Yoga For Justice In Honor Of Martin Luther King Day

Honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with this 45-minute yoga class dedicated to exploring justice, connection, and truthfulness—both on and off the mat. Through mindful movement and breath, we’ll reflect on how yoga principles, especially Satya (truthfulness), can guide us to live with courage and integrity.

Let’s come together in this inspiring yoga journey to deepen our awareness, embrace truth, and cultivate a more just and compassionate world.

Transcript

Today we will do a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. We'll explore the feelings and the ideas of justice and a connection to others in our community. Is one of the things that he focused on. We're all one part of a beautiful whole. Martin Luther King is known as the United States of America's resident advocate on nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in all of the world. Used the principle of ahimsa, Non-harming, Non-violence, And we'll feel that today as we move through our yoga poses and breathe deep and listen to how our body responds. And as we practice today, I'll just pepper in a few of his beautiful quotes. To help us stay connected and do just a little bit of honor and tribute to a great man, Truly great man. So let's close our eyes. And just really get connected to the breath. We'll breathe in and out, Just through our nose. As we feel our lungs expand. As we feel the breath deepen down into the diaphragm. And truly taking a moment to pay attention. To the flow of the breath. And to what it can do in our body and in our mind. We breathe all day long. But we don't always pay attention. Now's our chance. Let's open our eyes, Bring our arms by our sides. Take a nice deep breath. Inhale, Lift up. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Release. One more together here. Inhale. Exhale. Good. And move on to all fours. Make sure you're lining up your wrists, Your elbows, Your shoulders all the way up and then the knees right underneath the hips. Pull upward through your center, So we're not harming our back by letting ourselves arch. We're lifting and supporting with the center of our body, Feeling that core engagement. Just keep looking down at the ground, But reach the right arm forward and the left leg back. Feel that pull from fingertip to heel. And again, Lifting through our center so that we're not harming our back. Reach, Inhale. Exhale, Place the hand and the knee down. Other side. Inhale, Extend the left arm and the right leg. Pulling up, Looking down, Feeling that reach and link. Breathe, Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Place it down. Good. Lift up onto your toes and reach the hips up into the air. Press back in our first Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward facing dog. Again here, Pulling up through the center of the body so we really feel some nice length through our low back. You can pedal the feet if you need to. If you need to loosen out the backs of the legs and the ankles, Feel free to move them. And lets shift forward to a plank. Inhale come forward. I've got long arms and a short torso. So I'm going to move my hands forward just a little And again, Don't harm your back by pressing up, Up, Up through the core, Really pulling and lifting at the center. Keep your neck just looking down so we're not harming our neck. Inhale. Exhale, Press back to down dog. Now I'm a little wide, Adjust if you need to. But we're actually gonna walk back now to our feet. So walk all the way back. And feel your heels connect to the floor. This is an interesting position especially at the beginning. You might want to bend your knees just to be gentle on the back or you might really enjoy feeling the hamstrings and then you're going to keep your knees straight. Whatever it is, Just hang here for a moment, Loosening up your neck, Your shoulders, Your jaw even. And then let's roll up through our spine. We'll just let our hands be so heavy here. As we come up. . . Pull our shoulder blades back, Very nice. And walk to the top of your space. So that we can start Sira Namaskara A, Our Vinyasa, Get everything nice and warm together. Inhale, Reach your arms up to the sky. Exhale, Swan dive forward. Again, You can bend your knees if you need to, Loosen up, Or keep them straight. It's totally up to you. Inhale, Look up, Halfway lift. Exhale, Hands come down to the mat. Step back to your plank. Feel free to drop your knees here or stay lifted and Chaturanga. Elbows bend. Maybe you can hover over the mat. Inhale, Lift through your chest, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Upward Facing Dog. Exhale, Roll back to Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward Facing Dog. Nice so that was our first one just trying to figure out our body a