Mini Slow Flow : If You're Stealing Yoga, You Need Yoga

This practice is a mini version ( 30 minutes ) of the regular hour-long Michigan style slow flow that I teach regularly. You will begin on the back with a little bit of stretching and eventually bring the movements up toward Sun Salutation A. There is a little bit of holding in bigger postures, some simple stretching to cool down and then you will finish up on the back for savasana. This is a live class so there is always a possibility of noise or small distractions during recording time. The theme of this practice comes from a personal story of mine where I was once told, "Honey, if you're stealing yoga, you need yoga." Can't wait to meet you on the mat.

Transcript

Welcome yogis.

We're going to begin this practice on the back today.

And as you lower down onto your back,

We're going to bend the knees,

Wiggle the feet,

Walk them wide,

And let the knees tip together.

So there's a lot of support there.

And as you support the knees together,

Feet wide,

And you're on your back supported by the mat and the floor,

Go ahead and bring your palms to your belly and maybe even let the elbows rest against the floor if there's enough space.

Just make sure that the arms also feel comfortable and comforted.

And as we often do,

I just want you to draw in a great big breath,

So bring it in fully and let it go.

We're going to start today's session with a little bit of a story.

When I used to live out in California,

I was nannying for a family and they had purchased me a gift card for a local yoga studio for my birthday.

I had done yoga before,

I had done DVDs,

And I had been to a gym and practiced,

And I had been an athlete all my life doing stretches,

Stretches,

Stretches,

But I had never really been in the environment of a studio.

And so I was a little intimidated,

But I walked into this studio in California and I was greeted by this big,

Beautiful,

Muscly man behind the counter.

His name was Jan and he was from Africa.

And I remember we were talking and he was explaining the studio and he was explaining the class that I would be a part of,

And I had told him and shared with him that I received a gift certificate from the family I was so bright and beautiful and so welcoming.

And after all of the explanation and,

Of course,

Some signing of the papers,

He told me where to enter into the class.

And I remember looking at him and saying,

But wait,

Don't you want to see the gift certificate that they purchased?

I printed it out.

I didn't have a cell phone back then.

And he said to me,

He said,

Honey,

And I believe he even snapped his fingers,

He said,

Honey,

If you're stealing yoga,

You need yoga.

And I remember so specifically that this tiny little moment changed my life and my practice forever.

It was a moment that really convinced me of the essence of yoga,

Of that peace that we cannot see,

That is so kind of far removed from the physical,

The strengthening and stretching that we do.

It was this piece of practice that happens within ourselves.

As we build self-awareness and self-worth and self-love,

And it kind of trickles and transforms into empathy,

That's it.

That's the peace.

And I knew my practice,

As well as my life,

Would never,

Ever be the same.

Yogis,

From where you are,

I want you to just start to peel the knees open and slide the soles of the feet together so it becomes reclined,

Bound angle.

And as you do that,

Let's go ahead and turn open the palms as well so the arms can just rest alongside the body.

As we do this small,

Gentle practice today,

I want you to tune into the happenings within yourself.

Instead of just the stretching and strengthening and relaxing that we might do in the physical body,

Know that there is this other peace.

It's the peace that might allow us to eventually say,

If you're stealing yoga,

You need it.

Take a few breaths here.

This will be the first of three reclined,

Bound angles that we take.

Tune into the rhythm of your breath.

And then from here,

From knees wide,

We're just going to curl up onto the right side.

So I want you to draw left knee over to right knee,

Left hand,

Left arm over to right hand,

And just curl up onto that right shoulder and right hip.

Take a little pause here.

Not a lot of shifting that has to happen.

Let it be just this relaxed fetus pose for a few breaths.

And then we're going to turn this posture into a twist.

So I want you to keep your knees to the right,

But there might need to be some adjustment.

You might adjust knees so they go straight up from the hips,

Or adjust that gap between the calf muscles and the thighs so it's more of a 90-degree bend.

Start to pull left hand,

Left arm away from right hand,

Right arm so the chest turns open.

Those knees,

Again,

Stay to the right side and your chin might follow that opening arm.

It might follow that left hand.

It might stay neutral in the center.

If those two feel too much,

Then keep it over toward your right side.

