Warriors And Half Moon: A Vinyasa Flow

A 43 minute Vinyasa flow built around the warrior poses, with half moon as the balancing shape. Paced so you have time to find each position before moving on.
Suitable for all levels. Props are optional: a couple of blocks are useful if the floor feels far away in half moon.
Move slowly, listen to your body, and never push into sharp pain.
Music: Soothing Calm Piano Background by Khomich Raman.

Transcript

Sitting with your spine tall, Your neck straight, Chin parallel to the mat. Soften your gaze at a spot in front of you or close your eyes if that feels good. Soften your shoulders, Down your back. Let your hands rest somewhere on your legs or your lap. Healing your hips. Happy. Feeling your spine. Grow tall. From your tailbone all the way up to the crown of your head. Start to bring your awareness to your breath. Notice how your breath feels without trying to change it. Take a deep, Long breath in through your nose. And then open your mouth and slowly inhale. Quietly. Sigh it out. Inhale through your nose. Inhale through the mouth. Thank you. And exhale slowly, Let it go. Continue breathing deeply in and out of your nose. And if ujjayi breath is part of your practice you can start to Bring your side constriction to the back of your throat. Coming to your Ujjayi breath. Audible but not too loud. Starting to Warm up your body from the inside. Bring your awareness to your body. Give me a scan from the crown of your head all the way down. Through toes and all the way back up. Notice if there's any part of your body that's maybe a little tight or sore that may need a bit more laughter in practice. Just being mindful of that. If something I say doesn't feel right in your body, Please don't do it. Just come out of the pose and take a rest and posture backwards. Slowly start to drop your chin towards your chest. And then as you inhale, Slowly start to lift your head up. Looking towards the ceiling. Slowly drop your chin to your chest, Moving really slowly, Mindfully noticing how this feels in the back of your neck. And then lifting your head up as if drawing a line with your nose. One more. Come back to center and then drop your left ear towards your left shoulder. Just feeling this stretch on. The right side of your neck. You can bring your fingertips on the mat on the right side, Your right fingertips on the mat. You need a little bit more in your stretch. You can walk your fingertips back a little bit, Just noticing how that changes the feeling. Slowly come back to center, Switch sides. So right ear towards your right shoulder. And noticing if this side feels different. And maybe bringing your left fingertips on the mat. By your side or walk them back a little bit. Slowly come back to center and we're going to move on to our hands and knees coming to a tabletop position. Tabletop, Spread your fingers wide, Wrists under your shoulders, Knees underneath your hips, Keeping the toes tucked or coming to the tops of the feet. Pull your belly towards your spine, Looking straight down. Good, Moving through some cat-cows with our breath. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. Exhale, Round your back, Tuck your tail, Look down. Inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Cow pose. Exhale to round your back, Touch your tail, Cat pose. One more inhale. And exhale. It slowly come back to center and then you're going to extend the right leg back keeping the toes on the mat to start just rocking back and forth a few times. Noticing how this feels in your ankle, In the back of your leg, In your shoulders, And in your wrists. And then come back to center and then drop the heel down towards the left side. So coming to the inner edge of your foot or just on your foot if that feels good. We're coming into a side plank variation. So your shoulder is right over your wrist, Right hand to your hip or you can reach it all the way up. You can look up towards your thumb if that feels good in your neck. You can stay here or flex the right foot and just lift your foot up just to the level of your hips. So just notice how this challenges your balance a little bit. It's. . . See if you can look up. Take a deep breath in. And then slowly come back down, Come to tabletop position. As you inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Low cup. Exhale, Round your back, Tuck your tail, Look down. Two more inhales. And exhale. Inhale to cow pose. And exhale to cat. Come back to center and switch sides. So left foot on the left toes on the mat behind you and just rock back and forth. Uh. . . Noticing how this feels in your leg, Ankle. And then when you're ready, Drop your heel down, Coming to the edge of your foot, Or just bringing your foot down, Coming to a side plank on the second side. So your shoulder is right over your wrist. Left hand on your hip or reach it all the way up, Stacking your shoulders. You can look Maybe you flex the foot and lift your heel up. Okay. Breathing deeply. In and out of your nose. Slowly come back down to