The Heart's Delight: A Summertime Yoga Challenge Artwork
Season 1 - Episode 5

Day 2: Steady

45 min - Practice
71 likes

Description

Welcome back! Today we cultivate steadiness and support with a grounding vinyasa flow practice. We play with standing balancing postures to invite in a sense of ease in the effort. You will feel rooted, strong, and connected.

Want to practice with music? Click here for the playlist that goes along with Day 2.
What You'll Need: Mat, Block

Transcript

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Welcome back. Welcome to day two. So today, we're going to focus on this idea of balance and steadiness. So often we hear this word balance thrown around and it's like, find more balance in your life. And a lot of times I'm like, well, no, I'm not balanced at all. And that's totally fine. I think that's totally normal. My pie pieces in my life are never going to be totally equal. So another way to look at it and the way that I like to look at it in terms of the yoga practice is this idea of sthira and sukha. We see this in the yoga sutras. In sthira, the meaning of that word is steadiness. And sukha means ease. So instead of balance, can you find steadiness and ease even when your life may feel wildly out of balance? So it's the steadiness within the ease and it's this ease within the steadiness. So for this practice, you may have a block and a strap. Neither one is required, but it might feel nice to support you in your practice. So let's begin on our backs. We're going to roll down and then take the feet as wide as your mat as you roll back. Let your knees knock into touch for constructive rest. And then if it feels okay, bring the hands to the low belly and then just take a moment to settle in and just acknowledge yourself for showing up for you this morning or this afternoon, whenever you were practicing. And then take a big full breath in through the nose and then sigh it out. Exhale, let it go. Allow that to drop you in a little deeper. Let's try one more like that. Allow a big breath in through the nose, sigh it out the mouth and let it go. And then maybe come into ujjayi pranayama, allowing the breath to move in and out through the nose, finding that ocean like sound in the back of the throat, maybe matching the breath to the waves in front of you. So in order to find the steadiness, this balance, it's essential that we feel supported, to feel held. So can you allow yourself here, the beginning of our day two practice, to feel that support of the earth beneath you. And then as you're ready, we'll start to heel toe the feet toward hips distance. So soles of the feet to the earth, knees are bent. We'll set up for some dynamic bridge poses. So walk the heels in so that the ankles are under your knees. And then on an inhale, reach the arms up over the head, press through the soles of the feet and start to lift the hips up. So any amount coming into just a gentle bridge pose. And then the exhale will lower the hips and lower the arms down by your side. And we'll just allow this to be a movement with the breath.

So as you inhale again, arms lift, hips lift, exhale, hips lower, arms lower. Let's take three more with the breath. Inhale to lift up bridge pose. Exhale, slowly lower down. Spread the toes. Inhale, lift up. Exhale, lower down. Just one more like that. Maybe coming up a little bit higher this time. Inhale, lift the arms up, lift the hips. And exhale, slowly lower. Leave the arms up as you lower down. So hips lower, arms stay above the head. And then step the feet a little bit wider again. Allow a big breath in. And as you exhale, let the knees drop to the right side. So nice, easy spinal twist. And you might take a gaze over that left shoulder. Maybe the elbows soften, palms face up. And then inhale, knees through center. Exhale, just gently let the knees fall to the left side. Maybe gazing toward the right, softening the elbows, softening the gaze. And then with the breath, just begin to windshield wiper the legs from side to side. So exhale, knees left. Inhale through center. Exhale, left. I think I said that. Whatever side you're on is totally fine. Just allowing this to be a movement with your breath, your pace. And also just a nice way to warm the spine, to massage out the hips, the glutes. And just take another round wherever you're at. Inhaling through center, exhaling to one side. Inhale, center. Exhale to the other side. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, you'll come back through center. Let's hug the knees into the chest. You might hold onto the backs of the knees. And then start to rock up and down along the length of your spine. So you might just sit up if it doesn't feel good to rock on the spine. Otherwise, use the momentum to come all the way up to a tabletop position. So we'll cross at the ankles and then make our way to all fours. So finding your table, shoulders over wrists, hips over knees. So we'll move into some cat cows, but let's do our cat cows with a wrist stretch. So flipping the fingers towards you on the right hand and then letting the wrist come down toward the earth. It may not get all the way there, but just giving the wrist a little bit of love. And then we'll come into cat cow from here. So inhale, arch the back, look up and lengthen. And then exhale, navel to the spine, press the floor away and round. Beautiful. And then one more like that. Inhale, arching the back, look up, lengthening. And then exhale, navel to spine. Good. And then coming to a neutral spine, take the right hand forward and we'll come to the left side.

