Hi,
I'm Laia.
Welcome to this short yoga class perfect to incorporate into your daily routine.
You could do it any time of day as a break to just take care of your body,
Realign your energy and move forward.
So find yourself in a comfortable seated position.
Let your shoulders relax,
Lengthen your neck.
And just take a moment to arrive as you maybe move your head from side to side.
Look up and down.
And eventually bring yourself.
To a steady seated shape where you can soften your gaze or maybe even close your eyes.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale through your nose or your mouth,
Letting yourself arrive a little bit more.
Notice the way in which you're seated.
The support beneath you,
Inhale.
Excel.
Allow yourself to observe what's going on in your mind without getting too attached to any thought,
Any idea.
Just letting yourself observe what is.
Sensations in the body.
Thoughts through the mind.
And also absorb how you feel energetically as a way to invite.
Intentionality into the movement that you'll be creating in this practice.
Become the observer as you inhale.
And Excel.
One more deep breath in,
Letting it expand into the lungs.
Front to back,
Side to side,
Top to bottom.
Perhaps hold at the top.
And let go.
You can keep your eyes closed or start to blink them open.
Inhale,
Reach your arms out and up.
Interlace your palms,
Flip them up and stretch from the sitting bones to the side body,
Through the arms,
Through the wrists.
Breathe in.
Breathe out,
Lean a little bit toward the left and open the right side body.
Keep your sitting bones grounded and find the space between each rib.
Inhale coming back through center,
Find length.
And exhale,
Lean to the other side.
Inhale,
Return to center,
Release your fingertips.
And as you do so,
Roll your wrists as you lower your arms all the way down.
On the inhalation,
Switch the direction of the circles,
Reach your arms all the way up.
Palms unite overhead this time.
Exhale,
Draw your hands together in front of the heart.
Press your fingertips together.
Relax your shoulders.
Let your elbows relax as well.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Notice yourself as you are here breathing.
Breathe out.
On your next inhalation,
Take your arms out to the sides,
Lift your chest a bit,
Squeeze the shoulder blades toward one another.
And on the exhalation,
Take your right arm over the left,
And as you round,
Give yourself a hug and look down.
Inhale to open up again.
Stretch.
Exhale,
Opposite arm goes over,
Give yourself a hug,
Curl in,
Relax your head down.
Inhale,
Open up through the arms again.
This time as you exhale,
Rotate your pinkies forward and your thumbs back.
Inhale,
Rotate forward.
All the way down.
Exhale rotate back lift your chest a bit One more breathe in.
And breathe out.
Allow your palms to remain facing upward and on your inhalation reach both arms out and up,
Palms come together.
And on the exhalation,
Draw the hands in front of the heart again.
Press through the palms,
Breathe in.
Breathe out,
Begin to twist toward the right side.
And you could stay here or release your left hand onto the right knee and your right hand maybe onto your hip or behind you.
Breathing in to lengthen a bit more.
Breathing out perhaps to twist a little bit more toward the right.
One more inhale.
On Excel.
Inhale,
Return to center.
Stretch your arms out.
And on the exhalation twist to the other side.
Notice the length of the spine.
Let yourself breathe fully.
One more,
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Return to center.
Inhale,
Reach your arms all the way up.
And on the exhalation,
Take your arms out and behind your hips,
Press the palms,
Bring your feet in front of you.
Bring them about hips distance apart and your hands could face forward toward the toes or you could dial your hands back until you find what feels good for your shoulders.
There's no right or wrong.
Now press through your feet and lift your chest,
Staying here.
On your next inhalation,
Feel free to lift your hips off the floor.
Perhaps they lift as high as your knee.
And only once that happens,
Maybe let your head go a little bit back until it's also in line with everything else.
One more breath,
Inhale.
And on your exhalation,
Lower your hips back down to the floor.
If you lifted them,
You can keep your hands behind you as you lift your chest toward your thighs and your thighs toward your chest.
Or you could also bring your hands underneath your thighs.
Slightly balance a little bit more onto the sitting bones and stay or maybe start to play with lifting one foot or maybe both breathing in Breathing out.
One more breath in and boat pose.
And on the exhalation,
Allow the toes to lower and then draw the knees wide so the soles of the feet face one another.
They can touch or stay apart,
It's up to you.
Hands to your thighs,
Your shins,
Your ankles.
Inhale to lift the chest.
And on your exhalation,
Let yourself melt down.
Inhale,
Rise back up,
Waving the spine.
Exhale,
Wave down.
One more,
Breathe in to lift.
And breathe out to fold toward the feet.
Let yourself remain here for a moment and maybe sway your upper body.
From side to side.
The most important thing is that you breathe.
One more.
Inhale.
And Excel.
Slowly rise yourself back up,
Draw the legs toward one another,
And slide them behind you,
Coming into hands and knees,
A tabletop position.
Hands are underneath their shoulders.
Knees are about hip's distance apart.
And then take a moment here to take a couple of circles with your hips one way around the shoulders and around the knees.
And then switch directions.
Simply awakening the body.
Letting the energy flow just a little bit more than it did a moment before.
And then slowly let yourself pause,
Tuck your toes under,
Shift your hips back toward the heels and sit toward the heels.
Your hands could remain on the ground.
Or maybe you walk them toward you as you take your hands to your thighs and lift your chest just for a little.
Foot stretch here If you find intensity,
That's okay.
We're just here for a couple of breaths in through the nose.
Out through the nose or the mouth.
One more inhale.
And on your exhalation,
Take your hands to the ground,
Shift your weight forward,
Lift your toes and roll your ankles one way,
And then the other.
Shift your weight even more forward,
Breathe in,
And as you breathe out,
Lower yourself down to your abdomen.
Hands directly underneath the shoulders,
Squeeze your elbows toward the sides of the ribcage,
Press through your palms,
And on your inhalation,
Lift your chest for cobra.
And on the exhalation lower down.
Inhale,
Press up,
Engage the back body.
Exhale this time press yourself back.
Tuck your toes under and send your hips up and back for downward dog.
Now,
This is one option.
The other option is to remain in table top.
It's up to you.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Whether you chose tabletop or downward dog,
On your inhalation take your right leg behind you and let your toes hover for a moment.
Exhale,
Draw your right knee to your chest and eventually step your right foot between your hands.
If it doesn't get there on its own,
Help it with your hands.
Left knee lowers down to the floor if it's not already there.
Allow your hands to remain framing your right foot or bring your hands to your right thigh.
Or if you'd rather,
On your inhalation,
Lift your torso and lift your arms out and up.
Unite your palms.
And on the exhalation,
Bring your hands together in front of the heart.
Breathe in here.
Breathe out,
Frame your right leg again,
Find your way to your tabletop,
Or if you'd rather,
Come to Downward Dog.
In through the nose.
Out through the nose or the mouth.
One more inhale.
On XO.
From your Downward Dog or your Tabletop,
On your inhalation,
Lift your left leg up and back,
Keeping your hips squared to the front.
Exhale,
Left knee toward your chest,
Left foot between the hands on its own,
Or perhaps you give it a little help.
Right knee comes down to the earth.
Take a moment to find stability here.
And perhaps you remain with the hands on the floor for a couple of breaths.
You can take your hands to your left thigh,
Or on your next inhalation,
Arms reach out and up.
Palms unite.
And on the exhalation,
Draw the hands together.
If you find yourself wobbly,
Really press through the front foot,
Draw your left hip back and your right hip slightly forward.
Inhale.
Exhale,
Frame your left foot.
This time lift your right knee off the ground.
Breathe in.
Breathe out,
Take maybe one big step forward or several steps forward until your right foot meets the left at the top of the mat.
Hands to the floor,
To the shins.
Inhale,
Flat back,
Lengthening the back body.
And on your exhalation,
Bend your knees enough that you can fold over the legs and relax your head.
Take a moment perhaps to move your head around,
Yes and no,
Creating some mobility.
And the cervical spine.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Now press through the feet.
Inhale,
Rise up.
Take your arms out to the sides and all the way up.
Unite your palms overhead.
And on the exhalation,
Bring your hands together in front of the heart or release them next to the body.
Let yourself shift back and forth for a moment,
Noticing how you feel.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
Inhale,
Reach your arms up.
Gaze up if that feels alright for you.
Exhale as you bend the knees,
Fold over the legs,
Relax your head down and soar the air.
Inhale,
Lift halfway.
Exhale,
Plant both hands onto the floor.
Step your feet back.
Find a plank or a knee plank.
It's absolutely up to you.
Breathe in.
Breathe out,
Lower your knees,
Your chest,
And your chin to the earth.
Slide down,
Press through the palms,
Inhale,
Lift your chest for cobra.
Exhale,
Bring your big toes to touch,
Separate your knees and your hips back toward the heels and either make a pile with your hands to rest your forehead.
Or perhaps your forehead floats or it finds the ground in front of you.
Gently shift your hips from side to side.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
One more inhale.
And exhale.
Begin to lift your torso up.
And find a comfortable seated position of your choice.
Taking a moment to settle into the shape as we close today's practice.
And on your inhalation,
I invite you to flip your palms up.
Let them face up toward the sky as a gesture of receiving.
And on the exhalation,
Flip your palms down.
Releasing the energy down to the earth.
Inhale,
Flip your palms up.
Exhale,
Flip them down.
Two more at your own pace.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And then I invite you to choose if you'd rather keep your palms facing up or facing down.
Again,
Facing up is more of a gesture of inviting new energy.
Of being open to receive.
If your palms face down.
Perhaps you're more ready to release,
Let go,
And surrender.
Let yourself just be for a moment.
Observing the effects of this short practice.
And the more you practice it,
Perhaps more aware you become.
Of the ship.
Nuances of sensation.
So breathe in deeply.
And breathe out completely.
Your palms together in front of the heart,
Or perhaps you'd rather bring one hand to your heart and one hand to your abdomen.
And take a moment to repeat within or out loud.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I want it to feel complete.
You can release your hands and open your eyes.
I hope that you have enjoyed this short practice and I invite you to try it for perhaps a week or two and do it daily or every other day or perhaps just once a week for a month.
The point is to create a routine that is manageable in time and also in postures.
Feel free to shift also some postures that may feel different for different days.
Until I see you again,
Take care of yourself and be well.
