Goa Sessions - Hatha With Vinyasa Yoga (Hip Opening)
This 90-minute hatha with vinyasa yoga class was recorded in Goa at a retreat center. The class presents an atmospheric platform of being in your own yoga retreat at home. This session focuses on hip opening and can feel quite intense at times. Faint background noises of birds and monkeys transport you to a tropical haven whilst you are guided by the teacher. The instruction is clear and directive and the level is general. Absorb the class and the atmosphere and complete all 3 classes to encompass a fully rounded practice.
Transcript
Okay,
So this is a vinyasa class for the benefit of the people who haven't been here before.
So we're going to try and keep the postures moving using the breath.
If it feels a little bit intense at any point,
You can always come down and stop,
Have a rest,
Come onto your knees into a child's pose,
Or head onto the floor.
Don't feel like you have to do every posture.
Challenge yourself,
But don't force yourself into anything that feels unnatural.
So we're going to be doing a little bit of hip work today,
Hip opening.
Hip opening can be also quite an emotional experience,
So if you feel a little bit emotional as the class goes on,
Don't worry about it.
Just go through whatever it is you're feeling.
If you've got stiff hips,
You will especially feel it.
So let's just come onto your knees at the back of your mat.
Sitting back onto your heels with the front of the feet stretched out behind you.
Hands onto your knees,
Lengthen your spine.
Bring your hands together in Anjali pose,
Elbows down.
Take a few moments to find your heart centre.
We're going to start by chanting one Aum together.
With the sound of Aum,
We let go of all thoughts,
Past and future.
Coming into Beginner's Mind and being open to receive all that this time has to offer.
If you're joining me in chanting,
Take a breath in.
And then bring your hands onto the tops of the thighs,
Thumb and forefinger together.
Shoulders rolling back.
Bring your chin down towards your chest.
Lengthen your spine.
Begin some deep breathing in and out through the nose.
Long,
Deep,
Smooth inhale.
Followed by a long,
Smooth exhale.
So trying to get the air down to the bottom of the lungs,
Filling out to the sides and the top.
And then again,
As you exhale,
Much length of the inhale.
Then we're going to use this Ujjayi breath.
So this means you're slightly trapping the air at the back of the throat.
So it sounds like a sighing sound as the breath comes in and out of the body.
Slightly trapping the air as the air comes in.
And the same as the air goes out.
So Pranayama,
This is controlling your breath.
Think about it as if you're hearing the waves of the ocean.
Inhale fully.
Exhale slowly.
Let's just do this twice more.
So with your next exhale,
Come onto your hands and knees.
Take your hands shoulder width apart,
Knees hip width apart.
Point your toes.
And then we'll move into some Cat-Cow poses.
So spread your fingers wide on the floor.
Inhale,
Arch your lower back,
Roll back the shoulders and look up.
And then with an exhale,
Bring your chin in,
Take your spine the opposite way.
And then again,
Inhaling,
Dip into your lower back,
Roll back the shoulders,
Look up.
And exhale,
Chin in towards your chest.
Okay,
So keep moving through your spine with your breath.
Rolling through each vertebrae,
Inhaling and exhaling.
So already starting to get a connection to your body,
To your breath.
So after your next inhale,
Turn your toes under and exhale,
Stretch back into a Downward Facing Dog.
Heels coming down towards the floor,
Look back towards your feet.
So keep your hands shoulder width apart,
Middle finger facing forwards.
And then moving in and out of the posture.
So you're going to bend one knee,
Come onto the ball of that foot and bring your chest down towards your thigh.
And then straighten that leg and bend the opposite leg.
So you're going to dip in between each knee.
And just notice what that does to the pressure on your hands on the floor.
Okay,
And then we're slowly walking back to the front of the mat.
So we take a small step in and then exhale,
Fold down towards your legs.
Take an inhale,
Step in a little bit,
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Step in,
Feet back together,
Exhale,
Fold down towards your legs.
And then inhale,
Roll back up to your standing position.
So we're going to start some Sun Salutations.
And we do the Surya Namaskara A and B from the Ashtanga Series.
Starting with your feet together at the front of your mat.
Always come back to this position every time you start again.
So you have some options with your Sun Salutation.
You can step back or jump back,
Depending on your energy.
And also,
When we're lowering down,
If you need to,
You can bring your knees down to the floor.
Otherwise,
We're going to lower down into Chaturanga Dandasana.
Okay,
So we'll go through the first one slowly.
Toes together,
Ankles together.
Inner thighs in towards each other,
Hands by the sides of your body.
Take a long,
Smooth inhale.
Stretch your arms up.
Palms and arms together,
Look up.
Exhale,
Fold down towards your legs,
Folding in towards your knees.
Bring your hands onto the floor or onto your legs if they don't reach the floor.
Inhale,
Look forward,
Again extending away from your legs.
Exhale,
Jump or step back into a half plank pose.
So now your hips and your spine are all in one line.
And then you lower down towards the floor,
Chaturanga Dandasana.
Inhale,
Push through and look up onto the top of the feet.
Exhale,
Back into a downward facing dog.
Stay here for five breaths.
So fingers spread wide,
Middle finger facing forwards.
Feet hip width apart.
Okay,
So when we come back to the front of the mat,
Look at the space between your hands.
Come onto the balls of the feet,
Dip your knees,
Inhale,
Jump back again to the front.
Get your feet together,
Extend your body forward,
Look ahead.
