Yoga Groove Artwork
Season 1 - Episode 6

Groovy Shoulders

30 min - Practice
37 likes

Description

Let the tension roll off your shoulders. Suzy guides us in a groovy Vinyasa practice focused on releasing shoulder tension and inviting a fresh flow of energy in the body. You will feel energized and relaxed.

We've created a groovy Spotify playlist to go along with this season. If you'd like to practice along with music, click here.
What You'll Need: Mat

About This Video

Transcript

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(rolling ocean wave) This standing flow is gonna give us a lot of energy and help release stress. So, let's create a nice wide base of support here. Heel toe the feet out so that the ankles are underneath your wrists when you take the arms out wide to the side. And then inhale, palms come toward the heart. Exhale, we're gonna root to rise.

Inhale, feel the energy of the earth coming up in through the soles of the feet. And then as you exhale, it's almost like you're pushing a ball underwater. Feel the core, it's gonna react here. Start to awaken the nice, good, rounded centered feeling here. Inhale, pulling the energy up from the earth.

And exhale, smoothing it all out. Inhale, gathering. Exhale, grounding. One more time. Sip the energy up through the legs and then turn the toes out about 15 degrees.

Take the fingertips forward and hands on the thighs. Shrug it off. Right shoulder comes forward. And left shoulder drops across the center. And you're just going side to side.

Starting to get into the feet. Bring in maybe the toes up. And then release them back down. Feel the pelvic floor, lifting and supporting. One more.

Left side. And then press down through the legs. To come back up, bring the toes back in just a bit. Inhale, shrug the shoulders down the back. So take a couple shoulder rolls, just putting whatever you brought with you on the mat today behind you.

Clearing a path. Take the fingertips to the shoulders and then take some big elbow rolls so you have a really broad wing span here to draw from. One more big swoopy circle. And then take the arms out big and wide. Big arm circles.

Two more. Inhale and exhale pressing into the outer edges of the feet and lifting up through the inner lines of the feet. Scoop up, palms lift to the heart. And then root into the heart. Heel toe the feet out just a little bit wider.

Turn your right toes out and your left toes will spin in. Threading a nice wide base for warrior II. Just getting in line in sync with the foundation here. Front heel directly under the right knee. Knee moves towards the second and third toes.

Now that you get anchored, don't get too serious. Oh, what. Yeah. You have to keep it light. And then oh, that wave takes us to the other side.

Left leg turns out, right toes spin in a little bit. Getting aligned. Very yoga. And then a little bit of old school. Yeah.

Because at the foundation, we have joy. Come on back to center. Little wrist circles. Right legs turn out, warrior II. Oh.

And then left leg turns out, warrior II. And then you could just do this all day. You could do this in line at the store. But you're just smooth and easy in your base. And then come back to center and take a layer of stress off and let it all go.

Let's do that again. Inhale, cross the arms, big release out to the side. One more big hug, sweep it up. Exhale, ahhh. And then turn your right toes out, your left toes in.

In a lunge, step to the top of your mat. Feet hips width. Inhale todasana. and then find that shoulder roll again, shrugging it off shoulders. Elbow circle and then the arm circle all the way up and around as your dive forward trail the hands down the backs of the legs just to remind the hamstrings it's okay, it's okay.

Inhale, halfway up. Bend your right knee, tread. Bend your left knee, tread. Right knee. And one more time, left knee.

Then come back to center, bend both knees. Interlace the hands behind your back for your first forward fold. And let your head go. Just nod your head yes. Shake it off.

Then shift the weight just a bit more to the balls of the feet just until you feel the top of the pubic bone kind of lift and the front body engage. Exhale. Release the hands. Sweep the arms out wide to the side, reverse swan dive come back up. And then exhale, hands to heart.

Shoulder roll. Adding onto this, elbows. Big arm circle, to the floor. Trail hands down backs of legs, inhale. Massage your heart forward this time.

Right leg, just once. Left leg, just once. And then bend both knees. Straighten ish both legs, any amount. Alright.

And then plant your palms and step back with your left leg to a low lunge. From here, tent your fingers, square yourself off. And then from the ground, from this space, you're gonna take that same shoulder roll and then the elbows. And then a big arm circle all the way up and around this time flex through the front foot. And bow.

Inhale. Exhale. Take the left hand forward, place your right foot on the floor. And then open into a gentle twist here. Anchor in that back leg.

And then circle the arms back down to the floor, high on your fingertips. Coming back to your warrior II base. So we already explored it. And it was very fancy. So now we're gonna take that shoulder roll on the way up and then the elbows and then open it all the way up into warrior II.

Palms up. Inhale, reverse your warrior. And then circle into parsha vakasina. right elbow to the right thigh. Sweep the left arm across.

