My name is Susan and this is a gentle Hatha yoga practice and we're going to do some activities today that support your chakras or your subtle body energy centers.
So let's start by taking a seat.
And keep in mind that if it's uncomfortable for you to sit on the floor,
That you can always sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
And your spine lengthened.
So with a lengthened spine,
I would invite you to soften and close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath.
Just feel the easy flow of your natural breath.
Start by just noticing the breath without feeling the need to try to change the breath.
Thank you.
And then as it feels comfortable,
Just see if you can deepen the breath very gently so that you feel your belly expanding.
Breath coming down deep.
Into the body.
Nourishing all of your internal organs and all of your energy centers.
And now begin to contract your pelvic floor muscles or your mula bandha.
This is in the space of your root chakra,
Your muladhara.
So simply by contracting those pelvic floor muscles,
You bring awareness to your roots.
It also helps you to store prana as you breathe.
And it helps you to feel grounded.
When we stabilize our lower chakras,
We feel stable and secure and safe.
Now just kind of visualize a space between your pelvic floor and the crown of your head.
Your chakras roughly follow your spine along an energy center known as the sushumna,
Nadi.
So we're going to visualize every time we inhale the breath rising from the root to the crown.
And as you exhale,
Descending.
From the crown to the root.
Just kind of visualize moving up and down the spine as you breathe that energy.
Thank you.
Okay.
Just continuing to notice that rising and descending breath.
And just visualize each energy center.
Root,
Sacral,
The solar plexus,
The heart,
The throat,
The third eye,
And the crown,
All getting attention.
Now you can let go of that breath awareness on the chakras.
And just come back to a normal breathing pattern.
And let's take a moment to set an intention for your practice today.
It can be a positive word or affirmation that you stay aware of along with your breath.
I don't know what to say.
And now let's slowly open the eyes.
And let's start by just doing a few exercises to relax the neck and shoulders.
So let's start by just tipping the head to the right on the inhale,
And then exhale,
Slowly roll forward and over to the left.
We carry a lot of tension in this space.
Inhale,
Slowly exhale.
Just kind of feel that whole back and side of the neck softening.
As you go side to side.
You.
You.
And remember,
If you feel more comfortable standing up or sitting in a chair,
That's completely fine.
Now come to the center.
And then let's actually lift the right shoulder and then take a hold of the upper traps with your opposite hand.
Sorry about that.
Opposite hand,
Take a hold of your upper trap.
And then turn your head the opposite way and then relax it down and just feel that softening in the upper chest.
Stay with your breath.
Sometimes when we're trying something new,
Then we start to hold the breath.
Maintain that breath awareness.
And now bring the head back to the center and release the muscle.
And now lift your left shoulder and with your right hand come across.
Take a hold of those upper trap muscles,
Look the opposite way,
And then try to soften in the shoulder.
Feel the tension melting away.
And bring the head back to the center and relax.
And now we're going to do a little release for the sternocleidomastoid,
Which are these neck muscles that get tight when we're on our phones.
You just go ahead and take your right hand across to the opposite side of your neck.
The fingers should kind of be around the back of the neck.
Keep your ears stocked over your shoulder.
And then as you exhale,
Just slowly kind of stroke across the neck and down toward the collarbone.
And then turn your head the opposite way.
And then you're going to take your left arm across and stroke across as you move the head over to the other side.
So just continue.
Draw the fingertips across these muscles.
Releasing them,
Be gentle.
You don't have to put too much pressure.
One more each side.
Now relax down.
Now let's make a transition over onto the hands and knees.
You can place a folded blanket under the knees for a little bit of cushioning if you like.
The hands are underneath the shoulders.
The knees are underneath the hips.
So let's start by rolling through some cat and cows,
Nice and easy.
So just exhale,
Round the spine up.
And then inhale,
Roll the belly down.
Just open and close the spaces between the vertebrae gently.
Just try to maintain that nice softness in the neck and shoulders that you just established.
Anytime you move the spine like this,
It's very nourishing for your principal nadi,
The shishumna in the spine.
And that gets energy moving up and down that knotty.
And also nourishing all seven of your chakras.
Now let's come back to the center and we'll do some hip circles.
Inhale,
Roll forward.
Axel roll to the right.
To the back and to the left,
Round and round.
And flatten.
And just really circle in a way that feels good for your hips.
This is a nice way to just get movement in the hips and thighs.
Hips and spine.
