Yoga Love

Love is being all in with another person—recognizing them and being there for them. Yoga helps you to be present in the moment so you can focus on your love! Also, this sequence involves lots of chest and heart openers. It feels wonderfully heart-healthy!

Transcript

Thank you for joining me today. We're going to focus on feeling love. Close your eyes. And just start to access your breath first. In and out through the nose. Is our Ujjayi breath. Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Iris Murdoch said that. This quote acknowledges to us the challenge of real love. Love requires a full arrival in someone else's presence. It requires an acknowledgment that another person also experiences the richness and the vastness that you experience personally. And how does yoga bring us to this realization? Yoga helps us to be present. To focus on the here and the now as we connect with our breath. And connect with movement. So that when we're with people that we love, We can be present with them. Enjoying them and and honoring their unique presence as well. Let's open our eyes. Take your arms by your side. Deep breath, Inhale, Reach up overhead. Press your palms together at the top. Exhale, Take your hands through a journey right down through heart center. Inhale, Lift up. Press those palms, Exhale, Pull down through heart center. One more time, Inhale, Lift. Energy all around us. Exhale. Very nice. Come on to all fours. With feeling love and expanding the heart, We'll do some chest and heart openers as well as we stretch and move together. Let's start with a simple one, Cat and cow. Drop your belly down, Shoulders roll back, Inhale, Send the gaze up to the sky. Exhale, Round through your spine, Really curving the back and tucking your chin and tucking those hips right under. Inhale, Arch, Feel the whole range of motion. Exhale, Round. Inhale, Arch. Exhale, Round. Once more, Inhale, Arch. Exhale, Round. Come back to neutral. Let's take our arms forward. Just a bit, So I'm widened here, And then press the shoulders down. This is puppy dog pose. And it feels, For me, Pretty intense along the shoulders and the sides of the body. We've still got the hips lifted into the air, So it kind of gives us a curve in our low back. Beautiful side body reach here. Nicely done. Come on up to all fours once again, Readjust your hands so that we can press onto our feet. Lift the hips up and take Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward facing dog. This is also reaching through the sides of our body. But we also get the hip lift as well and the legs, Hamstrings and calves. You can pedal your feet as you need to. Good. Bend your knees, Walk your way forward toward your hands. One more shoulder stretch before we rise. Grab onto your forearms. So we're pulling down a little bit and now getting the upper back kind of area of those shoulders. Just a little bit of heaviness. Release your hands down, Roll up through your spine. Keep our shoulders and our arms heavy here. As we come up. We'll lift and pull them back and down into place. So everything feels once again lifted and open and expanded. Let's take Serenel Mascara A, Warm our entire body. Inhale, Lift your arms up overhead. Exhale, Swan dive forward, Uttanasana. Reach down as far as you can go. You do not have to touch the floor. Inhale, Bring your hands to your shins, Halfway lift. Exhale, Hands down, Step back or hop back to a plank. Here you can drop to your knees if you want. Chaturanga, Elbows bent, See if you can hover, Even for a moment. Inhale, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana. Feel how this opens up the front of the body. Exhale, Roll back to Adho Mukha Svanasana. Second time we're here. This time, Feel lifted at the center. So we're pulling up through the inner abdominal area where Uddiyana Bandha is. Inhale. Exhale. Bend your knees, Look forward, Inhale, Step forward, Or you can hop forward. I just showed a step. And fold down into your legs, Uttanasana. Inhale, Reverse swan dive, Reach up, Urdhva Hastasana. Exhale, Samasthiti, Arms by our sides. Let's do it one more time, Then we'll move onward. Inhale, Lift up. Urdhva Hastasana. Exhale, Fold down, Uttanasana. Inhale, Look up, Halfway lift, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, Hands down, Step or hop back, Drop to your knees. Always a choice. Chaturanga. Inhale, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana. Exhale, Adho Mukha Svanasana Nicely done. Inhale, Reach the right leg up and back behind you, Lift. Exhale, Bring it through in between your hands. Drop your left heel down to the mat. Raise up. We're in warrior one. Virabhadrasana A. And then open up even wider, A little goal post here. Feel how this relaxes the shoulders down your upper back. And there's so much expanse, So much space. In that chest. Gradually our gaze just floats up toward the sky. Now pull your hands behind you. You can bring your fists together. You can grab your forearms or you can come to a reverse prayer like so. Choose your way. Then straighten up that right leg, Inhale. Exhale, Fold forward over your right leg. This is purvottanasana. So many things are going on here. We can feel that right hamstring and glute. It's a little bit of a balance. Your ankles might be shifting somewhat. And we're pulling those shoulders back once again. Good. Inhale, Lift up. Nice job. Exhale, Bend your right knee once again, Release your hands, Reach up back into our Warrior I. And exhale, Open to Warrior II, Virabhadrasana B. Right leg is still forward. As we gaze over that right hand. You can feel the inner side opening