Hey everyone.
Welcome.
Happy Thursday,
I think,
For some of you.
For me,
It's Friday morning here in Vietnam.
And welcome to our 60-minute Hatha yoga and meditation class.
As usual we'll do we'll do some movement we'll connect with our breath we will release tension in our body build some strength,
Build some flexibility.
And ultimately,
We're working toward meditation.
So everything that we're doing.
.
.
Is meditative in nature and it's leading us to have a nice supported meditation practice at the end of our session together.
Okay so we're gonna start off standing up this morning or this evening So if you can just.
.
.
Make your way to your mat and just find a.
.
.
Comfortable standing posture.
Really just take a moment to lift up through your toes and maybe lift up through your heels so you really ground down through your feet.
Legs are nice and strong,
Lengthen all the way up.
The crown of the head and then can relax your shoulders.
And allow your eyes to close Spend a few moments here to connect with our breath.
Really too.
Become just a little bit more present with ourselves and with our practice just allow your breath to move naturally in and out through your nose no effort there take a moment to first begin to sense the physical space that you're currently in Notice any subtle noises get a general sense for the how the space feels,
Your physical space.
And then bring your awareness to your body.
Feel the sensation of the floor underneath your feet.
Feel that support.
All the way up the length of the body to the crown.
Relax the shoulders again.
And then take your awareness to your breath begin to sense the fullness of your inhalation.
Your nice and relaxed exhalation And over the next few rounds of breathing,
Gradually allow your breath to get to lengthen.
So you exhale,
You're breathing out a little bit more slowly.
And as you inhale,
Breathing in a little bit more deeply.
And take one more moment to.
.
.
Really check in with your inner world.
Notice how you're feeling in this moment.
No judgment,
But just.
.
.
Noticing how your body is feeling your energy level Checking in with the mind.
Is the mind quiet or a bit noisy?
Noticing if there's any emotions that are present with you And then awareness back on your breath.
And throughout your practice,
We're going to do our best to keep awareness on the breath.
The breath acts as our foundation,
Acts as our guide for our movement.
So you can allow your eyes to open.
On an inhalation,
You're going to raise your arms out and overhead.
At the same time,
Maybe you lift the heels.
So you come up onto the toes and then reach for opposite shoulders.
You don't have to touch.
And then exhale.
Lower everything down.
So try to coordinate that movement with your breath.
Inhale,
Arms overhead.
Maybe you can come up onto,
Lift the heels,
Come up onto the.
Toes.
Exhale as you lower Do that a few more times.
It's helpful if you find a single point to rest your awareness.
Help you with your balance.
Seeing if you can align this movement with your breath Good.
Keep the feet down now.
Inhale the arms overhead.
Relax the shoulders,
Reach up through the fingertips so you really lengthen through the body.
And then clasp the hands together,
Keep the elbows bent.
And on an exhalation you're going to stretch over toward your right side press through the palms and then you'll look toward the left inhale to center you'll bend the elbows And then exhale,
Stretch over toward your left as you look toward the right.
Do that a few more times.
Inhale brings you back to center.
Bend the elbows.
And then exhale as you stretch to one side looking in the opposite direction.
And as you take the side stretch,
See if you can really breathe into the side body create length all along the ribs the waist.
So you're really pressing through the palm.
Lengthening on the side body We'll come back towards center.
Lower the arms down And then let's take some exaggerated circles with the shoulders.
So circling up and back and around.
And as you draw back,
Really squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Just a few rounds there.
And then opposite direction Good.
And then give yourself some space.
Begin to sweep your arms forward and back.
Not necessarily coordinated with the breath,
But here you're just breathing deeply,
Getting some nice.
.
.
Full and complete breath,
Energizing the body.
Be relaxed through your shoulders and your elbows here You can start to cross your arms.
Good.
And then really lengthen through the spine.
Stand up through the crown of your head.
Keep your spine long.
Your stance is wide,
About shoulder width,
And then use your elbows to twist.
And as you do that you're going to lift up the opposite heel.
Notice.