Okay,
Now let's go the opposite way.
And come back to the center.
And now inhale and look over your right shoulder and swing your hip to the right.
Exhale,
Come back to the center.
And then inhale,
Swing the hip to the left,
Look over your left shoulder,
Exhale,
Come back to center.
I'll just do that a few times,
Nice and slow.
Just feeling that easy flow of the breath.
Now come back to the center and let's melt back into extended child's pose.
And remember to use props here if you need to.
You can always put a block or a blanket behind the thighs.
You can rest your forehead on a block.
Just feel your breath.
This is a nice way to soften and relax the lower spine.
Now let's come back up onto the hands and knees.
And now let's extend the right leg back,
Curling the toes under and gently stretching your calf muscles.
Now start to bring awareness to your upper posturals.
Keep your head in alignment with the rest of the spine.
We don't want to lose that stretch that we did for the sternocleidomastoid.
We want to keep the neck lengthened instead of a forward head.
Head in alignment with the spine.
Now lift that right toe up and lay the top of the foot down.
And stretch.
Here through the shin muscles.
Bye.
Now bring that right knee in and now let's take the left foot back.
Curl the toes under,
Gently stretching.
Now lift up and lay the top of the foot down.
All right.
And now take that left knee in.
And now let's extend the right leg again and circle the ankle.
Really feel the ankle loosening.
Try to make big,
Slow circles following your breath.
Reverse direction.
And now let's circle the knee.
Big circles with the knee.
And let's go the opposite way.
Now set that right knee down and now let's extend the left leg back and start to do those slow big ankle circles.
Thank you.
Thanks.
And now reverse direction.
And now let's circle the knee.
Nice big circles.
And reverse direction.
And now take the knee back.
And now let's melt back into extended child's pose.
We'll start to walk the hands to the right,
Feeling that stretch through the left side of the body.
Feel it all the way.
From the elbow down to the waist.
Nice fluid breath.
And then let's walk to the center and over to the left.
Thank you.
Now let's walk to the center again.
Come up onto the hands and knees.
And let's come up to kneeling mountain.
We're going to do a little bit of a stretch for the psoas muscles.
And if these are uncomfortable for you to do on the floor,
You're welcome to stand up and do these.
So we're actually going to start by taking the hands back,
Interlacing the fingers,
And stretching the heart space.
Bring your attention to the heart.
Feel the expansion in that space.
Thank you.
Often this area gets tight from being on our computers and our phones.
We can actually feel closed up.
Instead of open and loving.
So now let's release the hands and now let's inhale,
Touch the fingers down.
Exhale,
Stretch the fingers to the sky.
Inhale,
Touch down.
Exhale,
Stretch it up.
And let's do that one more time.
And then sweep the arms around and just roll the shoulders back a few times.
Nice and easy.
And then just kind of roll one shoulder and the other.
Just do a few real looseners here.
And then relax it down.
And now take a big step forward with your right foot and then slide the knee forward,
Keeping your big toe visible and feeling that psoas stretch.
This is such a great stretch to help your lower back to feel more comfortable.
We just get rid of that anterior pelvic tilt.
You can keep your hand on the thigh like this or you can bring the arms up if you feel like it.
Just listen to your body to decide how you're going to do each pose.
Now take your right hand on the right knee and the left hand around the back of the thigh and just sweep your gaze over the left shoulder.
Thank you very much.
You now come back to the center.
And now let's take the hands down on the floor.
And let's walk the fingers back.
You can have a block here if you like.
Flex the foot.
And then just lengthen your spine.
Try to draw your shoulder blades down your spine.
That's pretty good.
Really feel that lengthening through the hamstring muscles.
And if you don't have a block today,
You could also be up here and then just slowly melt forward until you feel that stretch.
Try to keep your spine nice and lengthened.
Now let's slowly walk the fingertips forward,
Curl the left toes under,
Come up to lunge,
And then step back to plank.
Stay here for a few breaths.
We're gonna awaken the Manipura Chakra.
In our solar plexus area.
Remember forearm plank,
Kneeling plank,
Or just spine.
You do what works for your body.
And after this we will do a vinyasa,
But you can just go straight back to child's pose if you prefer.
Let's take an inhale.
Exhale Chaturanga.
Inhale,
Cobra,
Upward dog.
Exhale downward facing dog.
Stay here for a few breaths.
Or feel free to go straight to Child's Pose.
