Hatha Yoga & Meditation (75 mins) | Tight Hips

This 75-minute Hatha yoga and meditation class focuses on hip opening, with Mandukasana (Frog Pose) as the peak posture. We begin with Uddiyana Bandha, an energising abdominal breathing practice that is best explored on an empty stomach, before moving into mindful preparation for the hips, inner thighs, and lower body. The class gradually builds mobility and awareness through progressive stretches and steady alignment work to support a deeper, more easeful experience in Frog Pose. Suitable for anyone looking to release tension in the hips while cultivating breath, patience, and presence.

Transcript

Good evening and welcome. So today we're going to do some hip opening. Our peak pose is going to be frog pose. And if we've got time, We'll also do pigeon. So in terms of. . . All you're going to need is a couple of blocks and then perhaps a cushion. As always, Listen to your body and you know what to do if you need to take a rest. We're going to start today with Uddiyana Bandha. Bandhas are energetic locks and Uddiyana Bandha is like a body lock. So essentially what that means is that you lock the prana, Our life force energy into the body. So for this first part, I'm going to explain it. So don't do anything. I'll explain it first and then we'll do it together. So for Udiyana Bandha, There's two really important things. The first one is that you're meant to do it on an empty stomach. So if you've eaten before class, Then don't do this. And then the second one is that you always do it after the exhale. So. . . So let me just demo this one first. We're going to come to lie down with our legs bent, Feet flat on the mat. And we'll start by taking two full breaths in. So inhaling, Filling the belly, The rib cage. And the chest. Filling the lungs as much as you can and then exhaling to empty the lungs fully. And I'll do this two times. And after my second exhale, What I'm going to do is I'm going to hold my breath and I'll do a mock inhale. So I'm not going to breathe. I'll hold the breath. And then the navel goes towards the spine and then upward. So like, And the hands rest on the thighs and press against the thighs. It looks like this. I'll just lift my shirt so you can see my belly. So you're like creating a cavity in the belly. So you're sucking everything in, Pulling the navel towards the spine and then upwards. And you hold that for about 10 seconds and then you release and then you can breathe again. And we're going to do three rounds of that. So come to join me flat on the mat. So come to lie down. Bend your legs and place your feet flat on the mat. You can lift the hips for a moment to tilt the pelvis backwards and then roll back down again. Make sure that your low back is. . . Flush on the mat. And to start with just relax your arms by your side, Palms face up. Close your eyes. Give yourself a moment to arrive on your mat. It is the weight of your head. Your shoulders. Your head. And just notice the parts of your body that are in contact with the earth. The soles of your feet your bum, Your back. Shoulders arms, The back of your head. Begin to tune into your breath. Just breathing normally for now. Not changing or forcing anything. In a moment we're going to take two deep inhales, Filling the lungs as much as you can, Holding briefly at the top and then exhaling to release. So inhale, Together now, Filling the belly first. Back of the ribcage and the chest. Breathe in, Breathe in, Breathe in. Hold it. And then exhale to gently release. We'll do that again. So breathe in, Filling your belly first. Your ribcage. And then your chest. Filling your lungs as much as you can. Forwarding briefly at the top. And then slowly and steadily exhaling to release. And when you reach the bottom of your exhale, Hold your breath. Place your hands on your thighs, Fingers pointing inwards. And we're gonna take the mock inhale here. So don't breathe, Hold the breath. And then draw the belly towards the spine and upwards. Creating this cavity almost. And then hold it for 10 to 15 seconds. Without breathing and then gently release and return to a normal breath. Okay, We're going to do this two more times. So two full breaths and then fully exhale before we take Udi and Avanda. So take a nice deep inhale, Fill the belly. The ribcage. And the chest. Hold. Exhale. And again, Inhale. Hold. Exhale fully. Place your hands on your legs, Fingers pointing inwards. Press your palms against your legs. Take Udiyana Bandha, Drawing the belly inwards and upwards. Without breathing. Keep pressing the hands against the thighs. And hold for a few more seconds. And then gently release We turn to a normal. Let's do this one more time. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. And again, Inhale. Fill up the lung. Pause at the top. Exhale fully. Place your hands on your legs. Press the palms against your legs and take Udi and Abandha. Draw the navel towards the spine and up. Sucking your belly in as much as you can, But without breathing. Hold it. And then exhale to release. Return to a normal breath. And then notice whatever sensations are coming up in your body. This exercise is. Really great for getting the blood circulation going, For stimulating your digestive system. Activating the parasympathetic nerve. Become entirely still. And check in. Observe yourself as if you're from. . . Looking from the outside looking in. Take a moment now to set your personal intention for today's practice. And whenever you're ready you can gently flutter your eyes open. Or keep them closed if you prefer. The arms can stay where they are or you can grab onto opposite elbows, Reaching the arms overhead if this is comfortable. I'm going to take a few pelvic tilts. So begin to tilt the pelvis backwards. Bringing the low back flush to the mat. Press your navel downward. Hold it. Feel the muscles around your spine activate. And then gently release, Allowing the pelvis to tuck forwards again. So we'll do this a few more times, Moving with the breath. So inhaling as you rotate the hips backwards, Pressing the navel towards the mat. Hold it. And then exhaling to release. Just a tiny micro movement, Keep moving at your own pace. Moving with the breath. As we gently begin to warm up the spine. Last one. And then when you're ready, Bring your knees into your chest, Wrap your arms around your shins and give yourself a nice big squeeze here. Try to find stillness. To start with. Then connect to your breath. My steep inhalations and long exhalations Breathing into your lower back. And then if you would like to you can gently wriggle from side to side. To massage your lumbar spine. Find stillness. Reach your arms up towards the ceiling. Palms touch. Slide your hands in between your knees and grab onto your heels, Your ankles or your shins. Flex your feet and reach the heels up towards the ceiling for happy baby. Anandabalasana. And again. Try to remain still. At the beginning as you just observe the body And allow yourself to ease into the pose. I'm going to do a little happy baby flow here. So as you exhale, Lower your left heel to your left bum cheek. Activate your core and on an inhale, Reach your left arm overhead and straighten. Your left foot Exhale, Left hand grabs onto your left heel. Inhale, Reach your left heel up towards the ceiling again. We'll do the other side now. So exhale, Lower the right heel to right bum cheek. Inhale, Straighten right arm and right leg. Exhale, Right hand grabs onto right heel. Inhale, Right heel comes up towards the ceiling. And again, Exhale left heel to left bum cheek. Inhale lengthen left arm and left leg Exhale left hand to left heel. Inhale left heel to the ceiling. Exhale, Right heel to right bumgee. Inhale reach your right arm overhead straighten your right leg Exhale right hand to right heel. Inhale right heel to the ceiling. Now do this one more time and move at your own pace. Move slowly with intention. Connecting the movements with the breath. And once you've done this on both sides Come back to your happy baby pose and then lower both heels to your bum cheek. Point your toes and bring your hands onto your knees. Keeping your knees out wide, Begin to draw the knees out wide and then inwards as if you were drawing two circles with your knees. Beginning to warm up the hip socket. And then switch direction, Direction of your circle. Bring your knees together. Roll over onto one side and come to a tabletop position. Hands shoulder width apart, Knees hip width distance apart. Spread the fingers as wide as you can. Press the hands. Into the floor to protract the shoulders and then we'll take a few rounds of cat cow. So look downwards, Allow your bum to lift up. The low back comes down, Mid back. Back, Relax the shoulders, Bend the elbows backwards and as you inhale, Drag the hands along the mat. Imagine you're ducking under a wave, Straighten your arms, Look diagonally forwards and up. Keep your head where it is. As you begin to exhale, Allow your low back to round, Mid back. Upper back. Gaze towards the floor, Press the floor away from you. Stretching out the whole of your thoracic spine. And then keep moving. Keep going at your own pace. Moving. From cow pose into cat pose, Remembering that the movement begins in the pelvis and then ripples through the rest of your spine. And here I invite you to close your eyes so that you're able to really feel into your body. And then next time you come into a cat pose with your back up. Sit your bum towards your heel. And then we'll keep moving in this cat-cow variation. So inhale, Draw the hands downwards as your chin reaches diagonally forwards. Exhale rounding through your low back, Mid back, Upper back and then sitting your bum towards your heels. Let's do this a couple more times, Moving at your own pace. Feeling every single vertebra. As you warm up the spine. And then we'll come to meet in a cat pose with the back arch. Let the head hang heavy. Press the floor away from you. And here I invite you to shake your head from side to side, Maybe forwards and backwards. Just releasing any tension in the neck. Walk the hands forward. Tuck the toes and as you press your feet into the earth lift your knees, Hips