Guided With Gratitude - Asana Practice

Welcome to Yoga with Forbesy.

Thank you for joining me today.

We will be doing a gentle grounding practice.

For this you will need a small folded blanket or a towel and a strap or a belt or scarf will also work.

When you are ready I invite you to find an easy cross legged position in the middle of your mat using the towel or blanket to prop your hips up a little bit.

Creating a little more ease in your body.

Your strap can be set off to the side.

We are going to take a moment to get centered and settled in here.

Wiggle back and forth a little bit.

Getting your weight evenly distributed from your left side to your right.

Finding a neutral position in your spine.

Easily lifting up.

Shoulders relaxed.

Hands in your lap or on your thighs.

Taking a few breaths here.

Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that is comfortable for you.

Connecting in with your breath.

Bringing it into your belly and gently releasing it again.

Feeling your body supported by the floor.

Knowing everything is okay.

Allowing your thoughts to come and go.

Focusing on your breath.

Becoming present in your body.

In this space here and now.

Tuning in to your connection with the earth.

Feeling the support of the blanket and the floor.

Rooting down through your sit bones and feeling this loving,

Solid,

Supportive energy travel up through your body from the base of your spine to the crown of your head.

Slowly coming back to this present space and moment.

Moving your fingers a little.

Moving your body a little.

If you've had your eyes closed,

Slowly opening them.

Blinking a few times.

We will come to this space together.

Beginning with an inhale,

Rising your arms up above your head.

Exhale,

Slowly lowering them down again.

Inhale,

Arms coming up.

Exhale,

Arms lower.

We will do this three more times.

Moving with your own breath.

Inhaling up and exhaling release.

After you've completed those breaths,

Come to a position of sitting up nice and tall.

Slowly walking your hands in front of your body.

Taking a nice inhale.

And with your exhale beginning to walk your hands forward.

Hinging at the hips.

Finding a gentle stretch.

Not forcing or straining.

Maintaining the length in your spine.

When you reach your max level here.

Just taking some nice even breaths.

Feeling your hips connecting with the floor.

Your hands connecting with the floor.

Bringing in this solid earth energy.

Lovely groundedness and sense of support.

Inhale,

Lengthening through the spine.

With your next exhale,

Slowly walking your hands to the right.

Creating a stretch through the left side of your body.

Maintaining the length in your spine.

Taking a few breaths here.

With your next exhale,

Coming back to center.

Inhale,

Lengthen.

And exhale,

Walking your hands to the left.

Again,

Maintaining that length in your spine while you find the stretch in the right side of your body.

Staying here for a couple of breaths.

With your next exhale,

Coming back to center.

Inhale to lengthen through the spine again.

Exhale,

Slowly coming back up to seated.

Now for another side body stretch.

Extending your right hand out beside you.

Leaning into it.

Bringing your left arm up and over.

Finding this beautiful stretch all the way from your hip to the tips of your fingers.

Rounding that left hip down.

Pressing your right hand into the floor.

Finding support as you expand through the left side of your body.

Taking a couple of deep breaths.

With your next inhale,

Slowly coming back to center.

We'll repeat this on the other side.

Taking a breath here.

Extending your left hand out beside you.

Lifting your right arm up and over.

Finding this beautiful stretch in the right side of your body.

Taking your right hip down.

Pressing your left hand into the floor as you expand through your chest and the right side of your body.

A couple of deep breaths here.

With your next inhale,

Coming back up to center.

Taking a breath,

Getting re-centered and grounded here.

We're going to change the cross of our legs.

Bringing the opposite leg in front.

This may feel really unnatural if you're not used to this.

That's okay.

Find a little comfort in the discomfort and approach it with a curiosity.

Repeat the little series that we just did.

So beginning,

Inhaling,

Lifting your arms up.

Exhale,

Lowering down.

Inhaling up.

Exhale,

Release.

We'll do three more of these here.

Inhaling up.