I'll take the knees down,
Tops of the feet down,
Come down to child's pose,
And let's bring the hands back to the ankles.
And now lift the head and turn the head to the right.
Just getting a weird little neck stretch here.
Then lifting the head and turning to the left.
Nice fluid breath.
Coming back to the center,
Take the hands alongside the ears and then push it up.
Let's come back up to kneeling mountain.
Now let's inhale and stretch the fingertips up and then exhale open the cactus arms.
Now we're going to add a little stretch here.
We're opening the heart center.
And now we're going to open also the throat chakra.
So just lift your head a little bit.
Tip back until you feel just a nice stretch through your throat.
We don't want it to be uncomfortable.
We just want to feel an opening in that space.
I now bring the head back to neutral and float the arms down.
And let's do those fast rolls back.
Just kind of letting the shoulders go to mosh here.
Upper back going to mush.
Soft,
Soft,
Soft.
And now relax and just do a few slow rolls,
Nice and easy.
Staying with your breath.
And relax.
Now inhale,
Touch down.
Exhale,
Stretch fingertips up.
Inhale,
Touch down.
Exhale,
Stretch up.
One more time.
And now let's take a big step forward with the left foot this time,
Stretching the psoas muscles.
Hands can be on the thigh or overhead.
And take that left hand on the left knee,
Right hand around the back and just sweep your gaze.
Over the shoulder.
Keep the shoulders soft and relaxed.
And come back to the center,
Take the hands down.
And now we're going to slowly walk the fingers down.
Back and flex up your foot,
Melting the belly down,
Drawing the shoulder blades down your spine,
Feeling that length through the hamstring muscles.
And now slowly walk the fingers forward,
Curl the right toes under,
And then come back to plank and stay here for a few breaths.
And kneeling plank,
Full plank,
Forearm plank,
Whatever feels right for your body right now.
And take an inhale.
Remember,
You can go straight to Child's Pose if you want.
Exhale,
Chaturanga.
Inhale Cobra Upward Dog.
Exhale Downward Facing Dog.
Really feel long through your neck on this pose.
Let the whole back of the body lengthen out.
I'll take the knees down,
Tops of the feet down,
Walk forward and come into puppy pose.
And I'll slowly come back up.
Now let's curl the toes under and come back to downward facing dog.
And let's stretch the right leg up and just kind of open the knee out and stretch your hip.
Extend the leg,
Lower it down.
And then do the other side.
Left leg up and then turn the knee out,
Open the hip.
Feel those lower chakras opening up.
Stretch it out,
And then bring it down.
And now we're going to shift to plank.
And then you're going to take an inhale,
And then you're going to exhale and just lower the chest to the mat.
You may have to remove the blanket.
If it's underneath you.
Or you can bring it up to about hip level.
If that feels good to you.
Now let's start by taking the hands.
A little in front of the shoulders and turning the fingers in.
Pops of the feet are resting on the floor.
You're going to gaze down at your mat.
As you exhale,
You're going to push your torso away,
Gazing down.
And then once you get to a good stretch,
Lift your head and stretch your throat a little bit.
And then melt it down.
The axel push away.
And then left.
Let that throat chakra get a little opening at the top.
That you want to just gaze down the beginning.
And then lift.
This is good for the spinal muscles.
And for the throat chakra.
And let's do that one more time.
Excellent.
And now fold your hands one on top of the other.
And then bring the soles of the feet together.
We're gonna do some froggies to strengthen.
The hip joint.
All the muscles around the hip,
The glutes especially.
So exhale and squeeze the soles of the feet together and tighten your glutes.
And then inhale and release.
Tight,
Tight,
Tight.
And release.
For any reason you can't do this much hip opening,
You're welcome to roll over on your back and do bridges instead.
Thank you.
Let's do that one more time.
Excellent.
Okay,
Now let's stretch the legs back.
We're going to come up to locus.
So you're lifting your torso and you're lifting your legs and you're feeling the spinal muscles engaging.
Try to also open the fronts of the shoulders and lengthen the space between the toes and the crown of the head so you feel spacious in your spine.
And just breathe.
It's so important to keep the spinal extensor strong so that your spine is stable.
Thank you.
Peace.
Let's melt down and relax for a couple of breaths.
I want to do some of these flowing,
But just rest for a couple breaths.
And then when you're ready,
Just exhale,
Lift it up.
And inhale,
Melt it down.
Exhale lift it up And inhale,
Melt it down.
