Yoga Flow For Surrender
The last Niyama of Surrender is used as the theme for this full-length Vinyasa flow - letting the flow be, letting poses be as they are without judgment, allowing the mind to relax and be just with the breath, not anticipating the flow like we might naturally do. Enjoy the Vinyasa flow and the focus on Surrender.
Transcript
Welcome to Surrender.
And I really want us to think in today's practice about even just the word surrender,
I think can have that sense of giving up.
But instead in today's practice,
I want you to think about the idea of letting it be.
That sometimes when we're in poses,
We're judging the pose.
We're thinking how it should feel instead of how it does.
We're anticipating how long will I be in this pose?
What's going to come next?
And I think all of that can be something we can work on as we think about this idea of surrender,
Of just being,
Not thinking,
Not in judgment,
Not in anticipation of what is going to be cued next.
And so throughout our practice today,
I want you to bring that with us.
You might also find that there's a few poses where we stay just a little bit longer than we maybe normally do.
And when that happens,
See what comes up for you.
See if you get into one of those moments of questioning or anticipating so that you can practice the idea of surrendering,
Allowing yourself to just be in the practice how it is for what it is.
All right,
Let's make our way to an easy seat.
Settling in the sit bones in whatever position feels best today.
So maybe it's not that the ankles are crossed up to you.
Lifting up,
Relax the shoulders,
Drop them nice and low.
Just spend a few moments,
A few breaths,
Finding that space from the day,
From the world,
From that to-do list maybe.
And just give yourself permission to be here with your breath,
That inhale,
That exhale.
Maybe keeping the eyes closed,
Let's take some body circles,
Maybe small circles to start.
Gradually getting a little bit bigger,
A little bit wider.
We'll come back into neutral and we'll start those little body circles the other way.
One more nice big circle.
And then coming back into neutral,
Let's bring those circles into the shoulders,
Rolling up,
Back,
And down,
Checking in.
Maybe starting to release some of that tightness or tension.
Then we'll switch directions.
We'll squeeze the shoulders up and roll forward.
Then we'll drop those shoulders low and let's take our right ear over toward that right shoulder.
Maybe the left fingers come to the mat on the outer side of that left hip.
Maybe the right hand comes to lay just on top.
We'll release that right hand from the top of the head,
Sink the chin down toward the chest and roll that left ear over toward the left shoulder.
Maybe the right finger is now on the mat,
The left hand maybe on top of the head.
And then we'll sink the chin straight down toward the chest,
Both hands by our side.
A couple of deep breaths into the back of the neck.
And then we'll slowly roll back up into neutral.
Use our inhale to reach tall,
Stretching toward the sky.
Then we'll exhale,
Twist to the right,
Keeping our spine nice and tall.
We'll use an inhale to reach up through center and we'll exhale,
Twist left.
Inhale up through center.
And then we're gonna bring the hands out in front and we'll anchor in those sit bones,
Walk the hands forward,
Find a good stretch,
You feel all the way down the back,
Into those sit bones,
Into those hips,
Hang the head here,
Two more breaths,
Just let yourself sink,
Let yourself go.
And then we'll slowly walk those hands all the way back.
And let's come to our tabletop.
Finding those hands and knees,
Let's draw those hip circles.
You can start small,
Start whichever side you want,
Gradually maybe grow a little bit bigger.
And we'll switch directions.
And back to neutral,
Into our cat and cow,
Inhaling to lift the gaze,
Drop the belly button,
Exhale to round the spine,
Tuck the chin.
And just flow back and forth,
Take your time.
Or if you wanna linger in one or the other,
Feel free to do that too.
Always kind of checking in and checking out as we warm up,
Not in any sort of judgment way,
But just to see how we're doing,
Where we're feeling,
What we're feeling.
Breathing into it.
Let's take one more nice,
Slow,
Deep breath here.
Then as we find our way to that neutral spine,
We're gonna walk our hands to about 90 degrees off to the left and maybe gaze back toward the feet.
On our inhale,
We'll move all the way through center.
