Foundations Of Flow

Come to this practice to remember or establish your Foundations of Flow through your Sun Salutation A & B. This class offers you 25 minutes of Sun Salutation variations, Mountain poses to anchor your body and being and the offering to sit on your own to seal your practice.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Sam and I will be guiding you today for the next 30 minutes through your practice. We're going to work on strengthening through the body today with our sun salutation A and B, A foundational sequence. Supports us in a lot of our vinyasa flow style classes. So to get started today we're going to step to the top of the mat. Once you step to the top of your mat, You're going to take your feet hip distance apart. Lift up all of your toes and then feel your balance. Between the big toe, Pinky toe, And center of the heel. Lower one toe at a time down towards the earth and then feel your whole foot connect down with the floor And then I want you to imagine here that you're pulling energy from the earth up and into the body, Really solidifying your foundation, Really strengthening through those legs. We feel our quads, Those big thigh muscles engage, Little lift of our kneecaps. We feel our glutes engage, Neutralizing the pelvis. And then we feel a slight core engagement, Bringing that belly button in and up. Towards our spine. From this place, Let's pause at the midway point of the body, Right at the waistline. And as you feel that energy coming up and into the body, Can you engage through the pelvic floor as well? This is a lock in our body called mula bandha. And when we engage our bandhas, These locks that happen in our body, We. . . Seal the energy that's coming up and in from the earth and allow us to strengthen not only our physical practice but also our mental and emotional practice as well energetically we are pulling that energy up and in and then sealing it in place so that we can travel a little bit lighter And then we engage that core lock, Udiyarabandha, And this lock here helps us to stay firm and solid in our structure, In our spine. And then working from our waistline up, Let's take the arms alongside the body. Roll your shoulders up to your ears and then down the back. Feeling those collarbones get broad and expansive. Feel your shoulder blades draw down the back, Palms face forward. A gentle tuck of your chin to lengthen through the back of the neck and imagine that the top of your head can stretch up towards the ceiling or the sky above you. Standing strong here in your mountain pose, I invite you to recall a time off of your mat where you needed to be firm in your foundation. Maybe it was when you were reciting a speech or sharing something in public where all eyes are focused on you. Coming into this foundation of our mountain pose, Strong, Connected, And rooted to the earth. It gives us stability, Gives us a little bit of courage. And the confidence to deliver the message that we have to share with ease. And grace. With your eyes gently closed here for the next five breaths. Recall this time where you needed to stand firm. And following your next inhale, Take a breath to reach the arms up, Maybe look to your hands. And then exhale, Start to bend your knees, Hinge at your hips, Sending your hips back as you fold over your legs. Let your arms fall towards the floor. Drop your head. Bring your hands to your shins, Lengthen through the spine. And then exhale, Bend your knees, Forward fold over your legs, Drop your head. Inhale, Rise all the way back up to stand, Arms reach high, Exhale hands to your heart. Half sun salutation A two more times. Inhale to reach. Exhale bend the knees hinge forward with a long spine and drop your head. Inhale, Bring your hands to your shins. Make that L shape with your body. Reach out through your tailbone and your crown. And then exhale, Bend your knees again. Forward fold, Drop your head. Strong legs rise all the way up, Reach. And then take your hands to your heart. One more time, Marrying this breath with movement. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale bend knees forward fold Take an inhale, Lengthen your spine. Take an exhale, Bend and bow. Come up strong on those legs, Reach. Then exhale, Take hands to your heart. Good. Let's add on. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Bend knees forward fold. Take an inhale, Hands to your shins, Lengthen the spine, Find that long leg, Long back. And then exhale, Bend your knees, Plant your hands down and step one foot at a time back to a pushup position. Align your hands so that they're under your shoulders, And then glide forward just a little bit so we're on our tippy toes and feel weight come into our fingers. From this position, Let's grip the mat, Engaging through all those locks in our hands now to really solidify our base. And eventually prepare us to lower down through our chaturanga. First we'll drop the knees, Coming into a modified variation first. And then with your next exhale, You'll bend the elbows, Sending them straight back beside your ribs, Lowering halfway down to a 90 degree bend. Untuck your toes and lift up your chest, Straightening the arms, Coming into an upward facing dog. And then exhale, We step over the toes. Landing in our downward facing dog. We take three breaths here, Pushing the floor away, Strong through that index finger and thumb knuckle. Keep your knees slightly bent and your spine long. Good. With your next breath, Come high onto your toes and step your right foot forward. Let your left foot follow. And then take your hands to your shins. Find that L shape with your body. Exhale, Bend your knees, Bow over your legs, Drop your head, Look between the legs. And then inhale, Rise all the way up to stand. Hands touch overhead, Bringing them to your heart on the breath out. Let's add on from here. Inhale, Reach up high. Exhale, Bend knees forward fold. Inhale, Lengthen through the spine, Hands to your shin. Exhale, Bend your knees, Plant your hands down to the floor, Step your feet back to your push-up position, Plank pose. Grip your mat, Push the floor away, Engage through the pelvic floor and the core, And then exhale lower down halfway or less. Inhale, Come to the tops of your feet. Lift up your chest, Coming into an upward facing dog. And exhale, Send your hips back, Downward facing dog. Take three breaths from here. Our next flow will modify the entire thing. And then now you'll have the option to choose between any of the three variations of your flow moving forward. With your next breath, Rise up high to your toes. Step your left foot forward. Let your right foot follow. Inhale hands to your shins and lengthen your beautiful spine. Exhale bend your knees bow to drop the head. Come all the way up to stand, Reach out. Exhale take hands to your heart. Fully modified, Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Bend knees and bow over the legs. Hands to your shins, Lengthen the spine. Exhale bend knees plant palms step back to your plank This time knees will lower. We'll bend the elbows, Let them come beside the ribs, And lower your body all the way down to your mat. Untuck the toes, Press your toenails into the top of your mat, And then peel just the chest away. Baby Cobra Take an exhale, Lower your chest down, Push up through a tabletop position and send your hips back to a child's pose. Know that you can come to any variation of these three flows at any point during your practice. Listening to the body and modifying where necessary. Doing your best to maintain your attention and your awareness within the flow without giving up. On the practice or yourself. With your next breath, Transition to your downward facing dog. Come high onto your toes, Bend your knees, And then step forward one foot at a time. Hands to your shins, Lengthen the spine. Exhale bow drop the head forward fold come all the way up reach and take your hands to your heart exhale. Good. Now let's do that two more times. You choose the flow that feels best in your body today. Inhale, Reach the arms up. Exhale, Bend knees, Forward fold. Take a lengthening breath in, Hands to your shins. Straight legs long back. Bend your knees, Plant your palms, Step to your plank. Decide what happens from here. Knees lifted or lowered, Engage through that pelvic floor and lower down Chaturanga. Come into any back bend. And then take your hips back to a downward facing dog. From your downward facing dog, Step your right foot forward. Let your left foot follow. Inhale, Lengthen your spine. Exhale, Fall. Come all the way up, Reach. Hands to your heart exhale. Good job, Yogis. One more time. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Find that long back, Straight leg. Bend your knees, Plant your hands down, Step back, Lower down through any variation of your chaturanga. Come into your back bend. And exhale your hips back, Downward facing dog. Good. With your next breath, We step the feet forward. Lengthen through the spine hands to your shins And then exhale, Bend knees forward fold. Come all the way up, Reach. And take hands to heart exhale. Let's come into a different variation of our sun salutation. Inhale, Reach the arms up. Take your arms out wide, Bend your knees and forward fold. Swan dive. Inhale, Take your hands to your shins and lengthen the spine. Bend your knees, Plant your palms and step your left foot back. Lower your left knee down, Sweep the arms up, Low lunge. Exhale take your hands down lift up your left knee step back to your plank