Exhale,

Release.

Two more on your own.

Coming back together in our easy cross-legged.

Sitting nice and tall.

Rising up through the spine with an inhale.

Exhale,

Starting to walk your hands out in front of you.

Keeping your spine long.

Extending all the way through the top of your head.

Potentially tucking your chin slightly to keep the neck in line.

Taking a couple of breaths here.

Grounding through your hips and your hands.

Feeling strength and support.

With your next exhale,

Slowly walking your hands to the left.

Keeping the extension in your spine.

Taking a few breaths here.

With your next exhale,

Coming back to center.

Inhale,

Lengthening the spine.

And exhale,

Walking your hands to the right.

Letting this gentle stretch through your body while maintaining the length of your spine and the grounding in your hips.

With your next exhale,

Coming back to center.

Inhale,

Extending through the spine.

Exhale,

Coming back up to center to your seated position.

Taking a breath here before we move into this second side stretch.

Extending the left arm out to the side.

Lifting the right arm up and over.

Expanding through the right side of the body.

Facing ground through the left hand.

Next inhale,

Rising back up to center.

Taking a breath here.

And extending your right arm out to the side.

Getting your left arm up and over to expand through the left side of your body as you find support and strength in your right arm.

Inhale,

Coming back up to center.

Taking a moment,

Taking a couple of breaths.

Really connecting with yourself and this beautiful earth energy.

Next we will transition to our hands and knees.

Put your blanket to the side so that it's out of the way.

Placing the palms of your hands against the floor directly under your shoulders.

Ensuring that your knees are directly under your hips.

You can have your feet with the tops flat on the floor or toes tucked.

Whichever is more comfortable for you right now.

Finding a neutrality in your spine.

Just an easy,

Comfortable spot here.

Grounding through your hands and your knees.

We're going to move into a few cat-cow postures here.

Moving with the breath.

Next inhale,

Looking forward.

Opening your chest.

Dropping your spine.

Exhale,

Curling everything in.

Pushing your back up towards the sky.

Inhale,

Coming forward.

Exhale,

Curling everything in.

Inhale,

Opening your chest,

Looking forward.

Exhale,

Curling in.

Pushing your spine up towards the ceiling.

Repeat this three more times,

Moving with your own breath.

We will meet back in a neutral tabletop position.

Coming back to neutral.

Hands under shoulders,

Knees under hips,

Spine gentle in its natural position.

We're going to do a little bit more here to get some movement through the spine.

Doing a rotation to either side.

So to begin with,

Dropping the belly,

Arching the back,

Shifting your ribs towards the right,

Coming up,

Pushing your spine towards the ceiling,

And dropping down on the left side again.

Continuing this circular motion,

Coming to the right,

And up,

Left,

Down,

Coming around again.

We're going to do this two more times.

A stretch,

Gentle motion through the center of the body.

Maintaining that grounded feeling through your hands and your knees.

You reach center again,

Pausing for a moment,

And reversing the direction.

Coming to the left,

Bringing the spine towards the ceiling,

Over to the right,

Going back down through center,

Dropping the belly to the left,

Coming up,

To the right,

And down.

A few more times here to the left,

Coming up,

To the right,

And down.

One more rotation through here.

Nice,

Gentle stretching,

Flowing through the body.

Coming back to center,

Bending that neutral space for a second,

Taking a breath.

I invite you to shift your knees wide,

Bringing your toes to touch,

Sitting back on your heels,

Extending your arms forward in a child's pose,

Bringing your forehead to the floor.

If this is a little uncomfortable for your neck,

You could also bring your blanket back over to serve as a support for your head to keep your neck more in line.

We'll take a few breaths here.

This is a beautifully grounding position.

So much of our body is in contact with the floor.

Just a surrender and a release.

Don't need to be actively working in this posture.

Just allow the floor to hold you.

It may feel good to take a few breaths in through your nose,

Exhale with a sigh through your mouth,

Letting go of anything that doesn't serve you.

