Truth - A Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Class

Finding and living from a state of truth can only be accessed from within. This class includes a dharma talk, yoga postures, movement, exploring the EDGE, time to drop in, meditation, and contemplation. A journal is a valuable resource for this practice. The Phoenix Rising Method is a holistic healing art created by Michael Lee, used to deepen awareness and presence.

Class theme: Truth. Includes all 6 phases.

This is a pre-recorded class from a LIVE session and there is no ability to interact with Janay, but I encourage you to use the time to check in with yourself or with another person if you are experiencing this class with others. And, as always, take care of your body.

Transcript

So I did want to welcome everyone to class six in our Me Time Evening Rituals class,

Our yoga therapy class with Phoenix Rising.

And if there is anything that I need to be aware of as far as body goes,

If anyone's hurting in any way,

You can quickly send me something in the chat if you'd like to,

Or if you'd like to come off mute and just let me know,

Then we can address that as well.

And we will need a block today.

Maybe a chair or something to lean up against the wall or a desk or something that you have if you need it.

If you have good balance,

We're just going to do a balancing pose today.

If you have good balance,

Then you're probably not going to need to use it.

And before we get started,

I wanted to talk about our theme today.

The theme today is truth.

And truth can be a really interesting thing to think about.

And I wrote down some things here that I wanted to talk about.

And the first one was that I'm sure that all of us have heard one time or another when someone says that change is the only constant thing that we have in our life.

And so to keep that in mind as well,

And that the Buddha taught that a way for us to alleviate our suffering really required a practice of seeing things as they truly are.

So knowing what our truth is is going to help us to see things as they truly are.

And a mentor of mine talked to me about big T and little t one time.

So big truth and little truth.

And I was kind of like,

I don't think I've really heard that before.

Maybe you guys have.

But the big truth is a truth like gravity.

So I really try to explain that there is no gravity because that is a truth in our world.

We do have gravity.

And then the little t is something that may be true for you,

But maybe not for everybody else.

And the example that she gave was time.

So right now on my computer,

It's seven o'clock in the evening,

705.

But in England or in Japan,

They are on a different time zone.

So it may be true for me that it's seven o'clock,

But for them,

It's not true for them.

So there's a lot of things in life that we find where it's really true for us,

But it's not true for the other person.

And that's really something to think about as well.

As we practice today,

You might see a truth come up in your body.

You know,

Wow,

I can't do that or wow,

I used to be able to do that.

And so it might be a new truth or it might be something that you've always known.

Like I've never been able to do that.

My body doesn't move that way.

And I think that when we can practice receiving what is present in our body and really contemplate like,

Is this a truth just for today?

Because maybe yesterday you were able to do it.

And then today the body doesn't want to cooperate.

So what was true today that,

Oh,

I can't do that.

Maybe that wasn't true yesterday and maybe it won't be true tomorrow.

And so I ask that we really practice with that open awareness of what is happening.

This is our sixth class.

And every time that we come into a therapy class,

We have an opportunity to dig a little bit deeper,

To look a little bit further because,

You know,

It gets to the point where it's like,

You kind of know what's going to happen.

You kind of know what we're going to be doing and try not to gloss over the deeper parts of this practice.

How can I reach in a little bit deeper and maybe find another truth that is here for me?

And I don't know what that's going to look like.

It looks like something different for all of us.

And so I just ask that you bring your awareness in at a deeper level today than in the past classes.

So we're going to start it up,

Shaking our energy off.

So if you'd like to stand up,

I will meet you on the mat.

And let's take a moment first off and just feel our body,

Feel our feet on the floor.

If you want to place a hand or two on your belly or on your heart or in both places,

It doesn't really matter.

Find a place to settle in and notice what is the truth of your energy?

What are your energy levels right now?

Is this something that you really want to expel some energy from your day or is it time to slow down a little bit?

These are evening rituals for you and an evening ritual can look differently every single day depending on our energy levels.

So take a moment to feel into your energy.

It feels good to let a breath out.

Go ahead and let a breath out.

Maybe another one or two.

And one last breath.

Release the hands and begin to sweep away the energy of the day.

Just sweeping the body,

Getting connected and somehow create some sort of breathing with this.

So it might be nice,

Big,

Long inhales and nice,

Long exhales,

Or they could be really short and sharp,

But they can be very long and smooth.

You get to decide.

You get to choose how your body's going to respond to brushing off this energy of the day.

Maybe brush off some areas that you missed last time.

Maybe there's something that has been hanging around for a while.

Brush it off.

Shake it off.

Take a breath.

Kick the legs out.

And then start to tap the body right above the,

Or right below the collarbone.

So right above the chest area.

And take some breaths here as you just tap,

Tap,

Tap.

You can use one hand.

You can use both hands.

And if you're home alone,

I can hear my voice like,

Ah.

