Gentle Flow

A nurturing practice designed to help you slow down, reconnect with your body, and move with kindness and awareness. Through gentle movement, mindful breathing, and moments of stillness, this flow invites you to release tension and cultivate inner calm. Build confidence through compassionate movement while honouring where you are today. A welcoming practice that reminds you that strength can be found in softness.

Transcript

Let's begin by sinking into the breath. Becoming aware of this present moment. And just notice how you feel. Notice the sensations of your breath. As we breathe in. Breathe out. Deepening the inhalation. Slowing the exhalation. See if you can breathe in and out through your nose. Listening to the sounds of your breath. Sensations. Maybe the rise and fall of your belly. The breath passing in and out through your nostrils. And whatever comes up in today's gentle flow, Just be aware. Curiosity rather than judgments to any sensations. Within the body. Any thoughts that come up. Just letting all these things be transient. Let them come and go. As much as possible, Letting go of attachments to how we feel. To how we want to feel, Just being present. And showing up in this moment. Good, Let's bring in some movement. You can keep your eyes closed. We'll start off with gentle rolls through the shoulders. Inhale, Bring your shoulders up towards your ears. Exhale back and down. Just move nice and slow. Connecting your breath to the movement in a gentle way. A forgiving way. Inhale as the shoulders come up towards the ears. Exhale back and down. You are safe in this moment. Letting go of the past, Letting go of the future, Just being here. Excellent. Let your shoulders rest down and back. We'll interlace our fingers, Pressing your palms away. Inhale as we reach our arms up. Exhale as we slide our arms down on the exhalation nice and slow. Let's take that sequence again. Inhale as your palms stretch away. Exhale as they come down. Nice and slow. Last time, Inhale, Interlace, Reach your hands up on the inhale, Keep your hands lifted on your inhalation. Exhale, Twist over to the right. Inhale back to center. Exhale to the left. Back to center exhale release the right hand down lift the left hand up and over staying connected through your left hip as we reach and open through your side body. Maybe feeling some tingling sensations in the upper arm, Fingertips. Inhale, Reach both hands back up. Now let's take it to the other side. Right hand draws up and over. Right hip is still connected with the mat or the cushion you're sitting on as we open up through the right side body. And I'll reach both hands up. Palms press in together, Exhale, Hands to heart center. On your next exhalation, Bring your chin to your chest, Stretching through the back of the neck. Rest your hands back on your palm and just drawing half circles right ear towards the right shoulder on the inhalation. Exhalation come down. Inhalation to the left. And just let yourself move with this breath. On your next in exhalation, Let the chin come back to the chest. Inhale, Lift the gaze, Roll the shoulders, And let's gently transition into our tabletop position. So stacking the shoulders over top of the wrists. Hips over top of your knees, And begin with just a gentle cat-cat. Taking your time to arrive. On your inhale, Arch through the back. Exhale round into cat pose. And again, Connect the breath to the movement in your body. In a slow and gentle way. If you want to find any creative movement, Maybe rocking the hips side to side, Drawing circles with the torso, Whatever feels good for you here. As we just bring space and openness into the spine. On your next exhale, We'll come back to neutral spine, Nice and long, Tailbone shooting forwards. Press into the left palm, Reach your right hand up to the sky. And exhale, Gently bring that right arm down, Come to the right shoulder, Twist. Inhale rise back up taking this as a flow and thread the needle. We'll take it three times, Exhale number two. Inhale, Reach up, Open through the chest. And last one, Come to rest on the right shoulder in our twist. Allow the right shoulder to rest down. EF it feels. Right in your body. Allow your left hand to reach forward. Or take a bind up and over to the lower back or inner right thigh. Breathe here. If your hand was in a bind or reached forward, Bring it back as a stabilizer. Inhale, Reach that right hand back up. Come back to tabletop. And let's sink our hips back towards our heels. Child's pose, Stretch through both hands into the shoulders, Into the armpits. Inhale, Come forward, Maybe all the way into cobra by allowing the hips gently to lower. If that's too much, Just stick with tabletop. And moving back and forth with your breath from child's pose. Inhale to tabletop. Or cobra. Can we move even slower? Can we slow down the breath? Can we notice the sensations rippling through our body from our head to our toes as we move? Being present here, Not thinking about the past or future. And on your next inhalation, We'll come back to that tabletop. Shoulders over the wrists, Hips over knees, Press into the right palm, Lift your left head up, Find spaciousness through the chest, Exhale through the nose. 10 comes down. Inhale, Reverse. If your tempo doesn't match mine, That's fine. Link with your breath. In our reach. And last time, Let's come to thread the needle, Staying here. Finding that nice stretch, Right hand is supported. Or reaches forward. Or take the bind. Opening here and also allowing your body weight to sink in. Into your left shoulder, Giving yourself a nice stretch. Are we holding on to our breath or are we letting