tabletop position, Bring your knees as wide as the mat, Big toes together, Push your hips back towards your heels, Coming to child's pose. So keeping your arms active, Pressing your fingers, Palms of the hands down, Elbows are probably lifted off the mat, And you're pushing your hips towards your heels, They're not necessarily touching. Just making sure there's no pain in your knees. Allow your shoulders to soften. Down your back. You can let your forehead rest on the mat or on a block. Take a deep breath in. And then a long breath out. Good, Slowly come back. Center, Come to tabletop. Tuck your toes and push your hips up and back, Downward facing dog. So first down dog maybe bend one knee and then the other just noticing how your body feels And then coming to stillness, You can bend your knees a lot pushing your hips up towards the ceiling. And lengthening your spine, Letting your head be heavy. Maybe nod your head yes, Shake your head no. Take a deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. Good, Next inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward. Exhale, Slowly make your way to the top of the mat, Coming to a forward fold. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Lengthen your spine, Inhale. And then fold forward as you exhale. Two more like that. Inhale to halfway lift. And exhale to fold. Last one, Inhale. And exhale good next inhale slowly come all the way up to standing reach your arms overhead extended mountain And as you exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. You're pausing in mountain pose. Soften your shoulders down your back. Soften your gaze. See if you can feel the four corners of your feet on the mat. Just feeling really grounded. And then growing tall from your mat all the way up to the crown of your head. Standing strong. Daddy. In mountain pose. Deep breaths in. Long breath out. 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. Think of one thing that you're grateful for today. And you'll reach up. Exhale hands to your heart. One more inhale. And exhale, Hands to your heart. Good, Inhale, Reach all the way up, Palms touch overhead. Exhale, Fold forward, All the way to your side. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you bend. Plant your palms. Step back to plank pose. So your knees can be up or down and we're going to move to our side plank. So if your knees are up, Drop the left knee. If your knees are down, Lift the right knee. So coming to our side plank, Drop with your left knee down, Right knee up, Drop the right heel and come to your side plank, Reaching your right arm up. Deep breath in. Exhale back to center and we're going to switch sides so lifting the left knee dropping the right and then drop the left heel down side plank on the second side deep breath in and exhale. Come back to plank or tabletop. Deep breath in. As you exhale, Lower your knees, Your chest, Your chin, Come all the way down to your belly. Good, Press the tops of the feet down so much so that your knees start to lift up. Inhale to back bend, Baby cobra. Exhale to lower. Good. Tuck your toes. As you inhale, Push up table or plank. And exhale downward facing dog. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Good, Next inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward. Exhale, Slowly make your way to the top of the mat. Fourfold. Hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale. Good. Inhale, Come all the way up. Reach up, Palms touch overhead. Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Good. We're going to do that flow two more times, Just a little bit faster. Inhale to reach up. Exhale to fold. Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale. Plant your palms, Step it back to plank or table, And then side plank, Turning to the right, Reach your right arm up. Good, Exhale, Come back down. And then side plank, Turning to the left. Reach your left arm up. And cut back. Good. Come back to plank or table, Deep breath in. Exhale, Lower all the way down to your belly. Good, Inhale, Back bend, Baby cobra. Exhale to lower down. Good, Inhale, Push up, Table or plank. As you exhale Downward Facing Dog. Take a deep breath in… Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Good. Inhale, Lift your heels, Bend your knees, Look forward. Exhale, Slowly make your way to the top of the mat, Forward fold. Hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exit. Yet. Inhale, Come all the way up. Reach up, Palms touch overhead. And exhale hands to your heart center. Bring your hands by your side. Notice how you feel. Mountain pose. Keep grounded. Shoulders soft. Fine. Inhale, Reach up, Palms touch. Exhale, Fold forward. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale. Plant your palms, Step it back to plank. Good. You can drop the left knee or come to a full side plank. Towards the right side, Reaching your right up. Deep breath in here, Lift your hips up wherever you are. And then exhale, Come back to plank or table. Switching sides. Side plank to the left, Reaching back. Your left arm up. Good. Take a deep breath in. And exhale, Come back to plank. Take a deep breath in here, And then exhale, Drop your knees, Come all the way down to your belly. Good, Inhale to backbend. Exhale to lower. Good push up, Table or plank. And as you exhale, Downward facing dog. Good, Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. One more inhale. And exhale. Slowly start to walk your hands back. Towards your feet coming to a forward fold at the back of your mat. And Sushumna's halfway lift inhale. Fold forward as you exhale inhale come all the way up reach up palms touch overhead And as you exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Bring your hands to your hips, Take a big step forward with your left foot. We're going to get ready for warrior two. So adjust your feet first. You have a heel to arch alignment. So heel of the left foot in line with the arch of the back. And your back foot is either parallel to the short edge of the mat, Or it's on a slight angle facing the top of your mat. And then when you're ready, Start to bend the front knee. So you want to open up your knee so you can see your big toe in front of your knee. If you can't, Just bring your knee towards your pinky toe side a little bit more and then turn your shoulders to face the front. The long edge of the mat. So coming to a warrior two stance, And this is a little bit wider, So usually you may bring your feet closer, But you can probably go a little bit wider here. Bring your hands to your hips or reach your arms front and back, Arms parallel to the mat. Bend your front knee a lot and just make sure it's not going past your ankle. So your knee is stacked right over your ankle. Soften your shoulders. Gaze is soft. Over your left fingertips. Warrior 2. Now moving with our breath, As you inhale, Start to straighten the left knee. Reach your arms up, Palms touch, Look up. Exhale, Come back to warrior two. Two more like that, Inhale. And exhale. Last one. And exhale. Good. So keeping the front knee bent, Flip your left palm up, Bring your right hand to the back leg. As you inhale, Reach your arm up and back, Coming to peaceful warrior. Good. So you can look down towards your right toes. You can look up if that feels good in your neck. Take a deep breath in. And a long breath out. From here, Bring your left elbow to the left thigh or you can bring your left hand to the ground or to a block. We're coming to side angle pose. Front knee is still bent and then reaching your right arm up opening up your heart, Stacking your shoulders, So your elbow is on your knee or your hand is on the ground or on a block, On whatever height feels right. Good. And then if it feels good, Reach your arm overhead, Your palm faces down. Extended side angle. Take a deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. Good, Slowly start to come back up, Warrior two. And then straighten the front knee. This should feel good in your knee and your leg. And then heel toe, Heel toe the back foot in just a little bit. We're going to come to trikonasana, Triangle pose. So you still have a heel to arch alignment, Same stance as warrior two, Except maybe your feet are a little bit closer together. Keeping your arms extended parallel to the mat, Reach your left fingertips forward, Hips move back. When you can't reach anymore, You're going to drop your hand down somewhere on your leg, On the floor, Or on a block. Just make sure you're not pressing your knee down. And you may have a slight bend in the front knee. Back leg straight and strong. And then open up your heart. Stack your shoulders. Maybe reach your right arm up. Good. Triangle pose. You can look up towards your thumb if that feels good in your neck. You can look down. From here we're going to come to half moon so bring your right hand to your hip And starting to bend the front knee, You're going to walk the left fingertips forward. So if you have a block, It may be good to grab your block and just walk it forward. If you don't have one, You can just bring your four fingertips on the mat. And you're just going to come to the tips of your right toes. So you can stay here. If you like, You can start to lift your foot off the mat. And flex your foot, Pressing your heel back. Stacking your shoulders. And then maybe reach your right arm up. And maybe look up with your thumb. Bye! Deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. One more inhale and exhale. Bring your hand to your hip first and then step the right foot beside the left. So you're standing. At this. Front of your mat now, Coming to a forward fold. Good. Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift, Inhale. Fold forward as you exhale. Good. Inhale, Come all the way up. Reach up, Palms touch overhead. And exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. We're going to move to the second side. So take a step back with the right foot and we're going to come to a warrior two stance on the second side. So your right foot is now pointing towards the back of your mat. Left foot is either parallel to the mat or on a slight angle forward. You have a heel to arch alignment with your feet and your feet are wide on the mat. When you're ready, Start to bend your knee and just see if your knee is over your ankle. If it's not, Just walk your foot forward a little bit and then open up your knee towards the pinky toe side. So if you look inside, You can see your big toe. When you're ready. Warrior II, Extend your arms parallel to the mat, Gaze soft. Over your right fingertips. Come back to your breath. Now moving with our breath here, As you inhale, Straighten your left knee, Reach your arms up, Palms touch, Maybe look up. And exhale back to warrior two. Inhale to reach up Exhale, Warrior II. One more inhale. And exhale good flip the right palm come to peaceful warrior left hand on the back leg you can look back towards your left toes or you can look up if that feels good in your neck. Right elbow on top of your right knee, Or right hand on the ground, Or them together. At walking. Left hand can stay on your hip or you can reach it all the way up stacking your shoulders coming to side angle pose. And then if it feels good, You can reach your arm overhead, Palm faces down. Being mindful of how this feels in your shoulder. Slowly come all the way back up, Warrior two, And start to straighten the front knee, Heel toe, Heel toe, The back foot in just a little bit. So you're in the same stance as warrior two, Just your feet are closer, Getting ready for triangle pose, Reaching your right fingertips. Moving your hips back. When you can't reach anymore, Drop your hand down somewhere on your shin, On your ankle, On the floor. Make sure you're not pressing your knee. And then coming to your version of triangle on this side. And this side may feel different, So don't expect it to look exactly the same. You may use a prop on this side, If you didn't, On the other. Stacking your shoulders, Maybe look up if that feels good in your neck. Good, Back leg straight and strong. You can have a slight bend in the front knee, Depending on how that feels in the back of your leg. Left hand on your hip and then we're going to move to our half moon so if you have a block you can grab it and just walk it forward if not you can bring your hand fingertips on the mat and then just come to the top of or your toes on the back foot and you can stay here if that feels good. If you want to go all the way into the pose you can lift your heel up flex your foot press your heel back and your balance may be different on this side. Stack your shoulders, Reach your arm up, Get stacking your shoulders and maybe look up towards your left thumb. Yet. If you fall out, That's okay, You can come back. Deep breaths in. Exhale all the air out. And slowly step the left foot beside the right, Coming to a forward fold facing the end of your mat. Hands to your shins halfway lift inhale fold forward as you exhale good inhale come all the way up reach up palms touch overhead as you exhale bring your hands to your heart and just turn to face the front of your mat good bring your feet mat distance apart We're coming into a squat, So you can allow your toes to spill off the mat, Heels in, And then coming to whatever variation of squat feels right for you. So you can bend your knees and just bring your elbows on your thighs. Staying here, Or you can come to Malasana Yogic Squat. Bringing your elbows inside your knees and opening up your knees. If you have a block, You can sit on a block. This is the same pose. It's just a little bit easier on your knees and you can lengthen your spine. Make sure your knees are moving towards your toes. And your knees are comfortable. Take a deep breath and lengthen your spine. Exhale, Pause. Take one more deep breath in. And long breath out. Slowly start to make your way to a seat, Coming to a seat with Um, Your hips maybe lifted a little bit so maybe fold up your mat or bring a folded up blanket under your mat so you can tilt your hips forward and sit a little bit taller bring the soles of the feet together We're coming into seated butterfly. So grabbing your ankles or your feet or your toes, And walking your heels as close to you as it feels good in your knees. So your knees may be lifted like mine, Or maybe they're closer to the mat. Wherever you are, Just let gravity pull them down. And then as you inhale, Sit tall, Lengthen your spine. As you exhale, Maybe press your elbow to your thighs and start to lean forward, Hinging from the hips. Still keeping your spine long, So not rounding your back. And this may not be a huge four-fold. You may be able to go deeper than I'm going here, Depending on how flexible you are in your hips. So don't worry about what it looks like, Just notice how it feels in your body. As long as you're feeling this on the inside of your legs. Bye! Outer edges of your thighs. You're doing the pose. Just make sure there's no sharp pain or discomfort. With every inhale, Lengthen your spine. And with every exhale, Think about moving forward a little