Flow in Gratitude

Hi, and welcome. I'm Lara. Today's class is going to be all about gratitude and gratitude in every moment. And the things that are pleasant and maybe even more uncomfortable and challenging, how can we find gratitude through all of it? And it's really gratitude that allows us to be in that state of abundance and flow. So today, let's go ahead and get started, and we'll start in our child's pose.

As you come into child's pose, you can choose if you want your knees together or knees wider apart Shift your hips back towards the heels as the arms reach forward, or you can have them reaching back. Feel free to let your forehead rest down towards the ground. Getting into this inward, grounded shape. You can close your eyes. Just take a brief moment to clear away that day that's happened so far. Coming into this moment by starting to follow your breath.

And as you tap in here, you can start to think about what are the things that easily come to mind that you're grateful for. Just notice how you're feeling shift and change as you bring yourself to that state of gratitude. Who can continue to think that as we start to move and flow and start to get a little bit more active in the arms, reach them forward if they're not already there. Press down into your palms and inhale rise up to your hands and knees to a tabletop position. Feed a knees hit distance apart, hands about shoulder distance apart, paused in tabletop just to reset the breath, take an inhale.

Excel draw the hips all the way back towards the heels back to your child's pose. I'll make this simple flow with breath. And he'll rise back up to your hands and knees to tabletop. Excel, I'll draw the hips all the way back towards the heels, back to your child's Just one more nice and smooth, rising up to your hands and knees. Drag your hips all the way back towards the heels with your exhale. And we'll start to add on a little bit more.

So this round rise up to your hands and knees, and then tuck your toes lift the hips all the way up and back to your downward facing dog. From downward dog, right away, shift forward to plank, inhales you glide, forward to your plank, exhale lower all the way to the belly. You can use your knees if you'd like. Elbows stay close as you lower all the way down to the floor. And toes point back, hands are by low ribs as you rise to cobra just for the breath inhale to lift up.

Excel, float your chest back down. Press up through your hands and knees as you inhale pressing up through a tabletop. Excel take hips all the way back towards the heels back to your child's pose. And we'll do that flow a couple more times, inhale rising up to your hands and knees, tuck your toes, Exhale downward facing dog, press the hips fast. Inhale gliding forward to your plank.

And exhale that slow controlled lower all the way down to the belly. And toes point back, hands by low ribs, let's rise to cobra inhale to lift. Exhale float your chest all the way back down. Inhale passing through tabletop, rise up through hands and knees, Exhale hips back to heels child's pose. And one more round, rising up to your hands and knees, tuck your toes, exhale downward facing dog, press the hips a thin back.

Glide forward to plank on your inhale. Lower slow to the floor as you exhale. Toast point back rise to cobra inhale as you open across the heart, and exhale float your chest all the way back down. Press up your hands and knees with your inhale, pass through tabletop, exhale hips all the way back to the heels, back to your child's pose. And we'll make our way back to down dog as you inhale rise to your hands and knees.

Tuck your toes, lift the hips all the way up and back downward facing dog. Take a couple of breaths in your down dog. Any movements you like here, you can pell your feet out. You can lift and lower your heels if you'd like. Or you can just stay in your stillness breathing and downward facing dog.

And step or hop your feet up to the top of your space, coming up to your forward fold at the front, and rise up halfway with your inhale, deep fold back down with your exhale, and rooted through your feet rise all the way up to stand, sweep your arms up, touching palms overhead at the top of the breath, Excel bring hands to the heart space. We'll start to warm up a bit here with sun salutation c or classical sun salutations. You can start by releasing your arms down alongside the body, standing up tall, with your inhale, sleeping your arms forward and up, lifting up through the chest, lifting up through the arms. And then as you exhale folding forward and stepping your right foot back, lowering your back right knee down, rising up to a low crescent anginaasana and help sleep your arms all the way back up And as you exhale, hansville plant palms down and step it back to a downward facing dog, press the hips all the way back. As you shift forward, lower your knees to your mat.

You'll keep your hips a bit lifted as you take your chest right between your hands and your chin to the floor. To crocodile pose gazing forward. Point your toes back as you slide your chest forward into a cobra lifting through the heart, shoulders elbows roll back. Kinda tuck your toes with the hips up and back to your downward facing dog. Right foot will step forward between your hands as you lower your back left knee down on Janias and I sweep your arms all the way back up and step it all the way to the top into a forward fold, melt your chest forward at the top of your space.