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Both your legs scissoring in towards each other,
Hands up.
Exhale,
Hands to the side.
Okay,
So let's go again.
Always starting with your feet together,
Toes together,
Ankles together.
Toes together,
Ankles together.
Toes together as well.
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Look forward.
So remember,
Bring your hands onto your legs if they don't reach the floor.
With your next exhale,
Jump back and then lower down towards the floor.
So if you need to at this point,
You can bring your knees down.
Take an inhale,
Push through,
Take your shoulders back and look up.
Turn the toes under,
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Five breaths.
Long breaths.
Staying in your posture,
Using your breath.
Okay,
So looking ahead again,
When you come forward,
Take an inhale,
Lift up the buttocks,
Jump back again to the front,
Feet together,
Extend forward.
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Hands to the side.
Starting again,
Make sure your feet are together.
Inhale,
Lift up again.
Exhale,
Fold in towards your legs,
Hands on the floor or onto your legs,
Not just hanging.
Inhale,
Extend forward.
Exhale,
Jump back.
Come down towards the floor if you need to,
Bring your knees down if you can.
Inhale,
Push through,
Shoulders back,
Look up.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Five breaths.
So once you're in the downward facing dog,
Try and get your hands flat into the floor,
Fingers spread wide.
This is where you're going to get the energy from.
Pushing your arms down,
Lifting back up towards your buttocks.
And remember,
Keep the breathing through the nose only.
Look forward again,
Take an inhale,
Jump back again to the front,
Feet together,
Extend your body forward.
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Hands to the side.
Okay,
Just in and out through the nose.
Let's do one more.
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Folding into your legs.
Inhale,
Look forward.
Exhale,
Jump back.
Lower down to the floor,
Shoulders push through.
Inhale,
Look up,
Shoulders back.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Five breaths.
Make sure your middle finger is facing forwards.
Roll out the top of your arms.
Okay,
Coming back again to the front,
Inhale,
Jump back to the front,
Get your feet together,
Extend forward.
Exhale,
Folding towards your legs.
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Hands to the side.
So we're going to do Sui Namaskara B,
Starting the same way,
The feet together,
Toes together,
Front of the mat.
A little bit longer this one,
Try and stay with it with the breath.
Inhale,
Bend your knees,
Sweep your fingers along the floor,
Lift your hands up.
Exhale,
Fold down towards your legs.
Inhale,
Look forward.
Exhale,
Jump back,
Lower down towards the floor.
With an inhale,
Push through,
Look Exhale,
Downward dog.
Inhale,
Step your right foot between your hands,
Left heel on the floor,
Sweep your hands up,
Palms together,
Look up.
Exhale,
Hands down,
Step back and lower down to the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Look up.
Exhale,
Back into a downward dog.
Inhale,
Left foot forward,
Right heel on the floor,
Left knee bent,
Hands up.
Exhale,
Hands down,
Step back and lower down.
Inhale,
Push through,
Look up.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Okay,
So five breaths again.
Stay in a downward dog for five breaths.
Middle finger facing forward,
Hands pushed down towards the floor.
So release that place in between your shoulder blades.
Your arms are strong but your shoulders are soft,
So your shoulders are rolling out to the sides.
Okay,
Coming back again to the front,
Take an inhale,
Jump back to the front,
Lift your bottom up,
Get your feet together,
Look forward.
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Bend your knees,
Bottom down,
Hands up,
Bottom down and then straighten the legs,
Hands down to the side,
Exhale.
Okay,
Let's do that one again.
Feet together again at the back.
Feet together,
Yes.
Inhale,
Bend your knees,
Bottom down,
Hands up.
Exhale,
Fold in towards your legs.
Inhale,
Then look forward.
Exhale,
Jump back,
Come down towards the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Shoulders back.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
So inhale,
Step your right foot first between your hands,
Left heel comes onto the floor,
Hands up,
Right knee bent.
Exhale,
Hands down,
Step back and lower down to the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Shoulders back.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Inhale,
Left foot forward,
Right heel on the floor,
Knee bent,
Hands up.
Exhale,
Hands down to the floor,
Step back,
Lower down.
Inhale,
Push through,
Come onto the front of the feet.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Feet width apart,
Hands flat on the floor.
Keep working into your thighs to release your hamstrings.
Also draw in your stomach muscles,
This helps to lengthen your spine.
Okay,
Come down onto your knees,
Sit back onto your heels.
So we're going to do a dolphin posture,
This is a headstand preparation pose.
We won't do the headstand today,
We'll just prepare for the headstand.
So we're going to interlock the fingers and when you do this,
One little finger needs to come inside,
So the bottom little finger,
Bring it inside your hands and then keep the heels of your hands apart,
So these bottom parts of your hands stay apart.
Bring your arms down onto the floor.
Now the distance you need between your elbows,
You should be able to let go of your fingers and take one hand over your forearm.
Okay,
So it should just be able to sit over your forearm,
That's the right distance.
And then interlock your fingers again,
Keep your forearm,
Your wrist and the back of your hand all in one line.
Okay,
And then we're going to come onto the knees.
So with this posture,
We're keeping the head off the floor,
Don't let the head sink down to the floor.
Push your arms into the floor,
Turn your toes under,
Lift up onto the balls of your feet,
Keep your head off the floor and then walk in until you can feel your spine is almost straight.
And then let's stay there for five breaths.