our breath flow? Good, On your next inhale. Gently bring your right hand back for support if it was in another position. And let's lift up. Lift that left hand up to the sky. Exhale, Tabletop. Let's move through that flow, Maybe reach your hands slightly forward. Exhale, Child's pose. Inhale. Cobra, Or maybe lifting the thighs if you want a little more engagement. Upward facing dog. Exhale, Child's pose. Let your mind and body sink into that breath pattern. Sink into the sensations of your body without judgment. And we'll meet back in Tabletop. On your inhalation. Good. Press into your knuckles, Press your right foot back. Core engaged. Dark Engaged. Exhale, Draw the knee in towards the chest. Inhale extension. Exhale rounding contraction. Move like this. If this feels comfortable maybe add the opposite arm as well. Taking a bird dog series. Inhale, We lengthen and reach. So we exhale, We contract. Taking two more wherever you're at. And on your next exhale, Hold that elbow and knee pressed together, Round to the back. Holding it here, Breathing for three. From two. One, Release the head, Kick the right leg back out. Bring that right leg over to the right side of your mat. Walk your hands in towards your body. And then up to your hips coming into gate pose variation. Shoulders down and back, Maybe roll those shoulders, Press your hips slightly forward, Slight back bend, Bring the elbows towards each other, Look up, Open through your throat. Then come back to center. Inhale reach both hands up Exhale, Slide the right hand down the right leg. Lateral extension through the left side body. Rather than your shoulders sinking down, Keep it up and lifted open through the heart. If it feels okay in the neck, Look up to the sky. Breathing here. Inhale, Reach both hands up. Exhale, Hands to heart. Breathe in a sense of confidence. Exhale any fear. Good, Place the bottom hand down, Right hand lifts up and over. Find as much length from your fingertips to your toes as possible. Opening and stretching the skin through your right side body should feel really nice. If you want a deeper stretch here or a deeper engagement through the leg muscles, Lift your back leg. If you want more of an opening, Take your top hand to the back. Of the foot or ankle. Taking a little bind, Really opening through the chest. Whatever variation you're in, Just breathe. Good, Gently release. If that leg was lifted, Bring it back down. And with support through the torso, Lift your body back up. Hands kiss overhead. Exhale, Heads to heart. Take a breath. Gently we'll come back to tabletop position. Take a cat cow just to reset through the spine. Maybe shift those hips side to side. Notice the sensations we feel through the left and right hips. From back to center. Let's root down to the hands again through our right knee as we kick our left leg back. Toes facing down and slightly inwards so our hips are aligned. Exhale, Draw the knee. Into the chest as we round. Inhale extension, Kick that leg back. Good, Moving with our bird dog flow. Extension. Exhale, Elbow and knee together. Building that heat nice and slow. We feel. To the pattern of our breath. Take one more. On your next exhalation, Wherever you are, Let's hug our elbow knee together. And lift up and out from the earth. Holding it here but continuing to breathe for three, Two, One. Two, One, Release the hand down, Kick the leg back out. And let's bring that leg over to the left side of our mat. And walk your hands in towards the body and up to your hips. Slight back bend, Press your hips forward, Elbows draw inwards. And luck. Put your hands up. Exhale, Slide down the extended leg, Right hand lifts up and over. Imagine yourself between two planes, Maybe two planes of glass so that we're staying upright and lifted, Supported. Breathing in a sense of calm. Exhale, Ease. Just being curious with it, With whatever sensations come up. Inhale, Reach both hands up. Place your right hand down. Left hand lifts up and over. Again, Feel that beautiful stretch from the fingertips to the toes. How long can we extend through the body? Maybe looking up at the sky. If this feels good and you want a bit more of a challenge, Maybe explore lifting the back leg. Engaging through the glutes, Maybe taking that top arm, Bringing it to the top of the back foot or ankle. And come back to the breath. Good. If your leg was lifted, Lower it down, Reach your hands back up. Exhale, Hands to our center, Breathing in a sense of confidence. Exhale, Down. Good, Gently make your way back into tabletop. CapCal to reset. Good, Come back to that neutral spine, Walk your hands forward. We're gonna come into a plank position. So tuck your toes, Lift your knees up, Top of a pushup. If this is too much, Lower the knees. Do what feels right for you. And we're just gonna find a rocking motion forwards and backwards. Allowing a stretch. Are loosening through the ankles and wrists. Come forward. Allow yourself to exhale and gently come down to the belly. Nice and slow, Elbows tucked in. Inhale, Find cobra. We're taking our Chaturanga flow. Exhale, Come back down. Tuck the back toes, Lift up through pushup or tabletop. And then back to downward facing dog. Lift those hips up. And back, Pressing into the hands. Good, If Downward Dog isn't in your practice today, Taking child's pose. And if you're in child's pose, Come back to your tabletop and we'll step the right foot in between our hands. Lower the back knee. Inhale, Rise up, Finding your low lunge. Sink a little deeper into the hips if possible, Keeping awareness, Being able to still see our big toes, So not hyperextending the knee too far forward. Keep nice and