Hi yogis,
Welcome to today's mindful morning practice.
We'll wake up very gently.
I'm Nicole,
Thanks for joining me today.
One yoga block for this practice.
If you don't have a block,
You can improvise with a thick book.
When you're ready,
Come on down onto your back for me.
Let's come into a low supported bridge pose to begin with.
So recruiting your prompts.
Lifting up the hips and just placing it underneath the bottom on the flat side.
Rest with your hands next to the hip.
Gently place the tip of the tongue where the teeth meet the roof of the mouth.
Keeping the jaw relaxed.
So gently toning through the back of your throat for Ujjayi breath.
With your next inhalation,
Let's slowly lift the arms up.
As you exhale,
Take them out to the side,
Circle them back down.
Let's go again,
We'll inhale for four.
One.
To three.
Four,
Exhaling down,
One.
2.
And inhale,
One.
To 3 for exhale one.
2.
Four.
Last time take the arms straight up and overhead.
And then this time as you exhale,
Take a hold of the left leg.
Straighten and relax the right.
Gently deepen the breath into the lower belly.
At the top of the inhalation,
Pause,
Hold the breath for just a moment.
And then exhaling slowly.
Softening.
Your next inhalation,
Lift the arms above the head,
Lower left foot down.
And as you exhale,
Take a hold of the right.
Straighten and relax the legs.
Gently deepen the pose by deepening your breath.
And let's lower down.
Inhale,
Both arms above the head.
Stretching through the fingers,
Through the toes.
And then as you exhale,
Lower hands down,
Bend the knees.
We'll lift up off the block,
Come up into an active bridge.
So gently press down and away through the feet,
Broaden the collarbone.
And let's lift the heels,
Remove the prop from underneath you and slowly lower down.
When you touch down to the mat,
Lift up the feet,
Knees above the hips.
Imprint your lower back into the mat.
And then lift head and shoulders off the floor.
Well done,
Lower down,
Hug the knees into the chest.
As you inhale,
Reach the heels up to the ceiling,
Arms above the head.
Flex the feet.
Exhale,
Hug it in.
Inhale,
Heels up,
Arms up.
And exhale,
Hug it in,
Last time.
And then from here,
We'll move into a reclined pigeon.
Left ankle to the right knee.
Either resting here,
Otherwise cactus arms and lift the right foot up off the floor.
Let's take a little rock from side to side.
And let's lower down.
Interlace those fingers around the hamstrings,
Press the leg into the hands,
Gently pull the hands back onto the legs.
Arch the lower back.
Let's inhale and point.
Exhale and flex.
And then relax that resistance.
Maybe you can slide the hands up a little higher.
And let's release.
Or climb pigeon right leg.
Meet any tension in the body with your breath.
Breathe into it.
Hamstring stretch.
A little arch through the low back.
A little push-pull between hands and legs.
Feel free to point and flex.
And soften that effort,
Maybe slide the hands a little higher.
Well done.
Let's roll over onto your preferred side.
So the knees are comfortably bent and then gently press yourself up to seated and we'll come into a side bend.
Lift the right arm up,
Lean over to the left.
And then lower back down,
Let's slide onto the forearm,
Coming into a forearm plank.
So right leg can straighten underneath you.
Option 1,
Left foot to the floor.
Option 2,
Stack the legs.
Look up to the thumb if the neck permits and tuck the chin in a little,
Move the neck back.
Inhale.
And exhale,
Let's bring the hands,
Hips down,
Bend the knees,
We'll take that same side bend.
Let's come into a cross-legged position now,
Right leg in front of the left.
Little flexion in the feet,
Maybe you can walk the hands forward.
Allow the back to round.
Coming all the way back up,
Let's change sides.
Feet over to the right side,
Little side bend.
And then lower down onto the forearm,
Straighten the left leg underneath you.
Option to stack the right leg on top.
Keep the jaw relaxed.
Notice what happens to the breath and the jaw when we start to challenge the body.
Hips down,
Legs down,
Let's take a little side bend.
And coming into that cross-legged position,
Left leg in front of the right.
Folding forward if your hips and knees allow.
Well done yogis.
Coming back up,
Let's roll over onto all fours,
Hands and knees,
Tabletop.
Tuck the toes under,
Inhale into your backbend.
As you exhale,
A modified child's pose.
Lift the palms,
Sit back towards the heel.
Then inhale slowly into your back bend.
This time we'll exhale downward facing dog.
Feel free to give the legs a little walk.
As you bend one knee,
Drop that hip and straighten the opposite leg.
And then changing sides.
So treat this time as self-inquiry time.
It's an ongoing conversation between body,
Mind and breath.
Let's walk those hands back towards the feet.
Take a little ragdoll,
A little sway.
And then roll on up to stand.
Stepping up to the top of the mat.
Coming into our first balance pose,
Tree pose.
Take your left knee out to the side.
You can either hover the foot just off the floor,
A little higher to the calf,
Or maybe up towards the thigh.
To help with your balance here,
We need to press the foot into the leg,
Leg into the foot and tailbone down.
So you create a little bandha around your hips and pelvis.
Hands to the heart center.
Option one,
Rest here.
Option two,
You can lift the arms up.
Open out the palms,
Guide the shoulders down.
Final variation,
If you'd like a side bend,
Lean over to the left,
Maybe hold onto the ankle or press the back of the palm into the inner knee.
And from here,
Let's come back to centre.
Lift up the left knee and step back and lunge.
We're going to move through Paul Grilly's variation of Warrior Advances,
Warrior Retreats.
I'll just add a few extra poses in there.
So when you're ready,
Let's begin.
Switch,
Face the back of the mat,
Right arm forward,
Left arm back.