up and back, Keeping the knees bent here slightly for our first downward facing dog. Inhale, Press the floor away from you, Keeping the fingers spread out nice and wide. Lengthen the spine. Lift your sit bones up and back without flaring the ribs. And then as you exhale, Gently push your shoulders towards your ankles. So remember in down dog, The back always takes priority over the legs. So if you're rounding your upper back, Just bend your knees a little bit more. Let's take five breaths here, Inhaling through the nose. And then out through the mouth. Using the exhale to cleanse the body of any toxins, Any negativity. Four more inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Last one. Slowly start to walk your hands towards your feet. Coming to a standing forward bend. Bhutanasana. Knees soft, Arms heavy. Head relaxed. Exhale bend your knees shift your weight back into your heels as you begin to roll up Turn the palms to face forwards. Press all four corners of your feet into the earth as you reach your arms out wide. Exhale. Push your hands in opposite directions. Inhale reach your arms up. Lengthen, Lengthen, Lengthen Exhale, Relax the shoulders. Inhale, Press the feet into the earth, Grow a little taller. And as you exhale, Soften the knees, Hinge from the hips, Reach your arms forwards, Coming to a flat back, Your back at 90 degrees. Swing the arms backwards, Palms face downwards. Inhale, Lift the chest. Exhale, Fold. We're gonna do this slow a couple more times. Exhale bend the knee. Roll up. Turn the palms to face forwards as you inhale, Reach the arms out wide. Squeeze the shoulder blades together. Exhale. Inhale arms up. Elongate the spine. Exhale, Relax the shoulders. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Soften the knees, Reach forward. Flat back, Swing the arms behind you, Palms face downwards. Inhale, Lift the chest. Exhale, Fold. Inhale. Exhale, Roll up. Inhale, Press the feet into the floor, Reach your arms out wide. Exhale, Push the hands in opposite directions to feel the chest and the back expand. Inhale arms up. Find length Exhale, Relax the shoulders. Inhale, Grow back a little bit taller. Exhale, Knees soft. Fold forwards, Reach the arms forwards, Come to a flat back, Reach your arms behind, Palms face downwards. Inhale, Chest lifts ever so slightly. Exhale fold forward. Inhale. Exhale. Bring your hands to the floor, Walk your hands forwards to come to a high plank. Or if you're low in energy, Perhaps you take your knees to the mat for low planks. Wherever you are, Keep pressing the floor away from you to almost round that upper back, Filling the space in between your shoulder blades. And then checking in with your hips. You don't want them too high or too low. You're looking to create that nice straight line from your heels to the crown of your head. And remember your gaze is not. Towards the mat but it's slightly in front of you so maybe about a meter on the ground in front of you to keep that nice long alignment. One more breath here. And then lower the knees to the mat. Shift your weight forwards. Bend the elbows, Keeping them close to the rib cage. Lower down, Chin, Chest, Onto your belly. Untuck the toes and come onto your forearms. Turn the thumbs to point towards the ceiling, Grab onto opposite elbows and then we'll take our Diving motion for baby crow bra. Chin to chest. Inhale, Drag the elbows along the mat. As you reach your chin diagonally forwards and up as if you were ducking under. Away strong shoulders here not collapsing press the elbows into the earth then keep the glutes and the legs nice and relaxed here. Maybe you even close the eyes. To turn the gaze inward. On your next exhale, Lower down. Bring the hands to mid-chest and then rest back into an active child's pose. Come up onto your fingertips and keeping your head elevated, Begin to crawl the fingers forward as you draw the hips back when you're looking for length here. Once again bringing your focus to your breath. As you fill your lungs. As much as you can and then empty them. On your next inhale. Imagining your arms are the arms of a clock. Walk your hands over to the left. Go to 10 or 11 o'clock. You don't need to go too far. Crawl the fingers forwards, Draw the hips backwards and allow the left fingers to walk that tiny bit further forwards so that you're able to lengthen. The left side of your body as well as the right. Breathe here. Sending the breath to the right rib cage, Seeing if you can create a bit more space. And then exhale, Come back through center. And as you inhale, Walk the fingers forwards and over towards the right, Going to one or two o'clock. Keep walking the fingers forwards and drawing the hips backwards. This time the right fingers come that tiny bit further forward. Send the breath to your left ribcage. Exhale, Come back through centre. Plant your hands, Lift the hips. Tuck the toes, Make your way back to your downward facing dog. We'll take five breaths here if you want to you can pedal the feet. Remember fingers spread nice and wide. Pressing all 10 finger pads into there. Straighten the