bit. Slowly start to come back up. Bring your hands to the outside of your legs. Close your knees up like a book. Walk your feet close to you. Hug your knees in. Maybe bring your forehead to your knees and thank your body. For everything it does for you, For all the poses on and off the mat. Okay, When you're ready, Slowly make your way to. . . You're back. Keeping your feet flat on the mat, Knees bent, Bringing your shoulders maybe away from your ears, Tuck them under your body, Hands by your side. And then when you're ready, Flex the right foot, Bringing your ankle on top of the left thigh. And again, Think about moving the right knee away from you. So there's no pushing or forcing anything. Just think about that knee moving away from you, Opening up. You're right thigh. Feeling this on the outside of your thigh and inside. If you want a little bit more, You can start to lift. Left foot off the mat, Grabbing the back of your thigh or your shin, Flexing both feet to protect your knees, Being mindful of how this feels in your knees. Letting your shoulders be heavy. Maybe it feels good to. . . And straighten the left. Leg and grab the back of your thigh coming into and upside down four with your legs. Both feet flexed. Shoulders soft. Gaze and your jaw soft. Take a deep breath in. Long breath. Bend the left knee if it's not, Bring your foot down. We're going to come into a twist. So keeping your feet as they are, Lift your hips up to the right and just let your knees and your legs fall towards the lap. So your right foot is going to come to the mat. And your left knee is going to land. So your right knee is lifted and you can bring your left hand to the right. Thigh and gently press it away. Maybe turn your head to the right side if that feels good. Yeah. Like. Shoulders are soft. Soften your gaze. Close your eyes. Just breathe here. Slowly come back to center, Bring your right foot down. On the mat. Both knees bent and switching sides. So flex the left foot, Your ankle on top of your thigh. Just imagine your knee moving away from you. Feeling this stretch. Your thigh. You can stay here or lift your right foot off the mat, Grabbing the back of your thigh or your shin, Flexing both feet to protect your knee. Just notice if this side feels different and it probably will. If you like, You can start to extend the right leg long. Facing your right heel towards the ceiling. Again, Both feet flexed. Then bend your knee, Bring your right foot down, Coming into our twist, So lift your hips up towards the left side and let your left foot come to the mat, Dropping the right knee down. You can use your right hand to gently press your left thigh away, You can extend your the left arm by your side, Maybe turn your head to the left if that feels good. Softening your shoulders, Softening your jaw and your gaze. Breathe deeply. Slowly start to come back to center. Bring both feet flat on the mat. And just pause here, Bringing your hands on your belly. Take a deep breath in, Feel your body expand as you breathe in. See if you can let go of everything you're holding on to as you breathe out. You can hug your knees in, You can come to happy baby pose if that's been your practice, Grabbing the back and the outer edges of your feet, Or you can grab your thighs. So coming to happy baby you can stay in stillness or you can maybe walk from side to side extending one leg and then the other. Yes. And then whenever you're ready, We're going to get ready for our final posture. Shabbat shalom. So just deciding what that looks like for you today. And you can have your legs extended long. You can bring a bolster under your knees or have your knees bent, Your feet on the mat, Allowing your knees to fall inward, Wherever you are. Make sure your hips are heavy. Shoulders 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. Scanning from the crown of your head all the way down to your fingers and your toes. Notice that there's any part of your body that you can soften and let go of just a little bit more to get comfortable here. Allowing 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. More and more like that. Deep inhale. Full and complete exhale, Let it go. 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. You're ready bend one knee and then the other Rolling on to your right side in the fetal position, Using your bottom arm as a pillow. And then slowly push yourself up to a comfortable seat. Sitting with your spine tall, Your neck straight, Chin parallel to the mat. Soften your shoulders, Down your back. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. Bring your hands by your side as you inhale, Reach your arms all the way up, Palms touch overhead. Exhale to bring your hands to your heart and bow your head to your hands and thank yourself for coming to your mat today. For spending this time for yourself, For your practice. Bring your thumbs to your third eye, The space between your eyebrows. May your thoughts be kind. Bring your 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.