Day 3: Contain

Hi. Welcome to day 3 creating the container. For practice today, you're gonna need a wall, a couple blocks and a strap that's hidden behind me right now. Make sure those are in reaching distance and then come sit with one hip right against the wall, one shoulder against the wall. Lies straight back, and then use your hand that's closest to help spin you around, taking your legs up the wall. Now if you get to this place and having your sit bones at the wall is creating strain through the back of your legs, you can bend your knees and or scoot your bum a little further away from the wall to lessen the resistance. As you find your way in, for a moment, rest your hands somewhere on your front body to ground you take a full breath into your hands and sigh it out.

Take a look up at your feet. Spend your inner thighs toward your wall until your feet parallel. Reach up through your inner heel. Through the ball of your big toe, and try to draw the pinky edge of your foot down, creating a clean flex through your feet. Grab one of your blocks and take it wide between your hands.

Haga touch more through the pinky side of your hand rolling your outer arms forward and firming them in. Hold on to that effort as you inhale reach your arms overhead. Pause about halfway And notice if your ribs are starting to poke up to the sky. If the answer is yes, draw your front ribs down and in. Keep them in as you continue to bring your arms overhead. Only as far as you can go, maintaining even length through sides, front and back of your torso. Press your thighs towards the wall as you reach your fingertips towards the opposite wall.

And then exhale, bring your hands back up. Set your block to the side once again. Bend your knees. Place your feet on the wall. Roll carefully onto your side.

Sitting up for a moment. Stretch your legs out in front of you, making sure you're your legs linked from the wall. Bend your knees, place your feet on the ground, and then roll back. Stretch your legs out long, making any last adjustments you need so that when the legs are straight, your feet are fully connected to the wall. Reebend, grab your strap, and draw your right knee in toward your chest taking your strap around the ball of your right foot.

Press up through the ball of the big toe and draw the pinky edge of your foot down toward your outer hip. Rest straighten your left leg, reconnecting left foot to the wall. Breathe out briefly, lift your head, lift your shoulders, gaze down the length of your body, if your left toes are wandering to the left, spin inner thigh down so your toes point up. Put your head and shoulders back on the mat place both sides of the strap into your left hand and hook right thumb to your right hip crease. Steer your right hip down and away from the waist until your hips feel level.

Take a generous breath to the back of your thighs and exhale as though you could out through your feet. Rebend your left knee, and now put your left foot inside the strap. Take your right foot out, Again, if your tender through the hamstrings or lower back, keep your right knee bent, foot on the ground. Otherwise, stretch your right leg out long, press it up against the wall. If it helped on the first side, lift your head, lift your shoulders, try to peek at your toes, spin your inner right thigh down till your toes point up, and then put your head and your shoulders back on the mat.

Reach up through the ball of your left big toe. Skear the pinky edge of your foot down. Toward your outer hip, and then place both sides of the strap into your right hand this time. Hook left thumb to left hip crease, steer your left hip away from the waist until the sides of your waist even in length. And again, generous breath to the belly of your hamstrings. And exhale, rebind your right knee, remove the strap from around your foot, and set it off to the side.

We'll come back to it later. Alright. Reach your arms overhead. Roll carefully onto your side. And press the floor away, making your way to your hands and your knees.

Alright. Adjust your distance from the wall so that with the of your feet down, your tippy toes lightly graz the wool. Walk your hands a few inches forward of your shoulders and parallel creases of the wrist to the top of your mat. In how glide forward, exhale, tuck your toes, lift your knees, take your heels to the wall. And if you're feeling any stress through your hamstrings or low back, bend your knees as generously as you need in order to focus on the length through your spine. In how walk your right foot up the wall.

Notice if you collapse to the left side of your waist, as though you had a spare thumb at the hip crease, Pick that left hip up, pin it in, draw your front ribs and abdomen in. And then exhale, hug right knee toward your nose, float shoulders over your wrists. And step your right foot forward between your hands. Find your blocks giving yourself added space as needed. Anchor your back heel into the wall so you feel the front of your left thigh firm and engage.

Sit your front thigh parallel to the floor, reach your chest forward. Bring right thumb once again to hip crease, guide your hip back, If you can do so without strain, offer your left hand straightforward. Look at the earth out in front of you. If you can keep your hips level and do so, reach your hands forward. Imagine you're holding that block between your hands firmin.

Exhale. Both hands to the mat inholly long gate. And with the exhale, find an open twist, take a big breath into your outer right hip, and exhale. Both hands back to the mat. Step yourself back to your plank pose. Take your hips up and back to downward facing dog.

