Elemental Flow

Welcome friends. We're gonna begin on the back today. So go ahead and lie down. And we'll have a brief guided meditation. This practice is really meant to bring you into a state of balance, going through all the elements together and just really feeling all of them as a whole.

So we'll start with the earth elements and just landing into the body. Right? Really feeling all your bones, settle, soften the heaviness of gravity, pulling you down towards the earth, landing every cell of your being into this moment. Beautiful. And then we will move into the air element. And just feel your breath.

Feel that flow of breath, the air coming in the nose and out the nose. And the air element is associated with the thinking Linda. So notice your thoughts. What's there today? Are they bouncing around? Beautiful.

And then we'll move into the water elements. And I want you to just feel a sense of ease and surrender as if you're floating on a body of water. Maybe the water feels, turbulence, windy, or maybe it feels peaceful and serene. The water element is associated with creativity and childlike energy and also our emotional world. So notice any emotions, any feelings, Good. Lastly, we'll move into the fire elements.

Fire element is associated with taking action and forward motion, energy. And we can feel this maybe at the naval, the third chakra. Our willingness to show up. So just feel yourself alive, vibrant, blood pumping through your veins, the heart beating, ready to take action into this practice. From here, you can go ahead and bend your knees and put your feet on the earth's And we'll start with a few bridge lifts.

So arms alongside the body on the inhale, just gently lift the hips, any amount into the air. As you exhale, you're gonna slowly lower back down. Inhale, opening up the heart, feel the breath, move your body, exhale slowly lower down. Good. You're gonna stay with this. Great option.

Maybe reaching your arms up over the head as you lift the hips and then gently playing and lowering them back down. Good. So feel the feet. Feel the roots feel the earth energy support you as you wave up and down. Good. And then we'll add a little fire as an option. So when you land your hips next, you can bring your hands behind your head and just gently lift your chest all the way up.

And then lower it down. And on the inhale, again, you'll lift your hips up. And as you exhale, you're gonna lower down and squeeze the belly, lift the chest, lift the ribs. So that's the motion. Let's do about five more.

Inhaling as you lift up, strengthen the back body, and exhale strengthen the front body as you lift up, squeeze the belly. Keep your face soft. And keep your breath with you. Instant warm up here. Good. Let's do one more.

And then take your arms out like a t shape. Lift your legs just so your knees are right over your hips. Flex your toes straight up. Your shins will be parallel the floor. We'll do a little bit more core movement with the breaths. So you're gonna take your knees over to the right, let them hover in the air.

On the inhale, bring them back to center. On the exhale knees to the left. Inhale back to center. So you're just hovering any amount into the air, stimulating the core, maybe five or six more each direction. Feel free to close your eyes and just feel this as a moving meditation.

Feel your center. I'm getting a nice twist, some massaging into the back, the glutes, the outer hips, all the while, that beautiful center of your being is getting nice and strong. A couple more. Ground into your arms. Good.

Hug your knees into your chest. Take a big inhale through your nose and sigh it out your mouth. Good. And rock and roll yourself all the way up. Let's come to hands and knees. We'll take it into our trusty traditional cat cow, inhale your heart forward.

Exhale round back. Two more, inhale, heart forward, and exhale round back. Last one. Move your way into downward dog. Feel this familiar shape as it is today.

I'm just honoring any little movements that wanna come in, maybe a head nod. Pettle your feet. On the next inhale, travel into plank pose, pause there, feel the belly, some buoyancy in the hips. Long spine from the heels to the crown of the head, take another breath, knees up or down, take an inhale. And as you exhale slowly lower all the way down to the belly.

Let's slide the fingers just off the mat, elbows up, inhale wide cobra, lift your heart, and exhale lower down. Like a wave. Come up, inhale. Linda exhale down. One more like that. Inhale lift up.

Exhale lower down. Hands by your ribs, press yourself back downward facing dog. Take your right leg up in the air, bend the knee, open the hip. Good. If you wanna juice things up a little, fire the belly knee to chest three times, squeeze and round forward, inhale take it back and up. Exhale squeeze and round.

Inhale backing up. Last one, we're gonna step the right foot all the way forward and lower the back knee. On your inhale sweep your arms to the sky. Pause here, land your gaze and grab your left wrist with your right thumb and index finger. Go ahead and lean to the right any amount.

So think up and over, getting the side body, and see how that resonates all the way down the left thigh. Ground into that right foot. Take one more breath. Inhale back to center as you exhale, the hands come down. Pull your right leg back straight in any amount.

So maybe a big bend in your right knee means straighten, right, honor how the hamstrings feel. You could be on your fingertips here. You could also use a block if you want. You could bring it inside the right leg. Let's take one more breath.

Good. And then optional twist. Right hand can come to your right hip crease, left hand on floor or block. Open the heart to the right. Feel free to take your right arm to the sky here too.

