Yoga & Meditation for Transitions

This 35-minute practice is designed to connect you with the magic of in-between moments through a guided meditation and gentle, fluid movement. This intermediate flow opens and strengthens the entire body with a focus on foundation, intentional transition, and balance play.

Transcript

What's up everyone? Welcome back to your journey yoga. My name is Natalia and today we have some yoga for transitions and feeling into the magic of in-between moments. We're going to start this practice with a meditation. So if you would like to sit up on a block, A bolster, Or a pillow, Feel free to grab that and bring it underneath you. And as you transition into this scene. Transition into this practice. Notice the way that the body wants to naturally settle in. It can bring some relaxation to the muscles of your feet. And bring some ease into the shoulders and the arms while finding a little bit of engagement in the low belly. Just so you have enough support to sit up nice and tall in your spine. Letting the legs be heavy. And just start to connect with your breathing. What does the breath feel like inside of your body today? And is there anything that the body is communicating with you here as we begin? Might be communicating through some little microtension. Through some internal movement. Just receive. Whatever information the body has for you today. Create enough space within yourself for all of these sensations to arise, For them to ebb, For them to flow. And you can also start to connect with sound. And other elements of the space that you are in right now. And just really start to acknowledge yourself as an integrated part of the present moment. As sound travels in and out, Sensation ebbs and flows, You are here in the body, Breathing and being. And as your awareness continues to expand, And as you continue to take on this role of the observer, I want you to see if you can begin connecting with these little in-between moments without efforting too much. Starting to connect with the little transition moment in between your inhales and your exhales. Little moments of transition in sound. Little moments of transition in sensations in your body. You can start to stretch out time. Using your awareness of these little in-between moments. There's nothing to try too hard or force here. Start to connect with these little moments. No matter how fleeting they may seem. Signaling to the mind and to the body that we are here to be intentional, That we are here to slow down. That we are here to stretch and bend time. We spend so much of our lives rushing into the next thing. And it leaves us feeling like we don't have enough time. So let this practice be a gift of stretched out intentional time and movement for you. Let's take a deep inhale in through the nose. Super soft and slow exhale. Begin to draw some little baby circles with the tip of your nose. Maintaining this slight engagement of your low belly. Notice if you started slouching or rounding in the spine here. Find that lift. And then switch directions. And start to bring the head back over the heart, Heart over the pelvis. Anchor into those sit bones as you reach the arms up to the sky. Exhale, Float them down. Inhale, Arms reach up. Cactus to open your heart. Arms reach high. And twist over to the left. Inhale center. Twist over to the right. Inhale center. Exhale, Float the arms. Reach it high. Cactus and Obey. Arms reach out. This time, Bring the left fingertips to the earth. Bend over to the side, Keeping your spine lengthened. Open your heart. Maybe lift your gaze up towards your arms. And then use your core here to slowly rise up through center. And take it over to the other side. Spine stays long. Heart stays open. Maybe you lift your gaze. And again, Using your core here to bring you back up. And exhale, Hands to heart. Take a breath in. As you exhale, Transition to all fours. You can set your block to the side. And as you come into your tabletop. Find some space between your fingers here. Also finding space between the shoulders and the ears as you lengthen from the crown out through your tail and press firmly down into the tops of your feet. On an inhale, Slowly articulate through your spine as you come into a cow pose. Pausing here. Drawing those shoulders away from the ear. Pressing the earth away from your hands as you open up through the heart. Take deep breaths into your rib cage here. Now pressing the earth away from your hands, One vertebrae at a time. Rolling through the spine, Coming into your cat pose. And again. Really breathing into the rib cage here. Chin to the chest. Let your belly round up