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Season 2 - Episode 9

Release and Ground

60 min - Practice
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Sarah shares a challenging practice to help us move deeper into the hips, and bring us into the present together. We explore side body stretches, grounded postures, hip opening and strengthening, and arm balance play in Elephant's Trunk Pose (Eka Hasta Bhujasana). You will feel strong and enlivened.
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Welcome back. So we are moving into our final episode of this season in a practice that is all about releasing and grounding. So we'll move with some interesting transitions today as we get deep into the hips, both opening and releasing, any tension you might be holding on to. We'll also work with some standing balancing postures as well as an arm balance to bring us into the present moment together. So if you join me, let's begin on our backs. Take your time as you roll down and we'll get right into the hips by bringing the soles of the feet together and the knees wide for Supta Baddha Konasana. Just taking a moment to notice how your hips are feeling today. And you can always bring blocks under your knees for support if that feels a little bit better for you as we begin. And just let your hands fall wherever they fall naturally, maybe on the body or out to either side of the body with the palms facing up. And if it feels safe for you to close your eyes, take a moment to let the eyes soften and close as the gaze shifts to the internal space. And as you start to bring your awareness inward, start to notice how the physical body is feeling today. Maybe scanning from the tips of the toes all the way up through the crown of your head if there are any areas that you might be holding tension or habitual tension. Inviting those spaces to soften and release just a little bit more as you begin to let the earth support you feeling grounded and supported here. And then gently begin to notice your breath without trying to change the breath, bringing simple awareness to your inhale and your exhale. Amazing if just with that awareness the breath naturally begins to shift. And then allowing a few full deep breaths together, cleansing breaths will inhale through the nose and the lungs expand. And then open the mouth and let something go, sigh it out, release. Again, inhale through the nose, feeling the expansion. Exhale, maybe open up the mouth, let out a sigh, release. One more like that. Inhale as you gather, energy, inhaling, expanding. And then as you exhale, feel that gentle release. Beautiful. And then just start to let the breath travel in and out through the nose evenly, slowly as you come into your yogic ujjayi breathing. And if there's an intention that you'd like to set here, perhaps one of releasing, of grounding, of feeling supported or anything at all that you'd like to call in, it's taking a moment to set your sunculper here. Letting that guide you as we move into our practice, moving from that heart space, the heart's desire. And maybe your hips are feeling it in this moment, mine certainly are, so let's come out of here as you're ready. You will bring the hands to the outsides of the knees and then start to draw your knees in towards your chest, nice and slow as you move into Apanasana. And we rock a little bit from side to side. Maybe take your knees in circles in either direction, just feeling into the lower back. Notice how that feels. Beautiful. And then from here, let the soles of your feet come to the earth and let your feet be about hips distance apart. And we'll move into a hip stretch for a thread the eye of the needle. So cross your right ankle on top of your left knee, find that figure four shape with your legs, and then any amount start to draw the legs in towards you. Now you can interlace your hands if it feels good behind your left thigh or on top of that left shin, but be at a place where you can allow the shoulders to relax. So maybe you just let the arms float on either side of your body and move around a little bit, sending the breath into the right hip. Notice how that feels as you let that right knee draw away from you a little bit, maybe even move the legs away from you and towards you a few times. Good. And then let your left foot come down to the earth. Start to draw your right knee in for a half happy baby. So I'm bringing my hand to the outside of the right foot as you draw the right knee in toward me to the outside of the torso breathing here. And maybe that left leg starts to straighten out on your mat. If that's too intense, just keep the left foot down on the earth as you come into half happy baby. You can always hold onto your shin if that's a little more accessible for you right here. And then any amount, start to straighten your right leg open to the right and you can keep as much of a bend in that right knee as needed as you open up the leg.