Root, your feet rise all the way back up to standing, sleeping arms up, touching palms, overhead will go right into the second side, fold forward. Now step your left foot back. Lower your left knee down. Janae Asana rise up, lifting through the arms, the chest. And as you exhale planting your palm, step it back to your downward face lower knees, chest chin down to the mat, keeping the hips slightly lifted gaze forward. Toes point back, pressing forward into your cobra open through the heart, tuck your toes downward facing dog.

The left foot will step forward between your hands, lower back, right knee down, rising up to your low lunge. Bring your fingertips down as you take a big step forward to your forward fold at the front, uttanasana root through the feet rise all the way back at the stand touching palms overhead. Bring your hands to the space of the heart. And we'll do one more round, rooting through the feet, release your arms down so you can sweep your arms forward and all the way up. As you exhale fold forward, stepping right foot back, lower your back, right knee down, rising up to your lower lunge, when exhale as you plant your palm, step it all the way back, downward facing dog, gliding forward, knees, chest, chin lower down to the mat, keep your elbows close to the body.

Toes point back as you rise to your cobra. Tuck your toes with the hips up and back downward facing dog. Right foot steps forward as you lower your left knee down up to your low lunge. And bring your fingertips down as you take a big step forward to the top of your space folding in. Root through your feet.

Rise all the way up to standing, touching palms, right to your second side folding forward step left foot back, left knee lowers, rise up to your low lunge. And Palms will plant as you step it back to downward facing dog and shift forward, lowering knees chest chin to the floor into your crocodile pose. Toes point back, gliding forward to cobra, opening through the heart space. Tuck your toes downward facing dog, press the hips all the way back. Left foot steps forward between your palms as lower you lower your back, right knee down, rise up to your low crescent, stepping it up to your forward fold, a big step forward as you melt in.

Root that your feet rise all the way back up to stand, touch your palms, bring your hands down to the space of the heart. And breathe here. We'll take a full breath in through the nose, slide out through the mouth, let it all go. Feel the heat, the strength you're starting to build in your body. And so from here, sweep your arms all the way up lifting up through the body.

Soop your arms down as you fold forward. Rise up halfway with your inhale, fold with your exhale, plant your palms, you can step it back to plank lowering through your version of a Vinyasa, any variations you'd like to take, you can always go straight back to your downward facing dog. Starting here, in your downward facing dog, reach your right leg all the way up and back. We need to chest up it through between your palms. Lower your back left knee down to the floor.

We're gonna rise up to your low lunge, sweep your arms all the way up alongside your ears. So as you pause here, hug in through the lower belly, lower ribs, so you're protecting the low back by strengthening the core. The length through the sides of the waist, extends up through the arms, up through the fingertips. And it feels comfortable in your neck, your shoulders, maybe you touch your palms and lift your gaze up. If you have your palms touching, can you find a little squeeze to the pinky edges of your hands.

You'll feel your triceps, your shoulders. Activate a little bit more. Feel everything lifting up as you stretch the entire front of the body. Take one more inhale lift And then, as you exhale, punching your palms down around your right foot, tuck your back toes, lift your back knee up. We'll step it back through plank.

Your choice of a vinyasa, or moving to your downward facing dog. Onto the left side. Take your left leg, float it all the way up and back. Need a chest up it through between your palms back right knee lowers down as we come back to that low crescent sweep your arms all the way up. I think I'll just start here checking out that your core hugging in, supporting the lower back, feeling the length through the sides of the waist, extending through the arms, through the fingertips.

You can find that variation maybe taking your gaze up touching our palms together overhead. And if you have the palms touching, find again, that little squeeze pinky edges of the hands pressing together activate the shoulders, the triceps, lifting through the front of the body, breathing here. Take one more inhale. And then as you exhale bring your hands back down around your front foot, tuck your back toes if you're backing up as you step it back to your plank position. And again, moving through your vinyasa or go straight back through to a downward facing dog. Take a couple of breaths in your downward facing dog.

So we're really starting to open up into the chest, the shoulders, the space of the heart. In this space where we can find more gratitude. Maybe think about a few more things that you're grateful for. Maybe think about some things that didn't start out as the most super joyful, happy experiences. But somehow they transformed into something that you were grateful for, even if it was challenging in the moment.

And take your right leg up and back. Step it all the way through between your palms, lower your back, left knee to the ground, rise back up to your low crescent, sweep your arms all the way up, maybe you touch your palms, maybe you lift your gaze up, you're gonna split to a twist, taking your left hand underneath the shoulders, you rotate your chest to the right, turn your right palm to face towards the right as well. So as you come into this twist, you can stay here arms open. You can take a little half binder. Maybe you bend your left knee and reach back for the top of the foot with your right hand.