So you're going to keep your legs working,
Lift your feet up,
That's it,
Good,
Keep your head up.
Let's hold it,
Two more breaths,
So you've got to keep your thighs strong,
Work into your arms.
Okay,
And then come down onto the floor,
Rest in a child's pose.
So bend your knees,
Forehead down,
Arms by the side of the body.
Okay,
Sit back onto your heels again for a moment,
Let me just show you the next one.
So the next pose is the same start,
This time we're going to keep the thumbs up,
Yeah.
So we keep the arms pushing down into the floor,
I'll just show you the first one.
We come up onto the balls of the feet and then we're going to take an inhale and exhale,
Bring your chin to your thumbs,
Inhale back,
Exhale forward,
Inhale back,
Exhale forward.
So your back,
Your legs remain straight,
You're just moving your arms.
We're going to do that five times.
Okay,
So come back down onto the floor,
Make sure you've got the right distance between your elbows,
Heels of the hands stay apart.
Lift up,
Keep your feet together,
So it's like your feet together is like one leg.
Take an inhale,
Exhale,
Bring your chin to your thumbs,
Inhale back,
Exhale forward,
Inhale back,
Exhale forward.
Twice more,
Inhale back,
Exhale forward,
Inhale back,
Exhale forward.
Okay and then rest again in a child's pose onto your knees.
So your hands by the side of your body,
Forehead to the floor.
Sweep your hands forward again,
Shoulder width apart onto the floor,
Turn the toes under and then step back into a downward facing dog looking back towards your feet.
And let's get back into the deep breathing again.
Ujjayi breath.
Take an inhale,
Step your right foot between your hands,
Turn your left toes in a little bit,
Bend your right knee,
Virabhadrasana number one.
Palms of the hands together,
Look up,
Right knee bent,
Left leg straight.
Keep with your breathing,
Long breaths,
Looking up.
90 degree angle with your right leg.
Stay with this side now,
Next time do the other,
Yeah?
Okay.
Okay with an inhale,
Come down onto your left knee,
Bring your hands onto your hips and then lunge forward into your right leg.
Next inhale,
Bring your hands up and back into a crescent moon posture.
Arms back behind you,
Left,
Top of the left foot on the floor,
Right knee coming forward.
Inhale,
Lift your hands up,
Bring them back onto the floor,
Exhale,
Step back,
Lower down to the floor.
Inhale,
Push through onto the front of the feet,
Look up.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Inhale,
Left foot forward,
Right heel comes onto the floor,
Right toes in a little,
Left knee bent,
Hands up,
Virabhadrasana,
Looking up.
Your right leg is straight,
Your left knee is bent,
Hips facing towards the front.
Looking up.
Okay,
Take an inhale,
Bring your right knee onto the floor,
Exhale,
Hands onto your hips,
Lunge into your left knee.
So now your left knee comes forward over your leg,
Over your foot.
Inhale,
Sweep your hands up and back,
Crescent moon posture.
Palms of the hands together,
Look back towards the thumbs.
So if it's a little bit too intense for you,
You don't need to go all the way back.
Inhale,
Lift your hands back up,
Bring them onto the floor,
Exhale,
Step back and then lower down to the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Point your toes front of the feet,
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Inhale,
Jump back again to the front,
Get your feet together,
Extend forward,
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Stretch your arms up,
Palms of the hands together,
Look up,
Exhale,
Hands to the sides.
Okay,
And again,
Inhale,
Stretch up,
Exhale,
Fold down.
Inhale,
Look forward,
Exhale,
Jump back,
Come down towards the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Upward dog,
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Inhale,
Step your right foot between your hands,
Turn your left foot around parallel to the edge of the mat,
Right knee bent,
Hips facing to the side,
Right elbow comes onto your right leg and then take your left arm over your left ear,
Parsvakonasana.
Now those of you a little bit more experienced,
If you want to,
You can take your right hand down to the little toe side of your right foot,
Rotate your chest,
Turn and look up underneath your armpit.
Okay,
Inhale,
Lift your left arm back,
Straighten your right leg,
Arms outstretched and then exhale,
Come down into a Trikonasana,
Right hand onto your right leg,
Turn your chest,
Look up towards your left thumb.
So now you're keeping your shoulders in line with your leg,
You don't need to come all the way down towards your foot.
If you are keeping your alignment and you're flexible enough,
You can do that.
Try and keep your shoulders in line with your leg,
Palm of the hand facing forward.
Okay,
Inhale,
Bring both your hands down onto the floor,
Exhale,
Turn the left foot and then lower down to the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Front of the feet,
Look up,
Exhale,
Downward Dog.
Inhale,
Left foot forward,
Right foot turned around,
So left knee bent.
Then bring your left elbow onto your left thigh,
Turn your chest and take your right arm over your ear.
And those of you going a little bit further,
Bring your left hand down by the side of your left foot.
Palms of the hands facing down to the floor,
Rotate your chest.
So keep your right arm all in one line,
Keep with your deep breathing.
Inhale,
Bring your right arm back,
Straighten your left leg,
Stretch your arms out wide and then exhale,
Come down to bring your left hand onto your left leg,
Trikonasana.
Turn your chest,
Look up towards your right thumb.
So again,
Keeping your torso in line with your left leg.
Okay,
Inhale,
Bring both your hands down onto the floor,
Step back,
Exhale,
Lower down.
