Ashtanga 42-Minute Modified Primary Series

This Ashtanga Modified Primary Series practice is 42 minutes long and taught outdoors near mountains, pines, and juniper trees in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Susan's class is taught in a way that is accessible to people of all ages who practice yoga often. It offers modifications and alignment cues.

The yoga practice begins with pranayama and 5 Sun Salutation As and 5 Sun Salutation Bs. A series of standing and seated asanas follows. The class ends with cooling poses and a short savasana.

Transcript

Good morning. My name is Susan, And we're in Ruidoso, New Mexico. And I'm going to lead you through an Ashtanga modified primary series this morning. So let's take the hands in front of the heart center and soften and close your eyes and just take some slow deep breaths. Just bring your awareness to your breath. Feel its easy flow. And as you continue to notice your breath, Just take a moment to set an intention for today's practice. Be a positive word or affirmation that you stay aware of along with your breath. And if you'd like, You can transition to an ujjayi breath now. Where you hear that whisper in the back of the throat. It's like the ocean breath in the back of the throat as you inhale and exhale. And just hearing the sound of your breath really helps you to stay focused on your practice. And it can also help you to bring some heat into the muscles and joints. Ujjayi or victorious breath. As you continue to breathe. In a way that serves you, I invite you to come up to the front of the mat. Hands are still in front of the heart center. We're gonna do some sun salutations. We'll start with sun salutation A. Inhale, Stretch the sky, Raise the gaze. Exhale, Dive down to your forward fold. Inhale, Half lift. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Sit back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra, Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog, Lengthening the whole back of the body. Letting the neck lengthen. Staying here for a few breaths. Just be gentle with yourself on those first downward dogs. Soften the knees if you need to for comfort in the low back. Now we're either going to walk or hop. The feet forward. Coming back up to Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale Uttanasana. Inhale tall mountain. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Now let's repeat that. Inhale, Stretch it up. Exhale, Dive down to your forward fold. Inhale, Half lift. Exhale, Hands to the earth, Step back to plank. You can inhale, Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Inhale, Walk the feet forward, Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale tall mountain. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Inhale, Stretch it up, Raise the gaze. Exhale, Dive down to your forward fold. Now inhale, Flat back. Exhale, Hands to the earth, Step back to plank. You can inhale. Axel Chaturanga Inhale, Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Now you can go a little deeper, Melting the thigh bones back as you start to feel more loose. Now inhale, Hop or walk the feet forward, Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Then how tall mountain. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Do more of these. Inhale, Stretch it up, Raise the gaze. Exhale, Dive down to your forward fold. Inhale, Flat back. Exhale hands to the earth, Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga. Inhale cobra upward dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Inhale, Walk or hop the feet forward, Flat back. Exhale forward fold Inhale, Tall mountain. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Last one. Inhale, Stretch it up, Raise the gaze. Exhale, Dive down to your forward fold. Inhale, Half lift. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale Cobra Upper Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Inhale hop or step the feet forward flat back. Xl44 Inhale tall mountain. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Now let's inhale chair. We're going to do five sunbeams. Exhale forward fold. Inhale, Flat back. Exhale hands to the earth, Step back to plank, Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale, Cobra, Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Now inhale, Stretch that right leg up. Exhale, Step toward the hands. Slide that left heel in. Come up to warrior one. On your next exhale, Take the hands down. Inhale, Step back. Exhale chaturanga Inhale, Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Now inhale, Left leg up. And exhale step forward sliding that right heel in coming up to warrior one And your next exhale. Hands come to the earth, Step back to plank. They can inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale cobra upward dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Inhale, Hop or walk the feet forward, Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Chair. And exhale, Bringing the hands in front of the heart center. Inhale, Chair. Exhale forward fold. Inhale, Half lift. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale cobra upward dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Now inhale, Right leg up. Exhale, Step forward. Slide in to your Warrior 1. Exhale, Hands to the earth, Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale cobra upward dog Exhale downward facing dog. Inhale, Left leg up. Exhale step forward sliding that heel in. Coming up to warrior one. Around. Exhale hands to the earth, Step back to plank, Take an inhale, Exhale to Adhiranga. Inhale Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Really take this opportunity to feel that flow of the breath. Through your body. Now inhale, Hop or step, Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Chair. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Let's inhale, Chair. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale halfway. Exhale hands to the earth step back to play Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale, Cobra upward dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Now inhale, Right leg up. Exhale, Step into your war, Sliding that heel in. Lift the arms to the sky. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Now inhale, Left leg up. Exhale, Step forward, Sliding the heel in, Warrior one. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Step back to plank, Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale, Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale. Downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Just lengthening the back of the body. I really feel that. Cervical spine opening up. Maybe you want to move the head a little bit. Inhale, Hop or step forward. Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Chair. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Two more. Inhale, Chair. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Flat back. Exhale hands to the earth, Step back to plank, Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Now inhale, Right leg up. Exhale, Step forward, Slide the heel in. Warrior I, Ground. Exhale, Hands to the earth, Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale, Cobra, Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Now inhale, Left leg up. Exhale, Step forward. Coming into your warrior one. Fingertips reach for the sky. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Step back to plank, Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Now inhale, Hop or step forward, Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Chair. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Let's do one more. Inhale, Chair. Exhale, Dive down to your forward fold. Inhale, Flat back. Exhale, Hands to the earth. Step off the plank. Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale cobra upward dog. Exhale. Downward Facing Dog Now inhale, Right leg up. Exhale, Step forward, Sliding into your warrior one. Axle hands to the earth. Setback to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale chaturanga Inhale Cobra Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Now inhale, Left leg up. Exhale step into your Warrior 1, Extend arms up. Exhale hands to the earth Get back to plank, Take an inhale. Axel Chirurunga Inhale, Cobra Upper Dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths. Now inhale, Hop or walk the feet forward, Flat back. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Chair. And exhale, Putting the hands in front of the heart center. Feet are together about hip width apart. Place the hands on the waist. Take an inhale. Then exhale it. Come down into your forward fold. And just stay here for a few breaths. And you can stay here. Notice how my knees are softened a little bit. It just takes pressure off the low back. And if you want, You can bring your palms underneath the thighs. Soles of the feet for the next few breaths. Slowly take the hands out. Now let's inhale up. And exhale, Bring the hands in front of the heart center. Let's turn around, Step toward the back of the mat with the right foot in front, Left foot in back. Extend the arms, Project to the right, And spiral up, Coming in a triangle. Remember you're welcome to use a block out here. You want to stack the shoulders, So if that's not possible, Simply come up here. And if your shoulder feels uncomfortable, Wrap that hand to the weight. Slowly come up. Now let's turn the feet 180 degrees. Make sure you swing that back foot around. Where we come in triangle. Extend. And spiral that right arm up. Really keep the back of the neck lengthened. Feel like your neck is always an extension of the rest of the spine. Staying lengthened with the rest. Slowly come back up. Turn the feed 180 degrees. Now let's windmill the arms. Left hand to the right side of the leg, Right arm up at wrapping to the waist, And then really draw the shoulder blades down and back, Extending through the thoracic spine. So they come up. Turn the feet 180 degrees. Let's windmill the arm. Left arm up. Right hand to the left side of that lower leg and then just draw those shoulder blades down and back lengthen your neck. Slowly come up. Turn the feed 180 degrees. Bending the front leg. We're going to come into our side angle pose now. Take your forearm down on the thigh. Stretch the left arm over or wrap to the waist. Stay with your breath. Feel it moving through you. Slowly come up, Turn 180 degrees. Make sure that back foot comes around. See that knee tracking over the toe. As you place the forearm down and stretch that right arm open. So they come up, Turn the feet 180 degrees. Now let's take the palms. Here rotate to the right. Palms are together, Rotating to the right. You can possibly take the elbow down