Slow Flow and Meditation Artwork
Season 1 - Episode 8

Awake and Alive

60 min - Practice
29 likes

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Feel alive and awake in this fluid and energizing flow, moving through heart and hip openers, strengthening abdominal work, and challenging balancing poses. We close in a seated meditation.
What You'll Need: Mat, Blanket

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Welcome to Yoga Anytime Live. How are you feeling today? As we gather and arrive, just gather up whatever props you'd like for your practice today. I'll be sitting on a blanket. Whatever you'd like to sit on, we're going to start seated. I'm here in my home living room, also known as the cabin or the den. I hope you have a cozy, comfortable space in your home for practice. Again, the house rule always is to just take care of yourself. Make this your own practice. Make a cup of tea, extra cup of coffee, let the dog out, whatever you need to do to feel really comfortable and at ease in your practice. We'll start seated, and we'll be in this practice exploring familiar shapes slowly and with ease to create more space in the body through fluid movements with the intention of beginning to settle and quiet the mind. So join me in a comfortable seat. And thank you so much for being here and taking the time for yourself. So we spend time with ourself. Our capacity begins to really expand, giving us more space to respond and pause. And that ripples out. So just settling in, make sure you feel comfortable. You might lean a little bit from side to side, rocking a little bit forward and back. You're kind of mapping your sitting bones, feeling this gentle of undulation, this movement up to your spine, inviting a quality of length, this inner lift and support. And then with the exhale, let the jaw soften, let the shoulder soften, let the belly even soften, feeling the hips begin to settle, the sitting bones soften. And then taking a few minutes here, just begin to arrive and settle in our practice together. Just notice what has your attention, right? So turning the attention inward and the breath is really one of the primary techniques to help tether our attention into the body. Our life is happening and unfolding in present moment awareness. I feel nice to allow for an exhale. And as you notice what has your attention's attention, there might be thoughts swirling around in the mind, right? Sensations through the body, maybe an ebb and flow or swirl of emotions, sounds. As you turn your attention now towards the breath, notice the quality of the breath. As the shoulders soften down the back, find the placement of your skull where the base of your skull feels nice and spacious. Chin can soften down a little. As the base of your skull floats back and up. Even when thoughts begin to swirl again through the landscape of the mind, gently tether the attention towards the breath. A few more moments here. One of the very definitions of yoga and potentially is yoga is quieting the habitual thought patterns of the mind. Yoga is establishing the mind in stillness. I love our teacher Ravi's definition of yoga. It just kind of cuts right through it. Yoga is breaking the bonds with suffering. The suggestion that the suffering arises from not seeing clearly. Therefore this effort towards quieting or stilling the mind. From here join the hands together and just taking a moment to live a line with the energy of the evening, the morning, the afternoon, whatever it may be for you. Perhaps sending an intention for your practice. Just allow for an inhale. A nice full exhale. Beautiful. Taking your time when you feel ready, join me in child's pose. Making your way into tabletop and setting up your mat the way you like. You might have a blanket under your knees for support. Bringing your knees wide and then just beginning to soften your hips back towards your heels.

In child's pose you might stack your two fists underneath your forehead. You might rest your head towards the earth. Just allow for a little wobbling from side to side here. You can draw your awareness into the back of the body. Noticing how the breath responds. Feeling a fullness through the back ribs. Down into your lower back. Down through your sacrum and your hips. From here let's walk the arms far forward on the mat. Beginning to lengthen through the arms. Spread your fingers nice and wide apart. Just come up onto your fingertips. You can keep the head down and begin to get a sense of tractioning through the fingertips as if you're drawing the heart forward. You're using those fingertips to help begin to engage and wake up the shoulder blade, the scapula area. As you draw the heart forward the shoulder blades begin to draw down the back. From here do the opposite. Begin to press the floor away from you. Deepening the fold there at the hip crease. Maybe there's a little wobble from side to side. Softening the jaw, softening the belly. From here keep your body where it is and just begin to walk your arms over to the right a little bit. You can adjust the head. As you walk your arms over to the right, maybe that's like a one or two o'clock hour, come back up onto the fingertips and with an inhale feel how you can drag the heart forward again. Tractioning through the spine, softening the shoulder blades down and then with an exhale press the floor away. Feel how you can kind of press through the left fingertips as you draw that left hip sitting bone back. Breathe wide into the left side of the body. Feeling that fullness through the left lung and the ribs. When you feel ready, walk the arms back through center. Let's take it over to the left side. Maybe that's like 10, 11 o'clock hour. Use your fingertips to help drag and draw the heart forward a little bit. Tractioning through the spine and then with the exhale press the floor away. Pressing through the right hand. Reaching that right kind of sitting bone hip away.