towards the spine. And then just continue to flow back and forth between your cat and your cow. Pay attention to the way that the body moves here. We do cat-cow all the time. See if you can bring a different, Maybe more curious awareness to this. Open yourself up to maybe finding something new about your body and the way that it moves, The way that it breathes. If you want to transition into some other movement. Do so mindfully. Let it be intuitive. We're going to start to come on back to our neutral tabletop. And from here, We're going to extend the left leg out long. Squaring those toes down towards the earth, Finding a nice long line from your left heel out through the crown of your head. Let your low belly draw up and in towards your spine as you extend the right fingertips out long. Lots of length forward and back here as you take a deep inhale. Slow, Articulate movement as you bring elbow to knee. Inhale, Expand. Notice if you have a tendency to rush then. Elbow to knee. Inhale, Open. Last time, Slowly close it in. Open up. Tabletop. Extend the right leg out. Toes square down. Nice long line from that heel out through the crown. Low belly draws up and in. And extend your left fingertips forward. Lengthening forward and back as you inhale deeply. Articulate movement elbow to knee. Inhale to open. Exhale contract. Expand it up. Draw it in Open up. Tabletop. We're going to tuck the toes, Come into a seat. So we're coming into our seated monk's pose, Getting a little stretch in the soles of the feet. Interlace the fingers behind your back. Draw the knuckles down towards the earth. Inhale to lift your gaze, Open your heart. Exhale, Chin the chest. Left ear to the left shoulder. Take a couple rounds of breath here, Drawing the right shoulder down. And then chin to the chest as you take it to the other side. Chin comes back to the chest. One round of breath here. And then slowly release your bind. Inhale onto the knees. Arms reach up high. Cactus sit back to your heels. Arms up. Sit back, Open the heart. Arms high. Sit back. Reach it up. Open arm twist to the left. From here, Reach the left hand to the left ankle, Right arm overhead as you open the heart, Push your hips forward. Connect to your center as you slowly rise back up. Arms reach high. Open arm twist to the right. Reach the right hand back for the heel or the ankle. Left arm overhead as you open up through your heart. Hips come towards being over your knees. Connect with your center here as you slowly rise up, Arms high. Exhale, Hands down to the earth. You can pad out the tops of your feet. Tuck your toes, Press into your palms, And send your hips high and back into downward facing dog, Finding a little bit of movement here. Let yourself settle in. And then anchor into your foundation and your downward dog. And on an inhale, We're going to ripple through the spine coming into a plank pose. Take a breath in here. As you exhale, Bend the knees, Ripple through the spine. It's a downward facing dog. Inhale, Ripple to your plank. Exhale, Bend the knees down, Dog. Last time ripple forward. Exhale, Send it back. Take a breath in. And release. Right foot anchors, Left leg reaches high. Shift it forward, Knee to nose. And I'll send it back. Slow transition forward into a low line Pause here. Find a stance that feels supportive in your feet. Come onto the ball of that back foot as you lengthen your spine. Get strong in your legs. Use your core to bring you up crescent lunge. Now check in here. Get your hips aligned. Get strong in both of your legs. Inhale, Inhale. Exhale, Open up to the left. From here, Move from center as you open to your Warrior II. Grounding into the edge of your back foot. Use that anchor to bend a little deeper in your front knee. Inhale, Reverse Trikonasana, Straighten your front leg. Exhale, Cartwheel the hands down into a pyramid pose. Step the back foot up enough to ground your back heel. Hips come into alignment. Crown of the head draws down towards the earth. Now pay attention to how you move here. We're going to anchor into both feet evenly. And we're going to bring our hands to heart center. Find a little lift out through the crown through the heart Notice what starts gripping here. Maybe you grip in the toes. Maybe you start to grip in the face or the shoulders. Just observe how you transition into this balance pose. Good, And then release fingertips down to the earth. Think about floating your right leg up as you come into a standing split. Grounding into the left foot as you lift up through the left hip. Take a deep inhale. With ease, Step that right foot back, Low lunge, Lower the right knee down. Inhale, Rise