The Alchemical Mix#2| Water | Slow-Flow Vinyasa

The second of a 5 class series devoted to the five elements of the yogic tradition, the Panchamahabhutas, was recorded live.

A deep dive into the element of water and its qualities and the many strategies yoga has to offer to address any deficiency or excess. A dynamic, fluid, and non-linear asana sequence that will take you on a journey through the best poses to balance the Water element as you move 360 degrees around the mat, mandala style.

Expect a little background noise.

Transcript

Second class of the Alchemical Mix.

The class this year is called the Alchemical Mix.

By the end of it I trust that you will have your own toolkit and you will know exactly which elements you need to add or take away,

Hence the name Alchemical Mix,

So you can become your own alchemist.

More about that as we go through the practice.

Asana practice,

Yoga poses,

Which is what we do together,

The yoga practice is meant to heal and nourish.

So use the poses,

Use the practice to nourish and heal your body.

We begin from here.

So alignment-based vinyasa is dynamic but it's a slow flow,

So find a comfortable seat,

Cross-legged ideally.

If that works for you,

Close the eyes.

Ensure that you turn off any mobile devices,

Any notifications and begin to turn the senses inward.

This is actually one of the tenets of yoga,

It's called pratyapara and it's the withdrawal of the senses,

It's the turning inwards.

So we close the eyes so that we're not constantly overstimulated by all the sensory impulses,

The sensory stimuli that we get 24-7.

With your eyes closed,

If possible,

Turn the palms up and connect the tips of the thumb with the little finger,

Thumb and the little finger,

Turning the palms up and resting the shape wherever is comfortable.

Today is a water-focused practice,

Which means that it's going to be fluid,

Non-linear,

Free-flowing,

Just like water.

The hand gesture that you're holding is called jhala,

In the word jhala means water in Sanskrit.

An interesting fact,

All of the five fingers are associated to an element,

The little finger is associated to water,

Connecting the thumb and the little finger activates this element.

Begin to connect with the water element,

Swallowing,

So connecting with the water element in the form of saliva,

Sweat,

Ears,

Blood,

Lymph,

Sexual fluid,

The smooth,

Direct breath,

Energy and awareness into the pelvis and the hips,

The physical abode of the water element.

The whole of nature is made not of five billion elements,

Not even five million,

Not even five thousand,

But just five.

And so as part of nature,

We're also made of these five elements.

With today's practice,

We'll explore the qualities of this element of fluidity,

Adaptability,

Following the path of least resistance,

Which is what I invite you to do.

So if something doesn't feel right in your body,

Please don't do it,

And moving in a way that feels natural.

So this element is particularly important as we get older,

As our joints and our body needs migration,

Needs nourishment.

And asana practice is fantastic as it does just that.

And so the question for reflection today before we start moving is,

Where can I flow with more ease?

Where in my life can I flow with more ease?

Can I flow with more ease?

Take a deep breath in through the nose,

Exhale out of the mouth,

Clear it out,

Inhale through the nose,

Exhale open mouth.

Last time,

Inhale through the nose,

Open mouth,

Exhale.

Release the mudra,

Place the hands behind you,

Lean back and switch the cross of your legs,

Bringing the opposite shin in front.

Connect the little finger and the thumb together,

Jala mudra again,

And begin to rock forward and back onto the pelvis as you open and close the arms.

So seated cat cow,

But as we're moving like water in a wave-like motion,

I would love for you to allow the knees to lift up,

Lift up,

Rocking forward and back onto the pelvis as you spread your wings and arch and rounded your spine.

Continue,

Synchronizing breath and movement,

And beginning to loosen through the hips and the pelvis,

The physical abode of the water element.

So this is the body area governed by this element,

And of course,

The water element governs all of the organs contained in the pelvis.

And the belly,

So the organs of elimination,

But also the center of our creativity.

This is where we quite literally create life.

Continue,

You may want to speed it up a little bit towards the end,

Really exaggerating this movement,

And stop,

Palms up,

Jala mudra,

Thumb and the little finger touch,

Close your eyes,

And just feel.

It's like the quiet after the storm.

Where can I flow with more ease?

Of course,

The water element is connected to our emotional realm.

And so as the element of cohesion,

The water element is responsible for all of our emotional connection.

Blink your eyes open,

Release the mudra,

And come to the front of the mat in a squatting position,

Turning the toes out and the heels slightly in for malasana,

Bringing the elbows inside the knees,

Prying the knees open with the elbows,

Hands in a prayer,

Press the feet down,

And breathe in this yogic squat.