So you can add a little bit of sound to this if you want to,

Or you can just breathe.

And you can kind of go back and forth,

Tapping that area.

And this can be firm or it can be really soft.

Feel your body.

Take an inhale up,

Arms reaching for the ceiling.

Let it down.

Reach the arms up,

Big inhale,

And let it down.

One last arms up,

Big inhale,

And let it go.

And from here,

Make sure that there isn't a ceiling fan or something above you because we're going to reach one arm up and the opposite knee up,

And we're going to go back and forth.

And this can be done really fast or it can be done kind of slow.

So feel your body here,

And again,

Connect body to breath.

If it feels better to twist side to side,

Elbow to knee,

Go ahead and make any modification that you need to.

Otherwise,

Keep breathing,

Keep moving,

Reaching for the ceiling,

Reaching those knees up.

Just a little while longer.

Slow it down,

Slow it down,

Slow it down.

Come to the side of the mat.

As we inhale,

Arms will come up.

Elbows come into waist as we bend the knees,

Reaching back up towards the sky,

And then bending over and swooping down and coming back up.

Elbows in and up,

Swooping down and up,

Connecting the breath.

Keeping your own pace.

Take care of your body.

When you go down next time,

Just stay down,

Let your body hang,

And slowly come up,

Reaching the arms overhead,

Maybe coming up on those tiptoes,

And back down.

Keeping the feet apart about hip distance,

Begin to turn and twist one direction,

And then turn and twist the other direction.

And this again can be done nice and slow,

Or if you want to speed it up and let the arms flop side to side,

As long as you're taking care of your back and your body,

Feel free to explore.

Connecting the breath,

Maybe the inhale is in the center and the exhale is on the edges of each side.

And if it feels good to lift that heel and look over your shoulder,

If you're really wanting to create some momentum here,

Look behind you,

Lift the heel,

Let the arms flop.

Breathe and begin to slow this down,

Slowing it down,

Slowing it down,

Slowing it down until you come to a standstill.

Take a deep breath in,

Let it go.

Another deep breath in,

Let it go.

On your next deep inhale in,

Lift the shoulders up and let it go.

And take a moment to feel your body.

I'm coming back to the computer.

You feel your body.

Notice the changes.

Notice your breath.

Notice the space that you created in your body.

Notice any heat that has been generated.

What is your truth here?

What is truly happening in your body right now,

Right here?

And connect there,

Connect with that.

Bring hips underneath your,

I'm sorry,

Feet underneath your hips.

Hands can stay at the side as you inhale.

Bring the chest forward as you roll the shoulders back and lift the head.

And as you exhale,

Curl the back,

Tighten up the chin and move back and forth,

Feeling the extension and the contraction of the spine in the body.

Inhaling as you open the chest,

Exhaling as you contract inward.

Feel your body.

The next time you open up,

Open up and stay open.

Take a couple of breaths there and feel your body here.

The next time you exhale,

Contract forward,

Bending the chin downward and stay there.

Notice your body,

Feel your body.

And then pick an area that you would like to explore.

Maybe it is wide open.

Maybe it is closed tight.

Maybe it's somewhere in between.

Notice all the little muscles,

All of the sensations.

And find a sensation that you can explore for a while and feel for a while.

And within yourself,

Really establish diving in here and seeing what is available to you in here.

Come into that felt sense that we talked about in previous classes.

What am I sensing here?

What is here that maybe isn't so obvious?

And tune in.

Tune into those sensations,

Getting to know them.

And then find a way to soften without fully letting go.

What can you do to just soften the body without letting go?

And where does that felt sense take you here?

Release the shape.

Make any movements that you need to to realign the body.

From here,

If you want to grab your block,

You can.

And we can put that just in between our thighs to keep our knees from coming together as we stand.

And then we can squat back into that imaginary chair that is behind us.

Or if you have a real chair,

You can sit down into that real chair.

And then bring your arms out.

Then they can be out in front of you or above you and really start to squeeze your fists together.

Squeeze your fists together and tighten,

Tighten,

Tighten the body.

Continue to breathe as you tighten and squeeze the body.

Maybe you're even squeezing into that block.

Maybe you're squeezing into the floor in your feet.

You notice what's there.

Take care of your body.

Squeeze and squeeze and squeeze.

And then begin to release the tension in the fists and allow you to come out of this position.

Maybe the block even just falls onto the floor or you can keep it there.

And notice the sensation of letting go.

Notice where the energy is flowing.

Notice how the fingers are feeling.

Notice how the feet are feeling.

Notice the layers of this experience.

And then let's revisit this experience.

So if you want to put the block back where it is,

Find that imaginary chair.

As you sink in,

Notice your feet on the floor.

Maybe they are pushing in.

Maybe they are just holding you.

