Get on your feet! Root to Rise! Stand Up! It’s time to practice standing poses. This all levels standing series combines flow and balance. You will leave this practice feeling energized and ready to go!
Meet your Teacher
San Francisco, CA, USA
Transcript
Hello yogis and welcome to today's practice. This practice is all about standing poses. So we're gonna begin standing at the side of our mat. Make sure you have two blocks available for use later at the top of your space. Go ahead and face the side of your mat and take your feet wide just so you have some mat space you can use. The feet are going to be parallel but wide apart. Toes face forward, Heels right behind you, And we'll come into horse pose. Bend your knees deeply and bring your hands together in front of your heart. Close your eyes and take a breath. Breathe in. Open mouth, Let it go. Breathe out. Good, From here, Inhale, Extend your arms wide out towards the sides of your space. And exhale, Draw your hands together in front of your heart. Do it again. Inhale, Feel that expansion of energy. Reach out. Exhale, Draw the energy inward, Hands to heart. Again, Inhale. We call it Vianna Vayu, The expansion of energy. Exhale, Samana Vayu. Draw that energy in towards your center. Soften your gaze again or close your eyes. Inhale, Reach wide. Exhale, Draw it in. Last time, Breathe in. Exhale, Breathe out. Blink your eyes open again. Inhale, Circle the arms wide up and overhead. Keep your knees bent as you exhale, Dive down wide-legged squat like you're about to hike a football. Inhale, Extend your legs, Extend your spine, Extend your arms, Lengthen. Keep your legs towards straight and hinge at the hips for a wide-legged forward fold. Immediately re-bend your knees inhale circle the arms wide up and overhead look Finally, Straighten your legs and bring your hands together in front of your heart. Let's do that again. Bend your knees, Inhale, Circle the arms, Wide up and overhead, Reach up. Exhale dive down wide legged squats Inhale, Extend legs and arms and spine. Exhale, Hinge at the hips and wide legged forward fold. Rebend your knees, Reverse arms wide up and overhead and look up. Draw your hands together. Straighten your legs. Hands to prayer. One last time, Just like that. Bend your knees. Football flow, I call this one. Reach up. Exhale dive down wide legged squat Inhale, Extend, Legs and arms and spine straight. Exhale, Hinge at the hips, Wide-legged forward fold. Re-bend your knees, Inhale, Circle the arms wide up and overhead, Look up. Hands to prayer as you straighten your legs. Relax. Keep your legs straight. Inhale, Arms circle wide up and overhead. And this time we'll hinge at the hips, Micro bend the knees, But swan dive down all the way into a wide legged forward fold. This one you get to stay. Maybe you start to play a little bit. Swinging your body side to side. Maybe it feels good to bounce a little bit up and down. You can bob your head, Yeah. Shake out your head no. Or you can find your hands to your outer shins, Outer ankles, Or outer heels, And then maybe sandwich your upper body down towards your lower body a little bit further. Breathe in. And let something go. Breathe out. Good, Finally everybody release. Fingertips to the earth, Out into the space in front of you. Take your hands to your hips, Press into your feet and rise on up to stand. Once you're all the way upright, Toe hill your feet towards the center of your space. And we'll take that same position to the top of the mat. So feet are hip distance apart and parallel towards the top of the space. You'll bend your knees deeply and come into Utkatasana chair pose. Maybe arms by your ears, Maybe hands to heart, Or maybe hands to hips. We're gonna build from here. So keep your right knee bent. Lift your left knee in towards your chest. Transfer the weight onto your right foot. Ardha Utkatasana, Cross your outer left ankle or shin on top of your right thigh and sit your booty down and back. Stay here for a breath. Breathe in. Exhale, Breathe out, Get low. On an inhale, Straighten your right leg and hug left knee in towards your chest, One leg Tadasana. On an exhale, Extend your left leg towards straight out into the space in front of you. Begin to pendulum swing the left leg back. As you teeter-totter forward, Your left leg swings back to the space behind you, And you move into airplane pose, Or dakasana. Hands can lower onto your blocks if you prefer. Hands can stay at your heart or your hips. Or maybe you're feeling adventurous, You can swim the arms alongside the body. Imagine like you're floating through the sky. Keep your hips level. Keep lifting the belly away from the floor and support your lower back. Create length from the toes to the crown of your head. You're here for three. You're doing it. Stay for two. And then one, Maybe lower your hands to your blocks or to the floor. You'll bend the right knee and gracefully make your way back to a lunge. I like using the blocks here for extra height and length in my arms, But you can always just stay on your fingertips. Find a lunge first. Bend your right knee. Lower your pelvis