Really feeling into the hips and the pelvis here.

Release your hands down and listen up,

Come onto your right toes and twist to the left,

Opening the left knee to the left,

So we're swiveling from side to side with the hands down,

And then come onto the left toes and swivel to the right,

And continue lubricating the hip joints and starting to stir the waters of the pelvis and the hips of the emotional realm associated to the hips and the pelvis.

Continue swiveling from side to side,

One more time to the right,

One more time to the left,

Come back to centre and very gently bring your asana,

Your butt down,

And come to lay down,

Reaching the arms overhead,

So lay onto your back,

Arms overhead,

Legs straight,

Lengthen for a moment,

And then bend your legs a little so you are onto your heels and begin to roll onto the left shoulder,

Come back to centre on an inhalation and roll onto your right shoulder,

A sequence known as a seaweed sequence,

So close your eyes and visualize yourself as a giant piece of seaweed being swelled around on the seabed by the water,

Now there's no right or wrong here,

The idea is to loosen through the spine,

To open up the asha,

The tissue,

Continue,

If your floor is clean,

Feel free to roll all the way,

Have fun,

That's another thing that a yoga practice is meant to do,

It's meant to be fun,

One more time to the right,

Slithering through the spine,

One more time to the left,

Like a piece of giant seaweed,

Come back to centre,

Release the arms down by the side and just feel that,

Where can I flow with more ease,

And then your eyes open and roll onto your belly and then onto your forearms,

Tabletop position,

Walk the hands three inches further forward than the shoulders,

Tuck your toes under,

Take a deep breath in and on the exhalation,

Press up and back into tiger dog,

The invention of my yoga teacher,

Bend the knees,

Lift the heels and stick your butt out,

Continue to press the hips up and back,

Feel the length here,

Arms in line with the ears,

Please look straight down as opposed to looking at your feet,

So the arms are in line with the ears and the back of the neck is long,

Four breaths here,

Practice breathing still and practice your breathing.

Ujjayi pranayama,

Also known as oceanic breath,

It's the best breathing technique for the water element,

Finish your last breath and inhale,

Hinge forward and bring your knees down straight away,

Tabletop,

Release your toes,

Hips,

The heels,

Child's pose without moving the hands,

Forehead bows,

Come rounding forward,

Back onto all fours,

Tuck your toes under,

Exhale,

Downward facing dog or tiger dog,

Two more times with this flow,

Inhale in slow motion,

Hinge forward and bring your knees down straight away,

Release your toes,

Hips,

The heels,

Child's pose,

Don't move the hands,

This will allow the spine to lengthen,

Come rounding forward again onto all fours,

Tuck your toes under,

Fill up with breath,

Exhale,

Downward facing dog or tiger dog,

Last time like that,

Inhale,

Hinge forward,

Knees down,

Untuck the toes,

Hips,

The heels,

Child's pose,

Dance with the breath,

Inhale,

Come rounding forward,

Back onto all fours,

Tuck your toes under,

Exhale,

Downward facing dog,

Moving like a wave,

Moving like water,

Hold,

Breathe,

Practice being still and practice your breathing,

Last breath here,

Lengthen a little bit more,

Look forward towards your hands and step your right foot to the outside of the right hand with the toes in a turn out,

45 degree angle,

The knee follows the same direction,

Left foot to the outside of the left hand with the toes in a turn out,

Inhale,

Reach your arms forward and lengthen,

Arms in line with the ears,

This is known as a functional forward fold,

It's like American football,

So your knees are bent and your butt is sticking out,

Lengthen,

Lengthen,

Lengthen,

Exhale,

Forward fold with feet as wide as the mat,

Begin to come into standing,

Reaching the arms out and up,

Please draw the belly in and up to make this happen,

Reaching the arms out and up in slow motion,

Slow motion,

Slow motion,

Join your prayer and look up and exhale,

Draw the prayer to the heart.