How this feels in your spine.
You'd like you can extend one arm behind you as the other arm comes toward heart center And in this variation,
I like to open up the palm of the extending hand.
So you really open up deepen the stretch.
You'll start to feel that through your bicep and through your chest Good,
We'll come back towards center.
Release when you're ready.
And then give it a nice little shake.
Shake out your arms.
Shake out your legs Keep breathing.
Breath is nice and full,
Always in and out through the nose.
Good and then we'll clasp the palms together once again this time we're gonna begin to figure eight Just circling out the wrists a bit.
You can try to go in the opposite direction.
Which sometimes feels quite strange.
And then you can relax that effort.
And take a moment to come back into a standing posture this time taking a more formal tadasana So feet are parallel to each other.
Ground down through the feet.
Extend up through the crown of the head.
Shoulders relaxed.
Arms alongside your body.
Bring awareness to the feet Allow that stability to extend through the legs into the pelvis.
And then just a very gentle engagement in your low abdomen.
Gentle very gentle tucking of the tailbone so you just create a little bit more length little bit more stability and then Allow that stability to extend up through the crown of the head.
And then coming to the front of the mat,
We begin to move through some variation of sun salutation.
So starting.
Here at the front.
Moving with your breath as you inhale sweep your arms overhead and then exhale slight bend in the knees fold forward Inhale,
Look up halfway.
And then exhale,
We're going to step both feet back.
Keep your hips lifted.
Come into downward facing dog.
Take a few breaths here Seeing if you can stay wide through your.
.
.
Collarbone so separating the shoulder blades press through the hands lift the hips good inhale we're going to come down to all fours look forward lengthen through the front of the body And then exhale,
Untuck the toes,
Send the hips back towards child's pose.
Inhale rise up to table.
Exhale,
Tuck the toes,
Lift the hips,
Downward dog.
Take a few rounds of breath here.
Lift through the hips.
You can keep the knees slightly bent.
Strong through the arms.
And at the bottom of your exhale,
You're going to look forward.
Step both feet in between the hands.
Inhale halfway left to reach up to the crown and exhale fold forward inhale rise all the way up flat back reach up overhead And exhale,
Hands together at your heart.
Let's do that again moving with your breath inhale arms overhead Exhale,
Soften the knees as you fold forward at the hips.
Inhale,
Lengthen.
Extend up.
Exhale step both feet back.
Keep your hips lifted downward facing dog Okay,
We'll come right down.
So inhale,
Lower the knees,
Lengthen through the front of the body.
Exhale send the hips back towards child's pose inhale rise back to table look forward And then exhale,
Hips up and back,
Downward dog.
Bottom of this exhalation you're going to look forward step both feet in between the hands Inhale halfway lift Exhale fold.
Inhale rise up arms extend you can look up Exhale hands together at the heart Good.
Let's do one more of those and we'll meet up in the second downward facing dog.
So you can follow me or you can do this on your own.
I'll just do this silently.
So following your breath.
You you When you find yourself in this second downward dog let's stay there.
Keep lifting through the hips.
You're gonna bend your right knee let your hips shift over to the right Back to center.
Bend your left knee,
Let your hips shift to the left.
Do that a few more times on each side.
The inhale brings you to center.
The exhale you bend one knee as you start to shift in that direction.
Notice where you feel this stretch in your body.
And then we're going to look forward and step the right foot in between the hands taking this extended lunge the runner's lunge Good place to use blocks for a little bit extra support.
Otherwise,
Fingertips can be down.
If you need to lower the back knee,
Feel free to do that as well.
Just a slight bend in that back knee Take a few breaths here.
Widen your collarbones,
Relax your shoulders.
Let's lower the back knee and bring the hands to the thigh.
On an exhale,
Tailbone toward that front heel so you deepen into your lunge.
Find that engagement that we found earlier.
So a little bit of lengthening in the low back as you draw in.
At the navel,
Give yourself support,
And then maybe arms come overhead.
So finding a low lunge.
Nice and steady through the legs.