Inhale,
Push through,
Look up,
Exhale,
Downward Dog.
Inhale,
Jump back again to the front,
Get your feet together,
Extend forward.
Exhale,
Fall down.
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Hold with the hands together,
Exhale,
Hands to the side,
Standing back in Tadasana.
So remember,
Always come back to the front,
Feet together,
Toes together,
Feet together.
Take an inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Fall down.
Inhale,
Look forward.
Exhale,
Jump back again,
Lower down.
Inhale,
Push through,
Look up.
Exhale,
Downward Dog.
Inhale,
Right foot between your hands,
Turn your left foot in a little,
Right knee bent.
So back into Virabhadrasana I,
Just for a few breaths,
Palms of the hands together,
Look up.
So we're going to come into Virabhadrasana number three.
So turn onto the ball of your left foot,
Interlock your fingers,
Keep your forefinger up.
Exhale,
Hinge down over your right leg and then straighten your right leg,
Lift your left leg up.
Point your fingers away from you,
Take your left leg back behind you.
Good,
Looking down to the floor,
Beautiful.
Drop your left hip down.
With your next exhale,
Step back into your Warrior One pose,
Look up,
Inhale.
Exhale,
Hands down to the floor,
Step back,
Lower down.
Inhale,
Push through,
Look up.
Exhale,
Downward Dog.
Inhale,
Step your left foot forward,
Turn your right toes in.
Left knee bent,
Virabhadrasana number one,
Palms of the hands together.
Press the palms of the hands together,
First in your Warrior One pose.
Okay,
Then coming onto the ball of the right foot,
Interlock your fingers,
Forefinger up,
Hinge down over your left leg,
Lift your right leg up,
Point your toes,
Point your fingers,
Virabhadrasana number three.
Beautiful.
Okay,
So try and keep your balance,
If you don't,
Don't worry about it,
There's always tomorrow,
The next day.
And coming back again into your Warrior Pose number one,
Take your right leg back,
Inhale,
Stretch up.
Exhale,
Hands down to the floor,
Step back,
Lower down to the floor.
Inhale,
Push through,
Look up.
Exhale,
Downward Dog.
Okay,
Come down onto your knees,
Sweep your hands back,
Have a rest in Balasana,
Child's Pose.
Full head to the floor,
Sink down onto your heels.
Okay,
Sweep your hands forward again,
Let's come back into Adho Mukha Svanasana,
Downward Facing Dog,
Looking back towards your feet.
So we're going to do a few variations in this posture,
If you need to come down and have a rest,
Just remember you can come down any time.
Lift your right leg up off the floor,
Point your toes,
So your hands are still in the floor,
Your left foot is still in the floor,
Your right leg is up,
Keep your right hip in line with the floor.
So first posture,
We're just pointing the leg back.
Okay,
Now you're going to twist,
Bringing your right hip up and looking underneath your right foot.
First posture,
Legs straight.
Right hip twisting back,
Legs straight,
Foot bent.
Okay,
Now bend your knee,
Bring your heel in towards your buttock,
Go a little bit deeper.
Take an inhale,
Stretch your legs back,
Right leg back.
Exhale,
Bring your right knee forward in between your hands and then stretch your left leg back.
So your right knee is on the floor,
Your left leg is back behind you.
So this posture depends on how flexible your hips are.
If you're very flexible,
You can bring your right foot further forward and your hands just come in front of your legs.
If you're not very flexible in your hips,
Bring your right heel in towards your left hip.
Now try and keep your left hip bone moving down towards the floor.
Okay,
Now walk your hands forward,
Lengthen out along the floor,
Bring your forehead to the floor.
If you can't get your forehead to the floor,
You can just cross your arms over and bring your head onto your arms instead.
So this is the first process of working into the hips.
Walk your hands back in towards you.
So right hand on the floor,
Sorry,
Left hand on the floor.
Take your right hand and bring it underneath your left arm.
So you're going to twist,
Bring your right elbow on the floor or if you can go deeper,
You can get your right shoulder on the floor.
Palms of the hands together,
Turn your left shoulder back,
Look up towards the ceiling.
Don't collapse in your posture.
Yes,
Bring your hands like this.
Left hip still coming down,
So the twist is in the spine.
Now if you can't get onto your shoulder,
Just stay on your elbow if your shoulder is too deep.
Okay,
Then inhale,
Twist back again to the centre,
Both hands onto the floor.
So we're going to go the opposite way,
This is a little bit deeper again.
Left hand goes underneath your right arm,
Bring your elbow onto the floor or if you can,
You're going to get your shoulder onto the floor.
Twist,
Palms of the hands together into Namaste,
Right elbow up,
Right shoulder back and look up.
So just remember you don't have to go that far if it's a little bit deep.
Yes,
Just stay back here.
So stay with it,
If you're feeling it intensely in your hips,
This is a good thing,
You're supposed to.
Okay,
Then inhale,
Twist back again to the centre,
Turn the toes under at the left leg,
Step back,
Downward facing dog.
So let's do the same with the left side.
First left leg up,
Point your toes,
Hips in line with each other for the first one.
Let's just do the first one with the hips still in one line.
So your right hip is in the same line as your left hip.
Okay,
Now twist,
Taking your left hip up,
Flex your left foot and look underneath your left armpit.
First with the legs straight,
Very good,
Stay in the leg position.