Release the arms down,

On an inhalation,

Reach the arms out and up and draw,

Reach your right arm forward,

The left arm back,

Twist to the right and then bend both knees and fold over your left leg as if you were scooping water from the left side,

Scooping this water from the left and you are bathing yourself with it and then turn to the right,

Left arm forward,

Right arm back,

Same thing,

Bend the legs and scoop water from the right side and continue from side to side,

Twisting to the left,

Twisting to the right as you scoop this healing water and you bathe yourself with it,

It's like an oblation,

It's like a blessing,

It's like a pranic wash,

One more time to the right,

One more time to the left,

Right arm forward,

Left arm back,

Come back to center,

Bring your feet hip distance,

Hands in prayer,

Samasthiti,

Release the arms down,

Inhale,

Reach the arms out and up,

Upward salute,

Exhale,

Bend your knees and fold forward,

Standing forward,

Bend,

Inhale into a halfway lift,

High onto the fingertips,

Exhale,

Step your right leg back,

Bring your right knee down,

Inhale,

Reach the arms out and up,

Coming to lower lunge,

Listen up,

Exhale,

Release your left hand onto your left hip and side bend to the left with the right arm alongside the ear,

Inhale,

Both arms up,

Lower lunge,

Back to center,

Exhale,

Right hand onto the right hip,

Side bend to the right with the left arm alongside the left ear,

Inhale,

Both arms reach,

Regular lower lunge,

Lift out of your lower back,

Exhale,

Bring both hands inside the left foot,

Lift your back knee up,

Do a quarter turn to the right,

Facing the long edge of the mat and then like a ninja,

Face your right foot,

Turn your right toes forward,

Bring your left knee down,

You're now facing the back of the mat,

Inhale,

Arms reach out and up,

Same thing,

Different side,

Right hand onto the right hip,

Side bend to the right with the left arm alongside the left ear,

Inhale,

Both arms reach,

Side bend to the left with the left hand onto the left hip,

Right arm alongside the right ear,

Inhale,

Both arms reach,

Look up,

Exhale,

Hands down,

Step back,

Downward facing dog,

Inhale,

Hinge forward into plank,

Like a wave,

Exhale,

Knees,

Chest and chin down,

If you want to modify with the traditional vinyasa,

Feel free,

So chaturanga,

Up dog,

Down dog,

I will stay with ashtangasana,

Inhale,

Reach up into cobra,

Exhale,

Go to bent knees,

Back into downward facing dog,

Not gonna stay here long,

Lengthen,

Moment,

On the inhalation,

Reach the right leg up,

Straight up and back,

Down dog kick,

But don't open the hips,

The hips stay square and on the exhalation,

Step your right foot to the outside of the right hand,

Here is where you may need a block inside your right foot or stay high onto the fingertips,

Back knee is lifted,

On an inhalation,

Lunge deeper into your right knee,

Keeping the back knee lifted and open your chest and your throat,

So gentle arch in the upper back,

Exhale,

Straighten both legs,

Come onto the right heel,

Curl right toes to shins,

Back heel is lifted too,

Variational parts about tanasana,

We'll move in and out of these two poses,

Inhale to lunge,

Right foot down,

Back leg is straight,

Open your chest and your throat,

Exhale,

Press back,

Straighten both legs,

Lift your right toes,

Come onto the right heel,

Back heel is lifted too,

Inhale,

Lunge,

Exhale,

Press back,

One more time in your own flow,

Next time you are in this Parsvottanasana variation,

Walk that left foot in about a foot and spin it at a 45 degree angle,

Release your right foot down as well and place your hands either side of the right foot for Parsvottanasana pyramid pose,

You can stay high onto the fingertip,

Press the right foot down and maybe bow a little bit deeper but keep a long spine,

Perhaps walking the hands forward a little bit more,

Feel the stretch at the back of the right leg,

Right hamstring and so becoming acquainted with the language of physical sensations,

Naming where we're feeling these poses,

It's a way of building emotional fluency,

Of recognizing physical sensations and the emotions that they evoke in the body and by recognizing them,

Learning to name them and label them,

We can work with them more skillfully and allow ourselves to ride the wave of emotions as opposed to being swept away by them,

Bring both hands inside the right foot,

Lift your back heel up,

So turn the left toes forward and spin the left heel up,

Always moving slowly and mindfully like a ninja and spin your back foot flat again,

Do a quarter turn,

This time to the left and come to face your left foot,

Spinning the right heel up,

Both hands inside the left foot,

Same sequence,

High onto the fingertips or on blocks,

Both hands are inside the left foot,

Inhale to lunge,

Open your chest and your throat,

Exhale,

Press back,

Come onto the left heel,

Curl left toes to shin and back,

Three more times in your own flow,

Moving through this sequence of low lunge variation and parasvottanasana pyramid pose,

