Brief Grounding Surya Practice

A straightforward, accessible daily practice built around rhythmic movement and Surya Namaskar variations to cultivate energy, mobility, and steadiness. This is a well-rounded practice for reconnecting to breath, moving prana, and creating a grounded reset.

Props needed:
• 2 yoga blocks recommended

Poses and practices included:
• Side bends
• Seated twist
• Cat/Cow
• Surya Namaskar variations
• Seated mindful breathing

Please note:
For educational purposes only and not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider to ensure this practice is appropriate for you.

Transcript

This is a practice where we are grounding the body, Where we are grounding the mind, Where we are nourishing all the layers of the body. And we're building cadence, We're building steadiness through Surya Namaskar. To start, We're going to open the body so you can come either cross-legged or sitting on your heels in Virasana and reach your arms up. Take a deep breath. And then grab your left wrist with your right hand and lean towards the right side. Take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out. I like to close my eyes here. They're already closed, Actually. Palm of the left hand is facing up. Towards the ceiling and see if you can anchor through that left hip down. And then reach both arms up. Maybe they come into a prayer. Grab your right wrist with your left hand and lean towards the left. Same thing. So palm of the hand up. And we're really elongating the side of the waist. The armpit. That right hip, Take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out. And then come back to center. Do that one more time. So left hand towards the right. Back up. And right hand towards the left. Back up. Let's take a twist, Reach both arms, Inhale, We'll turn towards the right side. I'm mirroring you, So you're gonna want your left hand on your right knee, And then the right hand is actually gonna come to support the lower back, And there's a little bit of a leverage here to find the twist. Deep breath. It's the first one. It doesn't need to be the biggest twist you know how to do. Just opening the spine, Opening the body, Come back to center, Reach the arms up. And then twist towards the left. So same thing, Left hand comes to the low back and see if you can tuck the tailbone under just a tad. Tall spine, Reach for the crown of the head. Come back up. Inhale. And then bring your hands down to the ground. We'll come to all fours, So hands on the shoulders, Knees on the hips, Drop the belly, Look up, Cow pose. And then press on the hands, Press on the top of the feet, Round the back cap pose. Do that a few more times on your own cow pose as you breathe in. And Cat Pose as you breathe out. Follow your own breath. Inhale, Cow. You might go faster than me or you might go slower than me. Let's do two more like this. Inhale. And exhale. Last one, Inhale. And exhale. And then go ahead and walk your hands a little bit forward, Tuck your toes under, And start to reach your hips. So you're hovering your knees, You're reaching the hips. Up, Up, Up, Up, Up. And that drives the arms to lengthen, The legs to lengthen, To find Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward facing dog. Take a deep breath here. And a deep breath out. And I would suggest having your feet a little wider for that first one. Your hands a little wider. Your hands might open out even more. To find the ground. And see if you can anchor every single finger pad down. See if you can start to ground the feet. Maybe you even lift the toes so that the ball of the feet and the heels reach down even more. And then go ahead and walk your feet all the way to your hands, To the front of your mat. And bring a big bend to your knees, Fold forward Uttanasana. You can shake your head yes and no. You could reach your arms behind you. Interlace the fingers. Big breath, Everybody. And then if you have a variation with the arms, Go ahead and release the arms down. And very, Very slowly you're going to roll the spine until you come all the way up to stand. And bring your hands to your heart. You might have your eyes closed here. My eyes are closed right now. And I'm going to encourage you to find your. . . Feet really firmly planted onto the ground, Maybe even lift the quads off the kneecaps. Start to steady the breath. Open your eyes when you're ready. Let's read your arms up. Big breath in. And fold forward, Big breath out. Lift halfway up for the first few ones i like my hands on block And then go ahead and plant your hands, Step both feet back. To plank pose. Take a breath in here, Reach through the heels towards the back of your mat, Drop the knees down, Bend the elbows lower all the way. Walk your hands just a little bit back towards your feet and then bending the elbows lift into a baby cobra, Not very high. Press the pubic bone down so you're lengthening the low back. Engage your legs, The knees are lifting off of the mat. And then tuck your toes under, Press back towards child's pose. And then downward facing dog. Look forward, Bend the knees, And then step to the front of the mat. We're going to start to build a little bit at a time. Lift halfway up, Inhale, Ardha Uttanasana. And then fold forward, Exhale, Uttanasana. Come all the way to stand. Reach for the arms, Lengthen the spine. And then hands to heart. Uttanasana. Inhale. Reach your arms up. Urdhva Hastasana. Exhale, Fold forward with Tanasana. Same movement. Inhale, Lift halfway up. Adha Uttanasana. Exhale, Point your hand step back to plank pose. Inhale pause here. Exhale, Drop the knees down and lower all the way. Same thing, Baby cobra on your inhale. See if you can hug your elbows in towards your midline. And then exhale, Downward facing. Girl, Maybe you go through a child's pose, Maybe you don't. Take a