little bit you might have noticed areas that felt extra tight So the second time. . . We're going to send our attention to those areas. A little bit of focus on the tight spots. Bend your knees, Look forward, Inhale, Step up to your hands. Exhale, Fold down into your legs. Relax your neck, Your jaw, Back of the legs. Inhale, Reverse swan dive, Reach all the way up to the sky. Exhale, Samasthiti, Arms by your sides. Nice. Again, Here we go. Pay attention to those tight spots. Inhale, Lift up. Exhale, Swan dive forward. Inhale, Look up, Halfway lift. Exhale, Knees bend, Hands down, Step back, Knees lifted or drop them to the mat. Chaturanga. Inhale, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Upward Facing Dog. Exhale, Press back, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward facing dog. Good. Good. Did you pay attention to those tight spots? Maybe that little bit of focus helped you to feel like there was a little more connection. A little more release in those tight spots. Now reach your right leg, Inhale, Up and back behind you. Exhale, Bend your knee, Bring it through your center and place it down in between your hands. If you need to scoot it forward with your hand, That's fine. Let's drop our left knee down to the floor and then lift up. We're going to put a little focus into our hips and hip flexors. We do not want to harm our body and go deeper than we can. So we might place our hands just on our knee here. We might take our hands down. That might feel really great. Or you might reach your arms up. So there's three options. Try each one. See what works best for you. Good, And we're pressing into the hips, Feeling that engagement in the right hip and the length through the left hip flexor. Martin Luther King said, If you can't fly. . . Then run. If you can't run, Then walk. If you can't walk, Then crawl. But by all means. Keep going. So that's what we're going to do today. If we can't do the pose that is offered, Then you change it, You modify it, But you keep going and you keep breathing. Good. Let's release our hands down to the mat. Lift onto that back left leg and place the heel on the ground. Then reach up to Warrior I. Virabhadrasana A. Very nice. So we're strong here, Really supported through both legs. We feel energy lifting from the ground all the way up. Inhale. Exhale, Open up. To Warrior 2. So we've got the right knee bent, The left leg is extended. Good. You can feel that energy that we're pressing into our right hip. Let's get a little bit deeper there by dropping either the forearm to the thigh. So here's a great option. Or if you've got your block close, You can put it by the pinky toe side of your foot, Rest your hand on that block, And then extend the left arm overhead. So using the block just gives us a little bit more depth. And you decide if you want that. You can always place your hand up on your thigh. And that is fine too. So feel that energy building into that right hip. Really pressing. But don't forget about the left pinky toe edge here. Put some weight, Anchor yourself there. Feel that balance between each side. Very nice. Lift up, Straightening both legs if you can, And turn your toes toward each other. So now we're facing to the middle. I'm going to bring this block to the middle. Just to demonstrate in case you might need it. Place your hands on your hips. This is Prasarita Padottanasana 8. Look up. Inhale. Exhale, Fold forward and take your hands down to the block. If it's okay and you can touch the floor, You don't need the block. And just start walking your hands between your legs. Maybe the block comes there, Too. Whatever. Press into the floor. Inhale, Lengthen your spine. Exhale, Fold forward. So that you're allowing your body to lengthen all through the backs of these legs, Hamstrings, Hips. Low back. A beautiful reach. Toward the floor. Good. Nice breath. Press into the mat. Inhale, Lengthen the spine. Exhale, Bring your hands to your waist. Inhale, Lift up, Very nice. Now a little tricky, If you are oriented your mat the way I have, You're gonna step up toward this side of the mat. If you're facing a different direction, Just step to the top of your mat. We're just switching sides. So let's take a vinyasa and then we'll lead into our left leg. Here we go. Inhale, Lift up. Exhale, Swan dive forward. Inhale, Look up, Halfway lift. Exhale, Hands down, Step back. Chaturanga Drop the knees if needed, Always an option. Inhale, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Upward Facing Dog. Exhale, Adho Mukha Svanasana. Good, Now the left leg. Inhale, Lift it up and back behind you. Exhale, Bend your knee, Bring it into your chest and step it forward in between your hands while you drop your left knee to the floor. Now remember our options in this pose. We can have our hand on our knee here. We