60 Minute Middle Splits Yoga Flow

Join me in the magical outdoors of Los Angeles for a one-hour, instructional Vinyasa class (no music) designed to open your midline and prep your body for our peak pose: Middle Splits.

In this session, we start with a dedicated warm-up before moving into a highly creative flow. While our primary focus is the inner thighs, we will move the body in all directions to ensure a well-rounded practice. Expect to explore supported backbends, balance challenges like Chapasana, and realigning twists like Supta Garudasana to cool down and counter our deep stretching.

What you will need for this class:

2 Yoga Blocks
1 Yoga Strap
1 Yoga Blanket

About Your Instructor:
I am a 500-hour E-RYT, having completed my training with Joan Hyman and in Goa, India. My goal is to guide you safely and mindfully through creative and effective sequences.

Transcript

Hey guys, Welcome to a vinyasa class to move us into middle splits. Today we're going to be doing a vinyasa but also a little bit of like a yin-gar weaved in so you can really understand the instruction. So I've got two yoga blocks, A strap, The LA helicopters, And a yoga blanket. So we're gonna start with a dedicated warm-up, We'll flow, And then we'll peak pose it with our middle splits, And then we'll do a little cool-down. So meet me down on your mat. Now this first part is going to be a supported backbend, And if it becomes too much for you, You can do the leg moves without the blocks. So we'll have two flat horizontal blocks. They look like an equal sign that's a little separated. So head. It's on the first one and upper back is on the second one. If you get into this position and your head is like hanging in space and strained, Move the block higher. So that'll be your first adjustment. And then if it just doesn't work for you, Get rid of the blocks, No big deal. So we're going to lay on our back and have our strap nearby because we will use it in just a minute. Shoulder blades are going to hit that first block. And ahead we'll find the second block. Then place the soles of your feet together for Supta Baddha Konasana Maybe even pushing your hands on the inside of the legs to gently guide them deeper into our first inner thigh and groin stretch of the day. Setting up where we're heading. So let's just gently guide that breath deep down into the abdomen. Put your hands there now, Too, And feel your belly rise up into your palms. And then as you exhale, Feel your abdomen soften away from your hands. Taking two more breaths like this. Inhale, The belly floats up. And as you exhale, The belly recedes back in. Good. Inhale, The belly rises. Filling all the way up to the top of the chest. And then exhale, Just allowing that breath to leave the body. Without too much pressure. From here you can keep your left hand on your left thigh or the ground for balance. The right leg's coming up into half happy baby. The foot is flexed over the knee. And maybe your right hand grabs the outer right thigh and pulls down. Progressing that would be to the shin. Progressing that would be to the outer edge of the foot. Then plug your right shoulder and your right hip into the mat. Maintaining a neutral spine. And taking a couple deep belly breaths. Into this half happy baby stretch. It's definitely a creative flow today, So I hope we make a lot of shapes you haven't seen before. Spark that creative fire. It always keeps me more motivated too. Gently release the right foot, Place it in. Butterfly once again, And we'll take it on the left side so left half heat half happy, Baby That's a tongue twister flex the foot over the knee so you can start by wrapping Your left arm around the thigh if you'd like to progress you'll grab on to the shin or maybe grab the outer edge of the foot. Now you want to think of the arch of your foot going up. This is going to be important today because we are trying to lengthen the inner leg, Right? And you also want to create this tension, This opposition between your hand and your foot. So as your shoulder and your arm pull down, Your foot's pushing up. This is going to give you some compression in the hip and help us get just deeper and warmer into these stretches today. Let's take one more breath in on this side. And then as you exhale, We'll release back to butterfly. OK, Now the strap is coming into play. Again, If the blocks are too much, Feel free to lose them. If you're happy and you get that a little openness in your chest, We're going to keep them. So right leg will come into the strap. For Supta utthita hasta parangusthasana. Sanskrit is a tongue twister, Right? So the ball of the foot is in the strap. Your heel is going straight up and your hip is pulling down. And then the left leg is in butterfly. You could also spot the left side of the mat if you're feeling imbalanced. Or both hands on the strap. You could flex the toes apart and send the arch of the foot up to the ceiling. As you gently guide the outer edge of the foot down with the right hand. Firm the right thigh. Pulling the kneecap up the front of the leg. Let's take one more deep breath here. We're taking this into a variation. It does require a bit of core and balance on our back here. So place both sides of the strap in the right hand and turn the right leg out so you can see your inner thigh, Your toes point to the right, Your foot is flexed. You can brace the floor with your left hand as you open your right leg out to the right. I hit the lemon tree. That's okay. So you're going to feel like your body wants to list over to the right. So we have to use this left oblique to try to ground down. Neutral spine. Don't worry about how high the leg is going up. First off, We want to keep the pelvis level. So you don't want to feel like the right side of your hip is crunching up and there's a bend in your right waistline. You want that right side of the body to be long. Let's take one more breath in here. Good, Then before you lift, Bend the knee a little, Tighten your core, And bring it back through center. Okay, Releasing that leg, We'll take this over on the left. So right leg in. Butterfly and then you'll put the left ball