legs. Inhale, Press the floor away from you to lift the hips up and back. Exhale, Press the shoulders towards. The ankles. Shift your weight onto your right heel and on your next inhale, Lift the left leg up behind you for a three-legged dog. Keep the left foot flexed. Pose pointing downward. And then on your next inhale, Press the floor away from you. Point the left foot and open the hips up towards the left. Don't go underneath your left armpit. But make sure that the shoulders stay parallel here. And you can play around with raising or lowering your left leg until you find that sweet spot where you feel. More of a stretch. Exhale square the hips. Flex the left foot. Lower the left foot to the mat returning to your down dog. Now come up high onto your tippy toes. Lift the hips as high as you can. You might even come onto your fingertips and then step your right foot. The inside of your right hand. Lower down your left knee. And then walk your. . . Left knee backwards. We're coming to low lunge. Anjana Yasana. Untuck the left foot, Walk the hands beneath the shoulders and perhaps the right foot walks out towards the right. A little bit. Square your head. Use your blocks here if you have them you can place blocks underneath. Your hands. And when you're ready, Take the diving motion. Tuck the chin, Bend the elbows. Imagine you're ducking under a weight. And keep your gaze diagonally forwards and up. So you're not looking towards the floor, Look forwards and up. Breathe here. Notice where you feel the stretch. Take one more breath here. And bring both hands to the inside of your right foot. So you might need to walk your right foot out towards the right edge of the mat. Then your hands you can bring them either flat on the mount or maybe you can come onto your blocks. Once again taking the diving. Motion in this lizard pose variation. Shift your weight onto your left hand as you. . . Bring your right hand up towards the ceiling. Press the floor away from you with your left hand. The right toe mound presses into the floor. Your right knee inwards so it's not sticking out. Option two, Lift the back. Fit up towards the ceiling and reach the right hand. Towards your left foot. Hold it here for a moment. You don't need to grab onto your foot. Then release, Lower the left foot down, Right arm comes back up to the ceiling and then windmills as you turn back towards the front. Take another diving motion here. To lengthen the spine after our twist. And then come back up onto your blocks, If you're using them. Walk the right foot to center, Right hand outside the right foot, Returning to your low lunge. And then begin to walk your hands backwards. As we come to Arda hanumasna hanumanasna. Which is our half split. Flex the right foot and draw the right hip backwards. If you want to, You can take the diving motion here to go a little deeper. Now tuck the back foot, The left foot. And bring your left ball of your foot in line with your right heel. You're going to bring both hands to the inside of your right leg and then sit your bum backwards and lift the left knee out towards the side for skandhanayasana. Like this. So you may. . . From here. To hear like this. Now if this is too much, You might be a little bit more like this and that's also okay. Good job. So you've got one leg bent and the other one straight. And then perhaps you. . . Fix your gaze somewhere on the floor in front of you and you might bring one hand to your chest. Maybe you bring both hands. Nice long spine. Crown of your head. Reaching upwards. And then release your hands back to the floor. Push your left foot into the earth as you come to a wide legged standing forward bend. Feet parallel or pointing inwards ever so slightly. Stay up on your fingertips or you can use your blocks here underneath your hands to bring the floor closer to you. Begin to walk the hands forward. Draw the hips backwards. Allow the head to fully relax here. And then walk the hands in between the feet. Turn the fingers around so your fingers are pointing backwards. And then see if you can shift your weight slightly forward. How does that affect your hamstrings and your calf muscles? Walk the hands back to center so they are underneath your shoulders. And then bend your knees generously, Shift your weight backwards. We're going to roll up. Press the soles of your feet into the earth. Turn the palms to face forwards. Reach the arms out. Why? Exhale, Squeeze the shoulder blades together. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale, Hands to heart center. Take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out Release the arms. So heels aligned here, Feet parallel. Your front foot to 90 degrees like this. Bring your hands onto your hips to use them as guidelines. Lift the toes up and turn. Toes inwards as far as you need for your hips to face forwards and then lower the foot down again. Okay, We're going to go for Trikonasana. So exhale, Press the hands towards the ground. Inhale, Reach them out wide. Exhale. Inhale arms up find length Exhale arms to parallel. Inhale, Shift towards your front foot. So if that's your right, Then to your right. If it's your left, Then your left. Palms face backwards. Bring your hand onto your hip and as you pull your hand downwards, Push your ribcage in the opposite direction and lift your other arm up and over. Good job. Your shoulders and your hips facing forward so that you've got a nice clean side stretch. One more breath. And then exhale, Relax the upper arm. Bring your arms back to parallel. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale, Hands to Namaskar. Heart center. Take a deep breath in. Take a deep breath out. Release the arms and we'll come to the other side. So feet parallel or slightly pigeon-toed. Turn the other foot to 90 degrees this time. And once again, Lift up the toes and turn the foot inwards as far as you need for your hips to face forwards and then lower the foot back down again. Palm face forward. Exhale, Press the hands towards the ground. Inhale, Activate the arms, Reach them out wide, Feel the chest and the back expand. Inhale arms up. Exhale arms to parallel. Inhale, Shift over towards the right, Turn your palms to face backwards, Lower your right hand onto your hip and as you draw the hand downwards, Your ribcage pops out in the opposite direction, Left arm up and over. Keeping your head in alignment with your spine so you're not looking upwards, You're looking forward. Keep reaching those fingers over towards the right. And breathe without restriction. Exhale, Relax the upper arm, Bring your arms to parallel. Inhale arms up. Exhale, Hands to heart centre. Allowing their thumbs to rest against your sternum. Take a deep breath in. Take a deep breath out. Release the arms, Turn the feet back to parallel or slightly pigeon-toed. Clasp onto your hands behind your back, Straighten the arms if that's available to you. And keeping the knees soft here, Begin to hinge forward. Coming back to your wide legged forward bend here. Relax the head, Let it hang heavy and perhaps you reach your arms up towards the ceiling and maybe even backwards if that feels okay. Release the arms to the floor. Then walk your hands over towards the back of your mat as you pivot on your feet. And step the front foot back for a downward facing dog. Now this time shift your way over towards your left foot. And as you inhale, Press the floor away from you. Lift your right leg back. Keep the right foot flexed, Toes pointing downwards so the hips stay square. Inhale press the floor away from you point your right foot raise it a little higher and open the hips up towards the right like underneath your right armpit check in with the shoulders make sure that they're parallel and then your left hip stays more or less aligned with your left ankle. Maybe you play with raising or lowering the right foot to find a sweet spot where you feel more of a stretch. And then when you're ready you're going to exhale. Square the hips, Flex the right foot, Lower the right foot to the mat. Come up high onto your tippy toes. Lift the hips as high as you can. Maybe you come onto your fingertips to give you a bit more room. And then step your left foot to the inside of your left hand. Lower your right knee to the floor for low lunge. And then maybe you shimmy your right knee backwards. Go through any adjustments. Untuck the back foot, Walk the left foot out towards the left. And then stack the shoulders over the wrist. Usual blocks here if you use them on the other side. And when you're ready, Take your diving motion, Bend the elbows, Look downwards. Drag your hands along the mat as you reach your chin diagonally forwards and up. Look forward to that. To complete the movement with your Dreshti. Good job. One more breath. Then take both hands to the inside of your left foot. Maybe you walk your left foot out towards the edge of your left mat. Stack your shoulders. Over your wrists. For lizard pose and then take a diving motion. Press your left toe band into the earth and squeeze your. . . Left knee to your left tricep. Shift your weight over to your right hand and on an inhale, Sweep the left arm up towards the ceiling as you spiral the chest towards the left. Press the floor away from you with your right hand. Option to lift the back toes up towards the ceiling as your left hand reaches back. Towards your right fit. But without grabbing onto the foot, Just hold it here. And then gently release the right foot back to the mat. Windmill the right hand all the way back to the front. And then take a diving motion. Walk your left foot back to the center as your left hand comes to the outside of your left foot. Returning to your low lunch. Then walk the hands backwards. So straighten the left leg. Flex the left foot. Até amanhã. Of the Hanumanasana. Half split. Check in with your hips. There's a tendency for that left hip to come forward, So draw the left hip backwards. If you want to intensify you can take a diving motion here. Noticing how that affects all of it. Muscles at the back of your left leg. Transitioning to skandhasana. Tuck your right foot, Bring the right ball of your foot in alignment with your left heel. As you