Drawing your awareness into the right side of the body, into that right lung. Nice full breath. When you feel ready, walking the arms back through center and then with an inhale begin to just round your way up. Then adjust the legs and the arms. Cat cow, dropping the belly, lifting up through the sitting bones, the heart, arching the back. And with your exhale curl and round, stretching the back, chin into the chest, hips maybe towards the heels. Again inhale, dropping the belly, moving into your extension. Feeling that length through the spine, lung through the neck. And then exhale, pull the navel towards the spine, stretch and round your back. A few more rounds here. Moving at your own pace with the breath. You might soften your gaze inward. The feeling, exploring the sensations through the body. You might take it side to side, forward and back. Noticing how it feels today through the hips, the ribs, the shoulder blades up through the neck. A few more rounds. Exhale, curl and round. And inhale, drop the belly, lift the sitting bones broad and through the collar bones arching. One more time, let's round the back towards the shape of cat. And then rounding our way forward, lowering the hips, the pelvis down towards the floor. And let's lower all the way down, coming into a sphinx pose here. Coming onto the forearms and a readjust the body, elbows just in front of the shoulders. And then softening the shoulders down the back as you feel that length through the spine. Finding a place for your neck and head feel comfortable. So maybe that's extending, maybe it's releasing the weight of the head. A few moments here, settling, softening the jaw and the eyes. From here, let's explore a little cat-cow movement again through the spine. So stay in the shape and then as you exhale, just begin to kind of feel the navel towards the spine. Filling up the back ribs as you round a little bit in your sphinx pose. Releasing through the head and then dropping the belly and lifting through the heart and finding that extension. And again, pull the navel towards the spine, round a little bit in your sphinx pose, releasing the head and then lowering the belly and lifting the heart and finding that length. And maybe there's a few more like this. Just allowing the movement to be slow and subtle. Feeling how within the shape of sphinx, you can explore the movement through the spine. Thanks. Next time you drop the belly, lift the heart, you might stay here for a few more moments. You might experiment with turning the fingers out and maybe you're pressing up towards the shape of seal for a few breaths and bringing it into that mid thoracic part of the spine and then exhale, keeping the arms straight as you soften through the belly. See if you can relax some of that gripping that tends to happen through the buttocks, through the legs. Maybe you're releasing the weight of the head here. If at any point seal feels like, you know, it's too much on the back and the spine and lower back into sphinx or release down. Take your time. If you're up in seal, slowly lower back onto the forearms into your sphinx. And then from here, lowering down, slide the hands underneath the shoulders, draw the ribs in, forehead on the floor, tuck your toes under, inhale and exhale. Let's press up and round our way back into that child's pose shape, feeling that kind of dull, achy stretch through the mid back. A few more moments here, maybe a little wobble from side to side, nice full breath into the back of the body.