Beautiful breathing into the inner leg line or anywhere else that you feel this. And then just reversing that as you rebend through the right knee, hug your right knee into your chest for a moment. Give it a squeeze. Good. And then straighten out both legs on your mat for a moment. Notice maybe quite a big difference between the right side and the left side. Breathing in, breathing out. And then we'll just take that all to the other side. So bring the soles of the feet to the earth, bending the knees, starting with thread the eye of the needle, cross your left ankle on top of your right knee, letting the left knee draw away from you as you find that figure four shape with your legs. Moving around a little bit and then eventually start to draw the legs in towards you as you feel that stretch in your left hip. And then again you can interlace if that feels appropriate for you or maybe the hands are just on the earth as you start to move the legs towards you and away from you a few times. Maybe noticing if this side feels a little different from the first side. Left hip. Coming back to your breath. Good. And then we'll move into Half Happy Baby by letting the right foot find the earth, find your left foot with your left hand or your shin as you start to bend the left knee, draw to the outside of the torso, left elbow bends, maybe straighten through that right leg or keep the foot on the earth if that feels better for you. And then notice the sensations here. Breathe into that. Couple full deep breaths. Good. And then any amount, we're straightening that left leg out to the left. And again, you can keep a bend in that left knee as much as you need to here. You're starting to feel into the inner leg line or anywhere else you feel this. Good. And then reversing that. So rebending through the left knee, give your knee a squeeze in towards your chest a little bit. Good. And then again, just straighten out both of your legs so you can just start to feel maybe that balanced out a little bit. Right side, left side. Beautiful. And then draw the knees in towards you. Maybe bring your hands to the backs of the knees. Start to rock up and down along the length of your spine. You might just sit up or you can rock up and down a few times as you massage through the spine and we'll make our way to all fours. So finding your way to a nice tabletop position with the shoulders right over the wrists, hips over knees, spreading through the fingers, pressing the shins down and moving into cat cow. So as you're ready, inhale, lifting the heart, lift the gaze as you arch the spine.

Feel the opening in the front body. And then as you exhale, navel to spine, opening the back body. Maybe shift your weight back a little bit. And then allowing the breath to start to guide your movement. Let the inhale bring you forward into cow pose. Let the exhale bring you back into cat pose. A couple more like that with your breath. Inhaling as you come forward. Exhaling as you move back, opening through the back body. One more. Inhale as you come forward. Exhaling as you come back. Navel to spine rounding. Beautiful. And then we'll come into downward facing dog. So take your time as you tuck your toes, lift the hips up and back. And in this first downward facing dog, start to move around a little bit. Maybe bend your knees. Start to pedal it out. Just feeling into the backs of your legs. Maybe sway your hips from side to side. Wherever you're at, can you allow the spine to be nice and long? And then connect in with the parts of the body that are making contact with the earth, moving into that grounded quality. So spreading through the hands, pressing through the inner hand. As well as the outer hand as the heels get heavy. And again, if the hamstrings are feeling a little tight today, can always soften the knees or even step the feet a little bit wider in your downward facing dog. Breathing in. Breathing out. Beautiful. And then from here, let's float the right leg up to the sky. Take a moment to bend your right knee and open up through that right hip. So here we are again. Feel into your right hip. Maybe roll out your foot a few times in one direction. Feeling into the ankle and you could take it in the other direction. Beautiful. And then as you straighten back through that right leg, square off your hips, flex your right foot, and then draw your right knee to your right tricep. And then step your foot to the outside of your right hand. So you're in this wide lunge. Coming into this lunge up onto your fingertips for a moment. As you lengthen through the spine, reaching the crown of the head forward. Good. And then soften your left knee down to the earth. You can untuck your toes. As you inhale, lift up through the heart space. Maybe lift your gaze. And then exhale, start to straighten through that right leg any amount for just this wider arta hanumanasana. So drawing that right hip back as you breathe into the back of your right leg. Spreading the toes. Breathing. Going into the hamstring. Beautiful. And then rebend through your right knee. Come back to your lunge. Tuck your back toes. Lift the back knee up. And then start to walk your hands to the left as you come through center. And we'll come all the way over to the left leg for skandhasana. Put a bend in your left knee. And you might turn the left toes out a little bit as you sink down into that left hip. Letting your shoulders stay level with your hips. So feel that strength through that right hip as you breathe here. Beautiful. And then bring it all the way back to the front of your mat. Coming into a runner's lunge. And step it back to down dog by planting the palms down on the earth. Step your right foot back to meet the left. Nice work. We'll come forward into plank pose on the inhale.