on the thighs, Push the hands to the center of the chest. And you can even open the arms if you like. Slowly come up, Turn the feet 180 degrees. You know, Place your palms together, Rotate left. And come into your own. Side angle. Revolving side angle. Slowly come up. Now let's turn toward. . . The side of the mat with a wide stance. Prasarita Padottanasana A Hands on the waist. Take an inhale. Exhale as you take the hands down to the mat. You can use a block here if that feels better for you. Just lengthen and stretch the crown of the head forward and down and really lengthen your whole spine from sacrum to crown. We'll slowly come back up. Take the hands on the waist, Take an inhale, Exhale, Squeeze the elbows together, And then lengthen the spine. Really feel openness in the chest and the fronts of the shoulders. Slowly come back up. And now let's interlace the fingers behind the back. Take an inhale. Exhale, Bow forward. Lengthen the spine. Just stretch the crown of the head forward, Possibly lifting the arms over the head. If that feels good for more of a chest in front of the shoulder stretch. Getting those internal rotators. Opened up. I'll slowly come back up, Release the hands and place them on the waist. Take an inhale, Exhale, Slide the hands down to the lower legs, Possibly taking a hold of the big toes of the peace fingers, And then stretching the crown of the head forward and down. Remember, This is just like your forward fold. You can bend the knees a little bit. If you're feeling any pressure in your low back. Slowly come back up, Turn toward the front of the mat, And step forward. Now let's step back with the left foot. Coming into pyramid pose, We're gonna square the hips. It's not as wide of a stance as when you did your triangle. So you want to clasp the elbows. Your back foot is a little bit more angled toward the front. Take an inhale, And then exhale, Bow forward. Stretch the crown of the head, Pull really lengthen your spine here. Slowly coming back up. Release the hands, Turn 180 degrees. Again, Square the hips. Clasp the elbows and back, Take an inhale, And then exhale, Bow forward. Lengthen the spine. Slowly come back up, Release the hands, Turn toward the front of the mat. Now we're going to come into tree pose. So just perch your right foot. And if the balance is a little shaky, You can just keep that foot perched on the floor. Or you can bring it up to the lower or upper leg. Arms can be out to the side, In front of the heart center, Or overhead. Take the hand to the waist and extend the leg out. Continue to lift from the crown of the head, Just trying to lengthen up toward the sky. And now let's lower the leg down and make a slow transition to the other side. So we're going to perch the left foot. And then find your own comfortable position in tree. Arms should be out in front of the heart center overhead. Just find your happy place in this pose. And take the hand slowly to the waist and then extend your leg out and try to lengthen your spine even more. Staying with your breath. And now lower down. Now let's melt down into chair and stay here for a few breaths. Really feel that strength in your hips and thighs. Keep breathing. Breathing helps you to focus and stay present in your practice. Now exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Flat back. Exhale, Hands of the earth. Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale Chaturanga. Inhale cobra upward dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Now inhale, Right leg up. Exhale, Step forward. Come into your warrior one. Stretch the fingertips to the sky. Really ground. Feel the tripod of your feet. Connecting to the earth. Notice the big toe, Little toe, And heel. Now let's turn 180 degrees. Warrior 1 with a left foot lead. Stretching the fingertips up toward the sky. Grounding in your feet. Feel the earth. Feel the energy lines coming up through the soles of the feet. Now let's open to warrior two, Looking at the left middle finger. And now let's turn 180 degrees, Warrior two. Right foot lead. Notice that knee tracking over the toe. Melt your shoulders down away from the ears. Let's windmill the arms down, Step back to plank. Take an inhale. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra upward dog. Exhale. Downward facing dog. Stay here for a couple of breaths. Now let's slide that right knee in, Left knee in, And sit back. Now let's lengthen the legs out. And come in the staff post. So your legs are long. If you want to elevate your hips with a blanket to get your hips under your body in case you're tight in the hamstrings, You can do that. Now place the hands next to the hips, Flex the feet, Engage the thighs, And just lengthen the spine upward. Just a slight tuck with the chin. And take a moment to just notice the breath. Moving up from root to crown on the inhale and descending from crown to root on the exhale. On these seated postures, We can really nurture the chakras. We've got a lot of energy moving through our body now. Now let's inhale, Stretch it up. Exhale, Melt into a seated forward fold. Reaching for the lower legs or the feet, Keep the whole spine lengthened. Melt forward from your belly and keep the back of the neck lengthened. I'm just going to turn around the other way because the sun's getting a little intense here. Now slowly come back up. And now let's take the right