Welcome everyone to Connected Flow.
I'm April and let's begin our practice as we so often do in a comfortable seated position of choice.
So that might be for you a cross-leg position.
It could be kneeling,
Legs long and you might even choose to use a prop here.
Maybe sit on the edge of a folded blanket or a soft foam block.
In this practice we will use a block as well near the end of the practice.
So we could substitute a block with books,
Folded blankets or if you don't have any of those close by no problem you can still work with the posture that I'm choosing to apply this in without a block as well.
So we have some options here.
Now in your seated position rotate the palms open so they start to face the sky and then you might choose to unite the index and thumb here into the mudra of wisdom,
Jnana mudra.
And we'll start to soften that sense of sight by closing down the eyes.
And as you do so,
Relax into your body.
Relax into this time,
This space,
This moment and even relax your hips so that the sit bones can root down evenly into the earth.
So we begin to develop this root chakra connection,
This root chakra connection that guides the spine long.
Let's feel the length through your upper body.
Release the shoulders.
Draw your chin parallel to the earth and energetically lift both the roof of your mouth and the crown of your head.
And then intentionally soften the edges of your body around the support of your upright spine and drop into the inner stillness of yourself.
So we drop in where the breath is steady,
Where the breath is apparent and where the breath encapsulates the focus of your mind.
And stay with your breath here,
The pranic inhalation and the pranic exhalation.
Feel at home in your breath.
And as we follow the breath,
The narrative of the mind grows quiet and the spaces between our thoughts expand.
And as the spaces between our thoughts expand,
Our authentic voice of intuition has an opportunity to speak.
This practice slows us down just enough to hear.
Without shifting your energetic stability,
Unite your hands into prayer mudra in front of the heart space.
Soften the center of your throat,
The vishuddha chakra.
And we'll open our practice here with a single om.
Feel free to join in at home if you would like.
Gather a long inhale.
Inhale prayer to third eye,
The space between your eyebrows.
And exhale prayer to heart.
Allow your awareness to remain with your breath here as it weaves through your body.
And begin to initiate your ujjayi breathing,
Oceanic breathing.
So you gently narrow the center of the throat and discover those long deep inhales through the nose with an audible er sound.
And long deep exhales through the nose with an audible ha sound.
Just awakening your pranic capacity.
And a soft releasing breath here.
Inhale through the nose and out the mouth.
Return back to your ujjayi breathing.
Gently relax the hands down.
The eyes could remain closed or opened.
As we move into shoulder breathing,
Inhale.
Gently draw the shoulders up towards the ears.
And with an exhale through the nose,
Drop the shoulders back down.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Great.
And continue just like that on your own.
Now if you have any shoulder or neck injuries,
You could slow this down or release it altogether and simply focus on long deep breathing.
If the shoulders and the neck are feeling fine,
You might choose to speed up both the breath and the movement a little.
Four,
Three,
Two,
And one.
Inhale.
Draw the shoulders up towards the ears.
And exhale.
Relax the shoulders back and down.
Invite your eyes to close.
Soften the neck.
Soften the throat center.
Maybe draw the head and neck side to side for some half neck rolls.
Just access the freedom that exists there.
And with your next inhale,
Draw the head and neck back to neutral.
And exhale.
Roll the shoulders back and down.
Place the fingertips down on the mat beside your body.
Inhale.
Guide your right arm overhead.
I'll be your mirror image.
With an exhale,
Draw a small side bend to the left side and then guide that right hand to draw to the earth.
Sweep it in front of you as you exhale.
The left hand will follow the right hand.
With an inhale,
Guide the left arm overhead.
I'm still your mirror image.
We'll exhale into that side bend towards the left side and then bow ourselves back down as we stream the right hand in front of us.
The left hand will follow.
Inhale.
Weave yourself all the way back up.
Same motion.
Exhale.
Bow down.
The hands slide in front of you.
Inhale.
Drawing up.
We'll find one more in this direction.
Inhale.
Float to center.
Both arms overhead.
Exhale.
Side bend towards the right side now.
Lower that left hand down.
Sweep it in front of you.
The right hand will follow.
Inhale.
Guide the right arm overhead.