Then we'll pivot,
Face the front of the mat,
Left arm forward,
Right arm back.
Third and final lunge.
And sweep the hands down low towards the right leg,
Straighten the left leg.
Left toes up towards the ceiling.
Make sweeping circle with your arms and hips.
Bring the legs back into the same position,
Arms up high.
We'll step to the back of the mat,
Lift up the right knee.
And slowly lower down.
Stand tall.
Steady the breath.
Take that flow on the other side.
Tree pose,
Right leg,
Right knee turns out.
Coming up as high as is comfortable for you.
Hands to prayer.
Either lift the arms.
Maybe take a side bend.
Smooth out the breath.
And then prepare for your first lunge.
Step the right foot back.
Let's pivot the feet,
Left arm forward,
Right arm back.
Third and final lung.
And sweep the hands down low towards the left leg.
Make your sweeping circle.
And then we'll step up to the top of the mat.
Hover the knee if you can,
And then lower down.
Well done.
We'll move through that sequence one more time on each side.
This time for our balance pose we'll practice a one-legged chair.
If this is not an option for you,
You can keep both feet on the floor,
Otherwise left ankle to the right knee.
Let's lift up and lunge.
Pivot the feet.
Move with your breath.
Third and final lunge.
Sweep the hands down low.
Make your circle.
As we step to the back of the mat,
See if you can find that One leg a chair once again,
Right ankle to the left knee.
And release.
Stand tall.
Steady the breath.
Take a deep inhalation and pause.
Hold the breath for a short moment.
Before you exhale slowly.
And we'll practice that on the other side.
Last round,
Well done.
Either chair pose or one-legged chair.
Right leg steps back.
To fit the feet.
Lunge to the back of the mat.
Last one to the front.
Sweep the hands down low.
Make your circles.
Then step to the top of the mat.
One-legged chair.
Weld on your achilles.
These flows very quickly generate heat in the body.
Come to stand in Tadasana.
Close the eyes down.
Notice the beat of the heart.
Slow down the breath.
Your next inhalation,
Let's lift the arms up,
Open the eyes,
Little cactus arms.
As you exhale,
Fold forward,
Stack the palms on your lower back.
Inhale halfway up,
Look forward.
Exhale to fold,
Downward facing dog.
So let's take a deep inhalation here.
As you exhale,
Hollow out the breath.
Bring those knees down to the mat.
Take the feet out from underneath you.
And legs out in front.
Let's bend the left knee.
Cross the left leg over the right.
Either rest with your right leg straight or if you can,
You can bend that knee as well.
If you find here that your lower back is rounding,
Then sit yourself up on your block or your board.
Let's hold the lefty with the right hand.
Press down through both feet.
As you inhale,
Let's lift the left arm up.
Take it out to the side,
Turn the head.
And exhaling back down.
Let's do that one more time.
Inhale up.
And ground the palm now,
Either on the mat or your prop.
Press down and try to slide the hand away.
It's a scrubbing action.
Right arm might be able to wrap a little tighter around the thigh.
In hell.
As you inhale,
Feel the navel expand and the breath descend.
As you exhale,
Gently draw the navel back in towards the spine.
Option one,
Stay here yogis for your last few breaths.
You might like to pick up the left foot with the right hand,
Straighten the leg,
Push the foot into the hand,
Hand into the foot,
Maybe take your left arm out behind you.
Option of course to take chin or draw connecting index finger and thumb.
And let's release.
Changing sides.
Right leg crossing over the left.
Option to keep left leg straight or bend.
Hold the knee.
Inhale,
Sweep the right arm up.
And back.
Exhale,
Lower down.
The last one.
Ground down through the palm,
Maybe hook your arm around the thigh.
A little tractioning through that back palm.
Option to stay here,
Otherwise collect that right foot,
Left hand.
Well done yogis,
Let's release coming into a comfortable seated position now.
Sitting up on your block or your book.
Make the legs comfortable,
You don't have to cross,
You can kneel or straighten out the legs.
We'll finish our morning practice in a seated position rather than Shavasana.
Or just take a little moment.
Close the eyes down.
Rest with the palms facing down,
Connecting index finger and thumb.
Let's sit a little taller,
Lift the crown of the head.
Slightly tuck the chin and lean back just a touch.
Soften the forehead.
Take a moment to witness.
Those layers of sounds meeting the ear.
Let go of any holding in the mouth.
Tip of the tongue is still placed where the teeth meet the roof of the mouth.
Feel the breath lightly touch the nostril.
Smooth,
Spacious inhalation.
And the exhalation gradually recedes.
Feel the in-breath descend and the navel expand.
A little pool.
And then as you exhale,
Gently draw the navel up and in towards the spine.
Ladies can lift pelvic floor,
Gents perineum.
So you're sealing out your base.
Relax these muscles as you inhale,
Breath descends,
Navel expands.
Pause,
Engage at your base,
A light Mula Bandha.
As you slowly exhale.
Out breath,
Ascend.
And just simply witness.
The in-breath.
Descend.
From the crown to the tailbone.
A little pause.
And the out-breath ascends.
And can you witness the next three breaths?
Without the mind chatter distracting you.
Smooth,
Spacious inhalation.
And the exhalation gradually recedes.
Let's bring those hands to prayer position.
Raise the hands to the forehead.
The third eye center.
For clarity of thought.
Lower fingertips to the lips for purity and honesty in our speech.
And hands to the heart center.
For love and compassion.
In all that we do.
Thanks for practicing with me today,
Yogis.
I hope you enjoyed that short,
Sweet flow.
Please feel free to make class requests in the comments below.
Wishing you a wonderful day ahead.