and lift the heart. Exhale, Pyramid. Straighten your right leg. Draw your right outer hip bone up and back. But it's a flow. We keep it going. Bend the right knee. Drop your pelvis. Lift the heart. Exhale, Pyramid. Straighten your right leg. Draw your right outer hip bone up and back to the space behind you. One more time, Yogis. Bend the right knee. Drop your pelvis and lift the heart. Exhale, Parzvottanasana, Straighten the right leg and pause. We keep going. Re-bend the right knee. Move the blocks out of your way. Find your lunge. Ensure that your left leg is straight and the back heel is lifted high. Keep the right knee bent and then rise on up to crescent pose. High lunge. From here, You'll soften the left knee, Make it a little bit more challenging. Take a breath, Inhale. And on your exhale, You'll straighten the back leg. Keep the back heel lifted. Bend your elbows and lift your heart. Do it again. Soften the back knee. Reach up towards the sky. Exhale, Straighten your back leg, Bend your elbows, And lift the heart. Last time, Like a lat pull, Reach up. You're going to pull something from the ceiling. Exhale, Bow your elbows wide, Straighten your back leg, And lift the heart. Find a high lunge again. Inhale, Reach up towards the sky. And then lower hands down to the earth or to your block. Super simple, Soften the left knee and meet left foot to the right, Feet hip distance apart and parallel, Standing forward bend. Inhale, Halfway lift. Hands to shin thighs or blocks, Flat back. Exhale, Hinge at the hips and bow forward. Inhale, Come up again. Halfway lift. Hands to hips same transition press into the feet and stand on up to rise guess what we're doing it all on the other side Bend your knees again. Udgatasana chair pose. Arms maybe by your ears, More traditional. Hands to heart, Certainly an option. I'm going for hands to hips today. Transfer the weight onto your left foot lift right knee up about hip height and now half chair pose arda ugatasana outer right shin or ankle on top of your left thigh keep your hips level keep your shoulders level and sit down and back into your chair take a breath breathe in Breathe out. Stand up on your left leg. Hug your right knee in towards your chest. Find your balance. Stand tall. And as you exhale, Extend right leg straight out into the space in front of you. From here, We keep going. Pendulum swing the right leg down, And then the right leg back. You begin to teeter-totter forward, Coming into Dakasana, Airplane pose. Remember, You have blocks. You can modify with grounded airplane. Hands to hips, Hands to heart, Or maybe you float arms alongside your body. This is called Dakasana, Airplane pose. Imagine you're flying. Keep the hips level. Squeeze the inner thighs together. Reach through the crown of the head. Right foot. You can do it, Yogis. Lift the belly, Lift the chest, Lift the back leg for three. You're so strong, You got it too. And then one, Gracefully, Maybe hold onto your blocks, Bend the left knee, And step back into your lunge pose. Again, I opt for the blocks on this one. You can certainly just come onto your fingertips or even adjust the setting of the blocks. Bend your left knee lower the pelvis lunge Exhale again, Variation of pyramid. You just straighten your left leg, Draw your left outer hip bone up and back. Do it again, Please. Bend your left knee, Lower the pelvis, Lift the heart. Exhale, Parzvottanasana. Straighten your left leg. Squeeze the inner thighs and fold. One more time. Bend the left knee, Lower the pelvis, Lift the heart. Exhale, Pyramid Pose. Straighten your left leg, Squeeze the inner thighs and bow. Well done, Yogis. We keep going. Bend the left knee. Move the blocks out of your way. Find your lunge again. Make sure the back heel is lifted. Back leg is super straight. Keep the left knee bent and then stand on up to crescent pose. On your next exhale, Soften the right knee. You're so strong. You got this. Take a breath. Inhale. On your exhale, Straighten the back leg, Cactus your arms, And lift through the heart. Again, Welcome the wobble. Soften the right knee. Reach up. Exhale kick the right leg straight bend your elbows and lift through the heart Last time, Inhale, Soften the back knee, Reach up. Exhale, Kick the back leg straight and expand. Beautiful. Come on back to Crescent High Lunge. Reach, Reach, Reach. And then hands come down to the floor. Soften the right knee. Feel free to use your blocks again. And then just step right foot about hip distance apart from your left. Come on down, Standing forward fold. Same, Same. Inhale, Halfway lift. Exhale and bow. You're gonna stay in your bow this time. I'm gonna face you so you can see me. You'll take your two-piece fingers. Around your two big toes. You basically step the ball of the right big toe mount, Or the big toe mount, Onto the index finger and the middle finger, And the thumbs wrap around the inner edges of your toes. Keep your knees soft, Micro-bent. Hips, Knees, And toes are all hip distance. Lengthen your spine as you inhale, And then bend your elbows. Try to sandwich your upper body down towards your lower body