Exhale those hands off to the right about 90 degrees,
Gazing back on this side.
And we'll move back around to neutral.
We'll walk our hands away as we keep our hips high,
Melt the heart toward the mat,
Deep shoulder stretch in our puppy stretch.
Again,
Deep breath,
Don't force anything.
And then we'll walk our hands back underneath.
We'll do a little spinal balance work,
Extending our left leg with the foot flexed,
Pull that belly button in and add that right arm,
Reaching on,
Focusing on that breath,
Feeling that length.
And then we'll release.
We're gonna release the hand back to the mat and then plant the ball of that left foot firmly on the mat or the floor and sink the heel away.
Stretch the back of the leg here.
And then we'll release and switch sides.
So the left knee is under the body,
We'll extend the right leg,
Engage the core,
Reach out with that left arm.
Each side's a little different.
We'll release the left hand,
Anchor the ball of that right foot,
Sink the heel,
Stretch it up.
And release.
All right,
Walking those hands forward,
Make sure you spread those fingers,
Use the pads of those fingers,
Tuck the toes and those hips up and back.
We'll find our way to that first down dog,
Pedaling things out,
Bend one knee,
Then the other.
Maybe you wanna bend both knees.
And then we'll use our inhale to travel to the top of our mat.
Find a rag doll,
Bend the knees,
Grab opposite elbows,
Hang the head,
Tuck the chin.
And as we release,
We'll slowly roll all the way up into our mountain,
Nice and tall.
Roll those shoulders down the back,
Lift up through the crown of the head.
Feel that breath.
On our inhale,
We'll reach up tall and draw full body circles here,
Circles on the sky.
Lengthen out that body,
See how it's feeling.
On our inhale,
We'll reach up tall.
Exhale,
We'll hinge,
Find our fold.
Inhale for a halfway lift,
A nice flat back.
Exhale,
Round and fold.
Inhale to sweep it tall.
Exhale,
Folding.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Tall.
One more,
Just like that,
The top of our salutation.
Exhaling to fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Tall.
Exhale,
Folding.
This time we're gonna step our right foot back,
A warrior one,
Right toes at that 45 degrees,
Still turning toward the top of the mat,
Those shoulders soft.
Really feel that stretch in the back leg here.
Then we're gonna use our inhale to reach those fingertips forward down to the mat,
Coming to a plank,
High plank.
High plank or modified.
Exhale,
Lowering with control.
Inhale,
Baby cobra,
Lifting the chest.
Exhale,
Up and back,
Down dog.
On our inhale,
Bending the knees,
We'll travel to the top of the mat.
Exhale,
Fold.
On our inhale,
We're gonna come to a halfway lift and stay,
Really feeling that stretch through the legs,
Flatten the back,
Drop the belly button,
Feel that length through the crown of the head,
Reaching away.
Exhale,
Round and fold.
Inhale,
Sweeping tall.
Exhale,
Folding,
Left foot back,
Warrior one.
First one on this side,
Take your time,
Settle in,
Feel the stretch.
Then we'll inhale,
Reach forward,
Step to plank.
Exhale,
Lowering down.
Inhale,
Baby cobra.
Exhale,
Down dog.
On our inhale,
Traveling to the top of the mat.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Hold.
Exhale,
Down dog.
Drop the shoulders away from the ears.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Tall.
Exhale,
Folding,
Right foot back again,
Warrior one.
Reaching forward,
Stepping to our plank.
Exhale to lower.
Inhale,
Baby cobra or your up dog.
Exhale,
Down dog.
Inhale,
Traveling to the top of the mat.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Hold.
Exhale,
Release and round.
Inhale,
Sweep tall.
Exhale,
Folding,
Left foot back,
Warrior one.
Reaching forward,
Finding plank.
We'll exhale to lower.
Inhale,
Baby cobra or up dog.
Exhale,
Down dog.
Using our inhale,
Step,
Walk,
Or hop to the top.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Hold.
Exhale,
Release and round.
