Welcome to day 16.
I'm excited to share this practice with you.
Today is all about chest opening,
Slight back bends,
But mostly opening the ribcage for breathing and for ease of movement,
Mobility.
You want to use two blocks if you have them or anything similar for the chest opening poses.
So let's get started.
Position your blocks at the front of your mat.
And then come into Tadasana.
Standing pose.
Just pressing your feet,
Hip width apart in two.
The floor.
And take a few deep breaths.
Into the chest.
The sides.
And the belly.
Just exaggerate for two,
Three.
Deep breath.
Your inhale.
And just let go on the exhale.
So you can Just notice where you might feel tight.
Where the breathing might not feel as easy.
And let's see if we can.
.
.
Maybe go there today.
So take a deep inhale,
Hands into prayer.
And on the next inhale,
Lift the sternum slightly.
And exhale,
Bend knees,
Coming into forward fold.
Inhale,
Hands on your block or your shins and then lift.
And lengthen into tabletop.
On the exhale,
Release.
Inhale,
Bend knees,
Hands flat on the ground,
Step back into plank pose.
Take one deep breath,
Then low,
Knees down.
Exhale,
Chest.
Towards the floor.
Then inhale.
Lifting the chest.
Exhale,
Lower down.
I'm going to stay here,
Just a little gentle opening of the chest.
Inhale.
Sternum forwards and exhale,
Release.
Inhale,
Lift.
Open the heart.
Radiate from the sternum and exhale,
Release.
Inhale it.
Exhale,
Release.
Do that one more time.
Inhale,
Lift.
And exhale,
Release.
Then strong core,
Press up.
And on the exhale,
Come back into downward facing dog.
Inhale,
Lift onto toes.
And exhale,
Release.
Now stay here in down dog.
And stay on your right arm and see if you can touch your right leg with your left hand.
Big exhale.
And inhale,
Come back.
Exhale try the other side,
Right hand tries to touch.
Your left leg,
Inhale,
Back forward,
Exhale and inhale back,
Exhale touch.
Inhale back,
Exhale touch.
Inhale,
Back to down dog.
Exhale,
Touch.
That's another version of three-legged dog.
Two feet,
One hand.
One last time,
Right hand touches the left leg and then come back here to center.
If you need to bring the knees down,
Press back into child's pose.
If that's available to you,
Stay in down dog.
Just a few deep breaths here.
What happened?
What just happened?
Nice.
Then let's meet back in downward facing dog.
Big inhale,
Bend the knees,
Look forward,
Hop,
Step,
Jump forwards into forward fold.
Inhale,
Extend into tabletop.
And exhale,
Release.
Inhale,
Bend knees,
Roll up.
Arms come overhead,
Then keep the left arm up,
Bend it all the way over to the right on the exhale.
Inhale,
Come back up,
Release the arm.
Change,
Inhale right arm comes up,
Exhale to the side,
Inhale change,
Exhale bend,
Inhale change,
Exhale,
Bend.
Inhale,
Change.
Exhale,
Bend.
Inhale,
Change,
Right arm up.
Exhale,
Bend to the left.
And release,
Both arms come up,
Hands in prayer.
And on the next inhale,
Lift the sternum,
Open the chest.
Coming to that slight back bend.
Take the gaze up.
And then exhale,
Bend the knees,
Roll forward into that very safe feeling,
Forward fold,
Nice.
Stay here,
One deep breath.
And exhale,
Settle into forward fold.
Then inhale,
Lift.
Into tabletop.
And exhale,
Release.
Inhale,
Bend knees a lot,
Hands flat,
Step back into plank.
Let's stay here for side plank.
So inhale.
Twist onto the left,
Lift the right arm up to the sky or ceiling.
And come back to centre.
Inhale lift.
Exhale back to centre,
Inhale lift,
Now you can bring your knee down See if you can press your hips up.
To the sky or ceiling.
And exhale back to centre.
Inhale,
Side plank.
You can bring the knee down.
If you want to.
And exhale back to center.
Inhale up.
Exhale,
Center and last time lift the left arm up.
To the sky or ceiling.
And.
.
.
Exhale,
Back to plank.
Knees down on the floor.
Last effort.
Down.
Lying flat on the floor.
Inhale up.
Exhale,
Lower down.