Lengthen through your spine. Lower all the way to the belly on your exhale. Welcome to lower your knees. Cobra pose. Draw the shoulders back. Peel the chest up as you lengthen up into bhujangasana. Good. And then let the exhale bring you right back into our downward facing dog. Tucking the toes. Lifting the hips up and back. Take a moment to land and connect. Breathing in. And breathing out. Beautiful. Left side as you're ready. Inhale, left leg lifts. Bend the knee. Open up through that left hip. Maybe roll out your left foot a few times. One direction. And then the other. Pressing through both hands. So letting the shoulders stay level. Good. And then we'll straighten through the left leg. Flex your left foot. Let your hips be level. Big breath in here. And then draw your left knee to your left tricep. Hover for a moment in the top of the push-up. And then we're stepping the left foot to the outside of the left wrist. Come up onto your fingertips. So you're in this wide lunge. Lengthen through the spine. And then let your right knee find the earth. You can untuck your toes. Press through the right shin. Lift the heart. Lift the gaze. Big breath in. Good. And then as you shift your weight back, artha hanumanasana. Come onto that left heel. Lift the toes up off the earth. And then again, just sending the breath to the back of your left leg. Feel the hamstring. You can always soften that knee any amount. Just feel that opening. Breathing in. Releasing. Beautiful. And then we'll rebend through the left knee. Tuck the back toes. Lift the back knee up. Start to walk your hands to the right this time, facing the side of your mat. You might need to step your left foot forward a little bit. And then we'll keep walking the hands all the way over to the right side. As you bend your right knee, maybe turn the right toes toward the corner of your mat. Keeping your shoulders in line with your hips. Fingertips on the earth. Skandhasana. Strengthening through that right hip. Good. And then stay nice and low to the earth as you come all the way back to your runner's lunge. Planting your palms. Step your left foot back. Downward facing dog. Take a moment to land. Inhaling. And exhale. Release. Good. Come forward into plank pose. Lower all the way to the belly. Hugging the elbows in as you lower down. And then coming up into cobra pose. Bujangasana. Peel the chest up. Thinking about lengthening here. Good. And then exhale. Bring it back. Downward facing dog. Tuck the toes. Lift the hips up and back. Breathe in. Exhale to release. Beautiful. And then start to walk your feet to your hands. Come to the front of your yoga mat. Take a moment as you get to the front. Soften the knees. Any amount. Letting everything just melt down. Nice. And then roll up nice and slow. With the knees soft. One vertebra at a time. As you get to the top of the mat, bring your shoulders with you. And just roll them down your back. Take a moment to find Stan Tadasana at the front of your mat. Bringing the palms to face forward. Softening the shoulders. Maybe closing your eyes. And just checking in. Notice how you feel here in this moment. Beautiful. And then let's move into some warming sun salutations as we warm the body and start to move with the breath. So as you're ready, inhale, sweep your arms up, lengthening through the spine. Feel the lift in the upper back.

Maybe take your gaze up. Exhale, dive forward. Soften the knees. Forward fold. Uttanasana. On an inhale, lift halfway up. Either fingertips on the earth or hands on your shins. For this first one, plant your palms. Step it back to plank pose. And we'll pause in plank for a moment. So find your alignment in plank. Shoulders over wrists. Hips in line with shoulder blades. And then start to shift your weight forward. Come halfway or all the way down. Maybe chaturanga this time. And then inhale cobra or upward facing dog if you feel ready for that. Straightening out the arms, firming the thighs up off the earth. Big breath in. Exhale, roll over the toes. Lift your hips up and back for downward facing dog. We'll take a moment to land there. And maybe start to find some stillness in your down dog by focusing your drishti, your gaze on one point. Coming to the breath to arrive here in this moment to kind of tether you to the present moment. Breathing in. Breathing out. Good. And then as you're ready, rise up onto your toes. Big bend in the knees. Look forward.

Step or you can lightly float your feet to your hands coming to the front of the mat. Inhale halfway up, lengthening through the spine. Exhale, forward fold. Uttanasana. Good. Inhale, rising up, arms sweep out and up. As you exhale, draw your hands in front of your heart. Good. Let's keep moving. Couple more rounds, allowing this to be our moving meditation. Inhale, arms sweep up, lengthening. Exhale, forward fold. Good. Inhale, coming halfway up as you lengthen through the spine. Exhale, plant your palms. Step or lightly float back, chaturanga. Modifying however you'd like. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, landing in downward facing dog. Grounding in the present moment here. Focusing the gaze, focusing the breath. Pressing through inner hand and outer hand. Heels heavy. Beautiful. And inhale to rise 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, release. Good. Root down to rise, arms sweep up. Exhale, hands together in front of your heart. Good.

