The Yoga Show with Kira & Friends Artwork
Season 1 - Episode 5

Soulful Flow with Sarah

60 min - Practice
42 likes

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Open the Heart Chakra in this fluid, soulful flow. Kira’s guest Sarah Beston leads us into Revolved Triangle, Lizard Pose, and Dhanurasana to detoxify, find space in the chest and heart, and access sticky areas in the shoulders and hips. You will feel light and joyous.
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Welcome to Yoga Anytime's live endeavor. And this show, the Kieran Friends show, we're starting to really get fancy. We've got a really special treat today. Today, we'll be going to visit Sarah and Joshua Tree. Next week, we'll be heading to Martha's Vineyard to practice with Robert Sedone. But let's go to see Sarah now. Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for being here. It's awesome to be online with you all. Hi, Kiera. We feel so lucky to be practicing with you this morning. So I feel lucky to be here. What is, you know, in this homestay orders, what has been the most difficult thing for you during this time? Oh, you know, I miss hugging people. I miss hugging my family. I obviously miss being in community, miss my family back East. That's been, you know, challenging. And it's, you know, it's interesting to show up in community in new ways, being here with you all in this way and just getting creative and how we are in community right now and relationship as you said. And what's been the most surprising, delightful thing in this homestay? What did you not expect to turn out to be a really wonderful thing? Well, I think it's just been a really great reminder that there's so much beauty and simplicity. It's been a really clarifying time for me and kind of reevaluating my priorities and what's important and what you can just kind of let go of and not place so much importance on. So it's been a very clarifying in deep time, a deep inner time. So that's been really nice. Oh, that's beautiful. Tell us a little bit about what we can expect and look forward to in today's practice with you. Okay. So today we're going to move through, I think we called it a soulful flow. So it's going to be a really fluid practice that really focuses on the heart chakra. We're going to do a lot of heart opening postures, some back bending. We'll do some spinal twists to detoxify a little bit and kind of get into those areas in the body that can be pretty sticky, especially for me during this time, shoulders, hips. So yeah, just a really fluid hour long flow. I'm excited to share. Oh, I'm super excited to be practicing with you from Ohio and we have people from all around the world. Thank you so much, Sarah. Thank you seriously from my heart. I'm really happy and honored to be here. So let's practice. Okay, so let's get started on our backs. You can recline back and just make yourself comfortable wherever you feel comfortable laying back so you can straighten the legs long on your mat if you'd like. I'm going to bring the soles of my feet together and the knees wide starting in Supta Baddha Konasana. And as we do in my practices, we'll just take a moment to start by stopping. So if it would feel comfortable for you to close your eyes wherever you're at in the world, take a collective eye close and then maybe bring one hand to your lower belly and one hand to your heart. And as you do that, just begin to check in, begin to notice perhaps for the first time today that you're breathing, that you're being breathed. And then we'll move into just a very simple breathing practice to begin. So on an inhale, we're going to start to feel the expansion in the low belly, and then the rib cage, and then the heart space. And then the exhale will just reverse that so you'll feel still letting go in the heart space, the ribs and the low belly. So as you're ready, let's breathe together inhaling, expanding through the low belly, ribs, heart. And then exhaling, heart, ribs, belly. Do that a few more times as you're ready inhaling, low belly, ribs, heart. And then that letting go on the exhale, heart, ribs, low belly. Just allowing for that a few more times with your rhythm, your breath.