back up to a modified crescent this time. Exhale, Hands to your front knee. We're gonna take a few breaths here, Breathing into our right hip flexor. Inhale those arms high. Exhale, Fingertips come down to the mat. Lift your back knee. Gently step up to the top halfway lift. Exhale fold. Root to rise. Arms high. Hands to heart, Salmas Dehati. Inhale here. Tadasana. Or that. Forward fold. Halfway lift. Exhale, Plant your palms. Move mindfully here as you transition your way to down dog. Maybe you take. . . A little chaturanga. Cobra. Maybe you send it straight back. But pay attention. To the way you move in the in-between. When you get to down dog, Take a deep breath. Anchor the left foot and reach your right leg high. Exhale, Knee to nose. And about. Slow shift forward to your low lunge. Again, Find a good stance that feels supportive in the feet. Come onto the ball of that back foot. Strong legs, Long spine. Press the earth away from you as you rise up. Crescent lunge. Check in with the hips here. Get them aligned. Get strong in both of your legs. Inhale, Lengthen the arms high. Exhale, Open up to the right. Connect with center here as you open up to your warrior two. Anchoring into the edge of your back. Leaning forward into that. And then inhale, Reverse trikonasana, Straighten your front leg. Exhale, Cartwheel down into your pyramid pose. Back foot comes up enough to ground the back heel. Hips draw in alignment with each other. The crown draws towards their front toes. Just breathe here for a couple breaths. Now again. Be mindful of this transition as you anchor into all four corners of both feet. Rise up halfway, Hands at heart. Notice what grips. Notice what stays steady. Good. Bring those fingertips down to the mat. Think about floating up to your standing split. Inhale deeply here. With ease. That left foot back, Low lunge. Lower the knee down to the mat. Press into your front foot as you rise up, Modified Crescent. Inhale here. Exhale, Hands come to rest on that front knee. We're going to breathe here for a little bit. Into that left hip flexor. Next inhale, Arms reach up high. Exhale, Fingertips down to the mat. Lift your back knee. Float up to the top, Finding a halfway lift. Exhale fold. Root to rise, Urdhva Hastasana, Arms high. Hands to heart, Samas Dehati. Inhale it. Tarasana. Orvahastasana. Forward fold. Halfway lift. Exhale, Plant those palms. Step back to your plank. Find your transition to downward facing dog. Be mindful, Be intentional. Take a deep breath when you get to down dog. Right foot grounds, Left leg reaches high. Slow shift forward, Low lunge. Find your foundation. Rise up to crescent when you're ready. Take a breath in here. Open up to the left. Inhale, Open to your warrior two. Exhale to ground. Reverse Trikonasana, Straighten your front leg. Revolve Trikonasana, Right hand down by the left ankle. Left arm reaches high. Take an inhale here. Exhale, Close the left hand down, Turn into your pracerita. Toes turning just slightly, Pressing into the edges of your feet. Hands under the face as you inhale to lift halfway. Acts helpful. Inhale, Lift halfway. Exhale, Bend through your right knee, Skandasana, Or high skater. I'll turn around for you guys. Left toes are up towards the sky. Let's plant that right palm. Reach the left arm up high. Take a deep inhale. As you exhale, Bring that hand down. Come back to your low lunge at the front of the mat. Step off your back foot to your standing split. Take a deep inhale. Exhale this time, Shiva Squat. Inhale to lift. Exhale to squat. Inhale lift. As gently as you can, Step back to low lunge. Find your plank. And journey your way to downward facing dog. Tune to your breath. Connect your movement. Deep breath when you get to down dog. Left foot anchors. Right leg reaches up. Shift it forwards here a little. Find your foundation. Rise up to crescent when you're ready. Deep inhale in here. Exhale, Open up to the raise. Right hand reaches back, Left arm reaches high. And open up to that warrior two. And out here. Exhale, Ground. Reverse Trikonasana. Revolve Shrikanasana. Left hand down by that right ankle. Right arm reaches. Close that right hand down. Turn the right toes in. Second set of prasarita. Hands under the face. Inhale. Lift halfway. Exhale full. Lift halfway. Bend through your left knee. Skandasana. Left fingertips stay on the earth. Your high arm reaches high. Open up for your heart. As you exhale, Low lunge back to the front. Press off your back foot, Standing splits. Deep in Helen. Exhale, Achieve a squat. Inhale, Lift. Shiva squat. Inhale. Gently step that left foot back. Find your plank. And move your way to