One more round, moving through with the breath. Inhale, arms sweep up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, halfway. Arda uttanasana. Exhale, plant the palms. Step or lightly float back, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Nice work. Ground and breathe. Big full breath in. Long breath out. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, float your right leg up to the sky. Inhaling. Exhale, step it through. Now setting up for warrior one, spin your back heel down. Take a moment to reach your arms in front of you. So fingertips reach toward the wall in front of you as you hover up off that front leg. And then once you feel solid here and grounded, strong in the legs as you then bring it all the way up to your warrior one. So just taking a moment to settle in to this first warrior one. You can draw that right hip back, let your left hip roll forward. Let the shoulders just soften down the back a little bit more, energizing up through the fingertips. Breathing in. Good. Breathing out, let your hands find the earth. Plank pose, stepping the right foot back to meet the left. Vinyasa Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Big breath in. Downward facing dog. Nice work. Exhale. Bringing it to the other side. Inhale, lift the left leg up. Exhale, step it through. Take a moment to really find your base. So spin the back heel down. When you're grounded in the feet, reach your arms in front of you. Hover up off that front leg. So draw the navel into the spine. Core is engaged as you bend toward 90 degrees in that front leg. And then once you feel solid in your base, bring it up to Virabhadrasana one. So taking a moment to land here, settle in. And that might mean adjusting a little bit, drawing the left hip back. Right hip draws down. The shoulders soften and release. And then can you relax your gaze a little bit? So notice if you're holding on to anything here, what you might release just a little bit more, energizing up through your fingertips.

Beautiful, big, full breath in. Exhale, hands to the earth. Left foot steps back, plank pose. Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Lifting the heart. Exhale, bowing into downward facing dog. Nice work. Big, full breath in. Long breath out to release. Let's try that again. Inhaling together. Maybe stick out your tongue for lion's breath. Let it go. Good. And then rising up onto the toes. Bend your knees deeply. Look forward and you can step or lightly float to your hands. Come to the front of your mat. Inhale as you lift halfway. Exhale, release back into your fold. And this time come to chair pose, Utkatasana. So bending the knees deeply. Sweep the arms up. Draw your shin bones back. Let the spine be nice and long as you let the weight sink down into the heels. Beautiful. And then pressing through the feet as you straighten out through the legs. Feel the lift in the upper back. Big breath in. Long breath out. Draw your hands to your heart. Let's take a moment to pause here and check in. Perhaps bringing one hand to the heart, one hand to the belly. Bring the chin down towards your chest. Close your eyes if that feels safe for you. And just tune into your heart space. Feel the heartbeat. The grounded energy beneath the soles of your feet. And how are you feeling in this moment? Just taking these brief check-ins, these pauses between the movement to notice where things land. Come back to the present moment by breathing and going inward. Beautiful. And then blinking the eyes open as you're ready. Sweep the arms up. Let's take a hold of the left wrist, reaching up and over to the right side. Nice, easy side body stretch. Heavy in that left foot to your grounding through the left foot. Good. And then coming back through center, we'll take hold of the opposite wrist. Reaching up and over to the other side. Getting heavy in that right foot as you're grounding down through the right foot. Maybe taking your gaze up toward the ceiling. Nice. And then as you come back through center, take a moment to land. Draw your hands back in towards your heart. And let's keep moving. So we're adding on to what we've already created as we start to move into some transitions to go deeper into the hips. So coming back to chair pose when you're ready. Utkatasana, arms sweep up, bend the knees deeply. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, halfway up, lengthen through the spine. Exhale, chaturanga. Or feel free to skip any of these vinyasas. We'll meet in down dog. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Right side as you're ready. Inhale, right leg lifts.

