move through your flow. So all the way down or Chaturanga. Inhale, Upward dog or cobra. Exhale. Downward Facing Dog. Good, Take a deep breath in. Open your mouth, Sigh it out, Let it go. Next, Inhale, Left heel lifts. Exhale, Come forward, Knee to your nose. Two more like that, Inhale. Knee to your nose, Exhale. One more inhale. And exhale. Knee to your nose. Good, Inhale, Lift it all the way up. Step your foot forward, Top of the mat. Good, Adjust your feet coming back to your lunge. You can decide if you want to drop the back knee. Good take a deep breath in here you can stay here or maybe you come all the way up here to your high lunge, Softening your shoulders, Soften your jaw, Your gaze, Your forehead. Notice if there's any part of your body that you're holding on to that you don't need to. Good, Finding the ease in the challenge. Take a deep breath in. If you like, You can come to your twist, Reaching the left arm back, Right arm forward. Look back towards your thumb. If that feels good in your neck, Take a deep breath in. Exhale, Twist from your belly. Inhale, Reach your arms up. Exhale, Hands down either side of the front foot. Good, Moving with our breath. Inhale, Pull your hips back. Lengthen your leg. You can flex your foot and lean forward. Exhale, Come back to your lunge, Open up your heart, May you wake up. Exhale, Hips move back, Straighten your leg, Lean forward. Exhale, Back to your lunge, Open up your heart. One more like that, Inhale. And exhale. Coming to our twist, Plant the right hand this time. And you can twist towards the left side. Left hand can stay on your hip. Reach it all the way up. Back in your shoulders. Check the front knee still over your ankle moving towards your body. Stay here or reach your arm overhead, Your palm faces down. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Good. Inhale, Reach your arm up. Exhale, Plant your hands, Step it back. And move through your flow. You can always skip this and move to downward facing dog. And we're all gonna meet in Down Dog. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out, Let it go. Good, Two more like that. Inhale through the nose. Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Last one. Sigh it out, Let it go, Ah. Good next inhale lift the right heel up exhale bring your knee to your nose Inhale, Lift it up. As you exhale, Cross the right knee under your body towards your left elbow. Inhale, Lift it up. Right knee to the right elbow hold here and then you're going to drop your knee down to the mat. We're coming into Pigeon. So wherever you are. Make your way. Two, Your pigeon pose. Your right knee is bent. And if this does not feel good in your knee, You can come to your back and take figure four. Keeping the back toes tucked, You can walk your foot back. And then drop the top of the foot on the mat. You can use a block or a pillow under your right hip, Just so you don't have to hold yourself up. Get out coming to pigeon pose with your right knee bent. If you're on your back. You're flexing the right foot, Your heel on top of the ground. The left eye. You can stay here, Or if you like, Bring your hands off the mat, Tense your fingers, And then inhale to open up your heart. As you exhale, Bend your elbows, Lean forward. And healthy. Come up. Exhale, Bend your elbows, Lean forward. One more like that. Inhale. And exhale. Good. Inhale, Come all the way up. You can stay here or if you like you can start to Bring your elbows or your arms on the mat. You can come all the way forward to your pigeon pose, Bringing your forehead down on the mat or on a block. And wherever you are make sure they're right knee and your right ankle. Or comfortable. There is no sharp pain or discomfort. Anywhere in your body Come back to your breath. And notice how you feel right now. Notice any thoughts. Any feelings, Emotions that start to come up. Just notice without trying to. . . Fix anything or solve any problems. Just notice what's coming up. And see if you can let it go. Bring your awareness back to your breath. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. Notice where you're feeling the pose. See if you can visualize your breath moving to that area in your body. And then softening as you exhale. You can start to bring your hands on the mats. Move your props aside. And we're going to make our way to downward facing dog. So. However that feels good for you, You can tuck the back toes. Push your hips up to down dog or you can move through tabletop. And make your way to downward facing dog. Take a deep breath in. Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Good. Inhale, Lift your right heel, Same leg up. Bend your knees, Stack your hips. Good. You can look down you can look under your right arm if that feels good you can stay here or if you like you can come to wild thing so bringing the right foot behind the left lifting your hips up, Maybe reaching your right arm overhead. Good. Inhale here, Lift your hips. And then slowly make your way to downward facing dog. Good, Take a deep breath in, Long breath out. Next, Inhale, Lift the left heel up. Knee to your nose as you exhale, Come forward. Inhale to lift it up. Cross your knee under body, Knee to the left elbow. Inhale, Lift it up. Knee to the right elbow, Hold here. And then drop your knee down to your left wrist. Coming to pigeon pose on the second side. So again, Making sure your left knee is comfortable. This may feel different on the second side. So don't expect it to look the same. If it doesn't look good, If it doesn't feel good. You can come to your back and take figure four with your left knee. Bend, Flexing your foot, Bringing your ankle on top of the right thigh. Good. Keeping the back toes tucked, You can walk your right foot back. When you're ready, Come to the top of the foot. Good. You can stay here, Or if you like, Bring your fingertips on the mat, Tend to your fingers. Good. Inhale to open up your heart. Exhale, Bend your elbows, Lean forward. And healthy karma. Exhale, Lean forward. One more like that, Inhale. And exhale. Good. You can stay up or if you like you can come all the way down to your version of pigeon pose on this side. Coming all the way down. To your chest. With your forehead down on the mat or on a block. You can stay up on your elbows. Wherever you are make sure there's no pain or discomfort anywhere in your body This is a challenging posture. So notice where you can bring some ease into the pose. Maybe you can soften your jaw, Your forehead. Soften your gaze. Bring your awareness to your breath. See if you can visualize your breath moving to the areas in your body that you're feeling the pose. And then exhale, Soften and let go. Deep, Long breaths. In and out of your nose. Notice any thoughts, Feelings, Emotions start to come up. Notice if You're starting to get frustrated with the sound of my voice. See if you can set that aside and come back to your breath. Slowly bring your hands on the mat. Push yourself up. We're going to make our way to down dog, Whatever that looks like for you. You can move through tabletop. And then when you're ready, Push your hips up and back, Downward facing dog. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth, Sigh it out, Let it go. Good. Inhale, Lift your left heel all the way up. Bend your knee, Stack your hips. You can look under your left arm. You can look down. If you like, You can come to wild thing, Dropping the left foot behind the right, Maybe reaching back with your right hand. Good, Wherever you are, Lift your hips up. And then as you exhale, Make your way to downward facing dog. Good, Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. Slowly drop your knees down. Walk your knees forward, Cross your ankles. Sit back. Into a seat. Bring the soles of the feet together, Let your knees fall out, Coming into seated butterfly. You can have your feet farther away from you or close to you. Wherever you are, Make sure your spine is long. So you can always sit on top of a pillow, Folded up blanket. You can double up your mat. Good. Inhale to lengthen your spine. As you exhale, Maybe you hinge from the hips, Leaning forward. You can use your elbows on your knees to gently press them down. Again, Making sure there's no pain or discomfort anywhere in your body. Inhale, Lengthen your spine. Exhale with a straight spine, Lean forward. So this may not be a huge four-fold for most of us. Just go as far as it feels good. With a tall spine. Inhale. And exhale, Soften your jaw, Soften your gaze. One more inhale. And exhale. Good. Slowly come back up, Bring your hands outside of your knees, Close your knees up like a book, And then walk your feet towards you. Hug your knees. With your arms, Maybe bring your forehead. To your knees and Thank your body for everything it does for you. For holding you. Healing you and helping you move through your life. For all the poses on and off the mat. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. Good, Slowly start to make your way to your back. And as you come down, You can bring your knees in, Hugging your knees into your chest. So you can gently rock from side to side, Massaging your back. Maybe making circles with your knees in one direction and then the other. We're going to come to a twist, So you can choose to cross your legs. Or stack your knees. If you want to cross your legs, Left leg over the right. Lift your hips up towards the left side and let your knees fall towards the right. Good. Arms can come to a T. You can come to cactus arms. You can bring your right hand on top of the left thigh just for a little bit more weight. Wherever you are, Shoulders are grounded. Maybe you turn your head to the left if that feels good in your neck. And then soften your gaze or close your eyes and breathe into this twist. Take a deep breath in. As you exhale, Slowly come back to center. Uncross your legs if they're crossed. And hug your knees in. Just pulling your knees towards you. Yeah. And then moving to the second side, If you want to cross your legs, Right leg over the left, Lift your hips up to the right. Let your knees fall towards the left side, Making sure your shoulders are grounded. You can turn your head to the right. You can take whatever arm variation feels good on this side. And then breathe here. Letting your body settle into this twist. Letting your mind settle on your breath. Slowly start to come out of the pose. Uncross your legs. Keeping your feet flat on the mat. Your hands. On your body. Maybe on your belly, Right hand on your belly, Left hand on your heart or your ribs. Take a deep breath in, Feel your body expand as you breathe in. And exhale, Empty, Empty, Empty all the air out. And then make our way to our final posture, Shavasana. So if there's anything else your body needs before moving into stillness. You can take that now. And then when you're ready, Grabbing any props. Or layers. Anything your body needs to get really comfortable and settled. In Shavasana. You can bring a bolster under your knees. You can keep your knees bent and let your knees fall inward. You can have your legs extended long, Softening your feet. Towards the outer edges of your mat. Let your legs and your hips be heavy. Your shoulders soft. And grounded. Arms by your side, Palms face up, Fingers gently curled in. Soften your jaw, Part your teeth, Allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of the mouth. Soften the muscles of the face, Your eyelids. Allowing your eyes to gently close. And then scanning from the crown of your head all the way down to your fingers and your toes. Notice if there's any part of your body that you can soften just a little bit more to get more comfortable here. Allow your body to rest and breathe naturally. And take in the effects of your practice. Take a deep breath in. And a long breath out. One more just like that deep inhale. Full and complete exhale, Let it go. Slowly bring some movement back to your body. Moving your fingers, Your toes, Your wrists, Your ankles. Maybe gently rocking your head from side to side. When you're ready, Bend one knee and then the other. Roll onto your right side. In a fetal position using your bottom arm as a pillow. Good, And slowly make your way to a comfortable seat. Sitting with your spine tall, Your neck straight. Parallel to the mat. Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels good. Good, Bring your hands by your side, Inhale to reach all the way up, Palms touch overhead. Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart, Bow your head to your hands, And thank yourself for coming to your mat today. For spending this time for yourself, For your practice. Thumbs to your third eye, The space between your eyebrows. May your thoughts be kind. Thumbs to your lips, May your words be caring. And thumbs to your heart center, May your heart be filled with love and gratitude. Thank you for practicing with me today. Namaste.