Good,
And then we're gonna lower the right arm.
Reach up through the left fingertips and then stretch over to the right so you're stretching toward your bent knee Breathe here.
You might use a block for support under this right hand.
But feel the length from the left knee all the way along that left side body,
Out through the fingertips,
Right shoulders relaxed.
Good inhale back to center and then lower your hands down either blocks or fingertips look forward and then on an exhalation send your hips back You might come up onto the heel of that front foot and stay here and breathe.
Breathing into any tension any tightness that you feel Really good.
Now we're going to walk the both hands on the inside of the right foot.
You might gently walk the right foot out just a little bit.
Maybe you have blocks under the hands as well.
On an inhalation,
We're going to open toward the bent knee.
So you nice gentle twist.
And then you're going to bring your elbow back down toward the mat,
Maybe onto the mat,
Maybe onto a block.
Do that a few times so inhale you open up Keep guiding the thigh in toward the body.
Exhale,
You come down with your elbow to the inside.
One more just like that.
And release.
Make your way back to downward dog.
Good see if you can get the hips a little bit higher this time your body starting to warm up a bit press through the palms lengthen through the spine we'll do the other side so look forward step your left foot find your runner's lunge on this side press through the back heel and just for a moment just a slight bend in that back knee deepening the stretch of the The front side on the right hip.
We'll lower the back knee untuck the toes hands come to the thigh exhale bring the tailbone toward that front heel So deepen in your low lunge.
Stay nice and stable through the front leg.
Find a little bit of activation at the root of the body.
So even pelvic floor,
Low abdomen,
Just a gentle engagement.
Breath is still relaxed.
You're supported.
At your base.
Maybe the arms come up.
And see if you can lengthen through this entire midsection.
So you're really coming up and out starting from the pelvis.
Shoulders are relaxed Breath is nice and smooth.
Good this time we're going to lower the left arm stretch up through the right and then over toward the left Really nice length here So keep reaching up.
Relaxing the right shoulder away from the ear.
Good,
Both hands back to center.
Then lower the arms down look forward keep looking forward this will keep some more length in your spine then send your hips back maybe you come up onto the heel notice how the hips are just about over that back knee so even if you have the flexibility to go all the way back you're just going to stay here keep looking forward Breathing into any tension.
Good we'll bend back into that front knee Both hands are going to come on the inside of the left foot.
Maybe you walk the left foot out just a little bit.
Give yourself some more space.
Place your right hand down and then on an inhalation you're going to twist open toward your bent knee.
As you exhale,
You're going to bend the elbow,
Bring your forearm and elbow down.
Maybe it reaches the mat.
Maybe onto a block.
And inhale as you twist.
And do that a couple of times.
So we're taking care of the spine,
Also taking care of the hips.
Sitting in meditation requires some openness and some flexibility through the hips.
Good,
This time we're gonna release.
And then we're going to step the back foot forward.
Let's come into a forward bend,
Uttanasana.
Let your head relax.
And then bend your knees as much as you need to so that you can rest your abdomen on your thighs.
Relax your shoulders.
And connect to your breath.
Feel the breath as it fills the entire midsection,
The abdomen,
The sides of the body,
Even the back of the body.
Good.
Rise up.
Extend your arms overhead.
Exhale bring your hands together at your heart Widen your stance just a bit.
Yourself stability and then allow your eyes to close so bring your awareness inward standing nice and tall reconnect to that nice and relaxed breath rhythm And then with complete awareness on the breath,
Let your arms begin to follow the pace of your breath so as you inhale your palms face up your arms sweep out and overhead And then for the length of the exhale,
The palms face down and the arms lower.
Continue inhale the arms sweep out and overhead and then exhale palms face down as the arms lower Keep moving with your breath.
Allowing the arm movement to be secondary,
And really your awareness and curiosity is.
.
.
On the movement of breath.
So you sense your body fill on the inhalation,
Nourished and energized.
Your body releases on the exhalation.
Inviting a sense of.
.
.
Nourishment here Every cell of your body.