Opening through the chest, pressing out of your left palm, breathing into this space. If you have the foot in the hand, you'll start to slowly let it go, reach your right arm back up towards the sky, and take it down to frame your front foot. Back toes tuck under as you lift your back knee up, step it back through your vinyasa, or to your downward facing dog. Working into that twist on the next side, take your left leg, float it up and back. You need a chest, step it through between your palms, lower your back, right knee to the floor, rising up to your low crest and sweep your arms all the way option to touch your palms, lift your gaze, lift the heart space.

And then splitting into your twist here, watch your right hand land underneath the shoulders, you rotate your chest open towards the left side. You can stay here. You can take your half by and left arm behind the back. You can bend your right knee, reach back for the top of the foot. Feel your left shoulder rotating open, opening up through the front of the shoulder, opening up through the chest.

And breathe here. If you have the foot in the hand, again, slowly let it go, reaching left arm back up towards the sky, and bring your left hand back to the floor. Tuck your back toes, right knee lifts, as you step it back through plank, your version of a Vinyasa will all meet back into downward facing dog. Take a couple of breaths in your down dog. And from downward facing dog, right leg lift all the way up and back, reaching back through the heel, hug me into the chest, step it through between your palms. We'll set up the base of the feet hip width apart here as you rise, forward and up to your high crescent reach your arms all the way up along side your ears. And same thing as when we are lower to the ground, hug in through the core, link them through the sides of the waist, all the way up through the fingertips, maybe you touch your palms and lift your gaze up.

Take one more inhale. As you exhale split into a twist, reaching your right fingertips back, reaching your left fingertips forward, widening across the collar bones. So you can take your gaze, your drish sheets, wherever helps you focus. It can be forward, can look towards the side, maybe look back towards your right thumb, and let your right hand gently come to the back of the left leg. As you sweep your front left arm up and alongside the ear, leaning open through the chest, and feel your right shoulder wrapping back behind you. As you do this, see if you can deepen the bend in the front right knee a little bit more.

Take one more inhale, extending up and back and then circle your hands all the way down around your right foot, plant your palms. Step it back through a plank. Your choice of a vinyasa. Or back to downward facing dog. Left side, inhale lift the left leg up and back.

Need a chest up it through between your palms. If you'd are hip width apart as you rise, high crescent, sweep your arms all the way up. Find your variation option to touch palms, lift your gaze. Take one more inhale, split into your twist as you exhale, widening the arms open, and again adjust your gaze whatever helps you feel focused, feel balanced, feel the fingertips reaching away from each other, opening up across the chest. Let your left hand come to the back of the right leg, sweep your right arm up and all the way alongside the ear as you lift, opening up through the front of the body.

Breathe here. See if you can focus on still feeling that twist as the left shoulder wraps back behind you, lifting through the chest through the sternum, maybe deepening the bend in the front knee, take one more inhale. And exhale, circle your hands all the way down around your left foot, flatten your palms, step it back to plank. Vinyasa or downward facing dog. We'll flow through that again.

And this time, just doing it more in a sequence of breath and movement linked together, less holding. So from down dog, take your right leg, float it up and back, knee to chest, step it through between the palms, rise up high crescent just for the inhale breaths. Exhale. Open up to your twist. Right hand comes to the back of the leg and he'll left arm sweeps up and back. And then circle your hands down around your right foot, platten your palms.

Step it back through a Vinyasa or down dog. Flowing through the left side, take your left leg up and back. Need a chest, step it through between your palms, rising up high crescent. Exel to his open towards the left side. Left hand to the back of the right thigh, inhaled right arm sweeps up.

Then as you exhale circling hands down around your left foot, step it back, and find your flow. Take a few breaths in your downward facing dog. Take a pose. Child's poses welcome at any time. Wherever you are, we'll take a full round of breaths together, big and ill through the nose, Side up through the mouth, let it all go.

Gently lower down onto your knees. We're gonna walk our hands back towards the knees coming up to kneeling. And here, we'll use a couple of blocks for assistance. So as you come to kneeling, you're gonna place the blocks to the outsides of your ankles and have your knees, your feet about hip distance apart, you'll find naturally it might be more comfortable to tuck your toes under, or you can point your toes back, whatever feels better for you. Line up the blocks on the highest height just to the outsides of the ankles.