And then maybe setting an intention from the heart space. How's your heart today? And I know that can be kind of a hard question these days. A friend of mine asked me how my heart was. They were still crying. So maybe just noticing what comes up for you. Letting your sun couple, your intention. Allowing a few more full deep breaths here. And then letting that go. They're coming back to the natural rhythm of your breath or maybe tuning into Ujjayi breath. Letting the breath start to move in and out through the nose. And then we'll gather our knees into the chest. So take a moment to draw the knees in and then just rock a little bit side to side, massaging through the low back. Maybe taking your knees in circles in one direction and then the other and just kind of noticing how's the lower back feeling this morning? It can be an area of tension for many of us. So just using this opportunity to start to smooth out any rough edges. Super nice. And then let the soles of the feet find the earth and step your feet about hips distance. Walk the heels in. We're going to set up for a couple rolling bridge poses. So press the palms of the hands on either side of your body. Palms facing down. And then pressing through the soles of the feet, start to reach your arms up over your head as you lift your hips up, coming into an easy bridge pose. And then as you exhale, just reverse that. Lower the hips down. Lower the arms down by your side. And we'll take that a couple more times. So inhale, pressing through the soles of the feet. Reach the arms up over your head and then exhale, slowly lower upper back, hip back, low back. One more like that. Rolling bridge pose. Inhale, arms lift, hips lift and exhale, slowly lower down. This time keep your arms up over your head or reach them back up over your head. Step your feet as wide as your yoga mat and then just let your knees drop to the right side. Take a nice easy spinal twist. Then you might gaze over the left shoulder or just gaze straight up, whatever feels best on your neck. And then on your next breath in, draw the knees back through center and slowly let the knees drop to the left side. Just sending the breath all the way through the right side, maybe gazing over your right shoulder. Easy twist. Beautiful. And then at your own pace, start to windshield wipe your knees side to side, starting to warm the spine a little bit, feeling into the hips, the glutes, just moving again at your own pace. And as we move through this practice today, I won't say this morning because I know some of you it's nighttime, but as we move through this practice, it's just an invitation to move at your own pace, to move like you and honor the teacher within. So if I offer something that you're not feeling today, skip it and always come to child's pose or take a rest. All right, so let's come back through center, draw the knees into your chest, this time hands behind the knees, start to rock up and down along the length of the spine a few times. If it doesn't feel good to rock on the spine, you're welcome to just sit up. Otherwise, we'll start to build momentum and make our way to all fours. So crossing at the ankles and then find your way to a tabletop position. So letting the shoulders, this land right over the wrist, hips over knees and we'll move into some cat cow with special attention on the heart space. So as you inhale, let the belly drop, reach the heart forward between your arms and then feel a little bit of an opening in your throat as you lift your gaze. And then coming into cat pose, draw the navel to the spine, press the floor away and I like to kind of shift the weight back toward child's pose for a breath or two, maybe tucking the toes. Good. And then let's just move with the breath. So as you inhale, coming back to cow pose, drop the belly, lift the gaze, lift the heart. And then exhale, rounding back, cat pose. Good. A couple more like that. Inhale as you come forward, letting the breath start to guide the movement. Exhale draws you back. One more. Inhale, cow pose, arching through the spine, lifting the heart, lift the gaze. And then as you exhale, navel to spine. And let's land in child's pose, letting your hips sink back towards your heels, wiggle in for a moment. Good. And then as you come toward child's pose, the pose of the beginner, just notice the parts of the body that are supported here that are making contact with the earth. And can you allow the earth to come up and hold you? Good. And then tent your fingertips.

So let the arms be active, lift the elbows up off the earth and start to crawl your hands over to the right side. So just take a nice easy side body stretch, maybe letting a little weight shift off toward that left hip. Beautiful. And then coming back through center, walk your hands through the center of your mat and over to the left side. Easy side body stretch, letting a little weight shift off toward that right hip and breathing all the way through the left side. So nice. And then coming back through center, we'll make our way back to all fours. Meet me there, let the shoulders land over the wrist, hips over knees, and then stretch your left leg back. So you're tucking your left toes and just start to feel into the back of your left leg. So you might shift the weight back and forth a few times. Just feeling into the calf. Nice. And then center your weight again, shoulders over wrists. And let's take a little balance here. So float the left leg up, flex through the left foot. You're welcome to keep both hands firmly planted on the earth. Or maybe you bring weight into the left hand, reach your right arm forward like you're shaking someone's hand. Not that we can do that, we know. Good. And then feel the length through the fingertips and back through your left heel. Engage your core just to protect your spine. And let's hold for five. Four. It is a balancing pose. Three. If you're wobbling, it's fine. Two and one. Okay. Right hand down, left toes back behind you. Let's spin onto the left heel, bring the weight into your right hand for Ardavashisthasana. Float the left arm up. Good. And then you might stay right here. This might feel like a nice place to be supported. Or maybe float your left leg up, bend your left knee, take hold of the foot or the ankle, and just start to kick your foot into your hand. So there's that heart expansion happening in chapasana variation. And then soften your right elbow a little bit, just so you're not locking anything out. Beautiful.

And then as you let that go, bring the left knee down, we're going to sweep the left arm right under the right, come right onto your left shoulder in the left side of your face for a shoulder stretch. And then that right arm might walk forward, or maybe it comes behind the low back, taking a half wrap. And then breathe into the left shoulder. A little twist happening in the upper body. Notice where you feel this, any sensations that arise. Couple more breaths. Beautiful. And then coming out just the same way you came in, press through your right hand, press through the left hand, take a Kakao just letting go of that side. So inhale, drop the belly, lift the gaze. Exhale, navel to spine, pressing the floor away. Nice. And then side two, float your right leg back, tuck your toes. And again, let's just take a moment here to start to shift the weight back and forth a few times. So feeling into the back of the right leg. Beautiful. And then we'll float the right leg up so that your leg is about hips distance and you flex through that right foot, reach back actively with your right heel. And then welcome to keep both hands down if that feels sturdier for you. Otherwise, wade into the right hand, reach the left arm forward so that you're lengthening forward and back at the same time. And then breathing, engaging through the low belly to protect the spine for five, four, three, two, beautiful. One, left hand down, right toes find the earth behind you. And then again, Art of Ashisthasama, spin onto that right heel, wade into the left hand, reach your right arm up. And then you might stay here and you might take the top arm over your ear. Or if you want that chapasana variation, again, we'll float the right leg up, bend through the right and you reach back with your right hand, take hold of the top of the foot or the ankle and then kick your foot into your hand as the chest in the heart expand open. And again, softening through the left elbow, a couple of full deep breaths. So nice. And then as you let that go left knee or excuse me, right knee down, we'll thread the right arm under the left arm coming onto the right shoulder, right side of the face. And then landing there, you might take that left arm forward or behind the low back. Maybe matching what you did on that first side or maybe not maybe this side feels quite different. Breathe into the sensations. Take a moment to notice, notice where you feel this.