Inhale,
Sweep it tall.
Nice.
Exhale,
We'll fold.
We're gonna step that right foot back,
Warrior one.
All right,
Inhale.
We'll open up to our warrior two,
Opening up to that wide edge.
Reverse warrior,
Left arm up.
Really breathe into that lower back.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
On our inhale,
We'll turn both feet.
Reach for star at center.
Exhale,
Wide leg fold.
Inhale,
We'll come to a halfway lift here and hold.
The in should feel that stretch in the back of the legs.
Really find that length in the back.
Should feel that stretch in the back of the legs.
Shoulders away from the ears.
Exhale,
Release,
Round.
Use that inhale to slowly make your way back up.
Take your time with that head.
Reaching all the way up for our star.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
Inhale,
We'll windmill the hands.
Frame that front foot.
And however we want to,
We'll find our way to a down dog.
Exhale,
We'll come to a halfway lift here.
Lift those hips.
Relax the head.
Enjoy deep breath.
And then we'll inhale,
Travel to the top of the mat.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Hold.
Exhale,
Round.
Inhale,
Sweep it tall.
Exhale,
We'll fold,
Left foot back.
Warrior one.
Opening up to the wide edge.
Exhale,
Sink into that warrior two.
Reverse warrior.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
Inhale,
Star.
Turning those feet.
Exhale,
Wide leg fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
Staying here.
Deep breath.
On that exhale,
We'll release.
Round.
On our inhale,
We'll roll tall.
Reaching for star.
Exhale,
Warrior two,
Back toward the top.
We'll windmill those hands.
Stepping back,
Finding our down dog here.
Let's take a breath or two.
But as you're ready,
Find your way to that child's pose.
Taking the knees nice and wide,
Touching the toes.
Sink those hips back toward the heels.
Ground back down.
Come back to practice.
Return to the breath.
One more breath.
We're gonna flow it forward.
Exhale,
Send it up and back.
Down dog.
On that inhale,
We'll travel to the top.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Fold.
Exhale,
Release.
Round,
Inhale,
Sweeping tall.
Exhale,
We'll fold,
Right foot back.
Warrior one.
On our inhale,
We're gonna add a humble warrior,
Hinging forward,
Easing down at that left foot.
Reach those fingers back behind you.
If you want more,
You can take the full chest expansion and release the hands.
Releasing the fingers.
Keep that breath.
And we'll slowly rise back up.
Warrior one.
And we'll open up,
Warrior two.
Reversing our warrior.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
Inhale,
Reaching for a star.
Exhale,
Wide leg fold.
We're gonna walk that chest over toward the right leg.
Left arm will hold the right leg.
We're gonna bind our right arm to that lower back.
A little gentle pressure into the lower back to open that right shoulder.
Then maybe turn the gaze toward that right shoulder.
And then we'll release.
Coming all the way through center,
We'll take the other side,
Chest toward the left leg.
Right hand,
Holding onto that left leg.
Bind the left arm,
A little gentle pressure.
We'll turn and look.
And then back to center.
On our inhale,
A halfway lift hold.
Exhale,
We're gonna open up.
Exhale,
Release,
Round.
Inhale,
Rolling tall.
Take your time.
Reach it up.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
Inhale,
Windmill those hands.
You can step to your down dog to a child's pose.
Or if you wanna add the bottom of your salutation,
You can come to plank.
Exhale to lower.
Inhale,
Lift.
And then exhale,
Down dog.
On our inhale,
We'll travel to the top.
Exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Halfway lift hold.
Exhale,
Round.
Inhale,
Tall.
On our left side,
Exhale,
Folding left foot back.
Warrior one.
And then we'll hinge forward,
Humble warrior.
Again,
You can reach those arms back.
You could take the full chest expansion,
Interlacing those fingers back behind you,
Up to you.
Just keep that breath.
Feel the work in the body.
Now we'll rise back up,
Warrior one.
Opening to the wide edge,
Warrior two.
Reverse warrior.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
Inhale,
Star.