Yeah, keeping the arms lengthening, stay round as you slowly roll and round your way back into tabletop. And then we'll continue dropping the hips towards the floor, bending the elbows, lifting the chest, exhale, lower down. We're going to do this sequence a few times, this pattern, then lowering down, press through the palms, tuck the toes under, inhale, exhale, round back towards the shape of child's pose, hips towards the heels. Stay round, keep the navel towards the spine, keep the tailbone drawing under as you shift into table, and then lower the hips, maybe lifting the heart as you bend the elbows, and then exhale, lead with the heart, lower down. Press through the palms, inhale, lift up, exhale, draw the hips back, be able to spine child's pose, settle. Last few moments here, nice. We'll transition towards downward dog, setting up your fingers, shoulders over the wrist, tucking the toes under, dropping the belly, lifting the sitting bones, and then exhale, press up, down dog, keep that lift through the sitting bones, and then releasing the weight of the head. And as you arrive in your down dog, come high up onto the balls of the feet, stretching the toes, nice, and then bend the right knee a lot, and let that left, the calf, and heel melt towards the earth, nice, and then let's bend the left knee and just stretch that right calf and heel down towards the earth, and maybe a few more times, pedaling the feet, nice, and from here let's walk our hands and feet towards each other, coming into a standing forward bend, standing forward fold, uttanasana, and you might bring the hands around the elbows, spreading the toes, little side to side here, again releasing the upper body, releasing the weight of the head. Take your time as you release the hands, soft bend through your knees, chin into your chest, take your time to roll up, curling the tailbone under, slowly pressing through the feet, rounding the spine a lot, as you press through the feet, feeling the heart, feeling the shoulders, and feeling the head. And once you arrive standing, take a few moments, just let the blood and the energy settle back down into the feet and legs, spreading the toes, and now as you're ready, let's go ahead and hook the thumbs, fan the fingers, inhale, stretch the arms up towards the sky, as you spread the toes, press through the feet, kind of wiggle and lengthen as you pull the thumbs apart, feel how you can fan through the fingers, broaden through the chest, drawing the shoulder blades down the back, tailbone lengthening, beautiful, side bend, we'll inhale to lengthen, exhale, let's take it over to the right, bend your left knee, let's find a place where the neck and head feel comfortable, opening up through the left side body, inhale, bring it back up, and exhale over to the other side, bending the right knee, feeling that opening through the right side body, inhale up, exhale, release the hands, roll the shoulders forward, find the interlace behind the back, if you have a strap, you might grab a strap or a belt, inhale, lift the chest, feet about hips width apart, stay here, or exhale, bend your knees forward fold, releasing the head, and begin to stretch your arms up out and over, now really tap into the strength of your legs, feel how you can lift the shoulders towards the sky a little bit, reaching the hands towards the sky, neck softening, maybe you're rolling some weight forward into the balls of your feet, kind of deepening that fold there at the hip hinge, that has subtle action of drawing the navel towards the spine, beautiful, take your time slow, bend your knees, release the hands with the strap, soft bend through the knees, chin into the chest, we're rolling up together nice and slow, stacking the bones, please imagine here the bones are stacking, feeling that lift through the heart, the shoulders, the head, let's take a few shoulder rolls, rolling the shoulders up, dropping them down, rolling the shoulders back and up, little squeeze, exhale drop, one more like this, and drop, let's roll the shoulders back a few times, feeling that opening through the side body, and then let's reverse back up and forward, feeling into the back of the heart, the shoulder blades, nice, beautiful, from here let's make our way towards the top of the mat, finding a few slow sun salutations, just to begin to kind of free up any stagnation and boost our energy a bit, so finding the shape of tadasana, spreading the toes, and let's draw the hands together at the heart, as you draw your hands together at your heart, notice the quality of your breath, as you come into relationship with the breath, this is how that quality changes, beautiful, moving with the breath on your inhale, press through the feet, circle the arms up, feel that length through your spine, exhale forward fold, maybe there's a soft bend through the knees, releasing the head, releasing your hands, now with your inhale slide your hands up your shins, lengthen your spine, and with your exhale bend your knees, ground your hands, step back downward facing dog, take a few moments to settle in your down dog, you might stay in down dog, lower to child's or join me in a plank pose, as you inhale shift into our first plank, shoulders over the wrist, strong through the legs, feel like you can draw the deep low belly up towards the spine, feel that buoyancy in the heart and the lungs, let's lower