Reach And Lengthen

A slow, accessible stretching flow to lengthen the whole body and release the tension you've been holding. We move gently through the spine, hips, hamstrings, shoulders, and neck, holding each shape long enough to let it open without forcing. Yoga blocks are optional but not required, and no experience is needed- just space to move and breathe.

Perfect for easing stiffness in the morning, unwinding after a long day, or as a gentle reset whenever your body feels tight and compressed. You'll finish feeling taller, looser, and more at ease.

Music: "Yoga Background Music" by NourishedByMusic..

Transcript

Find a comfortable seat. Sitting with your spine tall, Your neck straight, Chin parallel to the mat. Allow your shoulders to soften, Down your back. Soften your gaze at a spot in front of you or close your eyes if that feels good. Beginning to arrive here, Settling. Grounding on your back. Start to come to your breath, Noticing how your breath feels. Noticing the quality of your breath today, If it's fast or slow, Deep or shallow. There it is. How it feels in your body. Taking a few cleansing breaths here together. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth and slowly and quietly sigh it out. Two more like that, Deep inhale through your nose. And sigh it out through the mouth. Let it go. Last one, Deep breath in. Exhale through the mouth, Let it all go. Continue breathing deeply in and out of your nose if that feels comfortable for you. And as you breathe here, Bring your awareness to your body. Just notice how your body feels again from your toes all the way up. To the very top of your head. And just notice if there's any part of your body that's maybe a little tight or sore. That may need a little bit more love during practice. And just be mindful of that. If anything I say during practice doesn't feel right for you, Please don't do it. Come out of the pose and take a resting posture, That works for you. Always listening to your body first. Doing what feels right for you. Bring your hands by your side as you inhale, Reach your arms all the way up, Palms touch overhead. And exhale to bring your hands to your heart. Bow your head to your hands and Think of one thing that you're grateful for today. Inhale reach all the way up Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart. One more inhale. And exhale. From here, We're going to come to tabletop position. So finding your hands and knees, Spreading your fingers wide. Bringing your wrists under your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. You can keep your toes tucked or come to the tops of the feet. And then just pausing here in tabletop, Pulling your belly towards your spine, You're looking straight down so the back of your neck is long. Then see if you can pull your shoulders down your back away from your ears. Good, Moving through some Cat-Cows. Inhale to drop your belly, Open up your heart, Welcome. Exhale to round your back, Tuck your tail, Lift up. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale, Round your back, Tuck your tail, Lift it up. Good, Inhale to cow. Exhale to cat pose. Come back to the table. And then extend the right leg back, Keeping the toes on the mat, Just rock back and forth a few times. Just noticing how this feels in your right ankle, The back of your leg. In your wrists and your shoulders. And then coming back to center and drop. The heel down so dropping the right heel towards the left side we're getting ready for a side plank variation so you can bring your right hand to your right hip Or you can reach it all the way up, Stacking your shoulders. So using your left leg as a kickstand here, Just to hold you up. Move your left foot towards the left a little bit more to help you balance. You can look up towards your thumb if that feels good. It you can stay here or as you inhale open up your heart and then as you exhale reach your right arm overhead palm faces down so feeling this stretch on the right side of your body from. Your right foot all the way to your fingertips. Deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. Slowly come back to center. And then come back to tabletop inhale drop your belly open up your heart look up Exhale to round your back, Tuck your tail, Lift up. Two more, Inhale to cow. Exhale to catch. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale, Round your back, Tuck your tail, Look down. Second side, Extend the left leg back, Keeping the toes on the mat, Just rock back and forth. A few times, Just noticing how this feels on this side. In your left ankle, Back of your leg. In your rest. Shoulders Coming back to center. We're going to drop the left heel towards the right side coming to our side plank So bringing the left hand on your hip Or you can reach it all the way up, Stacking your shoulders. You can look up towards your thumb. Breathing here. If it doesn't feel good to look up, You can look down or just to the side. Just be really mindful of how this feels in your neck. You can stay here or if you like, Open up your heart and then exhale, Reach your arm overhead, Palm faces down. Feeling this stretch on the left side of your body. Deep breath in. Exhale all the way around. Slowly come back to center and to tabletop position. Good. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. As you exhale, Round your back and move to child's pose. Good. Your knees can be wide or together. Wherever you are keeping your arms active so spreading Your fingers pressing your fingertips and the palms of the hands to the mat, Pushing your hips back towards your heels. You can bring your forehead down. On the mat or on a block. Are rolling up towards your ears. See if you can really pull your shoulders back and down. Take a deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. Next inhale come forward drop your belly open up your heart look up Exhale, Round your back, Move to child's pose. Inhale to come forward drop your belly open up your heart look up cow pose Exhale to round your back, Tuck your tail. Move all the way back to child's pose. Good, This time inhale, Come forward, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. As you exhale, Tuck your toes, Push your hips up and back. Coming to downward facing dog. Good so first downward dog of our practice just noticing how this feels in your body. Maybe bending one knee and then the other if you want movement. Maybe staying in stillness with your knees bent, Pushing your hips up towards the ceiling, Allowing your head to be heavy. Take a deep breath in. Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Next inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward between your hands. And then as you exhale slowly step to the top of the mat coming to a forward fold at the top of the mat keeping your feet mat this sorry hip distance apart um just folding forward bend your knees You can keep your fingertips on the mat, You can bring your hands on blocks, You can grab somewhere on your leg. Or your opposite elbows You can stay in stillness with your knees bent or you can start to bend one knee and then the other. Just gently rocking. Your upper body from side to side. This should feel like you really get release in. Your upper back and your lower back and your spine. Just being mindful of how this feels. Making sure there's no sharp edges. Pain. In the back of your leg. Bring your hands to your shins as you inhale, Halfway lift. And then exhale to fold forward. Let's do two more like that. Inhale halfway lift. Exhale to fold. And last one, Inhale. And exhale, Fold forward. Good, Inhale, Come all the way up, Reach up, Palms touch overhead. And exhale to bring your hands to your heart center. It. Bring your hands by your sides. Roll your shoulders down your back. Spread your toes on the mat and feel the four corners of your feet grounding. You can lift your toes up. That feels right. Just notice how that feels in the bottom of your feet. And then holding on to that feeling, Slowly bring your toes back up. Slight tuck of the chin so the back of your neck is long. Think about extending the crown of your head up towards the ceiling. And grounding through your feet. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Exhale all the air out. Next inhale reach your arms all the way up and then interlace your fingers and let go of your index finger. So you're pointing your index fingers up As you inhale, Reach your arms up. Exhale to lean towards the left. See if you can press your feet down to the mat and feel the stretch on the right side of your body. Deep breath in. Maybe lean a little bit more as you exhale. Good, Inhale, Come all the way up. And then switching sides, Leaning towards the right side. Feeling your feet press down. With every inhale, Think about getting longer through the left side. With every exhale, Maybe leaning a little bit more. Inhale, Come back to center. And exhale, Bring your hands to your heart. And healthy retail. Exhale hands to your heart and halberds all the way up. Exhale, Enhance your heart. Okay, One more inhale. And exhale. Good. Inhale, Reach all the way up. Exhale, Fold forward over your thighs. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift as you inhale. Fold forward exhale plant your palms and step it back to plank your knees up or down take a deep breath in as you exhale slowly drop your knees Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale to round your back, Move to Child's Pose. Inhale, Come forward, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Cow pose. Exhale to tuck your toes, Push your hips up and back, Downward facing dog. Okay, Pausing here in Down Dog for a few breaths. You can stay in stillness, You can move bending one knee and then the other rocking your hips Take a deep breath in, Exhale all the air out. Next inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward. Exhale, Slowly make your way to the top of the mat, Forward fold. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Full forward exhale. Inhale come all the way up reach up palms touch overhead Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Inhale to reach up, Interlace your fingers, Index fingers point up. Exhale lean to the left Inhale, Back to center. Exhale lean to the right Inhale to center. And exhale, Hands to your heart center. Good, Inhale to reach up. Exhale fold forward Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward, Exhale, Plant your palms, Step it back to plank. Hold here with your knees up or down take a deep breath in and then exhale slowly bring your knees down Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale, Round your back, Move to Child's Pose. Inhale, Come forward, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale, Tuck your toes, Push your hips up and back, Downward facing dog. Good, Taking a few deep, Long breaths. In Down Dog. Kids. Next, Inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward. As you exhale, Slowly make your way to the top of the mat, Forward fold. And see your shins halfway lifting in. Fold forward as you exhale. Inhale come all the way up reach up palms touch overhead and exhale to bring your hands to your heart. Inhale to reach up, Interlace your fingers, Index fingers point up. As you exhale, Lean to the left. Inhale, Back to center. And lean to the right. Inhale to center. And exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Good, Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Fold, Fold. Can see your shins halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale okay plant your palms step it back to plank your knees up or down take a deep breath in Exhale, Slowly bring your knees down. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale to round your back, Move to child's pose. Inhale, Come forward to cow pose. Exhale, Tuck your toes, Downward facing dog. Good, Take a deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth, Sigh it out, Let it go. Pausing here and down to a Good, On your next inhale lift your left heel off the mat. You can stay here with your foot flexed, Toes pointing down, Or if you like, You can bend your knee and stack your hips, Opening up your hips towards the left side, Maybe bringing your right heel down towards the mat a little bit more. Good, Opening up your hips. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. It slowly bring your knee towards your nose coming forward and then bring your foot towards the top of the mat so coming to your to a lunge with the back knee lifted, Hands either side of the front foot. And then from here, You're going to drop the back heel. So we're getting ready for warrior two. So check your alignment. You have a heel to arch alignment. Your back foot is parallel to the short edge of the mat where you can have a slight angle with your toes pointing towards the top right corner. When you have your stance, Your front knee is right over your ankle. You can windmill your arms. Coming all the way up to warrior two. Good. So when you get here, You can adjust your stance again. Um, Your feet can be wider. Just make sure your front knee is right over your ankle. It's not moving past your ankle. Um, And then if you look inside your knee, You should be able to see your big toe. When you're ready, Reach your arms front and back. Shoulders are facing the long edge of your mat and they're right over your hips. So make sure you're not leaning forward or back. Arms parallel to the mat, Palms face down. Soften your shoulders, Soften your jaw, Your gaze, Your forehead. Warrior two. Back leg straight and strong. Come to your breath. Now moving with our breath, As you inhale, Start to straighten the front knee, Reach your arms all the way up, Maybe look up. And then exhale back, Warrior two. Inhale to reach up, Straighten your leg, And you look up. Exhale, Warrior two. Good, One more inhale. And exhale good from here flip the left palm up bring the right hand to the back leg and then reach your left arm up and back coming to peaceful warrior you can look up or if it feels good you can look back towards your right toes front knee is still bent Again, Breathing deeply. Deep breath in. And come back to warrior two. Good, Inhale, Straighten your knee, Reach up, Maybe look up. Exhale warrior two Two more, Inhale. And warrior two last one And exhale. From here, We're going to come to side angle pose. So you can bring your left elbow to the top of your thigh, Or you can grab a block, Bring it to the inside or outside of the left foot, And bring your hand on top of the block. Or maybe you bring your hand all the way down to the mat. Right hand can stay on your right hip, And you can stack your shoulders. Or you can reach your right arm all the way up. Maybe look up towards your thumb if that feels good in your neck. And stay here, Or if you like, Open up your heart. And then reach your right arm overhead, Your palm faces down. Feeling this stretch. On the right side of your body, Front knee is still bent. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Next inhale slowly come all the way up and then straighten the front knee it. Getting ready for triangle pose. So you can start by bringing your back foot in just a little bit. So heel toe, Heel toe your foot in a little bit. Shorten your stance. And then reaching your arms front and back, Reach your left fingertips forward, Hips move back. When you can't reach anymore, Just drop your left hand somewhere on your leg. So just make sure you're not pressing your knee back. You can have a slight bend in your knee. Your hand can rest on Yeah. Soon. And your ankle, It can come to a block to the inside or outside of your foot. Maybe your fingertips come all the way down to the mat. Right hand can stay on your hip or stack your shoulders, Reach your right arm all the way up. Trikonasana, Triangle pose. Maybe look up towards your thumb. That feels good in your neck. You can have a slight bend in the front knee. Just being really mindful of how this feels in the back. Of the left leg. Back leg straight and strong. Deep breath in. Long breath. Inhale, Come all the way up and reverse your triangle. Right hand to the back leg, Reach your left arm up and back. Thank you. Deep breath in. And then as you exhale, You're gonna windmill your arms, Bringing your hands to either side of the front foot, Pivoting onto the back toes. So coming back to your lunge where you were. From here, Bring the right palm down to the mat or to a block. We're coming into a twist, So left hand can come to your left hip. And then as you inhale, You're going to twist. Towards the left side. Your left knee is still over your ankle. It wants to move away from your body. See if you can guide it towards you. You can reach your left arm all the way up, Stacking your shoulders. It hurts. You can stay here or maybe you reach your arm overhead, Palm faces down, Really being mindful of how this feels in your shoulder. Deep breath in. Long breath. One more inhale. And then exhale slowly bring your hand down drop the back knee and then you're gonna bring the left foot behind you. With your right knee down, Left leg extended back, Your toes on the mat. Spread your fingers wide and then drop the left heel towards the right side. We're coming to our side plank. So bringing the left hand on your hip. Or you can reach it all the way up, Stacking your shoulders. Breathing deeply. Stay here or extend your arm overhead, Palm faces down. Deep breath in. And then slowly come back to tabletop. Drop both knees under your hip. Spread your fingers wide. Inhale, Drop your belly. Open up your heart. Look up. Exhale to round your back, Move your hips back towards your heels, Child's Pose. Inhale, Come forward, Drop your belly, Open up your heart. Exhale, Tuck your toes, Push your hips up and back. Downward facing dog. So pausing in down dog or if you want a little break you can move to child's pose Taking three deep long breaths wherever you are in and out of your nose Just noticing how your breath feels. Noticing. Where your mind is. Notice if You're thinking about the poses that we just did. Or. . . You're thinking about the second side. Or maybe your mind is completely on a different topic, Thinking about the rest of your day, Your week. See if you can bring your awareness back to your next inhale. And then open your mouth and sigh it out through the mouth let it go one more like that inhale through the nose Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Good. Your next inhale, Lift your right heel up this time. Flex your foot, Toes pointing down. Good. Three-legged dog, You can stay here. Or if you like, You can bend your knee and stack your hips, Opening up your hips towards the right side. Maybe bringing your left heel down towards the mat a little bit more. Good inhale here and then exhale slowly bring your knee towards your nose and then step your foot forward coming to a lunge so you can make adjustments to your feet and then drop the back heel, Getting ready for a warrior two on this side. So having a heel to arch alignment, Adjust your feet. Back foot is parallel to the short edge of the mat or on a slight angle pointing forward. Front knee is bent over your ankle. When you're ready, Wingmail your arms all the way up and down. Coming to warrior two. Good. When you get here, Adjust your stance if