We'll stay here for a moment,

Just enjoying this luxurious support,

Solid groundedness in this posture,

Allowing this earth energy to penetrate and support our entire being with its loving,

Safe,

Protective energy.

We'll move here into a gentle twist.

So coming up slightly,

Winding your left arm underneath your right,

Twisting your upper body towards the right,

Bringing your left shoulder to the floor.

Taking a few breaths here.

Again,

Not forcing anything,

Just being gentle and loving with your body.

With your next inhale,

Slowly coming back to center,

Taking a breath,

Exhale,

Winding your right arm underneath your left,

Bringing your right shoulder to the floor,

Facing the left side of the room,

The space that you are in,

Taking a couple of breaths,

Finding comfort here.

With an inhale,

Gently coming back to center,

Extending the arms a little bit further,

Pushing the hips back a little more,

Nice full stretch through the back.

Keeping your shoulders away from your ears,

Gentle with the body,

Loving,

Enjoying this moment.

Next,

Coming back to hands and knees for a moment,

Hands under the shoulders,

Knees under the hips.

Take a second here.

When you're ready,

Tucking your toes,

Pushing your hips up and back,

Coming into a downward dog.

Stay here for a few breaths,

Finding the groundedness of this posture,

Checking in with your hands,

Having your weight evenly distributed across your palm,

Through all your fingers,

Having your toes grounded solidly,

Heels moving towards the floor,

Knees bent as needed to protect your hamstrings.

Again,

Being gentle with our bodies,

Not forcing or straining,

Keeping your shoulders away from your ears,

Gently dropping your head to release the neck,

Allowing the length and alignment in your spine.

Finding your level of stillness,

A level of comfort,

Focus on the grounding with your hands and your feet,

Taking easy breaths into the belly.

With your next inhale,

Lifting your right foot,

Placing your knee in between your hands,

Coming into pigeon pose.

With your knee on the floor,

Check the alignment that your thigh is coming straight forward from your hip,

Your left leg is extended straight back behind you.

If this is challenging,

You can also place your blanket underneath your right hip for some extra support.

Extending through the spine,

Hands on either side of you,

Offering balance,

Taking a couple of breaths here.

A slight arch through the back,

Slight back bend,

Gentle,

Not forcing,

Just breathe.

Bringing the weight back into your hands,

With an inhale,

Lifting up and back,

Bringing your right foot back to meet your left,

Pushing your hips up and back,

Coming back into down dog.

Staying here for a couple of breaths,

May feel good to bend one knee and the other,

Walk it out a little bit.

Do what feels good for your body.

When you're ready,

Binding stillness for a second,

With an inhale,

Lifting your left leg and bringing your knee up between your hands.

Taking a blanket to pigeon on the other side,

Again checking that your thigh is coming straight out from your hip and your right leg is extended straight behind you,

Hands providing support on either side.

Staying through your chest,

Slight back bend,

Take a few breaths here,

Again your blanket can be placed under your left hip for extra support if that feels good today.

Finding comfort in the discomfort,

Just breathe.

Bringing your weight back into your hands,

Pushing up,

Bringing your left foot back to meet your right,

Shifting your hips up and back,

Coming back again to our downward dog.

Grounding in your hands,

The grounding in your feet,

Bending one knee and the other,

Walk it out a little if that feels good right now.

Being gentle and loving with your body,

Finding stillness for a breath or two.

For a moment we will come back to our child's pose,

Dropping your knees wide,

Bringing your toes together,

Sitting back on your heels,

Extending your arms forward and bringing your forehead to the floor or your blanket.

Finding this grounding and supportive,

Taking a few breaths,

Maybe a few exhales through the mouth as we just surrender to this moment.

With an inhale,

I invite you to rise back up to hands and knees and transition to a seated position with your legs extended out in front of you.

These next couple postures we will use our strap or belt if you want to grab that as well.