Left arm follows.
We draw into that right side bend and then bow down.
Left hand will land.
It sweeps in front of us.
The right hand follows.
Two more rounds in this direction.
Inhale to rise and exhale to lower and bow down,
Sweeping through your rotation.
Last one.
Inhale.
With your next inhale,
Draw yourself back to neutral spine.
Both arms overhead to the sky.
Spread the fingers,
Palms wide and open.
Tabletop.
Exhale.
Either guide yourself forward or unravel your legs and make your way to tabletop from there.
Face the front of your mat and begin to stack the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.
Root down firmly through the inner triad of your hands so that the thumbs,
The index fingers,
The inner palm firmly ground and we bring support for the wrists,
The elbows,
And the shoulders.
Tiger pose.
Bhadrasana.
Inhale.
Raise right leg straight back.
Grow long into a three-legged tabletop.
With an exhale,
Bend the right knee.
Draw it towards the forehead as you scoop the belly back.
Inhale.
Lengthen right leg back.
Option to slightly arch the spine.
Maybe gaze up if that serves the neck.
Exhale.
Round through the spine.
Tuck chin to chest.
Belly back.
Three more times.
Inhale.
Two.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And last one.
As we methodically warm up the spine.
Inhale.
Lengthen your right leg straight back.
Wide leg low lunge.
Exhale.
Place the right foot to the outside of your right hand.
From here,
Tuck your back toes and shimmy your back left knee a little further back so you find your distance of a lunge.
Here,
We'll place the palms either onto floor or onto our block even if we have one close by.
Alternatively,
You could draw into fists if the wrists or the palms are a little tender.
Draw the right hip back,
Left hip slightly forward as we kind of feel that magnetism there and that strength and support through the pelvis.
Invite the spine to lengthen.
The neck is long.
The crown of the head lengthens forwards.
Shoulders and chest broad and three breaths.
Wonderful.
Inhale.
Shimmy your back knee a little closer forward towards table and exhale.
Guide that right leg back.
We'll switch sides.
Inhale.
Lengthen left leg straight back.
Tiger crunches.
Exhale.
Round the spine.
Knee towards the forehead.
Scoop the belly back.
Inhale.
Lengthen.
Option for a little back bend.
Maybe gaze up.
Exhale.
Round the spine deeply.
Knee to forehead.
Three more times.
Inhale.
Paraka.
Exhale.
Rachaka.
Two.
Inhale.
And out.
And three.
Inhale.
Lengthen that leg back.
Wide lunge.
Exhale.
Place the left foot to the outside of your left hand.
Here we'll tuck our back toes.
Shimmy the knee further back to a position that is sustainable for you.
Palms to earth.
Maybe fists.
Maybe we use a block here underneath the hands.
Square the hips.
Left hip back.
Right hip slightly forward.
Grow long through the spine.
Long through the neck.
Soft through the center of the throat.
And find three more ujjayi breaths.
Great.
With an inhale,
Shimmy your back knee closer towards your body.
And exhale.
Left leg will draw back into that tabletop position.
From table,
Inhale.
Walk the palms forward one or two inches.
And Downward Dog.
Exhale.
Tuck toes.
Begin to lift your knees and guide your seat to the sky.
Adho mukha svanasana.
Now here in Downward Dog,
You might choose to walk the dog.
Bend one knee and then the other.
You could find stillness in Downward Dog.
Maybe with the legs close to straight.
Or you might prefer to have a nice deep bend in the knees.
And then really guide the seat back and find that length through the upper body.
And we could modify this pose with a tabletop or a child's pose.
So just remember,
Honor the limits of your body.
Listen to the limits of your body.
And adjust your practice as you see fit.
Let's find two more breaths here.
Broaden the shoulder blades.
Relax your facial expression.
On your next inhale,
Draw forward to a high plank.
You may need to lengthen your stance.
And with an exhale,
Place both knees to the earth and lower chest and chin all the way down to the floor.
Land on the front of your body.
Untuck your toes.
Baby Cobra.
Inhale,
Roll up.
Nose,
Chin,
Chest.
Back,
Body strength.
Place the forehead back to the earth.