Couple more breaths. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, take your time, press your way back up, tabletop position. And then let's stretch both legs back, plank pose, top of a pushup. And you're always welcome to lower knees here. Otherwise, you start to shift your weight forward and back a few times. So again, you're leading with the heart. The heart's reaching between your hands, hips in line with shoulder blades. Take a big full breath in here and then just lift the hips up and back. Easy down dog. And you're coming into this first down dog and you pedal it out, peel into the backs of the legs, maybe swaying your hips side to side, maybe shaking your head yes and no. It's whenever you need any movement here to feel into this posture. Spread the fingers wide, pressing evenly through all 10 fingers, the inner hand, the outer hand. Beautiful. And then on your next breath in, let's come back to plank pose right where we were. So glide the weight forward, shoulders over wrists. And then as you exhale, lift the hips up and back, downward facing dog. And we'll move with this a few times just to start to warm the joint. So as you're ready, inhale, glide forward to plank, top of a pushup. Exhale, downward facing dog, hips lift up and back, keep the length in your spine. One more like that. Inhale, glide forward, strong in the core, heart reaches forward. And exhale, downward facing dog. Nice work. So come forward to plank pose one last time. And you're welcome to lower the knees. Let's hug the elbows in and slowly lower all the way to the belly. Good. Untuck your toes, setting up for just a couple cobra poses. We'll take rolling cobra. So wrists right under elbows, press through the tops of the feet. Start to draw the shoulders away from the ears as you peel the chest up. Keep the core engaged to protect the spine. Big breath in, bhujangasana. Exhale, lower all the way to the earth. And let's just move with the breath. So as you inhale, peel the chest up, lengthen up into cobra pose. And exhale, lower down. One more like that. Maybe coming up just a little bit higher. Inhale, bhujangasana, peel it up. Good. And then as you exhale, lower. We'll meet back and down dog either pressing up through plank or hands and knees, lifting the hips all the way up and back. Beautiful. And then from here, let's sweep the right leg up. Put a bend in your knee to open up through your hip for a couple breaths. Maybe rolling out that right ankle a few times or you can take some big circles with that right knee. Let's feel the opening through the right hip. Beautiful. And then straighten the right leg any amount, square off your hips. Allow a big full breath in here. And then gather your knee to your nose, round through the upper back as you come forward and hover. Nice. And then sweep the leg all the way up and back. Big breath in. This time need to know as we'll step the foot through between your hands. Coming into a lunge. Good. And come up onto your fingertips for just a moment here. And then we'll tap the left knee down to the earth. Walk your hands up onto your right thigh, coming into a low lunge. So just allowing that right knee to land right over the right ankle. And then take a moment to reach your hands behind the low back. Now you can hold opposite elbows if you'd like. Otherwise, if it feels okay in the shoulders, interlace your fingers and just start to draw the shoulders back. As you feel that opening through the heart, you might even lift your gaze up. And then just feel that shoulder stretch. Feel the expansion across the heart center.

Nice. Big, full breath in. And as you exhale, release the hands down. Frame your front foot. Ardha Hanamanasana. Hamstring stretch. Shift your weight back. Lift your right toes up. And then drawing that right hip back, start to send the breath to the back of your right leg. Maybe spread your toes. Good. And you're welcome to keep that right knee bent any amount. Just going to breathing into the back of the right leg. Beautiful. And then we'll rebend through that front knee. Tuck your back toes. Lift the back knee up. And then planting that left hand down. Sweep your right arm up. Take a nice twist toward the right. So as you're twisting, can you hug the right hip and stay active in your left leg? And then maybe the top arm comes over your ear for a breath, energizing through the fingertips, back through your heel. Beautiful. And then lower your right hand down. It's place pose. And then slowly lower. Welcome to lower the knees all the way to the belly. Inhale, cobra pose. Press through the tops of the feet. Peel the chest up. Beautiful. And then exhale. Meet me back in downward pacing dog. And let's take a breath here.

Take a breath here. Full breath in through the nose. Maybe stick out your tongue. Take the lion's breath. Let something go. Try that again. Inhale through the nose. Tongue out lion's breath. Beautiful. Left side. Inhale, left leg lifts. Again, just bend the knee. Open up through the hip. Maybe roll out the foot a few times. Or you can take some circles with that left leg. Feel into the left hip. And then start to straighten through the left leg. Square off your hips. Allow a big full breath in. Knee to nose. Round through the upper back as you glide forward. Hover. Good. And then inhale, sweep the leg up and back. Three leg dog. Beautiful. This time, knee to nose. We'll step it all the way through between the hands. And come on to your fingertips for a moment. So you're in your lunge. And then let that right knee lower down. We'll walk the hands up onto the left thigh. And just take a moment to land here. So pressing through the right shin. Letting the left knee land right over the left ankle. And then we'll release hands behind the low back. Maybe take that interlace or hold opposite elbows. You can take the opposite thumb on top if that feels okay. And then just start to draw the shoulders back. You lift up through the heart. Maybe lift the gaze. And then more than anything, just find your breath.