Exhale, step it through. Same beginning. Setting up for warrior one. Once you have your base, reach the arms in front of you, hovering. And then let your next inhale bring you up to warrior one. Take a moment to land. And then the transition here is right into Skandhasana that we were working with when we began. So you're bending your left knee. Turn the left toes out a little bit. Come up onto your right heel. Draw your hands to your heart or if you want more support, fingertips can find the earth again. Good. Strong in that left leg and then really strong in the legs as you open it up to warrior two. Turn your right toes out. Bend your right knee. Let the shoulders relax and just take a moment to land. Very badrasana too. If you need to adjust the feet at all, of course, go for it. Be at a place where you can just soften in and breathe. Beautiful. And then keeping the legs, how they are, flip your front palm, tilt back a little bit. Feel that nice side body stretch for reverse warrior. Circle lands down to the earth. Vinyasa. Step your right foot back. Exhale, chaturanga. Exhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Beautiful. Big breath in. Let that side go. Exhale. Inhaling. Exhale. Good. Left side as you're ready. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Set up your base for warrior one. Reach the arms forward once you're grounded. Hovering up. Keep the core engaged on your next inhale. Bring it up to Virabhadrasana one. Good. And then right into Skandhasana. So the right toes turn out. Right knee bends. Left leg is straight. Maybe come up onto that left heel, drawing your hands to your heart. Or feel free to keep fingertips down on the earth for support. And then really strong transition in the legs, warrior two. Turn your left toes out. Bend your left knee. Take a moment to settle in. The shoulders relax. Gaze softens. The ease and the effort. Good. And then with that foundation, we'll flip the front palm. Keep the bend in the left knee. Tilt back. Reverse warrior. Feel that nice stretch in the left side body as you come up and back. And then circle it down. Vinyasa. Step your left foot back to meet the right. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra. Or upward facing dog. Nice work. Exhale, downward facing dog. Breathing in. Breathing out. Inhale. Exhale. Take a little detour here. Walk your hands back to your feet. Step your feet as wide as your mat. And then sinking down into Malasana. Toes out, heels in. Bend your knees. Let the weight sink down as you let the low back soften and release. Let the spine be nice and long. Maybe draw your hands to your heart. Maybe close your eyes. And just check in for a moment as your hip flexors.

Coming back to our breath, our intention. This downward flow of energy as we feel grounded, supported, rooted. Nice. And then as you're ready, hands to the earth. Parallel your feet for a moment, letting everything just melt down over your legs. Maybe ragdoll a little bit from side to side to release tension. Good. And then meet me back in downward facing dog. Take your time as you walk your hands in front of you. Take a moment to land. And then we're adding on one more round with this. Starting to flow with the breath. When you're ready, inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Find your base for warrior one. Reach your arms in front of you to hover. On an inhale, Bhirabhadrasana one, arms sweep up. Exhale, Skandhasana. Bend your left knee, face the side of the mat, hands to heart. Good. And then open it up strong in the legs, warrior two to the front of your mat, right toes turn forward. Beautiful. This time, draw your hands to your hips. Straighten your front leg, parallel your feet to face the side of your mat. Turn your toes out, let your heels come in and just start to bend your knees for goddess pose. And you can let your hands rest on top of the thighs, maybe sway a little bit from side to side as you feel into the strong legs. And if it feels okay, reach your arms in front of you. Bring the palms to face up, right arm under the left, eagle arms, wrap it up. Draw the elbows away from you, big breath in. Sink down a little deeper, maybe lion's breath, tongue out. Let it go. Good. And then come on out of there, strong hips. Good. Parallel the feet, sweep the arms up nice and long, reach your arms up as you take your gaze up. And then long in the spine, prosaureta, fold in, maybe hands find your ankles. Just taking a moment to hit the heart up over your head, that calming quality of folding in, keeping quadriceps engaged, lifting up on your kneecaps. Beautiful. Releasing tension of the spine, the crown of your head, your shoulders. Where can you release just a little bit more? And then let that go. Walk your hands forward, come halfway up. Come to the front of your yoga mat, come to a runner's lunge, come onto the ball of your back foot. Pausing here, start to heel toe your right foot to the right a few times. Hands on the inside of your front foot. Let your back knee lower down for lizard pose. Now you can keep your hands on the earth or maybe lower your forearms down to a block, the earth. If there's any other variation that feels good here, I'm kind of rolling to the outer edge of my right foot. You might even take your right hand to the inside of that right thigh. Just finding what variation of lizard feels good in your body today, honoring where you're at. Breathing, noticing, arriving to this moment again and again, just this breath. Nowhere to get to, nowhere to be but here. Take your time, no rush. We'll kind of ease our way out of that. Maybe come back into that wide lunge, artha, hanumanasana, hamstring stretch. Good. And then eventually heel toe your foot back to the center of your mat and we'll step it back to downward facing dog.