of the foot into the strap. For a soup-ta. Utthita hasta parangusthasana. Flex the foot by setting your heel up and drawing your toes down. Now you want the whole sole of the foot facing the ceiling. So for our middle split focus, We want to be careful of the foot sickling. I mean, We always want to be careful of that, But we're really trying to open up the inner line of the leg. So we have to draw the pinky toe side of the foot down and send the arch of the foot up. You're lengthening the inner ankle here. Good. Firm the thigh and press the thigh away from you. I would much rather your leg be longer rather than bent and really close. Draw the shoulder blades to the block beneath you and spread open through the collarbone. Let's take one more breath here. And then this one is a little bit trickier. So both straps into the left hand and turn the leg out first. So toes are going left, Heel is right. Push up through the arch of the foot and anchor your right side this time and then slowly open. Now this is what I'm talking about, This side of the body, We don't want the waistline, The jacket's coming off soon, I'm finally warm, We don't want the waistline to shorten. So keep this distance right here between your hip crease and your ribs. And then take a couple deep breaths here. And then tighten your stomach, Bend your knee, And come back to center. Place the strap aside. Option to take happy baby, Full happy baby. Grabbing either around your thighs, Your feet, Or your shins, And expand the spine. Lengthen the abdominals. Shoulders soft. And then maybe we stretch open. Oh, Ow, I just got pricked by the lemon tree. And then open the legs into your straddle. Okay, If this is really lifting your pelvis, Then take your hands lower to round the thighs and try to arch the lower back instead of letting the hips curl up. Good, Push the inner arches of the feet out and firm your thighs. Good, Then bend your knees, And if you're near a prickly lemon tree, I didn't know those had the word. Okay, Roll up to a seat nice and slow and let the blood just kind of settle for a second. Don't rush. We're going to go into Milasana now. So bring one block. So options. If you're doing Milasana and you're really tight in your hips, You're going to stack two blocks. If you're not so tight, You're going to sit on one block and put the other block in front of you. So take a seat on the block. Step your feet to this mat distance position. Anchor your heels down. Options for arms, They can wrap around the thighs and pull the spine up. They can go elbows to the insides of the knees. You're going to squeeze your knees in, Push your elbows up, And pull up through your spinal column. If you are able to do this without the blocks, You can slide the block out and we are in our Malasana position. Clean transition. If you're warm, You can peel your sweaters off and toss them. To the side. Good, The warmup warmed us up. Okay, So we're in our Malasana, And this is good now that I'm warm, You can see my back a little bit better. You want to descend the tailbone and lift the navel up. So it is OK if you have to lean forward, But we don't want to round forward. So lengthen through your back body. Good, Send the weight to the outer edge of the foot and lift the arches of your feet up. OK, We're going to take a little flow here. So make sure the feet stay mat distance for this. They're going to be rotating from external rotation into parallel. I'm going to use my blocks, So if you're sitting on them, You can slide the blocks out, And we'll start on the highest setting, Palms on the high blocks. Turn your toes forward and fold. Uttanasana. Turn the toes out. Tuck the pelvis, Drop the hips, Lift your chest. Malasana. So as you fold forward, If you find that the blocks are a lot higher up than you need them, You can lower them down. And just slowly progress. Working through the back of those legs here. So we're switching from our forward fold. Lifting through our hip creases, Descending through our head. And into our Malasana. Okay, When you come into the forward fold, You want to really feel like the weight is in the hands. That's why we have the blocks. So you do not have to copy exactly where my blocks are. If you find that you need them to stay high, Then keep them high. Good, Let's do two more of these. And then we're going to move in to our first flow. Last one. Malasana, Deep seat. And forward bend and fold. We're going to shift the blocks and our whole body to the front of the map and find Uttanasana. Put a soft bend in your knees. Inhale, Halfway lift. Come up onto your fingertips. Engage your core and pull your chest forward as you send your tailbone back. Think of rolling your inner thighs to the back of the room. Exhale, We fold. Good. Inhale, Rise up. Urdhva Hastasana. Stretch up, Create length. Exhale, Forward bend, Hands to the block. And fold. Lift the shoulders as the tailbone rises as well and the head descends to the mat. Inhale, Halfway lift. And exhale, Fold. Let's take that one more time. Adding on, Rolling up. Inhale, Urdhva Hastasana. Whip! Out of the hat. Exhale, Forward bend. Hands to the blocks and fold. Lift the inner shoulder. As the head descends. Create that length in the neck. Inhale, Halfway lift. Exhale, Fold. You can move the blocks out of the way. Plant the hands, And let's step back into a high plank. Okay, Draw your top of your chest forward and send your lower back backwards. Shift forward onto your toes. Shoulders slide down, Chaturanga all the way to the belly. Bend your left knee out to 90 so you're in a half frog position. Flex the foot, The knee is lining up with the hips. Take the hands nice and wide. Inhale, Rolling up Cobra. And exhale, Rolling down. Big breath in. And deep breaths out. Sink the shoulders at the top of the movement. Roll all the way down, Slide your left leg back out behind you. Plant your hands, Tuck your toes, Downward dog. Adho mukha shavasana. Let's step your left foot forward and wide outside your hands. And we're going to turn the left toes out at an angle to the front left corner. Drop the right knee. Untuck your back toes. Plant your left hand on your