And as you come up to kneeling care, bring your hands to the space of the heart. And feel the straight line of energy in your body from the knees to the hips all the way through the crown of the head. Well, keep the spine long. Keep this long line. And just start to rock the entire body back, feel the quads activate as you do that, and then start to press back upright sealing the big muscles to the tops of the thighs, those quad muscles, to help you do that, and just rock forward and back a few times. And really feel the way that the legs help you to get into this movement, get into this motion.

Let's just do one more rocking back. You have legs turn on, and come all the way back upright. Hands to the heart, take a full breath here in through the nose, through the mouth, let it all go. Go ahead. So finding that stability through the legs, keep the body in this long line of energy from knees to the crown of the head start to lean back. And from here, let your right fingertips reach back for the block to the outside of the ankle and start to lift through the chest, lift through the sternum, create that upper backbend, and your left arm can reach forward, and it can reach any degree up, maybe all the way up alongside the ear, maybe back alongside the ear, opening up through the chest a little bit more deeply, keep your core strong, keep everything, still connected, still strong, and connected to the breath.

Open through the front of the body. You can bring your left hand to the space of the heart. Use the muscles of your legs to help bring you back upright, bring your hands to touch up the heart space, and then let your hips sit back towards the heels. You can always sit on top of one of your blocks if that's more comfortable. Take a moment here.

So just bring your spine up, right? Resetting. Let the shoulders relax away from the ears. And we'll take one more full breath here before we get into the second side. Big inhale. Side it out through the mouth, let it all go.

Got to come back up to kneeling. You have your blocks set up to the outsides of ankles, bring your hands to the heart, Keep the line of energy from the knees, through the legs, through the spine, through the crown of the head, as you lean back. Legs are strong. You'll start to reach your left fingertips back towards the block to the outside of the left ankle, find the block, and then lift from the heart space from the sternum, upper backbend, and your left, right arm can reach forward, can reach any degree up. You can reach back alongside the ear, opening through the front of the body.

Keep your core strong as you gently press forward through the hips and open up through the chest. Breathing. Feel the strength and the pose. Bring your right hand back to the heart space. Use the muscles of the legs to help bring you back up, bring your palms back to touch in front of the heart and set your hips back down towards the heels or sit on top of your block.

Bring your hands to the tops of the thighs. Feel the eyes, relax, close. And just notice how these heart openings are so activating in the body. Almost like a little bit of cardio, your breath might be elevated, your heart rate might be elevated now, feel the energy you've created by opening up through these backbends. And just notice is this part of our practice comfortable or uncomfortable in any way?

And even through that challenge, any challenges you experience can you find gratitude for the way that you're moving through your practice? Finding gratitude for your commitment, for your drive, still seeing. There's always something to be grateful for in the moment. Take another breath in through the nose, through the mouth, let it all go. Now as you're using your blocks, you can just move them off out of the way now.

And we'll make our way into a downward facing dog so you can come from your tabletop, walking your hands forward, Talk your toes, lift the hips all the way up and back downward facing dog. So from down dog, step or hop your feet up to the top of your space coming back up to your forward fold, we'll take a halfway lift, rise up with your inhale halfway flat back, exhale folding back in. Root. Your feet rise all the way up to stand, seeping your arms up, touching palms overhead at the top of the breath, and exhale. Bring your hands down to the space of the heart. Are gonna come into standing balance here into a dancer pose, Natura Jossiper.

We'll start by shifting your weight into your right foot. Even with both feet grounded, feel that weight shift into your right foot and squeeze your left heel up towards your bottom. Grab for the top of the foot with your left hand. And start to reach your right arm all the way up alongside your ear. You'll take your left hand and walk it around the toes grip your hand to the big toe side of your foot, so your left thumb is turning to point towards the back, opening up through the left shoulder a bit more. And you're welcome to stay right here, standing more upright, opening through the front of the body, stretching into the quad, or you can start to take it deeper by kicking the foot into the hand, leaning your chest, your heart forward, drawing your right fingertips a bit more for it as well, getting into the heart opening, and keep your core strong and hugging in, pressing down into your standing leg, and opening through the front of the body, breathe as you find your balance.

You can take your gaze to a spot of the floor or somewhere in front of you to help you find that focus. Stay with your breath. And pressing into your standing leg, we're coming all the way back up to stand, reach both of your arms up, and hug your left knee high to the chest, and we'll sit it back to a chair pose. Sitting low to chair, breathe here, and stay with it. Not the easiest thing to do right now.