Okay,
Now bend your knee,
Bring your heel towards your buttock,
Go a little bit deeper,
Really opening up the hip,
Have a rest if you need to have a rest,
It's okay.
Take your left leg back again with an inhale and an exhale,
Swing it forward,
Left knee onto the floor,
Stretch your right leg back.
So the same process,
Remember if your hips are very flexible,
Your left foot comes further forward and you can work more deeply in the hips that way.
If you're not very flexible,
Just keep your left heel in.
Fingertips to the floor,
Straighten your spine,
Lengthen your spine and then walk your hands forward,
Come down over your left leg.
Forehead to the floor but if you can't reach the floor with your head,
Just cross your arms over,
Bring your head onto your arms instead.
And now you're trying to sink that right hip bone down towards the floor.
Breathe deeply,
So while we're doing the hip opening postures,
You will need to keep your breath very long and even,
Notice it's a releasing breath.
Okay,
Walk your hands back in towards you,
Hands onto the floor just in front of your knee and then take,
First one we're going to take the left arm underneath the right,
Twist,
Just bring your left elbow to the floor if it was too deep last time or you can go all the way down,
Left shoulder onto the floor,
Right elbow up,
Palms of the hands together,
Right shoulder back.
So we're moving through layers of letting go.
Okay and then twist back again to the centre,
So we're going to go the opposite way,
This is the deeper way remember,
So right arm underneath the left arm,
Twist,
So just remember if it was too deep last time,
Just bring your elbow further back,
Palms of the hands together or if you can,
You can get your shoulder all the way down to the floor,
Keep your head off the floor,
Lifted,
Try not to relax in the posture,
Some people can relax in this posture,
You can relax in this posture too,
You feel good.
Now keep breathing,
Long breaths,
Keep breathing,
Stay with it.
Okay then inhale,
Twist back again,
Exhale,
Step back into a downward facing dog,
Release your hips.
So we're going to jump forward to sitting at the front of the mat,
So to do this you need to bend your knees,
Hands into the floor,
Come onto the balls of the feet,
Look forward,
Take an inhale,
Lift the buttocks up,
Cross the legs,
Swing the feet forward,
Legs crossed,
Feet onto the floor,
Stretch your legs out into dandasana.
Okay so sitting on the floor in dandasana,
Staff pose,
Make sure that you're sitting on the front of your sitting bones,
Your buttock flesh comes back outwards,
Out the back,
Engage your thighs,
Hands onto your hips,
Lift your chest up,
Bring your chin down towards your chest,
Shoulders rolling back.
So dandasana,
We're also making sure your lower stomach muscles come in,
Your uddiyana bandha,
Lengthen the spine and keep the shoulders back.
Now if you have a tendency to lower,
To sit back into your lower back,
You can have a cushion,
Flex your feet,
Bring your toes back towards your face.
Okay so from here we're going to go into janushasana,
Bring your right foot onto the inside of your left thigh,
Right knee back,
Hips facing towards the front,
Keep your left thigh engaged,
Take an inhale,
Stretch up,
Exhale,
Reach for your left foot,
Holding onto both sides of your left foot.
Now if you can't reach,
You need a belt.
So just remember when you come into the class,
If you need any equipment,
Need any belts,
Grab them before you start.
Holding onto both sides of the belt or both sides of your foot,
Inhale,
Lengthen the spine and exhale,
Fold down.
Keep your back straight,
So move your shoulders back behind you and come forward to the front of the body and then stay looking forward beyond your toes.
So if you're a little bit more flexible,
You can hold onto this wrist or this hand here.
So if you're more flexible and you're coming all the way down towards your leg,
You can reach beyond with your left hand and hold onto your right wrist.
And if you use a belt,
Just remember to keep the belt quite wide so you've got some room for your shoulders to come forward.
Okay,
Take an inhale,
Come back up again.
Now if you're using a belt,
Take both sides of the belt in the left hand or you're going to hold onto your big toe with your left fingers.
Take an inhale,
Take your right arm back,
Sweep your hand back and see if you can bring your hand onto the inner left thigh.
Left arm straight,
Right shoulder back.
So if you can't bring it onto your inner left thigh,
You can just hold onto your t-shirt or your shorts,
Turn and look over towards the right.
So your left arm is straight and you're looking towards the right.
Okay,
Take an inhale,
Come back again to the centre.
So if you're holding the belt,
Now take it into your right hand or you're going to take your right hand onto the little toe side of your foot.
Take an inhale,
Take your left arm back,
Sweep it around again.
Now you're trying to hold onto your inner right thigh or just onto your t-shirt or your shorts.
Turn and look over towards the left.
Now continue with your breath.
This one is a little bit harder to breathe because we're twisting the diaphragm.
Okay and then inhale,
Come back again to the centre.
Exhale,
Take your right foot forward.
Let's bring the left foot onto the inside of the right thigh.
Left foot touching,
Sole of the left foot touching the inner right thigh.
Sitting bones into the floor,
Right thigh engaged.
Inhale,
Lift up.
Just remember to get your belts ready if you need them.
Exhale,
Reach for your right foot or both sides of the belt.
Then pull back again,
Lengthen your spine.
Take your shoulders back.
Keep your right thigh engaged and start to move forward with the front of your body.
Still stay looking beyond your toes.
So those of you a little bit more flexible who want to go further,
You take your right hand around and hold onto your left wrist.
Keep your left arm and your left fingers straight if you're doing this.
So keep that flow of energy.