Let's stay here.
Inhale,
Up one more time.
Lift.
And now look over your shoulders,
Right shoulder,
Lift.
And exhale,
Release.
Inhale and exhale.
And exhale release.
Right shoulder lifts.
Exhale,
Release.
Nice.
Last time,
Your left shoulder lifts.
Exhale,
Release.
Then just stay here,
Make a cushion with both of your hands.
And release your hips.
Shaking your hips down in pranam on the floor your forehead on both of your hands just releasing All tension from the lower back,
Shaking your hips.
Left and right.
And breathing deeply.
Nice,
Then slowly walk your hands back underneath your shoulders,
Strong core.
Then from here,
Press yourself up into plank and on the exhale into downward facing dog.
Then inhale,
Lift onto toe mounds and exhale,
Press into your heels.
Then step the left foot to center,
Inhale,
Lift the right leg.
Right leg up.
Three-legged dog and on the exhale step back.
Forward.
As we prepare for warrior one so anchor your back foot 45 degrees then press the outer arch into the mat and on the next inhale lift into warrior one Then interlace your fingers behind your back.
Inhale,
Open the chest.
Draw the shoulders down.
Big inhale.
And as you exhale,
Join your right shoulder with your right knee.
Humble warrior,
Inhale back up.
Into warrior one And exhale.
Humble warrior.
So here the hands fly up to the sky or ceiling.
As we open the shoulder girdle.
So this flow is a combination between chest opener.
In Warrior 1.
And the shoulder opener here.
In humble warrior two more times inhale And exhale bow.
Inhale,
Lift.
And exhale,
Bow into humble warrior.
The Mix Time Lift!
Into warrior one And then pivot your back foot back into lunge,
Bring the hands on the floor,
Step back into plank,
Knees down if you want to,
And press into Chaturanga.
Inhale,
Lift.
Exhale,
Lower down.
Inhale,
Press up.
Exhale,
Down into downward facing dog.
Now again,
Bring your right leg up into three-legged dog.
Then bend the knee and shift the weight onto the outer arch of your left foot,
Coming into some kind of side plank until your right foot reaches The ground coming into wild thing pose.
So open the side,
Open the chest.
Stretch the right arm back.
Take a few deep breaths here.
Pressing the hips.
Up towards the scale ceiling.
And then slowly come back into plank.
Pivot your left foot.
I'm down,
Chaturanga.
Pressing.
Onto the floor,
Inhale,
Lift.
Cobra.
And exhale back down.
And we slowly meet back.
And downward facing dog.
Then step your feet together,
Inhale,
Lift the left leg up.
And exhale bring the left foot forward as we prepare for warrior one so anchor your back foot 45 degrees inhale lift arms come up overhead open the chest And then interlace both hands behind the back.
Roll the shoulders back and down.
As you lift the sternum and open.
Big inhale.
And exhale,
Join the left shoulder.
With the left knee.
Exhale.
Inhale,
Lift,
Open the chest.
And exhale.
Stretching the shoulder girdle.
Inhale,
Lift.
And exhale,
Release forward as you bow into humble warrior.
Inhale,
Lift.
Two more times.
Exhale,
Hands reach towards the sky or ceiling.
Inhale,
Reaching back up.
And exhale,
Release full width.
Last time,
Coming up into warrior one,
Both hands fly to the sky.
Then pivot your back foot as you come back down.
Into plank,
Bring the knees down.
Saturanga.
Inhale,
Lift into cobra.
Exhale release,
Inhale press up.
And exhale back into downward facing dog.
Again,
Right knee,
Right leg to center.
Inhale,
Left leg flies up,
Then bend the left knee and pivot onto the right outer arch into a side plank until your left foot reaches the ground.
Wild thing on your right hand,
Then press the hips up and raise the arm up and over behind you.
Nice chest opener.
Shoulder girdle mobility.
Once more,
Reach up with the hips.
Then release back down again,
Pivot on your right foot into plank,
Pressing down Chaturanga.
Inhale,
Lift.
Into cobra.
Now simply press back into child's pose,
Taking your blocks with you.
So inhale,
Press up.
Exhale into child's pose and you might just want to stay here after that wild thing pose and have the safe floor under your forehead and your hands.
If you want to go a little deeper.