Lubricating the joints,

One more time and this time,

Step your right foot in about a foot,

45 degree angle,

Release the left foot down as well,

Hands at either side of the left foot,

You can walk that left foot more to centre,

Inhale to lengthen,

Exhale,

Bow over your left leg,

Tilting the sit bones up for parasvottanasana,

If you have the space,

Walk the hands further forward and bow a little bit deeper,

More important that the spine is straight and long that the left leg is straight,

Frame your left foot,

Which means hands at the other side of the left foot,

Spin your right heel up,

Step back into plank,

Hold plank for a moment,

Feel into the strength of the earth element,

Take another deep breath in,

Exhale,

Knees,

Chest and chin down,

Inhale into cobra,

Exhale,

Press back,

Down,

Exhale,

Press back,

Downward facing dog,

Pause,

Feel,

Perhaps feeling the sweat,

I'm certainly feeling it here,

The water element in the form of sweat,

Reconnect to your ujjayi pranayama or shayani,

Breath,

And from here,

Walk the hands back to the feet,

Little by little,

Once you get there,

Inhale into a halfway lift,

Exhale,

Forward fold,

Inhale,

Reach the arms out and up,

Come into standing,

Join your prayer and exhale,

Prayer to the heart and just take a moment here,

To simply feel into the effects of these poses,

When the water element is balanced,

We quite literally go with the flow,

We ride the wave of life,

The ups and the downs with some degree of skill,

When the water element is excessive,

We're easily swept by our emotions,

We can also feel a heavy weight down,

Depression for example,

Is an excess of water and earth,

Two very gravity bound elements and this is easily understandable as you,

Just don't feel like moving when you're depressed,

You just want to stay still and when the water element is lacking,

We are rigid,

We're unable to express our emotion,

We're unable to flow,

Come to face the long edge of the mat and open your legs wide,

As wide as is comfortable,

Turn the toes out and the heels in and squat down,

This goddess squat,

It may feel nice to rock from side to side,

Just wiggle up and down through the hip,

It's a pretty intense pose,

Bring the arms out in cactus arms,

Bending at the elbows and here you gotta make sure that your butt is not sticking up,

That's what tends to happen and normally,

The more you open the knees out to the side,

You push the knees out,

The more you can squat down and knit the butt in,

So cactus arms,

Abhaya mudra,

All fingers connected for fearless mudra,

From here on an inhalation,

Squat down a little bit more,

Bring the elbows together,

Exhale,

Come on up a little,

Open the arms in cactus arms and inhale,

Squat down,

Exhale,

Come on up and continue,

Synchronize breath and movement,

One more,

Stay into this goddess squat,

With cactus arms,

Really root the feet down,

Take an inhalation where you are and on the exhalation,

Side bend to the right,

As if you were bringing your right elbow to your right knee,

Inhale to come back to center,

Side bend to the left,

Zip up the belly and deepen the breath,

Continue,

From side to side,

If a hint of a smile,

Especially as the practice becomes more intense,

One more time to the right,

One more time to the left,

Straighten the legs,

Release the arms by the side,

Turn your right foot forward,

Spin your back foot flat,

Warrior two feet,

Bend into your right knee,

Reach the arms out in a T,

From here,

Bring your right forearm onto your right thigh with the palm up,

Lift the left arm alongside the left ear for this Parsvakonasana variation,

Look up,

Press the outer edge of the left foot into the earth and lengthen,

Release your left arm towards the back of the mat,

Towards your back,

Release the right arm and see if you can interlace the fingers behind you,

Staying into the shape,

Squeeze,

Draw the shoulder blades together and even look up a little,

From here,

Lower your torso and then do a half circle,

Draw the right foot in and the left foot out,

You're now in this funny variation of Parsvakonasana with bound hands behind onto the left leg,