And then draw yourself along your right leg.
So remember if you're quite far up still,
Try not to hunch down the shoulders.
Just move your chest forward even if you're all the way up.
It's better to keep your spine straight,
Come forward with the front of the body.
Okay,
Take an inhale,
Hold onto your big toe or take both sides of your belt with your right hand and then sweep your left arm back all the way around to the inside of your inner right thigh.
Keep your right arm straight and then roll up your left shoulder.
Keep your long breaths.
Okay,
Inhale,
Twist back again to the centre and now swap the hands over.
So left hand comes onto either both sides of the belt or onto the little toe side of your right foot.
Inhale,
Sweep your right hand back.
Now holding onto the inner left thigh.
Keep your left arm straight,
Right shoulder back,
Turn.
Inhale,
Come back again to the centre and exhale,
Take your feet forward.
So legs outstretched.
So we're going to take a vinyasa from here.
Leave your belts out of the way,
Fingertips to the floor.
Let's try and do this with each breath and each posture.
Inhale,
Legs up,
Fingertips to the floor.
Exhale,
Cross your legs,
Roll forward,
Hands to the floor,
Jump down.
Inhale,
Push through and look up,
Front of the feet.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
So remember when you're coming back to sitting,
You bend your knees and then you sweep your feet forward,
Crossing your legs and sit.
Looks a bit confusing,
But that's it,
Exactly.
Take your legs out in front.
Okay,
So the next posture we're going to do is called mundi tasana.
This means delightful posture.
Some people find it delightful,
Some people not.
Depends on your hips.
Okay,
So bend your knees.
We're going to take the right leg first.
So right leg goes underneath your left knee.
Now make sure your right leg is in line with the front edge of the mat.
So a little bit further forward.
Yep,
A bit more,
A bit more,
A bit more.
Right foot is in line with your left hip.
Okay,
So then hands onto the floor,
Take your left foot and put the side of the foot on top of the right knee.
Let your left knee drop down towards your right foot.
Okay,
So some of you will be up like this.
That's fine.
That's just where you are with your hips.
So if you are quite high up,
You might need a cushion to sit on.
So bring your hands to the sides of your body,
Down by the sides of your hips.
Push your hands into the floor,
Lift up a little bit just to try and feel that into your hips.
So now if your knees are very high,
You're just going to keep your hands into the floor and continue supporting yourself with your hands onto the floor.
If your knees are already dropping down,
Bring your hands in front of your legs and start to walk your fingers forward along the floor,
Lengthen forward.
So use your breath.
Now remember these are hip unlocking postures,
So stay with the breath,
Long deep breaths.
Let's see if this helps.
Okay,
Use your breath,
Lengthen forward.
So we're going to stay on this side for a little while.
Just remember at the beginning of the class I said hips can be emotional.
If you're feeling emotional,
Don't worry,
Just ride with it.
Try not to move away from it.
It's this kind of work that helps us to release into the hips.
Okay,
Walk your hands back in towards you.
Try and stay with it.
So staying on this side,
We're going to cross the legs over and bring the feet in towards the sides into Gomukasana legs.
So now your feet are closing towards your hips.
You might want to lift yourself up,
Readjust yourself.
You're going to take one hand on top of your top knee.
Yeah,
This knee needs to be this way,
No?
Your bottom knee.
Further forward and your top knee further that way.
So hand on your top knee and the other hand goes underneath your other knee.
We're going to try and press them together.
So you should already feel something there.
Stay with it,
Whistle.
Okay,
Now release your knees,
Bring your fingers to the floor.
Walk your hands forward again.
So lengthen forward along your knees.
Okay,
Now you're going to walk your hands towards your right.
So walk your hands over towards your right.
So now you're in a diagonal.
Lengthen forward again.
So you'll feel something else releasing in the hip.
Keep your hands apart,
So give your shoulders some room.
A little bit too far there,
Pretty.
Back again to the centre.
Walk your hands back again to the centre and then over towards the left.
So just remember,
The longer we stay in these hip-unlocking postures,
The more you're going to feel it,
The easier the work is later.
Back again to the centre.
Walk your hands back in.
Okay,
So keep in the posture.
Take your left arm out to the side.
Roll your left shoulder down,
So turn your thumb down and then lift it up,
Bend your elbow,
Bring it back behind you in between the shoulder blades.
Then take your right arm up,
Drop your right elbow,
Get your fingers to meet.
Lift your right elbow up,
Your left elbow back.
Keep your head and your neck soft.
So this just comes from the shoulders and the arms.
Relax your neck.
Okay and then take your,
Release your arms.
Stretch your arms out.
Release into your shoulders and now you're going to release your legs on this side.
This is usually where I hear a groan of relief.
Yeah,
Something like that.
Okay,
I promise you,
You will be walking out of here.
It just doesn't feel like it now.
Let's do the other side.
Now I always say this,
You never know,
This could be your more flexible side.
So give it a try.
Always be positive.
Left leg under and then right leg over.
So you're stacking your legs on top of each other if possible.
So if you're more flexible,
Just remember to keep your feet flexed.
So if you flex your feet then you're going to feel it deeper into the hips.
Try and get your right ankle on top of your left knee.
Use your cushions to lift up,
That can help.
Hands by the sides of the hips.
Push your hands into the floor,
Lift up.
Get your arms straight,
Lengthen into the spine,
Just so you can feel that release in your hip.