So bringing the left fingers back towards you, let the wrist melt down. Inhale, arching the back, coming into cow pose. And then exhale, navel to spine, rounding into cat. One more like that. Inhale, arching. And exhale, navel to spine, round, press the floor away. Good. And then flip the hand front again. So we'll come back to tabletop. And then let's come into a little core balancing. So reaching your left toes back, tuck your toes for a moment and then press back so you're stretching through the back of that left leg. Sometimes it feels really nice in the calf. Good. And then shift the weight forward so the shoulders come back over the wrist. Start to lift up through the left leg and then put a bend in that left knee. So you're flexing your foot straight up toward the ceiling. Good. And then if it feels stable, take the weight into your left hand, reach your right arm forward and then we'll come into cat-cows here. So as you inhale, arch the back, lift up. And then as you exhale, navel to spine, elbow to knee. Let's take that two more times. So inhale, lift up and lengthen. Exhale, draw everything in. Good. One more. Inhale, lengthen out, flex through the foot, lift up. And then exhale, draw the navel to the spine, elbow to the knee. Beautiful. And then come on out of there, right hand down, left knee down. Let's sink the hips back just for a breath or two in child's pose. So take a moment to notice where that lands in the body. Come back to your breath. Beautiful. And then inhale, come back up to tabletop as you're ready and we'll just come to the other side. So reaching the right toes back, tuck the right toes. And then again, just take a moment to press back, stretch through the back of the right leg. And then we'll re-center the weight so shoulders over elbows, flex through the right foot, lift that right leg up. And then if you feel balance, take the weight into the right hand, reach the left arm forward. You can always keep the hands down for more stability if you'd like. Good. Take a big breath in, arch the back, look up and lengthen. Exhale, knee to nose. Two more like that. Inhale, exhale, knee to nose. One more. Inhale and exhale. Good. And then let that go. Left hand down, right knee down. And then let's tuck the toes, lift the hips up and back coming into our first downward facing dog of the day. So as you come to down dog, again, find any movement. So take a moment to get the wiggles out, maybe pedal it out or sway the hips. Sometimes I like to swivel the heels from side to side, bend the knees with the intention of starting to come towards stillness. So as you find that place, that feels good. Settle in and breathe. Spread the fingers wide and press through the inner hand as well as the outer hand. Beautiful. And then on your next breath in, let's come forward to plank pose. So come to the top of a push up, reach through the crown of your head. Let the shoulder blades be in line with the hips and then shifting forward a little bit more. You're welcome to lower the knees, otherwise slowly lower down, hugging the elbows in as you come all the way down onto your belly. And then from there, untuck your toes. Keep hugging the elbows in and we'll come into low cobra. So inhale, draw the shoulders away from the ears. Keep the length in the spine as you lift up and then exhale, lower back down. Let's do that two more times. Inhale, cobra pose, lengthening through the spine.