bring both hands to the inside of your left leg. Sit your bum back towards your heels and then lift your knee your right knee out towards the side. Again, If this is too intense, You can have another variation where you're sort of standing like this. Just meet your body wherever it's at today. And then once again focusing your drishti on a point. On the floor or on the wall in front of you and then perhaps you bring one hand to your heart. Followed by the other one. Keeping the spine as tall as you can. Imagining you have a string attached to the crown of your head. And someone's gently tugging at that string. And then release the hands, Press into your. . . Right foot, Come back. Through wide-legged standing bend and we'll go to the other side. Once again, You can practice your balance by bringing one hand or both hands to your chest. Fixing the gaze and focusing on a belly breath to help you. And then when you're ready, You're going to release the hands to the floor, Press the left foot into the floor to come back to your wide legged. Standing forward bend, Make sure the feet are parallel or slightly pigeon-toed and then begin to walk the hands forward. Drawing the hips backwards, Keeping the head relaxed here, Knees. Slightly bent. Walking the fingers forward, Drawing the hips backwards, You should feel a nice lengthening of the spine here. Now that you've lengthened the spine, We're safe to come into a twist here. So bring your left hand to grab onto your right ankle, Shin or thigh, Wherever you can reach. Right leg. Like underneath your right armpit. Option to raise your right hand up towards the ceiling. And then slowly lower the right hand downwards, Unravel. Bring both hands underneath your shoulder blades, Underneath your shoulders. Come back up onto your fingertips. We're going to lengthen once more before we come onto the other side. So walk the hands forward. Draw the hips backwards. And once you've lengthened, Your right hand grabs onto your left ankle, Shin or thigh. Look underneath your left arm. If you did so on the other side you can raise your left hand up towards the sky. Exhale. Lower your left hand back down again. Bring both hands onto the mat underneath your shoulders. Bend the knees generously. Shift the weight backwards and then roll up. Press all four corners of the feet into the earth, Your arms out wide. Exhale. Inhale arms up. Exhale, Hands come down to Anjali Mudra also known as Namaskar. Release the hands. Feet parallel, Toes pointing forwards. Turn your left foot. To 90 degrees. Once again, Bring your hands onto your hips, Lift the toes upwards and turn. The feet inwards as far as you need to for your hips to face forward. And then this time, Bend into your left knee. Now, If your left knee comes slightly forwards like mine does, Then keeping the angle of your foot, Bring your heel. Slightly forwards. And then you might want to lengthen the stance by shifting your other leg, Your other foot backwards. So what you're looking for is your hips facing forwards and your knee and your left knee and foot pointing in the same direction. Tuck the belly in, Tuck the tailbone and then once you've got the right alignment you can straighten your left leg. Exhale, Press your hands towards the ground. Inhale, Reach your arms out wide. Exhale. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale, Arms to parallel. Bend into your left knee. Shift your weight forwards towards the left. Turn your left palm forwards, Right palm backwards. Lower your left forearm onto your thigh. And as you push your forearm towards your knee, Your ribcage pops out in the opposite direction. Turn your palm to face downwards. Reach your right arm up and over for side angle. So make sure your forearm is resting on your knee you might need to on your thigh you might need to bend your legs a little wider. One more breath here. Press both feet into the earth as you. Bring your arms back to parallel. Inhale, Arms up straight in the left leg. Exhale, Hands to heart centre. Take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out. Elisa, Um, And we will. . . Come to the other side. So come back to parallel feet, Heels aligned. Toes pointing forwards. This time turn your right foot to 90 degrees. Then lift up the toes of your right foot, Turn them inwards as far as you need to for your hips to face forwards and then lower the foot back down again. Bend into your right knee. And if your knee is falling forwards like this, Keeping the angle of your foot. Bring your heel forward just a little bit. So you want your knee and toe pointing in the right direction, Hips facing forward. Tuck the tailbone belly in. Straighten the right leg. Exhale, Press the hands towards the floor. Inhale reach your arms out wide Exhale. Inhale arms up. Lengthen. Exhale arms to parallel. Inhale, Bend into your right knee. Shift the body over towards the right and your right palm face forwards left palm face backwards lower your right forearm onto your right thigh, And as you push your forearm towards your knee, Push your ribcage in the opposite direction, Rotate your right