Form and Space

Welcome, everyone. Hi, you're on Yoga Anytime with me, Miles Perrero, and we have a guest star today, Bowie. He's really the smarts in the operation. The first part of this series, we worked on form, and we looked at what shape can do for us. And then the second episode, we looked at space, what's inside the form. This episode, we're going to look at the relationship between shape and space, and how they can inform each other, and how there can be a fluid exchange between the two. One of my teachers always used to tell me that most of us come to our yoga mats with our mind broken into a million pieces, and our bodies condensed and solidified into one piece. And hopefully, when we leave our mats, we feel more articulate in our bodies. We found more space inside of that form, that rupa, and we feel like our minds, instead of being broken, can heal and come into a sense of wholeness. Especially for our community, the queer community, this seems so important, because some of us have a really difficult relationship to form, and some of us have a really difficult relationship with our inner space, and sometimes both. So being able to find some ease, some suka, some sweetness in between those two spaces, and also as those two spaces navigate each other, I think can really bring a sense of wellness to our overall being. So that's where we're going to go today. You will need one block for your practice, okay? Let's get going. We're going to meet on your backs, take your block off to the side for now, and you'll come into a starfish on your mat, so your feet will be as wide as your mat, and your arms will be up by your ears, also as wide as your mat. And at first, just let your weight kind of drop down into the floor. Close your eyes and sense your breath. I'm also getting a nice cleaning in my left heel from hair and makeup down there. See if you can allow the floor to come up and carry you, if you can melt into your breath. Then start to reach the fingertips up and the heels away from the fingertips, so you're lengthening, lengthening, as if you were on a little made-up version of a rack. Lengthening, lengthening, growing really, really long, really, really long, really lengthen as much as you can for five, four, three, two, one, and then release. Notice what that did to you. And then reach your right fingertips to the right, up diagonal, away from the left heel, so you're reaching that whole diagonal away from itself, away from itself, away from itself, and then release that. Now go right into the left side, left fingertips away from the right heel, reach, reach, reach, get really, really, really, really, really long and release. Super nice. Now from there, we're going to turn that into a little core work or ab work. As you inhale, reach long, and then as you exhale, you're going to keep the left arm reaching long and the right leg reaching long away from the left. On the exhale, the right elbow and the left knee are going to come in toward one another, so you're reaching through one diagonal and hugging in through the opposite diagonal. Inhale, expand out, everything expands out, and then on the exhale, left knee into right, sorry, left elbow into right knee. Inhale, expand out, and exhale, right elbow into left knee. Reach those left fingertips away from the right heel. Inhale, expand out, and then left knee, sorry, left elbow into right knee. I'm super dyslexic when it comes to movement. Inhale, expand out. I know it's amazing. Exhale, hug the right knee in toward the left. Inhale, expand out, and then exhale, left elbow into the right. Inhale, expand out, and release that for a moment. Just notice what that's invited into the body. And then bring your legs so that their hips distance apart, reaching straight out from you, and then the arms so they're shoulder distance, reaching straight out. Interlace the fingers behind your head. Take an inhale, and then as you exhale, hug the knees into the elbows, elbows into the knees. Make yourself really small. Inhale, extend the heels away from you. Elbows back the head, and the legs don't come to the floor.

Exhale, hug it in like you're a piston. Inhale, expand out. Exhale, hug it in. Inhale, expand out. Exhale, hug it in. Two more. Inhale, expand out. Exhale, hug it in. Inhale, expand out. Exhale, hug it in. Hold for five, four, three, two, one, and oof, release. Happy baby. Elbows of the feet look up. You can hold the outer edges of the feet or somewhere along your legs. Your knees wag a little bit side to side. Oof. Spread your abdomen wide. And then hug the knees in toward the chest. Inhale, rock back. Exhale, rock forward. Inhale, rock back. Exhale, rock forward. One more. Inhale, rock back. Exhale, rock forward. Come up to sit, sit up on something lifted, your block, if you've got it. We're going to take a moment to center with some mantra. Today we're going to do, this is like a Jason Mraz version of a chant. It always sounds like Jason Mraz to me. The words are Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba is babe or baby. It's the most innocent, untouched part of ourselves. Nam is name. So it's like we're a calling, we're calling to this innocence. And Kevalam is the part of ourselves that is so ancient that it's always been here. And it can't be changed or touched. No matter whether your circumstances change, no matter whether you have challenges in life, it doesn't change that part of who you are. And I know that a lot of you know what I'm talking about. That's the treasure. That's really what our yoga practice works to uncover or bring to light. So here goes, listen. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Nam, Kevalam. Baba Bhavanam ghevalam bhavanam ghevalam Bhavanam ghevalam. Palms to the heart.

Deep inhale. Since that bead, the transition space that still has the vibration in it, gently open your eyes. We will meet on your hands and your knees. Whenever you're ready, spread your fingers a little bit wide. Bowie always likes to make it more challenging for me. Inhale, open the chest, and on the exhale, round your spine, lift the navel.