left inner knee and push it open, Taking a small twist through the spine. Taking one more full breath in in this hip opener. Good, Coming back through center. Stepping to the front of the mat, You can grab the blocks or the hands can go onto the mat. And we find Uttanasana, Our forward fold. We're going to repeat this on the right side. Inhale, Halfway lift. And exhale, Fold. Inhale to rise up, Urdhva Hastasana. Exhale, Dive down. Uttanasana. Inhale, Halfway lift. Exhale, Fold. Plant the hands, Step back, Find your strong plank before you move. Then shift forward over your fingertips with your chest. Elbows pinned by the ribs, We lower down to the belly. Bend your right leg out to 90, Half frog, Take the arms a little wider and tuck the pelvis. Inhale, Rolling up cobra. And exhale, Sliding it back down. Taking two more like that. Inhale to roll up, Find expansiveness in the chest at the top. And exhale, Roll it down. And big breath in. And a deep breath out. Slide your right leg back, Plant the hands, Tuck the toes, Downward dog. Sink the heels, Lift the toes if you can. Then stepping the right foot forward and wide outside the hands, Lower the back knee down. So we're turning the right toes and knee on that slight right diagonal and tuck the back toes. Left hand under the shoulder, Right hand to the right inner knee, And let the right inner knee open up. Give it a little press, As long as that feels good on your body. Soften through your shoulders, Finding a mild twist in the spine. We'll take a couple moments here. Good, Focus on your breath and relaxing in the hold. You. And then coming back through center, Stepping forward to the front of the mat with your hands and your feet, Finding your forward bend and maybe walking the feet a little bit closer together this time. Soften at your knee creases and lift from your sits bones, Forward bend. Using the blocks or not, Depending on how the body feels at this point. We'll add on to that vinyasa, Making it a little bit deeper. Inhale, Halfway lift. And exhale, Fold. Rising up, Stretch the arms overhead. Lift the sides of the spine. Gaze up. Exhale, Forward bend and fold. Inhale, Halfway lift. Exhale, Plant the hand, Step back, Find your strong high plank. Good shift forward, Chaturanga all the way to the belly. Here we're gonna bend the left knee out to the left and add a little kick this time as we roll up. Flex your left foot, Hands are wide. As you roll up into Cobra, You're gonna kick your leg out to the side. Hello, Middle splits prep. Bend the knee, Roll it down. Okay, We'll take that again. As you roll up, You'll kick the leg out to the side. I want you to really drive through your heel and firm through your quad. Roll it down one more time. So as your left heel goes out, Your left kneecap draws up. Rolling it down. Slide the left leg back, Plant the hands, Tuck the toes, Find downward facing dog. Good. Inhale, Left leg sweeps high. Bend the knee and point the knee high to the ceiling and open the hips. Think of a middle split shape here. Stretch the inner thighs apart from each other as you square the chest to the mat. Step your left foot forward and wide outside the hands, And slightly turn the toes out again. Rest the back knee. Option to go lower, Taking yourself either down onto a block or two with your right forearm. And then your left hand to that left inner knee. So same shape, But a little deeper. If you have the accessibility, You'll come all the way to the floor. On that right forearm. And you can roll to the outer edge of the foot here. And we'll take a couple deep breaths in and out. Holding in the shape. Your deepest option could always be to put your head down here on a block and hold. Or the floor. Okay, Coming back through center. We're going to walk it in and step to the front of the mat, Forward fold. Taking a big breath in to reset. And a deep breath out. Inhale, Halfway lift. Exhale, Fold. Inhale to rise, Stretch the arms up. Big breath in. Exhale, Dive it down. Inhale, Ardha Uttanasana, Thighs back, Sternum forward. Exhale, Fold. Plant the hand, Step back, Find your strong high plank. Shift forward onto your toes, Draw the shoulders and elbows back as you lower all the way to the belly. Okay, We're gonna bend the right knee out to 90. Making sure I don't kick the prickly lemon tree. Hands are wide, Tuck the pelvis. Flex your right foot. So you're going to kick your right foot out to the side, Making that half a middle split shape. And then roll it down and bend the knee back to 90. Tuck your pelvis, Lift your belly. Inhale, Drive out through the right heel and firm the right quad. Press out through the inner arch of the foot. Exhale, We bend and lower. One more time. Inhale, Lengthen, And curl up. And exhale, Lower down. Right leg extends out to the right, Tuck your toes, Press back, Downward, Dog. But if you find that your heels are really lifted in your down dog, I would suggest taking the feet wider apart. And working the heels down before you walk the feet a little closer. Inhale, Sweep your right leg up and high. Keeping the chest squared, Open the hips right, Bend the knee and point the knee up. Separating the inner thighs. I'm going to take a big breath in here. And then step your right foot forward and wide outside of the hand and lower the left knee down. Okay, So we're gonna turn the right knee and toes out. And then you have the option to take this a little lower. So you can go down onto that left forearm. And remember, You can always use blocks. Good. And make it comfortable for you. So if you want to stack them. This works as well. Right hand to the right inner knee and we open it up. If you have the accessibility, Of course, You can go lower. But remember, We want to go to something that is. Slight discomfort's okay, But pain is not. So just adjust. If um. . . It's feeling too intense. Like that, It just fell out of it. Okay, We're good. Definitely a little bit tighter on this side. Wasn't expecting that. Right, Okay, Let's bring it back through center. We're taking one more vinyasa, So step it to the front of the mat and find your forward bend and hold. Maybe we've brought the legs all