Grounding Vinyasa Flow

Step onto your mat and welcome a fresh lunar cycle. This grounding, full-body flow begins with a seated meditation and breathwork to draw your awareness inward, inviting you to plant the seeds of your intentions for the month ahead.
From the earth, we rise, moving through dynamic hip openers, low lunges, and flowing sequences that open the upper body and create space for what’s new. Standing balances like Dancer and Tree invite you to find steadiness and trust in your own centre, before returning to the ground for deep, restorative hip work and a long, surrendered Savasana.
This class is an invitation to let go of the old and welcome fresh energy - body, breath, and spirit aligned with the moon’s new beginning.
Suitable for intermediate practitioners. Props optional.

Transcript

So welcome to today's class and today we will be opening up The upper body will be doing some balancing. And we'll be letting go of the old and opening up for new and fresh energies because who doesn't need that? So we'll start today in a kneeling position. If you have a prop, You can place underneath your sit bones. Please go ahead and do that to protect your knees. If this isn't comfortable for you, Go ahead and sit in a cross-legged position. But always try and find something to sit on so you can elevate your hips slightly so you can lengthen your spine, Grow tall, And you can breathe more easily. So once you're settled, Place your hands on your thighs or your knees, Palms facing down. Roll your shoulders up and back and start to close down your eyes. Notice the space that you're in. Notice any sounds. Any smells? And the temperature of the air on your skin. Start to bring awareness to your breath. Simply noticing how you are breathing today. Be here without judgment, Without trying to change anything. Just simply notice. And slowly start to deepen your breath. Feeling the belly rise as you inhale The breath traveling up through the ribs all the way to the chest. And as you exhale, Feel the chest drop, The ribs drop, And the belly release. Inhaling from the belly, Rib Ciao. And then exhaling chest. Breath. Continue breathing at your own pace. Slowly lengthening and deepening the breath. And we'll do a very short breathing exercise called box breathing. So we'll inhale for four, Pause for four, Exhale for four, Pause for four. Do that a couple of rounds. So just to begin, Take a deep breath in through the nose. And exhale a sigh out of the mouth. Inhale, Two, Three, Four. Pause, Two, Three, Four. Exhale, Two, Three, Four. Pause, Two, Three, Four. Inhale two three four pause two three four exhale two three four pause two three four inhale two three four pause two three four exhale 2 3 4 Pause. Too. 3. Inhale. To. . . Three. Beautiful. Pause. Too. Three Beautiful. Exhale. Too. 3 and really Begin to breathe naturally. Noticing Any changes you might notice. In your mind, In your energy. And slowly we'll blink open the eyes. Coming back to our space. And we'll begin our asana practice. And silice your hand inhale reach your arms up overhead opening the chest slightly And as you exhale, Start rounding the spine as you bring the arms forward, Palms facing out to the side. Inhale, Arms reach up as you slightly arch your back. Exhale, Round. Arms come forward. Inhale, Reach up. Spine arches. Exhale round the spine. Inhale, Arms reach up. This time will stay up. And exhale, Slightly bend to the left. Looking over to the right. Inhale, Coming through center. Exhale, Bend to the right. Gaze to the left. Inhale, Center. Exhale, Bend to the left. Inhale center exhale right Inhale center. Exhale as we release. Place your left palm on the ground. Inhale, Right arm reaches up and over, Bending to the left. Inhale center plant the right palm, Inhaling the left arm up, Exhale to the right. Inhale center exhale bend over to the left Inhale, San sa. Exhale, Bend over to the right. Inhale centre, Release the arms. Remove any prop you were sitting on. Place it over to the side. We won't be needing that anymore. And we'll come onto all fours. Placing their hands underneath the shoulders. Knees are underneath the hips. And we'll do some wrist stretches. So start walking your hands to the side and gently shift from right to left. Still conscious of your breath. Coming to center, Turn your fingers facing towards your body. If this is too much, Just stay here, Breathe. You can come out of it whenever you need to. If you're okay, You can start shifting. Your weight backwards and forwards very gently, Very consciously. Don't overstretch. Still breathing deeply. And then coming back to neutral. Flip one palm so the top of your hand is facing