downward facing dog. Breathing deeply when you get there. Right foot grounds, Left leg reaches high. Shift it forward a little. Take your time rising up to crescent. Open up to your warrior two. Now we're going to play around here. If you want to bring a block up to the front of your mat, We're going to play around with transitioning from warrior two into half move. So as you're in your warrior two here, Think about what you would need to get there. You're gonna anchor into all four corners of that front foot. We're going to connect with our center here. Let that be from where you move. Get really strong in that front leg and just play here. You might not nail it on the first time and that's not the point, Right? So start to float off your back foot. Maybe you stumble. Open up. Sides, Squaring the hips, The toes, And the heart. Breathe. And you can transition back and forth here. Again, Paying attention to those in-between moments. How do you hold yourself here? How do you breathe? How do you manage the stumbling, The falling? Let this be an exploration for you. Really connect with yourself. Get curious. Hard to do. Or maybe it's easy for you. I don't know. It's hard for me. We're going to meet back in our warrior two. Inhale, Reverse warrior. Exhale, Slow cartwheel down to your low lunge. Step back to your plank. Find your way to downward facing dog. Inhale. And exhale. Left foot grounds, Right leg reaches up. Lola. Take your time, Rising to crescent. Open up to your warrior team. Get grounded here. Find your focus. Anchor down into that front foot. Connect with your center here. Think about where you're headed and how you can transition mindfully into that half moon. Notice what it feels like to have a lot of momentum. Notice what it feels like to maybe move a little bit slower. And just play. Get carried. Breathe deep. We'll meet back in Wario 2. Inhale reverse warrior. And cartwheel down to your low lunge. Find your way back to downward facing dog. Inhale. Let it go. One more. And release down into an extended child's pose, Knees wide. Nice long spine. Let your belly relax. And direct your breath down into your hips, Into your low back. One more round of breaths. Gentle transition through all fours and into a seat. Extending your legs out nice and long. Flex the toes, Anchor into the sit bones to reach your arms high. And fold over your legs. You can round the spine here. And then begin to roll up through the spine. Slow transition down onto your back, One vertebrae at a time. Finding a full body stretch. Leading, Pinning the arms and the legs. And then bring the soles of the feet together, Knees wide. You can bring one hand to heart, The other to the low belly, Or you can bring the hands behind the head, Let your elbows open wide. Close your eyes. Just take a moment to notice how you feel holistically here. Mind, Body, Spirit. Maybe reconnecting with that. Momentary transition between inhales and exhales. Begin to gather the knees together. Let them come towards your chest. Finding some circles, A little bit of rocking. And then wrap your arms around your shins if you want. You can bring the forehead up to your knees. Give yourself a tight, Tight squeeze. In exhale, Transition into Shavasana. Arms and legs extend out long. Again, Noticing how the body wants to settle in. Relaxing the space between your brows. Ciao! Letting the limbs become heavy. Allow your breath to soften into a natural state. Start to connect with restfulness here. We spend so much time rushing, Thinking that we need to. Get to the next thing. Maybe even. . . Feeling like we're not in the right place at the right time. Not doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. And that can be a really good sign. That we need to slow down. Pay attention to the ways that we're moving in transition. Giving ourselves permission to slow down enough to appreciate. These in-between moments where we're not so certain about where we're headed or who we are or what we want to do. There is a lot of magic there if we give ourselves enough time to slow down. To appreciate. To notice. And to just be. Start to find those little pockets of spaciousness and just play with extending and bending time in your life. You'll realize you have a lot more of it than you think you do. I hope that. You can carry some of this with you into the rest of your day, Your week, Your month. Know that you have plenty of time. Thank you so much for joining me, And I look forward to practicing with you again. If you feel called, You can bring the thumbs up to the third eye. Take a deep, Deep inhale. And exhale, Let it go. See you in the next video. Namaste.