I'm Chanel,
And today I'm going to guide you through an energy boosting flow for perimenopause.
This will help for just when you're feeling in a slump,
Mid-afternoon,
Morning,
Whenever you just need that pick-me-up,
This is your go-to class.
So let's start on hands and knees,
Just starting to get a little bit of movement into the body.
Hands under shoulders,
Knees under hips,
Big inhale,
Come into cow belly.
Exhale,
Press away from the earth into cat.
Inhale,
Back to cow,
And this time something new,
Go ahead and press back into child's pose.
As you come up through your exhale,
Arch the spine,
Let the head drop.
Inhale into cow.
Exhale,
Child's Pose for a full cycle of breath here.
Big breath in.
Exhale,
Arching through the spine.
And then bring the spine to neutral.
Walk the hands up,
The feet up to meet the hands.
Forward fold here,
Let's grab opposite elbows.
Keeping a bend in the knee,
Just kind of waking up the back body.
You can sway side to side.
And then release the hands,
Roll up through the spine,
Coming all the way up to standing,
Roll the shoulders back.
Palms face forward into our mountain pose,
Getting ready for our sun salutation.
Roll the shoulders back.
Heart open,
Chin lifted,
Knees lifted,
Big breath in.
Big breath out.
Coming to the top of your mat if you're not there already.
On the next inhale,
Reach up,
Look up,
A little back bend here.
Exhale,
Forward fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Reaching out through the spine.
Exhale,
Forward Fold,
Plant the hands,
Step back to Plank.
You always have the option here to drop to the knees.
Exhale,
Lower down nice and slow all the way down to the ground.
Untuck the toes,
Roll up through the chest,
Opening the heart,
Pausing here at low cobra.
Or coming up to a high cobra.
Big breath in.
Exhale and release.
Tuck the toes,
Push up to hands and knees or up to Plank.
And from here,
Back to Downward Facing Dog.
Big breath in.
Big breath out.
Look up between the hands,
Step up.
And let's do that one more time.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Exhale,
Forward fold.
Inhale,
Reach both arms up to stand.
Exhale,
Hands at heart center.
Inhale,
Reach up,
Look up,
Baby back bend here.
Exhale,
Forward fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Reach out for the spine.
Exhale,
Forward Fold,
Plant the hands.
Step back to Plank or Knee Plank.
Lower down halfway or all the way,
Keeping the elbows nice and close to the body.
And then untuck the toes.
Inhale,
Reach up to Cobra or Up Dog.
Exhale,
Downward Facing Dog,
Three breaths.
You can feel that energy starting to flow already,
The heart beating just a little faster.
On the next inhale,
Lift the right leg up behind you.
Exhale,
Step it through the hands,
Drop to the back knee.
Now,
If that knee doesn't feel comfortable,
You can pad it up by just taking your mat and bending it,
Adding a little extra padding for your knee.
You always have that option.
On the next inhale,
Raise the arms up overhead,
And then sink down,
Stretching out through the hip.
Big breath in.
Big breath out.
Lower the hands down.
Keeping the feet as they are,
Send the hips back.
Reaching the right leg towards straight.
Now you can keep the toes pointed,
Reaching toward the mat,
Or flex that foot.
Just notice where you feel the stretch a little bit differently as you move through the foot.
Bend the right knee once again.
And then come back to downward facing dog.
Pausing here,
Maybe pedaling out the feet.
On the next inhale,
The left leg lifts up.
And then step it through,
Coming right up between the hands,
Drop the back knee to the back.
Inhale,
Reach both arms up.
And sink into that knee.
Again,
Fold your mat over if you need a little padding.
Feel this stretch here in the hip flexor.
Opening up stagnant areas of the body to let that energy just flow through.
Your back toes can be tucked under or you can be on top of foot,
Really whatever gives you more stability there.
One more big breath in.
And then exhale,
Hands on either side of the foot and send the hips back.
Again,
Toes can be touching towards the mat or flexed.
Finding where you need the stretch.
And then bend into the left knee.
Follow me for this transition.
We're gonna tuck the right toes under,
Lift up through the right knee,
And then walk our hands around to the right side,
Coming into wide-legged forward fold.