Exhale.
Two more times.
Inhale.
Forehead to earth.
Exhale.
Last one.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Lower down and fold back into child's pose.
Find one breath here.
Inhale.
Ripple forward back towards your tabletop and downward dog.
Exhale.
Tuck toes.
Knees lift.
Seat to the sky.
Releasing breath.
Inhale through the nose and out the mouth.
Offer the head and neck a little shake here.
Continue to broaden the shoulder blades and soften into the engagement of your body.
Draw forward.
High plank.
Inhale.
Option to keep the knees lifted until you land or place the knees down first.
Exhale.
We lower towards the floor.
Untuck the toes.
Inhale.
Either Baby Cobra or Cobra.
So perhaps some arm strength and support here.
And downward dog.
Exhale.
Tuck toes.
Either plank push-up or use the knees for support.
Draw yourself up and then lift the knees.
Seat to the sky.
Another big releasing breath here.
Inhale.
Nose and out the mouth.
With your next inhale,
Walk foot or step to standing forward.
Bend up to the front of your mat.
Exhale.
Fold forward.
Hinge at the hips.
Uttanasana.
With the feet evenly grounded,
Draw all the way to standing.
Inhale.
We'll rise.
Fill your body with breath.
Option to gaze up at the peak.
And prayer to heart.
Exhale.
Hands will soften down.
Find your standing alignment here.
Feet about hip distance apart.
Soft through the backs of the knees.
Neutral pelvis.
Soft through the shoulders.
Ground down evenly through the feet and stream that earth energy up into the body.
Notice the length of the spine and the coming together of the left and right side of the body.
With the hands in prayer,
We unite the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Have sun salutation.
Ardha Siddha Namaskar.
Inhale.
Arms rise.
Fill the body with breath.
Option to gaze up at peak.
Fold forward.
Exhale.
Lead with the heart.
Bow yourself down.
Halfway lift.
Inhale.
Lengthen through the spine.
And fold again.
Exhale.
Draw all the way back to standing.
Inhale as we unravel.
Option for a little back bend at the peak if it serves you.
And prayer to heart.
Exhalation.
Release the arms down beside the body.
Guide your big toes to touch at center.
Spread and lengthen through the toes.
Palm Tree Balance or Vrksasana.
And root down into the balls of the feet.
As you inhale,
Begin to raise the arms as well as the heels into the standing balance.
Now if there's any strain in the shoulders,
No problem.
Arms parallel to earth or into a prayer mudra.
Very helpful here to draw the front low ribs slightly in so the core is automatically engaged.
And we can gaze at an unmoving point just in front of us,
Focusing our gaze there.
So in this posture,
Very simple yet very powerful as it stretches the spinal cord,
Brings balance to the components of the nervous system,
Activates the vagus nerve which reduces our stress,
Allows us to shift into the prefrontal cortex of the brain so we can access serenity,
Inner peace,
And a relaxed composition.
We can see clearly and hear that inner voice.
One more long inhale.
Exhale,
Slowly lower the arms down.
The heels will land as well.
When you meet the earth,
Completely roll the shoulders back.
Draw back to your standing alignment.
So if that's hip distance,
You can make your way back there.
Another half sun salutation.
Inhale,
Draw the arms overhead and then actually hold this position here as you exhale.
Option to open through the throat as long as that serves the neck.
And one brahmari breath here,
Humming through the nose on exhalation.
Inhale fully.
One more long inhale.
Opening through that central channel and exhale,
Fold forward,
Lead with the heart.
Allow the neck to relax,
The throat to relax.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Lengthen through the spine.
Fold again,
Exhale,
Bow down.
Inhale,
Draw all the way to standing,
Fill your body.
Again,
Maybe that back bend at peak.
And prayer to heart,
Exhale.
Near the front edge of your mat,
Variation of surya namaskar.
Inhale,
Draw the arms to the sky,
Paraka.
Exhale to fold forward,
Vrachaka.
Chair pose,
Inhale,
Bend the knees,
Sweep the arms overhead.
Bow down,
Exhale,
The legs can draw towards straight.
Repeat that motion.
Inhale,
Bend the knees,
Float yourself up like a dance.