Inhale, open the chest, exhale, round. One more inhale, open the chest, and exhale, round. Inhale, open your chest, tuck your toes under, press the sit bones up and back into downward facing dog. You might have to walk your feet back or your hands forward just this midden, and then feel your feet in prayer with the floor, feel your hands in prayer with the floor, settle into the breath. Inhale, your right leg high. On the exhale, hug the knee in toward your nose, step the foot right between the hands. Step your fingertips there along the floor. On the inhale, round your navel up, let your head release, your neck release, and as you exhale, reach the heel back, heart forward. Inhale, round your spine, lift your navel, squeeze the legs in toward one another.

And as you exhale, heel back, heart forward. Inhale, round, round, round, round, round. And exhale, heel back, heart forward. Spin the back heel down, reach the left arm forward and up nice and slowly, coming up into your warrior two. On the inhale, extend your front leg, lift the arms, grow really long, and as you exhale, bend that front knee, arms out into a T. Inhale, extend, lift high, exhale, bend. One more. Inhale, extend, lift high, exhale, bend. Inhale, extend, lift high, turn the right toes in, turn the heels in, sink low into a goddess pose. And then from there, wag your hips a little side to side. Bring the arms out into a T. You're going to wrap the right arm over your left. Maybe if it's hard to double wrap, the backs of the arms can look at each other or the hands. Inhale, lift your elbows, and on the exhale, round. Inhale, lift the elbows, pulsing a little exhale, round. And one more. Inhale, lift the elbows, lift your chest, and exhale, round. Release your arms, extend the legs, point your toes forward, lengthen your spine, and on the exhale, fold, walk yourself toward the front of your mat. Spin the back heel up, step back into downward facing dog. Remember last week when we came up onto the balls of our feet, bend your knees. You're going to articulate forward, vertebra by vertebra, becoming more articulate in your physical body. Crown of the head reaches forward. Exhale, pour your knees down. Inhale, open your chest, and this time you're going to bend your elbows halfway down for knees, chest, and chin. Drop your hips, lift your chest for a cobra. Then as you exhale, push back, child's pose. Inhale, pull forward, cow pose, tuck the toes under, press up and back, downward facing dog. Inhale, left leg high. On the exhale, step the foot right between the hands, cup your fingertips. Inhale, round the navel up, scissor, squeeze the legs, and on the exhale, heel back, heart forward. Inhale, round, and reach the heart forward. One more. Inhale, round, and reach the heart forward. Spin the back heel down. Right arm reaches forward and up, warrior two. Inhale, extend the front leg, lift high. On the exhale, bend the knee, enjoy that ample amount of space. Inhale, extend. Can you be really generous with the breath? Exhale, bend that front knee, arms out into a T. Inhale, extend, reach up. Exhale, bend. Inhale, extend. Turn the left toes in, turn the heels in.