Sweep the left arm across the body and read on into triangle pose. And then reverse your triangle. Again, we're just tipping the scales and trying it on. And then cartwheel on down. Step back top of a push-up plank.

Exhale, chatarunga dandasana inhale, upward facing. Exhale, coil back into downward facing dog. Take a deep breath in. Empty it all out. And then sweep the right leg up nice and high.

Bend your knee, open your hip. Pull forward, step outside yourself, flipping your dog. Circle that arm and then back to center. Right leg steps through one more time. And you'll push off to the top of the mat.

Feet hips width. Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, pour it all out. Sweep the arms out, reverse swan dive, flat back. Exhale, hands to heart.

Tadasana shoulder shrug. Putting any stress behind you. Elbows arms big sweeping circle, branching out. Forward fold. Halfway up, left knee bends.

Right knee bends. And then from here, step your right leg back this time right away into your low lunge. Inhale, shoulders, elbows big arm circle. And then fingertips to the floor. Flex through the front foot.

And bow. Imagine you're trying to drag that front heel back just a bit and launch your chest forward, nice flat back. Inhale and then exhale, shift it forward. Lengthen through the back leg, right hand down. Left arm reaches up, twist and shrug the shoulders away from the ears and the twist.

You want to feel like there's lots of clearance, lots of space for the body and the mind connect. Exhale, circle back down. Set your base for warrior II. Left heel, right arch float it on up. Shoulders, almost forgot.

Elbows. Arms, big circle. Take off that layer of stress. And then palms up, warrior II. Stacking ribs right over hips.

Reverse it. And then circle down, left elbow. Left thigh, right arm sweeps across. Lengthen through the left side waist. And then drop swing the right arm rebound into triangle.

Straightening through both legs, pushing out of the back leg, reaching through the crown. Tip the scales, up and over, reverse. And then cartwheel down through your flow. Plank. Exhale, chatarunga.

inhale, irvamooka exhale ottamooka inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, bend your knee, open your hip, pull forward, flip your dog. Circle that arm. And then gently, step it to the top of the mat. Push off.

Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, surrender. Reverse swan dive, come on up. Pull the prayer down into your heart and center. Step the feet together, top of your mat.

Shoulders, elbows, big sweeping circle and this time let's sit down into deep chair pose. Exhale, hands to heart. Prayer twist, left elbow, right thigh. Lengthen through the spine and draw the left thigh back so that the knees are in the same line. Roll the shoulders, keep feeling that kind of shoulder shrugging energy.

And then inhale, sweep back through center. Exhale opposite side. Right elbow presses into the left thigh. And then rather than letting the right knee fall forward, suck that right knee back, square it all off, firm the outer hips and then ring out the spine. Inhale, back through center.

Exhale, forward fold. Dive into the center of yourself. Inhale, halfway up and then as you exhale, maybe make it splashy. As you jump through chatarunga. Upward facing, downward facing.

In down dog, step your right foot like four inches forward in the same line so you're in an asymmetrical downward facing dog, which would really wake up your right achilles and right calf. And you feel the right hip lifting just a little bit higher. And take a deep breath. And then exhale and replace it. Opposite leg steps forward.

Just maybe four inches forward. On the same line. In your down dog. And then try to thread the length of the left leg up to the sky. And then step back to center.

Tread right leg. Left leg. Right leg. Left leg. And then step the right leg up high to the sky.

Massage it forward and through. Take the back knee down. Shoulders. Elbows. Big circle, but stay up at the top.

And clasp the left forearm with your right hand as you draw up and over to the right side. Shrug the shoulders down the back here. Lengthen and lift through the pelvis, as you extend through the back leg, now you're in a high lunge. Sweep forward, spin your left heel down, and then sweep back, warrior II. With the arms just kind of sweeping and pushing the energy back behind you.

Draw the arms back toward the right and then circle left arm up and over for triangle pose. Now we get to hang out here for a few breaths. We tried it on before, now we're gonna give it a little staying power. Lengthening through the right side body. Sweep the left arm over head.

Bring the left heel in. Rainbow warrior sweep it on out, clear. Take the left fingertips and drag them forward toward the front of the mat. Spin onto a nice parallel lunge here. Left hand's gonna scoop forward for revolved half moon pose.

Rather than letting the hip drop down, see if you can soak the legs back into the pelvis and rebound some strength here up and out through the heart center. Deepest breath of the day, open it all the way up. And then exhale, step back into your lunge. Place the palms, step the right leg high. Maybe you flow though vinyasa here, lowering the left knee, chin chest and scooping through upward facing dog.

Hollow back, downward facing dog. Same leg. Right leg lifts, bend your knee, open your hip. Flip your dog. And then stack through vasisthasana and step to the top of the mat.

Inhale. Push off, exhale, forward fold. Inhale, sweep the arms out and up. Exhale, hands to heart. Heel toe the feet together.

Tadasona. release the arms. Shoulder rolls. Elbows. Big arm circle to sit down, deep chair.

Takasana. Hands to heart. Right elbow, left thigh. Maybe open the arms out. And then sweep back through center.

Opposite side. Perhaps, left hand down, right arm up. Back through center. And then forward fold. Dive in.

Half way. Step or jump it, splash it on through. Upward facing. Downward facing. Left foot steps forward a couple inches.

Shake it off. And then swap it out. Right foot steps forward a couple inches. Second round feels a little better than the first. Come back to center.

Tread it out, left leg. Right leg. And then from here the left leg's gonna paint the sky. Massage it forward and through into your low lunge. Back knee down shoulders.

Elbows. Big arm circle. And then clasp the right forearm with the left hand. And start to draw up and over to that left side. Breathe in and draw the left low belly in as you press into the right leg and build your foundation up out of the roots of the earth.

Inhale. Exhale, sweep forward. And then sweep it all the way back, warrior II variation. Circle the arms up and over, triangle. Inhale.

This is a nice time to fix your mic pack if you're wearing one at home. There we go. And then lengthen, settle into your triangle for a few deep breaths. Left sits bone right here. Inhale.

Exhale, reverse, come on up. Cartwheel down, come to the ball of the back foot. High runners lunge, and then you're gonna shoot your energy forward, right hand down. Left arm reaching up towards the sky. And then see if you can kind of compact through the center and then lengthen shooting energy through the heel and the crown of the head.

Deepest breath of the day. And then surrender it back down. Root back in the feet, palms on the floor. Take the left leg high. Knee, chin, chest.

Slither through. Cobra or up dog. And then scoop it back, downward facing dog. Inhale, left leg, breathes up to the sky, massage it forward through your hands. Back knee down.

Low lunge. Inhale, shrug those shoulders. Elbows. Big full arm circle. And then reach up and out through the left side waist.

You're gonna hold on to that right wrist and then breathe up and in to the right inner thigh and the right low belly. Press into the back leg and lift. Inhale. Reach forward, sweep back, warrior II. And then scoop the arms up and around.

Right arm lifts, triangle. Take a few breaths here to deepen the offering in this pose. Push energy through the back leg, and radiate some light through the front body and the chest. Inhale, reach up. Rebound.

And then draw your right heel in, rainbow warrior, with a crack. (laughs) inhale. Exhale, shift back towards the front. And then lengthen. Right hand's gonna scoop forward, push off, revolved half moon.

Firm the outer hips, and peel that left hip away from the rib cage. And then lengthen and lift up. There's very little weight in the hands. Inhale. Exhale, surrender.

Step it back, nice and long. Float the left leg high. Three pointed plank, knees down. Right knee down and then scoop through. Cobra to up dog.

Exhale, hollow it back. Wrap the outer arms, lift and lengthen the left leg one more time, bend your knee, open your hip. Shift the weight forward, shoulders over wrist. Circle the left arm and then stack and align yourself for vasisthasana. Breathe the left leg to the top of your mat.

Inhale, push off. Step to the top. Forward fold. Heel toe the feet together. Sit on down.

Deep chair. Stand tall. Roll the shoulders, notice what you're getting caught up in. And then fingertips and then exhale, big sweeping circle. Sit down into chair.

Breathe the hands to your heart. Zip up the belly and thread the right leg across the left, groins fold in on themselves. Steady your gaze. Offer your heart. Right arm sweeps under, eagle pose.

Inhale. Sit back a little deeper into it. Launch your chest forward. And as though you were takin off a layer of stress here, give yourself a big hug. And then wrap the arms up and over, thread back into half moon pose.

Like you're flying out over the edge of your mat. Touch down. Lengthen, and sweep the right arm towards your head as you circle down. Rainbow warrior. Drag it on back.

Right hand finger drags through center. Plant your palms. Left leg feels so good to be off the floor. So light! Thread the left leg out to the left, circle and thread it through. All ten toes shift right.

Sit on down. Thread the leg back and around, flip you're dog. Fancy. Circle. Vinyasa.

Perhaps with the left leg flying high, hover out over knee, chin, chest. And then scoop. Hollow back. Downward facing. Wag it out.

Tread it out. Take the deep breath in. Look forward toward the top of the mat. Bend your knees. And then exhale and fly to the top of your mat.

Halfway up. Pour it all out. Inhale, reverse, sit on down, deep chair. Hands to heart. Left leg, steps across.