Peel the chest up and then exhale, lower down. One more. Inhale, lift up and exhale. Lower down. Tuck your toes from the thighs up off the earth. Keep the elbows hugged in. Come back up to plank pose and then lift your hips up and back. Down dog. Beautiful. And then on and inhale, rise up onto the toes. Put a big bend in your knees. Look forward and just start to walk your feet toward the front of the mat. Coming to a forward fold, uttanasana at the front of your mat. The crown of the head melt down and just take a moment to release into your fold. And then from here, bend the knees any amount, tuck the chin and roll up slowly one vertebra at a time. Let the head be heavy. And then as you get to the top, pull the arms out and up. Lift up onto the toes. Heels start to lift and then play with finding your balance here. Find one point to focus the gaze. Steady. Good. And then lower the heels down. Bring the hands to the heart. We'll move into our sun salutations. As you're ready, inhale, arms sweep all the way up. Lengthen through the spine as you lift. Exhale, fold over the legs. And from here, let's step the left foot to the back of the mat. Let the back knee lower down. And then reach the arms forward and up, coming into anjaliyasana. Inhale. And then this first one, just take a moment, soften the shoulders, energize through the fingertips. Feel the lift in the heart. Good. Inhale as you lift. And then exhale, lower your hands down to the earth. Step back, downward facing dog. And then we'll move right to the left side. So inhale the left leg up. Exhale, step the left foot through between your hands. Lower the back knee down. Reach the arms forward and up. Inhale, anjaliyasana. As you exhale, lower the hands down to the earth. And then we'll tuck the back toes. Step the right foot to meet the left and fold over your legs. Good. And then rooting down to rise. Inhale, arms circle all the way out and up. And then exhale, hands to your heart. Good. And we'll take that all to the other side. So inhale, arms lift. With length in the spine, exhale, fold over the legs. Step the right foot to the back of the mat this time. Let the back knee lower. Inhale, arms sweep up. Take a moment to arrive here, soften shoulders, energize through the fingertips. Lift up through the heart and breathe. Good. Notice the balance, all that work that the legs are doing to hold you up. Allow a big breath in. And then exhale right back to downward facing dog. Good. Staying with the right side. Inhale the right leg up. Exhale, step through between your hands.

Lower the back knee down. One breath. Inhale, arms sweep up. And then exhale, find your forward fold at the front of the mat. Good. Root down to rise. Inhale, arms sweep up. And then gather hands to the heart. Exhale. Let's take that one more time, switching it up just a bit. So inhale, arms lift. Exhale, fold over the legs. Step the left foot to the back of the mat. This time, keep the knee lifted. And we'll reach the arms forward and up coming into crescent pose. So taking a moment to land in your crescent, let the front knee come over the ankle, soften through the back knee. Relax the shoulders, relax your gaze, and breathe. This is a balancing pose, so if you find that you're wobbly, embrace it. All good. Take one more big breath in. And then we'll come right to downward facing dog, planting the palms. Set the right foot back. Good. Inhale the left leg up. Exhale, step through. Stay on the ball of the back foot. Let's take one breath. Inhale, follow the arms up. Exhale, follow the breath right into your forward fold at the front of the mat. Good. And then root down. Rise up to stand. Inhaling. Hands to heart. Exhale. Good. Last round coming to the right. Inhale, arms lift. Exhale, fold in. Step the right foot to the back of the mat. Find your base and then come up to crescent pose. Soften through the back knee. Let the tailbone melt down. Relax the gaze. Energize through the fingertips. Inhaling. Lower hands down. Downward facing dog. Good. And then right leg lifts. Inhale. Step through between your hands. Stay on the ball of the back foot. Inhale, arms sweep up. And then follow the breath all the way to a forward fold. Exhale, front of the mat. Root down. Rise up to stand. Inhaling. Other hands to heart. Exhale. Just take a moment. Feel your heartbeat. Maybe close the eyes and check in. Just noticing already all that movement, all that energy moving through the body. And if the eyes are closed, see if you can start to shift the weight back and forth a little bit from the heels to the balls of the feet. And then find that place of center. So evenly distributing the weight across all four corners of the feet. So inhale, sweep the arms all the way up. Exhale, fold over the legs. Uttanasana.