can have our hands on the ground. We can have our hands overhead. Martin Luther King said, The time is always ripe to do right. So do right by your body. Listen to your breath. If we take care of ourselves, We can take care of others. In our community, In our family. Just our sphere of influence. Good, Inhale. Exhale, Hands down to the floor. Step up onto that right toe, Drop your heel. And reach up. Warrior One, Virabhadrasana A. Nice and strong. Beautiful. Beautiful. Inhale, Open it up to Warrior II. Exhale, Swivel the feet. We're just lining up the heel with the arch of the foot and putting a little more emphasis into that left leg, Left hip. But balanced out with that right hip flexor on that side. Good, Now deeper still, Elbow to the thigh, Option A. Option B, Maybe grabbing a block on the pinky toe side and reaching that right arm overhead. Option C, Maybe you don't even need a block. Some of you might be there and that's great. I'm gonna use my block today. Feel that press into the left hip. Keep some energy on that right side. Really feeling that stimulation there. Nice, Beautiful stretch. We're building strength and we're stretching out. It's a wonderful combination. Inhale, Lift up, Straighten both legs, Turn your feet to the middle. We're going to grab the block and bring it to the middle if you need it. You may not need it and then you can just leave it wherever it is. Hands to your hips again. Inhale, Look up. Exhale, Fold forward. Take your hands down. Walk them back. Between your feet. Now I'm going to offer an option for you today. You're welcome to stay right here or move with me into a headstand. Martin Luther King said, We must build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. So if you feel like you can do this without being too afraid, Continue on with me. I'm going to bend my knees and bring them down to the floor. Move that block out of the way, And take my hands on the ground. I'm actually going to turn so you can see. Then we'll place our head down. And have the elbows back. So see how my elbows are making a shelf right here? Then we'll lift up into a down dog and place the knees on the elbows. And here we are in a little tripod headstand. Now you do not need to do this. You might just be staying in that beautiful forward bend. And that's great. But if you enjoy this kind of thing, Come and join me! We're learning how not to be afraid. Wherever you are, Let's just take one more breath together. Inhale. Exhale Very nice. Those of you in the headstand, Come down. And into a child's pose just to bring the blood flow back into your forehead. So reach the forehead forward and place it down. The rest of you might be in this beautiful forward bend, So I'll lift you up. Inhale, Look up lengthen. Exhale, Bring your hands to your waist. Inhale, We're all gonna lift up. And step back to the top. So those of you in a child's pose, Lift up onto your knees, Get yourself up to the top of your mat, Of your space. And let's take one last standing vinyasa to bring us down to the floor. So here we go. Inhale, Reach all the way up. Exhale, Swan dive forward. Inhale, Look up, Halfway lift. Exhale hands down Step back, Drop your knees if you need to. Chaturanga, We're gonna go all the way down to the floor. All the way down. Perfect. Bring your arms by your sides. And lift your chest and your legs to hover. So reach up, Salabhasana, Chest and legs. Look down to the mat so you're not straining your neck so none of this Keep looking down. And just feel that energy building in the back. In the glutes, In the hamstrings. Looking down. Take one more breath here. Inhale. Exhale, Come on down. Use your hands to press onto your knees and push back into a child's pose, Just changing the direction of your back. Keep breathing. Then let's lift up onto our knees. One more back bend. Pull your knees so they're about hip width distance apart, Stacking right on top. And we'll take our hands to our back. I like to use fists. And just pull our elbows toward each other and start to press your hips forward and let your head fall back. So this is a variation of Oostrasana. If you want to go further and you're able to drop your hands to your heels, Then go ahead and do so. Fists or heels. It's all good. Take one more breath wherever you are. Inhale. Exhale. Lift up. Beautiful, Open your knees, Take a child's pose once more. Opening up those heels, Dropping your forehead down. Martin Luther King said, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. So as you're in this child's pose, Just remember that what you're doing for yourself today, It matters. It matters to take care of our mind and our body. It allows us to give back to our community if we are taking care of ourselves. Gently lift up. And let's bring our legs around to sit. So swing forward. With our feet