Good. Allowing a big full breath in here. And then as you exhale, release hands to the earth. Frame the front foot. We'll take that hand, string stretch, Ardha Hanumanasana. Just drawing the left hip back, lifting left toes up. And sometimes it feels nice to kind of move in and out of this a few times. Or maybe it feels good to just hold and breathe some space into the back of your left leg. Beautiful, everyone. And as you're ready, rebend through the front knee. Tuck your back toes. Lift the back knee up. This time we'll plant the right hand down. Sweep the left arm up. Find your twist. Good. And a couple breaths, hugging that left hip and stay active in your right leg. Beautiful. And then maybe top arm over your ear for a breath. And then lower it down. Stepping back, top of a push-up, plank pose. And this time up to you. Maybe shift the weight forward. You're coming halfway down, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. If you're coming into up dog, straighten out the arms. Turn the thighs up off the earth. Draw the shoulders back, lift the heart. Good. And then meet me back in downward facing dog. Nice work. Walk your hands back to your feet.

Find a forward fold at the back of your mat. And as you do that, bend your knees deeply. You might even have the torso resting on your thighs. Just let everything melt down. It feels good to hold opposite elbows. Go for it. Maybe swaying a little bit side to side. Shaking the head yes and no. Where might you be holding onto something that you can just release even just a little bit more right here. Relaxing the grip. Good. And then start to walk your hands up onto your shins. Come halfway up. Arda uttanasana. Offer the heart forward. And then as you exhale soften and fold back in uttanasana. We'll do that two more times. Inhale halfway up, lengthening. You can either have fingertips on the earth or the shins. Exhale, soften and fold. Good. One more inhale halfway. Exhale, fold and then totally take your time. Totally. Walk your hands forward. Coming into downward facing dog. Beautiful. And then this time we'll rise up onto the toes. Bend the knees deeply. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands. Come to the front of your mat. Inhale. Again, just lifting halfway up. Arda uttanasana. Exhale, soften and fold. And this time, bend the knees deeply and roll up slowly. One vertebra at a time. Letting the head move the last thing to arrive. And as you get to the top, start to bring your shoulders up towards your ears. Take a big full breath in and then sigh it out and just let everything drop.

Good. And we'll do that again. Inhale, shoulders up to ears. Exhale, let that go. One more inhale, almost creating a little tension here. And then exhale, release. Good. Hands to heart. Take a moment. Close your eyes if that feels safe. And just bowing in towards yourself. Be coming back to that intention. If you haven't set one yet, maybe you set one here. Sankalpa. Anything you'd like to call in or perhaps maybe there's something you'd like to let go of. And if you'd like to dedicate your practice today to someone in your life that may need a little extra support, send that support from your heart. Maybe that person is yourself.

Good. And then let's start to flow. I'll probably be out of breath pretty soon, but let's try this. As you're ready, we'll move into some salutations. Blink the eyes open. Inhale, arms sweep all the way out and up. And then leading with your heart, dive forward over your legs, uttanasana. Inhale, lift halfway up, lengthen through your spine, and then plant your palms step or lightly. Float back. We'll take a vinyasa, either stepping through plank, lowering halfway, or all the way down. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Roll over the toes and breathe. And just holding here for a couple breaths. Find one point to focus your gaze, your drishti. And then let this be about the breath. Let this be a reminder to come home to the breath. Good. And then rising up onto the toes. Big bend in the knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, halfway up, lengthening. Exhale, soften and fold. Root down to your eyes. Inhale, arms sweep out and up. Exhale, hands to heart. A couple more like that. Surya namaskar A. Inhale, arms lift, gaze lifts. Exhale, lead with the heart as you fold in. Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, plant the palms step or lightly. Float back, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Breathe. Couple breaths. Inhaling. Exhaling. Inhale. Exhale. Good. And then inhale to rise up onto the toes. Bend the knees. Look forward.

Step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, soften and fold. Root down to rise. Inhale, arms sweep out and up. And then exhale, hands to heart. Good. One more round with your breath. Inhale, arms lift, gaze lifts, lengthening. Exhale, soften and fold, uttanasana. Inhale, halfway up. Offer the heart forward. Exhale, plant the palms step or lightly. Float back, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward. Good. Breathe. Nice point to lower your knees if you'd like to take a child's pose. Otherwise, take a few full deep breaths here in down dog. Beautiful. And then we'll come to the right side. So inhale, right leg lifts all the way up and back.

Exhale, step the right foot through between your hands. And we'll set up for warrior one. So spin the back heel down. Reach the arms forward and up. And just take a moment to land, to arrive here. So that you're really softening through the shoulders, bending through that front leg, energizing up through the fingertips. Beautiful. And then release the hands behind the low back like we did. And again, you can hold the opposite elbows or interlace. Just starting to draw the shoulders back. As you lengthen up, maybe lift up through the gaze. Take a big full breath in. And then as you exhale, humble warrior, devotional warrior, hold over that front leg, letting the arms reach up, ceiling, see outer edge of your back foot down to the earth. Nice. And then root down through the feet to rise, come all the way back up. Warrior one, maybe press palms together above your head. You can lift the gaze.

And then as you exhale, hands lower down. Step back, plank pose. Your vinyasa, if you want it, or feel free to skip it and just step back to your down dog. We'll meet there in a couple of full deep breaths. Letting go of that first side and setting up for the second side. So as you're ready, inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through, setting up for warrior one. Spin the back heel down, arms reach up. And again, just take that moment to land, to arrive. You're always welcome to come onto the ball of the back foot if that feels a little bit more freeing for you. Otherwise, sealing that outer edge of the back foot down, relax the shoulders, soften your gaze. Good. And then hands behind the low back, find the interlace, maybe opposite thumb on top, the one that feels a little funny. And then draw the shoulders back. Take a big breath in, lift up through the heart. And then exhale, bow forward, humble warrior, devotional warrior, two beautiful words, devotion, humility, humble. Pressing through the soles of the feet, come back up, warrior one, maybe press palms together. And then as you exhale, hands down, step back, your vinyasa, or skip it.

Or land in downward facing dog. And then just take a moment, lower your knees, coming to a brief child's pose, landing your hips sink back towards your heels. And then breathe, you send the breath to the back ribs, back body, feel your heartbeat. And just kind of notice, taking these brief pauses to notice where the movement lands in the body, the echo of the movement. All right, and then you can stay here as long as you like, no one can see you, so you can really do whatever you want. And we'll come back to down dog. Moving on. So we're just going to take what we've already built and just add on a little bit for a couple more rounds. So whenever you're ready, inhale, right leg lifts, exhale, step it all the way through, warrior one, one breath, inhale, arms reach up, exhale, release hands behind the low back. Inhale, draw the shoulders back, lift the heart, exhale, humble warrior, fold in. This time, circle it open to warrior two, let the left arm guide you up, and then just take a moment to arrive, to land. I like warrior two so much more than warrior one. So you feel this opening, let the weight be kind of centered, and let the heart open. And then draw your hands to your heart center. As you do that, straighten through your right leg. Good, and then we're coming right back to warrior two. So press the arms away, rebend through that front leg. Let's do this a couple times. You might close your eyes. Inhale, hands to heart, gathering energy. Exhale, press it away, warrior two. Inhale, gather the energy toward your center. Exhale, rebend, warrior two. Beautiful, flip your front palm, tilt back, reverse warrior, feel the length through the right side body. And then just circle hands down, step back, plank pose, your vinyasa, or skip it. It will land and down dog.

Take your time to arrive. Big breath in, long breath out, let something go. Good, left side. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Warrior one, spin the back heel down, arms sweep up. Good, hands behind the low back, interlace. Inhale, draw the shoulders back, lift the heart, lift the gaze. Exhale, rebend, humble warrior. Good, and then again, let the right arm guide you up, warrior two. Take a moment to land, to arrive, and just kind of center the weight, soften the shoulders, intuitive alignment. Beautiful, and then draw hands to heart center. Straighten through your front leg, allow a big full breath in. And then as you exhale, press it away, warrior two. Maybe close your eyes and just feel the energy that you're drawing in towards your heart on your inhale. And then exhale, press away what you don't need. One more, inhale, gathering. Exhale, letting go. Flip the front palm, keep the legs how they are, tilt back, reverse warrior. Exhale, circle the hands down to the earth, your vinyasa, step the left foot back, lowering through, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra, or up dog. And exhale, down dog. Good, big full breath in. Maybe a lion's breath this time, stick out the tongue, let it go. Good, again, inhaling. Exhale. Good, moving on. One last round with this. Inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it through, setting up for warrior one. Inhale as you reach the arms out.

And then exhale, hands behind the low back. Interlace, inhale, draw the shoulders back, lift the heart. Exhale, re-bend and fold. Good, coming up to warrior two, circle the arms open, take a moment to land. Good. And then right away, let's flip the front palm, tilt back, inhaling, straighten through your front leg this time, reverse triangle. And then keeping the legs how they are, reach forward with the right arm, and then let the right hand come below the knee, lifting the left arm up for triangle pose. Beautiful. And then this pose is all about taking up space, expanding through the crown of the head, back through that left heel. So nice. And then if you want to play with your balance this morning, left hand to hip, put a bend in your right knee, we're coming to half moon, reach that right arm forward, float your left leg up, maybe the left arm reaches up, or maybe you're exploring that chapassana variation we took at the beginning, catching hold of the foot, kicking the foot into the hand, and then feeling that opening across the chest. Good. Embrace the wobble. If you're moving around a bit, it's all part of it. Practice and presence, come back in. Good. And then slowly step it back, warrior two. Good. We'll bring hands to hips this time, and straighten through your front leg, parallel the feet to face the side of your mat. And then from here, we'll draw the shoulders back, lift up through the chest, and then prosaureta, folding in right over the legs, letting the hands maybe find the earth here. You might find your ankles, just letting the crown of the head melt down, and then just letting everything go. Keep engaging the quadriceps, lifting up on the kneecaps. What might you let go of? Just a little bit more.

Nice, everyone. And this time we'll walk it forward, come halfway up, come back to your lunge facing the front of your mat, and let's set it up for lizard pose. So from here, start to heel-toe the right foot to the right a few times. Take your hands on the inside of your right foot, and you're welcome to stay right here. This might feel like more than enough in that outer right hip. If you'd like to go a little deeper, or actually it might be a little less intense to lower that back knee down, and then maybe you're lowering forearms down to a block, the earth, a pillow, or you can stay up on your hands. Lots of variations with lizard. And then today, maybe you're bending through that left knee, reaching back with your right hand, holding the top of the left foot, and taking that quad stretch. And if you're doing that, just allow the heart to expand open to the right side, leaning back a little bit, breathing. Up a breath, sending the breath to wherever you're feeling this in the body, you can create a little space, a little ease. Good, and then you can release that as you're ready. Hands by the inside of your front foot, and then heel-toe that right foot back to the center of your mat. And then let's reach the arms forward and up, unjaniasana, maybe interlacing everything but the index fingers as you sink down. Then can you let this be a heart opener? So you're reaching up and out of the sideways, lifting through the sternum, maybe lift your gaze. Good, take a big full breath in. And as you exhale, hands find the mat. Let's come back to that hamstring stretch. Shift the weight back, lifting the toes up. You can stay here. If you want to go a little deeper, you slide that right leg forward. Maybe there's a couple blocks under your hands. Just find your edge. Find that place where you want to send the breath. You want to create space. A couple more breaths.

Beautiful, everyone. And then let's rebend through that right knee. Tuck your back toes, standing split front of the mat. So bringing the weight into the right foot, float the left leg up just for a breath, and then step your left foot to meet the right. Come into chair pose, utkatasana, everyone's favorite. Weight into the heels, arms sweep up. Nice twist here, hands to heart. Lengthen through the spine. Let the left elbow come to the outside of your right leg, drawing that prayer in front of your heart center. Let your knees be even. Let the weight sink down. Just a couple more breaths. Good, big full breath in. This time as you exhale, just release everything down. A little heel to the feet, hips width, and then taking the peace fingers to the big toes. So your first two fingers and your thumbs, wrap them around the big toes. And then on an inhale, just lifting halfway up. As you exhale, elbows out to the side, fold in, letting everything melt down. Padangusthasana. You're welcome to bend the knees any amount here.

Just let it be a bowing inward. Feel the heartbeat. Good, and then you can release your toes. Come halfway up, heel to feet back together, and then your choice vinyasa, or just simply step it back to your down dog. We'll meet there in a couple breaths. If you're moving through, inhale, lift the heart in cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Coming to the left side, inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Skin beginning, warrior one. Inhale, arms sweep up. Exhale, release hands behind the low back. Find that interlace. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, fold. Good, come on back up. Warrior two, right arm guides you. Take a moment to land, and then we'll flip the front palm tilt back this time. Straighten the front leg, reverse triangle, and then trikonasana, triangle pose. Reaching forward, left hand below the knee, or above, just not on the knee. And then reaching that right arm up, take up space, stand out in all four directions, and beyond. Crown of the head reaches forward, right heel reaches back. So nice. And then right hand to hip gaze down for half moon, but abandon that left knee. Reaching forward, you might have something under those left fingertips. Float that right leg up, press into the ball of your right big toe, and then you might reach the right arm up, or maybe you're holding the foot, taking foot into hand, expanding artichandrasana. Beautiful. And then slowly we'll release, and as softly as you can, step back to warrior two. Good, hands to hips, straighten through the front leg, parallel the feet. I'm just going to spin around to face you, and then we'll come into prasarita.

So drawing the elbows back, lift up through the heart, and then fold in. Maybe try something different with your arms this time. It might interlace behind the low back, getting into the shoulders a little bit. Keeping quads engaged, lift up on your kneecaps, and then just let go. Let go, let go, let go. Release your hands down if they're not already there. Walking forward, come halfway up, and then back to your runner's lunge. I'm just going to take my left foot in front, and then we'll set up for lizard pose. So heel toe, left foot to the left a few times, hands on the inside of your front foot. And again, there's so many variations here. Pick the one that works for you today. I'm going to lower my back knee down. I'm going to bend through the right leg, reach back with my left hand, take hold of the top of the foot, and then kick the foot into the hand so that there's an expansion through the heart space. So breathe. If there's the invitation to go a little deeper, you might lower that forearm down. That feels a little too deep for me today. So we come back up. Again, we're just playing with our edge, right? You're your own best teacher, just here to guide you. Beautiful. And then let that go. Heel toe, the foot back to the center of your back. And then again, we'll reach the arms into anjali asana, forward and up, interlacing everything but the index finger is lifting up and out of the side weights so that you can sink it down a little deeper. And then feel that lift in the heart. Maybe lift your gaze. Good. Big, full breath in.