And then walk your left foot up the wall. Pick your right hip up. Pin it in. Draw your front ribs an abdomen in. As you get longer through the sides of your waist. X, how left knee to your nose float shoulders over your wrists, Step your left foot forward between your hands. Sac your knee on top of your ankle.

Find your blocks as needed. Press your heel into the wall as you sit your front thigh parallel to the floor. Hook left thumb to left hip crease, guide it back, stretch your heart in your right hand in the opposite direction. You can stay here. Maybe you offer both hands forward hold that imaginary block and exhale hands to the mat.

Guide your left hip back, elongate through your spine. And as you how find your twist, breathe into your outer left hip, and exhale hand back to the block. Set your blocks off to the side. Step yourself back to your plank pose. Press heels into the wall as you reach your chest forward.

Glide forward, lower halfway, set it all the way down. Brush your toes back smooth your bum towards your heels as you lift your heart and open your chest. X. Alright. Back to the mat. Tuck your toes under, walk them in. Inhale to plank or hands and knees.

Exhale. Heels back to the wall. You are probably already on your tippy toes, but in the event that you're not, come high to tippy toe, deep into your knees, look to your hands, step, or lightly, walk your feet up to meet your hands. Inhale heart straightforward, exhale fold forward. Give a soft bend to your knees, tuck your chin, and roll yourself all the way up to standing.

When your head reaches the top, roll your shoulders up and set them on your back. Hi. In Hall hands to heart center, lift your chest. Take your arms out wide, smooth your bum down, and shine your heart skyward. Xhale hands right back into heart center, fold lovingly into self.

In how grow your heart forward, elongate through your spine. Bend your knees enough to get your hands down, step it to your plank pose, walk it back as needed so feet are still at the wall. Press back through your heels. Reach forward with your heart. Playing a little tug of war with your body.

Ex how rock forward, lower halfway this time, brush your toes back as you lift your heart upward facing dog, and exhale take your hips up and back downward facing dog. Inhale through the full length of your body. As you exhale, step, or hop to through to seat it. You can also simply put your knees down and shift your feet out in front of you. Alright.

Come lie down. And as you lie back, Address your distance from the wall so that you can fully straighten your arms. Wrap your outer arms toward your face. Again, copying that action we found in the arms when we were holding the block between the hands. Draw your front ribs and abdomen in, lengthen through your lower back. Pick up your feet, stack knees over hips, and stretch your feet straight up to the sky.

Now if you get here and your hamstrings or low back are saying, no, thank you. You can keep your knees bent at a right angle instead. Flex your left foot, reach to the bow of your right foot. On an exhale, lower your right leg, only as far as you can go holding on to the length in your low back, and the strength through your core. Inhale flex your foot, exhale, bring it back up.

Floint. And that's a word. We're gonna go with it. Floint through your left foot. Reach out through the ball of the big toe.

Lower to your edge. Hold here as you inhale flex your foot, exhale, bring it back up. Pause a moment, bring knees to your chest. Now if you're in this place and your back is just like, no. Thank you. Put your hands down.

Palms right underneath your hips. Same thing. Hold on to the length in your low back. Continue the movement. Ex how low hold here as you inhale flex, exhale bring it back up. Point or floint your left foot exhale lower, hold here as you inhale flex, exhale bring it back up.

One more time, option of arms, whatever works best for you, exhale lower, inhale flex. Ex, I'll bring it back up. Reach the ball of left foot. Lower. Hold here as you inhale flex.

Ex, I'll bring it back up. Hug your knees into your chest. Cross at your ankles. Hook hands to back of thighs. Rock yourself up to seated.

Scoot your body back so that you're right against the wall. Like Dundasana staff pose. Flex to your feet, spin your inner thighs down so that your toes point straight up. Reach your hands straightforward, plug them in. Root down for your sit bones, lift your heart, lift your hands, If your ribs start to puff out, that's an indicator you've gone far enough with the arms.

Only as high as you can go, drawing your front ribs down. And in. Turn your palms forward, extend your wrists, and try to push the ceiling away. Get a little taller. And then exhale, lower your arms by your sides.

Grab your strap and make a loop in it that's a shoulder distance apart. So you can check that loop by measuring it across from shoulder head to shoulder head from the top edge of one arm to the top edge of the other. When you bring the strap right above your elbows, you want it to keep your hands at a shoulder distance, like so. K? Take the un looped end of your strap and bring it to where your heels are. So we're just measuring our legs length from the wall.

Slip your body around. And now trying to keep that tail end in place, place the loop directly above your elbows. So we actually want it in a place where the bottom border of the strap is touching at your elbow crease. Shift it around so that the buckle is off of your skin and away from your face just in case it makes contact. Bring the heels of your hands to where you've measured your legs length from the wall, and then slide that little tail end of the strap. Off to the side.

Grip the earth with your fingertips, and try to copy the work in the arms that we did when we were holding the block. Wrap them back, firm them up, and in. My hyper extenders out there, press out against your strap instead. Tuck your toes under. Lift your knees.

Bring your heels to the wall, and you're gonna come into a very short little down dog here. Resist the urge to walk your hands forward. Remember, this is your leg's length. Alright? Feel free to bend the knees if you're feeling strain through hamstrings or lower back. Step one foot to the height of your bum.

Scoop the pit of your abdomen in, press your foot into the wall, and bring your second foot to meet the first. Press your thighs up, heels to the wall. Draw your front ribs and your abdomen in, and then slowly lift one leg. Notice if the opposite hip dipped, pick that hip up, pin it in, reach actively through the ball of the foot, and set that foot back on the wall. Do the same thing on the second side.

Reach your left foot up. Press the ball of the foot. If the hip dipped, pick it up, up, up, up, pin it in. Reach. And take the foot all the way down, coming to your hands and your knees. Remove your strap sad it off to the side, fold into self, child's pose.

Take a full breath into the expanse of your back. Stay for the exhale. And then inhale roll yourself up. Come take a seat on your heels. And if the knees say more space, please.

Take one of your blocks. Put it between your inner ankles, giving yourself a little bit more lift in your seat. Take your arms open to the side. And as you how interlace your hands behind you. Start with your elbows bent.

Lift your heart and broaden your chest. Straighten your arms to the best of your ability, lift your heart, and maybe let your gaze follow a bit skyward. If straightening the arms, is straining your neck or shoulders, take your shot between your hands, give yourself more freedom of space to play with. And separate your hands. Remove the block if you were using it, and set it off to the side.

Shift your feet out in front of you, and come lie down. Bend your knees. Place your feet on the ground about the distance of your front points. Walk your heels toward your bum. If you can raise heels with fingertips, don't come in any closer than that.

Spin your inner thighs forward and down. Bend at your elbows. Press into the back of your arms, scoop your abdomen in as you lift your hips and elongate through your lower back. Exhale. Right back to the mat.

Grab the sides of your mat this time. Once again, press through your heels. The ball of your big toe. Try to draw the pinky edge of the foot toward your outer knee as you lift and expand your heart. Walk your shoulders underneath your chest.

Imagine you could fold the mat underneath you as you rotate your arms out a bit. And exhale roll it right back down. One last time, press into the earth and how lift your hips lengthen your lower back. This time, interlace your hands below you, switch to the less natural grit. Walk your shoulders underneath your chest.

Press down through the top of the shoulders, the length of your arms, reopening the whole front of your body. And then exhale, separate your hands and roll right back to the mat. Separate your feet a little wider than your side hip and just give them a little sway side to side. Releasing low back. And as we set ourselves for our final resting shape.

After a practice that's been so heavily neutral in the legs, I often like to finish and a little hip opener soles of the feet together. Knees open to the side, badakanasana. You can use your blocks underneath your legs if the body is craving a little bit more support. If you prefer a more traditional Shavasana by all means, stretch your legs out long. Walk your shoulders under your chest, leaving a subtle lift at your heart as you invite your arms to rest wherever you feel the greatest ease.

Shavasama. So if you were to light a fire, without some type of border around it, the fire would grow out of control. We have a problem on our hands. And the same is true about the way that we approach anything we are seeking in life. Boundaries at times or borders in this way feel restrictive, but creating this container is actually offering a structure that allows you a bit of freedom to explore within.

As we create the container, we prevent ourselves from growing a little out of control, from the fire within blazing too wide. So that, again, we ultimately enjoy the warmth. We enjoy the light without burning out or burning up. Draw your knees toward each other. Separate your feet a little wider.

And then reach right arm in line with the ear, being mindful of the wall behind you. Roll to your right side. Watch out if you set a block there. Pause on your side for just a breath or 2, catching up with where you've been. And press the floor away, making your way up to seated.

Join your hands at heart center. Lift your chest. We bow our chins in gratitude. Namaste. Thank you for sharing your