And those arms come up and start to squeeze those fists together,

Tight,

Tight,

Tight.

Feel your body.

Feel the fire.

Feel the sensation.

Feel what's here.

All the layers and everything in between.

Breathe.

Stay in this moment with me.

Notice the body.

Take care of your body.

It's your responsibility to take care of your body.

And you can release your hands and straighten your legs as you feel the release.

Notice the shift.

Notice the change.

Notice where the energy is flowing.

And notice if there are images or feelings that are working their way to the surface.

Notice any colors that might be showing up as well.

And be with what arises.

And this is where we will do our balancing pose.

So if you do need to grab a chair or move your body to a place where you can hold onto a desk if you need to,

Or if you want to balance on your own,

You can stay right on your mat.

Bringing your feet somewhat,

Maybe a little bit closer than they have been.

And find that balance on one of those legs.

So just transferring the weight and beginning to lift.

And as you bring that lifted leg out behind you,

Reaching behind you towards that back wall,

Allow your torso to fold forward and the arms can reach forward or they can reach back behind you or in any other position as you breathe and balance.

And explore accepting where you are.

Maybe you've fallen out of this pose and have had to come back in.

Can you accept that that's where your body is today?

And if you're rocking it out and your body is feeling great,

Accept that too.

Yeah,

This is where I am today.

Notice what you say when you speak to your body.

And notice how your body speaks to you.

And if you haven't released out,

You can go ahead and release this side.

Notice right side,

Left side.

And let's explore the other side.

And I'm going to be a little more quiet on this side.

This is a time for you to really explore,

To figure out where you want to be in this shape.

Commit to it and then engage with your body.

Really feel what is here.

Take your time.

Breathe.

Be.

Notice how you choose.

Notice if you choose,

Yeah,

I want to come back in.

Notice when your body's had enough and you choose that you're done.

There's no right,

There's no wrong.

Just is where you are today.

Find your way on your belly,

On your mat.

Let everything go.

Notice your experience as you're on your belly.

And be here.

And with your arms on the floor,

Reach them over your head.

So they're just going to come above the shoulders.

Still on the floor,

But just reaching above your head.

And then lift both of those arms and the torso,

Leaving the lower legs,

The lower body on the floor.

Just reaching those top arms up and the torso up.

Take a few breaths.

And then release.

And then lifting those arms up again,

And this time adding the legs.

So lifting the legs up as well.

As you breathe and stretch and lift.

Breathe and stretch and lift.

Breathe and stretch and lift.

And release.

Where's your energy level now?

Check in and notice.

And what is that felt sense that is signaling you about your energy level?

Feel into that.

And notice if that is your truth for the moment.

And notice if that energy level has been your truth for a while.

And we don't need to create a story around it or really dive into anything there.

Just notice,

Yeah,

That's where I'm at.

Bring the palms of your hands underneath your shoulders and your elbows close to your sides.

And lift your head just about an inch off of the floor.

Take a couple of breaths there.

And notice.

Notice where the body wants to go.

And then release.

Bringing the head back to center.

And lifting just the head up and maybe a little tiny bit of the chest.

Not very much though.

Breathe here.

Notice what's happening.

Notice what is arising.

Notice how your body is talking to you and notice how you're talking to your body.

Take another breath and release.

And really feeling into where you noticed where your energy levels were.

So keeping that at the forefront,

What would be the full expression of this pose?

Would it be full energy all the way up?

Or are you needing a slower,

Calmer energy slowing it down?

And whatever that full expression looks like to you,

Make your way into that full expression.

Pressing the palms into the floor and breathing here.

As you're here,

Notice what is arising deep within.

Notice arising from deep within you as you are experiencing this shape.

And release and let it all out.

If you want to prop your head up or release your arms down,

Feel free.

What's happening now?

What is here now?

What is arising?

What is your truth?

Make room for all of it.

Be with what's here for you.

Make your way to a tabletop position.

So on your hands and knees.

Grab any padding that you need to,

Yeah.

Do any other movements that feel appropriate.

And then bring your right arm out to the side about halfway.

And then thread it through the opposite knee and elbow as you lean the shoulder down.

And start to draw into that deep within place.

That place where it's only you.

Allow distractions to fade away.

Stay with the body.

Stay with the breath.

And there might be an edge here too that you notice.

Stay with that too.

Notice any shifting that is happening in the body as gravity moves the body,

As stretch moves the body.

Take care of yourself and breathe.

Release from this side and come back to that tabletop.

And move side to side if you'd like to.

Rotate your shoulders or your waist.

Move your head side to side to loosen the neck.

Up and down.

Come back to that tabletop when you are ready and find your opposite arm reaching out to the side and threading through the opposite elbow and knee.

Find that deep within place again.

Is it on this side?

Stay with your body moment to moment,

Breath to breath.