Finding an even grounding in your hips from the right to left.

Legs extended in front of you,

Toes pointed to the ceiling,

Feet together.

An extension through the spine,

Taking a couple of breaths here.

Now I want you to take your strap and place it around the soles of your feet,

Connecting with the ball of your foot.

Bringing it in either hand on either side of your legs,

Sitting up nice and tall,

Extended spine.

Bend your knees slightly to protect the hamstrings.

You want to make sure that you are not hyper extending your knees so your heels should not be coming off the floor.

Use groundedness through your heels,

Through your sit bones.

Inhale,

Sitting up nice and tall.

Exhale,

Begin to hinge forward using the strap for leverage,

Maintaining the length through your spine.

Shoulders back and down,

Neck is long,

Chin slightly tucked.

Take a few breaths here.

Next inhale,

Slowly rising up and releasing the strap,

Shaking your legs out a little if that feels good today.

We will bring the right leg in,

Leaving the left leg extended forward,

Placing the sole of the foot against the thigh and releasing your knee out to the side.

We will again bring our strap around the sole of our left foot,

Finding that rise through the spine,

Length in the upper body,

Turning your chest to be directly in line with your left leg and beginning to hinge forward at the hip.

Using the strap as leverage,

Maintaining the length through your spine,

Keeping a slight bend in your knee,

Taking a few breaths here,

Shoulders away from the ears,

Chin slightly tucked,

Extending a little more with each inhale through the spine,

Holding a little more forward with each exhale.

Next inhale,

Rising back up and releasing your strap,

Bringing your right leg up and extending it out beside your left and reversing this now.

So bringing the left knee in,

Placing the sole of your left foot against the inside of your right thigh and releasing your knee to the side,

Placing the strap around the sole of your right foot,

Sitting up nice and tall,

Extending through the spine,

Ensuring your chest is pointed directly over your right leg.

Taking a breath,

And with an exhale beginning to hinge forward at the hip,

Keeping your knee slightly bent,

Using the strap as leverage,

Keeping the length in your spine,

Shoulders down,

Neck long,

Chin slightly tucked.

Taking a couple of breaths here,

Being gentle and loving.

With your next inhale,

Slowly rising back up,

Releasing the strap,

Place it to the side here,

Extending your left leg to meet your right out in front of you,

Giving them a bit of a shake,

Keeping everything kind of nice and loose,

Gentle,

Loving with your body.

Next we move into butterfly pose,

Bringing the soles of your feet together,

Releasing your knees to either side,

Keeping your feet a ways away from your body so that you have a nice diamond shape with your legs.

We begin sitting up nice and tall,

Extending through the spine,

Grounding through the sit bones and the side of the feet,

Taking an inhale,

And on your exhale beginning to fold forward,

Initially hinging at the hips with your spine long.

When you reach your maximum point,

You can curl your spine here,

Allowing your upper body just to release,

Finding the grounding and support through your lower body so that you can relax through the upper body and just breathe here.

Each inhale,

Your spine gets a little longer,

And each exhale you relax a little deeper.

We're going to stay here for a few moments,

Just enjoying this gentle release,

The grounding support of the floor,

The gentleness of our breath as it moves in and out.

With your next inhale,

Slowly,

Slowly coming back up to seated,

Containing this position with your legs,

Taking a deep breath in,

Letting it slowly out.

We'll do a gentle twist here,

So bringing your right hand behind you,

Touching the floor for support,

Your left hand to your right knee,

Taking an inhale to extend the spine,

Exhale,

Slowly twisting to the right.

Moving gently with your breath,

Not forcing,

Not straining,

Just a gentle twist through the spine to bring out and release anything that doesn't serve you.

Exhale,

Coming back to center,

And we will twist the other way,

Placing the left hand behind you on the floor for support,

Your right hand to your left knee,

Inhale,

Sitting up nice and tall,

Exhale,

Beginning to twist to the left.

