Find your way into Child's Pose.
Arrive on the mat with the knees wide,
Big toes touching.
Send your hips towards your heels and let your arms reach forward.
Let your head feel heavy here.
Feel the floor pressing down.
Gently into the space between the eyebrows.
Let it be almost like a switch that tells the mind it can begin to quiet.
Reaching forward through your fingertips as you Let your hips settle back and down.
Feel the two ends of your spine as if they're moving away from one another.
And then let your back ribs widen with every inhale.
And then exhale and let your jaw soften.
Relaxing the muscles around your eyes.
Today,
Let's let sensation become our teacher.
The body is always speaking.
Yoga simply teaches us how to listen.
Take three more slow and easy breaths.
Now,
Begin to rise into tabletop pose.
Stacking your shoulders over your wrists.
Your hips over your knees.
We'll begin to just move in circles.
Let your shoulders travel forward.
Maybe your ribs drift to one side and then the other.
Your hips move back and then circle around.
And make this movement slow and unhurried,
Organic.
Uncensored.
Just feeling the weight moving through different parts of your hands.
Notice your wrists,
Your shoulders.
Feel your knees,
Your shins,
The tops of your feet.
Circle your hips and your ribcage and even let your head and neck join into the movement.
Lubricating the joints.
Waking up the conversation between the brain and the body.
And now return to neutral.
Taking tabletop pose,
And find cow.
Inhale,
Tip the sitting bones upwards.
Let the belly soften down.
And pull the chest forward.
As you exhale,
Round your back,
Push the floor away.
Breathing in and flowing through your cow pose and breathing out as you flow through cat.
Just continue on your own.
Feel those back ribs.
Lift and spread every time you round your back.
Feel your belly soften towards the earth every time you open your chest.
One more round.
And then return to neutral.
Now from neutral.
Go ahead and tent your right fingertip slightly forward and extend your left leg back.
Toes on the floor,
Reaching through the heel.
And before lifting anything else.
Find length.
Draw your waist away from your pelvis.
Feel your spine reach in two directions.
Then lift the leg.
Only as high as you can.
Without tipping your pelvis.
Now reach your right arm forward and up too.
And imagine your fingertips and your back heel are being gently pulled away from one another.
Feel your standing hand press down into the floor.
The muscles around your waist organized to keep you steady.
Inhale,
Grow longer.
And as you exhale,
Round your back and draw your right elbow toward your left knee.
Feel the front body engage and then re-extend long again.
Now open to awkward airplane.
Bend the right elbow out toward the right and open the left knee toward the left.
Try to keep your navel facing the floor.
Return to BirdDoc.
Inhale the leg back and the arm forward.
And again,
Exhale the knee to the nose,
Round through the upper back,
Pull the left knee in.
And re-extend long.
And then Awkward Airplane,
Exhale.
And extend long and you've got one more set.
Pull it all in,
Exhale.
Extend long.
Awkward airplane,
Breathe out.
Extend the lung.
And return to tabletop pose.
Pause and just take a cow pose.
Let the front body open.
Take a cat pose,
Let the back body widen.
And then find neutral.
Left fingertips tent forward,
Right toes step back.
Look for Length.
Pull the waist away from the pelvis.
Draw the navel to the spine,
Then float.
The arm and the leg come off the mat.
Reach long as you breathe in.
And then exhale,
Pull it in,
Elbow meets the knee or bring them close,
Re-extend on your breath in.
Awkward airplane as you breathe out.
Extend,
Breathe in.
Pull it in,
Breathe out.
Extend,
Breathe in.
Awkward airplane breathe out.
Extend,
Breathe in.
You've got one more set.
Pull the elbow and the knee toward each other,
Breathe out.
Extend,
Breathe in.
And awkward airplane,
Breathe out.
Extend,
Breathe in.
And return to tabletop pose,
Breathe out.
Pause here and take a round of Cat-Cow.
Find a neutral tabletop pose with both hands planted,
Fingers spread wide,
Press through the pads of your hands,
Grip with the fingertips.
Tuck your toes.
And hover both knees just an inch above the floor,
Just an inch.
Without actually moving your hands.
Imagine you are spinning your palms wide like you're opening two jars away from each other.
Feel the upper arms rotate slightly outward and the space between your shoulder blades broaden,
Waking up the muscles that help to stabilize your shoulder blades against your back rib cage.
Take one last breath as you hold your knees in this hover.
And then glide back into downward facing dog.
When you get there,
You can just bend the legs one and then the other.
Sway the hips,
Stretch through the calves and the backs of your thighs.
Actively pressing.