When you notice sensation,

Let your body know,

I feel you.

I am aware.

I am here.

Be a witness to your own experience.

And what is significant here?

What is arising?

Notice if you've had to call yourself back to your body,

If your mind has taken a ride somewhere else,

Yeah,

That happens.

Come back to your body.

What is significant here in this moment?

What is the body saying?

Breathe.

Be with body here.

Be here.

Be here with the body.

Be here now.

Release this side and as you move the body and adjust the body,

Allow the body to guide you as you are still inward,

Still in that deep place,

Creating alignment,

Allowing sensation to dissipate.

And then find your way back on your belly.

And as you find your way on your belly,

Slide one knee up,

So you're kind of on one side a little bit.

And one knee is up.

And if you want to pull that knee up with the other hand to adjust it,

Feel free to or if it's in a good place now.

Yeah,

Reach the opposite leg back.

Bring in any prop that you need to support your body.

And notice what's arising from that deep within place here.

And really sense into what is arising.

What is it?

What is it that I'm feeling?

What is here?

Notice if this shape is comfortable or uncomfortable.

Notice if you want to get out or if you could stay like this forever.

No need to change anything or do anything.

Just notice and notice what your body can receive from this shape.

Allow your body to be the receiver of this pose.

What is the body giving to itself here?

And what is it taking in?

Use your wisdom and flow can happen.

Find your way on your back.

And let everything go here.

Let the body sink down.

If you want to grab a bolster or a blanket to prop any areas up,

Feel free to.

And begin to settle in.

I'm going to offer a moment or two of silence.

When you hear my voice again,

We'll come back.

Stay inward as we move into meditation.

Bring your awareness to your right wrist,

Your right shoulder,

Your right elbow,

The palm of your right hand,

The top of your right hand.

Bring your awareness to your left shoulder,

The left bicep,

The inside of the left elbow,

The left forearm,

And all of the fingers on the left hand.

The inside of the left palm and the top of the left hand.

Bring your awareness to your heart,

Your lungs,

The right knee,

The left knee,

Purple,

The top of the head,

The eyebrow,

The right eye,

The other eyebrow,

The left eye,

The tip of your nose,

The chin.

Bring your awareness to orange,

The right ankle,

The left ankle,

The right calf,

The left calf,

The toes on the right foot,

The toes on the left foot,

The right big toe,

The left big toe,

The right thumb,

The left thumb,

The right pinky finger,

The left pinky finger,

The belly button,

The right glute,

The left glute,

The right hip,

The left hip.

Bring your awareness to your face.

Bring your awareness to the back of the head.

Bring your awareness to your teeth,

Your tongue,

The roof of your mouth,

The inside of the right cheek,

The inside of the left cheek,

The bottom lip,

The top lip,

The front of the throat,

The back of the neck,

The upper back,

The middle back,

The lower back.

Bring your awareness to your tailbone,

The sole of the right foot,

The sole of the left foot,

Yellow,

The belly button,

And the whole backside of the body.

Bring your awareness to the whole backside of the body as you melt into the floor a little bit deeper.

Find a little more softness.

Bring your awareness to the whole front side of the body.

And then bring your awareness to the parts of the body that are clothed and the parts that are not.

And notice temperature.

Notice if you can feel a difference or if it feels the same.

Bring your awareness to your whole body,

All of the parts,

One living being,

You.

Right here,

Right now.

And as you experience you,

This being,

Right here,

Right now,

Place one or both hands on your heart and ask your body,

What is true for me right now?

What is true for me right now?

And as you connect with what is deep within,

Allow the answer to come from what is deep within.

What is true for me right now?

Peel into that place and notice what arises.

It may have come quick today or it may be taking its time.

Don't push the river.

Let it flow out at its own pace,

In its own time.

What is true for me right now?

Take a deep breath and begin to move your body,

Awakening the feet and the fingers,

The legs and the arms,

Stretching or twisting,

Whatever feels good.

There's no rush here.

And as you make your way back to a seated position,

Find yourself coming back into your full self,

Into your mind,

Your full body,

Your full self,

And look back through this practice and notice where you were experiencing truths that were coming up and notice what stands out here,

What stands out in this practice about what's true.

And notice how it relates to your experience with truth in your everyday life.

And ask yourself,

How might this inform me moving forward with truth in the future?

I'd like to offer some more journaling time where you can jot down some thoughts.

If you need to go get paper,

Feel free to grab a pen and paper.

What's flowing out?

And as you are finishing up,

A few more thoughts,

A few more words.

I'm going to turn the recording off and just offer some time where if anyone would like to share about their experience,

They're welcome to do that.

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🌺🌹🍎🌺🌹Thank you so much for the wonderfully practice 🎀🌺I’m feeling like shiny glittering light with soft colors and my body is talking to me 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste