Gentle Warrior

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. This is a grounding alignment inspired practice designed to help us feel a sense of strength, stability, and resilience in the upper body. So we'll awaken our gentle warrior spirit, playing with feeling both relaxed and focused at the same time. For this practice, it'll be nice to have two blocks, a blanket, and a strap.

So join me in a comfortable seat. I'm sitting in Mirasana Heroes's pose. You might join me on one, two blocks, or you might find a comfortable seat, bringing support underneath you, just listening to your knees and your hips. And then as you arrive in your seat, begin to allow your spine to lengthen, softening the shoulders down the back, and we'll begin with some breath awareness. You might bring your hands onto your ribcage and take a few moments to feel and sense the movement of your breath. We're breathing without strain or force.

Feeling that gentle spam chin through the rib cage around the diaphragm, keeping the shoulders relaxed, being a few more moments to really arrive and settle in our practice. Nice. And then moving with the breath, release your arms down. And as you're ready on an inhale, sweep your arms up. Take a moment to ground through your sitting bones and reach out through your spine. And then exhale, turn the palms away, and can you feel a sense of expansion and reach from the tip of your shoulder blades to your fingers?

And again, with a breath, inhale expand the lungs, reach the arms up, ground as you lift, drawing the front ribs and exhale palms away. Healing that length in space as you take up room three more inhale. Arms reach as you expand and lengthen. Exhale, empty the lungs reach, get long. Two more with the breath, inhale, arms lift. Exhale, release.

Inhale arms lift. This time, we'll find a twist to the right exhale. Twist to the right, bring your left hand onto your right knee. You might bend your right elbow and just gently wrap the top of the hand around the lower back. As you inhale, draw your spine into your back, find length in the front body, and as you exhale gentle twist to your right, you know, how you can draw your right shoulder down your back, and find some fullness in your back ribs.

Stay in the shape as you slowly let your neck unwind, maybe stretching over your left shoulder for a moment, inhale, and then exh sail, unwind. Let's take a few shoulder rolls up back and down. And then as you're ready, inhale arm sweep, feel that length. And then exhale twist to your left. Right hand finds the outer left knee bend your left elbow wrap the top of the hand around the lower back, inhale lengthen your spine exhale gentle twist to your left.

Again, find some fullness in your back ribs as you draw the tailbone under, lift through the heart, breathing here, and then slowly unwind the neck stretching towards your right shoulder, breathing in, and exhale unwind. And a few more shoulder rolls before we transition might feel nice. As you're ready, we'll transition into a tabletop position. We'll find a leg stretch here spreading the fingers wide as you're ready to extend back through your right leg and just as you tuck your toes under lean forward and back, feeling that nice stretch through the back of your leg, waking up your toes, breathing. Nice. And then we'll switch, extend through the left leg, tuck the toes under.

Waking up the back of the leg. And then release into your tabletop for cat cow as you exhale let your background and stretch, bring the naval towards the spine. And as you inhale lead with your heart, find the extension as you lengthen through the heart, and then exhale, curl around, stretch your back. And inhale lead with your heart to lengthen. This time as we exhale curl round into cat paws and take one full inhale and one full exhale.

On your next inhale moving into your cow paws. We'll find one full inhale here, one full exhale. And then a few more rounds of cat cow might feel nice. Inhaled with a heart, exhale, round, stretch the back. As you're ready, come into tabletop, we'll transition into downward dog.

Spread the fingers wide, tuck your toes under lifting up, And in this first downward dog, it might feel nice to come high up onto the balls of your feet for a moment, and then bend your knees and feel how you can lift your sitting bones up towards the sky, feel the back of the neck release here. Feeling the thigh bones, draw back, and, breathing. And then as you're ready, lower the knees, and we'll lower all the way down onto the belly for cobra, baby cobra finding three rounds, spread the fingers, draw your elbows in. Draw the shoulders up and back. And as you inhale, draw the heart forward and up as you lift up baby cobra, waking up the upper back muscles, exhale lower down.

Two more. Press through the palms, inhale lift. Exale lower. Inhale baby cobra drawing the heart forward and up. Axhale lower. Tuck your toes under press up and round back towards a child's pose.

You might bring your knees wide, big toes together, and just soften your hips towards your heels. Take a few breaths into the back body, nourishing the kidneys. Lower back, maybe a gentle sway from side to side. And you're welcome to stay here longer. Whereas you feel ready, we'll rise up.