Flex your right toes up and towards your face. One more breath. Gently release, circle that right arm down, bend the right knee, and let's step back to plank pose, take an inhale. As you exhale slowly lower. Take a cobra or an up dog, inhale.

Exhale back to downward facing dog. Take your left leg up, bend your knee, open the hip. Stay here or knee to chest a few times. Squeeze and round. Inhale, back and up.

Exhale squeeze and round. Just keep riding your breath. Knee to chest step your left foot forward, lower the back knee. On the inhale, sweep your arms to the sky, pause and land, root through that left foot, lift the hearts, grab your right wrist, thumb and index finger, and you're gonna go ahead and pull over, and just really land here into the space of your side body, find a lot of lift, a lot of length, one more breath. Good. Come back to center.

Hands come down. Baffa split, Arda Hanemann. Pull that left leg straight ish. That's my favorite word. Straight ish.

And just hold here, or you can take the twist, left hand to your left hip, twist left ribs open. Maybe the left arm comes up. Feel that and the outer hip really flex your left toes towards your face. One more breath. And release. Left hand down.

Go ahead and bend that left knee. Step Baffa. Find your plank pose. Take a vinyasa or back to down dog. We'll meet there together in a few breaths. From down dog, right leg will rise up, bend the knee, open up the hip.

Let's skip knee to nose and just step forward, all the way forward, right foot next to the right thumb, warrior one, ground the back heel, reach up. Hold for three breaths. If you like that wrist grab, you could do it here as well. Finding a little more length and lift, up the left side body. Good. From here, we're gonna open into warrior two, spread your arms wide side to side, maybe adjust your right foot into the center of the mat a little, and a couple breaths here to just land to feel the earth element, let it come into you, feel the air element, feel the breath.

Beautiful. From here, you're just gonna cart while your hands inside your right foot, take it into skandasana all the way to your left foot, bend your left knee, sit your hips down. And go side to side a few times. Feel the water element flowing, primal, creative, just feeling into your body. Next time you come towards your right foot, you're gonna pivot around to the front edge of your mat and find a twist.

So right foot down, ball of the left foot, take your right arm to the sky. Hold here. Great option. Or you can roll to the outer edge of your left foot and find some version of side planks. So maybe that right foot just wiggles back a little, offers some support, maybe the right foot comes on top of the left foot, open up the chest, You can also maybe flip your dog, take your right foot behind you and open your hearts. One more breath.

You go ahead and then come back to plank pose together optional vinyasa at exhale as you lower. Inhale as you lift the heart. Exhale downward facing dog. Hold for a breath. Left leg rises up.

Big inhale. And just step your left foot all the way through. Warrior one, ground into both feet, reach your arms. Land here. Maybe grabbing your right wrist again, take that little pull up and over, smooth steady breaths, supporting your journey on the mat always.

Take it into warrior two. Adjust that left foot a little, spread your wings wide side to side. Really take up space. Show up. Feel the fire element here. Feel the core. Feel that light in your fingertips and your hearts.

Take your hands inside your left foot. Let's come back to Skandasana. Flow it out. Go to your right and go to your left. Couple more. Next time you come to your left foot, just pivot back around, find your lunge, find your twist, left arm to the sky.

Stay here or take it to some version of side plank. Find your strength. Maybe flip your dog. One more breath. Baffa to plank pose.

And again, another optional vinyasa flowing. Moving, breathing. Let's land in down dog or optional child's pose. Always such a good option. Anything that allows you to just take a few slower breaths and connect to yourself, feel the balance of slowing down and pausing.

Let's take one more breath here. Big inhale. Out to mouth, exhale. And from here, you're gonna come to a seat. Can just roll yourself up from child, walk your legs forward, sit down.

Let's stretch the legs out forward for seated, forward fold, posthumote to us. And now feel free to pull the flesh from your sit bones. Bend your knees, straight ish, any amount here, arms reach up, inhale, find some lift and length as you exhale, reach forward, and just grab what you can. Maybe it's your calves. Your mat, your feet, your toes, whatever you can grab, and then just start to slowly round into it.

Take your time. Take all the time that you need. And feel the breath guide you. The body does the talking. The breath does the listening.

May you listen with an open heart? And just meet yourself right where you are, right at your edges. Let the head, just soften a little more, get a little heavier. We'll take about five more breaths. Slowly roll yourself up vertebra by vertebra.

Feel all that length of your spine, that nice reset. And we'll end in Shavasana, back to the back, or if you'd like a seated meditation. And just coming back to a place of being. Balanced being. Let your breath feel effortless, light, easy flow, moving in and out through your body, through your life.

I'm just recognizing here now that we have all the elements within us. To access whatever we need. So as we allow all the elements to blend together, we can feel a sense of oneness connection to source. And there's nothing more sweet and powerful than the chant of ALm, join me if you'd like here for three ohms. Take a deep breath in.

May you feel this vibration and connection and take it with you into the rest of your day? Thank you so much. Stay well. Namaste.