you need to. You can walk your feet closer or wider. Farther apart. Make sure your front knee is still over your ankle if it's going past your ankle. This just means you can walk your feet. Wider. Look inside your knee, You should be able to see your big toe. When you're ready, Reach your arms front and back. Warrior two, Soften your shoulders. Open your gaze over your right fingertips. Soften your jaw. Moving with a wrap, Inhale, Straighten your knee, Reach your arms all the way up. Exhale, Warrior two. Two more, Inhale. And exhale warrior 2. Last one inhale and warrior 2. Flip your right palm down, Bring your left hand to the back leg. As you inhale, Reach your arm up and back. Peaceful warrior. Looking back towards your toes if that feels good. Or you can look up. If your knee is still bent, Back leg straight and strong, Think about pressing the outer edge of your left foot to the mat. Yet. Slowly move back to Warrior 2. Inhale to reach up, Straighten your legs. Exhale, Warrior two. Two more, Inhale. And Warrior 2. Last one. And warrior two good coming to a side angle pose so bringing your right elbow to your right thigh or you can bring a block to the inside or outside of your foot bringing your hand down maybe on the mat Left hand can stay on your hip or you can reach it all the way up, Stacking your shoulders, Opening up your heart. Maybe look up towards your thumb. Back leg is still straight and strong, Front knee is bent. Good, Stay here or inhale to open up your heart and then exhale reach your arm overhead Good. Extended side angle. Feeling the stretch on the left side of your body from your foot all the way to your fingers. Your palm is facing down. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out Next inhale slowly come all the way back up to warrior two and then start to straighten the front knee You can heel toe, Heel toe the back foot in just a little bit, Getting ready for triangle pose. So both legs straight. And from here, You can reach your right fingertips forward, Moving your hips back when you can't reach anymore. Bring your hand down somewhere on your leg. On a block, Or maybe all the way down to the mat. Just make sure you're not pressing your knee back. So you can have a slight bend in your knee. Back leg straight, Pressing your foot down. Good. Left hand can stay on your hip, Or you can stack your shoulders, Reaching your arm up. Trikonasana, Triangle pose. You can look up or down. Or to the side. Deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. Do it on the next inhale. Come all the way up. And reverse your triangle, Reaching your right arm up and back. It and then when you're ready windmill your arms to either side of your right foot pivot onto the back toes hands on either side of your foot your front knee is bent over your ankle ankle and when you're ready we're coming into a twist so bringing your left palm down to the mat or to a block the right hand can stay on your hip or you can reach it all the way up. Good, Check the front knee, It's still over your ankle, Moving towards your body. Stay here or if you like inhale to open up your heart. And then exhale, Reach your arm overhead, Your palm faces down. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Good. Slowly bring your hands down either side of the right foot. Drop the left knee and then bring the right foot back, Extending the leg back, Bringing the right foot, Toes to the mat. Good. And then from here, Drop your heel. Coming to our side plank. So right hand can come to your hip, You can reach it all the way up. Yay. You can open up your heart and reach your arm overhead, Your palm faces down. Good. Big stretch on the right side. Deep breath in. Slowly bring everything back down, Come to tabletop pose. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. As you exhale, Round your back, Child's pose. We're going to pause here in Child's Pose. You can have your knees together. Or bring your knees wide if that feels better. You can have your arms extended forward. Or reach your arms back. Wherever you are, Allow your shoulders to be soft, Your head heavy, Forehead resting either on a mat or on a block. Pausing here. Coming back to your breath. And slowly Come to your hands and knees, Walk your knees forward, Cross your ankles, And sit back. In a comfortable seat and we're going to extend our legs. Long in front of us so if you want to sit on top of maybe a pillow or a blanket or roll up your mat just tilt your hips forward a little bit and this will help you keep your spine long and straight. Good. Hands can come by your side. Flex your feet so your heels are pressing away from you. Inhale to reach up. As you exhale, Hinge from the hips and lean forward. So getting long through the spine, And as you lean forward, Your knees may start to bend, And that's okay. Try to keep