the knees, slowly keep the elbows in, lower down, setting up for cobra tops of the feet on the floor, with an inhale roll the shoulders up the back, press through the palms, inhale lift the heart, broaden through the collarbones, beautiful exhale lead with the heart lower, tuck your toes under, press up back downward facing dog, let's take a few breaths here together, and lengthening the neck, breathing, take your time from your down dog, walking the feet or stepping the feet towards the hands, once you arrive inhale draw the hands up the shins, half arch to lengthen, exhale bend the knees forward fold, bend the knees, press through the feet, inhale sweep your arms up to the sky, reach up and lengthen, and exhale draw the hands back to the heart, continuing with the breath, inhale let your arms sweep up, exhale navel to spine, forward fold, releasing slowly, maybe there's a bend in the knees, with your inhale slide your hands up the shins, find that length and space, exhale bend the knees, step the right foot back and let the left knee bend, let's lower the back right knee down for a low lunge, you might pat it with a blanket, nice and slow, we'll inhale draw the hips back, extend and lengthen the front leg, come on to that heel, exhale bend the front knee, sink into your lunge, let's do that two more times, inhale draw the hips back, exhale bend the knee lunge, last one inhale draw your hips back, exhale lunge, you might stay low on your lunge, you might rise up onto that front thigh, you might inhale sweep the arms up and hook the thumbs like we did earlier, feel how you can kind of wiggle and lengthen, maybe pulling the thumbs apart a little bit as you fan the fingers, shoulder blades soft and as the heart brightens, beautiful breathing, balancing the effort through the body, ease and the effort, unhook the thumbs, keep that right arm reaching up, bring the left fingertips down to the floor, we'll inhale reach up and exhale, side bend over to the left, deepening that sensation through the back right thigh, you can find a place where your neck feels comfortable, reach with that top right arm, inhale come back up, exhale let's pull the hips back again, extend through that left leg, you might stay long and extend it in your spine, you might exhale curl and round, bring your forehead towards your shin bone, nice full exhale, take your time, bend your knee, tuck your back toes, lift your back leg up, moving towards a twisting lunge, ground the right hand, you might toe heel that left foot a little wider as you sweep the left arm up, reach back for the right heel forward through the heart and with your exhale feel how you can return the ribs, the lungs, breathing, inhale here, exhale left hand releases, let's step back downward facing dog, taking a few breaths here, you might pause and down dog, you might lower to your child's pose or inhale join me back into a plank, shifting the shoulders over the wrist, strong through the legs, the deep low belly, we'll lower the knees, elbows in, lowering down cobra, tops of the feet on the floor, roll the shoulders up back, cross through the palms, lifting up, exhale lead with the heart, lower down, tuck the toes, press up and back into your downward dog, take your time from your down dog, walk or step the feet towards the hands, once you arrive inhale slide the hands up the shins to lengthen, exhale forward fold, bend the knees, inhale press through the feet, sweep the arms up lengthen and exhale hands together at the heart, taking a moment to settle before we move into our second side, as you're ready inhale arms sweep up, exhale forward fold nice and slow releasing the head, with your inhale draw your hands up your shins lengthen, exhale bend your knees, step your left foot back, right knee bends, moving into the shape of the low lunge, as you're ready lower that back left knee down, inhale draw the hips back extend through your right leg, exhale bend the knee and sink into the lunge, two more times inhale draw the hips back extend, exhale ease in, one more inhale draw back extend, exhale lunge you might stay low, you might rise up, if it would feel good inhale sweep the arms up, hook the thumbs, use that hook to help find a little bit more length through the spine and the side body, feeling that support through the back of the heart, spacious through the throat, breathing and then unhook the thumbs lower that right hand down, keep that left arm reaching as you reach it up out and over to the right a little bit, opening up through the left side body, finding a place where the neck feels good, maybe it's looking down, with your inhale sweep that left arm up, with your exhale draw your hips back, extend through that left leg, again you might stay long and extended, you might exhale curl and round, forehead releasing towards the shin, take your time when you're ready bend the knee, tuck the back toes, twisting lunge, ground the left hand sweep the right arm up, my toe heel that right foot a little wider, as you reach back lengthen forward and twist, easy in the neck, love this lunge sequence, exhale release the right hand, let's step back into our down dog, an option to stay here, child's pose or with an inhale shift forward into plank, exhale lower the knees, lowering onto the belly, inhale to your cobra, gently pressing through the palms, lifting up, exhale lead with the heart, lower tuck