chaturanga into any backbend. And then exhale, Take your hips back, Downward facing dog. Take two breaths. Right leg will lift. Exhale steps it forward lower left knee down inhale reach the arms up Exhale, Take your hands down. Step your left foot forward, Lengthen your spine, Hands to your shins. Forward fold, Drop your head. From all the way up, Reach. Hands to your heart. Left side, Inhale, Reach up. Arms wide swan dive, Forward fold. Hands to your shins, Lengthen. Exhale, Bend your knees, Plant your palms down, Right foot steps back, Right knee lowers, Lift the arms up, Low lunge. Hands come down. Right knee lifts. Left foot steps back. Chaturanga. Any back then Hips back, Downward facing dog. Take two breaths. Keep those knees slightly bent so the spine can remain long. Left leg will lift this time. Step left foot forward. Lower right knee down. Sweep the arms up high. Exhale, Lower your hands down. Step right foot forward. Inhale, Lengthen the spine. Hands to your shins. Bend your knees, Forward fold and drop your head. Root down, Rise up, Look up. Hands to your heart. Another variation, Sun salutation B. Feet come hip distance apart. Sink your hips, Sweep the arms. Coming into Utkatasana, Chair pose. Let's take a moment here to feel into this pose. Let's take all of those toes away from the floor. Ground into the big toe mound, The pinky toe mound. And then the center of the heel. One at a time, Lower your toes down. Hopefully we're starting to feel a little heat build in the quads. Take another breath in. Exhale, Straighten your legs. Forward fold over them. Drop your head. Bring your hands to your shins. Lengthen the spine. Exhale, Bend both knees, Touch down, Step back to a plank position and lower down chaturanga. Come into your back then. And exhale, Take your hips back, Downward facing dog. This time, Let's bring right knee into the chest, Glide forward to a plank, And step your right foot down. Your left foot drops, Heel to the floor, And then we rise into our warrior one. Let's take a moment here. Take your right foot and just heel toe it out one step to the right. And imagine your legs are on train tracks. Hips are square to the short edge of your mat, We feel a stretch into the back of that left leg. Can you relax through the shoulders? Bring your palms to face in and gaze forward to the horizon. Right knee is stacked over the ankle to the best of your ability and if for any reason the left ankle isn't supporting you in this pose, Take your heel up and come into a high lunge variation. Taking one more breath wherever you are. Bringing your hands down to the floor and stepping that right foot back to your plank. Bending through the elbows, Chaturanga. Come into your back bend. And take your hips back downward facing dog. Let's come into the left side. Left knee comes into your chest. Glide forward. Step that left foot down. Lower right heel. Inhale, Rise up. Take that left foot heel toe it out one step to the left. Square your hips to the short edge of your mat. Relax through the shoulders. Stay strong through the arms, Firm through your foundation, And then take three more breaths here. You have the same option to lift up that right heel in the event this doesn't feel good for the ankle. Good. Take your hands down to the floor. Step your left foot back, Lower down, Chaturanga. Inhale to a backbend. And exhale your hips back, Downward facing dog. Take a breath in. And take a breath out. Let's step both of the feet forward coming to the top of the mat. Inhale hands to the shins lengthen Exhale, Bend your knees and fold. Sink your hips, Reach the arms, Chair pose right where we began. And then inhale, Stand up. Arms alongside the body. Samasthiti. Let's move a little bit quicker this time. Drop your hips, Sweep the arms. Uchkatasana, Chair pose. Exhale forward fold over your leg. Inhale, Lengthen hands to your shin. Exhale bend your knees hands to the floor step to your plank Breathe in. Exhale, Chaturanga. Bend the elbows into your back bend. Take your hips back, Downward facing dog. Another variation to come in, Right leg sweeping back. Stepping forward to your warrior one, Ground through your left heel. Inhale, Rise up, Reach the arms, Take two breaths. Let your spine be tall and long. One more breath. Hands come down to the floor. Step your right foot back lower down, Bend the elbows, Chaturanga. Come into your back bend from here. Take your hips back, Downward facing dog. Left leg will lift. We step it forward. Warrior one. Right heel drops down. Reach the arms up. Two breaths here. Take your hands down to the earth. Step back to your plank and lower down Chaturanga. Into your back bend And exhale your hips back, Downward facing dog. Beautiful work. Let's take a breath to step the feet