Relaxed,
Deeply nourished.
Inhale arms overhead Exhale we'll lower the arms once again this time.
Let's keep the arms as they are Find stillness,
So resist the temptation to move at all.
Remain absolutely still.
Notice your experience here.
Do you sense any shifts in your inner environment?
Your body your breath your thoughts your emotions With the awareness still inward,
We'll just do some very gentle neck movements.
So you'll bring your chin down toward your chest.
And then you'll bring your right ear toward your right shoulder Breathe here.
Let that right shoulder be heavy so really relax down create some extension along the left side of the neck And then just like a half circle,
You'll bring your chin back down toward your chest.
And then go on the opposite side.
So left ear toward the left shoulder.
Breathe here left shoulder is heavy right shoulder might even raise a bit release tension on the right side Come back to center.
Let's do one more on each side so right here toward the right shoulder And you might pause somewhere else.
There might be somewhere on that path between your chest and your shoulder that feels really good,
That you might.
.
.
Want to stay and release tension in your neck.
Come back towards center One more time to the opposite side.
Taking care of the cervical spine here.
Come back towards center.
Come with the eyes open.
Nice and then take a wider stance face the long edge of your mat.
Make it so that you're still stable,
So you can stay here for at least a few minutes.
If it's available clasp the hands behind you begin to extend the arms and open through the front of the body Reach the arms back if that's not available hands on the hips and you can start to draw your elbows together Take a few rounds of breath here.
Breathe into the heart space here.
So really breathe into the front of the body.
And then soften your knees.
You're ready you'll start to send your hips back hinge forward you can pause halfway Hens either stay where they are.
You can bring them.
To your hips and then take a little bit of some side movement.
So a little side lunge here.
Spine is still extended.
And you may need to adjust the distance between your feet.
You may point your toes outward a little bit if that's more comfortable.
Just a little bit of movement from side to side.
Looking to get into the inner thighs.
Good.
Come back to center.
If you'd like,
You can just hinge forward,
Keep your arms behind you.
Maybe your arms come forward.
Hands can continue to stay on the hips or you can lower your hands down toward the mat maybe you have blocks Let your head relax.
Connect to your breath.
Wide-legged forward bend relax here and breathe good and then you'll to release out of this we're just gonna we're gonna shift everything toward the front of the mat so pivot everything forward And then send yourself back to downward dog.
Take a few breaths in down dog,
And then we're going to lower back down to table pose.
We're going to work with some navel activation.
So working at the navel center,
Just below the belly button.
So let your eyes close,
Bring your awareness inward.
Just going to do a gentle squeeze and release So keeping your awareness at the navel,
That low abdomen.
On the exhale,
You're going to engage.
So draw the belly in.
You might naturally tuck the tailbone and the low spine might round.
And then on the inhale relax the abdomen The spine and tailbone moves in the opposite direction.
Engage on the exhale draw the belly in and up Maybe lift through the pelvic floor.
Release on the inhale.
And keep going just like that.
So each time you exhale,
You draw in at the navel.
Each time you inhale you completely relax that area.
And do your best to keep your Attention.
Resting right there at the navel center just below the belly button deep within the core space of the body So we're helping to enliven and wake up this pranic center of the body,
This energy center.
Tapping in more deeply to our own inherent power.
Our own inner wisdom.
Strengthening the digestive fire helping to prepare the mind more fully for meditation.
Gradually come back towards center you can relax that effort and then walk your hands forward lift your hips up and back find downward facing dog Find some steadiness here.
If you prefer child's pose,
Feel free to take that.
But if you are in down dog,
You might keep a slight bend in the knees.
As you lift your hips so your spine stays nice and long.
See if you can find.
Some restfulness here Just returning the breath back this smooth and even rhythm.
Allowing that work that we did at the navel to integrate more fully through the length of the body.
Then you're going to lower yourself down and then let's go all the way down onto the abdomen keep the forearms down so finding sphinx pose Your elbows under your shoulders.
Gently press through the forearms.
And then you'll start to pull the arms back to create length through the waist.