the toes, press up onto the knees, find your downward dog, couple of breaths here, take your time walking the feet towards the hands, once you arrive inhale half arch, slide the hands up the shins lengthen, exhale bend the knees forward fold, press through the feet, inhale sweep your arms up, press and lift lengthen and exhale hands together at the heart, taking a few moments here, letting the blood letting the awareness settle back down into the legs and the feet, we'll be building and adding on, beat about hips width apart, let's find a chair pose utkatasana, so as you're ready inhale sweep the arms up towards the sky, with an exhale bend your knees and as you bend your knees begin to hinge at your hips shifting the weight back towards the heels, keep that length in the torso, as you draw the navel towards the spine feel the fullness in the back ribs, long through your neck, let's inhale here with an exhale forward fold, releasing the head and the arms, with your inhale slide your hands up your shins to lengthen find space, exhale bend the knees, step the right foot back again, left knee bend, so we're setting up for a warrior one, pivot onto the outer edge of your right foot, you might toe heal your left foot a little bit wider, stay low and strong in your legs as you sweep your arms back, broad through the collarbones looking down, press through that back foot with an inhale begin to rise up into your warrior one, sweeping the arms up, nice and steady for your legs and feel you can kind of begin to draw that left hip and lung back, beautiful, feeling that support and lift through the back of the heart, easy through the neck, take one more inhale here, exhale bring your hands to your hips, shorten your stance for pyramid, so draw that back foot in a little closer, reach your arms out, roll the shoulders forward and then bring the hands behind the back around the sacrum or maybe it would feel good to find the elbows, as you're ready inhale feel that length out through your spine, you might stay right here, you might exhale begin to kind of pull that left hip back, ground through the outer edge of that back right foot and begin to hinge forward, maintaining that length and long through the neck, keep a soft bend through that front knee and notice the quality of your breathing, you might stay long and extended or it might feel good to begin to release the forehead towards the shin bone, feel that space through the chest, shoulders drawing back, that's right as you're ready ground through the feet and the legs and with your inhale rise up, press through the feet slow, nice, we're adding on inhale, sweep the arms out of the sky, exhale bring your hands to your heart, look forward, find a steady gaze as we move towards a warrior three play, bend the front knee, as you bend your front left knee begin to shift the weight forward, balancing on those back toes, you might stay here, you might play with lifting your back right leg up, now really work that internal rotation through the back leg, yeah you might feel some wobbling through that front left leg, long through the spine, long through the neck, anything you'd like to do with the arms, hands at the heart, hands reaching back, beautiful strong through that left hip, as you're ready we're just going to meet standing, so lowering that right leg down, take a moment, shake it out, that's a lot of work for the outer left hip, beautiful take a moment, we're going to move towards the second side starting with chair pose, as you're ready inhale sweep your arms up, feel that length and then exhale bend your knees, as you bend your knees hinge at the hips, shift the weight back towards the heel, stay long, nice full breath into the back body, inhale and share, exhale forward fold, release the head, release the arms with your inhale half arch, lift up a little bit more lengthen, exhale bend your knees, step your left foot back, right knee bend, setting up for warrior two, pivot onto the outer edge of that left foot, you might toe heel your right foot a little wider, strong through the legs, stay low in the legs as you sweep the arms back, feel that space through the collarbones, energy through the fingers, stay low as you hug your right hip in and then maybe you're sweeping the arms up finding your warrior one, kind of letting the shape reveal itself with some time here, as you begin to play with drawing that right hip and lung back, maybe sinking down and feeling that lift and support through the back of the heart, energy through the fingers, breathing here and spreading the effort evenly as you tap into that inner ease, take one more inhale, exhale hands to the hips, shorten the stance, so step that back right foot in, setting up for pyramid, stretch the arms out, roll the shoulders forward, maybe bring the opposite hand to rest in the sacrum area or find your elbows, broadening up through the chest, feel and find that length, you might stay right here, you might begin to draw your right hip back, maybe a soft bend through that front knee and then extend and lengthen, extend and lengthen, feel that rooting through the outer edge, finding your own appropriate edge of sensation and stretch, you might stay long and extended through your spine or you might begin to slowly round your back, stretching the back and feeling that forehead draw towards the shin. Strong through your legs as you're