the way together at this point. Head is heavy, Hips are lifting. Inhale, Halfway lift, Grow the spine. Exhale, Fold. Inhale to rise up, Urdhva Hastasana. Reach the arms up nice and tall. Stretch, Stretch, Stretch. Good, Exhale, Free the arms, Let them fly wide. We're going to take this into tree pose. We'll start with the right arm. Leg planted and the left foot coming up. So we're gonna take the left sole of the foot. It can go to your calf. It can also go all the way to the upper inner thigh. So the heel presses into the top of the groin. Then you want to think of compactness. So your foot and your leg squeeze together. So left foot, Right thigh squeeze. Roll your right inner thigh back, Send your tailbone down, Lift your navel up, And you can put your left hand on your left leg and kind of send the thigh down. Create space in the left waistline and lift up through the torso, Feeling a nice opening in the groin here for sure. Maybe growing that tree, Finding the balance. You can test it by looking up. Good, Exhale, Release the left foot, Forward bend all the way down to the mat. Inhale, Halfway lift. And exhale, Fold. Step back, Find your high plank. Chaturanga all the way to the belly. This time sending your left leg straight out to the left and it will stay straight at hip height, Foot flexed. And he'll rolling it up for our Cobras three times. Big breath in. And deep breath out. Last one. Go ahead, Step your left leg back, Point your hand, Step back, Downward facing dog. Inhale, Sweep the left leg up and high. Bend the knee and open the hips. Let the hips twist left. As you think of turning your chest right. Okay, This time we're gonna step all the way. To the front of the mat, Walking it in for our forward bend. We're going to keep the right foot down as we turn the hips open to the left wall and send the left leg up to the ceiling with a pointed toe. Good for our half splits. Lower down through the left leg, Lift up. Good. Let's do that one more time. Lower down. Lift up. Now use your leg strength to really lift. We're taking this into chapasana. Bend your left foot to your back and you're reaching back for the left foot forward. To the arch of the foot with the right hand. Draw the foot in as you reach your left knee up. Towards the ceiling. With the inner thighs apart. Shoulders draw away from the neck. With the hair descends down. Gently release, Stretch the leg up. And step it to the front of the mat. Inhale, Halfway lift. And exhale, We fold. Inhale to rise up. Urdhva Hastasana. Stretch and lift. Lower back heavy, Hard is light. And taking those arms wide, Release them down. Okay, So we're going to take that on side two. So our left leg is our supporting leg now. So you want to think of rolling that inner thigh back. The arch and the sole of the right foot can press into the right calf. You can always put your hands on a wall too if you have a lot of, If you're really feeling imbalanced, Use a wall or chair, No stress. Or lifting the foot. To the upper inner thigh, Really pull it up there. Now press your legs together. Create. Contact or compression. Okay, And then lift the frontal hip points as the lower back kind of loses some of its natural curve. It's less arched. And then putting your right hand on your right thigh and descending the right hip crease and the right thigh bone towards the floor. So you can always peek at your pelvis too. We're trying to get the hip bones to be level with each other. That is your first goal. And now lift tall through that torso. And maybe the arms lift. Good, Maybe you play around with the balance by looking up or closing the eyes. Take a big breath in here. And then release everything to the floor and forward bend. Inhale, Halfway lift. Exhale, Fold, Step back, High plank. Shift forward, Chaturanga. Send your right leg straight out to the right. You can always bend it if you need the option. Rolling up for Cobra three times for three. And two. Last one. And a one. Roll it down, Right leg slides back. Core tight, Tuck the toes, Find your downward facing dog. And maybe at this point, The big toes are touching and the heels are a sliver apart, As long as the heels are heavy. The chest is squared to the floor. Inhale, Sweep your right leg high. Bend the knee and open the hips. Think of splitting them apart. So you can see now that this is kind of like the chipasana shape we're going to soon make here. Good, Then releasing the right foot and walk it to the front of the room. So the left foot is planted straight on, Hands frame the mat under the shoulders, Open the hips to the right, Point the right toes in, Sweep your right leg up for your half splits. Now try to really straighten the knee by reaching up through the toes and firming up through the thigh. We're going to lower the leg down on your inhale. Lift it up on the exhale. Go to one more time. Inhale, Lower. Exhale. So you're going to keep your right hand on the floor for balance. Bend the right knee behind you, Opening the hips to the right wall, And the left hand will reach for the right arch of the foot. Draw the heel in. Tuck the pelvis. And lift the knee up as you open the hips. To the right wall. But find your drishti, This is your point of focus and concentration. So better with balance to be focused on one point than to be looking all over the place. Good, Create evenness with the breath, Samvritti, As we create evenness in this balancing pose. Good. Release when you're ready. Both feet to the mat. And let's take a ragdoll. Feet hips distance. Grab opposite elbows, Opposite hands. And just hang for a moment. Lots of instructions to let it just absorb. In your body and in your mind. Feel free to add a little bit of fluidity right here. And then releasing the arms, Soft knees, Use your core, And let's roll up to standing. Taking a moment, Finding Tadasana. Palms forward, Gaze is steady and soft. Okay, You guys, We're gonna take this into supported Prasarita Padottanasana. So this is a wide-legged forward bend. And we'll use our blocks. If the blocks aren't high enough, You can always take the blanket. I'll demonstrate that as well to make it even higher. So with our