palm downwards and your left arm comes up and over for side angle. Now make sure that you're not rounding your shoulders downwards, You're spiraling with chest forwards, Chest and hips facing forward. Keep reaching the fingertips over. Perhaps you bend a little further into your right knee. And as your feet are firmly pressing into the floor, Relax the upper arm, Bring your arms back to parallel. Inhale, Straighten the right leg. Alms up. Exhale. Hands come to heart center. Take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out Release the arms and then heel, Toe. The feet. A little wider than hip with distance apart. Toes pointing outwards. For my last yogi squat. And the palms to face forward. Exhale, Press the hands towards the ground. Inhale, Reach the arms out wide. Exhale. Inhale arms up. Create space between the vertebrae. Exhale, Palms come to touch. Draw them down to your heart center as you begin to bend your legs. Drawing your bum downwards. For yogi squats. Your heels don't need to touch the floor. You can even use your blocks to rest your heels on them. Remember, It's more important that you keep a straight back. You don't want to. Force the heels down and then round the back. It's better to have the heels lifted and a nice long spine. Close the eyes. And feel into your body. You lean to the posture. See if you can. . . Find a sensation of rest within the posture itself. And if your mind begins to wander. Come back to the sound of my voice. Come back to your breath. Okay from here we're going to come into frog pose which is our peak pose So come onto your knees. If you want to you can roll your mat here for some extra padding bring your knees onto the mat or maybe even use cushions or blankets under here if this really hurts your knee. Take your knees out as wide as you can. I'm just going to turn around so that you can see me from the side. So your knees want to come out as wide as you can. Shoulders stacked over your wrists. And then your ankles in alignment with your knees or inwards, Never. Further out than the knees. Like this. Let me turn around. So knees out nice and wide like that. And then from this position. If you want to go deeper, You might come onto your forearms. Let's take a few long deep breaths here. Remember, You should never feel pain or strain in yoga. If it's tension, That's okay. But if it's pain, If it's too much, Then bring the knees slightly closer together. Okay, So listen to me closely the way that we're going to come out of this pose. Is by bringing the big toes to touch. And as you press your hands into the floor, Lift the knees up. And bring them together. And then you can sit back. Onto your heels. And we'll take a few calming breaths here. Resting the hands and the knees. Closing down the eyes. Breathing in to fill the belly first. The back of the rib cage. And then the chest. Taking a couple more tips there in. Holding at the top and then exhaling to gently release. Do a few more of these at your own pace. Last one. Open your eyes. Bring your legs out in front of you. And bring the soles of your feet to touch. Pull out the flesh from beneath your sit bones. And begin by just giving yourself a little foot massage. Giving your feet. I love the cozy. Often neglect them during our yoga practice. Okay. Sit up nice and tall. Stacking the head over the shoulders, Shoulders over the pelvis. Arms by your side, Palms face forward. Exhale, Press your hands towards the ground. Inhale reach your arms out wide. Exhale. Inhale arms up. Reach, Reach, Reach, Reach, Reach. And I'm keeping a nice straight spine. Tuck the pubic bone, Hinge from the hips, Reaching the chest forward. Lower your forearms to the inside of your knee. Palms face up, Press your forearms down and then towards your knees as you rotate the palms downward. Keeping your head in alignment with your spine. So make sure you're not just dangling the head downwards. As they come out, Relax the head, Press this. Four rounds. Into your legs and then roll up. Help your knees up with your hands. And then give yourself a little hug. Okay we'll go to a seated twist now. So bring your. . . Right foot. In between the hole, We can point or left. Or flex your foot to bring attention into it. Your knees out wide and your left foot is flat on the mat with the knee pointing upwards. And you can pull out your bottom cheeks here so that you can sit up a little bit taller. Now bring your hands over towards the right. And as you inhale, Sweep the arms over towards the left. Keep reaching here. And then turn the thumbs downwards as you lower your arms down. Right arm wraps around your left leg, You might bring your left foot a little bit closer and your left fingertips are on the floor, Thumb pointing backwards, Elbows slightly bent so you have space to press into the floor, Grow taller and then look up and over your left shoulder. Checking in with a breath. Make sure that you can breathe unrestrictedly. If you're struggling perhaps you've twisted too far so ease off a little bit. Use your breath as a guide. And then begin to unravel as you exhale your head