Your thighs back in space,
Your chest towards your toes.
Down Dog is not only a hamstring stretch,
Your shoulders,
Your upper back.
Your spine,
Your sideways.
All getting longer,
More spacious.
Let the head hang freely.
Now begin to walk your feet slightly closer to your hands,
Creating a shorter down dog.
Put a little bend in both knees and shift your weight into your right hand.
Reaching your left hand toward the outside of your right calf,
Ankle,
Or foot.
Press really strongly through your standing hand and draw your chest gently toward the right leg and turn your gaze underneath that arm.
Feel the right shoulder stabilize as the left side of your upper back rotates.
You may notice sensation across the backs of the legs,
The outer hip,
The side waist.
The muscles between your shoulder blades.
And then release and just switch sides on your own.
Keep your breath.
Moving through the back ribs.
And remember,
A twist does not have to be super deep to be effective.
Remember to look for length first and then allow the rotation to grow from that space,
From that length.
Take another full breath in.
And out.
And then return to your short.
Down Dog.
From your shortened down dog,
Walk your hands backwards towards your feet.
And when you get to the back of the mat,
Soften the knees,
Dangle your spine from your hips,
And just roll out your wrists.
Start to roll.
Go both directions,
Get the little pops and clicks out.
Now take hold of opposite elbows,
Bending your knees a lot more and just letting your torso hang here.
Feel the weight of your head creating space to the back of your neck.
Feel gravity lengthening the spine without any effort from you.
Maybe you can shift a little more weight toward the balls of the feet so your hips Begin to stack over your ankles.
And your hamstrings may stretch,
But your belly should still have room to breathe,
To move,
And to expand.
Sway slowly left and right.
This is meant to be an easeful fold.
And then release your hands and slowly roll all the way to stand.
As you arrive standing,
Take Tadasana near the back of your mat.
Bring your hands to your heart and shift your weight into your left foot.
Let's bring right knee up towards your chest.
Balance here,
Focus your gaze,
And just feel that standing foot.
Spread into the floor.
Begin to reach your right leg forward.
And take a step about mid-mat.
Finding Warrior 3 as you tip forward.
Maybe keep a small bend in your right knee.
Draw the outer left hip down slightly so the hip points face the floor.
And reach through your crown and back through the heel.
Feel the back of the standing leg working.
That outer hip is stabilizing you.
Feel your abdomen supporting the length of your spine.
And then from here,
Return to standing with your left knee towards your chest.
And then step your left foot forward.
And tip your body over into warrior three again near the top of your mat,
Reaching your right leg back,
Balancing here.
Choose one unmoving point for your gaze.
And then simply stand at the top of your mat.
With your inhale,
Reach your arms up towards the sky.
And exhale to forward fold here,
Uttanasana.
Dropping the head.
Folding over your version of straight legs.
Breathe in and halfway lift,
Feel your spine draw forward.
And as you exhale,
Plant your hands and move through a vinyasa.
Stepping back to a high plank pose,
Choosing to drop your knees or not as you lower.
Flowing through a cobra or an upward-facing dog,
And then back into downward-facing dog.
From your down dog,
Let's reach the right leg up to the sky.
Exhale and shift forward,
Draw the knee toward your nose,
Pressing the floor away and rounding through the upper back.
Then again,
Inhale,
Lift the leg up,
Perhaps a little higher this time.
And exhale the knee to the nose.
Feel the lower abdomen pull the thigh towards the chest.
One more time,
Inhale the right leg high.
And exhale the knee towards the nose.
Step between your hands this time.
Inhale to lengthen through your chest and as you exhale just step the back foot forward.
Come to a halfway lift,
Breathe in.
And forward fold,
Breathe out.
Bending the knees,
Drop your hips into chair pose,
Utkatasana.
Feel your weight move back into your heels while your toes stay light.
The quads,
Which are the muscles across the fronts of your thighs,
They're working hard to support you.
Gently draw the low belly inward but leave some softness for the breath to still flow.
Take a few more breaths as you soften your shoulders away from your ears.
Sit back,
Sit down.
And then.
.
.
Go ahead and stand all the way up and bring your hands to your heart.
Inhale your arms up towards the sky.
And exhale fold moving through your vinyasa.
Stepping back when you're ready into that high plank pose and lowering towards the earth.
You can hover or land.
Taking a cobra or an upward dog,
Inhaling.
And exhaling returning to downward dog.
Before beginning the second side,
Just pause to feel the pads of your fingers,
The first and second set of knuckles.
Notice how this Weight is evenly distributed between the whole hand,
Creating more support for your wrists Roll the biceps forward,
The triceps back,
Ease your chest towards your toes.