Exhale,
Surrender back down.
Three more times.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Two,
Inhale.
Last one,
Inhale,
Exhale.
Wonderful.
Halfway lift,
Inhale,
Lengthen your spine.
Exhale,
Plant the palms,
Float or step yourself back to plank and lower down halfway or all of the way.
Use the knees if needed.
Inhale,
Cobra up dog or baby cobra and downward dog.
Exhale,
Glide yourself gently back.
Mindful movement,
Steady and controlled from the inside out.
Find five breaths here in downward dog or a modification of choice.
Spread and lengthen through the fingers,
Through the toes.
Feel that quality of grounding from the pelvis down through the legs into the balls of the feet.
And that quality of upliftment as the spine unroots from the pelvis,
The torso is long,
The low belly gently draws in.
With an inhale,
Raise your right leg to the sky for a three-legged dog or if you're in tabletop,
A three-legged table.
Exhale,
One downward dog crunch,
Draw the knee towards the nose,
Shoulders stack wrist,
Scoop belly back.
Inhale,
Return to your three-legged position and warrior A.
Exhale,
Place the right foot through between the hands.
You may need to step it up a couple of times,
No problem.
As you exhale or continue to exhale,
We'll pivot our back heel down,
Root it down,
Square the hips of the front edge of your mat,
Right knee,
Right ankle are stacked.
And then once you're ready,
Inhale,
Draw yourself all the way up.
From here,
Eagle arms.
Exhale,
Guide left elbow below the right and you can either take a big hug or you might choose to twist tie the forms together here.
Relax the shoulders away from your ears,
Draw into your deep Ujjayi breathing.
Ground strongly through the outer edge of your back foot as that inner arch lifts.
And as we wrap the shoulders here,
Invite the shoulders to draw away from the ears,
The elbows to draw away from the chest,
Small micro movements.
One more breath,
Virabhadrasana A.
Find a long inhale here and warrior C balance.
Exhale,
Guide the torso forward.
As you begin to lift your back leg,
You'll straighten through that right standing leg.
Now we can always modify this position by tapping the back toes down,
Work with your balance from there.
Alternatively,
You could release the arms rather than keep them in that eagle position.
Continue to square the hips,
Steady your gaze on a single unmoving point.
Allow that communication of the throat to stream up to the third eye through the depth of our concentration.
And one more long breath here,
Virabhadrasana.
Inhale to warrior A.
When you're ready,
Back foot will land,
Right knee bends.
Unravel both arms if they're still in eagle and sweep them overhead to sky.
Palms to the earth,
Exhale.
Inhale,
Pop your back heel,
Guide your right foot back to plank pose,
An option to either move through a flow,
Draw to a child's pose,
Or draw straight to downward dog,
Your choice,
Your transition.
Follow the breath wherever you are.
Then once you arrive in downward dog or your modification,
Just re-axis the body.
Soften the edges of your body around that central support.
Feel the coming together.
Feel the encouragement of breath as the cradler of union.
In a releasing breath,
Inhale nose,
And out the mouth.
Inhale,
Raise your left leg to the sky,
Ekapada adho mukha,
One downward dog crunch.
Exhale,
Left knee towards the nose,
Shoulders stack wrists.
Inhale,
Guide that left leg back up to the sky,
And exhale.
Place the left foot through between the hands,
Step it up a couple of times if you need.
Pivot your back heel down,
Square the hips to the front edge of your mat,
And then once you're ready,
Inhale,
Float yourself all the way up.
Adjust your stance if you need to.
We're squared with the pelvis to the front of the mat,
And we're going to draw the right elbow this time below the left,
Either that big hug or twist high the forearms together.
Follow the depth of breath and continue to focus the mind as every wave of breath quiets the narrative of the mind.
And with our willingness,
We align the layers of ourselves and access the experience of yoga.
One more breath.
Root strongly through the sole of your left foot,
Gather a long inhale.
Warrior C,
Exhale,
The torso draws forward as we raise our back leg,
And remember we can modify,
You can release the arms,
Check in,
Listen to your body,
Choose the position that makes the most sense for you.