Inhale, lift halfway up and lengthen. And then step back to plank pose, top of a pushup. From your plank pose, lower all the way down. You might come halfway down, Chaturanga. Cobra, maybe up dog if you feel ready for that. Straighten out the arms, lift the heart. And then exhale, lift the hips up and back to downward facing dog. Good. Let's start with the left leg. So inhale the left leg up and back. Exhale, step your foot through between your hands and we'll come back up to crescent pose. So again, ball of the back foot, arms sweep up. And then as you arrive here, soften in. Good. Let the tailbone melt down, energize through the fingertips. And then bring the hands behind the back. We'll interlace the fingers and then start to draw the shoulders away from the ears. If the interlace doesn't feel good for you, you're welcome to hold on to opposite elbows here. Same idea. And then as you're here, take a big full breath in, lift up through the heart and then exhale, humble crescent. Hands over your front leg. And as you're folding, let the crown of the head melt down and breathe.

Find your balance. Good. And then as you come up, inhale, release the arms. Start to straighten out through the front leg, reach the arms up toward the ceiling. And then from here, we'll open it up to warrior two. So arms open wide, front heel is aligned with the center of the back arch and let that front knee drop out over that front ankle. Beautiful. And then start to bend the left elbow, take your right hand to the top of your left elbow. Now this might be where you stay today. If you'd like, reach the right arm out to the side, bring the palm to face the wall behind you and then start to reach that right arm back. Maybe find the fingers. This is where it might be nice to have a strap. So you can take that strap between your hands here and then let's get out of that front leg. Straighten out through the front leg, parallel the feet, maybe shorten your stance a bit. Enjoy the view. Take a big breath into length and lift up through the heart. And then with the arms, start to fold toward prosaureta. So folding in, let the crown of the head melt down and breathe. Just a couple breaths here, maybe shifting a little more weight into the balls of the feet. Good. And then release your arms down toward the earth. We'll come halfway up, lengthen, and then walk back towards your lunge at the front of the mat. Good. Step back, plank pose. Feel free to take your vinyasa here, lowering halfway or all the way down. Lower or up dog, inhale. Downward facing dog, exhale. Now from your down dog, let's come back forward to plank. We're going to lower all the way down to your belly. So hugging the elbows in as you lower, untuck the toes. And then from here, let's reach the arms back, thumbs facing down, palms facing in. And then coming into salabhasana, draw the shoulders away from the ears, start to peel the chest up. You can keep the legs connected to the earth or maybe add the legs. And then from here, lift up, but find length so the chin is tucked, the crown of the head's reaching toward the front of the room. And take a big full breath in. Good. And then exhale, release everything down and we'll meet back in downward facing dog. However you'd like to get there, either pressing up through hands and knees or plank pose and allow a big full breath in and then let a sigh out the mouth and we'll move into the second side. So as you're ready, inhale the right leg up, exhale, step your foot through between your hands, stay on the ball of the back foot and then find that base, find your balance coming into crescent pose. So the front knee is right over the ankle, eyes up through the fingertips, relax the shoulders. Good. And then hands behind the back again, this time maybe take the opposite thumb on top, draw the shoulders away from the ears, inhale to lift up and then exhale, fold over your front leg. So let the crown of the head melt down and then feel all that movement. So my legs are definitely moving a lot here, supporting me in this balance. Good. On an inhale, come all the way back up as you come up, start to straighten out through that front leg. And again, this is a balance as well. So feel that and then open it up to warrior two toward the other side. So front knee over ankle at the torso, spin toward the side wall, relax the shoulders and breathe. And this time we'll bend through the right elbow. So take the left hand to the right elbow and you're patting yourself on the back here and this might be where you stay. Otherwise, reach the left arm out, flip the palm to face the wall behind you and then take the arm behind your back. Maybe grasping fingers, a strap or towel and then get out of that front leg because that was a long hold and start to parallel the feet. Use that to lengthen, inhale to lift up and then exhale, keep the length in the spine and fold in to procerita. Let the head and neck relax, seal the outer edges of the feet down and then keep the thighs engaged so you're lifting up on the kneecaps, protecting your knees and come back to your breath. And at any point, if it feels like too much in the arms, feel free to release the strap, release the arms down and just come into your fold. Beautiful. And then come on out of there, we'll walk halfway up, come back to a lunge facing the front of the mat and then step back, downward facing dog, feel free to take your vinyasa if you'd like. Otherwise, we'll meet back in down dog. And then on an inhale, again, come forward to plank pose, we'll lower again all the way down to the belly. So hugging the elbows in, untuck the toes and take a moment. So after you're ready, come up onto your forearms. So we'll come into Sphinx pose for a moment. Let the elbows come in front of the shoulders just a bit and keep the legs engaged and then parallel the right arm toward the front of your yoga mat. Bend through your left leg and if it feels okay, reach back with your left hand to hold on to the top of your left foot and then start to draw the heel in towards you. Stay active in the right leg as well and then just feel that nice stretch in the quad. Give it a couple of breaths. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, you can release that side and we'll come to the other side. So parallel left forearm toward the front of the mat or on the wood in front of you and then start to bend through the right leg. If it's accessible, reach back with the right hand, hold on to the foot and then start to draw the heel in towards you. Any amount here and if that's too much, you can always release the grasp and just bend through the leg. Beautiful. And then slowly release without slingshotting the leg back. And then either staying with Shalabhasana that we did before, reaching the arms back actively and coming up or if you want to go a little deeper, start to bend through both legs. Reach back with your hands to hold the feet or the ankles. Maybe flex the feet, keeping the legs hips distance. And then on an inhale, lift up, kick the legs into the hands, lift the heart and breathe. Good. Let the back of the neck be nice and long. The big full breath in to lift up, lengthen. And then as you exhale, go ahead and release down. And let's take a reverse windshield wiper with the legs. Maybe stack your hands, let the forehead rest down on your hands and just feel a nice release in the low back. Good work. Beautiful. And then from here, we'll make our way back to down dog. Either pressing up through plank pose, you can come to all fours and then just tuck the toes and lift the hips up and back. And holding for just a few breaths, letting that all go, balancing it out. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, rise up onto the toes, put a big bend in the knees, step or lightly hop to your hands.

Come halfway up, inhale, fold in, exhale, and then root down through the feet, rise up to stand, inhaling, and then gather hands to the heart. Exhale. Take a moment to again, just pause at the front of your mat, maybe bring the hands to the heart and just breathe. So taking these moments of stillness to check in and noticing where the postures, where the movements land in the body after the postures, the residue, that echo of the pose. So let's continue with this balancing with one more standing sequence. So we're going to move into dancer pose. So start to bring the weight into your right foot. And then we'll bend through that left leg, similar to the way we just did it when we were on our bellies. Reach back with your left hand, hold the outside of your left foot, and then to help with your balance, sometimes it's helpful to reach the right arm up. So squeeze the knees together for a moment. This might be enough for you. You might stay right here. Beautiful. Or start to kick the foot into your hand like we did on our back as you start to let the torso tilt forward, finding dancer pose. And then it's helpful with every balancing pose to focus your attention, focus your gaze on one point that's not moving. Embrace the wobble. And then as we exit, we'll come right back to that crescent pose, which can be a lovely transition to play with your balance. Good. Bring your hands to your heart. And then we'll take the left elbow to the outside of the right leg for a prayer twist. Now, a nice way to support this is to lower the back knee down if you'd like that support of the earth. Otherwise, toes tucked, knees stays lifted, and you find that twist. Maybe gaze up toward the ceiling and breathe, wringing it all out. Good. Allow one more big breath in. And then gaze down, let your hands find the earth. And then we'll step the back foot in just a little bit and fold over your front leg for pyramid pose. Let the torso melt down.