breath in. And then step your feet forward to the front of your mat and fold Uttanasana, Exhale. Come all the way to stand. Urdhva Hastasana. Inhale. And then hands to heart. Exhale, Tadasana. Inhale, Reach your arms up. Exhale, Fold forward Uttanasana. Inhale lift halfway up. Maybe you start to lower the block so you don't use the block. See if you can reach the crown of the hip forward and lengthen through the spine. Plant your hands, Exhale, Plank pose. Inhale in plank pose. Look forward. Create space in your neck and your throat. Drop the knees down lower. Exhale. Little bit higher, Cobra, Big breath in. Engage through the legs and lengthen the tailbone towards your feet. Tuck your toes under, Exhale, Downward facing dog, Adam Mukhašvanasana. Reach your right leg up. Inhale. Bend the knee, Open the hip, Exhale. And as you do that, Reach your left heel down a little bit more. Engage and stretch the right quad. Three-legged dog, Right leg up. Inhale. Exhale, Hug your right knee to your chest, Step your right foot forward and then step your left foot forward and fold Uttanasana. Come all the way to stand. Urdhva Hastasana. Inhale. And then exhale, Go ahead and fold forward. Inhale, Lift halfway up, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, Plant your hands, Step back, Plank pose. Inhale, Stay here. Drop your knees down, Exhale lower. Inhale, Lift Cobra. And then exhale downward facing dog Reach your left leg up, Inhale. Bend the knee, Open the hip, Exhale. And then see if you want to reach that right heel down a little bit more as you stretch the left quad. Reach your left leg up. Inhale. Hug your left knee to your chest and then step it forward. Step your right foot forward and fold Uttanasana. All the way to stand. Urvahastasana. Inhale. Hands to heart. Exhale. Reach your arms up. Big breath in. Stay with it. Start to build that cadence, That rhythm. Exhale. Fold. Inhale, Lift halfway. Little technical difficulty here, And then exhale, Plant your hand, Step back to plank, Take a deep breath, And you might go to chaturanga, You might keep the knees down, Exhale. Maybe you're ready for cobra, For up dog, Or maybe you stay with cobra. See if you can really lift through the hands, Through the heart, Through the. . . The sternum. And then exhale, Downward facing dog. Take one breath in here. And then exhale you can step or you can jump to the front of your mat and fold Uttanasana Inhale all the way up, Urdhva Hastasana. Exhale, Hands to heart uttanasana. Again, Inhale, Reach your arms up. Notice how you're starting to feel. Exhale, Fold forward. Inhale, Lift halfway. Plant your hands, Exhale, Step back. Inhale, Lift. I'm going to start to give a little bit less instructions. Exhale lower your way. It could be chaturanga, It could be It could be all the way down, Cobra or Up Dog. And then exhale downward facing dog. Stay here for the breath in. And then exhale, Make your way to the top of your mat and fold. Inhale, Lift. Exhale hands to heart. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale fold forward. Inhale, Lift halfway. Exhale, Plant your hands and step back to plank. Inhale pause press your head back against an imaginary wall and exhale make your way down Inhale, Lift your way. And exhale downward facing dog. We're going to add some lunges. Inhale, Reach your right leg up. Exhale hug your right knee to your chest and step it forward and then come up to a high lunge big breath and reach for the arms Your back knee might be bent quite a lot before you start to lengthen through the heel. Big inhale. Exhale, Bring your hands down and step your left foot to the front of your mat, Fold forward, Uttanasana. Inhale all the way up, Urdhva Hastasana. Exhale right away, Fold forward, Uttanasana. Inhale, Lift halfway. Exhale, Plant your hands and step back, Plank pose. Inhale, Stay. Exhale lower your way. Inhale lift. Exhale, Flying downward facing dog. Lift your left leg up, Inhale. Hug your left knee to your chest and step it forward. High lunges your breath in. Same thing with that back knee, You can bend it or you can go straight right away. It depends on what's happening on the front of the thigh. On your next exhale, Hands down, Right foot forward and fold. All the way to stand, Urdhva Hastasana, Inhale. Hands to heart, Exhale. Again, Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Fold forward. Inhale, Lift halfway. Exhale, Plant your hands, Step back to plank pose. Inhale and stay build some strength here. Exhale lower down Inhale, Lift cobra, Up dog. And endow our facing God. Reach your right leg up, Inhale. Hug your right knee to your chest, Step your right foot forward, This time lower the left knee down, Anjaniyasana, Reach, Inhale. And then exhale, Hands down, Left foot to the top of your mat and fold. All the way to Sten or Vahastasana. Fold forward right away, Second side, Exhale. Inhale, Lift. Plant your hands, Exhale, Plank pose. And hell. Exhale lower. Inhale, Lift cobra or up dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Good job. Lift the left leg up, Inhale. Hug into your chest. Step your left foot forward and drop your right knee down. Anjanasana. Bring your hands down and this time bring your left knee to your right Drop the belly, Look up, Cow. Round cat, Exhale. Inhale, Cow Exhale, Cat. And then walk your hands back to your knees sit back on your heels for a moment Close your eyes please. Let your breath settle. Notice the energy moving through your body. So it is how alive you feel. Notice if you're more tired, If you have more energy. What has come up from this practice. Let your breath become smoother. And more nourishing. You could lay down for a few moments of Shavasana or you could stay here in meditation. And if you're. . . Out of time. Mindfully open your eyes and move on with your day. Thank you.