And again,

As we often do,

Take a few conscious,

Nourishing breaths.

And then bring the head to neutral if it's not already there because we're going to bring our body back to center.

We're going to come out of this posture,

Right into that reclined bound angle.

So I want you to peel left knee away from right.

Slide the soles of the feet together.

Sometimes we need to readjust the back or the hips here,

So it might be a little pushing down to lift up and shift.

But arms are already open,

Chest is open.

Take a moment to sink into this and if it feels a little off-kilter,

Even as you shift,

Sometimes it's nice to rock from one glute to the other so that you create this rocking in the knees,

But the knees stay wide.

It's just this motion of maybe a wave-like feeling in the body.

A little right-left,

Right-left,

And then a settling in.

And then from this central space,

Let's roll to the left side.

Let's bring knees together,

Right hand over to left hand.

So we curl up on that left shoulder,

Left hip,

Outer left thigh.

Take a moment,

Take a breath.

Remember,

There doesn't have to be a lot of adjustment here because we will eventually adjust.

Instead,

Just this little pause.

And then we use this posture to create a twist.

Knees are going to stay left as we draw right hand away from left hand or right arm away from left arm,

But you may need to adjust the knees.

You might need to adjust the bend in the knees or even where the hips are.

As the chest turns open,

You could certainly follow that right hand,

Right arm with the chin or with your gaze if your eyes are open.

Otherwise,

Head might stay neutral or chin toward that left shoulder.

And then if your head isn't in that neutral position,

Go ahead and bring it there because we're going to bring our body through center.

We're going to peel right knee away from left,

Slide the soles of the feet together third and final time in this bound angle.

Again,

You may have to adjust where the hips and back land,

And it might be through kind of pressing through the feet,

Lifting the back off of the ground,

And then shifting.

You can also do it as you land,

Just with that little tilting,

That rocking side to side.

Knees can stay wide.

And then let's turn the feet down into the floor.

Knees point up.

Draw the knees in toward your chest.

Give them a squeeze.

You might even bow nose toward the knees to get that real tight contraction.

I always like to crisscross ankles here,

But you can keep them side by side.

And then we're going to go right into a long lengthening stretch.

We're going to lengthen the legs against the mat.

We're taking the arms up above the head,

Stretching fingertips toward the back of the room,

Just so we can get some real long stretching here from toes to fingertips,

Especially since the knees were bent so much.

And then from that long position,

From that lengthening,

Let's go ahead and create a side bend here on the floor.

So walking the heels over to the right side,

Letting the hands and head and kind of shoulders follow the same way that we would if we were in a standing position and kind of leaned to the right side.

Just let there be a little bit of opening there on the left.

And then coming back through center,

Same thing other side.

Let the heels walk left.

Let the hands,

Head,

And shoulders follow.

So we tilt to that left side.

Without a lot of work,

We create the posture.

The posture does the stretching for us.

Nice.

And then coming back through center,

Stretch long and then gather in.

Grab those knees,

The shins,

Pull them in as you bend the knees.

Kind of squeeze,

Squeeze,

Squeeze.

And if you have enough energy,

Yogis,

We're going to do a little rocking forward,

Back,

Forward,

Back,

All the way up to a seat.

But if you feel like you need a little more restorative lift,

Turn onto a side like we did before and then press your way up.

When you come to a seated position,

Let's take legs long and straight,

But take them really wide apart.

So into that wide-legged position.

And we're just going to crawl ourselves into a forward fold.

So folding your chest down in between that space of the legs.

And then you might roll yourself up or you might just backpedal the hands.

But coming up to a seated position,

We can bend the knees and crisscross ankles.

And either roll over that bundle or sweep them to the side to come to hands and knees position.

Make some space for yourself.

And instead of staying on hands and knees,

I want you to walk the hands backward toward the knees so we can stand on the knees,

So we can elevate ourselves up.

So it goes shoulders stacking over hips,

Stacking over knees.

And we're going to come right into a full camel,

But it might be a gentle full camel.

Hands into the lower back,

Elbows pull back,

Chest opens,

Chin lifts.

Hips stay in line with the knees.

Right,

We're pressing a bit.

There's some engagement there.