Exhale hands, find the earth, shift the weight back. Arda hanuman or full hanumanasana. If you want to come in to what they call the splits, go for it. My left side is a lot tighter than my right side. Good. Couple full deep breaths, creating that space. Find your edge. Beautiful. And then as we rebend, we'll tuck the back toes, lift the back knee, and then we're coming to the front of the mat. Right leg lifts, standing split. Just a breath, take a big breath in. And then exhale, right foot meets the left chair pose, utkatasana. Arms sweep up, hands to heart feel the length in the spine. And then we'll take that twist right elbow on the outside of the left, breathing prayer in front of their heart. Just a couple of breaths, not a long hold here, bringing it out. Big, full breath in. Exhale, release and heel to the feet hips width. And then my favorite thing to do, maybe you slide the palms of your hand underneath the soles of your feet or any forward fold is great. I love this one because I can use my toes to massage my wrists and I can also notice that I have not had a pedicure in a month and a half. Good. Breathe. So beautiful. And then you can release your hands. If you want one last vinyasa, go for it. Heel toe the feet back together. Come halfway up, inhale. Exhale, plant the palms, step or lightly float it back. Cobra or up dog, inhale. Down dog, bring your feet together at the back of your mouth and then glide forward into plank pose and slowly lower to your belly, coming all the way down. Take a moment, stack your hands, rest your forehead on top of your hands. Maybe wiggle your hips side to side and just rest. Take a moment to notice. Where does that land? The echo of the movement, the residue. Let's take some heart openers here on our belly. So as you're ready, let's reach the arms back. We'll set up for shalabhasana. Now you can reach the arms back actively if that feels good or maybe take that interlace that we've been working with. And as we start, just press through the tops of the feet, draw the shoulders back, start to peel the chest up and tucking the chin slightly so there's length in the back of the neck. And then maybe add your legs, shalabhasana. Take a couple of full deep breaths. This pose is deceivingly hard for me anyway. Take a big full breath in. And then as you exhale, one cheek to the earth, let that go. Maybe sway your hips side to side.

Good. And then we'll take another round with shalabhasana. So if you're taking that interlace, maybe you take the opposite thumb on top, the one that feels a little weird, and then start to draw the shoulders away from the ears, press the little tops of the feet, lift everything up. Think about length rather than height. So lengthening through the spine, through the crown of the head, back through the toes. Big, full breath in. Exhale, opposite cheek down to the earth, excuse me, and then sway your hips side to side. Let that go. Go nice. And then welcome to do nothing at all. Or you want to go a little deeper. We'll bend the knees, reach back to hold the feet. We've been doing this a lot in our chapasanas. So if you're doing that, we'll start to kick the feet into the hands, coming up toward dhanurasana. Finding a couple full deep breaths. Again, can you feel the length just through the back of the neck? Big, full breath in. Long breath out, release. Reverse windshield wiper, legs side to side. Feel the release in the low back. Beautiful. And then press it back to child's pose, just to counterbalance. Feel the opening through the low back and back ribs. Couple full deep breaths here. Nice, everyone. And then we meet me back in downward facing dog. We'll move into some nice hip opener here. Come into single pigeon. If there's another hip opener for you, feel free to honor that. Take what works for you. Otherwise, we'll sweep the right leg up, put a bend in the knee, open the hip. If the shoulders are healthy, maybe flip your dog, shoulders over wrists, stepping right toes behind you, sweeping that right arm up, feel the lift in the back of the heart. Good. And then unravel right hand down, right leg lifts, knee to nose, start to parallel the shin toward the front of your mat. And then just take your time, like take your time to wiggle in at the top. Notice if maybe you need something under that right hip to support you, to bring the floor up to meet you. If there's any pinching at all on that right knee, just come onto your back, take thread the eye of the needle. Otherwise, if there's the invitation to go a little deeper, then go a little deeper. We'll be here for about 10 or so full deep breaths. Just kind of notice where the mind wants to take you. When we pause, there's so much movement and stillness. If you find that you can become aware of the thoughts, can you gently draw them back to just this breath, just this inhale, just this exhale.

About five more full deep breaths here. Beautiful. And then take your time as you're ready to peel your way back up. I like to come back to down dog and shake out that right leg a few times. Maybe pedal it out. If you want a cleansing vinyasa, feel free to take that. Otherwise, just set up for the second side. So as you're ready, inhale, left leg lifts. Bend the knee, open the hip, either staying here if the shoulders are healthy. Shift the weight forward, shoulders over wrists. Stepping the left toes behind you, weight into the right hand. Sweep the left arm up and then feel that lift through the heart. Good. And then unravel, same way you came in. Left hand down, down, left leg reaches up, and then knee to nose. Start to parallel the shin toward the front of your mat. And then again, just taking a moment up at the top, wiggle in, notice if the side feels quite different from the first side. And then your inner teacher, when you have the invitation to go deeper or maybe even get out of there, honor that. Coming into single pigeon or any hip opener that would feel good right now.

Be the observer of the thoughts, the witness. Notice what comes up. Get into the hips a little deeper. And then can you tune into the heart space while here? I'm inhaling. I'm exhaling. A couple more full deep breaths.

Good. And then as you're ready, just take your time, peel your way out. You're welcome to come back to down dog if you'd like, shake it out, or just shift the weight off to one side. We'll meet seated, stretching the legs out in front of us. Take your time to get there and then just kind of wiggle onto your sitting bones, flex your feet, and then we'll come into Paschimottanasana. So as you're ready, inhale, arms sweep up, and then leading with the heart, folding in, letting your hands fall just wherever they fall. And what would it mean to lead with your heart rather than your head here? Sending the breath to the backs of the legs. A couple more full deep breaths. And then as you're ready, come on up. Try to keep the heels connected to the earth, and we're going to slowly just wiggle forward so I don't leave the screen. We're going to slowly lower one vertebra at a time. So keeping the heels connected for five, four, three, two, one. Let the shoulders relax down. Take a moment, hug your knees into your chest and just give it a rock again. Side to side, notice the lower back. And let's just wring that all out with a nice easy twist. So keeping your right knee in, let the left leg go long on your mat, give it a squeeze, and then with your left hand, draw the right knee across the body. You might come all the way over to the left side with your arms, and then just kind of peel the chest open, right arm reaches out to the right, maybe gazing toward the right hand. With every inhale, find some length in the spine. With every exhale, release Michael. Out my window here, you can see lots of doves, lots of doves making this. There's so many of them, like dogless nuts.

It's that time, everything coming alive here in the spring, blossoming. And then release that as you're ready, unravel. Come back to center, neutralize your spine. And then we'll just take it to the other side, right leg long, gather your left knee in towards your chest, give it a squeeze, and then draw that leg across the body with your right hand, maybe coming all the way over to the right side for a moment. And then you can peel the chest open, reach the left arm out to the left, maybe gazing toward that left hand. Again, just detoxifying, wringing everything out, twists are so lovely at the end of practice as a way to just release all that you've built up. Beautiful, and then unravel from there as you're ready, stepping the soles of the feet to the earth, neutralize through the spine, and then gather knees into chest into the hug in, and then maybe happy baby, just to balance out the right and the left, maybe holding on to the outsides of the feet or the shins, let the knees go wide, and then soften the shoulders in the low back, and perhaps it would feel nice to rock a little side to side, or maybe just find stillness in the center. Couple more breaths. Good, and the knees to chest, to bring your nose up towards your knees, hugging everything in, take a big full breath in through the nose, holding the breath at the very top, and then sip in just a little bit more air, and then open the mouth, let out a big sigh, and just let everything release. We made it. Shavasana, legs long on your mat, and as you bring the legs long on your mat, can you let your feet just roll open like books, softening through the low belly, maybe bringing the palms to face up on either side of your body, let the arms just fall away from you a little bit, creating some space, let the shoulders relax, and let the heart be at rest, softening just a little bit more, letting go, letting be, shavasana. And as you're ready, begin to deepen your breath, letting your next inhale be a little bit longer than the last, feel your heartbeat, and then inviting any movement into your hands, fingers, toes, ankles, wrists, and we'll reach the arms all the way up over your head, take a nice full breath in, and then open the mouth, sigh it out, let it go, let the soles of the feet are in the earth for a moment, bending the knees, and then if it would feel okay, take a moment to just roll to either side, pausing on your side for a moment, and just take a moment to notice, check in, how do you feel? How's your heart?

Keeping that ease of shavasana, make our way to a comfortable cross-leg seated position, and as you do that, maybe the eyes stay closed, letting the gaze rest on the internal space, and we'll gather our hands together and anjali mudra in front of the heart, mudra of gratitude, just acknowledging one thing in your life today that you feel grateful for. From my heart to yours, thank you so much for sharing your practice with me today, from all over the world, it's my honor to be here. Namaste everyone, thank you.

Comments

Brian M
1 person likes this.
Wonderful practice! Thank you!!
Sarah Beston
Thanks for sharing your practice with me, Brian! Have a wonderful week and hope to practice with you again soon!
Pamela Macht
1 person likes this.
Fantastic as usual Sarah! Thank you!!!😊
Sarah Beston
I am so happy to hear, Pamela Macht! So happy to be practicing together here and hope you are having a great week!
Nancy S
1 person likes this.
Thank you, Sarah for a perfect hour long practice! It was just what I needed today😊. I’m putting it in my Favorites.
Sarah Beston
So nice to be practicing with you here, Nancy! Wishing you a beautiful weekend!
Martha K
1 person likes this.
My heart feels held. Thank you for a gentle and kind practice. 
Sarah Beston
Thank you so much for practicing with me, Martha K and for your kind comment. Wishing you a beautiful weekend, Sarah
Sandra Židan
Thank you very much, Sarah, for making me more aware of my body and breath with this beautiful practice! I really enjoyed doing it! Namaste! 💖🌹😄
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
I am so happy to hear that, Sandra Židan! Thank you for sharing your experience of the practice!
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