together, Knees open to the side, Baddha Konasana, Like a butterfly kind of pose. Just take your hands behind you for a moment and press into the floor and maybe push down with those knees. This is not an easy pose for me. You can see how my knees are not touching the floor, But I can add a little resistance here by opening up using the floor with my hands. Now the trick is when we let go of the floor to see if we can keep the knees where they are and fold forward. So release your hands, Come forward over the top. My knees lifted a little bit, But then as we lengthen our torso and as we breathe, Our knees might go back down again. And we can feel this beautiful stretch through the hip flexor right between the hips. Opening up through there. So you may not feel like this is a great pose for you. It's certainly not for me. It feels great. But I don't necessarily look the greatest in it. That doesn't matter. Martin Luther King said, If I can't do great things, I can do small things in a great way. So this small pose might be opening your hips in a really great way. I hope that's the case. Inhale, Lift up. Nice job. Exhale, Open up. Let's take it wide. Shift yourself around. Hopefully you have the space to get nice and wide. Toes pointed to the sky and really open through these hip flexors here. Take a breath, Inhale, Exhale, Walk your way forward. Over the body. Again, Maybe. . . You're not able to move really far forward, But it feels great on the inner thigh and on the hips and right in between the back. That's what matters. Stick with it. Keep breathing. Each breath might lead you just a little bit deeper into it. Feel free to deepen. Let it go. Good. Inhale, Walk your way up. Very nice. Bring your legs back together. I'm gonna swing around. And grab a strap. Place the strap around your feet to start. You may or may not need the strap. Some of you might be able to reach your toes without it, But let's start with it and we'll go from there. So take a breath here, Inhale, Exhale, Walk yourself forward. Reaching onto that strap. Pulling your shoulder blades down, Letting your head relax. So you can feel your hips. Your hamstrings. Maybe your low back. Everyone's going to feel this different. But if anything, It's definitely a supercharged stretch here. And we use all the warmth that we've built up in our body in order to get this beautiful depth. Take one more breath right here. Inhale. Exhale Nice job, Lift up. We're gonna use this strap and lead ourselves to the floor. So go ahead and lay down. And take your strap around your right foot. Extend it to the sky. Now this left leg can stay bent on the floor. Sometimes it's a little bit easier. If you have really tight hamstrings, It might be a little bit easier to keep the left knee bent. If you want a little more tension, Then straighten it out. So I'll leave that to you to decide. We're just going to hold the strap and feel the stretch. The straighter the knee, The more you're going to feel the sensation. Into that right leg there, Hamstring. You might feel it in the glute, In the hips. Good. A beautiful link through the back of the leg. Now let's open up the leg. I like to take the strap in just my right hand and pull it open to that right side. Good, Now we can definitely feel the hip. If you didn't feel it before, You'll feel it now. And if you feel like you're leaning too far, Straighten out that right leg, I mean left leg. It'll give you a little bit more of an anchor. You might play around with that or you can even place your left hand on your hip. And feel that little bit of an anchor there. Good, Just opening up that hip flexor, Really feeling that depth there. One more breath here. Inhale. Exhale. Bring it back to the center and let's bend our knee and release the strap. So now we're going to hold the right knee into the chest. Left leg should be straight at this point. Guide the right leg across your body to that left side and you might shift onto your left hip a little bit to add a little extra and then extend your right arm out. So we're feeling a beautiful stretch through the shoulder and chest. We're pulling that knee toward the ground. We can feel this twist in our back. There's a lot going on, A lot to really enjoy. And hopefully you can find something that feels good. Excellent. Come back to the center. And let's place that right leg down. Grab your strap. We're going to do everything on the left. So strap now goes on the left leg. Up to the sky. And remember you can either keep this right knee bent or you can straighten it out. Depends on how tight that feels on your hamstring. It's a little bit easier to have the knee bent, A little bit harder to have the leg, The knee straight. So you choose. You choose your level. Of intensity. And just the straighter we can keep this left leg, The better. The