Let's do the same on the other side.
Left leg lifts high,
With your breath in.
And then knee towards the nose,
Rounding forward,
Spreading the shoulder blades wide.
Inhale your left leg high,
Maybe a little bit higher.
Exhale the knee towards the chest,
Round forward.
And one more time,
Breathe the left leg up towards the sky,
Inhaling.
Bring the knee towards the chest and step forward between your thumbs.
Look forward with the breath in.
Step your right foot forward with your breath out.
Halfway lift,
Full breath,
Flat spine,
And exhale,
Bow,
And get ready for that chair pose.
Bend the knees,
Sink the hips,
Reach the arms high,
And stay put for just a couple of breaths,
Reaching through your fingers as you sink through your hips.
Weight is back in the heels and the knees are squeezing together.
Take one more inhale.
And exhale.
Now rise all the way to stand,
Reach the arms up.
And exhale the hands back to the heart.
Circle your arms high with a breath in,
And as you exhale,
Forward fold.
Stepping your left foot back,
Finding a lunge,
Stay on the balls of the back foot and reach up for high crescent lunge.
Take an inhale as you reach for the ceiling.
When you breathe out,
Bend both elbows into cactus.
And soften your back knee.
Inhale to lift through the torso,
Reach through the arms.
Exhale,
Bending the back knee,
Cactus the arms,
Sink down.
One more time,
Inhale,
Straighten the back leg,
Reach up.
And this time when you exhale,
Cactus the arms and place the back knee gently down to the floor.
Reach the arms up to the sky,
Keeping the back knee grounded.
Here is your Anjaneyasana.
You can untuck the back toes as the arms reach overhead.
Allow your hips to melt forward.
Keep your front knee tracking towards the middle toes of your front foot and lift through your side waist,
Not collapsing into the low back.
Bring your hands to your heart.
And twist,
Placing the left elbow outside the right knee.
If you want to,
You can tuck the back toes and lift the back knee up if you feel supported.
Breathe here as you open your chest.
Two.
Reaching your heart away from your back heel.
One.
Look down and release into a pyramid pose.
Hands drop down to the floor and start to straighten your legs out,
Folding over that front thigh.
Lunging forward with your breath in.
And straightening with your breath out.
Begin to move through just a few of these,
Bending and straightening the front leg.
Breathing into.
Any tightness you're feeling in the hamstrings.
Eventually,
Let's just settle into this pyramid pose and think length rather than depth with your spine.
Now begin to bend your front knee again,
Finding a lunge.
Plant your hands and send your right leg up and back into a three-legged dog.
Bending your right knee and opening your hip,
Take a few little circles with your right knee cap towards the ceiling.
Press evenly into both hands.
And feel the front of the hip open while the shoulders remain squared towards your mat.
Now re-extend that right leg up and back,
And let's go for a cross body twist.
Right knee to left elbow under and across tap one take it back up reach through the toes under and across tap two Take it up and back,
Breathing in,
Under and across tap three,
But this time kick your right leg to the left.
So that the knife edge of your right foot lands out to the left side of your yoga mat.
Keep both palms on the floor and gently pulse your body forward and back three,
One and into fallen triangle we go.
Lean into your right palm and reach your left arm to the sky.
Make sure you let your back heel spin flat to the mat.
Feel the supporting shoulder,
The side body,
The outer hip all working together here.
This is an expansive shape.
And then go ahead and return your left hand to the floor.
Come back into a three-legged dog,
Right leg up to the sky.
And step your right foot forward again between your thumbs.
From here,
Tip into a standing split.
Lift your left leg up towards the ceiling and bow over your right leg.
Keep both hip points squared.
Feel that standing leg root while the lifted leg reaches in opposite direction.
The pose isn't measured by the height of the back leg,
Remember.
Look for steadiness,
Look for length,
Look for breath.
And then release your left foot next to your right foot.
Take a flat back with a breath in.
And a forward fold with your breath out.
Stepping your right foot to the back of the mat.
We'll start from the top.
From your lunge,
Rise high into crescent lunge.
Inhale here as you reach tall,
And then when you exhale,
Bend both elbows,
Cactusing the arms,
Soften the back knee towards the earth.
Inhale to reach.
Exhale to cactus,
Soften the back knee.
Inhale to reach.
And exhale cactus,
Place the back knee down.
Untuck the back toes as you reach the arms overhead into Anjaneyasana.
Breathing here,
Let the hips melt forward as you lift through the side waist.
Feeling that stretch across the front of the hip.