There's no right,
There's no wrong,
It's what's best for you.
Steadying that gaze.
One more long breath.
Inhale,
Guide the right foot back,
Warrior A,
Unravel both arms,
Sweep them up to the sky,
Palms to the earth,
Exhale.
Inhale,
Step back to your high plank pose and lower down through a flow,
Either with the knees,
Maybe a little Vinyasa Chaturanga,
Maybe a child's pose,
Maybe straight to Downward Dog.
And once you arrive in Downward Dog or your modification,
Re-center,
Realign,
Return.
Return to the depth of your presence as you feel the gathering of every inhale and the surrender of every exhale.
Releasing breath,
Inhale,
Nose,
And out the mouth.
Inhale,
Place your knees to the earth for Tabletop,
Untuck the toes,
And we'll guide ourselves upright into a kneeling position in preparation for Camel Pose,
Ustrasana.
Now,
Some of us may want to double up the mat,
Or if you have a blanket,
You could place it underneath the knees,
Or you might be good with the padding that your mat provides.
Here,
We can either place the heels of the hands just at the ridge or the top of the pelvis,
Or you might prefer thumbs behind and fingers forward.
With an inhale,
Grow long through the spine.
Feel the heart center lift naturally.
Exhale,
Guide the elbows towards one another as you begin to draw back into your Camel Back Bend.
Now,
The chin could stay tucked,
Or we might choose to open through the throat.
Both of those will be stimulating the thyroid and the parathyroid.
So,
Whether we've chosen the tucked in or the opening,
We are streaming into the balance of that Vushudha Chakra.
One more breath.
Inhale,
Draw to neutral spine with care.
Exhale,
Tabletop.
Place the palms down to the earth.
Find one breath here in tabletop.
Breathe into the full length of your spine.
Then slowly fold back into Child's Pose.
And here,
You might choose to have the arms long in front of you,
Maybe swept back alongside your body.
Maybe you create a pillow with the hands.
If Child's Pose is uncomfortable,
It's not the ideal position,
You can always roll onto your back and draw the knees in towards your chest.
Allow the sacrum and the low back to melt open and release.
And if the arms are drawn back alongside the bodies,
Relax the shoulders.
You can start to cradle the knees.
Soften the edges of your body once again.
Soften the inner body.
Soften the hold on the mind.
And relax the weight of yourself into the earth's embrace.
Two Brahmari breaths here in Child's Pose,
Ardha Yoga Mudra.
Inhale fully.
Ah.
And again,
Inhale.
Draw the arms forward if not already there.
Inhale,
Guide yourself to tabletop.
Make your way to seated.
So either draw to the side or cross at the ankles and sit back.
Here,
We're going to extend our legs out in front,
Feet near the top edge of the mat.
Spread through the toes.
Grow long through the spine.
Forward Bend,
Paschimottanasana.
Inhale,
String both arms overhead.
Lead with the heart.
Exhale,
Bow down.
Place the hands wherever it's appropriate.
Floor,
Leg,
Maybe you catch hold of the feet.
But more important than the placement of the hands is that we can still broaden the shoulders and the chest and keep that space for the neck.
Just five breaths here.
Really relax your facial expression.
As we lengthen through the back body line and apply this pressure,
This compression to the front body,
The abdomen,
Which enhances our access to the sympathetic nervous system.
Calms the inner world further.
And thus our intuition is heightened.
One more breath.
Inhale,
Stream both arms overhead as you rise.
Exhale,
Relax the shoulders down.
Offer your legs a little shake,
A little shimmy.
And we'll bend our knees,
Place the feet onto the floor.
Here you could catch hold of the backs of the thighs with your hands for Navasana or boat pose,
Preparation for a boat pose.
And we'll just slightly lean back.
So we're shifting our weight just behind the sit bones.
Now,
Some of us will stay here.
Others might choose to extend the arms out alongside.
The feet can remain on the earth or you might choose to lift through the feet.
Knees could stay bent or we can straighten the legs.
Five breaths,
Relax the shoulders,
Relax the jaw.
Release those areas of unnecessary effort.
Feel as though the inner energy of yourself,
The central core holds your body in shape.
