Hi,
I'm Asa.
Let's do some yoga.
We'll begin in Mountain Pose,
Tadasana,
At the top of your mat.
I'll stay here for filming purposes.
Step your feet about hip-width distance apart.
Lift your toes,
Spread them wide,
Plant them back down.
Really ground down through your feet.
Lengthen your tailbone down towards the ground.
Draw your shoulders up and back and down,
And lift up through the crown of your head.
Just focus on standing nice and tall here,
Lifting up through your heart center.
And we'll start our practice with a few deep breaths right here.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Couple more just like that.
And one more deep breath here.
And a long,
Slow breath out.
On your next inhale,
Draw your arms out to the sides and overhead.
On the exhale,
Grab a hold of your left wrist and tip over towards your right,
Finding a nice stretch in the left side body.
Open your chest,
Open your heart to reach up towards the sky.
And on your next inhale,
Float both arms up.
And exhale and tip over to the left.
Really ground down into your right foot.
Nice stretch in the side body.
And inhale,
Back up to center.
And exhale,
Arms out and down.
From here,
We'll come into a forward fold.
So inhale,
Arms out and up.
Exhale,
Bend your knees with a flat back.
Slowly fold forward,
Keeping your knees bent.
And allow your head to hang here.
Standing forward bend.
If you'd like,
You could grab a hold of blocks.
You can let your arms hang.
You can grab a hold of opposite elbows.
And we'll spend a moment here just kind of hanging out,
Letting gravity find some space in between the vertebrae.
You can sway here if you'd like.
Nod your head yes and no.
On your next inhale,
If your gaze is upside down,
Bring your gaze right below your face to the floor.
Bend your knees more deeply.
And then inhale,
Round your back and slowly lift up one vertebrae at a time.
To come back to standing,
Letting your head come up last.
Inhale,
Arms out and up.
Maybe gaze comes up as well.
And then exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
And exhale,
Fold.
Bend your knees flat back.
Inhale all the way up.
And then exhale,
Hands to heart center.
I'll do that one more time.
Inhale,
Arms out and up.
And exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Exhale,
Fold.
Bend your knees.
Inhale,
Rise all the way up.
And exhale,
Hands to heart center.
Next,
We'll move into chair pose.
Fire up the body with some heat.
So you can keep your feet hip-width distance here or you can step your feet right next to each other.
We'll start with the hands on the hips.
Take a deep breath in,
Lift up through the crown of your head.
And on an exhale,
Bend your knees and imagine that you're sitting in a chair behind you.
You can decide how low you come into your chair pose.
Take a peek down,
Make sure you can still see your toes.
The weight is a little bit more in the heels but the toes are still down on the mat.
And then from here,
You can keep your hands at heart center in prayer.
Or you can reach your arms straight out in front of you.
Or if it feels okay in your shoulders,
You could even lift your arms,
Bringing your biceps in line with your ears.
Wherever you're at,
Keep your core strongly engaged here,
Navel drawing towards your spine.
And remember to breathe.
On your next exhale,
We'll bring arms straight out in front.
And then on an inhale,
Take your left arm and open it over to the left,
Coming into a twist.
Exhale back to center.
Try to keep the lower body right where it is as you inhale and twist over to the right.
Exhale back to center.
Once more on both sides.
Stay with me.
Inhale,
Open.
Exhale,
Close.
Last one.
Inhale,
Open to the right.
Exhale back to center.
Inhale,
Lift the arms up a little bit higher.
And then exhale full,
Standing forward bent.
From here,
Plant your hands and take several baby steps back to downward facing dog.
You can pedal your feet here,
Dropping one heel down towards the ground at a time.
Spread your fingers wide,
Really pushing into all four corners of the hand.
Reach your tailbone up towards the sky.
Nice,
Strong core here.
On an inhale,
Flip the right leg back and up,
Three-legged dog.
On the exhale,
Step your right foot forward up towards the top of the mat,
Coming onto your fingertips.
We're gonna set up for a crescent lunge.
So the back heel is lifted,
All 10 toes and the hips are facing forward.
And on an inhale,
Slowly rise up,
Bringing your hands to your hips to start with.
From here,
You're welcome to inhale,
Arms forward and up.
Relax shoulders,
Relax your jaw.
One more breath here.
And on an exhale,
Spin your back heel down and open out to the side for a warrior two.
You can adjust your stance here,
Bringing the front knee over the front ankle.
The back foot is parallel to the back edge of the mat and then toes turn in just slightly.
Shoulders over hips.
Arms out to a T and gaze over the front fingers.
On your next inhale,
Flip the front palm and reach it up for reverse warrior.
Nice stretch in the side body.
And on the exhale,
We're gonna come all the way into side angle pose.
So the forearm rests on top of your front thigh and your other arm can reach overhead right alongside your ear or you're welcome to bring your hand to your hip.
Wait for an inhale to go straight back to reverse warrior and then exhale to side angle pose.
Once more,
Both ways.
Inhale,
Reverse.
And exhale,
Side angle.
From here,
We're gonna make our way back down to the mat.
So pivot onto the back of the ball of the back foot,
Plant your hands and step it back to downward facing dog.
Once you get there,
Pedal the feet if you'd like.
Sway the hips.
And I'll move into that same sequence on the other side.
So inhale,
Lift the left leg back and up three-legged dog.
On the exhale,
Step your left foot forward to the top of the mat.
Set your feet up for a high crescent lunge and wait for an inhale to rise up.
Hands on the hips to start with.
Front knee is bent.