Exhale,
Wide leg fold.
We'll come to the left knee.
Left leg first,
Sink the chest.
Right hand toward that left leg.
Find the left arm and that gentle twist.
Look over the left shoulder.
Now we'll release through center.
The left hand toward the right leg.
Bind the right arm,
Gentle twist.
And back to center.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Fold.
Exhale,
Round.
Inhale,
Roll tall.
Exhale,
Warrior two.
Inhale,
We'll windmill those hands.
Again,
You can step it back,
Down dog,
Child's pose.
Or if you wanna add the bottom of your salutation,
You can roll to plank.
Exhale to lower.
Inhale,
Roll tall.
Baby cobra or up dog.
Exhale,
Down dog.
And on that inhale,
We'll travel to the top.
Exhale,
Fold.
One more time.
Inhale,
Halfway lift,
Hold.
Maybe you think about that very first halfway lift,
Hold.
Feel that length here,
That stretch.
Exhale,
Release.
Round,
Bend the knees deeply.
Inhale,
Sweep it tall,
All the way up toward the sky.
Exhale,
Hands to heart center.
Nice.
Let's do a little tree for our balance work today.
We'll start with that left foot.
We'll pick it up,
We'll set it down.
Grow those roots.
Think about lifting up,
Engaging the core.
Start in that tripod and then make your way to whatever tree you like.
Really doesn't matter.
The pose feels the same wherever that lifted foot is.
So don't feel any pressure.
Really fix that gaze and be present in your tree with your breath.
And we'll release.
Shake things out a little bit.
Circle out that left ankle.
That idea of surrender really I think works with the idea of tree pose and balance.
Those trees don't always have a lot of choice about what the weather's gonna be like.
They just have to be the tree within it.
Surrender to it.
Let's switch sides.
Anchor in that right foot.
Lift tall.
Each side is different too.
So find your tree on this side.
Grow tall.
Shoulders dropped.
Breathing through it.
One more breath.
Now really,
We'll shake things out again.
Hips a little side to side.
Circle out that right ankle.
All those stabilizing muscles.
And then we'll find our mountain.
Feeling strong and grounded in both feet.
Feeling that length in the spine.
Again,
Shoulders heavy,
Low down the back.
Feel that breath.
Feel that you can be both strong and soft.
And on that inhale,
We'll reach up tall.
One more time.
Exhale,
Folding,
Stepping back to our plank.
Exhale to lower.
Inhale,
Lifting the chest,
Baby cobra or up dog.
Exhale,
Pressing back,
Down dog.
Last one,
Couple of breaths.
Feel that stretch.
Nice inversion.
Breathing into it.
Releasing into it.
And then as you're ready,
Making your way to child's pose.
On our inhale,
Rising back up.
We'll reach up to our tabletop.
Let's take our hips back and forth,
Side to side.
And then we'll keep our hips all the way to the left.
We'll look around that left shoulder.
See if we see the hips back there.
We'll move it through center.
Take those hips all the way to the right.
Look around that right shoulder.
Back to center.
We'll extend our left leg,
Engage the core.
Reach out with that right arm.
Adding some movement with the breath here.
Pull the belly button in.
On the exhale,
Draw elbow and knee together under the body.
Inhale,
Reach,
Arm and leg long.
Exhale,
Under.
Inhale,
Reach.
Couple more.
Last one.
And release,
Switching sides.
Extending right leg,
Add that left arm.
And as you're ready with the breath,
Exhale,
Under.
Inhale,
Reach.
And as we release,
We'll lower our hips and make our way into a nice,
Easy seat.
Throwing tall,
Anchored in the sit bones,
Soles of the feet together.
We'll hinge forward,
Find our fold.
And we'll stay,
Breathe,
Round.
And rolling tall.
Let's send the right leg out.
We'll keep the left foot on the inside of that right leg,
Half-bound angle.
Pull those right toes back towards you.
Inhale,
Tall.
Exhale,
Hinge and fold.
And release,
Switching sides.
We'll get the left leg out.