up and we realize that love requires real seeing. Real seeing of that person that we love. Keep the right knee bent, Drop your left hand down and reach your right arm back. So we feel that side body. Really nice and expanded here. Almost like we're leaning into that right side. Inhale, Lift up, Take the reversal, Drop your right forearm to your thigh, Reach your left hand over. If you want to go deeper, You can place your hand on the ground or grab your block and reach your hand onto that block. And we get the balance of the left side of our body. Stretched and reaching. A little pressure into that right hip. So it's building up some strength, Isn't it? Inhale, Press up. Turn your toes toward each other and bring your hands to your hips. We're moving into Prasarita Padottanasana, But with a twist first. Look up, Inhale. Exhale, Fold forward. Take your hands down just directly underneath your shoulders. Then reach that right arm up to the sky. If it's too far to bring the hand to the sky, You can bring your hand to your hip and that's perfectly acceptable. We're trying to feel the shoulder blades align. Opening the heart space. And the chest and we've also got a little bit of a twist in that left hip and low back. Inhale. Exhale, Release your right hand. Walk your hands back between your feet if you can. Feel free to grab your block if it's too far to the ground. And just let yourself hang. Now we are in Prasarita Padottanasana A. And we can feel this stretch all the way up the legs. A beautiful lift there. Inhale, Press into the floor, Look up, Lengthen our spine. Exhale, Bring your hands to your waist. Inhale, Lift up, Very nice. Exhale, Turn that right toe back out again. So we return to warrior two. This is just a transition. Inhale. Exhale, Windmill the hands down to the mat. And drop that left knee down as well. So you're in a low lunge. Make sure your knee stacks on top of your ankle so you're not putting too much pressure on the knee. And you can keep your hands on the floor, Maybe on your blocks. You can reach your hands to your knee. Or you can lift your hands up overhead. And we're simultaneously pressing into that right hip while lengthening out the left hip flexor. Really nice. Inhale. Exhale, One step deeper, At least through the inner thigh and groin. Hands come down to the inside of your right foot and roll onto the pinky edge. So this is now opening up that outer IT band on the outer hip. You can stay on your hands like I'm doing or try maybe a block on the floor for your forearms. If that's still not deep enough, You can go all the way to the ground. Right? It's totally up to what your body can handle. Move with the breath. Feeling that depth building into our hips. One more breath, Inhale. Exhale. Gently press up. Unwind your hands there and let's step our right foot back. And lower yourself down to the floor. Keep your hands right by your sides, Tops of the feet on the floor, Cobra pose three times. Press with the hands, Inhale, Lift. Feel your hips are staying down. So you can get that really nice squeeze in the low back. And opening up through the chest, Right? Exhale, Lower down. Again, Inhale, Lift. Feel that full expression. Exhale, Lower. One more time, Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Lower. Good. Press up onto your knees. You can let your knees drop open a little wider if you'd like and sit back to a child's pose. This is just changing the direction of our back so we can feel that opening up of the sacrum. Inhale, Lift back up to Adho Mukha Svanasana. Exhale, Press down with those heels. Good. Let's repeat all of that on the left side. So reach your left leg, Inhale up and back behind you. Exhale, Bring it through in between your hands, Drop your right heel down and raise up to warrior one, Virabhadrasana A. Then open up. Keep going. Feel that expanse. Expanding but also relaxing. Through the upper back. It's such a nice balance, Isn't it? Love how that feels. Hmm. . . Take your hands behind, Go back to your grip, So fist. Grabbing forearms, Coming to reverse prayer, Whatever you did last time, Or change it up, Totally up to you. Straighten out the left leg and fold forward over your straight left leg. The straighter the knee, The better. You're gonna get more engagement through that hamstring and glute if you keep your knee straight. And just relax your neck. A beautiful forward bend for our spine. Good. Inhale, Come up. Exhale, Bend. Once again, Let's release our hands, Reach up. And open to Warrior 2, Virabhadrasana B. We're going to switch sides so that I can see you. And as we gaze over that left hand, We once again remember that we move with an open heart. And the determination to really see the people that we love today. Keep your left knee bent. Drop your right hand down, Reach your left arm up and over. You're in a beautiful reverse warrior where you can really feel that side body. Good. Parsvakonasana. Come forward, Drop your forearm down or reach your hand to the floor. Feel free to utilize your block. And pull the left arm overhead. Really feeling that press into the left hip and the beautiful length along the right side of the body there. Very nice. Good. Inhale, Lift all the way up. Great job. Exhale, Turn your toes toward each other. I gotta adjust mine a little bit. Hands to your hips. Look up, Inhale. Exhale, Fold forward. Take your hands down just right below your shoulders. Now it's time for the left hand. So inhale, Lift the left arm up. And it's okay if your left hand comes to your hip. That's totally fine. Adjust that if you need to. You can feel that heart space open up. Really