Hello,
My name is Shannon.
Thank you so much for joining me today for this yoga practice.
We'll be focusing on strengthening our core muscles and in turn,
Stoking our agni.
So Agni is a Sanskrit term that means fire.
And this really represents our inner fire.
So Agni is the vital inner fire of transformation,
Digestion,
And metabolism that governs both our physical health and our spiritual awakening.
So our core muscles are the big muscles in our legs that attach to our pelvis,
Our abs,
Our low back,
And our side muscles.
So we'll be using two blocks today,
Which are optional.
You do not have to use the blocks,
But I will be directing us to use the blocks in a lot of the poses.
And this is really kind of a beginner to intermediate class.
So I hope you enjoy.
And we're going to start on our backs in a supported bridge pose.
So if you don't have blocks.
You can lay with your knees bent.
Or if you have blocks,
Let's take one block.
And place it under our sacrum.
We're going to pause here.
And arrive on our mats.
Take a moment to notice how your body feels.
Start to notice your breath.
And we'll take a deep breath in through our nose.
And a gentle sigh out.
Now let's move our knees just a little bit right and left just to get a little bit of movement here.
Noticing how Our glute muscles are feeling as they get gently massaged on the block.
Or the mat if you're not using a block.
Now we'll pause in center.
Let's reach our arms overhead,
Maybe stretch them,
Get a long stretch,
And then let them relax on the floor or a mat behind you.
And maybe bend your knees a little bit more.
We're gonna do a few bridges and then on the fifth one,
We're gonna hold it.
So let's inhale up.
Exhale down On this last one,
Let's pause,
Hold,
And breathe.
Really squeezing our glute muscles.
Feeling our hamstrings working,
Feeling our heels pressing down.
Relaxing our face.
And release.
Let's remove the block bringing our bottom down to the mat.
Taking our knees and our hands,
Gently pulling our knees towards us.
And then we'll slowly make our way on our bellies.
So we're going to come all the way over with our forehead facing down.
Elbows can be bent,
Palms are flat.
Let's bend one knee at a time.
Just getting a little bit of movement here.
Now we'll bend both knees.
And reach our hands around to find the outside of our feet.
And press our feet into our hands.
Now you can stay just like this.
This is working your quad muscles as you press your feet into your hands.
Or if you'd like,
You can also lift your thighs and your chest up into our bow pose.
So working our core muscles in our back.
And stretching the front side of our body.
So breathe,
Relax your face,
Your toes.
Squeeze your glutes.
And very slowly release.
Now let's turn on our left side.
We're going to straighten our left leg.
Right knee is bent with our foot behind us,
Maybe you want to find one of your blocks.
Let's just start out here on our side by lifting our left leg up and down a few times.
So this is working our adductor muscles,
Which attach to our pelvis.
Help with our core strength and balance.
You can keep doing them this way or if you'd like you can raise your bottom up.
So your bottom is off the mat.
As you lift your leg up and down.
And then we'll pause with our leg in the air,
Reach our right arm overhead with the block or without.
And let's take the block towards our knee,
In and out.
So working several different core muscles here.
You Now let's drop our pelvis down,
Release the blocks.
And come up again,
This time pressing the outside of our foot against the mat.
And then maybe you want to drop your hip up and down.
And then pause with your hip in the air.
Maybe you arch backwards,
Looking back.
And slowly.
Release.
Let's turn on our bellies.
And take a moment here in our sphinx pose with our elbows under our shoulders.
Relaxing our belly down.
Noticing our breath.
Noticing our heart beating.
And then we will go to the other side.
So let's turn on our right side.
So our left leg is behind our right leg.
You can take your block.
Rest your left hand on the block.
Let's lift that right leg up.
And down.
So working these adductors on the right side.
And then if you'd like,
You can lift your pelvis up and do a few of these.
Like this.
And then let's reach that arm overhead,
Maybe with the block.
And we'll bend our knee,
Tapping our elbow on our knee,
Or at least bringing them close,
They don't have to tap.
Now let's drop our leg and our pelvis down,
Release the block.
Raise our pelvis up as the outside of our foot is on the mat.
And maybe tap your hip up and down.
Then we'll pause,
Reaching up,
Maybe arching back.
And release.
Let's take our time coming on our backs.
We're going to bling bring.
One block in between our thighs.
Holding the other block.
Let's engage our stomach muscles so our low back comes down on the mat.
As we lift our legs up.
So we're squeezing this one block.
The other block is at our knees.
And as we inhale,
We're gonna slowly raise our arms overhead as we straighten our legs a little bit.
And then bring them back together.
So as you're straightening your legs,
You want to think about your low back staying on the mat.
So if your back is starting to arch,
You are lowering your legs a little too far.
Really focusing on keeping that posterior pelvic tilt.
By engaging our abdominal muscles,
Our rectus.
Dom and I,
Muscles in the front.
So inhale as you lengthen,
Exhale as you come together.
Feeling that agni,
That fire,
That heat building.
Three more.
Now let's bring our feet in the air,
Flexing our feet.
We're going to take the block in our hands and lift our shoulder blades as we tap our block on our toes.
Engaging our abdominal muscles as we come up.
Three more.
Last one,
Pause,
Hold,
And breathe.
And gently release.
Let's place the blocks to the side.
Straighten our legs,
Do a long body stretch.
And place our hands down on the mat.
Bend our knees,
Placing our feet wide.
I can do some gentle windshield wipers just to cool down a little bit.
It's a short practice,
But.
Certainly got my heart rate up,
Feel a little sweat.
I know.
Focus on your breath,
Slowing down your heart rate.
And let's take a few moments in Shavasana.
So toes falling out.
Palms facing up.
Soften all of your muscles.
Let's find some movement in our fingers and toes.
And carefully make our way back to our easy seated pose.
Place our hands on our knees.
Take a full,
Deep breath in.
And a soft sigh out.
Let's bring our hands together,
Bowing our heads,
Giving ourselves gratitude for showing up today.
Practice and come home to ourselves.
Light in me honors the light in you.
And together here now and always,
We are one.
Namaste.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
I hope you are feeling energized.
Keep your digestive agni strong and have a beautiful day.