Breathe here.
Find a comfortable position for the head so there's no,
You're not looking up too much and you're not looking down too much.
You just find a nice neutral position.
And you're going to look over your right shoulder back toward your right heel Breathe into the left ribs.
Back to center.
Opposite side look over the left shoulder Back to center.
You can stay here or you can bend the knees.
And then begin to move from side to side.
So both.
Legs internally and externally rotating at the thighs These kind of windshield wiper legs.
And then you're going to lower down.
And then turn over onto your back please.
Start with your feet.
On the floor knees are bent And then we'll come into a reclined pigeon or a leg cradle.
So you're going to cross your right ankle over your left knee.
You can stay here if it's available.
You can start to draw the left knee in toward the body.
So both legs come in.
And you can stay here or maybe reach through,
Clasping either the shin or the back of the thigh.
Keep a little bit of activation in the right foot so you're drawing the toes back toward you.
Stay relaxed in your upper body.
Notice where there's tightness possibly in the right side hip and just allow the breath to help soften so breathe with awareness into that space Good.
We're going to untwist when you're ready.
Keep the left foot down extend the right leg so same side maybe clasp the thigh if you can shoulders stay relaxed and then begin to circle at the ankle here.
These big circles.
Good and let's switch sides so both feet down this time left ankle over the right knee creating this figure four with the legs and then whichever variation feels good maybe you can draw in and clasp through upper body stays relaxed left foot stays active so the toes drawing back toward the lower leg gradually softening any tightness any tension good slowly lower down release The left leg is going to extend.
Clasp the back of the thigh,
Gently draw the leg in toward the body.
Upper body is relaxed.
And then circle on this side.
Both directions.
Good.
Bring both knees in toward the chest.
Chin comes in toward the chest.
Good,
Lower the arms and then extend the legs up.
Keep your upper back lifted.
Relax your shoulders And then as slowly as you can,
Gently lower your legs down.
See if we can do it.
Over the span of about 30 seconds or so.
So really slow.
Keep the upper back lifted.
Same time shoulders relaxed Nice and strong to the core of the body.
Keep going nice and slow eventually the legs will lower you can reach your arms overhead Extend full body.
It might feel nice to stretch from side to side just a couple times.
Good,
And then separate the feet.
And release your arms and come into Shavasana.
So make your adjustments take as much time as you need to really let yourself settle in.
Softening your body letting go of any physical effort I'm going to sit up and continue to guide,
But you rest in your Shavasana.
Take a moment to notice all the places where your body is touching the floor underneath you.
And then allow your weight to settle into that support.
So releasing all effort.
Body is held.
Become aware of your breath.
Notice the natural rise and fall of the abdomen.
Let your breath completely relax as well.
And then you'll stay with this relaxed awareness.
And I'm just going to guide you through various points on your body,
These pranic centers.
And you'll simply bring your attention to those points.
And rest and breathe So starting at the very top of your head,
The crown center.
Breathe and relax into that space.
Begin to soften down your hairline.
The sides of your face.
Your jaw.
Let the teeth separate.
Let the tongue relax from the roof of the mouth.
And then rest your awareness at the center of your throat.
Breathing and softening.
Down to your shoulders your elbows Your wrists.
Into the palms of your hands.
And then rest and breathe at the tips of your fingers.
Sensing almost as if the body is breathing in and out through the fingertips.
Relax that effort.
Let your awareness travel back to the palms of your hands.
Your wrists.
Your elbows your shoulders and then across your chest to the space of your heart.
Rest and breathe.
Sensing the nourishment and aliveness as you inhale seeing if you can relax and soften as you exhale Follow your awareness from your heart center.
Down your sternum.
Base of the ribcage into the hollow of the abdomen,
The center of the abdomen.
Passing through the navel center.
Into the core of the pelvis.
And then your hips.
Down your legs,
Into your knees.
Your ankles.
The soles of your feet.
And the tips of your toes.
Relax and breathe.
Back through the body,
Awareness traveling from your toes into your soles.