lovely. Inhale. Exhale, Place your hand down, Equal out your hips. And then walk your hands further back. Maybe in between your feet. Feel free to use a block, Right? Always an option. And try to keep your knees as straight as you can so that you can feel all the way stretching up, Up and down your legs. Nice release through your neck. Even the jaw. Let it go. Just hang there. Feel healthy. It's just lovely down the spine. Inhale, Press into the floor, Look up. Exhale, Bring your hands to your waist. Inhale, Lift all the way up. Very nice. Exhale, Rotate through your leg. Come back to Warrior II, Just so we can transition. Inhale. Exhale, Windmill the hands down to the mat. Drop your right knee. So you're in your low lunge once again. You can stay here, Hands on the ground or hands on the block. Bring your hands to your knees. Or reach your arms up overhead. All three options are just fine. Do what works best for your body today. We gotta have a little self-love too, Right? We can certainly feel the expression of self-love here. Inhale. Exhale, Hands come down to the inside of that left leg and roll to the pinky edge of the left foot. So we're pulling open through that outer left hip there, IT band. You can stay on your hands. You can pull your block, Elbows to the block. So it's a little deeper, But not all the way. Or if you're ready for all the way. Go all the way! Do what you can. And just enjoy the space that you're in today. That's what it's all about. Good. One more breath here, Inhale. Exhale. Let's press up. And step the left foot back. Lower yourself down onto the mat once again. This time, Salabhasana. Bring your arms by your sides. We'll have the tops of the feet on the floor. First choice, Lifting just the chest. Second choice, Chest and legs. Keep your neck loose. This is not a neck lift. This is a low back lift. I can certainly feel it in my muscles. We are pulling our shoulders back, Aren't we? As we draw our arms behind. One more breath. Inhale. Exhale, Lower down. I'm not going to go all the way down because of my microphone. Please lower yourself all the way down and turn your head so it just rests on the cheek there. For our second one, We're gonna take our hands behind us, Clasp. So try doing that first. If that doesn't work for you, Hands by your sides is perfectly fine. You choose. Go ahead and lift up. Get the upper back first and then maybe involve the legs as well. This will pull even more through our shoulders and chest. We can feel that right away. Good. One more breath here. Inhale. Exhale, Come on down, Let go. Again, Rest your head, Turn your cheek. I just don't go all the way because it messes the microphone up. Please relax. Good. We'll take one more just a little bit deeper. Of course you can choose any option you want. If you're able to, Grab your feet with your hands. If this is too far, Go back to hands by the side or hands clasped behind your back. Here we go, Inhale, Lift. If you've got your feet, Press your feet into the hands so that it lifts the chest. And lifts the quadriceps off the mat maybe. We can definitely feel that in the shoulders. Keep breathing. We rock a little bit here. Because we've got our stomach on the floor. Nice job. Inhale. Exhale, Come on down, Really nice. Press with your hands back into a child's pose once again. After those backbends, It feels really nice to be in child's pose. At the heart of love then is compassion. Begin here in rest in this child pose. With compassion for yourself. Take the time you need here to care for your body and reset. Extend compassion to yourself. So that you may extend compassion. To others when the time comes. Inhale, Lift your weight up. Exhale, Sit down and roll your legs around. We'll come into a balance for those back bends. We did a lot of back work, Let's add a little abdominal work on as well. Two options. We'll take Navasana and Ardha Navasana, But we're going to modify just a little bit. So you can be on your elbows. With the knees bent. Or you can be here with the knees bent, So a little hover. You decide what works best for you. Let's get into our hover position first. So here we go. Inhale, Lift up. Maybe you're on your elbows, And that's great. You can feel those abdominals starting to kick in. A little bit of psoas right here at the front as well. Now let's start to move. Straighten out your legs. You might be here, Right? And then pull them back in. Yes. Inhale, Straighten out the legs. Hover the body, Exhale, Squeeze it back in. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Squeeze. Inhale, Lengthen. A lot of shaking for me. Exhale, Squeeze. Let's do one more. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Squeeze. Good job. Tuck your legs in. Sit up and we'll face each other for a twist. Let's start with the right leg hurdled and the left leg right in front. This is a variation of a twist, But we're going to do this purposefully to stretch out the hip flexor and the quadriceps. It just got tight in that abdominal workout. So take your right arm across and your left hand to the floor. As you rotate your torso, Your hips will also lift just a little bit. Feel like you're pressing your right hip forward just a slight bit. As you send your gaze back. And we can feel the hips twist. But notice how your chest is so open and free. There's lots of expanse in the heart center. For feeling the love. The love for yourself that's self-compassion. Good. Now come forward. Bring your right leg back around to Baddha Konasana, Our feet together, Knees open to the side, Sitting as close as we can and as tall through our back as we can. Take a