forward to the top of the space. Inhale, Hands to your shins, Lengthen the spine. Exhale, Bend your knees, Forward fold, Bow. Sink your hips, Sweep the arms, Chair pose. And then rise all the way up, Arms alongside the body. Good. Let's take a breath. Reach arms high. Bend knees, Forward fold. Good. Take your fingertips to the mat this time and straighten through the spine. Bend your knees as much as you need to in order for this to happen. Take your right hand, Slide it underneath your right foot so that the palm of your hand and the sole of your foot touch. See if you can take that right hand as far under your foot as possible so maybe your toes come all the way to the crease of your wrist. Take three breaths here, Being nice and gentle, Adding a gentle pull up on the wrist. Stretching through the joint. Take one more breath. And then gently slide that right hand out. Take right fingertips to the floor. Left hand comes underneath. Palm of hand, Sole of foot, Kiss. And then breathe in for three breaths. Let those breaths go. Good job. Take that left hand out. Inhale, Lengthen your spine. Exhale, Forward fold, Bend your knees, Drop the head. Good. Come all the way up to stand. And then exhale, Bring your hands to your heart. Alright, This time we're going to see if we can slide both of those hands under the feet and hold it there for five breaths. We're going to reach the arms up. Use that swan dive, Arms wide, Forward fold, Bend your knee. Inhale, Fingertips to the floor, Lengthen your spine. And then exhale, Right hand under the foot first. And then let your left hand follow. Trust that you are safe here. Breathe in. Feel the length come through the side body. And then exhale a little bend into your knees and elbows dropping through your head. Take three more breaths here. Use your next breath, Lengthen the spine. Take one hand at a time out from beneath your feet. Exhale fold drop your head and then come all the way up to stand reach up high Exhale, Hands to your heart, Arms alongside the body, Return to your mountain pose. Step to the top of your mat. And take five breaths here. All right let's take one more flow together and kind of weave the three flows or the three variations of our sun salutations into one. All right. So from your mountain pose, Take an inhale, Sink the hips, Sweep the arms, Chair pose. If your hands can touch overhead, Let them. Take two breaths. Breathe in. Exhale, Fold. Straightening your legs as you go. Inhale, Lengthen through the spine. Make that L shape with your body. Exhale, Bend your knees. Left foot steps back. Low lunge as you drop that left knee down. Sweep the arms up. Maybe palms can touch. Take two breaths. Hands come down, Frame your right foot. Step that foot back, Lower down, Chaturanga. Come into your back bed. Exhale, Hips back, Downward facing dog. Take your right foot, Step it forward. Left heel down warrior one reach up maybe hands touch take three breaths Feel strong through your feet, Strong through your foundation. Following your next breath in, Take your hands down to your mat, Lower down Chaturanga. Into your back bend. Exhale, Hips back, Downward facing dog. Good. Take your left knee into your chest. Step it forward. Warrior one. Hands to touch, Three breaths. Bring your hands down, Frame that left foot, Lower down, Chaturanga. Into your back bend. Exhale your hips back, Downward facing dog. Take three breaths here. Your left foot will step forward, Low lunge. Sweep the arms up, Maybe palms touch. Bring your hands down, Frame that left foot, Step right foot forward. Inhale, Hands to your shins, Lengthen. Exhale, Bend knees, Bow, Drop the head. Sink your hips, Sweep the arms, Reach up to that chair pose, Maybe palms touch. And then exhale, Come to stand, Arms alongside your body. Really nice, Returning to that mountain pose at the top of your mat. Ending where we began. Five breaths here. Reconnecting to that strength. That power That stability that only you know how to create within your own body. Everything you need is already within you. Find it. Harness it. And then breathe life into it. To break the pose, Just gently relax. Roll out your shoulders, Bend alternate knees. Just kind of roll and let everything sway itself back into a neutral position. Shake it out, Shake it out. Good. That concludes our asana practice today. We're going to use this foundation that we've built today in the flow that follows in the coming weeks. So be sure to leave any questions you have for me in the comments section or get in touch with me any way you know how. And I suggest sealing your practice today in a seated meditation, Maybe setting a timer for five minutes and allowing all of this goodness to just integrate into your body and into your being. Until next time.