Release your left forearm onto the left thigh,

Reach the right arm alongside the right ear,

Parsvakonasana variation,

Lift the right arm towards the sky,

Towards the back of the mat,

Interlace the fingers behind you,

Straighten the arms and draw the shoulder blades together and then again,

Do a half a circle,

Come back to centre,

Left foot in,

The right foot out,

Back to the first side,

Straighten the arms,

Right forearm onto the right thigh,

Left forearm alongside the left ear,

Lengthen,

Release the left arm towards the sky,

Towards the back of the mat,

Interlace the fingers,

Squeeze the shoulder blades together and go to the other side,

Right foot,

Left foot turns out,

Right foot turns in,

This time release the left hand to the outside of left foot and if you can,

For the full pose,

Right arm alongside the right ear,

Parsvakonasana variation,

Breathe,

Back leg is super,

Super straight,

Reach up and back,

Stay high onto the fingertips if you can,

Release the right hand down,

Spin the right heel up,

Listen up,

Hands at either side of the left foot,

Turn both sets of toes to the right,

Coming onto the outer edge of the right foot,

Your right leg is super,

Super straight,

Tell right toes to shin,

Setting up for ocean flow,

Lahari flow,

On an inhalation,

Lift your hips,

Lift your left arm overhead,

Bow your body like a wave,

Exhale,

Lower,

Inhale,

Lift,

Exhale,

Lower,

Inhale,

Lift,

Exhale,

Lower,

Lahari flow,

Ocean flow,

Inhale,

Lift,

Stay in this shape,

Release the left hand down and now step the left leg behind the right,

So you are in this funny variation of side plank with the feet staggered,

Take a deep breath in and lift your hips and lift your left arm alongside the left ear and again,

Bow your body for this funny variation of side plank,

Feeling like a ray of light,

Release the left hand down,

Regular plank,

Take your tuck in,

Inhale,

Exhale,

Knees,

Chest and chin down,

Inhale into cobra,

Exhale,

Press back,

Downward facing dog,

Pose and feel,

Walk the hands back to your feet little by little,

On an inhalation,

Reach your arms out and up as you come into standing,

Join your prayer,

Exhale,

Prayer to the heart and let's pause here for a moment,

Feeling the effects of the practice before we move to the other side,

And so the yoga mat becomes a training ground for life,

We learn to move fluidly around the mat and in and out of poses and sequences,

Eventually we'll start to mirror that into a real life,

Learning where we can,

Can we flow with more ease,

Where do we need to back off,

Where do we need to be more determined,

The water element is a great example of that,

Follows the path of least resistance,

So it's adaptable,

It's changeable,

But can also be a great example of but can also be incredibly determined,

Just think of the way water sculpts and shapes rocks and stones and crystals,

Might take a long time,

Eventually,

Eventually it does it,

Allowing ourselves these qualities of softness but also strength,

It's one of perhaps of the biggest teachings of the,

Of the water element,

Combining the two,

And blink your eyes open and again come to face the long edge of the mat as we move to the other side,

Legs wide and we'll go straight into our parasvakonasana sequence,

Turning the right foot forward and the left foot in,

So we're at two feet,

Left foot is parallel to the short edge of the mat,

Bend into your right knee,

Reach the arms out into a T and just settle into your warrior two for a moment,

Notice how it feels,

Release your right arm onto the right thigh,

Left arm alongside the left ear,

This variation of parasvakonasana,

Firm up your back leg,

That's your anchor,

The back leg is your anchor in most yoga poses,

So the stability of that leg is key for the stability of the pose,

Release your left arm,

Draw your left arm towards the sky and then towards the back of the mat and then interlace the fingers behind you,

Straighten the arms,

Squeeze the shoulder blades together and open your chest and your throat,

Begin to lower your torso,

Drawing the right foot in,

Left foot out,

Go to the first side,

Straighten the arms first,

Open your chest and your throat and then left arm onto the left leg,

Right arm alongside the right ear,

Right arm towards the sky,

Towards the back of the mat,

Interlace the fingers,

Straighten the arms,

Tense up your chest,

Come back to centre,

Do a half a circle,

Left foot in,

Right foot out,

Back to the first side,

Straighten the arms,

This time release the right hand to the outer right foot,

Maybe onto a block of the fingertips,

Left arm alongside the left ear for the full pose,

Really press that left foot into the earth,

The outer edge,

Make that length,

Release the left hand down,

So hands at either side of the right foot,

Spin your left heel up,

Listen up,

Turn both sets of toes to the right now,

Coming onto the outer edge of the left foot,

With both hands down,

Walk the left hand three inches further forward than the shoulder,

So the joints are not stacked here,

So your arm is in the diagonal,

Come onto the outer edge of the left foot,

And this could be enough,

Maybe you're building strength,

Tell left toes to shim,

If you're coming with me on an inhalation,

Lift the hips,

Lift the right arm alongside the right ear for la hara flow,

Exhale lower,

Inhale reach,

Exhale lower,

Inhale reach,

Exhale lower,

Inhale release your right hand down,

And step the right leg behind the left,

Now you are onto the outer edge of the left foot,

Then to the inner edge of the right foot,

Straighten both legs,

Curl right toes to shim,

And reach the right arm alongside the right ear,

Bowing your body,

This variation of parasva,

Vasisthasana,

Side plank,

Release the hands now,

Come back into plank,

Hold plank for a moment,

Fill up with prana,

Exhale knees,

Chest and chin now,

Inhale into cobra,

Press everything down,

Exhale press back,

Three more breaths here,

Practice being still,

And practice your breathing,

One last breath,

Inhale right leg lifts,

Straight up on back,

Exhale step through,

Bring your left leg to the right,

And bring your right leg to the left,

And bring your left leg to the right,

Bring your left knee down,

Walk the right foot to the left of the mat,

To the left side of the mat,

Keep your hands down,

And then begin to lunge,

Bend and straighten your right leg,

So your leg is in a diagonal,

Right foot is towards the left edge of the mat,

And just moving forward and back,

Prying the hip open with the femur,

With the thigh bone,

So this is a lovely massage for the hip socket,

In preparation for pigeon,

From here if you have the space,

Bring the whole shin down,

Ideally the right shin is parallel to the short edge of the mat,

In the real world it's much easier,

If you bring your toes,

Your foot closer to your groin,

Avoid collapsing onto the right thigh,

So you're actually balancing onto the right shin,

You may want to tuck your back toes under,

That will help the alignment of the left leg,

Come high onto the fingertips or on blocks,

Hands are off the mat,

It's a pretty wide arm,

And from here again moving like water,

On an inhalation,

Lower your torso as if you were dipping under a wave,

And exhale re-emerge,

So again we're making waves with the spine here,

Inhale dip,

Exhale come on back up,

And continue,

Undulating through the spine,

Moving like water,

Following the path of least resistance,

One more,

Next time you're down,

Stay down if you can for sleeping pigeon,

Stacking one palm on top of the other,

Rest the forehead,

And fully melt into this pose,

Breathe deep into your right hip,

Stay present to physical sensations,

Don't check out,

Don't numb out,

Allow it all to move through you,

Out,

As you have the space,

Bend your left leg behind you without moving the head,

And then lift the head a little,

And see if you can hold the top of the left foot with your right hand,

Keep the forehead down,

Try not to collapse onto your right thigh,

Release super slowly without slingshotting,

Release the hands down,

Come on up with your torso,

Now you can roll onto the right thigh,

And cross the left leg over the right,

For Ardha Matsyam Rasana,

See the spinal twist,

Take a moment,

Ensure that both sitting bones are rooted,

Draw the left knee in,

Left hand behind you,

Inhale reach the arm,

The right arm towards the sky,

Exhale twist,

Either right elbow to your outer left knee,

Or simply holding the right knee in,

And actually using this as a support for staying upright with the spine,

So do more work,

Unwind,

Come back to centre,

Bring the hands down,

And step back as gracefully as you can into downward facing dog,

And from here Shakti waves,

We can't miss them,

Especially today as this is the day,

Especially today as it is a water practice,

So coming high onto your toes,

Shoulders over wrist,

Bend the knees and press back,

So making waves,

With your spine,

Two more,

Last one,

Downward facing dog for a breath,

Inhale left leg lifts,

Straight up and back,

Exhale step through,

Back knee down,

Walk the left foot to the right,

This time come onto the outer edge of the right foot,

And begin to bend and straighten the left leg,

Massaging the hip socket with the femur bone,

Repairing the hip or pigeon,

Release your left shin down now,

Either parallel to the short edge of the mat or for less intensity,

Left foot closer to the groin,

Ensure that you're balancing onto the left shin,

And you're not collapsing onto the left thigh,

Tuck your back toes under,

Come high onto the fingertips,

For our water dipping sequence,

On an inhalation dip down as if dipping under water,

Exhale come back up,

Again making waves with the spine,

Continue,

And a thumb,

Last one,

Lower your torso,

Make a pillow with your hands,

Stacking one palm on top of the other,

Rest your forehead there for sleeping pigeon,

Pose,

And feel,

Bend your right leg behind you,

Feel free to stay here,

You may want to hold the left foot,

Excuse me,

The right foot with the left hand,

Maybe with both hands,

Pretty challenging for the balance,

Again have fun,

Release the jaw and deepen the breath,

Release the foot without slingshotting,

Release the hands down,

Roll onto your left thigh,

Come on up with your torso,

And cross your right leg over now,

For a seated spinal twist,

And take some time,

Invest some time in setting the foundations of the practice,

Ensuring that both sitting bones are rooted,

Right hand behind you,

Use it as a back rest,

Inhale reach the left arm towards the sky,

Exhale twist,

Either left elbow to your outer right knee,

Or the right knee again,

Unwind,

Come back to centre,

Bring the hands down,

Into your last downward facing dog,

Take three Shakti waves,

Three breaths in downward facing dog,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

Three breaths out,

Three breaths in,

So full Danda Pranam,

One of my favourite poses,

It's a pose of humility,

It means full prostration,

And I try and incorporate this pose in all my practices,

As this is the final offering,

This is where we offer the merits of our practice,

For the benefits of all,

We know that when we gather,

When we get onto our mat,

We generate good vibes,

Then when we gather together,

You know all these beacons of light scattered all around the world,

Even if we are online,

The energy that we collectively generate and coalesce,

Benefits everybody else around us,

So offer your sweat,

Offer your tears,

Offer anything that you feel right now,

Good or bad,

Offer it all up,

Resting the forehead onto the earth,

And returning everything to the earth,

Returning everything to the great mother earth,

Eventually we are all going to go back to her,

So we rise from the mother and we return to the mother,

Perhaps there is someone else,

Someone in your life who needs this practice more than you do,

Before you start moving,

You may want to hold this person into your mind's eye,

Offer the merits of this practice to them,

And as you're ready,

You may roll onto your back,

Bend your leg,

Releasing the hips before asha vasana,

And place your left ankle on top of the right knee,

Left ankle on top of the right knee,

Bigger four,

Please curl toes to shin,

Which means draw the toes towards you,

And spread them like crazy,

Bring your arms in cactus arms,

It means bending at the elbows,

Take a deep breath in here,

And on the exhalation drop the whole shape to the right,

So now the left foot is down,

And the left knee is pointing towards the sky,

If you can look over your left shoulder,

Come back to center with this shape,

Release the left ankle,

And switch,

Right ankle on top of the left knee,

Draw the toes towards you,

And spread them,

This protects the knee joint,

This figure four is a pretty deep flexion of the knee,

Spreading the toes will protect this delicate joint,

Take a deep breath in,

And drop the whole shape,

The left now,

Right foot is down,

Right knee is pointing towards the sky,

And turn your head,

Feel the spiral between the upper and lower body,

Come back to center,

Release your right ankle,

Bring the knees into the chest,

One hand on each knee,

And begin to draw circles,

Opening the knees out to the sides,

And then bringing them back in,

And I like to visualize stirring the cauldron here,

With my thighs,

And of course the cauldron is our emotional rail,

This is where our emotion lives,

Excuse me,

In the pelvis,

In the hips,

So visualize stirring these waters one more time,

And we wanna make sure that these waters stay clear,

That they don't start to stagnate,

That's why we built the cup last week,

The container,

Last week filled it,

And we wanna make sure that this cup fills,

And empties regularly,

So that there is no stagnation,

And we can flow with more,

Throw the knees into the chest,

Give yourself a hug,

And release the legs,

Release the arms,

And settle into Shavasana,

Your final resting pose,

Don't skip it,

And now just like water,

Follow the path of least resistance,

And begin to relax completely,

The work is done,

Now it's time to rest,

In Shavasana,

Allowing the body to integrate the practice,

To integrate the teaching,

To integrate the magic,

And the insights that we receive from these elements,

From the whole of nature,

Nature is constantly interacting with us,

We gotta do is listen,

The kind of listening that you don't do with the ears,

The kind of listening that you do with your heart,

As you lay here and you rest,

Take some time,

To listen and to feel,

If you're ready,

Of course you can stay in Shavasana as long as you want,

If you're ready to come out,

Sit down on your knees,

And roll to one side,

Moving very slowly,

Avoid disturbing this energy,

That we've worked so hard to create,

And as you're ready,

Come into seated position,

Maybe the eyes are closed,

If you allow me to draw one more time,

Little finger,

Touch,

Pressing the shape,

Wherever it's comfortable,

Noticing the peace you've created through the practice,

And as you're ready,

Bring in the hands in a prayer in front of your heart,

And remind yourself of practicing,

Namaste.