And then those of you that are coming forward,
Bring your fingertips in front of your legs and walk forward.
If it's too far for you today,
If it's too deep for you,
Just keep your hands to the sides of your body and stay there instead.
So yeah,
Krista you can just bring your hands onto your cushion and stay like that.
Just stay there and you'll still feel something working.
Walk your fingers forward.
Those of you more flexible,
Just keep moving further forward,
Opening up your shoulders,
Keeping your arms,
Your hands apart.
And then don't forget to breathe.
Long breaths.
The longer your breath,
The more of a release you're going to find.
Good.
Take this process internally.
Stay with it,
It's good and normal.
We're all at different stages,
It doesn't matter where you are in this process,
It's still working.
Walk your hands back in towards you.
So now let's cross the legs further over.
Bring your heels in towards the sides of your buttocks.
Point your toes.
So you might want to just lift up onto your hands,
Readjust yourself to get your sitting bones in the floor.
Toes pointed,
Gomukasana legs.
Yeah,
You might want to try that cushion again.
So have a little bit of height.
If you find it very difficult then you can always just lift up on your cushion,
That helps a little bit.
Yeah,
No,
You're doing well.
Stay with it.
Okay,
So fingertips into the floor and then walk forward again.
Lengthen down over your right leg.
Stay breathing.
So if it feels a little bit uncomfortable,
I keep saying this,
It's supposed to feel uncomfortable.
In order for us to release our hips,
It's going to feel a little bit uncomfortable.
More for some people than for others.
So walk your fingers now towards the left.
Just along in a diagonal over your left leg.
So not all the way over your foot,
More over your leg.
Yeah,
That's it.
Stay breathing.
Long deep releasing breaths.
Just remember this breath in and out through the nose.
This Ujjayi breath tells us we have calm in our body.
So we're not in a fearful situation,
We're in a calm situation.
And then walk your hands back again to the centre and then towards the right.
Back again to the centre.
Walk your hands back in.
So let's just stay here for a little while longer.
Take your right arm out to the side.
Roll your right shoulder forward and the thumb down and then bring your right hand up in between your shoulder blades.
Palm of the hand facing outwards.
Lift your left arm up.
Stretch it up and then reach down,
Hold onto your fingers.
Left elbow up,
Right elbow back.
So if you can't quite reach you can use a belt to hold onto.
Left elbow up,
Right elbow back.
Keep your head and your neck free.
So roll back this left shoulder to release your neck.
We're trying to create some space in between the neck and the shoulders.
Okay and then release that side.
Take your arms out wide.
Bring your hands onto the floor,
Release your legs.
Size and satisfaction.
Move your cushions,
Props out of the way.
Get your feet out in front.
So we're going to take a vinyasa.
Let's just shake all this up a little bit.
See if we can feel our hips again.
Fingertips to the floor.
Take an inhale,
Lift your legs up.
Exhale,
Cross your legs underneath you.
Roll forward,
Jump back,
Lower down.
Inhale,
Push through,
Lock up.
Exhale,
Downward dog.
Okay inhale,
Jump back again to sitting.
Lift forward,
Cross your legs and then take your feet out in front.
Beautiful.
Now we're getting somewhere.
Legs forward.
Okay so let's just bend the knees again.
We're going to take the left leg under,
Right leg over.
So this time the right foot is on the floor and your left heel is towards your right buttock.
So this is,
What is this?
Adho Matsyendrasana.
Hands onto your knees,
Lift up.
So both your buttocks into the floor,
Lift up,
Holding onto your knees,
Lengthen your spine.
Take your right hand back behind you.
So you can bring your fingertips to the floor into a tripod.
Right hand.
Right hand,
Julia.
Yeah so you've done the other leg,
You need to cross it the other way.
Hang on a minute.
Where are we?
So your left leg should be under,
Right leg on top.
Left leg under,
Right leg on top.
If you're not doing that.
Left under,
Right on top.
That's it.
Now we're twisting to the right.
Good.
Left elbow over your right knee.
Fingertips,
Right hand to the floor,
Twist towards the right.
So you're going to keep your left elbow bent along your chest.
Well those of you that can,
Can reach the left arm in between the knees and then reach the right hand back behind them,
Hold onto your fingers.
So if you're going a little bit deeper.
Your right arm comes underneath.
Yeah so your left arm underneath your right arm back,
That's it.
And then turn to the podium.
Yep,
You're nearly there.
On your back,
Good.
Okay so if you're not quite there,
Just keep that arm.
Keep breathing.
Okay then inhale,
Come back again to the centre.
Stretch your legs out in front.
Bend your knees again.
Let's go the other way.
So this time the right leg is under,
Your left foot is over the other side of your right thigh.
Ardha Matsyendrasana.
Hands onto your knees just to lengthen your spine.
So the longer your spine is,
The more you're able to twist.
So we're going in towards this left leg now.
Left hand behind you.
So your hands,
You can either have just your fingertips to the floor or hands flat on the floor,
Depends on the length of your body.
Take an inhale,
Lift up,
Exhale,
Twist to the left.
Right elbow over your left knee.
Keep your arm bent,
Your elbow bent and your palms of your hands across your chest.
Or you can take your hand underneath your bent knee,
Reach back with your left hand and twist.
Look over towards your left.
Stay breathing.
Look to the left,
Behind you.
Okay and then inhale,
Come back again to the centre.
Exhale,
Take your feet out in front.