Move into a round of lunges to find a bit more space in the front body. So you might bring a blanket under your knees for support, and you might have two blocks out in front of you. You might set your blocks up on the highest setting. And then as you're ready, we'll step the right foot forward. Take a few moments to organize.

And then as you're ready, we'll inhale draw the hips back along through the right leg. Feeling the hamstrings and then exhale bend the front knee and feel the lunge here. Two more inhale draw your hips back, feel the length, and then exhale lunge. Now you might have your back toes tucked under or the top of the foot down. One more inhale draw your hips back. Exhale lunge will pause here together.

You might stay low with your hands on the blocks. If you'd like, you might bring your hands onto your front leg. Let's play with drawing back a little bit. So more of a 90 degree angle. Feel you can draw your tailbone under.

And if you'd like, you might inhale reach your arms up towards the sky. Now can you feel the essence of your cobra in the upper back as you lift the heart? You might stay here or bend the front knee a little bit more as you sink in, low and lift up. Inhale to reach, exhale release the hands to your blocks, draw your hips back, extend for your front leg again, half split. And then bend the front knee and we'll just switch sides.

Step the left foot forward, find your lunge, organize. And as you inhale, draw your hips back, extend through the front left leg and exhale, find your lunge. Inhale hips draw back lengthen. Exale lunge. One more inhale, feeling the length in space, exhale lunge. Again, customize it for you.

You might stay right here, softening the jaw, breathing into where you feel it. You might play with bringing your hands onto your front left thigh and lift out of it a little bit. So find more of a 90 degree angle, draw the tailbone under, lift the lower abdomen. And if you'd like, you might inhale reach your arms up. Feeling baby cobra in the upper back.

Maybe sink down as you lift up. Find some ease in your neck. Breathing here. Inhale, exhale hands come down, draw your hips back extend through your front left leg. Breathing here into the hamstrings.

And then slowly release. You can bring the blocks off to the side. As we transition into downward dog again, spread the fingers wide and lift up. This time, let's come into a wide downward dog. You might step as wide as your mat. Again, bend your knees as you wiggle and lift your sitting bones up towards the sky, feeling this wonderful extension through your spine. Back the neck is long, breathing here. As you're ready, walk your feet back about hips width apart, we're gonna walk our hands towards our feet. Bend your knees forward fold.

Arms might dangle. You might bring your hands onto your forearms, maybe sway a little bit from side to side. I'm feeling that dull, stretch, stretchy ache through the back of your body. And then we'll roll up together soft, bend through the knees, curl the tailbone under, chin into your chest, take your time to slowly roll up stacking the bones, feeling your heart. Feeling your shoulders, feeling your head, and take a moment to pause.

Let the blood drop back down into your feet. Allow for an inhale. Nice full exhale. Beautiful. As you're ready, we'll bet we'll fold the blanket.

We'll bring it off to the side. We're gonna work with a strap and a block. So go ahead and bring your block between your legs if you'd like to. And we're gonna work with our strap here. So you might fold your strap in half depending on the length, spreading the toes wide apart, just waking up the thighs, waking up the glutes, outer hips, And as you're ready, arms about shoulder width apart or a little wide or reach the arms up, feel how you can ground through your feet, reach up through your spine, and again, draw your front ribs in. Feel a tailbone draw under, find some ease in your neck, then release the arms down.

Let's do that again in how arms reach up. This time, let's take a side stretch over to the right. Press through your left find length through the left side, maybe look down, and how back to center lengthen over to the left, grounding through your right foot, reach with the top arm, come back up. One more round over to the right lengthen, inhale up over to your left, inhale back up, and then slowly release the arms down. Let's bring the strap behind us.

I'm just gonna turn so you can see, and then feel how you can roll the shoulders down the back lifting the chest. Nice feeling that space and length through the front body, hand strap reaching towards the heels. From here, you might soften the chin to the chest, and roll the right ear towards the right shoulder. Breathing into where you feel it through the neck, and then roll the chin to the chest, left ear towards the left shoulder. Slowly, release.

Keep the block where it is and just release the strap for a moment. Let's take a few shoulder rolls up back and down. We're gonna work with the strap one more time playing with chair pose here. So bring the strap out in front of you. We're gonna inhale reach the arms up again.