Into that shoulder opener you can use your blocks to Either have them lying flat and put your hands on your blocks.
Lift them up on the side.
And I do feel like having them upright.
To go into a deep shoulder girdle stretch.
Having the knees.
Met with a par,
Just letting the upper body Relax forward.
While we breathe into that.
Spine to relax and that shoulder girdle.
To open.
Nice deep breath here.
We're almost there.
And then slowly get your hands back on the floor,
Get your blocks.
Out of the way and shift your weight.
Onto your hips.
And come back into.
Lying or finishing.
With bridge pose,
So.
Roll yourself back.
Stretch out onto your back.
Bring your feet close to your hips and then inhale,
Lift.
Into bridge post.
You want to interlace your hands.
Behind your back,
Crawling.
Onto the backs of your shoulders.
Then lift the hips as high as you can.
Another Opening of the front body.
You deep breath here.
Then slowly Rolling back.
Onto the ground maybe.
Pull your knees in.
Nose towards the knees,
Roll yourself up one last time.
And then stretch out.
For final resting pose.
And stay completely still.
Allow your body to relax completely.
Letting go of any tension.
Let your feet naturally fall outward.
Your thighs release their grip.
And your hips loosen.
As if the ground underneath you.
Is cradling your body.
Making you feel safe.
And secure.
Let your shoulders melt into the mat.
As your arms gently roll outward.
With your palms and fingertips.
Facing up.
Towards the sky.
Your neck is free of any strain.
Letting your head rest softly.
On your mat or your small pillow.
We are now embarking on a dream journey.
Into a stalactite cave.
Your guide is ready.
With a flashlight and we'll show you the cave.
You are.
Warmly dressed.
As it gets cold and wet in the cave.
And you are in front of that big rock.
In the forest.
You walk closer.
To the rock.
And towards the wooden door.
Your guide opens.
That creaking door and you step in.
Into the rock.
Suddenly it is dark.
You are is.
Slowly adjust to the darkness.
But your guide's flashlight turns on.
And shows you the way.
Your feet.
Enter a path.
That is sandy and wet.
With bare rocks sticking out everywhere.
You take a few steps deeper.
Into the cave.
You stay at ground level and continue.
Into the rock.
Suddenly your guide stops.
And looks around with a flashlight.
You have arrived in a large cave.
The ceiling is a few meters above you.
And the rock opens wide to the sides.
Some parts of that cave are still in the dark.
From the ceiling.
The stalactites slowly move towards the stalagmites.
Your guide says.
.
.
Eventually they will meet and grow together.
But it will be many,
Many years until then.
Nature works slowly.
But with a sure hand.
And the light goes out.
And both of you stand in the middle of the large cave.
Just listening.
You realize how small you are.
And how old and powerful the rocks are.
Your senses sharpen.
Your body tenses in an unusual way.
In that darkness.
You hear the dripping.
Of the cave.
And a light breeze from somewhere.
Your senses are heightened.
This darkness.
The cave almost comes alive.
And you become.
A part of it.
You are plunged into profound darkness.
Envelope.
By the cave's silence.
You grasp the enormity of the natural world.
And you become aware of this silent passage.
Of time.
Your guide turns the light back on.
And smiles.
Both of you have experienced.
A connection with the cave's ancient wisdom.
A reminder of the beauty and power.
Of the natural world that surrounds us.
And as you and your guide walk back out of the cave following the flashlight.
Follow.
The sound of my voice to come back into here and now.
Slowly back onto your mat.
Back to the end of your yoga practice.
Take in everything that you wish.
From the practice and from that cave.
With you.
And as you take a few deep breaths,
You can star too.
Move your body.
Bring your awareness back into your body,
Your hands,
Your fingers.
Your feet and your toes.
And grab one knee.
Roll yourself back up into sitting,
Maybe grab one block.
Just sit on with more ease.
Cross-legged position.
Just enjoy.
That space.
That spaciousness in the ribcage.
Enjoy taking the air in as your shoulder girdle moves freely.
On your ribcage,
Letting the air in into all sides of your body.
And take a deep inhale.
Join the hands in prayer.
Join the thumbs with your foreheads.
Your chin.
And your chest.
Namaste.
Thank you so much for joining and I'll see you all tomorrow.