breath, Inhale. Exhale, Extend forwards. We're folding down. And then just let your gaze follow down toward the ground. Some of you might have your nose on the floor. Clearly, I do not. But if we can feel those hips. Opening up and that stretching. I can feel that my hips are reaching down, My knees are reaching down, So that means my hips are opening up. Just notice the sensations that you have and that is perfect. Good. Inhale, Lift up, Nicely done. Exhale, Release your legs. I'm going to turn to my side so you can see and grab a strap. If you have a strap handy, Reach for it. You might need it to place around your feet. If you can easily grab your feet. Your toes, You don't need a strap. Just do what you need to. Sit tall. Inhale. Exhale, Walk your way over, Walking down that strap toward the feet. Then take another deep breath, Pull in through the middle of the body, Lifting your center. Exhale, Fold back down even further. This pose targets hips, Hamstrings, And back all together. Really powerful. Please utilize the strap so that it's a good quality of stretch. One more breath, Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Lift up. Exhale, Release your feet. You can just set that strap off to the side because we won't need it. Let's do our second side with the twist. So this time the left leg will hurdle back and the right leg is in front. Take your left arm across, Grab onto your knee. Right hand to the floor. Pull that right shoulder back. Lift the hip. Feel that lift right through there. And then turn the gaze behind. Just breathe through it. Our chest is open. Our heart is free. So hopefully we can feel that expanse. Good. Inhale, Come forward. Nicely done. Exhale, Extend the legs this time. Upavistha Kriyasana. Get as wide as you can and put the toes to the sky. Then walk your hands down your legs. We keep a nice open chest here as we go forward. I actually think it's pretty difficult. We get down fairly far and it feels like our body and our hips are just going to crack open. If it's easier for you to bring your hands to the floor. Do so. Otherwise, Keep reaching for those feet. And wow, I can feel my inner thigh. Feel those rotators! Ooh. Let go with each breath just a little more. Hmm. One more inhale. Exhale. Nice job. Come up. Needed that today. Let's bring our legs back together again. Point your toes this time and take your hands behind you, Fingertips facing your hips. Press into the floor and you can either just straighten your arms and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Beautiful chest opener, Feels really nice. If you want to get more strengthening in your back, Then lift up to Pervo Uttanasana. And we can feel that expanse through the entire front of the body. As we engage strongly into our back body. One more breath, Inhale. Exhale, Come on down. Nicely done. Very good. Grab one of your blocks. And bring yourself to the floor. We're going to take a gentle inversion today. Just so we can let our body take everything in, You can take your block underneath your hips. In the lowest height, So get them comfortable so that block feels like it's holding you up. And then take the legs up to the sky. So it should feel fairly weightless. We're just letting that blood flow come down the body toward our internal organs here, Toward the heart space. I'm just gonna let my arms fall down to the floor. So there's a little bit of a chest opener here, Simply because we've elevated our hips. And we just let, Let gravity happen. Inversions are wonderful for circulation and metabolism. Kind of speeds everything up to move the blood flow through the body. And of course our yoga practice has warmed us up. Prepared us for this lift. Take one more breath here. Inhale. Exhale. Bend your knees. Drop your feet down to the floor first. Then lift your hips and just slide that block out of the way. Pull your knees into your chest. Now this presses the curve of the spine to the floor, So it should feel really nice on our low back. And let your legs drop over to the right while your arms open. Then take your gaze and look over your left shoulder. We can feel this twisting in our low back. Our hips. And it definitely opens up the chest. And the heart space. Bye. Inhale, Come back into the center. Exhale, Drop your legs to the left. And turn your gaze over the right. And just let yourself relax. You can close your eyes if you want. Maybe you already are. Trying to ease out any last remaining tension through the body. Even in the mind. Then come back to the center. And let your legs float down. One leg to each edge of the mat. Arms by your side, Shoulder blades pulled down. So that you can enjoy Shavasana. And take in all of the good work that you've done. As you move into rest. Imagine your most sacred loved one. In your mind's eye. Think of them, Visualize them. Sit with the experience of your loved one fully radiating love. And gratitude to them. I'll let you enjoy your Shavasana for a few moments. And I'll wake you up with the sound of the heart chakra. Heart chakra tone. So have no worries. Just be there, Rest. And enjoy your experience. You you you you Start to wake yourself up. Feel that tone resonating right in your heart. Rotate through your wrists and your ankles. Stretch your arms overhead to lengthen through your entire body. And roll over to one side in fetal pose. Gently press up to a comfortable seated position. Bring your hands to heart center. And I'll leave you with this quote by Fred Rogers. Love seems to be something that keeps filling up within us. The more we give away. The more we have to give. Thank you for your practice today. Namaste