Morning Rejuvenating Hatha Yoga

Begin your day with a gentle Hatha yoga practice that invites you to reconnect with your body and settle into presence. This sequence focuses on strengthening the shoulders and arms while softly opening the hips through mindful, steady movement. As you move and breathe, the body awakens, the mind becomes quieter, and awareness naturally turns inward. The practice is designed as a preparation for meditation, helping you arrive in stillness with greater ease.

Transcript

Welcome to your morning practice to connect deeply with your body, Nourish your body, Calm your mind and connect deeply with yourself. And we'll be focusing on shoulders and arms strength. And on opening the hip. So please start in cross-legged seat position. Close your eyes. And bring your awareness into your body Notice how your body feels. In this moment. This morning. Notice the point of contact between your body and the mat. Notice your legs, Your hips, Your feet. Feel your back strong. And stable. Your belly and chest Gently rising and falling on the rhythm of your breath. Notice your arms and your neck. The back of your head, The top of your head. And your face. Start deepening your breath gently. Breath moving in and out the nostrils. Inhalation is rising. Exhalation is falling. Continue with this breath as you notice how you feel. Is there a dominant mood or emotion present in you now? Now notice the state of your mind. Any dominant thought or stream of thoughts. Simply noticing. Connecting with yourself. The witness is the aspect of yourself. And stay connected to this aspect of yourself. We practice. And now take a moment to set an intention for this practice. Or for this day And when you're ready, Slowly open the eyes. And please come to all fours position. On your mat spread your fingers wide your knees under the heat Bring your shoulder blades together. Inhale and open your chest into a gentle cow position. Pull your belly in, Tuck your tailbone and roll your spine into the cat stretch. Inhale, Starting from the base of your spine, Open your sitting bones, Arch gently, Open the chest, Look to the front. Exhale, Pull your belly in and slowly round one vertebra at a time. And continue like this couple more times. Feel into your back, Feel into your spine. Notice any tight spots, Any areas that need your attention. Enjoy this Gentle. Awakening. Bringing your attention to the body. And bringing cure. Awareness to the places that need your attention. Okay, Just one more like this. Exhale. Inhale. On your next exhalation, Lower your chest down, Pull your belly in. Inhale open your chest press your hips down into a baby cobra Lower down, Pull your belly in. Inhale to all fours and exhale Child's Pose. Inhale, Come up to all fours. Open your chest. Look down in front of you. Exhale, Chest and chin down. Shift forward. Inhale, Baby cobra. Bring your shoulder blades together. Exhale lower down pull your belly in Inhale all fours. Pull your belly and as you sink back to child's pulse. Inhale, Open your chest. Lift up. Exhale, Lower down. Chin and chest, Shift forward. Inhale into baby cobra. Keep all of your toes down on the mat. Exhale lower down, Strong arms. Inhale come up Exhale hips to heels. And let's continue. Inhale to come up. Exhale lower down. The breath is leading your movement. Inhale to open. Exhale lower down Inhale to come up. Exhale hips to heels and one more. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Lengthen the spine. Exhale strong belly strong arms pull you up and exhale hips to heels forehead to the floor Take a moment in child's pose. Feel your forehead, Your arms, Your back. Your hips sinking into the mat. And your breath is in the belly. Calm deep breath. Next inhalation, Come up to all fours. Spread your fingers wide. Press your fingertips down. Tuck your toes under, Exhale into down dog. Take a moment here to adjust. Straighten your right leg bend your left knee And lean in, Feel this nice gentle stretch. Switch the legs, Straighten your left leg, Bend the right knee, Lean into your left hamstring. Enjoy this stretch. And now both knees gently bent Press your fingertips down, Bring your shoulder blades together and extend your sitting bones out and up. Feel the length of your spine. You can always adjust, Bend your knees a little more or a little less. Mainly focus on lengthening the spine here Keeping your shoulders wide, Your neck is long. Take one more deep inhalation here. Exhale completely. And on your next inhalation lift your right leg up keeping the left side of your body long. Remember to not kick but gently lift up. Be kind to your body. Exhale, Pull your knee in and gently step to the front, Again without forcing the movement. Come onto your fingertips. Inhale, Lift your hips and lengthen the spine. Exhale and lower your left knee down on the mat. Now place your left hand on the mat right hand on the hip inhale lengthen the spine and exhale twist to the right if you want to you can also take your right arm up open the chest open the shoulder look up gently Deep inhalation to lengthen. Exhale, Pull your belly in, Maybe sink a little deeper in the hips. Two more deep breaths like this. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Look down. Inhale and twist. Lift your back leg of the mat. And exhale back to down dog. We are opening the body. Preparing for deeper and longer holds. On your next inhalation lift your left leg up keeping the right side of your body long. Exhale, Pull that left knee in and gently step to the front. Come onto your fingertips. Inhale, Lift the hips, Lengthen the spine. Exhale, Lower your back knee down. Place your left hand on the hip. Inhale, Lengthen and exhale to twist as you pull your belly in. And lift higher through your fingertips. Look up if that's ok for your neck. And two more deep breaths here. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Untwist. Lift the back knee and exhale back to downtime. Take a deep inhalation here and lengthen through both sides. Of your torso Exhale and walk your feet to the hands coming to the forward fold. Gentle bend in your knees relax your arms shoulders your neck let your head Sink toward the ground. And feel this deep, Calm breath in your belly. And if you want to say a gentle no with your head. Now pressing your feet down with your knees gently bent. Slowly, Slowly roll up. Roll your shoulders to the back, Standing tall. Mountain Pulse. A deep breath into your belly into the chest Let your ribs expand. And exhale completely On your next inhalation lift both arms up. Exhale bend from the hips and fold. Inhale half lift the spine look down shoulder blades together Exhale fold. And step back into the plank pose. Inhale here, Pull your belly in. Exhale lower down knees chest and chin Shift forward, Inhale into a gentle cobra. You can press into your hands a little. So that your chest can come a little higher look diagonally down Exhale lower down pull your belly in Inhale to lift up. And exhale down. Take a deep inhalation lengthen through both sides Exhale completely. One more full breath, Inhale. And exhale completely. Inhale. Exhale step to the front in few little steps or jump to the front if you feel like it this morning. Inhale half lift. Exhale lower down. Bring your hands to the hips, Press your feet down, Inhale, Come all the way up, Widen your arms and lengthen. And exhale lower your hands down Arms. Hands together and lower down. Next inhalation lift your arms up Exhale bend from the hips and fold. Pull your belly in. Inhale half lift the spine look down Exhale fold and step or jump back two plank pose inhale stay here and pull your belly in strongly Really like a plank here. Now exhale lower down with or without knees. How you feel this morning. Maybe you want to warm up a little slower. Shift forward. Press your feet down. And to the back as if you wanted to pull the mat away from you Lift up, Maybe a little higher, Keep your shoulder blades together and look diagonally down. Exhale lower down. And move back to down dog with your belly pulled in, Arms strong. The most important thing here. Now take 3 deep breaths here in down dog and feel into the length of your spine. On your next exhalation walk your feet to the hands or hop forward Inhale half lift, Look down. Exhale fold. Bring your hands to the hips. Inhale come all the way up. Widen your arms. And exhale hands together in front of the chest. And take a breath here to be fully present with your body, To pause. Stay grounded. And on your next inhalation lift both arms up. Exhale bend from the hips and fold. Inhale half lift the spine and look down. Exhale fold and step or hop back Two. Down dog. So settling in down dog, Both sides of your body long. On your next inhalation lift your right leg up keeping the left side of your body long. Lengthen that right heel away from you exhale pull your knee in and gently step to the front in between your hands your back foot turns out parallel to the shorter edge of the mat white white warrior stance. Press your feet down and inhale to come up. Exhale and sink a little deeper, Your knees stays above the ankle, Arms parallel to the floor. Look to the front, Look in front of your fingertips. Lengthen your Head towards the ceiling, Pull your belly in and maybe sink a little deeper with your hips as you exhale. Two more breaths here Focus. Breathe. And feel. On your next inhalation, Lift your right leg up and lengthen through your fingertips. Exhale pull your belly in and extend your arm above your head side angle Inhale to lift up and lengthen. Exhale, Side angle pose. Lengthen through the left side. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Strong, Let's keep your feet pressing down into the mat. And exhale. Now inhale open your chest, Rotate your chest a little more to the ceiling. Exhale pull your belly in and see if you can sink a little deeper and you can see that left arm and leg are in one diagonal line. Now you can stay like this. Or if you have a block or a big book you can lower one hand on the block and go a little deeper. Breathing into the side of your ribs, Expand. Exhale, Pull your belly in, Stay strong and stable. And you can look diagonally up or close your eyes and feel your breath. Feel your breath expanding in the chest. Exhalation in your belly stability and ease Inhale nourishment expansion. Strength. Exhale stability and ease. Three more breaths like this. Look down. Inhale, Come back to warrior two. Exhale, Lower the arms. Come into the plank pose. Inhale here. Exhale, Lower down with or without knees. Shift forward, Inhale into a gentle cobra or up dog. Exhale lower down And bring yourself back to downtime. Next inhalation lift your left leg up keeping the right side of your body long Exhale pull that knee in step to the front warrior two legs press your feet down strongly inhale warrior one Exhale, Stay here, Sink a little deeper. Lengthen through the crown of your head as you inhale, Extend through your arms. Exhale and sink deeper. Two more breaths like this. Thanks, Stable. Focused Strong yet at ease. You're completely relaxed. On your next inhalation straighten the front leg and lift your left arm up. Exhale, Side angle pose. Inhale to lift up and lengthen. Exhale Side Angle Pose. Inhale to lift and lengthen. Keep your feet pressing down into the mat. Exhale. Inhale. Deep inhalation in the chest. Exhale as you pull your belly and lower ribs in. Now stay here on your inhalation. Exhale, Settle into the pose. Perhaps sink a little deeper. And if you were using block or big book. On the first side take it also on this side with you Focus on opening the ribs. Lengthening the side on the inhalation. And on staying strong and stable and at ease as you exhale. Three more deep breaths here. Look down. Inhale to come up, Warrior two. Exhale lower your hands down come into the plank pose Inhale here. Exhale lower down with or without this Chaturanga or Cobra how you feel this morning. Exhale, Down. Take a deep inhalation here. Exhale, Walk or hop forward. Inhale, Half lift. Exhale and fold. Bring your hands to the hips. Inhale come all the way up widen the arms Exhale hands in front of the chest. And release your arms. Pause for a moment. Feel into your body. Feel into the center of your chest. Center of your chest where you individual cells. And the universal meat. The inhalation allow your chest to expand on the exhalation pull your belly Now please step wide. So that when you extend your arms, Your wrists are more or less above the ankles. Place your hands to the hips, Gentle bend in your knees, Inhale to lengthen and as you exhale bend from the hips and bring your hands down. Inhale to health, Lift the spine. Look down And exhale to fold over your legs. And relax your arms, Relax your face. Take a couple deep breaths into your belly Feel the gravity pulling you down. Awareness inside the body. Now on your next inhalation half lift. And as you exhale, Walk to the front. Turn your feet. And coming to the plank pose. Turn on the edge of your right foot and have your left foot in front of you or on top of the right you will see in a moment one hand on the hip first So see if you want to stack your feet on top. Not pull your belly in strongly super strong belly here inhale and lift your left arm up and look up or in front of you. Take one more breath here. Perhaps you feel your body shaking, That's also great. Come back to plank pose. Over to the other side so first turn onto the edge of your left foot and keep your right foot still in the front. One hand on the hip inhale open your chest And now see if you want to stay like this or stack your feet on top of each other. Lift your right arm up and look up or in front of you super strong belly Stay with your breath. Steadiness and ease. Find ease. Even if your body is shaking. And now look down, Inhale back to plank. And exhale lower down with or without knees. And turn around onto your back. Bridge pose setup your feet are flat on the mat and extend your arms when you extend your arms your fingertips will be still away from your heels, Quite close but not touching the heels. Bring your shoulder blades together, Press your feet and your arms down. Inhale and lift the hips. Bring your shoulder blades a little closer together. Pull your belly in and stay here as you. Breathing deeply into your chest, Opening your side ribs. Exhale, Point the tailbone toward your knees to keep your lower back long and stay here with your breath. Inhale into the chest. Exhale, Feel your belly. And lower back strong and stable. One more deep inhalation And exhale, Slowly lower everything down. Relax your back for a moment, Bring your knees together as the feet stay apart. Okay now bring your right ankle above the left knee and pull your left leg in towards you for A nice stretch. You can use that right elbow and press a little into the inside of your thigh. To help stabilize your knee but also open a little more in the