So we're going to take a vinyasa again,
All the way through back to sitting.
Fingertips to the floor.
Use your breath.
Inhale,
Lift your legs up.
Exhale,
Cross your legs,
Roll forward,
Jump back.
Lower down,
Chaturanga Dandasana.
Inhale,
Push through,
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
Exhale,
Adho Mukha Svanasana.
Inhale,
Jump back again to sitting.
Cross your legs.
Almost all the way through.
Feet forward at the ends of the mat.
So palms of the hands facing each other.
Keep your legs working,
Sitting in Dandasana.
Slowly lower down to halfway.
Draw in your stomach,
Your Uddiyana Bandha.
Look at your feet.
Open up your chest.
Hold it.
Okay,
Now you're going to come all the way down towards the floor.
So we're going to do Setu Bandhasana.
Soles of the feet flat on the floor,
Feet hip width apart.
If you have any hair bands in the way of your neck,
Move your hair ornaments out of the way.
Just make sure that nothing disturbs the line of your neck.
So your feet are hip width apart and flat on to the floor.
You're going to reach down and hold on to the back of your ankles.
If you can't reach the back of your ankles and you've got a belt,
You can put the belt around the front of your shoes.
Okay,
Shoulders underneath.
Let's use the belt here.
Shoulders underneath and then push your soles of your feet into the floor and lift up your hips.
Come onto your shoulder blades on the back of your head and your neck.
That's it,
Lovely.
Right up into your upper back.
Okay,
So coming down from this posture,
You're going to lower down from the top of the spine.
So from the top,
In between your shoulders,
Lower down,
Curl your back,
Get your lower back.
So you have to curl your hips to lower your lower back into the floor.
So you're either going to do this posture again for ten breaths this time.
So if you're more of a beginner,
Just do this posture again.
If you're more experienced,
You can do all of the Dandasana where you take your hands underneath your shoulders and then lift up,
Straight arms.
Okay,
So let's come up.
You can do either Setu Bandhasana or Urdhva Dandasana,
Ten breaths.
Take an inhale,
Lift up,
Whichever one you're doing.
If you're doing all of the Dandasana,
Try and get your arms straight,
Look back towards your feet.
Also make sure that your toes are level with each other.
One,
Two,
Three.
Okay,
So once you come down from your posture,
You can come all the way down.
Hug your knees in towards your chest.
Give yourself a little hug.
Get your lower back into the floor.
Cross your legs over at your ankles.
So cross your legs at your ankles.
Reach down,
Hold on to the top of your feet.
That's it.
And then you rock your lower back into the floor.
A bit surprised?
Okay,
Then cross your legs the opposite way.
Hold on to your feet again.
Hug your heels in towards your buttocks and your lower back into the floor.
Okay,
So now time for Shavasana.
You're going to slowly lower your legs out along the floor.
Let your feet drop out to the sides.
Relaxation.
Feet and legs are loose.
Palms of the hands facing up.
Close your eyes.
Relaxing all your muscles and bones into the floor.
So your feet are wide enough so that you can feel that your legs are loose and your hands are far enough away from your body so that your shoulders relax.
Feel all your muscles and bones relaxing into the floor.
Feel your spine becoming soft and loose.
Sinking down to the floor.
Relax your shoulders.
Relax the back of the neck and the throat.
Release all the muscles in the face so your jaw is relaxed and your cheeks are soft.
The tongue is placed on the roof of the mouth,
Just behind the top teeth.
Feel your eyes move deeper into the sky,
Like two small pebbles dropping down to the depths of the ocean.
You're either lying on the floor in Shavasana,
Observing your body go through layers of letting go.
You have nothing to do.
Nowhere to go.
Begin to feel all the places that your body touches the floor.
Start to take some deeper breaths.
Remove your fingers and toes.
Gently rock your head from side to side.
You can have a stretch,
Taking your arms back behind your head.
Stretch down to the tips of your toes.
So we're going to roll onto the right side of the body.
So bend your left knee.
Keep your right arm where it is.
Bend your left knee.
Roll onto the right.
So your right arm supports your head.
Your left knee drops to the floor.
Your left arm drops to the front.
Stay in this recovery position for a little while longer.
When you're ready,
You can come back up to a seated position.
Sit in a comfortable position.
Take your time coming up.
I'll just read to you some words from Patanjali,
Who was the noble sage who first formatted the practice of yoga,
Who first wrote about it,
Documented it.
When you are inspired by some great purpose,
Some extraordinary project,
All your thoughts break their bonds.
Your mind transcends limitations.
Your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new,
Great and wonderful world.
Dormant forces,
Faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a great person,
By far greater than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
So hopefully yoga is the process where you can discover that you are a great person.
It is tough and it does take some time.
Some of you are at different levels to other people.
Don't be put off by it.
Just go with what your body can do and what you can achieve.
It's very much a personal journey.
Bring your hands together in front of your chest.
Thumbs towards your heart centre and the other four fingers move away in Anjali Mudra.
Anjali means offering.
So if you want you can place a thought,
A mantra,
In between your hands and you can offer this thought from your heart to the universe.
So it might be a word or a sentence,
Something that means something to you for the time that you're here or for a longer time.
Think of that word,
Think of that phrase.
We will chant three oms to finish,
To send that thought from our hearts to the universe.
If you want to join me,
Take a breath in.
Om.
Now let's see if you can walk.