down, Fingertips towards your body. And again, You can stay in stillness so you can start shifting your weight forward and backwards. Opening up the wrist. An area of the body we often neglect. But it's so important. Gently release, You can very gently shake out your wrists. Place the left wrist back down. Flip the right palm. And again, See how this feels. Each side is different, So this side might feel a little bit more intense. If it's alright, You can start shifting your weight forward and back. Very, Very slight movements. Still breathing deeply. And then gently release, Maybe shake out the wrist. And then we'll make our way into child's pose. Bringing the knees as wide as the mat. Toes together. Start sinking your hips towards your heels. And then if you can, Allow the chest to melt towards the earth. Maybe forehead touches the ground. Feeling the length all down your spine. Again, Breathing consciously, Activating your all dry breath. Allowing yourself to land here, Feeling the earth beneath you. Feeling the support of the earth. As you inhale, Start looking towards your hands. And start shifting your way forward, Opening up the chest. And as you exhale, Sink your way back into child's pose. We'll start moving dynamically with the breath. So inhale. As we shift forward with control, Core is engaged. Exhale, Shift back. Inhale, Shift forward. Exhale, Shift back. Inhale forward. Exhale, Shift back. Inhale, This time we'll come back onto all fours, Placing the knees back underneath the hips, Hands underneath the shoulders. Start lengthening your right leg back. Shifting your weight forwards and backwards, Feeling the length all down the back of that right leg. And then as you inhale, Coming into. . . Power Pose, Lifting your legs. Exhale, Round your spine, Bring your knee into your chest. Inhale right leg reaches back open the chest create a slight arch Exhale, Knee to turn. Inhale open the chest as the leg reaches up Exhale, Knee to knee. Inhale cow pose open up exhale round this time when your knee comes to your chest Step it in between your hands. Inhale into your low lungs. Exhale, Shift your weight back as you extend your right leg, Coming into Adohanamonasana, Half split. Inhale, Shift forward, Open the chest. Exhale, Shift back. Inhale forward. Exhale back. Inhale forward. And exhale, Shift back, This time hold. Maybe coming on two blocks your fingertips or if you can hinge from the hips and start to lower your chest down towards your right leg. Allow your head to release. Breathing into your right leg. Inhale, Slowly start to shift your way forward bringing both hands on the inside of your right foot. Placing your right hand on the inside of your right knee and gently start to push your knee or your leg out and simultaneously the leg pushes into your hands so you have an oppositional force. Breathing deeply. And your next inhale, Gently release. Placing both hands back down on the inside of your foot. Maybe staying here, Maybe propping yourself up onto some props or maybe lowering yourself down onto your forearms. Breathing here, Flexing the right foot to protect the knee. Maybe closing down the eyes. Sending your breath into the sensations of the stretch. You One more deep breath here. And on your next inhale, Slowly will come back up. Shifting your right leg back. Coming back into child's pose just for a breath. Noticing the different sides. And on your inhale, Slowly coming back into your tabletop position. And then we'll start to extend the left leg back. Shifting the weight forwards and backwards. I feel like today's theme is shifting. Shifting a lot. And then inhale, Start to lift your left leg as you gently start to arch the spine and open the chest. And exhale as you round the spine and bring the knee into your chest. Inhale, Lengthen, Inhale. Exhale around, Bringing the knee in. Inhale Power pose. Exhale. Happy. Inhale, Lengthen one last time. Exhale, Knee to knee. And this time, Step your foot in between your hands coming into your low lungs. Inhale, Open the chest as you shift forward. And exhale, Shift back. I don't know. Inhale forward. Exhale back. Inhale forward. Exhale back. Inhale, Forward. Exhale this time as we shift back we stay again coming onto blocks coming onto your fingertips staying lifted Or if you have the space, Start hinging from your hips. Allowing your torso to melt down towards your left leg, Keeping the toes flat. And breathing into your left leg. The side may feel different to the last. We very often aren't very balanced on both sides because of the lifestyle, Etc. But that's okay. We try to balance it through doing yoga. Breathing deeply. One more full round of breath here. And on your next inhale. Start walking your way forward, Bending the left knee, Placing your hands on the inside of your left foot. And again, We'll come into that oppositional force by bringing the left hand onto the inside of your left knee. Press the leg out to the side, Flex the left foot, Simultaneously press the leg back into the hand. Breathing here. Right hand is pressing the floor away to lift your chest. One more round of breath. And as you exhale, Gently release, Placing both hands back on the inside of your left foot. Staying here, Maybe coming onto props, Maybe lowering your torso down to the floor. Again, Keeping that left foot flexed. Protecting the knee, Gently pressing the elbows down to lift the shoulders away from the ears. We're not melting here, We're still. . . Engaging. Using our muscles. Mulabandha is engaged. Breathing deeply. On your next inhale gently coming back up bringing your left leg back. Coming into child's pose for one round of breath. And then your next inhale, Look towards your hands, Really plant your palms into the earth. Shift forward tuck your toes and we'll come into downward facing dog considering it's the first down dog allow a slight bend just through the knees to really lengthen the spine fingers are spread wide palms are really pressing into the air And then start lengthening one leg. And then the other, Walking out your dog. Feeling the stretch in your legs, Still moving with the breath. So see if you can inhale as you change and exhale as you land. Inhale, Change. Exhale. Inhale chain. Exhale in and i'll lengthen both legs as much as you can Breathing here, Shoulder blades slide down the back. Heels reach towards the earth. My head is heavy. And then look towards the hands as you inhale and slowly start walking your way to the top edge of your mat. Once you get that, Inhale halfway left. Exhale, Fold, Grab onto either elbows and just start dangling, Shifting your weight. Left and right. Allowing the jaw to relax, The head to be heavy. Hmm. And then gently release Have a slight bend in the knees as you gently roll yourself up to standing. Coming to mountain pose. Inhale, Arms reach up. Exhale, Twist to the right, Left arm comes forward, Right arm comes back. Inhale, Sense her. Exhale towards to the left. Inhale, Center. Exhale twist to the right. Inhale center. Exhale, Twist to the left. Inhale centre. Exhale swan dive forward. Inhale half way length. Exhale, Fold. Allow this to be a moving meditation. Inhale, Root to rise. Arms reach up. Exhale, Samastit. And how our arms reach out. Exhale, Slum die forward. Inhale halfway left. Exhale, Fold. Inhale, Roots arise. Exhale Samasthiti. And have arms reach up. Exhale fold Inhale half way. Exhale, Fold and stay. Place your left hand on the earth. Bend your left knee. Inhale, Reach the right arm up to the sky. Release as you exhale. Inhale, Change sides, Plant your right hand, Bend your right knee, Inhaling the left arm to the sky. Exhale release One more round each side. Inhale, Open up to the right. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Open up to the left. Exhale release this time we'll bind if the bind is not available just do what we just did so inhale open up to the right Bend your left leg even more, Thread your left arm underneath and through. And then reach your right hand towards your left, Coming into a bend. Either staying on your tiptoe, Or if you can, Release the left heel down. Either look forward, Down, Or if you have the space, Look up towards the sky. Breathing in, Make sure you can breathe. If you can't breathe, There's no point in doing the pose. Come out of it. Inhale release exhale fold coming on to the next side inhaling open up the left arm really bending that right knee threading the right arm under and through Thank you. And then reach your left hand towards your right, Coming into the bind on the right side. Maybe keeping the right foot lift more than the right heel lifted. Maybe lowering it down. I can't lower it down on this side. So I'm going to keep it lifted. Finding your gaze. Breathing deeply fully. And how really? Exhale, Fold. Plant both hands. Step back to plank pose. We'll hold plank for a couple of breaths. Really planting the hands into the earth, Pressing. The floor away, Heels shift back, Core is engaged, Gaze is to the top of the mat. Breathing here like it's your happy place. Full deep, Full breath. And on your next exhale, Either lower the knees and then your entire body to the ground or. . . Slowly lower yourself down completely. Kent your fingertips. On either side of the mat. Elbows are facing up towards the ceiling. Inhale as you lift your chest up. Glutes are engaged. Exhale release Inhale, Open chest, Lift. Exhale, Release. And how I left the chat. Exhale right shoulder comes down gaze to the left Inhale. Exhale right shoulder comes down, Gaze to the right. Inhale. One more each side exhale right shoulder down gaze to the left Inhale. Exhale, Left shoulder down, Gaze to the right. Inhale. Exhale, Release. We place both hands underneath the forehead creating a little pillow. And just wiggle the hips side to side. We're not shifting this time, We're wiggling. Then plant the hands underneath the shoulders. And shift back to child's pose. Staying here for two full rounds of breath. And your next inhale, Lift towards the hands, Come up onto all fours again. We'll keep the knees underneath the hips. We won't move the hips but we'll start walking the hands forward. And then we'll start sinking the chest towards the earth. Coming to your limit. Maybe the head is hovering, Maybe the forehead comes to the ground, Maybe the chin comes to the ground. Find your puppy pose. Find your breath within the pose. Breathing deeply, Opening up the upper back and the chest. One more full round of breath here. And your next inhale, Look towards your hands and then slowly just bring your body down, Coming into Sphinx Pose. So shoulders are in line with the elbows, Palms are facing down. Start pulling your forearms back to open up the chest. Shoulders are away from the air. And then you can bring your head down, Roll your neck from side to side, Releasing. The neck. But keeping your chest lifted. And maybe bring the head back to neutral or continue. Very consciously moving the neck around to stretch. And gently release. Again wiggling the hips from side to side. And then we'll shift back into child's pose. Just for a breath. And on your next inhale, Look towards the hands, Plant the hands and we'll come back into downward facing dog. Placing the big toes together. Inhale, Right leg reaches up. Exhale lower. Inhale, Right leg reaches up. Exhale lower twice more inhale right leg reaches up Exhale. Inhale one-legged dog this time we'll stay we'll bend the knee we'll open up the hip turning the ankle, Maybe turning the knee. Coming back to one-legged dog. And then bring your knee to your nose and step it forward into your crescent lunge. Inhale, Arms reach up. Exhale, We'll start twisting to the right. Inhale, Alms reach up. Exhale, Twist. And how arms reach up. Exhale twist and this time we'll hold we'll place the right hand on the back of the left thigh inhale left arm reaches up and back breathing here And then exhale, Release the left palm down, Reaching the right arm up to the sky. Coming into lunge twist. Exhale, Plant the right hand down, Step back to plank. Inhale, Shift forward. Exhale, Chaturanga, Either knees down. Or knees lifted, Inhale, Cobra or upward facing dog. Hell, Downward facing dog. Inhale, Left leg reaches up. Exhale lower. Inhale. Exhale, Lower. Inhale left. Exhale, Lower. Inhale, Lift and hold, Bend the knee, Open the hand. Both hands still planted evenly on the floor. Turning your ankle, Making circles with your knee, Opening up that hip. Inhale back to one legged dog exhale left knee to nose step it through crescent lunge inhale arms reach up Exhale, Twist to the left. Inhale, Center. Exhale, Twist. Inhale, Center. Exhale, Twist. And house Santa. Exhale, Twist and hold left hand comes on the back of the right thigh. Inhaling the right arm up and back Breathing here, Engaging the glutes, Left knee is still. Nice and fun. And as you exhale, Plant your right hand on the earth, Coming into a twist, Inhaling the left arm up to the sky, Shoulders away from the ears. And then exhale, Plant both hands, Step back to plank. Inhale, Shift forward. Exhale your chaturanga. Inhale. Upward facing dog or cobra. Exhale downward facing dog staying here for three Deep breaths. On your next inhale, Start walking your hands back towards your feet. And how halfway left. Exhale full. Inhale, Root to right. Exhale, Samasthiti. Right so now we're at the back of a map we're going to be doing a fun balancing sequence. So we'll start on the left side. So notice when you shift your weight into your left foot, You're very likely shifting all your weight into the outside corner of your foot. Come back to center. This time when you bring your weight into your left foot, Bring your weight into all four corners of your foot. Now you're going to be fully balanced. Inhale, Bring your right knee up. Bring your left hand on the outside of your right knee. And then inhale, Twist open to the right. Breathing here have a micro bend through that left leg. Gaze is either to the front or maybe to your right hand. Inhale, Coming back to centre. Arms reach up. Exhale, Step your right foot forward. And then grab on to your left. Foot on the inside. Reach your right arm up. As you slowly start to shift your weight forward. Kicking that left leg up and back, Coming in too. Don't suppose. Embrace the wobbles, Embrace the shaking. Breathing here. And then exhale, Gently release. Step your left. Foot forward. And then bring your right knee up and come into tree pose. The right foot either comes on the inside of your ankle. The inside of your shin or the inside of your thigh. Avoid your knee area because that can be damaging. Find your center. Hands come in prayer by the heart. Maybe arms reach up towards the sky. Breathe in here. And then as you exhale, Bring your knee back to center, Your right knee. Shift your weight back into warrior three. And then very slowly come into your high lunge. Inhale, Arms reach up to the sky. Exhale, Twist. Right hand plants down. Inhale, Left arm reaches up. Exhale plant both hands, Step back to plank. Exhale your chaturanga. Inhale cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Stay here for three full breaths. And again, Start walking your hands towards your feet. Inhale halfway lift. Exhale, Fold. And how rude to write. Exhale, Hands to prayer by your heart. Again. Come into our balancing poses. This time we'll come onto our right leg. So place your hands on your hips. Stop shifting your weight into your right leg. Again, Notice where it goes. Coming back to centre. This time shift your weight into all four corners of your right leg. Bend your left knee. Place the right hand on the outside of your left knee. Left arm reaches back. Find your gaze, Slight micro bend through that right knee. Breathing deeply. Inhale coming back to center arms reach up left leg steps forward right knee bends reach for your right foot on the inside and then inhale start kicking your right leg into your hand as you start shifting your weight forward keeping a bend in that right in that left knee Coming to your limit. Breathing deeply. And then exhale, Release. Step your right foot forward, Coming into your variation of tree pose. Bring the hands to prayer by the heart. Maybe reaching the arms up to the sky. Keeping the glutes engaged, The feet are strong. Breathing deeply. And on your next exhale, Come back to center. With the left knee shift. Your weight back into your warrior three. With control, Release down into your high lunge arms. Reach up to the sky. Exhale lunge twist left palm comes down inhale right arm reaches up to the sky Exhale, Release, Plank pose. Inhale, Shift forward. Exhale, Your chaturanga. Inhale, Upward facing dog or cobra. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Inhale, Shifting into plank pose. Bringing your right knee to your right breath. And we'll come into pigeon pose. If your right hip is really lifted you can go ahead and place a block or a cushion underneath that right hip for some extra support. Otherwise we'll just come to center. Plant both fingertips on the ground. Inhale, Lift the chest. Exhale, Fold. Inhale. Exhale fold. Inhala Exhale, Fold, Coming to your edge, Maybe staying on the palms, Maybe coming down onto the forearm. Maybe you have the space to lower all the way down to the earth. Wherever you are, Just stay there and breathe deeply into your right hip. Making sure both hip bones are level you're not sinking to one side still slightly engaging your pelvis your mula bandha And allow your body to sink into the earth. Noticing if the mind wanders and gently bringing it back to the body and the breath. Staying here for two more deep breaths. And your next inhale, Slowly begin to rise. Bring your back foot. Forwards and then bend it so that your right your left foot is near your right hip and your knees are stacked on top of one another. Inhale the spine long. Breathing into your hips. Then we can come into eagle arms so bring your left arm on top of the right twist your arms and place your palms together. Bring your elbows in line with your shoulders. So lengthening the spine. Breathing deeply. One more full round of breath. And on your next exhale, Release. Then place your hands behind you start turning towards the back of the mat all the way back to the front And this time. . . Your right leg should be on top of your left. Bring your right foot towards your left hip, Stack the knee. Inhale the spine tall. And exhale, Settle into the pose. Coming back into our eagle arms. Place your right arm on top of your left. Twist the arms and placing the palms together. Bring your elbows in line with your shoulders. Close down the eyes. Breathing here, Feeling the stretch in the shoulder blades. One more round of breath here. And you'll exhale, Gently release. This time we'll bring the right leg back. And we'll come into pigeon. On the left side, Keeping the left foot flexed. Tenting the fingertips on either side of the mat. Inhale. Open the chest. Exhale fold. Inhale. Exhale fold. Inhale, Left. And exhale, Fold into your pigeon. Again, Either coming onto the palms. Onto the forearms, Maybe lowering all the way down. Again if you need that support underneath your hip, Please place a cushion or a block or whatever you have nearby underneath that left hip. Keeping both hips level. And then sinking into the earth with each exhale. Staying here for two more full rounds of breath. On your next inhale, Gently come up. Shift your hips back. I'm going to turn around, So I'm facing you, But we'll come into. . . A wide-legged forward fold. If this is. . . Too much for you you can bend your knees you can place pillows or blocks underneath your knees. And then just stay here if you have the space. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Hinge from the hips as you start. Bolding yourself towards the earth, Keeping the feet flexed to protect the knees. Then breathing deeply here if you have a bolster it's always nice to place a bolster lengthways underneath your torso if not we'll just use the air settling into your pose wherever you're at. Be here with compassion. And love and acceptance towards yourself. And your beautiful strong body. On your next inhale, Gently coming up. Place your hands underneath your knees if they were straight, If they were bent. Remove any props from underneath your knees. Gently plant your feet on the ground place your hands behind you And we'll start windshield wipering the legs. From side to side releasing the head And then gently we'll come to stillness. Will come to lay onto our backs, Removing any clips, Any hair ties. So your head can be flat on the earth. Bring your knees into your chest. Give yourself a big hug. And then bring your arms on the insides of your legs. Grab onto the outer edges of your feet and we'll come into happy baby. Have a play around, Maybe stretching one leg and then the other. And then coming to stillness making sure the entire length of your spine is connected to the earth. Slightly tilt your chin into your neck so that the back of your neck is long. Breathing deeply here. One more full round of breath. And as you exhale, Gently release, Bringing your knees back into your chest. And then allow the knees to drop over to the right. Extend the left arm out long. Ensuring your left shoulder is connected to the earth. Place the right hand on the top of your left. Thigh on knee. And then feel wherever it feels best to have your gaze. So maybe. To the ceiling, Maybe towards the left palm. And just melt into your twist. Taking two more full rounds of breath. As you inhale, Gently bring the knees back to center and exhale, Allow them to drop to the left. Extending your right arm to the side, Placing your left palm on top of your right thigh or knee. And again, Finding your gaze. While keeping the right shoulder connected to the eyes. Breathing deeply here. Slowing down the breath. Calming the mind Taking two more full rounds of breath. On your next inhale, Coming back to center. Give yourself one last big hug, A big squeeze. Maybe bringing your head towards your knees. Take a deep breath in. And as you exhale, Release down into your Shavasana. Bringing your feet out wide, Allowing them to flop to the side. Arms are open. Back of the neck is long. Taking a deep breath in through the nose. And exhale, Sigh out of the mouth. Letting anything you no longer need to hold on to release. Release out of your body with your breath. Do that one more time, Inhale through the nose. And exhale, Big sigh out through the mouth. Allowing your entire weight of your body to melt into the earth beneath you. Softening the forehead. Softening the jaw. Releasing the shoulders and the arms. Relaxing the torso, The back and the front of your body. Releasing the hip. Releasing the legs. And the feet allowing them to be heavy and held by the earth beneath you. Gently start coming back into the body. Wiggling the fingers and the toes. Reaching your arms up over head, Giving yourself a big stretch. Hugging your knees into your chest. And then rolling onto whichever side you prefer. Staying here for a moment. And then gently with closed eyes. Press yourself up, Coming in two. A seated position. Bringing your hands in prayer by the heart. Bow your head towards your hands. In gratitude to yourself. Your body and this practice. And I thank you for practicing with me today. Namaste. Thank you.