Press down through the feet up through the spine. Again, front ribs drawing in tailbone drawing down. Well, inhale here and then exhale, bend the knees, coming into your chair pose here. Inhale, exhale press through the feet, lower the arms to come up. Let's play with that a few times. Inhale arms lift.

Exhale press through the feet. I feel that burn in the legs. Inhale arms lift, sit down low in your chair, and then exhale, release. Take a moment to pause. Keep the strap.

Bring the blocks off to the side and play with this in a warrior one. So as you come towards the top of your mat, keep your right foot forward and step your left foot back and find your warrior one stance, you might toe heel your right foot a little wider. Your back left foot is at about a 45 degree angle. We're squaring the hips forward. And as you're ready, we'll inhale reach the arms up.

You can pull the hands apart on the strap a little bit. As you feel the essence of cobra in the upper spine. Good. Press through the ball, the right foot straighten the legs, arms lower. Let's try that again, bend the knee. Arms lift, warrior one. And then exhale lower.

Two more times, bend the knee arms lift, ground through the back foot, and straighten the leg, lower the arms. One more. This time, we'll pause for a moment. Tail bone draws under. Find ease in the neck.

And then press through the ball of the front foot. We'll step the back foot forward. Take a moment to pause, clearing breath, inhale, and exhale. We'll try the other side, step the right foot back left foot forward. Again, you might toe heel the left foot a little wider back foot at a 45 degree angle. And as you're ready in how arms lift for your warrior one, ground through the back, heel, lifting through the upper back.

And then straighten the left leg arms lower, inhale bend the knee, lift the arms, and exhale, press through the ball, the left foot lower to more inhale arms lift. Warrior one, exhale lower, last one, inhale, bend the knee, lift the arms, we'll pause here, breathe, ground through the feet, lift up through the spine. And then press for the ball, the left foot lower the arms, and we'll just step forward. Take a moment to pause, clearing breath, inhale, and exhale. Nice work. From here, we'll bring our, strap off to the side, and we'll step wide for warrior two.

Let's step your feet wide. Turn your left foot and your right foot out, take a moment to look down at your feet, organize the right heel in line with the left inner arch, the right foot parallel with your mat. Just allow your right knee to bend and extend a few times. The easing into the joints. And as you're ready, float your arms, stay low and strong in your legs as you find length through your spine.

Find some ease in your neck. Palms open, and together inhale press into the ball, the right foot arms lift, exhale warrior two. Two more like this, inhale arms lift, exhale warrior two. Inhale arms lift. XL warrior two will pause in warrior two and find a different arm variation.

So right palm facing forward, we're gonna sweep the left arm down. Forward and up, find a big circle, two more. Down, up, and open last one, down, up, open pause, hands on the hip straighten your right leg, turn your right foot and left foot out and bend your left knee a few times. Just easing into your hip and knee joint. As you're ready sink low into your warrior two, float your arms, feel the length in your spine, front ribs drawing and tailbone lowering, ease in the neck.

Open the palms inhale warrior dance. Press into the ball, the left foot arms lift. Exhale warrior two. Inhale. Exhale.

One more like this. Inhale arms lift. XL warrior two pause in your warrior two. Left palm facing forward, sweep your right arm down forward and, big circle. Down forward, and, feeling that rotation through the thoracic spine, down forward, up, pause, hands on the hips, turn the left foot in, and let's heel toe the feet back for a moment pausing in tadasana mountain pose.

My draw the shoulders up back and down a few times. Let's step our feet wide again. This time, we're gonna use our strap if you'd like. And you might fold your strap in half feet wide. Turn the toes forward ish, and then bring the strap behind the back again.

Feel how you can roll the shoulders up back and down, lift the chest. Now you might stay right here in this opening, feeling the strength of your legs, the length in your spine, and that beautiful opening in the front body. You might bring this into a forward fold, inhale lift the heart, exhale fold hinge at the hips, maybe a soft bend in your knees as you stretch your arms up out and over. And maybe the weight of your head releases here. I usually like to bend my knees, feel the shoulders lift up and away from the neck. Hands reaching up towards the ceiling.