Right foot meets the left, either staying right here or if you'd like glide forward into plank pose. Inhaling, exhale, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Big breath in, let that side go. Exhale, release. Beautiful. And then second side as you're ready. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Setting up for warrior one. Once you find your base, float the arms forward, hovering up off that front leg. Good. And then inhale brings you to warrior one. Take a moment to land. Exhale, askandasana, right knee bends, face the side of the mat, hands to your heart. Beautiful. Strong in the legs. Open it up to warrior two. Turn the left toes to face the front of your mat. Soften in. Beautiful. And then hands to your heart or excuse me, hands to your hips and then straighten through your front leg. Parallel the feet to face the side of the mat. I'm just going to spin around to face you here and then toes out, heels in. Bend the knees deeply as you find goddess pose, maybe letting your hands rest on your thighs. You can move a little bit side to side, really turning on the inner legs. You could stay right here or if you want a little more, reach the arms forward, palms face up. As time left arm under the right for the eagle wrap in your arms. Draw the elbows away from you. Big breath in. Tongue out lion's breath. Sink it down. Let it go. Good. And then come on out of there. Parallel the feet. Sweep the arms up, lengthen through your spine and then diving forward into prosaureta. Maybe the hands find your ankles, maybe peace fingers. Find your big toes or whatever feels good with the arms. You might have some blocks under your hands or if you would like to go into a tripod headstand, this might be a good place to do that. Otherwise be where you are. Breathe. Releasing ground. One more big breath in. Exhale, let it go. Beautiful. Walking your hands forward and then come to the front of the mat. Find your lunge here for a moment. Start to heel toe your foot to the left side of your mat, bringing the hands on the inside of your front foot, setting up for our lizard pose on this side. Let the right knee lower down to the earth, maybe staying right here or maybe the forearms start to lower down to the earth or a couple blocks. Maybe you're turning your left toes out slightly and rolling to the outer edge of the left foot. If you're doing that, you might take your left hand to the inner left thigh, breathing there. Again exploring the sensations as they arise, noticing, breathing into that space and watching it shift. Bringing your attention to those spaces, watching it shift. Nice and then take your time. No rush. Wiggle out of that side. Again, you might straighten that front leg for that wider artha, hanumanasana. Breathe into the hamstring. Coming back to your lunge, you can heel toe that left foot back toward the center of your mat. Step your left foot back downward facing dog, meeting the right. If you want it, come forward into plank pose and move through chaturanga. Inhale cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Big breath in. Release. Good. Rising up onto toes, bend your knees, look forward.