again, But use the biceps to pull you into that fold. Don't force it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Maybe bob your head, Yeah? Maybe shake out your head. No. Maybe you purse your lips and let the breath go. Poor slip section. One more time. Release the bind. Again, Come up halfway lift. Hands to your hips. Flat spine, Rise on up to stand. Great. You can face the top of the mat again or turn towards the side of the mat and we'll do one last balance series. So we'll begin with the right foot grounded. So anchor down through the right foot, Hands to hips to start, Come onto the ball of the left foot. Lift your left knee up hip height. Hold onto your left shin or ankle. Place your left foot somewhere on your right leg, Inner thigh, Knee, Shin, Or even the floor if that works for you. Hands to prayer. Tree pose, Rickshaw asana. You can stay here. Variations are welcome. Arms wide up and overhead. This is prana mudra. Or maybe you cactus your arms, Bow your elbows wide, And then lift the heart again. Maybe you look up. Balance and breathe through three. Tchoo! And one. Stay with it, Team. Hands to your hips. Soften into your right knee. Cross your outer left shin on top of your right thigh. Keep your hips level, Keep your shoulders level, And sit down and back into your chair. You can stay here. We've been here before already. Otherwise, Take your peace fingers on your left hand, Wrap it around the left big toe. Begin to stand up again on your right leg and hug your left knee in towards your chest. We do this in stages. You can stay here like a jackknife pose. Maybe lift your left heel, Shoulder height. Maybe you have the mobility to extend your left leg towards straight. Last variation, You can swing your left leg wide off to the side. Utita Hasta Parangustasana, One or two. Maybe right arm goes out in opposition. I call this cheerleader asana. So excited for big toes pose today, For standing poses. Hold it for three. Too. And one, Try not to release too quickly. Come on back through center, Retrace your step. Rebend your left knee, Hug left knee in towards your chest. And then release. Well done. Left foot down. Shake out the right leg. I'm sure you want to. Take your feet wide and then make little hip circles, Relieving some tension in the hips. Now I understand that that sequence is a lot, Right? I do it frequently, Which is how I've gotten so good at it over the years. But I will say that it's really important to honor the entrance as much as the exit, Right? The pose is the entire thing put together. So let's try it again, Other side. Maintain your focus, Maintain your intention. The weight comes onto the right foot now. You'll come onto the ball of the left foot. I lied. Switch. The weight comes onto the left foot now. You'll come onto the ball of the right foot. Hands to hips. Lift the right knee about hip height. Hold onto your right shin, Right ankle, Or the sole of the right foot and place it somewhere. It can be your inner thigh, The knee even, We're not gonna be here. Other side. Bring your hands to your hips again. Transfer the weight onto the left foot. Come onto the ball of the right foot. Lift the right knee, Hip height. Tree pose. Hold onto your right shin, Your right ankle. Place your right foot somewhere on your left leg. It can be inner thigh, Knee. We're not going to be here for that long. Calve, Shin, Or even the floor, Right? Find what works for you. Tree pose, Rikshasana. One or both hands to prayer. Stay here, Maybe arms wide up and overhead. Stay here, Maybe cactus arms. Bend your elbows and open to the heart. Even look up towards the sky for three. To and one. Let's keep going. Hands to hips. Re-bend your standing knee. That's your left knee. Cross your right outer ankle or shin on top of your left thigh. Level hips, Level shoulders. Sit down and back into your chair. Stay or we keep going. Take your right piece fingers around your right big toe. Begin to stand up on your left leg and hug right knee in towards your chest. Maybe lift the right foot shoulder height. Maybe extend right leg straight. This is Utthita Hastaparangustasana number one. Number two, Bring your right leg wide. And then maybe extend your left arm up. Utithahasa Parangustasana one or two. Hips are level, Shoulders are level. Maybe you lean back and you look up. You're doing it, Yogis. Hold it for three. Breathe, Too, Maybe smile. And then one, Retrace your steps. Right leg comes back to the center, But it's not already there. You'll bend your right knee. Give your right knee that hug. Squeeze it in like a jackknife and then release. Right foot down. Shake out your left leg. We did it. Well done. Again, Some hip circles alleviate any tension that still might be showing up in your hips, Your hamstrings. Feel of course a little bit more grounded as a result of this movement as well. And then straighten your legs, Hands to heart center, Just one more, Big circle, Arms wide up and overhead, Look up. And then relax the arms down. Well done, Yogis. You did it. Great job today. Wonderful effort. I'll see you next time. Thanks for joining me. Namaste.