One more inhale,
Heart lifts right into Bound Angle,
Baddha Konasana.
Exhale,
Soles of the feet come together as the feet land,
Knees out to the sides.
Inhale here,
Grow long through the spine.
Find a bit of a tilt through the pelvis if possible.
Guide the heart forward and exhale to lower.
And you might choose to use the arms to open up the thighs a little more.
If the seated position is challenging,
Feel free to sit on the edge of a blanket and that can offer great support.
And here in our Baddha Konasana,
Three Brahmari breaths,
Inhale.
Two.
And last one,
Inhalation.
Two regular breaths in Bound Angle.
Very slowly inhale,
Draw your torso upright with helping hands guide the knees to center and extend both legs out in front of you.
Now,
If you have a prop,
Block,
Book,
Folded blanket,
Just place that near the center of your mat so that you have some space or rather it's within a space or reach that you can access it once we're lying down.
And you can begin to roll yourself down to the earth,
Either with core control or feel free to use the support of your arms as you descend.
Now,
When you meet the earth completely,
Draw both knees in towards your chest for a little hug and you might choose to rock side to side here,
Massage the low back and the pelvis,
Maybe turn the head and the neck side to side,
Pavan Muktasana.
And then draw yourself to center stillness.
With your knees bent,
Place both feet down onto the floor,
Hip distance apart,
Arms beside the body,
Palms down.
Bridge pose,
Ardha Setu Bandhasana.
Inhale,
Engage through the hips,
The quads,
The glutes,
And we'll tilt through that pelvis,
Feel the tailbone lift away from the earth.
Then the low,
Mid,
And upper back will lift away from the earth as we rise into the shoulders,
The upper shoulders.
Now here,
If you have your prop,
You can access that and place the block underneath the pelvis.
We have a low height.
If you have a block,
There's a low height,
There's a medium height,
There is a high height.
I want to find the one that is sustainable and supportive.
Okay,
And the same idea if you have maybe just a blanket that you place underneath the pelvis for a little elevation,
That can work as well,
Very wonderfully.
And then once you feel comfort,
You feel stability with your position,
Draw the arms into cactus.
So bend to the elbows,
Backs of the hands on the floor,
Allow the eyes to close,
And follow the cascade of your breath.
So in this version of supported bridge with the arms in cactus,
We actually apply pressure to acupressure points on the shoulders,
The upper shoulders through this positioning,
Which invites the shoulders to release held tension.
We can unravel the holdings of the day,
The week,
The month,
The year.
And then even notice how in supported bridge,
Our energetic awareness shifts to the heart space,
From the center of the heart space,
The center of the chest,
And is streaming a prana and pure awareness from the center outwards through the arms into the palms of the hands.
And this energetic awareness into the throat and into the third eye and the crown of the head.
Just two more breaths.
Just being in your body.
And then slowly draw the arms down beside the body,
Palms to the earth.
Inhale,
Lift the pelvis up off the props if you were using a prop or two,
And slowly roll yourself all the way back down to the earth.
Maybe lift the heels if you need more space for the tailbone and the low back.
Once you meet the earth,
Move into a counter pose of choice.
So that could be knees to chest.
It could be rocking side to side.
You could find some swivels,
Lie flat,
Maybe a happy baby pose.
Just take two breaths in your counter.
Then slowly draw the knees in towards your chest.
If you're not already there,
Little squeeze,
Little hug.
Stack the knees over top of your hips,
Legs bent at about 90.
Extend the arms out into a T position,
Or if you don't have that space,
Cactus arms works well as well.
And we'll guide our legs to the right side on an exhale for reclined spinal twist.
You may need to shimmy or adjust the position of your pelvis,
Drawing it towards the midline of the mat to offer alignment between the shoulders and the pelvis.
You could always use a prop underneath the bottom leg,
Between the legs.
An option here to direct your gaze to the left side.
Really access the potency of your breath here.
The inhalation as the spine grows longer through pranic expansion.
And the exhalation as we roll the heart open and the left shoulder blade melts down towards the earth.
One more breath.
Inhale,
Unravel back to center.
You may need to adjust the position of your pelvis and we'll begin to switch sides.