Prasarita Padottanasana, This is our wide-legged forward bend. So like Utthita Hastasana. Like Uttanasana. I'm getting tongue-tied this morning. You want your legs about as wide as your wingspan. Now, Depending on how low you can go, The blocks can go higher. You can stack them up, OK? You can also, If you have cork blocks and they're uncomfortable, Then put something soft on them. You know, The cork blocks are nice because they're more stable, But then they're not cushy for some things. So, You know, So soft knees. Press the weight into the outer edge of the foot and pull the hips back. So create this length in the abdominal wall as you go forward. And then your head will go top of the head, Not forehead, On the blocks. And then plant your hands underneath your shoulders. And from here, You can lower this down. So I think I'm going to take this to one block. We'll see. Yeah, That feels good for right now. Okay, So this is the start of tripod headstand. We're not doing that today. I'm just letting you know. Fingers spread, Plant the hands, And rotate your elbows to point to the back of the room. Now shift the weight forward so it's in your head, Your hands, And the front of the feet, But the heels are still anchored. If you feel like at any point your head could just touch the ground or even maybe the block is just too high you can make it. A stacked palm or fist situation. Okay, Roll the inner thighs to the back of the room. And lift your tailbone up. Then maybe get to a point where you can let the head touch the ground. From there, You would move your head further underneath the hip. While thinking of the head going down, The shoulders and the tailbone lift up. So we're going to create this length in the spinal column. It's two directions. Lower back up, Upper back down, Kind of. Good. Let's walk the hands forward underneath the shoulders, Wherever you're at. Ardha. Prasarita Padottanasana. Turn your toes out, Externally rotate. Soft knees, Use your core, And we roll up. Okay, We're taking this into scondoscena. So let's start with the blocks on the high setting. You have the option of staying higher at the blocks or taking this to the ground. So feet are turned out and go wider than we were before. Scoop the hips and contract the lower abs. We're going to bend into the right knee. Now what I want to see is that your right heel doesn't lift and your knee doesn't shoot forward. So you have to plug the thigh bone back into the hip socket, No matter how low you go here. So the blocks can be underneath the shoulders here. And then we're going to walk it over to the left. So I'm bending into the left knee, But not so far that the knee shoots over the toes and the heel lifts. So once I've bent the knee, It should be over the ankle, And then I'm pulling the thigh bone back into the hip socket. Tucking the hips and lifting the heart. Okay, So you can continue to lower these blocks. If that works for you. And then you can also flex the foot of the straight leg. Now we're working inner thighs, So really try to get that rotation. Toes are angling up, Knee and thigh are angling up. Tailbone moving down. Good, Walking this side to side. Okay, Maybe we feel like we're good without the block. And we try this. For full skandhasana down on the ground. But remember, We're still keeping true to the form. Heel down, Knee is opening. We're rolling that upper inner thigh to the ceiling. We fell again, That's okay. We walk it back and forth. It feels good to sit into it too. Okay, So we're definitely getting deeper. So if at this point in practice, You're not feeling super warm, I would make sure you're either wearing warmer clothes or in a warmer environment. Because when we get into these peak deep poses, You really need to have the muscles warm to prevent any sort of tearing, God forbid. Let's take it one more time each way. And last one. Good. Transferring through Prasarita Padottanasana, Toes forward, Drop your head. Inhale, Halfway lift, And heel toe the feet together. Hips distance, Bend the knees, And we roll it up. Okay, Let's step to the front of the mat for our final vinyasa. We're going to take this into molassena. Feeder as wide as the map. Arms are sweeping up, Palms then descend the tailbone and sitting low. So thinking kind of like our Utkatasana. But today we're focusing on opening up those inner thighs instead of being parallel. Good, Lift the heart. Without hyperextending the neck. Good. Abdominals and ribs hugging. Squeeze your glutes. Let's see if you can pull your chest and the back of your head further behind you. Let's hold here for three breaths. Lift up through those fingertips. Palms hug in, Triceps firm in, Biceps roll back. Two more breaths. Good, Keep lifting, Final breath here. Exhale, Hands to the mat, Toes forward, And we fold. Good. Bend your knees, Roll up, And we're going to grab our yoga strap. So we're going for Tita Hasta. Padagusthasana B. This is the one that we open out to the side. Okay, So I'll show this face on. So we're going to start with the left leg in the strap, And the right foot is planted. So your right foot is your stabilizer. Left foot into the strap, And we're going to put both hands on the strap. So the further you hold away from the strap, Maybe the tighter you are. If you're feeling a little bit more flexible, You can hold closer to the foot. Remember, We're talking about the pelvis here, So I don't want this at all. So imagine there's a block between your legs. Pull your inner thighs together, Level the hips. And then you're going to open your left leg out to the left without letting your butt flick up behind you and your hip lift. So tuck that left glute down. Press the hip crease down to level the pelvis. And then taking the leg out to the side. Okay, So plug your shoulder onto your back on the left side. And then grow tall. Okay, Push the arch of your left foot out as you contract that left thigh up. And lift. Okay, And then soften the knee, And we'll step it to the floor. Good work, Good work. Okay, So we're gonna take that on the other side. So this time your left foot is planted. And your right foot will go into the strap. Okay, So I'll