And then a low lunge twist.
Bring your hands to your heart and turn to the left.
Hook your right elbow outside your left knee.
If you'd like to tuck the back toes and lift the back knee,
You can if you want.
Otherwise,
Stay here.
And then look down,
Pyramid pose,
Drop the hands and straighten both legs.
Enjoy a few breaths here,
Folding over your left thigh.
And now begin to re-bend that front knee,
Coming into a lunge.
Plant your hands and send your left leg up and back.
Bending at the left knee and opening the hip,
Let's take a few circles with that kneecap towards the sky.
Press evenly through both hands as you do this.
Inhale and exhale.
Now let's get into that cross body core.
Bring your left knee to your right elbow.
And then take it up and back,
Breathing in.
Left knee,
Right elbow.
Up and back,
Breathing in.
Now bring the left knee to the right elbow and kick your left leg out to the right.
End up on the knife edge of that left foot.
Shifting your body forward and back a few times to feel into that IT band there.
2.
One.
Lean into your left palm for Fallen Triangle.
Reach the top arm to the sky.
As you release your top arm back down,
Take your left leg back towards the ceiling with a breath in.
And step your left foot forward,
Breathe out.
Lift your right leg up for standing split.
Take some breaths,
Folding into your left leg,
Maybe one or both hands holding the left ankle.
And then returning the feet flat to the floor.
Take a flat back,
Breathing in.
And forward fold,
Breathing out.
Inhale and reach your arms towards the sky,
Full breath in.
Bring your hands to your heart,
Exhale.
Circling the arms back up,
Urdhva Hastasana.
And forward folding over the legs come all the way down.
Halfway lift,
Breathe in.
And then plant your palms and move through a vinyasa.
Hide a low plank,
Elbows in,
Flow with your breath,
We meet in down dog.
From your downward facing dog,
Step your right foot forward for warrior two.
Spin your back heel down,
Open the arms.
Bend the front knee towards the middle toes,
Press the outer edge of your back foot down,
And feel the legs stretch away from one another as the crown lifts towards the sky.
Try to soften your shoulders but energize through your fingertips.
And your hips don't need to face perfectly sideways.
Give the pelvis enough room for the front knee to track comfortably forward.
Feel powerful without becoming rigid here.
Now place your right forearm onto your right thigh or bring your hand to a block or the floor.
Reach your top arm overhead.
And create one long line from the outer edge of your left foot out through your left fingertips.
Feeling that left side of your body lengthen.
Turn your chest gently upward without letting the front knee collapse inward.
And stay here or explore a full or half bind.
For the bind,
Wrap your right arm underneath your right thigh and your left arm around your back.
Use the bind to broaden your chest.
Not to force the shoulders.
If you have the bind and you'd like to take it to Bird of Paradise,
Keep that bind,
Look down,
Step your back foot forward,
Shift your weight into your left foot and slowly rise.
Drawing the bound knee with you.
Try to stand tall before attempting to straighten the leg.
Feel free to workshop this out for as long as you want to,
But eventually we'll land back in that side angle stance.
Release the hands and turn to the long edge of the mat for a wide-legged forward fold.
We'll meet here,
The toes turning to the long edge.
The head reaching towards the floor,
Hinging at the hips.
You can shift your weight a little forward so your hips line up with the ankles.
And if you'd like to,
You can always go upside down into a tripod headstand here if that feels right for your body.
Wherever you are,
Come to a flat back.
Walk your hands around towards the front of the room.
From your lunge,
Step back for your second to last vinyasa already,
So high plank to low plank.
Cobra or Upward Dogs to Downward Dogs.
And let's repeat that flow on the other side.
So left foot steps forward,
Back heel spins flat.
Come into a warrior too.
Gazing over your left fingertips.
Side angle pose.
Left forearm on your left thigh,
Option to open the arms wide or even take a half or full bind here.
And if you have the full bind and you'd like to take it to an optional Bird of Paradise,
You'll step your right foot forward,
Lean into your right foot.
Stand up,
Bringing the bent knee with you.
And if you'd like to straighten that left leg,
You can.
Workshop it out for as long as you want to.
We meet back in that side angle and we turn for a wide-legged forward fold once again.
When you do arrive in the wide-legged forward fold,
Maybe you want to take your hands behind your back,
Class ball 10.
Maybe you reach out and grab your ankles or big toes.
This could be another opportunity also for you to go upside down if you wish.
And wherever you are,
Go ahead and come to a flat back.
Walk yourself around to the original front of the room and take your last vinyasa here.
So step back and flow.
Once you arrive in Down Dog,
Take a breath.