better stretch we'll get. Good. Now open up the leg to the left. So if you have your strap in both hands, Just maybe use your left hand only. And if you feel like you're falling too far to the left, Straighten out your right leg. That'll give you a good anchor. You can place your hand on your thigh or you can extend your arm out. Whatever helps you feel like you are keeping connected to the floor. Good, Lot of energy on that hip there. Take one more breath. Inhale. Exhale. Good. Bring yourself to the middle, Your leg to the middle and let go of that strap. Bend your left knee. Shift over onto that right hip a little bit as you start to turn. So we're pulling our leg toward the floor and then we'll extend out that left arm. Turning our shoulder. Or reaching our shoulder. And turning the gaze. So that we can feel our neck. Our chest. Our shoulder. Our low back, Our hip, There are so many things that you might enjoy. Right here. So find something to just enjoy how it feels. Bye. Good. One more breath here. Inhale. Exhale. Bring your leg back to the center. Place both feet down. Let's bend both knees. So that we finish up here with a bridge pose. We're going to do two and then one last release. So we should feel like our low back is pressing to the floor. If it's not, Lift your hips just a little bit and then draw it back down. That should press that curve of the spine to the floor. So each time we come down, We want to feel that connection. From the base of the spine, Start to lift up one vertebrae at a time, Rolling toward those shoulders. And you can just keep your hands on the mat like I'm doing, Or you can clasp your hands together underneath and try to wiggle even higher up on those shoulders. This is gonna squeeze. Our shoulder blades together and really open up the front of the chest really beautifully. Take it whichever way feels best to you. Lots of strength building in our back body as we open the front of the body. One more breath. Inhale. Exhale release the hands and lower back down. Good, Let that curve of the spine connect to the floor. Now you can do that same bridge pose again, Or you can follow me. I'll demonstrate a wheel pose. So with wheel, We'd place our hands back. I don't want to step on my hair. We take our hands back behind our shoulders there, And then press up into the hands and the feet. So if this is not for you, Go back to that bridge pose. If you're in the wheel pose, You get to come down whenever you're ready. Just make sure you're tucking your chin as you come back down. Good, So everyone's finding their own way through this. Take one more breath wherever we are. Inhale. Exhale, Those in the wheel, Tuck your chin. Come on down. Nice work everybody. Pull your knees into your chest and just give yourself a hug. This feels really good now because we just bent our back one way and now we're pressing our curve of the spine to the floor. So it feels really nice. I like to rock a little bit across those hips. Ease a little bit of tension. Change your breathing. That was intense breathing. And now we're letting it slow down a little bit. Moving toward resting. Let's reach down and either grab your knees or grab your ankles and take a little happy baby. So just opening up the hips. Even whiter. Finding even more relief. Through that low back space. And just that gentle rocking from side to side. To help release pressure in the back. Through the hips. Ah, Feels great. Let all that tension go. Good. Now let your legs lower down. You can bring one leg to each edge of your mat. And your arms by your sides. Turn the palms up to relax the shoulders. And just close your eyes. This is where you get to take everything in that you've just done, Absorb it all. And have a moment of rest and peace. I'll leave you with a quote right before you drift away. By, Of course, Martin Luther King. Life's most persistent and urgent question is. . . What are you doing for others? So as you drift away, Maybe just the thought on your mind But what can you do for someone else today? To give back to your community. I'll leave you here to rest and I will wake you up with the sound of a bell when it's time. All right. Start to wake yourself up. Rotate through your wrists, Your ankles. Point and flex your feet. Stretch your arms overhead to lengthen through your entire body. And roll over to one side. In fetal pose. Which just symbolizes starting over, A reset. Gently press yourself up to a comfortable seated position. Let's bring our arms by our sides and finish with one unified breath together. Inhale, Lift your arms up. Press your palms together at the top. Exhale, Pull them down through heart center. And I'll leave you with a final quote by Martin Luther King. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. Thank you so much for joining me today. Namaste.