demo it a little further away so you can see. So you're going to hold a little further away from the foot if you're feeling tighter. Straighten and firm your supporting leg and roll the inner thigh to the back of the room. And then we'll start to open. The right leg out to the right, Flexing the foot. And firming your supporting hip in, Lowering that right hip crease down. Okay, Then the option is to come closer to the foot. Also, You can put your hand on a wall or chair here. So if your balance is struggling and you're not able to do it, Then make it work for yourself. Okay, There's also the option, Just so you know, Peace fingers, You hook the big toes, Like say you don't have a strap, You can try that. But I wouldn't go into this if you're looking like this, Right? If like everything's all jacked up, Like use the props. They're gonna help you get into these deeper poses and have nice alignment. Good, So tuck the tailbone, Lift up through the hip creases, And without raising your chin, Grow up through the top of the head. But finding our drishti and our balance here. Good, And then when we're ready, Release. To the mat. Okay, Let's bring it down to kneeling. And we're going to find a wide child's pose. So toes and knees are going to open up really wide. Kind of like that. And then you can reach the arms straight forward. And sink down for just a moment here. Okay, So from this wide child's pose. We're going to open our left leg out to the left. You can be closer. So you can be kneeling, Knee over hip. Left leg straight out to the left foot flex, Or you can be more open for this. More open is going to be more intense on the flexibility. We're going to take a seat back onto the left or the right heel. As the left toes roll up and then we're going to shift it forward. So move with your hands, Walk it back. And shift it forward. So you're externally rotating your left leg. Inner thigh, Knee, Toes roll up. And then they roll forward. Good, Let's do that two more times. Last one. Good. Bend your left knee back to your Child's Pose and extend your right leg out to the side. Foot is flexed. Now adjust where your left knee is. It can be under the hip, So it's less intense. It can go wider if you're feeling nice and loose. So I'm going to shift back, Walking our hands in. You want to see this movement all the way up at the inner thigh. So it can't just be the foot. Right, Middle splits are coming from all the way up here, So you've got to move the whole upper inner thigh towards the ceiling as we shift back. So let's take it at your own pace. Don't rush this. If you want to sit in it a little longer, Move a little deeper. I bet we're going to do three more right here. Breathing in and out for three. And two. The last one. And a one. Good work. Bring it in and breathe. Walk it in. Okay, Guys, We're getting close to our peak pose, So we're going to go for a supported frog pose. So. . . The higher the blocks, The more support. So you can start like this. Two flat blocks. They will be vertical underneath your hips and then you'll go on them and then you'll decrease. You can go down to a medium, A flat. Maybe no block or a blanket. So I'll show you what it looks like on two vertical. And remember, If this isn't enough, Add the blanket, You know, Whatever you need. You'll know if it's not enough if you can't touch the blocks. So you're not supposed to be just suspended in space. So you're kneeling over the blocks. They're right underneath the hips. I'll show this front and side. Then you're going to split the knees apart. So you're making two 90 degree angles. Your feet and your knees are pointing out to the side. You want your knees as high as your hips. The other thing is if your knees are way back here and you're trying to go lower, You're not ready. You need to get the knee out to the side of the hip first. Then you can lower the blocks. Okay, So I'm going to bring the legs in and just show this from the other side on a lower setting. So I'll probably use. . . One medium or one flat and you can always adjust it. As you get down there. So one medium to start. We're going to split the legs apart. Avoid the lemon tree, And sit down. Now I'm feeling really good, So I'm going to go down to that flat block. Good, That feels great. Now, If you have other props around, You know, You can always put your forearms on a block. A pillow, A bolster, A blanket. You can also come to the floor. Okay, Now if you're in this and the block is too high, Like you're completely sitting on it, You've got the 90s, But you don't feel the stretch, This is when you would take the block out and use maybe a blanket, Because a blanket is going to be a lot lower. So maybe it's only giving you like an inch of height, Or maybe it's giving you like a centimeter of height, Right? So I'm going to try the blanket. Wow, I'm feeling good. I'm excited about that. You know, I never know how it will turn out for the day. Sometimes it's really tight. That's maybe a little low. We'll give it another layer. So that's good. Okay, So we're going to do some movements with the hips. So you've got an idea. As you loosen up, If you're feeling like you want to adjust the blocks, Go for it. We're going to do little pelvic tucks. So you're going to tuck your hips under. And then release. So you're going from an imprint spine. To a neutral spine. What this will do to your low back, When you tuck your hips, Your lower back should have less curve. It should be kind of pushing up to the ceiling. When you untuck your hips, You should have a little dip down of your lower back. You should have a back bend. And arch. You should feel this. In your inner thighs. One more. OK, Now I want you to think of like a hula hoop. So you're going to be circling your hips to the right. We'll start. I guess this is counterclockwise, Technically. Yeah, I need a little bit more height. I'm going to double up. Don't be afraid to adjust. Or back off, Like if you're like, OK, I went too far. OK, Reverse the circles. Let's circle it left. That might be. . . Challenging if you're used to like circling one direction. It's kind of like the rubbing your belly, Patting