And then we feel that backbending and chest opening effect.

Give it a few breaths.

Let it counter that forward fold we were just in.

Beautiful.

And then as you come out of a child's pose,

So a little lifting to get ourselves straight and then that sweet coming down,

Resting back,

Hips toward heels,

Chest toward floor.

And we might take the arms out in front,

Or you might even wiggle them back behind.

So hands toward heels if that feels better.

Sometimes we are so quick to remove ourselves from a resting space,

Whether it's here in our yoga class or out in the world.

Sometimes it feels a little bit guilty to take a rest.

And so we might adjust and get busy really quickly.

But give yourself that.

Give yourself that space,

A few breaths here in that child's pose.

And then from here,

We're going to work our way up to tabletop to hands and knees.

And we're just going to use the breath to cycle through some cat-cow here.

So I want you to tune into the rhythm of the breath.

And on the next inhale,

Let's lift chin and tailbone.

Let the ribs kind of drop toward the floor,

A little stretching there of belly downward.

And then on an exhale,

Round through the spine like you're pressing your back bone up toward the ceiling,

Tuck chin and tailbone under.

And then just move with the breath in that way.

It's like a wave.

On an inhale,

Chin and tailbone lift.

On an exhale,

Those two ends tuck under.

And we start to move with that inhale and exhale with the rhythm of your own breath.

And so it always happens that we're a little off or a little different rather than the person next to us or behind us or in front of us.

Or if you're practicing alone,

Just know that you have your own pace here.

A few more times.

And I want you to just let it lead you right into downward facing dog,

Which is a bigger posture.

But sometimes we can't quite get that feeling of down dog any other way.

So lengthening the legs,

Pressing through the palms.

And if that's too much,

Just know at any point you can always come down into child's pose or hands and knees position.

And then once you get to down dog,

I want you to take a couple of breaths.

And then we're going to rise up onto tippy toes and move the feet forward toward the hands.

So a little walk,

A step to the top of the mat.

When you get there,

Take a halfway lift,

Peek out and breathe in.

And then fold the back in and exhale.

Take an extra moment,

An extra breath here.

We'll get another forward fold like this on the ground a little bit later.

Soak this one up.

It might be with a little bend in the knees.

And then we're slowly going to roll up to a standing position.

I just want you to stretch the arms really wide and really tall so that the palms can join together above the head.

And then bend the elbows and just bring the hands to your heart center.

Feel your own breath for a moment.

That in and of itself can be such an intimate experience here.

And then reach up again.

Lengthen the arms,

Reach fingertips toward the ceiling.

We're going to bend the elbows once again,

But this time I want you to sneak your hands behind your head.

You might even interlace fingers so the hands or the palms become a little pillow.

And then like that full camel,

Lean into the palms so there's a little bit of back bending.

There's a little bit of chest opening.

Elbows can pull wide.

You might lift your chin.

And we'll keep those elbows bent,

Hands behind head,

But come into a neutral spine.

So we're just straight upward.

And then we're going to use this position to take a side bend.

We're going to lean to the right,

Point right elbow down and left elbow points up.

So it's a little tilt to the right side.

And then coming back through center,

Same thing other side.

Left elbow points down,

Right elbow points up.

So it's that tilt to the left side.

Beautiful.

Come back through center.

Reach the arms up again.

So reach fingertips toward the ceiling.

You might even spread the palms.

And then this time I want you to try interlacing your hands behind your back.

So let the arms drop.

Hook the fingers together,

Maybe even the palms.

Let's pull the knuckles down.

Lift open the chest just like you did with hands behind head.

Pull the shoulders a little bit back,

A little bit down.

Lift the chin.

And then let's forward fold over top of the legs,

Maybe with a big bend into the knees for support.

Let the chest fall down.

Let the hands stay bound as long as that feels okay.

Take a few breaths.

And then let the hands drop down toward the floor.

You might take an extra wiggle,

A shake,

An opening and closing of the hands,

A wiggle of the shoulders.

And then from this front position take a halfway lift from this forward fold.

Half lift,

Breathe in.

Right back to our downward facing dog.

Palms stay here.

Feet wiggle or step back.

Hips high,

Head low.