Again,

Moving gently with the breath,

Enjoying this ringing out of the spine,

Releasing and letting go of anything that no longer serves you.

With your next inhale,

Gently coming back to center,

Taking a breath or two here.

When you're ready,

Shifting to lying on your back on the floor,

Have your strap within arm's reach as we will use it shortly,

Finding a comfortable,

Even weight from the right to the left side of your body.

Finding this centered,

Grounded support.

To begin with here,

We will bring our right knee into the chest,

Hugging it with our arms,

Extending the left leg straight out from your hip,

And wind removing pose.

Taking a few breaths here,

Enjoying the support of the floor as your back presses down towards it,

Gentle stretch through the hip.

Exhale,

Releasing your right leg,

Extending it out,

Bringing your left knee up towards your chest,

Hugging it with your arms.

Taking a few breaths here,

Balance one side with the other.

Exhale,

Releasing your left leg and extending it out,

Taking a breath here,

Then bringing both knees up to your chest,

Hugging them with your arms,

Gently pressing your lower back towards the floor.

Taking nice,

Easy breaths,

It may feel good to rock slightly side to side or create small circles with your knees.

Doing little circles,

Shifting the direction,

Coming back to center,

Finding stillness for a couple of breaths.

Relaxing into this posture,

As your weight sinks into the floor,

Groundedness through your entire back,

As the floor and Mother Earth supports you here.

Releasing your legs,

Extending them out,

Giving them a little bit of a shake,

Might feel good to give your whole body a bit of a shake back and forth.

And I invite you to grab your strap.

We're going to begin this bit by bringing your right knee back towards your chest,

Keeping the left leg extended out,

Wrapping the strap around the sole of your right foot,

Extending your leg so that the sole of your foot is pointed towards the ceiling.

Your knee can be as bent as feels good or as straight as feels good right now.

The support of the strap here,

Just be aware that you are not hyper extending your knee.

You want to pull down on the strap,

Really bringing your thigh bone into your hip socket,

Feeling that solid connection,

That solid connection through the back of your hip to the floor,

Taking a couple of breaths here.

You can keep the strap in both hands or put both sides of the strap in your right hand.

With an exhale,

We're going to slowly begin to release the leg to the right.

Bringing your foot towards the floor,

Supporting your leg with the strap so that you are not going further than is comfortable for your body today.

Finding your max point,

Maintaining that support,

Holding onto the strap with your hands,

Taking a few breaths here.

With an inhale,

Bringing your leg back to center,

Taking a breath here.

And this time with your next exhale,

Bringing your right foot to the left.

You may not go very far doing this,

That's okay.

We want to maintain the connection of our right hip with the floor,

Using the strap to support the leg,

Taking a couple of breaths,

Finding the stretch through the hip,

And the grounding in our connection with the floor.

With your next inhale,

Bringing your leg back up to center,

Releasing the strap,

Bending your knee,

Pulling it into your chest for a moment,

And then extending your right leg out on the floor.

Taking a moment here before moving onto the other side.

Bringing the left knee to your chest,

Bringing the strap around the sole of your left foot,

And extending your foot towards the ceiling.

Again,

Keeping the knee as bent as you need,

Extending it as far as feels comfortable without hyper extending your knee.

Finding support with the strap,

Bringing your thigh bone directly into your hip socket,

Creating that solid downward grounding motion to the floor.

Taking a few breaths here,

And enjoying it.

With your next exhale,

Keeping the straps in both hands,

You're transferring both straps to your left hand,

Extending through the leg,

And beginning to drop your foot to the left.

Towards the floor,

Going as far as feels good today,

Finding that challenge point,

But not finding pain.

Keeping your hips grounded into the floor,

Having the support of the strap,

Slight bend in your knee,

Take a few breaths here.

With your next inhale,

Bringing your leg back up to centre,

Taking a breath here,

That solid groundedness in your hips,

And then beginning to bring your left foot to the right.