your head thing. Good. Okay, Relax the hips. Now you're going to think of moving your hips laterally. So shift right and left. So you should feel the weight kind of transfer from your right knee to your left knee. It's like you're trying to get your right knee to touch the right wall and left knee to touch the left wall. Just do a little hip swing, Side to side. Now, It might not look like I'm doing a ton, But there's things moving and I can certainly feel it. Good, Okay, Come to center, Tighten your core, Walk up onto your hands wherever you're at, And you're gonna bring your knees in. Okay, We're going to sit in Virasana. If you need pillows or a blanket, Put them in between your heels or on your feet. And just come to kind of like a slightly turned out Virasana, Toes together, Knees slightly apart. And let's take some Cat-Cows. Interlace your fingers, Curl the spine back, Push your hands forward. Stretch the shoulder blades. And then inhale. Sternum through the arms and lift. Stretch up. Deep breath out and around. Deep breath in. And Arch. Good, One more. Breathe out, Curl back, Hug the abs in. Breathe out. And art. Good, Release the hands. Okay, So we are ready. A lot of what I just taught you with the bent leg is true for the full middle split using the props. So literally same thing, Just our legs are straight. If you find that this is just too much for you, You could bring the blocks way higher or repeat with the bent legs. Repeat like we did with the frog. Okay, So two flats. I don't know where I'm going to be, So I'm just going to go as high as I have props for today. Were stacked, They will be once again vertical underneath us. And then I'm also going to put the blanket on it. And then you know you can just make it lower. As we see fit. My blonde hair is in the lemon tree. I feel like my mat might have traveled closer to the tree. That's fine. Okay, So stand over your props. It's a little bit like a plank to first get in. I'm going to show this from both sides. So you want your hands under your shoulders and then you're gonna walk your feet apart and you're gonna slide down so you can rest your hips on the props. This is key for what we're doing today. I don't want you like hanging out in space and wincing. Any wincing, You're too low and you're not supported. Flex your feet, Push the arches of the feet out. And slightly curl the tailbone under and lift the navel. Okay, So we're opening up through the inner arches of those legs. We are in our full middle split. Options for your arms, You can go down into your forearms. You can also put something underneath your forearms or even rest your head. And then I'm going to show this from. . . A different side so you can see all the angles and you just hold it as for now. Okay, I think I'm gonna lose the blanket. I felt pretty good with this. Blocks are vertical underneath us. I'm showing this from the side. Okay, So we're gonna lower down and plant the hands underneath us so that we don't just like. . . Plopped down too quick. Good. Find the block. And then a nice long straight back, So core tight. And maybe put your forearms down on a blanket. Okay, So extend the spine. So one thing I want to make sure you're not doing here is sticking your butt up in the air. So you want just to even it out, Slightly tuck. And also, We don't want to be super rounded, So sternum forward. So you guys, If you're feeling good, We can adjust the blocks a little lower. Okay, So we're gonna go round two. So just soften your knees and walk it in. Okay, So from a two stacked block position, You would go down to one medium or one medium with a blanket. If you're already here, You could go down to a flat. If you're at a flat, You could go down to the blanket. Try the one medium, And I know I can grab the blanket for help if I need it. So I'm going to come over the block. Can kind of squat down and walk the legs out. And we're just trying to find our edge today. You don't have to be where I'm at. I don't have to be where you're at. We're all different. Good. Nice foot form. So I want to draw the outer edge of the foot back to the ankle. So firm the outer ankle to lengthen the inner thigh. And then forearms down. Let's turn them forward. If you're here and you want just an easy transition because you feel like you could take a little bit more, You can use your core and your arm strength like a plank and flip the block a little lower. Oh, We did a low block today. You did a good job on warming them up then. Okay, So like we had talked about a lot in class today, You do want to see that the external rotation is coming from the upper inner thigh. So if your knees are rolling in and your toes are rolling in right here, Then you've gone too far. You need to bring the blocks up, And first you need to find the foot position, Hug the outer ankle, Lengthen the inner arch, And the inner thigh position. Rolling the inner thighs up, Slightly curling the pelvis under and bringing the sternum forward. Okay, To get out of this, Because I'm really low, I'm going to slide forward onto my belly. You can also just be careful of softening your knees. And bringing it in. Woo! Okay, So. . . We're going to use some props for a moment here. Let's sit on the blanket or a pillow, Whatever you have. And then. Grab your blocks. And we're going to take a seat down on the blanket and do Dandasana. So we're using this pose to. . . Even everything out. We did a lot of opening, Right, In the inner thighs. Put the blocks on a narrow setting between the legs and squeeze them. Good, I guess here. Okay, So Dandasana, Hands on the blankets, Straight spine, Squeeze the blocks. I'm really only able to squeeze the block between my thighs. Okay, Flex the feet and find parallel. Toes up, Knees up, Thighs up. And hug it and squeeze the block really tight. Feel your inner thighs turn on. So we've stretched them a lot, This is strengthening them. Good, Lift up through your spine, Squeeze the block. Hold tight for five. Squeeze it tighter for four. One. Good. Okay, So we're going to lay on our back. I'm going to move the mat a hair away from this lemon tree because it's really prickly. And bring