Then your ankles.
Your knees,
Hips your pelvis your abdomen heart center throat center center of your forehead and back up to your crown center the top of your head Allow your whole body to relax.
Sense for a few breaths that your whole body is breathing together as one so as you inhale you feel every cell energized as you exhale you feel every cell cleansed Rest here for a few more moments.
In this awareness of your breath.
Sensing that beautiful rhythm and cycle of nourishment and cleansing with each breath.
You'll gradually start to deepen your breath feeling the floor underneath you and make some movements in your hands and your feet gently wake up your body You can extend your arms overhead.
Take a nice stretch.
Then as you're ready you'll bend your knees place your feet on the floor roll over onto your side resting in the fetal position take a few rounds of breath then in your own time disturbing yourself as little as you can.
Going to use your arms press yourself up and come into your meditative seat Got about 10 minutes for a guided meditation.
So establish a.
.
.
Seat that will allow you to remain comfortable.
Excuse me.
And relatively undisturbed for these 10 minutes.
Could be a cross-legged position sitting on some props.
Maybe you're sitting at the front of a chair with your feet on the floor.
Any seat is valid and we're just looking to Be stable and comfortable.
And sit in a way that we can.
.
.
Align our spine so the crown is in alignment with the root of the body so as you settle into your seat lengthen through your spine let your shoulders relax release your arms in any comfortable position And bring your awareness inward.
Let your eyes close.
Keep settling your hips.
And connect for a moment to the center channel of your body.
This energy channel from the root of the pelvis through the core of the body and out through the crown of the head.
Sense that this support is supporting your entire body so you have this energetic support at the core of your body And from that place,
Your body is able to relax and remain comfortable and still.
Release any tension through your face and your jaw.
All the way down your arms.
Your whole body is relaxed.
Keep bringing your attention inward.
And as you breathe into the inner space of your body,
A sense of stillness will begin to arise.
Allow that experience to naturally unfold.
And as you're aware of this feeling of stillness,
Breathe with intention into that stillness.
Staying supported by that center energetic channel your whole body remains relaxed And as you continue to breathe into stillness,
You'll begin to sense a deep inner silence that also begins to arise from the stillness.
Arises silence.
And from the silence.
Become more still.
Continue with this experience.
In an effortless way let your awareness Rest at the opening of your nostrils,
The base of your nose.
Begin to feel the gentle,
Subtle sensation of breath in the nostrils as you breathe.
With each breath you're letting go of any effort allowing your body to be supported by your Central column of energy from the crown to the base.
So with your awareness at the opening of the nose.
Next time you inhale Travel your awareness from the opening of the nose to the space between your eyebrows,
Deep within the core space of the head.
Exhale from that core space back down and out through the nose.
We'll follow that gentle path.
Inhale from the opening of the nose.
To the center of the mind Exhale from the center of the mind.
Out through the nose.
Continue on your own.
Remaining still very effortlessly.
Traveling awareness from the opening of the nose to the center of the mind.
Back from the center of the mind to the opening of the nose.
Next time you inhale,
Inhale back to the center of the mind and then rest your awareness there.
Breathe into that space.
Breathing into the experience of stillness and silence at the center of the mind.
Soften your body,
Your jaw Let yourself be effortlessly held as you rest and breathe.
Relax any effort and allow your awareness to fill the space of your body.
Connecting to that sensation of stillness.
And breathing into that deep sense of silence.
Take a few more moments here to really enjoy the experience that you've created through your practice.
Nourishing and awakening reconnecting to this Inner source.
The source of wisdom.
Source of nourishment.
You'd like you can bring your hands together at your heart gently bowing your head toward your heart honoring the wisdom that resides within you.
This infinite well of joy and peace,
Serenity.
Also honoring your physical body,
This vehicle.
Freely given to you by life.
You can rub your palms together,
Warm up your hands.
Really rub the palms nice warmth and then cover the eyes allow that warmth to nourish the eyes You can release your hands down as you're ready.
Om.
Peace.
Peace.
Namaste.