You might have a couple blocks under your hands here. Maybe walk the hands back a little bit. And then see if you can keep the hips nice and even. So drawing right hip back, let the left hip roll forward. And just let something go. Beautiful. And then one more standing balance at the front of the mat. Look forward. Walk your hands forward. Lift the left leg up to the sky, standing split. Let the head melt down. And if you really want to play with balance here, take your right hand to your ankle. And then maybe, maybe the left hand comes to your ankle as well. Good. All that wobbling in that right foot. Nice. And then step the left foot all the way to the back of the mat. Nice long lunge. And then your vinyasa, if you'd like, or right back to downward facing dog, we'll meet there. Holding for just a few breaths. Beautiful. And then we'll come back to the front of the mat and set up for side two. So rising up onto the toes, bend the knees, look forward, step or lightly float to your hands. Come halfway up, inhale, fold in, exhale. Break down, rise up to stand, inhaling, gather hands to heart, exhale. Take a moment to just check in. Beautiful. And then we'll move to side two as you're ready. So coming to the left foot, let your left leg get nice and heavy here. And then we'll bend through that right leg, take the right hand to your right ankle or right foot, and then let the knees come together. So you can soften a little bit through that left leg if that's helpful to find your base. And then reach the left arm up, take a big breath in, stay here or start to let the torso melt forward, kick the foot into the hand, focus the gaze and find dancer. If you fall out of it, play with it, come back in. This is all about play, having a good time, not being too serious, smile. And then that transition, crescent pose, inhale, arms sweep up, good, hands to heart, and then right elbow on the outside of the left. Find your prayer twist. Again, feel free to lower that bottom knee down, find that support. Be shy to accept the support when you need it. Take two more breaths. Beautiful. And then gaze down, lower the hands on either side of the front foot, step the back foot in a little bit, and then flatten out that left foot on an inhale, lengthen, exhale, pyramid pose. Let the torso melt down over the front leg, crown of the head melting, and breathe. Draw the left hip back, let the right hip roll forward. Good. And then last balancing pose here, look forward, walk your hands forward, lift the right leg up to the sky, fold over your left leg, and then maybe test the balance holding on to the ankle with one or maybe both hands. Good. And then nice long step to the back of the mat, right toes find the earth, vinyasa if you want it, or right to downward facing dog. Inhaling and exhaling. Good. Nice work. Take a big breath in. And then maybe stick out your tongue, lion's breath. Lower the knees down. Take a moment to sit back on your heels and just check in. Feel the energy, feel the movement. So we're going to set up for Supta Virasana. So you might want to have a block handy. So we'll grab our blocks and I'll spin around here so you can see me a little bit better. And so from the sitting back on the heels, we'll keep the knees together and then come forward a little bit, let the legs go apart and then sit back between your heels if that's accessible. You can always sit on a block here as well, and that might be where you're at today. Otherwise, from here, I'm going to take the block so that it lands between the shoulder blades. And then start to crawl back slowly onto the forearm, stop anywhere along the way. And then allowing the block to come below the back and come back and then reclining back any amount. You may remove the block if you want to go a little deeper. You might reach the arms up over the head, maybe holding onto opposite elbows. See if you can keep the knees somewhat close together. And then feel that nice big stretch in the front body, the front of the thighs, and that lift through the heart. Maybe close the eyes. And if at any point you feel like you've come a little bit too far, then just back out of it a little bit. Taking those lessons from day one as well. Know when to nourish and know when to go a little bit deeper. And with all of it, allow the support. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, very slowly, we'll make our way back up. So pressing through the hands, coming back up. And then take the block out to the side. And then just bring the heels back together and we'll shift our weight off to one side and bring the legs out in front of us. So flexing through the feet, coming into a forward fold, sitting up high on the sitting bones. On an inhale, reach the arms all the way up. And then leading with the heart, exhale, fold in to Paschimottanasana.