Heels can stretch toward the floor.

Again,

If that's too much,

Hands and knees always available or even Child's Pose.

If you're in that Down Dog,

Walk it out a bit.

Bend the knees.

Kind of pedal the feet.

Sway the hips.

Let it be this stretchy,

Juicy hold.

And then rise up onto tippy toes.

And this time just bring the knees gently down onto the ground.

And if you need a cat-cow to get yourself situated,

Take it.

But then otherwise,

Go ahead and meet me in a Three Limb Table.

We're gonna slide that right leg back behind and pick the toes up off of the ground.

And if you want to practice balance in a bigger way,

You can always come into Balancing Table with left arm out in front and palm turning and thumb turning up.

You're always welcome to go there.

Otherwise,

Keeping the hands sealed in especially for this gentle practice.

And then we're going to three times try to pull the knee in toward the nose.

Although if your hand is up off of the floor,

It will go elbow to knee.

So squeeze it in three times and extension afterward.

Extending the leg and arm and then twice more.

And after that third time,

If that left hand happens to be lifted,

Go ahead and set it down.

We're going to roll to the left side for Supported Side Plank.

So I want you to plant the back foot flat.

Right arm goes up into the air.

Big stretch here.

And then from here,

Take a little thread and needle.

A little balance and coordination to get there.

Right arm goes underneath of the body.

Right knee next to left.

That right hand weaves behind left wrist and right shoulder comes down.

And then here is a little tricky,

Sneaky move coming out of it right back into that Supported Side Plank.

So again,

Some balance and coordination.

Left palm presses,

Right arm unwinds.

As you unwind that right arm back up toward the ceiling,

Right leg goes right back to where it was.

Seal the foot into the floor open.

This time as you're here,

Take a big circle.

Right arm going around almost like the hand of a clock one direction and then the other.

So big,

Big circle.

And then taking that right hand and setting it down to the floor,

Turn onto your back toes.

So right leg stays extended,

Just turn onto the toes.

As the hips turn downward,

Let's go ahead and lift the left hand and left arm upward.

So it becomes this kneeling twist.

The hips can stay downward facing.

Right leg is back.

Chest turns open to that left side.

So left arm reaching,

Reaching,

Reaching.

Beautiful.

And then bringing it back through center,

Left hand down,

Right knee next to left.

Again,

Maybe you need a little shift of the weight in the body.

Cat-cow,

Circle,

Circle,

Side,

Side.

We're going to change sides.

So I want you to extend that left leg back behind you when you're ready.

You can peel the toes up off of the ground.

Palms press,

Arms lengthen.

If you want to take your right arm out in front of you,

Palm in,

Thumb up,

That's always an option.

But if you want to stay more gentle,

Both palms into the floor,

Lots of support.

Three times.

We're going to either try to pull the knee in toward the nose or if the hand is lifted off the floor,

Elbow to knee.

Squeeze it in underneath of the body and then extend twice more.

And after that third time,

You extend.

Set the right hand down if it's lifted.

We're going to roll to that right side supported side plank.

So rolling into that right palm,

Right knee.

Planting the back foot flat,

Left arm goes up into the air.

So chest and hips open to that left side.

And again,

A little bit of coordination,

A little bit of balance work here to get into threaded needle from this position.

Left arm goes underneath of the body,

But we have to bring left knee next to right.

Turn the hips down,

Weave the left hand behind the right wrist,

Drop the left shoulder,

Turn the left cheek down to the floor.

And then just like the other side,

Finding that strength,

Balance and breath to come out of this right back into supported side plank.

Weight rolls into the right palm as we unwind left arm.

We lift it up toward the ceiling,

Left leg goes back.

As you find the stability there in that supported side plank,

Go ahead and take the left arm and just give it a big circle.

Like the hand of a clock,

It goes around once and then changes direction,

Goes around a second time.

Beautiful.

And then left hand coming down,

We turn the hips downward.

Roll into your back toes so the left leg stays extended behind you.

Right arm goes up into the air,

We come right into a kneeling twist.

Reach the right arm upward,

Right hand toward the ceiling,

Chest turns open to the right a bit.

And then right hand comes down,

Left knee next to right.