Again,

Ensuring that your left hip stays grounded to the floor here,

You may not go as far as you think,

That's okay.

We're working with our body as it is here in this moment,

Not forcing,

Not straining,

Just connecting,

Finding grounding.

Taking a couple of more breaths,

Enjoying the stretch in the hip.

With your next inhale,

Bringing the leg back up to centre,

Taking a moment here,

Bending the knee,

Releasing the strap,

Leaving your leg for a second before extending it out again.

I invite you to bring both knees into your chest one more time,

Giving your legs a nice hug,

Feeling that grounded support below you,

The centre and connection of hugging yourself.

Pressing your back into the floor,

Gentle breaths,

Maybe rocking a little side to side,

Maybe small circles with the knees one way and then the other.

Just enjoying this,

Feeling this connectedness with yourself,

With the earth.

Spreading this sensation of strength and support,

Love and compassion through your whole being.

You ready?

Releasing your legs,

This time placing your feet on the floor about hip distance apart,

We're going to end with a little bridge pose here before we go into our full savasana.

For this one,

I want you to have your feet on the floor about hip distance apart,

As close to your bum as you can bring them,

And I want you to extend your arms above you,

Palms facing up,

Arms on the floor,

Taking a couple of breaths here.

Exhale,

Pushing your hips up,

Pushing through your feet,

Raising your hips and your lower back towards the ceiling,

Pressing down into your shoulders and your arms.

Gentle,

Not forcing,

Just finding this lift in the hips as you ground through your feet and your shoulders,

Finding this cooling,

Loving flow of energy here.

Hold it for another breath or two,

And with an exhale,

Slowly coming back down,

Rolling from your shoulders to your hips,

The vertebrae at a time,

Meeting the floor,

And just releasing as you do this.

From here,

When you're ready,

Extending your legs out,

Bringing your arms down beside your body,

Palms facing up,

Feeling slightly side to side,

Rolling a little bit,

Getting your weight really evenly distributed from the right side of your body to the left side of your body and back.

Finding a solid center here,

Connecting from your head to your feet with the floor,

Really sinking into this support,

This groundedness,

This solid love.

Tuning into your breath here,

As you come into final savasana,

Softening your gaze or closing your eyes if that is comfortable for you today.

Slowing your breath,

Showing your body gratitude for everything we've done in the last 45 minutes,

Deep breaths into your belly,

Soft,

Gentle release.

Feeling the love and support with every inhale,

Sinking a little deeper into the groundedness and the relaxation with each exhale.

Giving your body the opportunity to absorb everything we've done,

Giving your mind a moment just to rest.

There's nothing to do,

Anywhere you need to be right now but here.

Thoughts will come and thoughts will go,

Just let them.

There's no need right now to get caught up in any of it.

You can come back to it later.

This moment right here,

Right now,

Is just for you.

All you need to do is be.

Gentle inhale,

Gentle exhale.

Breathing in love,

Breathing in compassion.

Breathing out anything that no longer serves you.

Relishing in the support of the earth.

Appreciating the way you are being held.

And just leaning into the support and relaxation.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

For right here,

Right now.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Breathing in love,

Breathing out gratitude.

Oh,

Monty Potman.

Oh,

Monty Potman.

Oh,

Monty Potman.

Behold the jewel of the lotus.

Know that everything you need is already within you.

You are enough as you are right here,

Right now.

The world's abundance is always available to you.

Slowly coming back to your body.

Fingering your fingers,

Wiggling your toes.

Deep breath in.

Exhaling.

When you are ready,

Slowly rolling to one side.

Take a breath or two here.

Gently opening your eyes,

Come back up to sitting.

I invite you to bring your hands in prayer positioned in front of your heart as a sign of gratitude to yourself,

To this world,

To everything that we are part of.

I have been honored to guide you through this practice.

Thank you for coming to the mat today.

The highest in me sees the highest in you.

Namaste.