You.
Excellent.
Let's take the hands alongside the ears.
Let's push it up on to all fours and then shift over onto our seat.
Feel free to put a folded blanket under the hips if that's more comfortable for you.
And let's extend the legs.
And flex the feet.
We're going to come into Dandasana staff pose.
Place the hands next to the hips.
Lengthen your spine.
Draw awareness to your pelvic floor muscles.
Engage the Mula Banda.
And just breathe with a long spine.
And let's come back and revisit that rise of the breath coming up the spine and as you exhale,
Descending down the spine.
And just visualize yourself basically Feeling that nourishment through all your chakras from root to crown.
And I'm going to try to give you a little visual picture to help go with this.
Swirling red energy in your root chakra.
That's your Mooladhara.
And then think of swirling orange energy in your sacral area.
Swadishtana.
And then swirling yellow energy.
In your solar plexus.
And then swirling green energy in your heart space,
The anahata.
Swirling blue energy around the throat space,
The Shuddha.
And swirling indigo around the brow center point,
The ajna.
And then brilliant white light emanating from the crown of the head and upward.
Sahasrara.
So just feel that energy rising up through the chakra and descending back down.
Now let's inhale and stretch the arms up and exhale,
Melt into a seated forward fold.
Flex at the hips.
Feel your belly moving toward the thighs instead of trying to round the upper spine.
Maintain that length in the spine so we can maintain that continuous flow of energy up and down the Shashumna,
Nourishing all of your chakras.
Now come up.
And then let's bring the right foot into the center,
Lift up and settle into the sit bones,
Continuing to flex the left toes back and engage the thigh muscles.
Inhale,
Stretch it up.
Exhale,
Melt forward,
Looking at your big toe and staying lengthened in the spine.
And now slowly come up.
And now take your left foot and take it on the other side of the knee.
If that doesn't work,
Then you can put it somewhere along the way that does work for you.
And then just come into a gentle twist,
Looking over your left shoulder.
Now release it.
Lengthen the right leg and then bring the left foot into the center.
Lift up and settle into the sit bones,
Flexing the right toes back,
Engaging that thigh.
Inhale,
Stretch it up.
Exhale,
Melt forward.
All these hip openers are very good.
For both the root and the sacral chakras.
These are very important for that feeling of grounding.
We need that so much nowadays.
Because everything seems a little bit crazy out there.
Remember,
We can always find balance in ourselves.
If you feel overwhelmed,
If you feel stressed,
Just take some time and draw inward.
I'll come up.
And now we're going to take that right foot somewhere along the way or on the other side of the knee if that feels okay for you.
And then you just come into a twist.
Lengthen your spine.
Remember,
Your hand can be on the knee or your elbow,
Whatever feels right.
Now release it.
And now let's bring the soles,
The feet together.
Take an inhale and then exhale,
Bow forward.
And just visualize those lower chakras.
Brilliant red light and orange light.
In the root and in the sacral area.
Slowly come up,
Now set the soles of the feet down.
Now let's come up to a boat pose.
Let's waken up the Manipura again.
Visualize that yellow brilliant light in your solar plexus.
And if you feel any discomfort in the low back,
Just.
.
.
Hold on to the backs of the thighs gently.
To support And now let's lower it down.
And then let's bring the soles of the feet together and push the feet out and just let the head drop toward the feet here.
Hehehehe Yay!
Let's slowly come up and let's come down onto our backs now.
We'll do some stretches and cooling poses here.
Start by just taking the knees in toward the chest and stretching your back.
And if you want to introduce a little movement,
You can rock side to side.
Now release the left leg out.
Just let the left leg lengthen out until the heel touches.
Just hold the knee in toward the chest and feel that psoas stretch again.
Nice,
Relaxed breath.
Try to just relax your shoulders here.
And then let your right foot connect with your inner thigh on the left.
And take your left hand on the outside of that knee.
Open your right arm,
Look towards your right hand,
And then slowly melt into a little twist.
Now release it and now stretch out your right leg.
And hug your left knee in toward the chest.
Feel the psoas and the top of the right thigh releasing.
You can actually slide your right heel down a little more to get some extra stretch in that space.
And then bring that left foot,
Connect it to the inner thigh on the right.
Open the left arm,
Look towards your hand,
Take your right hand on the outside of your left knee and just melt softly into the twist.
Be gentle with yourself.
Feel that easy flow of your breath.