your spine long. With every inhale, Lengthen your spine. And exhale, Maybe fold a little bit deeper. You can grab somewhere on your legs, You can grab your feet. If you have a strap, You can have a strap around your feet. Grab the strap. So think of this as an active pose. Inhaling to lengthen. And exhaling to fold forward. Deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. And slowly come all the way up to a seat. And then bring your feet mat distance apart knees bent bring your hands behind you fingers pointing forward or back and then slowly windshield wiper your knees from side to side. This should feel really good in your back. In your head. Just moving really slowly, Mindfully noticing how this feels in your body. When you're ready, Bring your feet together on the mat. Knees bent and then walk your feet towards you giving yourself a hug Maybe bring your forehead to your knees and stretch. Thank your body for everything it does for you. For all the poses on and off the mat. And then slowly make your way to your back. Into lying down in a comfortable position. Good. Knees bent, Feet flat on the mat. Bring your hands to rest somewhere on your body. And then feel the next inhale in your body. And feel the next exhale. Notice your body expand as you breathe in. And soften and settle as you breathe out. Expand your right leg long on the mat. Hug your left knee into your chest and just maybe gently rock from side to side or make circles. We're going to come into a twist, So bringing the right hand to the outside of your knee, You're going to cross your knee towards the right side, Just come into a twist. And making sure your shoulders are still grounded. So maybe your knee is lifted. Now you can always bring a prop, A pillow or a block under your thigh just to allow your leg to rest. You can extend your arms to either side. Maybe turn your head to the left if that feels good. Shoulders heavy. Breathing into this twist. Noticing how this feels in your spine. In your lower back. Slowly come back to center. Hug both knees into your chest. Maybe gently rocking from side to side, Maybe making circles with your knees. In one direction and then the other. And then extend the left leg long on the mat. Hug your right knee in. Again, Just make any movements here, Noticing how your hip feels on this side. Then coming to our twist, So left hand to the outside of your knee, Cross it over your body towards the left side. You can extend your arms to a T or overhead. Just making sure your shoulders are still grounded and heavy. Maybe turn your head to the right if that feels good. And just breathe into the twist on this side. Slowly make your way back to center Hug your knees in. And you can rock from side to side. You can come to happy baby if that's in your practice. You can come to an easy inversion, Lifting your legs up. But coming to a shoulder stand if that's in your practice. Any final postures that your body is craving. Before moving into Shavasana, Our final resting posture. Grabbing any layers or props that you need. To really get comfortable and settled in Shavasana. You can bring a bolster on your knees. You can keep your knees bent or extend. Your legs long. Allowing your legs and your hips to feel heavy on the mat. Lengthening your spine. Rolling your shoulders under, Allowing your shoulders Be comfortable and heavy, Arms by your side, Palms face up, Fingers gently curled in. Soften your jaw, Allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of your mouth. Soften the muscles of the face, Your eyelids, Along your eyes. To gently close. And then slowly scan from the crown of your head all the way down to your fingers and your toes. And notice if there's any part of your body that you can soften and let go of. To feel just a little bit more comfortable here. Allow your body to rest and breathe naturally. And take in the effects of your practice. You Take a deep breath in. And a long breath out. One more like that, Deep inhale. Full and complete exhale, Let it go. And slowly start to bring some movement back to your body. Moving your fingers, Your toes. Your wrists and your ankles. Maybe gently rocking your head from side to side. When you're ready, Bend one knee and then the other and slowly roll onto your right side. In a fetal position using your bottom arm as a pillow. And then push yourself up to a comfortable seat when you're ready. Sitting with your spine tall. Your neck straight, Chin parallel to the mat. Bring your hands by your side, Inhale to reach all the way up, Palms touch overhead. And exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center and bow your head to your hands. 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. Thumbs to your heart center, May your heart be filled with love and gratitude. Thank you for practicing with me today. Namaste.