lifted, Grabbing on to the left wrist and let's reach it up and over to the right. Lots of lateral extension in today's class. Not only opens to the body, But also allows movement. And open this through the hips. Good, Inhale, Come back up. Let's challenge our balance and try the other side. Grab onto the right wrist, Lift up and over. Good. Inhale, Reach both hands up. Exhale, Frame the top foot. Reach your right hand up, Left hand stays lowered. Gentle twist. If that feels comfortable, Maybe lifting the back knee up for a little more intensity. Exhale, Frame the top foot and let's rock forwards and backwards with our back knee lowered. Coming into our runner's stretch. If you have blocks or books for props, That might work well for you. As we sink both hips back, Walk your hands slightly backwards. Blocks will just allow yourself some more space and length through the spine. Inhale, Find that length. Exhale, Folding back. Forward. Thinking about sending that right hip back so it's aligned with our left hip. Straighten through the right leg and breathe. Good, Inhale, Come back. Let's take that Chaturanga flow, Or you can meet us in Downward Facing Dog. So come to. . . Top of the pushup. Exhale to the belly. Inhale Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale, Ardha Mukha Svanasana, Taking your down dog, Hips lifted back. Find length of the spine, Really press into the hands. Dry the elbow creases. Inwards and forwards. Alright. From here, Step your left foot in between your hands, Lower the back knee. And root to rise. Low lunge. Inhale, Find length for the fingers. Exhale, Release the shoulders away from the ears. Grab onto the right wrist, Lift it up. Over to the side. Good, Inhale back up to center. Try the other side, Working on that balance. If it's a bit unstable, Heel toe that front foot over to the side. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Frame the top foot. Press your right hand into the earth. Open up through the left hand. Option to lift the back knee. Exhale, Release. Walk your hands slightly back and rocking forwards and backwards, Preparing for half splits. Or rather stretch. And when you're ready, Sink both hips back. Inhale, Find length through the back. And exhale begin to fold forward if you want around and just release here that's fine. Think about pulling that left hip slightly back. Aligned with your right. Allow a sense of ease through any tightness. Imagine breathing in. To wherever you feel a little bit more tight. Allowing space, Allowing openness. Good, Come forward nice and slow. Last chance for that chaturanga or meet in downward facing dog. Inhale to Cobra. Exhale, Down dog. Beautiful. Take a breath here. Allow the gaze to come. Between the feet to the back of your mat so that the top of the head is lower. And gently exhale, Release the knees down. Sink your hips towards your heels. Reach your hands back. Take a little cocoon shape in your child's pose. Forehead rests to the mat. Good, Then begin to reach your hands forward as we slide up to the top of our mat, Coming onto our bellies, Taking the sphinx pose, Elbows released down. Last little back bend here, Power pose. Press into the elbows, Shoulders away from the ears. Again, Breathing that sense of confidence. Breathing in strength. Exhale any doubt. Good, Allow yourself gently to come back onto the mat. The spine lowering down on your back supine, But keep your knees bent and the soles of the feet on the earth. See if you can grab. Touch your heels with your toes. When you're ready, We'll take a gentle three bridge poses and a little flow. So inhale, Begin to tuck the pelvis, Allow the hip to rise, Lifting vertebrae by vertebrae. And if your chin is really crunching in, Lift it so it's perpendicular with the mat. And then take it as a flow. Inhale as we lift, Exhale as we lower. And whatever speed you're going at, Can you slow down even more? This is not a race. To feel. As we move. Through the journey. Of our class through our life. Good, On this next one, Let's just lift our hips up, Keeping our hips lifted, And maybe explore pressing into the glutes, Lifting the hips even further. Maybe coming up onto the balls of the feet by lifting your heels up. Maybe tucking those shoulders slightly underneath the spine, Interlacing your fingers. Staying here for another three. The spine. As this is a shorter flow, We won't be taking Shavasana, But if that's in your practice and you'd like Shavasana today, You can go ahead and take that now. Otherwise, If you'd like to end class with me, Come back to center. We're just going to rock forwards and backwards. A couple times so don't just rush into a seat allow the joy of rocking the childlike motion of play. And when you're ready, We'll come back. To that comfortable seat in Sukhasana, Crossing your legs if that's comfortable. Bring your hands to your thighs and knees, Roll your shoulders down and back. Let's inhale, Reach both hands up. Final little twist, Exhale, Twisting over to the right. Inhale, Find length. Exhale, Soften as we look to the right. And behind us. Inhale, Come back to center, Reach those hands up. Over to the other side. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Soften as we look over. To the left shoulder. Inhale, Reach both hands up. Exhale, Hands to heart. Bring the palms of your hands. Onto your chest, Feeling the heat radiate from the practice we've cultivated. And ending with a sense of gratitude to yourself for practicing. For this breath. And for this body. Hands to Anjali Mudra. Thank you so much for joining me and namaste.

Reviews

Thank you Colin! I so appreciate the gentle nature of your guidance! 💜🙏🏻