If you need that kick stand, put a toe in the water there. Or wrap. Sit down a little deeper and then offer your heart. Left arm like you're moving through water. Wraps.

Inhale, sit back. Lead with your heart. Steady your gaze. Deepen your breath. Stripping off another layer of whatever doesn't serve you and then be free as you fly out over the mat.

Right fingertips. Draw the energy back into the center. Reach the left arm out over your head. And then step back, left toes turn out. Rainbow warrior sweeps back.

It's like you're playing in the water. Drive back to the front of your mat. Pause, sweep that right leg high. Take the right leg out to the right like a big yawn. Thread it through all ten toes shift left.

Sit down into that left heel. And then rebound all the way around. It's like Twister for grownups. And then circle back around to the top of the mat. Downward facing.

Inhale. Bend your knees. Exhale. And then for fun, if you want, jump to seated or jump all the way through. Catch it and then swing it.

Oh, it's exciting. And we'll come onto our backs. So as you shift, bring the hands to your knees. And you can hold on to the hamstrings, give them a little love on the way down. But come down with connection, with control.

Reuse your hands to support this roll down. And then come on to your back and it feels so good! Walk the heels in just a little bit closer to your hips just feel them with the whisper that are you're fingertips. Lift the hips up for bridge, snuggle those shoulders underneath. And clear that last bit of tension in the back of the neck. Open up to the depth of your breath.

Gently release the arms. Lift the heels. And soak back down into the earth here. Let it all drop in. Heel toe the feet together.

Take the right leg over left in figure four. And then draw the left thigh in. Right hand goes through the window of the legs. And just coil up just one. Snuggle it all in.

And then lengthen back down. At a 90 degree angle, drop this whole shape to your left. So at 90, plant your right foot on the floor. Use your left hand to press the right thigh away and peel that hip open. So all that good standing hip opening, now we can really reap the benefits of here as we go deeper into the iliacus.

Into the outer hip, into the glutes. So not pushing on the knee itself, but kind of peeling the right thigh away. This easy twist. Take a deep breath in, exhale, let it all fall away. Come in back through center.

Draw the knee into your chest and then plant it. Notice a difference in the sides. Then take the left leg across in the figure four. Scoop up, thread through. Draw the knee in towards your nose.

And keep all of that length, all of that space as you lie back down. At 90, drop this shape across to your right. Left foot's planted, take your right hand and spiral that left thigh open. You can even massage it out in a way. Allow the gaze to roll left.

So you get this great hip opening and a nice twist. It's like one stop shopping. Two for one here. Then release as you peel back to center, draw the left knee in. And plant it on the floor.

Take your hands, interlace them behind your head, curl up and lengthen through the legs. You're just gazing down over your toes. And then figure eight this a little bit through the spine. Draw the chin to your chest and traction the cervical spine as you swallow relax front of the throat to the back of the neck. And then keeping that traction, using your thumbs literally draw the skull up and off of the spine.

As you reset your spine and release into shavasana. Inhale. Exhale. Feel each breath stripping away a layer of tension with each exhale, feel the last bit of stress peeling away. And you're clear.

And you're relaxed. Everything is as it should be. And gently you make your way back into the body. Take the hands to your center. And then float the feet back to the floor.

And take the hands to the thighs and press the thigh bones away from you and feel the space, the low back and the hips. Reenergized. Recommitted. Mindful of what you stand for. And with that purpose, with that intention, roll to your right side.

And come to seated. And sit however you're comfortable. Take one more shoulder roll. Maybe the fingertips. Maybe there's a big sweeping circle.

Or even a oh what. Namaste.

Comments

Erika H
So playful and fun! Old school wave... tee hee.
John Jackson
Wow, could not keep up with the pace of this at all! Gave up about half way through and just watched the rest before we moved onto the back! Will try it again in a few months maybe.
Suzy Nece
2 people like this.
John Jackson Don't give up - I get winded texting;) So I understand - Good for you for slowing down and knowing yourself enough to just observe and shift gears- Keep practicing & come back to this one!
John Jackson
Thanks Suzy! I felt frustrated, but I think part of it was because I was watching it off my mobile which isn't the best sized screen! I will definitely come back to it later with an acceptance of whatever comes up and a more appropriate sized screen! x
Oceanna M
1 person likes this.
Nice! I am so excited to check this out!
Deborah G
1 person likes this.
Loved this class and your peaceful energy!! Thank you!
Betsy W
Fun!
Lori
2 people like this.
Really enjoying this series - thanks so much! Your good cheer is infectious (and that is a very good thing).
Elissa P
2 people like this.
very fun creative flow, dancerly, which I appreciate. feels really complete for only a 30 minute session
Eric K
Wonderful!
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