hips. Just a moment here. And now place your left foot down, Shift your hips a little to the right, Extend your arms. And take your legs as they are to the left. Now you can keep your arms extended or bring your left hand to grab your right ankle. Relax in the twists for a moment. If you like, Turn your head to the opposite side and let your arms relax. Breathing into your belly. Breathing into the right side of your lower back and hips. And. . . Every time you exhale have the intention to soften and surrender. On your next inhalation come back to the center. Adjust your hips back in the middle. Bring your left ankle above the right knee and pull your right knee for a nice Deep stretch. Of the outer hip and lower back. Send your breath all the way down to your belly and hips and pelvis. As if you were breathing into those areas that stretched now. Really connect your breath awareness and sensation together. Now lower your right foot down, Shift your hips a little to the left, Extend your arms. And twist to the right. Take your legs as they are to the right. Actually a twist to the left. But you're taking your legs to the right. Grab your ankle if you can. And gently turn your head to the opposite side. Relax your face. Soften your face. Breath in the belly. And enjoy this moment of surrender. Connected to this aspect of yourself that can feel your body. Can observe your thoughts, Can be aware of the breath and the emotions and the moods. On your next inhalation come back to the center Bring your legs together and hug your knees in. Nice big hug. Now please turn to one side and come up. To sitting so if you have a small pillow maybe you want to grab one and just sit on the edge of it that actually helps you go deeper in the hip opening forward fold Take your legs wide, Your heels are pressing into the mat. And place your left hand on top of the thigh reach with your right hand to your toes now pressing this hand down ground your left sitting bones inhale lengthen the spine and exhale Lean to the right. And take a few breaths here. Enjoy the side opening. And on your next Inhalation come back to the center Switch side to press your right sitting bone down and exhale lean to the side and enjoy this nice Opening you will feel it here in your waist It's also a very important area that often gets stiff because it's actually not that easy to stretch it. So breathe into it gently. And now inhale, Come back to the center. Lift your arms. Lengthen the spine. Exhale, Moving from your hips and lower back, Lean to the front with your spine long. Lower the arms first. Inhale again, Press your sitting bones down and lengthen the spine. And as you exhale, See if you can shift a little forward and go only as much as you. . . Can with your lower back not rounding. So imagine someone is putting gently their hands on your lower back. And allowing you to go a little deeper. To sink a little deeper and relax. Once you are there, Soften your shoulders, Soften your face. Soften your belly. And again. Connect your breath. With awareness and sensations On your next inhalation slowly, Slowly come up. Carefully bend your knees Bring the soles of your feet together And. . . Two options here so if you have your heels closer to you this will open more your inner thighs however we Just we're opening more the inner ties in the previous pose. So if you feel like again focusing on this. Go ahead and stay like this or bring your feet more away from you and this will Open more your sacrum, Your lower back. Hands on your shins. Press your sitting bones down. Inhale, Lengthen the spine. And again, Exhale. Imagine someone is giving you a gentle push. Putting their hands on your lower back allowing you to go a little deeper inhale lengthen the spine and exhale fold a little deeper and relax your face relax your shoulders Relax your arms, Breathing into the lower belly and the pelvis. On your next inhalation slowly come up. Extend your legs, Shake your legs. If you feel like it and lay down on your back for a short Shavasana. You can bring bolster or pillows under your knees. Turn your palms facing up, Your heels a little wider than the hips. Let your feet fall to the side. Relax your face. Feel the points of contact between your body and the floor. Feel into those points of contact. Helping you to deepen your relaxation. Notice your breath rising and falling. Inhalation is nourishing and healing. Exhalation helps you to soften and let go. Rest here in this effortless awareness. And you can stay here a little longer if you have time Or begin making gentle moves. Stretch your arms above your head. Feel your body. When you are ready turn to one side. And come up. To sit and get ready for your meditation Or perhaps you have done your meditation already. Get ready to move on with your day. But before you move on, Make sure to take a moment to sit with yourself. Notice how you feel, Notice any difference. To when you have started this practice. And remember your intention. Namaste.