ready with your inhale, slow press through that front foot, rise up, take a moment to pause, let the blood settle, inhale stretch the arms up, exhale hands to the heart, begin to find and steady your gaze, your drishti, bend the front knee and maybe we're playing towards that warrior three on this side, lifting up and begin to lengthen and then hinge forward, keep that length, that internal rotation through the back thigh, right hip hugging in, nice effort, strong through that standing leg as you're ready, just come back into your tadasana, we'll meet here, take a few moments to settle, nice little exhale, nice, we'll explore a little bit more work through the legs, so go ahead and step wide on your mat, we're going to come into goddess or horse stance, so turn the heels and toes out and take a moment to look down at your knees, so if your knees are kind of collapsing in, the play here after all that internal rotation is to begin to feel and find that external rotation, that grounding through the outer edges of the feet, knee tracking over about that second, the third toe, nice, let's begin to slide the hands down onto the legs, lean a little bit from side to side, we'll do a little twist and dip action, so we're going to inhale, lengthen and then exhale, we're going to twist to the right, so dip that left shoulder forward, looking over the right shoulder with an exhale, press through the feet, inhale, come back to center, exhale, twist and dip to the left, dip that right shoulder forward, let's do that one more time in each direction, inhale up, exhale, twist to the right, inhale, press through the feet, exhale, twist and dip to the left, inhale, come back up to center, last few moments you might stay here, hands at the heart, you might play with sweeping the arms up as you sink down, feeling that lift and support through the back of the heart, one more inhale, exhale, press through the feet, nice work, bring the hands onto the hips, parallel your feet, turn your feet in, your toes and heels wide, we're going to inhale, lengthen the spine, you might reach your arms out as you interlace the fingers, lift the heart, exhale, hinge forward, maybe there's a soft bend in the knees and if you have that interlace you might stretch the arms about and over again or you might simply release the hands towards the floor, the surrendering towards the earth, beautiful, take your time, if you have the interlace release the hands, let's walk the hands forward for a little hammock action, reach the hips away from the hands, exhale, soften, melt, surrender the heart towards the earth, you know it's easier said than done, feeling this nice traction and laying through the cervical spine, you might stay here a bit longer, you might begin to walk the hands back underneath the shoulders and let's find a little skandhasana place, so turn the heels and toes out, let's bend the right knee and begin to shift over to the right, feeling that inner leg line, coming on to the right heel and let's fly over to the other side, bending that left knee, lifting the right toes up and a little side to side and keep the hands grounded, you can play with lifting the hands and really tapping into the strength of the legs, this fluid movement here, the arm variation, yeah more like this, good, from here take your time, toe heel the feet a little closer together, coming into a squat, malasana, so heels and toes out, your variation of malasana, hands might draw together at the heart, if you feel the heart drawing towards the thumbs, nice full exhale, nice from here, bring the hands to the floor, toe heel the feet a little closer, standing forward fold, soft bend through the knees, shin into the chest, let's take our time to slowly roll up, stacking the bones, unfurling the spine, rolling the heart, the shoulders, the head opening up through the palms, just arriving here in tadasana, few moments, standing meditation, letting the lift from the inner arches of the feet up through the inner lines of the legs, tuning from the base of the spine, internally lifting through the heart and the base of the skull, I don't know about you but I feel a kind of a quieting here, few more moments, just rest in the experience of being here, grounded, aware, just allow for an inhale, allow for an exhale, let's make our way towards the top of the mat, we're making our way down to the earth with a sun salutation, spreading the toes, hands at the heart, with your inhale sweep the arms up, with your exhale hinge at the hips, forward fold, releasing the head, last one, inhale, slide the hands up the shins, lengthen your spine and exhale, go ahead and bend your knees, step your feet back, downward facing dog, from downward dog, last plank, shifting shoulders over the wrist, we'll pause here for a few breaths, reaching back through the heels, you can always keep your knees down on the floor in plank pose, if you're working with any wrist issues, lowering the forearms down, and let's lower ourselves all the way down, finding a few rounds of locusts, shalabhasana, forehead on the floor, sweep your fingers towards your toes, legs come towards each other as you feel that internal rotation, and with your inhale as you're ready, inhale lift the heart, then maybe you're lifting the arms, lifting the legs, feel how you can draw the back body in towards your spine, reaching through the fingers and the