Energizing Heart Focus Yoga - #2 Of Yoga Series

This Heart Focused Yoga is a #2 of a 4-part yoga series where you can mix and match to create your own practice. You are invited to find more energy and create more openness in the heart area as well as the upper back and shoulders. A great way to start the day! Preferably begin with a brief warm-up such as part #1 of this series, however, you can also do this practice simply on its own. Namaste!

Transcript

Welcome. My name is Pamela and this is a part two of a yoga series that you can mix and match and create your own practice. For this practice today, It's going to be an energizing practice. We're going to focus on the heart area and the lungs and just that upper body, The prana vayu. So we're going to be engaging the breath, The heart center, The fourth chakra. Its element is air. So we're going to incorporate the breath into our movements and invite expansion. And also a component of the heart center is balance. So we're finding that balance between expansion and contraction, Energizing and surrender. So remember, Make this your practice. Listen to your body, Listen to your breath. If anything I suggest to you today does not work, Find a variation. Really make this your practice. So let's begin. You might have been doing a warm up already, But let's begin in table pose and go through a few rounds of cat cow. Warming up your spine, Just start to notice how your spine feels. Focus on the area around the heart as you inhale, Drawing the heart forward. And as you exhale, Expanding that space between the shoulder blades, Rounding into cat. Move with your breath here, Maybe using that ujjayi breath, That soft ocean breath. Done with the lips closed and that slight constriction in the back of the throat, Producing a sound that makes your breath audible to you. It should sound something like this. So a few more rounds of cat cow and notice how your spine feels. And then return to neutral and bring yourself all the way onto your belly. Coming into sphinx pose, Bringing your arms, Forearms down to the mat. Forearms are parallel to each other and the elbows are just about under your shoulders. Lengthen your spine, Relax your glutes. Actively draw the belly button away from the mat toward your spine. Gently press into your hands and forearms as if you're trying to draw yourself forward on the mat, Elongating the spine. Keep the upper back active so those muscles in between the shoulder blades, The rhomboids, Are active here as if you're sending your heart energy forward. And breathe normally here. You might gently press into the tops of your feet. Again, Focus on your breath. Take a few more breaths here. And then thoughtfully widen your elbows, Stack your hands on top of each other and rest your forehead on the back of your hands. Breathe here for a few breaths and surrender. Release effort. If your low back feels a little tight, You could gently rock the hips side to side, Releasing any tension there. Feel the belly against the mat and observe your breath. Soften the area around your heart, The front of the heart and the back in between the shoulder blades, The back of the heart. And then on your next inhale, Bring your hands under your shoulders and press yourself back up again into a table pose. Lengthen your spine and then tuck your toes, Lift your hips up and back for downward facing dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana. Keep the spine nice and long. Press into your hands and fingers as you lift your hips up and back and draw the belly in. Any movement here that feels good to you. You might lift the toes or bend one knee and then the other as if you're walking the dog. Notice how this down dog feels. And then slowly lower the knees down. Slowly lower the knees down to the mat and return to a table. From here, We're going to find thread the needle. So your left hand is going to move slightly forward on the mat and as you inhale, Twist to the right, Reaching your right arm out to the side. As you exhale, Thread the right arm underneath the left and come on to your right shoulder, Right side of your head. If the floor seems too far away, You could use a prop under your head or shoulder and any variation with that left arm. Breathe here for a few breaths. And make sure that left hand is near your head on the mat and on an inhale, Press into that left hand once more, Reach the right arm back out for a little twist. And as you exhale, Bring that hand back to the mat into table. Other side, Right hand moves slightly forward on your mat. Inhale, Sweep the left arm out to the left for a little twist. And as you exhale, Thread the needle, Left arm comes underneath the right, Come all the way on to the left shoulder, Left side of the head. And again, Find your variation. That left arm might stay where it is or you might find a different variation. Might reach it up towards the sky or maybe the fingers walk forward on your mat, Whatever feels good to you. Make sure that right hand is near your head on the mat and on an inhale, Press into that right hand, Sweep the left arm back up for a little twist to the left. And as you exhale, Return to neutral table. From here, Tuck the toes once more and lift the hips up and back for another downward dog. Really lengthen through the spine and find your variation here. Lots of variations for downward dog. And