On an inhale, recommit to finding that length. And then exhale, fold over the legs and breathe wherever you're at. And you soften just a little bit more. Allowing a few more full deep breaths. Beautiful. And then on an inhale, come all the way back up. Have your block nearby. We're going to use it again. But keep the heels connected to the earth. Reach the arms forward. And then on the count of five, we're going to lower down. So see if you can keep the heels connected as we lower. And feel that length in the spine. So inhaling. And then exhale, five, four, three. Notice where they want to lift. Two, one. Good. Hug your knees in for a moment and just rock a little bit. Side to side, massaging out through the low back. Maybe taking the knees in circles in one direction. And then the other. Good. And then grab your block again. We'll bring the soles of the feet down to the earth. And then we're going to take the block on the very lowest height. So walking the heels in, setting up for a supported bridge pose. We'll lift up through the hips and then glide the block on the very, very low back. So under your sacrum, just below the spine. And then let everything just melt down and allow yourself to feel that nice support here. So let the shoulders roll underneath you. Let the palms face up and you might stay right here. This might feel amazing. If you'd like, start to draw your knees in towards your chest and then take the legs straight up toward the ceiling for a supported shoulder stand. Beautiful. Close the eyes. It's allowing the reverse flow of blood in the body. Really nice posture for circulation. And then see if you can notice the subtle movement in the legs as you tune in to the inner space. The softness through the palms of your hands. And again, can you release into the support a little bit more? To find this steady quality in the heart, you need to allow for that support. And slowly as you're ready, come on out. Souls of the feet find the earth and then lifting the hips just enough to slide the block out from underneath you and putting the block off to the side will roll down. So from here, move into one final posture to wring it all out. So coming into a spinal twist, hug your right knee into your chest. Let the left leg go long on the mat and then drawing your right knee across the body with your left hand, scoot the left hip underneath a little bit and reach your right arm out to the right, maybe gazing toward the right. Let the shoulder blades stay supported and grounded here. And then with every inhale, find length with every exhale, ease into the twist. And then unraveling from there as you're ready. Coming back through center, give that right knee a squeeze for a moment and then straighten out both legs and notice the right side versus the left side. Just take a moment to see if one leg feels a little different. For me, the right leg feels a lot longer. Good. And then keeping that right leg nice and long and supported, hug your left knee in, give it a squeeze and then drawing the leg across the body, scoot the right hip underneath a little bit and then reaching left arm out to the left, wringing it out, allowing a big breath in and then easing into the twist with your exhale. Allowing three or four more breaths here. Nice. And then as you're ready, slowly unravel, come back through center and then maybe to balance out the right and the left, you hug your knees in one last time. Maybe draw your nose up towards your knees, hugging everything in, allow a big full breath in here, hold the breath and then open the mouth, sigh it out and release the legs long into your resting pose, shavasana, letting go of any effort, body, breath, mind, letting the body, body, heart, just rest.

Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.

Good. And begin to deepen your breath. Come back to your body, maybe rock your head from side to side, massaging out the back of the head and the neck, shoulders and then reaching arms up over the head, pointing through the toes, find a nice full body stretch. As you exhale, soles of the feet to the earth, rolling over to either side and just slowly pressing your way up to a comfortable cross legs seated position, just finding your way in. And as you get there, just take a moment to close the eyes, root down through your sitting bones, standing up through the spine and the crown of your head and then gather your hands together in front of your heart and Anjali mudra, mudra of gratitude, taking a moment to bow your head towards your hands in gratitude for yourself, for showing up for you for this day to practice. Thank you so much for joining me for day two and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Namaste.

Comments

Paula Marie P
This one seemed to flow along quite quickly. I adore standing balances so I loved these asanas; the standing splits with hands on ankle was quite challenging (in a good way). I decided not to try the reclined hero pose as I felt it was a little too deep knee flexion for me, but the supported shoulder stand was new to me and refreshing! We could all use more steadiness and ease...
Laura K
2 people like this.
Thank you!
Debbie L
2 people like this.
Wonderful sequence! Thank you!
Glenford N
3 people like this.
Lovely practice and really enjoyed the balancing poses, even the wobbles! Trying to find ease and grace witin the pose is a challenge but Im getting better.,Namaste.
GIGI A
2 people like this.
Such a supportive, tender practice from a base of strength 🙏🏼
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Hi Paula Marie! You are so right - we all need steadiness and ease. I just love supported shoulder stand as well and practiced it myself this morning! Congrats on completing Day 2 - stay close!
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Hi laura! Thank you so much for joining! I would love to hear how the rest of the days are for you - All the very best!
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Hi Debbie! So happy to be practicing together here on Yoga Anytime! Thank you for joining the challenge!
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Hi Glenford! Congrats on completing Day 2! Balancing postures are such a humbling reminder to me of acceptance and cultivating ease in the effort. I hope you have a beautiful day!
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Beautiful GIGI! I really love your words. So happy to be practicing together! Much love.
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