Again,

Maybe a little wiggle wiggle,

Cat-cow,

Cat-cow.

And then for a second time,

Maybe,

Maybe a bit deeper,

We're gonna go into that full camel.

So we're gonna back pedal the hands toward the knees,

Come to standing on the knees.

So it goes knees and then hips above that and shoulders above that.

Hands tuck into the lower back.

We might even bring hands to hips if you need a little extra support there.

We start to lean back,

Hips staying in line with the knees so there's some activation there in the thighs.

Create a backbend,

Pull the chest open,

Shoulders back,

Maybe chin lifting.

You can always sneak your hands down to your heels if that feels better or best.

And then from that position,

Lift up to neutral.

Bring the hands down onto the ground.

We catch tabletop on our way to a seated position.

So you can crisscross ankles and roll over them or do the sweeping around.

Just make yourself or bring yourself to a seat and take both legs straight out in front of you.

Let's go reaching arms up into the air,

Heels down,

Toes up,

And then a forward fold,

Fingertips toward your toes.

And then slowly rolling up from that forward fold.

I want you to bend the knees and crisscross ankles.

We're gonna go right into a side bend.

We're gonna set the right hand down to the right side and then lift the left arm up and over.

So leaning to that right feet.

And then coming back through center,

Left hand down,

Right arm up and over.

Come back through center.

Let the arms rest alongside the body and just shrug shoulders up toward your ears.

Give them a squeeze and let them roll down the back.

Nice.

Let's turn both feet down into the floor.

Point the knees up and you can uncross ankles.

You might even give a little squeeze of hands and arms around those shins.

And then we're going to wiggle the feet wide apart,

Maybe as wide as your mat,

And then guiding ourselves down onto the back as you do.

I want you to come into that pose that we originally started with.

So feet wide,

Knees together.

So as the back comes down to the floor,

Find that resting place of knee against knee and maybe even palm to belly,

But maybe the arms stay out to the side.

I just want you to take a few breaths.

And then toe healing the feet closer together.

Draw the knees in toward your chest,

Maybe just for a squeeze,

But really to get them,

Get the legs up into the air,

Coming into legs up the wall pose.

Yogis,

We're going to come right into happy baby.

So we're going to create a bigger gap between the feet.

Bend the knees,

Hands to outer edges of the feet or the ankles or the thighs,

And you're tugging downward.

Knees go wide.

They pull down toward the floor,

Toward your underarms.

Create some space.

Maybe even a little rock here,

A little motion.

And then lengthening the legs once more,

Taking hands away from feet or wherever you are holding on,

Stretch the toes up toward the ceiling as you lengthen the legs.

And then do this.

Peel the arms apart like the top of a tea.

And without using the arms and hands,

Bend the knees and draw them in toward your chest and then let them tip over to that right side.

Similar to that twist that we took in the beginning of class,

But this time we let the knees do the moving.

Knees move right,

Chest and arms stay open.

And then coming back through center,

Knees move left.

I want you to come back through center and grab a hold of those shins,

Of the knees,

Of your legs,

Give them a tight squeeze.

And then from there,

Go ahead and lengthen your body into Shavasana.

Legs might go long and arms by your side.

If you need a prop or a block or a blanket,

You can grab that.

We'll spend a few moments here in Shavasana together.

And then I want you to make sure that you gift and give yourself as long of a Shavasana as needed.

Sometimes we need that deep,

Deep rest.

Move your body into position.

Invite stillness.

And then take a big breath in with me.

And let it go.

Now,

Here it is,

Yogis.

I don't remember the postures and the poses or even the theme of that first class I attended in a studio.

I don't remember who was there with me.

I don't remember the colors of the walls.

But what I do remember is that first exchange and the way that those words and even the energy of the words shifted and changed my life as well as my practice.

The work we do here together,

It's not only with the body,

It's not only the strengthening and stretching,

But it's the inner work that we do that builds empathy through self-care and self-awareness and self-love.

It's the invisible but most important,

Most important piece.

I want you to stay here in Shavasana as long as you need.

Sometimes we need it a little bit longer.

But I will end with this.

I am so thankful for you.

I am so thankful for your practice and your presence.

And I honor you from my heart directly to yours.

Namaste.