toes, I like to look down here so the neck can really lengthen, the inhale lifts you up and the exhale lowers you down gently, take a moment, pause and rest, forehead or one ear on the floor, second round here, you might find that previous variation or maybe interlacing the fingers behind the back, and with an inhale lifting the chest, maybe the legs, feeling that space through the collarbones, and breathe, really kick back through the legs, yes, inhale lift up, exhale gently lower down for it or opposite ear to the floor, nice full exhale, as you're ready bring the hands underneath the shoulders, draw the elbows in, press up and back, nice easy child's pose for a few moments, rounding the spine, we make our way towards a few rounds of camel, lustrasana, you might stay here, you'd like to join me and camel, begin to rise up onto the shins, knees about hips width apart, again we're working that internal rotation through the legs, the thigh bones, back bending is all about lengthening the front body rather than dropping into our low back, so feel how you can begin to lift and lengthen through the pelvic floor, through the spine, let's bring our hands together at the heart, you might keep your chin in towards the chest, and as you inhale feel how you can draw the heart towards the thumbs, and just just work on lengthening the front of the body, yeah tailbone lengthens down, sacrum draws in, beautiful, yes, and then lead with the heart to come on up, take a moment, you might sit on the heels and pause, finding one more round if you'd like to join me coming up onto the shins, you might find the variation with the hands together at the heart, you might choose to bring the hands behind you as you have the fingertips pointing down towards the tailbone, as you inhale find that length through the spine, the front of the body, feeling that support through your pelvic floor, and as you exhale begin to lift through the heart, you might keep your hands exactly where you are, if you have the practice of releasing the hands towards the heels, you might move towards that variation, the chin might stay in towards the chest, if and as appropriate for your neck, you might begin to slowly and mindfully begin to open the throat as you release the head back in your camel, really finding that appropriate edge of sensation for you, if you're in the shape of camel when you feel ready, if your head is dropping back, gently lift the head, draw the chin into the chest, your hands are on the heels, bring the hands to the sacrum, use your strength in the core to come on up, and then child's pose, slowly releasing, maybe elbows wide, forehead resting on the hands, breathing into the back body, nice, sensing our way towards the shape of pigeon, if pigeon does not feel good on your knee or your hip, you're welcome to find this on your back in the figure four shape, bringing one ankle across, let's make our way back into down dog for a moment, and then from down dog we'll draw the right knee forward, if you're moving towards the shape of pigeon or you might just again simply roll onto your back, bring that right ankle across the left thigh, if you're up in pigeon you might stay here upright, or slowly begin to ease your way forward, if and as you need to feel or want to feel more, more sensation through that right hip, always bring a blanket or support underneath that right, right hip, easy through the eyes and the jaw, jaw, what is what you choose to do with your hands, the weight of your head, breathing into where you feel the sensation, allowing for a exhale, I'm always reminded here by a saying from Eric Schiffman, the fastest way to move deep in your yoga asana practice is slowly, you are welcome to stay here, whatever shape you're in a bit longer, when you feel ready to transition just slowly and safely finding your way out of the shape, if you're on your back in the figure four, just take your time to switch sides, if you're in pigeon you might tuck your back toes under press through the palms, if it would feel good you might stretch the leg up towards the sky one-legged dog, let's shake it out, circle the ankle, lowering down, looking our way towards the second side, you're coming into pigeon drawing the left knee forward, if you're on your back bringing that left ankle across, taking your time here, you might find a blanket underneath that left hip and sitting bone, you might stay upright, if and as it would feel good, useful, might ease your way downward, I'm arriving with an inhale and softening and deepening with an exhale, you're noticing what you choose to do with your head and your hands, if you're working with quite a bit of sensation you might allow for a generous exhale, a few more moments here, and you are welcome to stay here a bit longer when you feel ready, if you're in pigeon just slowly you might tuck your back toes under and press through the palms, come into down dog, stretch that left leg up towards the sky, give me circle out through the ankle, bend the knee open the hip, nice and then lowering back into downward dog for a moment and we're going to meet on our backs so just finding your way onto your back, if you're already there might draw your knees into your chest and rock a little bit from side to side, and as you come onto your back let's draw that right knee into the chest and just stretch the leg out long on the floor, taking