You're in goddess pose. Hands onto your thighs. Try to keep the hips level, but move them a little side to side. And then from there, find the center left arm wraps on top of the right for eagle arms or some iteration thereof. Inhale, lift your elbows, and on the exhale, round. Inhale, rounding up, stay low in the hips. Exhale, rounding down, snaking down. Inhale, roll up. Last one. Exhale, rounding down, untangle the arms, extend the legs. You're in a straddle, turn your toes forward, lengthen your spine. And as you exhale, fold, walk yourself forward to the front, and then step back nice and easy into downward facing dog. Coming high up onto your tiptoes, bend your knees, ripple forward, plank. Exhale, lower your knees down. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, bend your elbows halfway, drop the hips, pull your chest forward, and then push back. Child's pose. Inhale, open the chest. Cow pose. Tuck the toes, press up and back. Adho mukha, down dog. Continuing that play a little bit further, inhale your right leg high. On the exhale, hug the knee in toward your nose, step the foot right between the hands, spin the back heel down, reach your left arm forward and up, come all the way up into warrior two. From there, inhale, extend your front leg, cut your right hip back, and bring your right hand down onto your right shin for trikonasana, triangle pose. We'll hold here. We've been doing some flowing, some movement. Notice whether it's easier for you to feel your inner space when you're moving or when you're holding. It's really interesting information. And then see if you can soften the inside of you to meet the outer world in a way that's consensual, you know, respectful where you're not lunging forward or kind of pulling back away from it. From there, bend your front knee, right forearm onto your right thigh, take an inhale, turn your left palm forward. As you exhale, sweep that left arm up over your head for side angle. Dig the back foot down into the floor. Let that left shoulder blade soften down. Can you negotiate the form by softening your insides? Strengthen what needs to strengthen and then soften the rest. One more breath. As you exhale, look down at the floor, spin the hands down, spin the back heel up. Step the left foot forward. Inhale, lengthen your spine. If you have your block handy, grab your block and on the exhale, fold. You're going to slide your block just outside the left foot at the lowest level. Round yourself all the way up to stand. And we're going to play a little bit with the difference between being really sort of snuggled in and bound and open. So from here, you're going to bend your left knee and stack your right knee over your left knee. The ball of your right foot can come to the block or if you want to double wrap, go for it. And then the left arm comes over the right for eagle arms. Sink a little bit lower, elbows forward and up, hips down. And then from there, you're going to stand into your left foot, untangle your arms and go slowly, slowly, slowly as you open the pose up into a half moon pose. Left arm can reach down. You can grab your block along the way. Right arm can reach up. Notice the difference in sensation from being bound up tight, solid, and then having more space, perhaps having more articulation in your pose. One more inhale. As you exhale, turn the chest down, hands down to the floor. Ball of your right foot comes down. Step the block out to the side and then step back, downward facing dog. Come high up onto your tiptoes, round forward a little quicker, but still very vigilant of the articulation. Lower the knees, the chest and the chin down. Inhale, pull forward, cobra, and then press up and back, downward facing dog, either through bent knees or straight legs. Inhale, your left leg high. On the exhale, set the foot right between the hands. Spin your back heel down, right arm reaches forward and up. And then from here, coming into trikonasana. Extend your front leg, turn your right toes in a little, and then cut the left hip back for your triangle pose. How many triangles do you think you're making? You don't have to figure that out right now. Just email me later. One more. Bend your left knee, turn your right palm forward, sweep the right arm forward over your ear, the shoulder blade slides down. How can there be a meeting of the rigor of the shape with a meeting of sweetness or ease and softness from your space? From there, turn your chest to look at the floor, spin the back heel up, step the right foot forward. Inhale, lengthen, slide the block outside your right foot at the lowest level and round yourself all the way up. This pose used to be super easy for me before. Well, no, it used to be always hard before transition, but now it's much harder. Bend your right knee, stack your left knee over your right knee, right arm over the left. So that's the way it feels on your body. It's totally fine. We change. And that's cool. Hips down, lift your elbows up. Part of having a practice is being able to learn how to navigate change in a way that's gracious and then stand tall into your right leg, slowly open, open, open out. Notice how it feels to have all that space and be able to inhabit it after being sort of bound into Eagle pose. One more breath. And as you exhale, hug the knee in toward the chest and step the left foot down. Bend your knees, come all the way down to the floor.

We're going to come into either the shins crossed into Sukhasana or ankle to knee. You can choose. They're both iterations of the same thing, but one of them might feel a little bit more accessible on your body. Inhale, lengthen your spine. On the exhale, fold forward over your legs. Try to bring the breath down into your hips. Think that it's like a feather duster. Trying to dust off all of the cobwebs. Don't be afraid of making small movements. I call that moodling. It's a way to get into the little pockets of your body and create space. Inhale, lift yourself up. Extend your legs out. Hands onto the roots of the thighs. Wag a little bit side to side. Second side. Either the left shin in front of the right for Sukhasana or left ankle over your right knee, right ankle under your left knee. Lengthen your spine. On the exhale, forward fold. Breathe, breathe. Move that breath down into the hips. Inhale, lift yourself up. Open the legs out into a straddle. Right heel out, left heel out. It doesn't have to be the widest straddle. More important, look at your legs. The toes might turn out. The toes might turn in. Try to point the toes up. Inhale, lengthen. And exhale, fold. If you want to keep your elbows on the ground or if your elbows reach the ground you can hold your jaw like a sad ballerina. I really love this pose. It's kind of like I feel sad and I want to be sad and just leave me here. There's something so nice about just being exactly where you are. Bring yourself up and it looks like a sad ballerina which is why I call it the sad ballerina. Hug your knees in. Roll back onto your back. And you might remember what we did last session. If you have taken that session, if not, it's okay. You're going to point and flex your feet. Point and flex, point and flex, point and flex. It's going to scrub the skin of your back along the floor. Do it really quickly like you're feathering. Point and flex, point and flex, point and flex. Both feet at the same time. Keep going, keep going. 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Vajagovindam, Vajagovindam, Vajagovindam. Vajagovindam, Vajagovindam, Vajagovindam. Vajagovindam, Vajagovindam, Vajagovindam. Deepen your breath, wiggle your fingers and your toes. Bend your knees, roll over onto one side and one sort of sweeping movement and come up to sit.

Take a nice tall seat, close your eyes. Can you still have your frame, your shape, whatever that might be? And can you still have the softness inside of it? So can the scaffolding actually allow for space as opposed to a crimping of the space? And then how does your inside meet your outside and how does the outer world meet your inner world?

Palms to the heart, deep inhale. Hopefully your body feels a little bit more articulate, your mind feels more whole. Namaste everybody, love and light to all beings everywhere, no exceptions. Thank you for joining me.