The right foot on the inside of that left leg.
We'll grow tall.
Exhale,
Hinge and fold.
And release.
And then both legs out for staff.
Readjust in the sit bones.
Grow tall,
Inhale.
Exhale,
Hinge and fold.
And release.
All right,
Planting those feet.
We're gonna roll all the way down onto our back.
We'll get settled.
I'm gonna do a little bit of bridge work here first.
So we'll settle those feet about hips distance apart and toward the sit bone.
As you're ready,
We'll press into the feet,
Lift the hips,
Maybe squeeze at the top.
Really take your time coming all the way back down.
If you wanna add arms here,
You can.
Reaching the arms up overhead as you lift the hips.
And then as you exhale,
Lowering the hips slowly,
Bringing the arms back down.
It's up to you.
Your bridge,
Just take your time on the way up and on the way down.
Let's take one more.
And then we'll windshield wiper those knees back and forth as we come back into neutral.
Take your time.
Maybe go ahead and goalpost the arms by your side.
Settling in those shoulders.
And then we'll let the knees fall off to the left.
Settle in,
Feel the stretch.
Let that right side of the body melt toward the mat on your exhales.
Maybe drop the gaze to the right.
On that inhale,
We'll come up through center.
And then we'll drop the knees to the right.
As you settle,
Maybe drop the gaze to the left.
Back to that breath.
Now let that left side melt and sink toward the mat.
Totally new stretch.
No judgment.
And we'll come back up into neutral.
We're gonna pull that right leg into chest.
You can extend that left leg long.
Give that right knee a good squeeze.
We'll draw some leg circles with that right leg.
Starting whichever direction you want to.
Check in with the hip.
See how even that back responds,
That lower back.
Switching direction.
And then supporting behind that right leg,
We'll take one more hamstring stretch.
Extending the right leg up toward the sky.
Sink the heel,
Pull the toes back towards you.
You can have a bend in the leg as you need.
We'll release,
Squeeze that right knee back into chest.
Slide that left foot back onto the mat.
We'll release this right leg,
The right ankle to the top of that left knee.
And we'll pull the left leg in for reclined pigeon.
Settle the lower back against the mat.
Couple of nice deep breaths into the right hip.
And we'll release.
As we unwind,
We'll send the right leg long.
Squeeze the left knee into chest.
Give it a good stretch.
And then you can start with those leg circles.
And the other way.
And then back to neutral,
Our hamstring stretch on this side.
Pull those toes back towards you.
And we'll slide the right foot to plant on the mat.
Release that left ankle to the right knee.
Reclined pigeon on this side,
Pulling the right leg in.
And as we release,
Squeeze both knees into chest.
Massage out the spine,
Rocking side to side.
And then as you're ready,
Maybe one more big breath.
Using our exhale,
We'll release.
Find our way into our Shavasana.
Use any props you want to,
Of course,
Always.
So you can settle in,
Dropping those shoulders low down the back,
Feeling the space between the ears and the shoulders.
The back of the head,
Ground it down.
Maybe scan the body all the way down to the soles of the feet,
Feeling all the connection points of the body to the mat.
To the floor,
To the earth.
Coming back to the breath.
Coming back to the idea of just being.
Nothing to hold onto.
No work to be done.
Just rest and breath.
A few more breaths in.
Feeling the body resting.
Relax,
Feeling the breath,
Slow and deep.
Hopefully feeling the mind still calm.
Wiggling fingers,
Toes.
Maybe taking a full body stretch here as we start our way back to the world.
And planting the feet.
We'll roll to either side,
To the left or to the right.
And we'll pause,
As we always do on our side,
To seal in our practice.
Taking our time,
Coming back fully into the world.
Enjoying these last few moments to breathe in the good,
To exhale out anything we wanna leave here.
And then pressing back up.
We'll meet in seated.
Settled in the sit bones.
Again,
Tall in the spine,
Soft in the shoulders,
Slow and deep in the breath.
Thank you so much,
As always,
For practicing today.
Namaste.