Up or lightly float your feet to your hands, front of your mat. Inhale halfway. Exhale release coming to chair pose, utkatasana. Bend the knees deeply. Sweep the arms up and then pressing through the feet to straighten the legs. Feel the lift in the upper back. Draw your hands to your heart space. Take a moment to land and breathe. Good. And then laying with a standing balance here. When you're ready, we'll come back to chair. So utkatasana. Now start to let your left foot get heavy as you bring the weight into the left foot. Find that figure four shape crossing your right ankle on top of your left knee and then draw your hands to your heart for temple dancer. So we did this while we were on our backs, obviously quite different here when you're balancing. Find one point to focus your gaze. Feel the opening in that right hip. Good. And then as you start to straighten through your left leg, take your right knee in towards your right armpit as you hug the right knee in toward the side body. I'm going to spin around just to face you and show that. So I'm hugging the right knee to the right. And again, finding that point to focus your gaze, your drishti, maybe taking your peace fingers to your right big toe as you start to straighten out through your right leg, any amount. So again, we did this. Hello. We did this while we were on our back, which is finding that transition here. You fall out of it. Of course, no worries. You're with me. Come back in and then let's just step that right foot down, shake it out, get out of that side. Breathe in, breathe out and then moving to the second side. So as you're ready, find chair, utkatasana, arms sweep up, draw the shin bones back. So find that strong base and then let the right foot get heavy, figure four shape, pick up your left ankle, take it on top of the right knee. Let the weight shift back. Maybe draw your hands to your heart. Find one point to focus your gaze and you might stay right here. This might feel like you're balanced today. You're always welcome to take hands onto a couple blocks here for support. Otherwise, as we transition out, strong in that right leg, find your left knee and hug it toward your left outer torso. Good. Find your drishti, maybe bring your right hand to your hip. Good. And then if you want a little more peace fingers to left big toe, maybe start to straighten out through that left leg, any amount, maybe reach your right arm out to the right, letting the left hip roll down, let the shoulders soften. Good. And then coming out the same way we came in, release, bending the knees, stepping the foot down to the earth, shake it out, breathing in. Good. So essentially the same thing we did on our back in the way of balancing, a little more challenging. As you're ready, sweep the arms up, big full breath in gathering. Exhale, let that go forward fold. Inhale halfway, move through vinyasa or feel free to step it right back to downward facing dog. We'll meet there. Take your time to arrive. Beautiful. And then lower your knees down to the earth. Let's take a child's pose. Let the hips sink back to the heels. Reach the arms forward, settling in, noticing the parts of the body feeling connected, supported, grounded. Beautiful. And then rolling up, sit back on your heels, just taking the weight off to one side. And we'll bring the legs out in front of us. Again, I'm just going to turn to face you so you can see me a little better. So let's start by stretching the left leg long and then hugging the right shin in to rock and open up through that right hip. So I'm just holding onto my foot, wrapping the right hand around my leg and the elbows and the knee and just opening through the right hip. So start to feel into that side. Now, if you want to go a little deeper, you might stay right here, right? This might feel good opening up through the right hip. If you want to go a little deeper, take the left elbow to the sole of your right foot, wrap the right elbow around your knee and then you're rocking a baby here and you're opening up through that right hip and that's a little deeper. And then if you want to play with the arm balance for elephant trunk pose, I'll bring us there. Otherwise, just stay right here, breathe into that right hip. So if you're coming into the arm balance, let's bring the left hand to the outside of the right foot. Now take your right hand, thread it under your right leg so that you're bringing your leg kind of on top of your arm and hugging that in almost like a backpack or maybe not a backpack because it's on your arm, but hugging onto your arm and then bring your left hand to the outside of your left leg. Press really strong through the palms of your hands as you start to straighten through that both of your arms and then flex both of your feet a lot. Now eventually, maybe that left leg floats up off the earth. Maybe not today. Good. And then let that all go. Reach your legs out in front of you. Shake it out. Let it go. Maybe take a forward fold as you reach your arms forward, folding over the legs. Inhale. Exhale. Good. And then step the sole of your left foot to the earth, hug the knee and sit up nice and tall. And then again, start to cradle that left leg in. So I'm bringing the left knee to the inside of my left elbow, hugging it there, holding onto the left shin, and then just start by holding onto your left foot with your right hand. And then you're just starting to rock a little bit from side to side. Feel the opening in the left hip. And then again, if you're coming a little deeper, taking the left foot to the right elbow, hugging around your shin, hugging that in here. And again, maybe staying with that rock. Feel that deep stretch in the left hip as you move from side to side. And this might feel like enough. It might stay right here. If you're moving toward the arm balance, bringing the right hand to the outside of your left foot, thread your left arm underneath your left leg, hook that leg high up onto your arm, outer arm, and then both hands to the earth. Start to straighten out the arms any amount as you lift the hips up off the earth. Flex both feet a lot, and you could stay right here strong in the core. Maybe you're floating that right leg up for half a second, and then bring it back down. Reverse all of that. Take the legs out in front of you. Shake it out or forward fold. Beautiful. And then let's bring the soles of the feet together as the knees go wide. Wiggle in for Baddha Konasana, and just taking this nice hip stretch here as you hold onto the feet. Lengthen up through the spine. Big breath in. And then exhale. Come into your fold, Baddha Konasana. Just balancing out the right side and the left side. Breathing into that sensation. Good. And then as you inhale, a long spine come all the way back up. Take the legs out in front of us one more time.

Sit up nice and tall on your sitting bones, flexing through your feet. As you sit up nice and tall, reach your arms up. Inhale. And then leading with the heart, exhale, Paschimottanasana. Letting the hands fall wherever they fall. Inhale to lengthen through the spine. Exhale to release. Balancing out the two sides, right side, left side. As you send the breath to the backs of the legs, creating that space, that opening, that ease. And then as you inhale, leading with the heart, come on up, reach your arms in front of you. And just slowly, one vertebra at a time, start to roll down onto your back. And as you get onto your back, enter your knees into your chest and rock a little bit from side to side, massaging out through the spine. Notice how the lower back's feeling in this moment. Any shifts from when we first started here. Let's take a couple of heart openers here on our back. So letting the soles of the feet find the earth. Take your feet about hips distance apart, maybe brushing the backs of the heels with your fingertips. And then pressing through the soles of the feet, lift your hips up. Maybe letting the arms come underneath you as you interlace through the fingers. Feel the opening in the front line of the body. And the inner thighs roll down and breathing. Release any clenching in the back body, letting the eyes soften and close. Beautiful. And then as you release, slowly release the arms first. If you're interlacing, rolling down one vertebra at a time. Step your feet as wide as your mat. Let your knees knock into touch. And then drawing your hands to your body if that feels okay. Maybe bringing them to the belly as you notice the expansion of your inhale.