foot. On top of the left thigh, Flexing the foot. And then you're going to melt forward. Try to flex your foot, Engage your thigh. And now switching sides. Left leg comes up, Crossing over the thigh. Take an inhale, Exhale, Melt forward. And now release it. Extend it out. Now we're going to take that right leg back. Flexing the left foot. And coming forward. So this is internal rotation. If this is too tight on your hip, Just put a block underneath your left thigh here and that way you won't have to sit down quite as hard and you'll be a little bit less tight on the knee and the hip here. We slowly come up. And now let's take the left heel around the back. And slowly come back out of the pose. And now we're going to bring the right foot into the center, So your right uh, Inner thigh or your your left inner thigh is touching the sole of your right foot. Flex the foot and melt forward. Now slowly come up and now switch sides, Left foot in. Flex the right foot, Melt forward, Lengthen the spine. Really feel lengthening like the crown of the head is just kind of coming up. Up at a diagonal angle. And you're just really lengthening your whole spine. Now let's release it and now bring the right foot a little bit away from the left leg and then you're going to take that right arm and wrap it around and then lengthen your spine. Now release it and sweep that right hand around the back. Take that left hand or elbow on the outside of the knee. Look over your right shoulder. Sorry. I like the view here, But I'm right in the middle of a road. Okay, Now release it, Lengthen it out. Now bring the left foot in. And now sweep that hand around the inside and then come around the outside and then bind in the back and lengthen the spine. Now release and sweep that left hand around the back. Take that right hand or elbow on the outside of the knee. Look over the left shoulder. And release it, And clean it out. Let's come to boat pose. Arms are out to the side. You want to really stay open and lifted in the ribcage here. Let's slowly lower the feet down and bring them in towards your center. Opening the knees. Just got a butterfly knees here. Baddha Konasana. We're going to take an inhale and then we're going to exhale. We're going to bow forward, Lengthening the spine. Staying with your breath. Now slowly come up and then push the feet out. Take an inhale and then exhale. Come into this. Modified position where you just round the spine, Your feet are in a diamond shape, And you're just totally relaxing here. We're gonna move into the cooling poses of our posture. And then we'll do a short Shavasana. This short practice is such a great way to start your day. Now slowly come up, And now we're going to roll onto our backs. And just start by extending your left leg and then extending your right leg. And you can hold on to the lower legs or the big toe. And just lengthen here. Nice fluid breath. Now open the leg to the side, Keeping that left hip down on the earth. Going back to the center, Hugging the knee, Just give the knee a little hug before releasing it out. And now taking the left leg up. Taking a hold of the lower leg or you can take a hold of the big toe with the peace fingers. Really notice your breath. Allow your body to relax and feel that contact with the earth. All the areas that are touching. Now open to the side. And now bring the knee back to the center. Hug it in for a moment before releasing it. Place the heels on the floor, The soles of the feet on the floor with the ankles under the knees. Feet are about hip width apart. Rest the palms a little away from the body. And now let's lift up to bridge. Thighs rise to the sky. Feel that stability in the soles of the feet and the support in the upper back here. Now slowly lower down if you want to do a shoulder stand. I'm gonna do a modified one. You can roll the knees in, Take the feet up. So my suggestion is not to do a full shoulder stand if you have any neck problems or you don't know how to do it safely without pressure on the neck. So another way to do this is also to lift up the bridge and you can place a block under the sacrum and then go up. That's really a nice way. That's usually how I practice. Just reversing blood flow in the body. Let's slowly come out of the shoulder stand and take your knees into the chest. I'm gonna release it. Or to settle into a comparable position. Or Shavasana. There's fine comfort here. Once you find a comfortable position, Then find stillness. Notice your body resting on the earth. Feel the easy flow of your natural breath. And with each breath. Simply soften a little more. In your tissue. Just allowing all your muscles. Your internal organ. Every cell in your body to relax and let go. And just notice the support of the earth underneath you. And the air and the space around you. And begin to bring some slow movements into your fingers and toes. And when you feel ready, Just roll over onto your right side for a couple of slow, Deep breaths, Relaxed and resting. And then slowly make your way back up to seated. Thank you for joining me for this Ashtanga Modified Primary Series session. I hope you enjoyed it. I also have many meditations and some other classes here on Insight Timer. So feel free to join me in those practices, Too, If they serve you. Namaste. The divine light in me honors the divine light in you. Have a wonderful day.