There's a tendency in this pose for the hips to tilt forward or the pelvis to.
So you bring your hands to your pelvis and just gently guide it back a little bit so the tailbone is reaching down.
Option to leave the hands on the hips or inhale them up towards the sky.
One more deep breath here.
And then on the exhale,
You're gonna spin the back heel down and open into warrior two on the other side.
So take your time making those little micro adjustments to your stance here.
Draw your shoulder blades towards each other,
Down your back.
Gaze over the front fingers.
On an inhale,
Flip your front palm and reach it up high to the sky,
Reverse warrior.
And then exhale,
Coming into side angle pose.
Inhale,
Reverse.
And exhale,
Side angle.
Once more,
Both sides.
Inhale,
Reverse.
And exhale,
Side angle.
Now from here,
We're gonna pivot on the ball of the back foot.
Bring your hands down to the mat and then walk your hands out to the side for a wide-legged forward fold.
So step the feet wide,
Turn the big toes in just slightly.
And you can either stay lifted here,
Maybe with hands on top of a block,
Or you might fold forward and allow your head to hang.
Press into the outside edges of the feet.
Lift your kneecaps.
And you're welcome to find any movement here that feels nice.
Maybe gently,
A swaying movement.
Bending the hips from side to side,
Rocking back and forth.
Nodding your head yes and no.
Bending one knee at a time.
If you're upside down,
Slowly on an inhale,
Bring your face up so you're looking straight down to the floor now.
Heel toe your feet in a little bit more,
Shortening your stance.
Bend your knees,
Bring one hand to one hip.
Take a deep breath.
And on the exhale,
Engage your core as you slowly rise up,
Flat back.
Go nice and slow here.
From here,
Start to heel toe your feet together.
We'll move into a standing pose,
Eagle pose.
So starting about,
Feet about hip-width distance apart.
Shift your weight over into your right foot.
Once you feel pretty solid there.
Find a focal point on the floor,
Somewhere in front of you,
Stationary point.
Once you've got that,
You can lift your left foot off the ground,
Bend into your right knee,
And cross your left leg over your right leg.
Now you can touch your toes down,
Kind of like a little kickstand on the side,
Or you could even wrap your foot all the way around your leg.
If you have a block,
You could put your toes on a block.
So a couple options there.
But it's kind of like our chair pose.
Knees are bent,
Sitting back a little bit.
And then we'll bring the arms out to a T.
From here,
You're gonna bring your arm straight out in front of you with the right arm underneath the left,
Or I'm sorry,
The left arm underneath the right.
Bend at the elbows,
And then kind of guide the backs of the hands towards each other.
You can stay here,
Or you can take your left hand and bring it towards your face and kind of wrap it around.
I'll turn to the side here.
Reach your arms forward a little bit in front of you and a little bit higher.
Sit a little bit deeper.
One more breath here.
On your exhale,
Fold in Eagle Pose.
We're rounding in the back.
And inhale to come right back up.
Release your arms.
Unwind your legs.
Shake it out.
Let's move to the other side.
So grounding down now into your left foot.
Find your focal point.
Once you feel pretty steady,
Lift your other foot,
Cross it over,
Maybe kickstand,
Maybe wrapping it all the way around.
Arms out to a T.
This time,
The right arm goes underneath bend at the elbows,
Maybe wrapping the hands or just bringing the backs of the hands towards each other.
Reach the arms in front of you and a little bit higher up.
Sit back a little bit deeper,
Strong core.
Take a deep breath here.
On your exhale,
Fold.
And then inhale,
Rise all the way up.
Wait for the exhale to unwind the arms and the legs.
Shake it out.
From here,
We'll make our way down to the mat.
You can come down any way that you'd like.
One option I like is coming down into a Proposal Lunge.
So just like it sounds,
You'll step one foot forward,
Hands on the front thigh.
Come down onto one knee and then onto the other knee.
If you have sensitive knees,
You can grab a blanket here and place that underneath your knees.
Tuck your toes,
Bringing your heels a little bit higher.
Hands to the hips.
You're gonna press your hips forward,
Lengthen your tailbone down.
And we'll all start with a variation with the hands,
Pressing gently to support your low back.
Draw your shoulder blades towards each other and inhale,
Lift your heart and give yourself a hug.
Gaze slightly,
Feeling a nice opening in the chest.
Keep your core strong,
Press your hips forward.
And on your exhale,
Release.
We'll do that one more time.
You can do that same variation or if you'd like to take the back bend a little bit deeper.
We'll all start with the hands at the low back,
Shoulders towards each other.
Inhale,
Lift up through the heart.
And on the exhale,
If you'd like,
Slowly lean back and reach for your heels.
Once you get there,
Press your hips forward,
Press your chest up,
Hug your shoulder blades in towards each other and gaze up towards the ceiling.
Keep your neck strong here,
Supporting your head.
One more breath in.
And on your exhale,
Release one hand and then the other.
We'll sit back on the heels,
Just briefly,
A little reset.
And then let's take a child's pose.
Spring your hands towards the top of the mat,
Step your knees back,
Nice and wide,
Big toes to touch.
Sink your hips down and rest your forehead on a block,
On stacked fists,
Stacked palms,
Or on the mat.
We'll spend a few breaths here.
On your next inhale,
Slowly walk your hands back towards your body and make your way to a comfortable seated position.
Hands on your lap,
Sit up nice and tall.
Inhale,
Arms out to the sides and overhead palms touch.
Exhale,
Hands to heart center.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
The light in me sees and honors the light in each of you.
Namaste.