Beautiful. Again, we're in an inversion, the head below the heart. Now strong for your legs as you're ready to come up, press through the feet, reach through the arms. Inhale come all the way back up nice and slow, pause, notice, and release the strap, and then heel toe the feet back. Finding your way into mountain pose. Again, pause, notice feel mind a centering breath, inhale, and exhale.

As you're ready, we'll transition down to the floor for bridge. You can bring your strap off to the side. As you lower onto your back, it might feel nice to work with a block between the legs. Just to feel that foundational support between the legs, grounding through the feet, arms reach down alongside the body. Allow for an inhale.

And as you exhale, draw the tailbone under, press through your feet, lift your hips up. The gentle squeeze of the outer hips inward inner thighs drawing in towards the block. So as you press down for the heels, you'll feel the glutes turn on, the hamstrings, front of the body lengthens. You might roll and tuck your shoulders under your back as you reach your fingertips towards your heels, long through the throat and neck, breathing here. As you feel ready to release, lower down on the exhale rounding your spine, upper back, middle back, low back, pause.

For our second round, you might keep the block. You might remove the block. Breathing in, exhale curl the tailbone under, and not press through the feet and feel the front body lengthen. Fingers might reach towards the heels. You might roll and tuck your shoulders under your back as you interlace the fingers.

Press down through the feet, outer hips drawing in, feel how the inner thighs can draw towards each other slightly. Beautiful, breathing here. And how as you're ready, exhale release through the hands, round down through your spine, one bone at a time, upper back, middle back, low back, pause. You might draw your knees into your chest and rock from side to side. As we move into a spinal twist, you might bring a blanket under your head for support.

Sometimes a folded blanket can feel really nice. We'll draw our knees into our chest, and then we'll roll on to our right side stacking the arms, the knees. And then as you're ready, let your top arm open. And release. Allow for an inhale and exhale softening through the belly.

Find some ease in your neck. Breathing into where you feel the stretch, just allowing the lower back to release, perhaps feeling the the weight of the left shoulder the back of the lungs softening towards the earth. You more moments. Can notice the quality of the breath. You are welcome to stay longer, honoring your timing, your body as you feel ready to slowly unwind, inhale lead with the top leg pausing for a moment in the center.

And then rolling to your left side, stacking the arms, shoulders, hips, and knees, and then inhale open through the right arm. Exhale soften and release. You might even bring your left hand around your outer right knee. Inhale feeling some length and then exhale softening. My notice this side feels completely different in your body.

I certainly do. I'm just breathing into where you feel it. Be allowing the inhale to create some space, and the exhale to soften releasing any tension or stickiness in the spine, the shoulder. The hit. When you feel ready, slow on the inhale, come back.

And you might rock a little bit from side to side. And then playing with a happy baby variation. So we'll bring the hands on the inner legs. Reach around the back of the thighs, draw the heels, and you might rock from side to side as the hips open. You might play with extending out through your right leg and circling out through your right ankle in both directions.

Drawing your right heel in, extend through your left leg, and just circle out through the ankle joint. Left heel draws in. You might play with kicking a little bit from side to side, extending for your right leg, extending for your left leg, and then massaging the lower back and sacrum spine. When drawing the heels and pausing. You might stay here if the feet are available.

You might reach up for the outer edges of the feet. If the head is dropping back and there's strain in the neck, you might bring a block under your head for support, shoulder softening down. You might rock a little bit from side to side, massaging the spine, the lower back, the sacrum, opening the hips. Might stay here a bit longer when you feel ready releasing the feet easing into a final relaxation shape. Whatever that looks like for you today. You might stretch the legs wide.

You might bring a bit more support or warmth over the body, taking a few moments to rest in the space you've created through your practice. Is softening the shoulder blades down the back. Palms might open. Just allowing the weight of the body, the weight of the bones to drop. And released towards the earth in the spirit of Shavasana.

You're resting in a more wide open awareness. As you feel the support beneath you, you're giving yourself permission to stay and rest as long as you'd like. Gradually as you feel ready, inviting some movement back into your body, knees might hug into the chest to see rock. You might roll to your side and pause for a moment curling up head resting on your arm. Taking your time to slowly press yourself up. It'll take a few moments to sit together.

It might bring a blanket underneath you. Malal for an inhale. Nice full exhale. Beautiful work, joining the hands together, breathing in. Breathing out with a soft bow forward and in.

Namaste. Thank you so much for your practice. Have a beautiful day.