turning around last. Help your right knee up and give yourself a little hug. And then we'll come to the other side. So left foot comes in between the hole. Right foot flat on the mat with the knee pointing upwards. Fill out the flesh from underneath your sit bones. Sit up as tall as you can. Bring your hands over towards the left. Inhale reach the arms over towards the right reaching up Point the thumbs downwards and then lower the arm so your left arm wraps around your. . . Right leg, Maybe you bring your right foot back a little bit. Right fingers on the mat. Press into the floor to lengthen. Then reach up and over your right shoulder. Keeping your head where it is, Begin to gently unravel from the hips. To low back. Mid back, Upper back. Pop your left knee up and give yourself a little hug. Now scoot your bum forwards. Keeping both feet glued into the mat, Reach your arms forwards as you round the upper back. Engage the call. And roll down as slowly as you can. Once you've come all the way down, Bring your feet a little bit closer. See you, Bye. About a couple of inches away. Feet hip width distance apart. Now begin to tilt the pelvis backwards like we did. At the beginning of class, Bringing the low back flush to the mat Press the navel towards the floor. And as you press both your hands and your feet into the earth at the same time, Begin to lift your low back off the ground, Followed by your big back and then your upper back for bridge pose. Lift your head up for just a moment. Press hands and feet into the earth. Lift the hips a little higher and then relax the head back down again. Let's take five breaths here keep reaching the thighs diagonally forwards and the chest diagonally backwards. And then on your next inhale reach the arms overhead keeping the hips high. Rest them on the floor behind you and as you exhale roll down vertebra by vertebra Bring your knees to your chest and give yourself a little hug. Maybe you gently rock from side to side. And then lower the feet back to the mat. We're going to do one last pose so if there are any particular poses that you want to do then go ahead feel free otherwise you can join me for a our final pose by bringing the left knee to the chest, Interlace the hands over the left knee and then slide the right leg. All the way down the mat flex the right foot so that your low back is touching the floor. And then draw your left. Knee towards your chest and then slightly out towards. The left armpit. And we'll hold it here for A few rounds of breath. If you're doing a pose that requires two sides, Begin to move over to the second side. If you're joining me, Lower your left foot to the mat. Bring your right knee to your chest. Wrap your right your arms over your right shin slide the left leg down flex the left foot Draw the right knee towards the chest and then out towards the right armpits and hold here. They were the right fit to the mat. And straight in the right leg. Wherever you are, Come to join me by lying down and coming onto your. . . Elbows here. We're going to lengthen the lower back before we come into our final resting posture. So press your hands into the floor and towards your feet as you point your feet and you reach your upper body backwards. Slide all the way down. And then we're going to take Shavasana today with the legs bent. So bend. The legs. Bring the feet onto the mat. But take them as wide as the mat and allow the knees to touch here. We've done a lot of external rotation of the hips today. So let's internally rotate the hips to end the practice. Palms face up. Close down the eyes. And perhaps you take this time to reflect back on the intention that you set at the beginning of class. Keeping my eyes closed. Slowly begin to make your way back into your body. Can start by finding from gentle movement. And your hands and your feet. Moving your fingers and wriggling your toes. Marking your head from side to side. As you wake up the body nice and slow Bring your head back to center and take a nice deep breath in through the nose. Open your mouth and sigh it out. Make a noise. And again inhale fill up your lungs Exhale, Let it out. And in your own time, Reach your arms overhead. Then you point your toes. Straighten the legs. Stretch it out. Take a yaw. Hmm. And the legs all over onto your right hand side. Helling up into a little ball. And when you're ready with the help of your left hand pushing yourself up to a seated position. Keeping your eyes closed. Fine tool. Like your head over your heart and your heart over your pelvis. Bring your attention. Your third eye. That space in between your eyebrows and slightly up. Enjoy a few final moments of stillness. And Simon. Allow all four corners of your mouth to turn upwind. Bringing a gentle smile to your lips. A smile to your heart. And a smile to your mind. And bow to one another.

Reviews

Phenomenal. Jamie’s prompts are spot on, her energy relaxing and expanding, and this sequence was perfect for opening my hips while also calming my vagus nerve. It’s rare to find a long form yoga class on Insight Timer, and this one is awesome.