a few moments letting the shoulders release, letting the jaw soften, go inhale here and then exhale just switch, draw that left knee and stretch that right leg out long on the floor, a couple of breaths here releasing through the lower back, nice and then we'll switch draw the right knee and this time you might let that left heel hover off the floor, inhale exhale switch left knee and right leg extended and you might move a little bit faster switching right knee and left leg extends and then switch left knee and right leg extends you might stay with this you might draw the chin into the chest and lift up and switch and switch at your own pace and switch pulling into the abdominal muscles and switch and switch knee and extend last one knee and extend switch and then lower down knees into chest rock a little bit side to side, let's set up for a round bridge spreading the toes grounding the soles of the feet bringing the heels in line with the sitting bones, inhale and as you're ready exhale curl the tailbone under press through the feet lift your pelvis up feel that length begin to happen in the front of your body you might press the hands into the floor as you reach the fingers towards your heels might feel nice to roll and tuck your shoulders under the back again finding that familiar interlace feeling the heart lift towards the chin strong through the legs if you can relax some of that gripping some of that effort through the buttocks yeah through the glutes softer through the eyes beautiful work when you're ready releasing the hands if they're in the interlace let's stretch the arms up to the sky come high up onto the balls of your feet lift your heels up pull round or spine down tractioning through the low back upper back middle back low back arms down sacrum releases from here it might feel nice to bring the soles of your feet together and let the knees fall wide into the shape of vada konasana hands might rest on the belly might feel nice to reach the arms overhead maybe hands find the elbows with an exhale letting the front ribs soften down a little bit more length through the lower back back in the space between your eyebrows and the base of your skull nice might feel good to stay here a bit longer draw your knees towards each other let's toe heel the feet nice and wide on the mat for windshield wipers arms might stretch out to the sides or overhead let the knees fall over to the right back through center and over to the left more times windshield wipers just allowing for this nice fluid movement and head might rock away from the knees here next time the knees fall over to the right let the knees fall over the right find a little bit more length for your your left arm there reaching through the fingers lengthening down through the left side body releasing take your time inhale knees up and exhale over to the left stretching and lengthening through that right arm it's releasing through the right side nice oh inhale knees up we'll hug the knees into the chest one last time might feel nice to stay here exhale draw the chin in towards the knees curl up into a ball for a moment curl in and then slow release down and here settling into your shavasana of course if there's anything you'd like to do along the way towards your shavasana please do that if in this moment you feel like joining me for a seated meditation let's take your time rolling to your side using your arms to press yourself up and if you're in the shape of shavasana just allowing yourself to get comfortable pulling in support a weight warmth over the body if you're seated wobbling in inhale to lengthen exhale to soften settle and center I'm just resting in the experience of being alive aware awake and at ease in this very moment consciously resting in the space you've created through your practice meditation isn't something we we do but rather we create the conditions for the possibility of meditation to occur spontaneously the meditate is to listen with a receptive heart taking your time as you're ready joining your hands together allow for an inhale and exhale bowing the head towards the heart thank you for joining me in yoga with love namaste

Comments

Catherine R
Wonderful practice! I didn’t want it to end.
Alana Mitnick
Hi Catherine, It's so lovely to practice together. Thank you for being here! xoA
Helen C
2 people like this.
Thank you Alana, feeling inspired to learn more.
Alana Mitnick
Wonderful, Helen... thank you for being here! If you would like to join me LIVE, I teach these classes every Wednesday at 10:30am PDT from my home living room. Grateful to be in Yoga together. Love, Alana  
Mary L
2 people like this.
Fantastic really set me up for the day Thank you
Alana Mitnick
Wonderful, mary! So delighted to be practicing together. I teach a LIVE class every Wednesday at 10:30am PDT at https://www.yogaanytime.com/live-view/40/LIVE-with-Alana. Hope you can join sometime! Love, Alana  
Sandra Židan
Great practice! Thanks, Alana! Regards!
Alana Mitnick
Hi Sandra! So glad you enjoyed this practice. Your dedicated and consistent Yoga practice is inspiring! Warmly, Alana  
Lori
1 person likes this.
Perfect in every way! Thanks, Alana. I really enjoyed this practice this morning. I'll be doing it again soon. xo :)
Alana Mitnick
Aww.. lovely to hear, Lori! So glad you enjoy this practice. Sending love xoA
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