both blocks with you. That's all we're going to need for the rest of class. Okay, We're gonna lay down on our back. Legs are going to be in tabletop. You're going to put one block between your ankles or your feet and the other block between your knees. Take your arms out to a slight V, So they're not super close to your sides. They're a little wider. And reach your arms away. Anchor the arms down. You're going to squeeze your blocks. Find that inner thigh connection. Hug the belly in. Both knees will go over to the left. And you're going to drive your left arm into the floor to keep your right shoulder down. Now hug the block, Hug your abs, Come back to center. Little active twist here. Knees are going to shift right, Push into the right arm, So you don't want the left shoulder lifting. This is too far if the shoulder is lifted. So keep that on the mat, Squeeze the block in your core, Come to center. Inhale into the twist. Exhale, Back through center. Let's take a couple more at your own pace. Maybe exploring holding the twist a little longer. Last two. Good. Final one. Okay, Come through center. Let's take the blocks out and place them aside. And plant your feet down on the mat. Move your hips to the right, But not your chest. So it should feel like you're kind of off-centered. Cross your right leg over your left leg. Step one, If you can go deeper, You're going to tuck the toes underneath the left calf. So you're in Garudasana, Eagle Pose. We're going to take a twist. So knees are going to go over to your left. Slide your right hip crease down. So we're not trying to have a crunch here. We want the length. And then push the back of your elbows into the floor and turn your chest to the right. Stretch your right arm to the right at shoulder height with the palm up. Squeeze the legs together, Create that compression, Resetting all of the inner thigh opening today, Hugging back to the midline. Find one more breath in here. Good, Now tighten through your stomach and come back through center. Unravel the legs and you're going to move your hips from center and then to the left side of the mat. Cross your left leg over your right, Taking that cross once or twice for full Garudasana. Now hug in. Squeeze the legs together. Send the legs over to the right and turn your chest. Push your elbows down. Turn at your ribs. Turn your ribs, Your chest left to deepen that spinal twist. Taking a couple deep breaths in here. Left palm is up. Rolling open through the left front of the shoulder. Maybe at the point where you want to. Kind of draw, Not just hugging back to the midline physically, But also with our other senses. So maybe closing your eyes. And letting the breath. You're still aware of it, But it's not so deep at this point or calming everything down. And then on your exhale, We're gonna hug the core, Come back to center, Even out the hips, And unravel the legs. So we're going to take an option for plow pose. So we need space behind us. So final inversion of class. If you're done, You can go into Shavasana. Or you can do legs up the wall. So shoulders are down, Chin to chest, The back of the neck is long. And we're going to roll the legs over and tuck the toes on the earth. Lift the tailbone up, Possibly grabbing the feet. And pressing the heels out from underneath the toes. Send your tailbone and heels in the opposite direction. And focus on the lift of the hip points, The firming of the thighs. Pull against your feet and slide the shoulders into the back pockets. And then soften the knees, Tighten the core, And roll down. Bring your knees to your chest and hug them in. As you're ready, We'll release and we'll find Shavasana. So option to do legs up the wall, Child's pose. Seated meditation, Or laying down in what is. Translated as corpse pose. So we're going to tuck the shoulder blades towards each other and slide them down and then rest. And then just allow the body to be supported by the earth here. And notice if you are kind of gripping anywhere and see if you can breathe and settle into the knowing support of everything that's beneath you. And we're going to take one minute here of silence. If you have a hard time being still or thinking that you're not supposed to be thinking, Just know that there's no correct way to do Shavasana or meditation. And we're all beginning and learning more every day with these practices. So not to be so hard on yourself if a thought comes into your mind or there is a siren that comes up or your kid is crying. The goal here is just to let go and accept what is there. Currently present. So that your challenge here is. . . If this isn't your perfect situation of a quiet shavasana. Can you let go and let it be as is? Gently deepen the breath. Again, Guiding it fully into the belly. The ribs and up into the heart. And then sigh it out. Let's do that again, Stretching the arms overhead. Take a full inhale, Take up space. And then take a deep exhale and let it go. We're gonna just make our way to a seat. However you get there is good. Good, So let's just find a comfortable seat. You can sit on a blanket if you have one. Let's find Jalandhara Bandha. So this is the idea where we're lifting the heart space a lot and the chin is slightly tilted down. Okay, Is this soft? Inhale, Reach the arms up. Exhale, Keep the lift of the heart, But allow the chin to bow. The light in me honors the light in you. Namaste. Thank you guys for practicing with me today. Wow. There are so many different types of movement that I enjoy, But yoga holds a special place. There's just this like magic that is created. Amongst the poses and the sequences and just how they balance you mentally. So I find. . . Such a mental health appreciation for yoga, Amongst all the other things, I love it, But I really find that yoga for me is a practice that is spiritual and aligning, And I think that's why I always gravitate towards it. So thanks for sharing your practice with me today. Say hello, I'd love to know where you are flowing from. I love to travel and film videos in cool locations, So maybe you know one I should check out. Have an awesome day, And I will see you soon. You guys later. Bye!