The toes point in slightly,
So you're a little pigeon-toed here,
And then you fold forward.
Any amount.
Until you feel the stretch all along the back of the legs.
Now here you can add in a little movement.
If that feels good,
Swaying the upper body side to side,
You can clasp opposite elbows.
Maybe you want to reach on the back of ankles and just gently pull yourself in a little bit more.
Intensifying this stretch.
Lots of options here in this wide leg forward fold.
Now one thing I want you to notice,
Where's the weight of your body?
Is it coming back into the heels?
If so,
We sometimes do that to get out of the stretch.
So pay attention,
Make sure your weight is evenly distributed between the balls of the feet and the heels,
Maybe even leaning slightly forward here.
Again,
Loosening up these tight energy or these tight spots brings energy back to the body,
Allows everything to flow.
One more big breath here.
And then let's walk our hands around to the top of the mat.
And step it back to downward facing dog.
Shift forward into plank or knee plank and then lower all the way down to the mat.
For sphinx pose,
Untuck the toes,
Bring the elbows directly under the shoulders.
Compress the hips into the mat and lift the head.
Feels so good.
Opening up through the chest,
The heart,
Shoulders roll back and down.
You can stay here or add on if you'd like.
Take the left hand,
Angle it in slightly,
Bend the right knee,
And then reach back for the right foot.
If you can't reach it,
That's okay.
This is a great place to use a strap if you want to Lasso your foot in a little bit there.
And gently release,
And let's switch sides.
So come back to your Sphinx,
The right hand angles in slightly.
The left knee bends,
Reach back for that left foot.
Maybe you hold onto it,
Maybe not.
Maybe we just reach back energetically.
Still getting that quad stretch.
And release.
Let's push ourselves up to a seat.
A nice easy seat,
Sukhasana pose.
And we'll come into a twist,
Twisting to the left side.
Bring the hand behind,
Sit up straight and tall,
And then twist,
Look around behind you.
Gently unwind,
Coming to the right side.
Left hand to right knee,
Inhale,
Lift.
Exhale,
Twist.
And gently unwind.
Let's come into child's pose.
You can come into an extended child's pose,
Or for this one,
I'm gonna bring my knees together,
Heels together,
Bringing the hands back by the heels,
Forehead resting on the mat.
Letting the shoulder blades drop away from each other.
Feeling that opening in the back body all along the spine.
Through the shoulder blades here.
Feeling the body start to melt and relax into the floor.
Preparing for our final resting pose,
Which is coming right up.
One more breath in.
Slow,
Steady breath out.
And let's come onto our back,
Moving slowly and mindfully,
Coming into our final relaxation.
Lay back on the mat.
Feet come apart.
Palms face up.
Finding a comfortable spot on the mat.
Letting the heart open,
Tuck the shoulders under.
Heart openers,
We've had a few here,
They increase our energy.
And so even here,
As we're resting,
We want to think of this energy flow,
This energetic flow.
We're letting our body relax.
But even in its resting state,
It has the potential to move,
To be energized.
In this Shavasana pose,
We're gonna let everything go.
And we're gonna let the breath and energy flow through our body.
And as we spend the next few moments in silence,
I want you to feel that energy just flowing through your body.
Now go ahead and lengthen the breath.
Take a really deep breath in.
And feel that oxygen,
That fresh oxygen energizing your fingers.
Wiggle them out.
Exhale.
Let's do the same thing,
Deep breath in,
All the way down to your toes,
And then use that oxygen to wiggle your toes,
Wiggle your feet,
Maybe roll out the ankles,
Waking up the feet.
And then one more deep inhale,
Biggest inhale yet as we stretch the arms overhead and the legs out,
Reach,
Reach,
Reach.
And as you exhale,
Roll over to your right side,
Curl up in a tiny ball.
Pausing here to notice the effects of your practice.
Keep your eyes closed as you come to a seated position,
Our easy seat,
Our Sukhasana.
Sit up straight and tall and feel the difference.
After completing this practice.
Blink the eyes open.
You did it.
I hope you feel amazing,
Energized,
Ready to go on with the rest of your day.
Hands at heart center.
Namaste.