The release of the exhale. Either staying here if you'd like or we'll come into one more bridge. If you'd like to move into wheel, I'll bring us there. So your choice, either staying with bridge or stepping the soles of the feet to the earth. Walking the heels in towards you. If you're coming into wheel pose or vedanya rasana, bring your hands next to your ears. Hug the elbows in. Lift your hips. Start to lift up through the heart space, pressing into the hands, straightening the arms any amount. Evenly distributing the weight across your spine as you feel that big opening across the front line of the body. Breathing in. Breathing out. Good. Slowly release as you're ready wherever you are. Reaching your arms up over your head, step your feet wide. Start to windshield wiper your knees from side to side. Feel that gentle release in the spine and the hips. Good. And the next time the knees drop to the right side, take a moment to land. And then maybe pick up your right foot to get on top of that left thigh. And then you could use that to start to open up through the outer hip. Otherwise, just keep the knees wide. Take a nice easy twist, wringing everything out. That sense of grounding, of releasing, of letting go here. Beautiful. And then slowly you can slide out of that side, soles of the feet to the earth. Letting both knees drop to the left side, either staying right here or picking up your left foot, placing it on top of the right thigh. You can kind of use that to draw that right knee down toward the earth as you open up through the outer hip, wringing everything out, maybe taking your gaze over the opposite shoulder. Every exhale, letting go a little bit more, releasing. And then slowly unravel. The soles of the feet come to the earth as you neutralize through the spine. Hug your knees in. Maybe take a happy baby. Right back to where we started, this time both knees bend as you draw the knees in towards you on the outsides of the torso. Maybe rocking a little side to side and can straighten out the legs if you'd like. Maybe one leg straightens and then the other. Otherwise checking in with any last movements that the body is requesting here in our practice. Special awareness to the hips. And then together we'll hug the knees into the chest. Draw your nose up toward your knees, allowing a big full breath in here, holding the breath at the very top and sipping in just a little bit more air, opening the mouth, side out, letting everything go as you move toward the shape of Shavasana. So letting the legs go long on your mat. Letting your feet relax open. Let the legs feel heavy and held as you soften through the low belly. Gently tucking the shoulders down as the heart lifts, bringing your palms to face up on either side of the body, letting the eyes soften. Again, just gently scanning from the tips of the toes, all the way up through the crown of your head, noticing if there are any spaces that may have shifted from when we first began. And then let all of that go as you let go of any effort in the breath, the body, the mind. Let yourself feel held here as you release into our final resting pose, Shavasana.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Start to let the breath begin to deepen as you bring your awareness back. Into the body and be gently rocking your head from side to side as you massage out the back of the neck a little bit, inviting any movement back to the fingers and your toes and your ankles, your wrists and then reaching your arms up over your head as you take a nice full body stretch, you can point through the toes allowing a big full breath in here and let out a sigh to release.

Bend your knees bringing the soles of the feet to the earth and just gently roll to either side taking a moment on your side to pause and just check in with how you're feeling in this moment and keeping that ease of shavasana as we press our way up to a comfortable cross leg seated position and just take a moment to land in your seat maybe let the eyes soften and close drawing your hands together in anjali mudra this mudra of gratitude so much gratitude for these practices for sharing them together with you thank you so much for being here for practicing together and sharing this space the light and love in me greets and honors the light and love in you namaste have a beautiful day.

Comments

Renee
1 person likes this.
Just finished this practice to welcome my 30th birthday today. The pace was perfect for a time for both celebration and trepidation. Thank you!
Sarah Beston
Happy Birthday, Renee D! So happy to be able to practice with you, especially on your special day. Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season. Warmly, Sarah
Lori
1 person likes this.
Wonderful practice for this cold morning. Lion's breaths with lots of feeling and release. Thanks so much, Sarah.
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Hi Lori C! I had a chilly morning practice in my garage today as well. Thanks for reaching out and wishing you a happy and healthy holiday. Much love, Sarah
Jenny S
1 person likes this.
I’m not sure how I missed this one, but it made for a nice surprise today...loved this post-Christmas session with you!
Lori
1 person likes this.
Thank you, Sarah. Happy New Year, and all the best to you.
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
Hi Jenny S, So glad you enjoyed the practice and happy to be practicing together this holiday season. Wishing you a wonderful New Year filled with health and love. 
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
You’re so welcome, Lori C! Wishing you and yours a very healthy and happy 2021!
Francesca Venturini
thank you Sarah for the smooth and powerful practice. Happy new year!
Sarah Beston
New Year Blessings, Francesca V! Thank you for joining me in this practice. Warmly, Sarah
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