Can you still find something to be joyful about, something to be grateful for, your strength, your determination? Stay with it. Breathe. When pressed into your feet, we're gonna rise all the way up to stand, touch your palms, bring your hands to the space of the heart. Pause, take a moment to relax, rooted through both feet, feeling the openness of the heart space, the length through the spine, take a full breath in, through the mouth, let it all go.

As we move to the balance on the next side, feel your weight make that subtle shift into your left foot. And start to bend your right knee, squeeze your right heel up towards your bottom, reaching back for the top of the foot with your right hand, and it's starting to stand your left arm all the way up alongside your ear. And from here, just starting to walk your right hand around the toes, So you find your grip to the big toe edge of your foot, right thumb is pointing towards the back, opening up through the right shoulder. And again, you can stay up right here. This is a great balance.

You can start to kick the foot into the hand, get more into that upper back bend, more into that quad stretch as you lean your chest forward. And steady breaths wherever you are, staying strong out of standing leg, feeling the strength of the core of the entire body as you find your focus, Find your talents here. Find your breath. I'm gonna slowly press out of this ground down into your standing leg into the standing foot. Reach your arms up, hug your right knee high to the chest. And then we'll sit it back to a chair post, and breathe into your chair.

Yeah. Take one more inhale in your chair, and this Time as you exhale will come into a forward fold, melt your chest over the thighs. Relax your head and neck down. Rise up halfway flat spine. Exhale and fold it back down. Take your feet about hip distance apart, bend your knees generously.

You let your body hang here for a few moments. You can hold on to upper onto your elbows, flip the back of the neck, relax. You can sway your body side to side or stay still. Just a couple more breaths. And start to release your fingertip down, we're gonna come down to seated so your hips low.

And you're gonna you may or may not need a block, so you wanna have your block close by. As we set up for a version of supta Varasana. You'll start to bring your knees and feet about hip distance apart. It may not be comfortable to sit on your heels. I always like to use a block so you can sit a block on medium or lowest height underneath your hips, and bring your legs together, toes are pointing back.

Sitting up tall, and you might just stay right here. This might be great for you. You can start to walk your fingertips back as you open up through the chest. Maybe you plant your palms down as you open through the chest a little bit more. Maybe you walk your forms down, fingers forward, elbows are about underneath your shoulders.

You'll feel your heart open up a little bit more. And maybe you have the space to walk your hands, your arms forward, and come onto the back of the head. Maybe you have the space to reach your arms up and all the way back behind you. Fill opening through the front of the body. Just feel into where you are in your body.

Notice places that feel open, notice places that might feel uncomfortable, can you still feel gratitude for this moment? Breathe into it. We're gonna make our way out of this shape in the same way that we came, so we have your arms back, reach them forward, and prop up onto your elbows, walk your hands back. Bring yourself all the way back upright. And if you're sitting on a block, you can move it back off to the side swing your legs around, come to sit towards the middle of your mat, as you come all the way down to art back.

Use your hands, your arms to support you as you come down onto your back. And now grounded onto your back. Arms open out wide. We'll take a twist over towards the left. In above your hips to the right, let your knees fall across to the left, and stay here, or maybe take your gaze over your right shoulder.

Twisting to the other side. Bring your head. Your knees back up through center. Take your twist. Hips bump over to the left edge of your mat, knees to the right, maybe looking over your left shoulder.

Bring your head, your knees back up through center, bring your hips back through center, and take any last shapes or poses you need. As we start to make our way into Shavasana, do any last little adjustments that you need to get into your most comfortable grounded rests. And this is your time to settle in, to make yourself feel the most comfortable, most ground, and most at ease. To take in all the benefits of our practice. Take another full breath in, through the mouth, say it out, let it go.

And let yourself rest here fully. If you're able to rest in Shavasana longer, I welcome you to do that. If you're just about ready to close-up your practice, start by deepening the breath. With the deepening of the breath, bringing awareness back into your physical body, back into your space. And next inhale, reaching your arm all the way back behind you, opening up through the body from end to end, bending your knees up, planting your feet down.

And gently rolling to one side as you pass a fetal position. Use your hands, your arms, to bring yourself up to your meditation seat. Just finding your most comfortable seat, whatever that looks like for you today, and keep your eyes, relax, close if that's comfortable, or just take your gaze downward inward. Give yourself this last little pause. What else can you be grateful for? Past present, and can you be grateful for the future that you're creating as well?

Be excited about it. I'm just a member to live with that gratitude and the openness of your heart. You bring your palms to touch in front of the heart. Andreli Mudra will close our practice once again with breath. Take a full breath in. Side out through the mouth, let it all go.

I thank you so much for sharing your practice with me today, Namaste.