then walk your feet toward your hands, Come into a forward fold at the front of your space, Uttanasana. Knees might be bent a little or a lot. Find what works best for you. Keep the spine nice and long and you decide how deep you go. Press through your feet, Especially the balls of your feet. And notice how those hamstrings feel. Breathe here. And then on your next inhale, Come up halfway. Lift your heart slightly. Gaze a little bit further in front of the toes, Maybe six to 10 feet. Draw the belly in. And then on your next inhale, Press into your feet, Reach the arms all the way out and up, Coming up with upward arms, Urdhva Hastasana. And then exhale, Hands come to your heart, Coming into mountain pose, Tadasana, Sometimes called Samasthiti. With your hands at your heart, Focusing on the heart center, Maybe just notice any energy around the heart or just how you feel. And then release your hands. And if it's appropriate, Bring them behind you, Clasping them. If this works for your shoulders, Reach the arms out and away from you, Straightening the arms. If this doesn't work, You could hold a belt or a towel or a strap. Lift the heart here. Feel the shoulder blades come closer together. Feet are still about hip distance apart. Press into your feet as you lift the arms and hands away from your lower back and feel the heart lift. Breathe here. And if it feels appropriate and it feels okay to keep the hands in this position, We're going to move into a forward fold. So the belly is going to be active here. So again, Inhale, Lift the heart, Keep the hands connected if that works for you, And exhale, Forward fold. So legs again, Straight or bent, Whatever works for you. Arms and hands come up over the head, Getting a nice stretch in the upper back and shoulders. Bend the knees slightly and press into your feet. On your next inhale, Come all the way back up to standing. As you exhale, Release the hands and bend the knees into chair pose, Utkatasana. Weight is in your heels. Arms might be in front of you, Maybe parallel to the floor or maybe arms a little higher. If your shoulders complain, Bring your hands together at your heart in anjali mudra. Take another inhale here, Exhale completely. And then again, Inhale, Rise all the way up, Arms extend, A little baby back bend here, Gazing up to the sky. And then exhale, Return hands to your heart, Mountain pose, Samasthiti, Sometimes called tadasana or samasthiti. And then release your arms by your side. From here, Take a step back with your left foot and bring your hands down onto the mat or blocks. So you're in a runner's lunge. So blocks instantly make your arms longer. I really like using these. So your front knee, Your right knee is over your ankle and your hips are about level with your right front knee. The back leg is fairly straight. You might bend it a little bit. And then as you exhale, Lower the back knee down and release the foot, Releasing the toes. Inhale the arms out and up, Coming into a low lunge or anjanaasana. Lift your heart, Lift your gaze. Breathe here. Listen to the front foot as well as the top of the back foot. Imagine there's a hand on your upper back gently lifting your heart. And as you lift the gaze, You might find that you feel more uplifted or energized. Basically on your next exhale, Lower the hands back to the mat or your blocks. Tuck the back toes, Lift the back knee. As you inhale, Step the back foot forward, Coming up halfway. And exhale, Forward fold coming into that uttanasana once more. Release and surrender. Breathe here. On your next inhale, Come up halfway. Exhale here. And then inhale all the way up to standing once more. Maybe a little baby back bend. And exhale, Hands to your heart. Pause here. This sensation, Notice your breath. Release your hands and thoughtfully step your right foot back. Bend your front knee, Bringing hands to the mat or your blocks. Come onto the ball of the back foot and come into a runner's lunge on this side. Again, Front knee is bent, Right knee, Rather left knee over the left ankle. Right leg is fairly straight, Spine is long. Hands wherever they make sense to you for support. And then as you exhale, You're gonna bend the back knee again, Releasing it to the mat. Release the back toes. Inhale, Reach your arms out and up. Breathing into Anjaneyasana, Low lunge. Lengthen through the spine as you reach your heart up. Arms lift, Whatever position works for you. Keep pressing into the front foot and the top of the back foot as you reach and open the heart. Breathe normally here. Slowly on your next exhale, Return your hands back to the mat or your blocks. Tuck the back toes, Lift the back knee and thoughtfully step forward. Slowly lift as you inhale and exhale, Forward fold. Uttanasana. Each inhale lengthens through the spine as you exhale, Hinging from the hip crease to deepen your fold. Allowing that surrender. On your next exhale, Slightly bend your knees and press into your feet. Come all the way up to standing, Urdhva Hastasana. Reaching the arms out and up. Again, Maybe a little baby back bend and exhale, Return your hands to your heart. Anjali Mudra, Press into your feet. Notice your breath and observe how you feel. Maybe release your arms by your side and feel free to continue your practice with another segment of the yoga series or go about your day. Thank you for joining me today. Namaste.