This time as you exhale,
Lower your legs to the left side and you may need to adjust again one more time.
So the pelvis and the shoulders are fairly aligned.
Option to direct your gaze to the right side.
And breathe into your body.
Inhale long through spine.
Exhale,
Rolling open and melting the weight of your body into the earth,
Melting into the experience of your posture.
There's this pose and so many of our postures are intended for the purpose of ringing out the astral body,
The subtle body.
And this influences the physical body.
And as the physical body and the astral body communicate in ease,
A gift of our practice and we can much more naturally stream into the truth of ourselves,
Access our inherent intuition and learn to live a life of peace and freedom.
One more long breath.
Inhale,
Guide yourself back through center.
And once there,
Draw both knees into the chest,
Realign the spine,
The pelvis,
The shoulders.
And in Padma Muthasana,
You might choose to draw the knees towards the forehead,
The forehead towards the knees.
If the head was raised,
Place the back of the head down.
And from here,
Either move into a final counter pose of choice or make your way into final relaxation.
Just allow the body to settle.
Just feel the back of the body come into contact with the earth.
These edges of effort melt away.
And the breath returns to its most natural expression,
Soft and quiet,
Yet continues to smoothly align the layers of self.
It continues to smoothly relax the mind.
The breath continues to expand the moments of stillness between thoughts so that here in Shavasana,
As the arms and the legs roll away from the midline,
The mind can turn into the opportunity of pure awareness.
And I'll invite you back when it's time.
And gracefully allow your body to be filled with awareness,
Returning to the fullness of awareness.
As it invites you to experience your breath,
The inhale through the nose,
And the exhale out the mouth.
Continue to follow awareness as it draws movement into your fingers and your toes,
Movement into your wrists and your ankles,
Into your whole body as you draw the knees towards your chest and roll yourself to the right side in a fetal position,
Nurtured and held,
Elevated in presence.
Invite your eyes to remain closed as you draw yourself back up to a comfortable seated position of choice.
And take in the qualities that we established at the beginning of practice.
As you relax the hips,
Sit bones root,
Root chakra foundation becomes.
And we'll finish our practice here with alternate nostril breathing,
Anya Lom Valom.
So you can guide your right hand into the Pranayama Mudra.
For now,
I'll be your mirror image.
If you need to see,
Can place the peace fingers gently on the third eye.
The thumb is out to the side,
The ring finger out to the other side.
Soft breath here.
Inhale through the nose and out the nose.
Close the right nostril with your right thumb.
Inhale through the left nostril.
Close the left nostril with your ring finger.
Exhale out the right.
Inhale through the right.
Close the right.
Exhale left.
Round two.
Inhale left.
Exhale out the left.
Exhale right nostril.
Inhale right.
Exhale left.
One more round together.
Inhale left.
Close left.
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Close right.
Exhale left.
And continue just like that.
Every cycle begins with inhale left and will end with exhale left.
Feeling the smoothness of breath through the nostrils as we purify the Ida and the Pingala Anadhis,
The solar and lunar energetic channels running through the astral body,
The subtle body,
May merge in the third eye.
Thus,
This breath brings balance to the right and left hemispheres of the brain,
Slows us down through focus and concentration,
Dharana,
So that we can return and recognize the voice of our most authentic self.
Finish up the round you're on.
And once complete,
No rush though,
Relax your right hand down.
Allow your body to grow steady and still.
Allow awareness to magnetize the whole of yourself into alignment,
As though your inner world expands.
The edges of your body knows no boundaries.
The mind knows no boundaries.
Potential is your birthright.
Dropping in where freedom is all you've ever known.
Look inside yourself.
Everything that you want is awaiting.
It's right there,
Already now.
Merge your hands into prayer mudra.
And we'll seal this practice with a final om.
Inhale.
Inhale,
Prayer to third eye.
Exhale,
Prayer to heart.
The divine light in me bows to the divine light in all of you,
Namaste.
Great,
Thank you everyone so much for joining,
Sharing in,
Tuning in,
Practicing.
I wish you the most wonderful day,
Tuning into that current of inner knowing.
I'll see you next time,
Namaskar.