Sigh it out.
Rise up to the balls of the feet,
Look forward.
Step or jump through to sit down and roll onto your back body.
Once you're on your back,
Plant your feet hip-width distance,
Bring your heels together.
Close to your hips.
Then press through all four corners of your feet and lift your hips up for bridge.
Keep your knees reaching forward as your chest moves towards your chin.
Feel your hamstrings and your glutes supporting the lift,
The fronts of the hips opening up.
The chest widening.
Keep your gaze steady.
Stay in bridge or at this time.
You can place a block beneath your sacrum for support.
You can also release and prepare for a full wheel if you want to.
The full wheel option is the hands placed besides your ears,
Fingertips towards your shoulders,
Pressing through your hands and feet and lifting up.
Wherever you choose to go,
Be there fully for three.
One and release all the way down.
As you land on your back,
You can step your feet as wide as your yoga mat.
Let your knees knock in.
Cactus the arms,
Just enjoy a few breaths here in constructive resting pose.
And then go ahead and walk your feet back in and pull your knees to your chest.
Wrap your arms around your shins and let your back body widen into the floor,
Rocking gently side to side.
Let's take a reclined figure four.
Cross your right ankle over your left thigh.
Flex the right foot and draw the legs towards you.
Feel the stretch in the outer right hip.
Keep your tailbone heavy,
Your jaw relaxed.
And then switch sides.
Noticing whether the second side tells a different story.
And then release and pull the knees back in.
Grab the backs of your thighs,
Begin to rock and roll forward and back,
Forward and back.
Do this several times before landing,
Seated,
Straightening the legs out ahead of you,
Preparing for Paschimottanasana,
A forward fold,
Reach the arms high.
And then hinge at your hips and come forward and down.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Slowly begin to walk your hands back in,
Take your time.
Slide your hips towards your heels.
Take a slow recline onto your back using a bit of core strength.
And when you get there,
Happy baby pose.
Take hold of your feet,
Inner edges,
Outer edges,
Or big toes.
Stack your ankles over your knees with your tailbone descending and just rock side to side.
Gather the knees back into the chest,
Drop both of your knees to the right.
Open your arms,
Let your shoulders become heavy.
Feel the breath.
Moving down and into the ribs,
The waist,
The belly.
Rather than forcing the knees towards the earth,
Let gravity slowly unwind you.
And then bringing your knees back to center and switching sides.
Bring your knees back up.
One last squeeze,
Knees into the chest.
And finally,
Release into Savasana.
Extend your legs.
Arms,
Turn your palms upward and just make any final adjustments.
Give your body permission to become still.
Feel the muscles loosen their grip on the bones.
Breathe in.
Side out.
Practice that we did has created sensation and heat and effort and movement in your body.
Now Savasana gives your system time to absorb what you've done.
As muscular effort.
Decreases and the breath gets quieter,
Your nervous system is invited towards rest and towards recovery.
The heart rate might start to settle now.
The brain is receiving simple but important messages like the work is over.
You are supported.
You are safe enough to soften.
Can you feel that?
From a yogic perspective,
Savasana is where the practice settles into you.
You have moved prana,
Life force energy,
Through your whole body now.
You just allow it to redistribute.
Feel the places that are alive with sensation,
Even in this quiet space.
The pulse in your hands,
Warmth in your chest,
A hum in your legs,
Movement of air in your nostrils.
Just notice.
Remember that you are not a project to fix.
And these final moments release the need to improve anything.
You are a living body.
Intelligent,
Responsive and worthy of your attention,
Let the earth sing.
Carry what you no longer need to,
Let the breath happen without interference and let Your energy return home.
Remain here for a few more minutes.
Until you hear the sound of my voice.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Not because rest is over,
But because you are learning how to now carry some of this rest with you to wherever you go.
Inviting a little bit of movement in fingertips and toes.
Circle through your wrists and ankles,
Maybe stretch your arms overhead.
And then draw your knees in and give yourself a big squeeze and just pause in gratitude for this body.
Rolling to your right side,
Rest there for a moment.
And as you're ready,
Press yourself up to a comfortable seat.
And bring your palms together in front of your heart.
Return to an intention,
Maybe an intention you carried into your practice,
Or maybe there's a new one that arises now.
Something simple enough to live like.
To listen before reacting to soften.
Without disappearing,
Too.
Move with courage or to offer yourself the same patience that you give to others.
Remember,
An intention is not another demand that we place on ourselves.
It's just a direction,
A quiet promise about.
How you would like to meet your life.
Thank you for joining me on the mat today.
Namaste.
