Manifesting: Fire Solutions

Namaste. Welcome to practice. This sequence is for my fiery folks, Ares, Leo, Sagittarius. We love your fire. We want it to burn bright.

We want it to illuminate. And we just wanna make sure that we don't burn out. So, hopefully, the sequence will help you to feel a bit softer, more pliable, open, give that fire the room to glow. Yin inspired practice today. So props, two blocks, one blanket, a bolster. If you've got it, use a pillow if you don't, and we'll get started. Hands to heart, Angeli Mudra.

Chanting the sound of ohm together, breathing in. And take a full breath in. Open your mouth. And then you if you're sitting on a block or a blanket, you can slide it off to the side. And we'll come right down to lie on our backs coming into constructive rest. So feet are apart slightly wider than the hips, knees are bent, and then let your knees drop in on each other.

Take your hands onto the lowest part of your belly in constructive rest pose. And let's just take our first moment or so here in stillness. Feel the weight of your body on the ground. And the gentle feedback of your breath beneath your palms. Belly, expanding and contracting. See if you can feel it around the circumference of the waist.

Remember that there's a lot of available lung tissue in the back body. Feel a gentle rising and falling through the chest, the sides of the ribs, the space between the shoulder blades. Last few breaths here. And then very gently keeping the hands where they are just begin to swing the knees from side to side doesn't need to be a huge movement nor fast. And this swinging of the knees from side to side, just getting some synovial fluid into the hip sockets.

Smoothing things out a bit. Bring the knees back into center. Draw them in towards your chest. You can interlace your fingers around your shins. And notice here if it feels like your bum is lifting way off the ground and or the chin is popping away from the chest, you can take the knees apart and keep the feet together, and that might give you a bit more access to pressing the base of the sacrum down and keeping the back of the neck soft.

From here, hold on to your right shin stuff your left foot down to the ground. Left knee is bent. Interlace your fingers behind your right leg, kick your right leg up towards the ceiling and then just begin to roll out your right ankle. Big rolls in one direction. And big rolls in the opposite direction.

From here, bend your right knee and take your right ankle across your left thigh in a figure four. You can use the right hand to press the right thigh away from you, and then reach through the legs, and you'll catch either the back of the left thigh or the front of the left shin and draw the legs in a little closer or coming into a figure four stretch. Opening up the outer hip line, the IT bands. And this is another place where we're trying to keep the base of the sacrum down, even if that means that the legs don't come in as close. Remember, when we hold these poses a bit longer, they can get more intense as time passes.

So if you feel the need to back off a bit, go ahead and back off. You might find that you have more room and you can go in a little further. Follow your breath. That'll that'll help to indicate what's happening. Sometimes if the breath gets a little short or cot or tight, we might be forcing our way in.

Again, spaciousness, softness. Step up your left foot back down to the ground with your left knee bent, open your arms out wide to the side, shoulder height, push into your left foot, lift your butt up and move it all the way over to the right side of your space, and then drop the legs over towards the left side of your space. And you can reach up with the left hand, catch the outer right leg and just some gentle encouragement there, drawing the right knee a bit closer towards the ground, keeping the right arm, moving out to the side. And if it's comfortable for your neck, you can even turn your head and look towards your right hand. And you're welcome to keep eyes open or closed at any point throughout this practice.

The fire element is associated with the third chakra, and the sense associated with that is sight. So if things have gotten a little fiery and the gaze has gotten a little fixed, it can be nice to just close the eyes. Bring the legs back up into center, hug your right knee back into your chest. Reach for the big toe of the right foot with the first two fingers of the right hand, half happy baby with the right leg, and then up to you, either you keep the left knee bent and the left foot on the ground, or you can lengthen your left leg out long on the ground. Relax the right shoulder, pressing the head of the thigh bone into the back of the pelvis. Take a full breath in.

Full breath out. One more breathe and elongate stretch the breath. Breath out. And bringing the right knee back in towards the chest, bring the left knee in as well. Keep a hold of the left shin and step your right foot down, interlace your fingers behind your left leg, kick your left leg up to the ceiling.

And again, rolling the ankle out and roll it in the opposite direction. And then you can bend the left knee and take your left ankle across your right thigh, figure four. Use the left hand to gently press the left leg away. From here, reach through, catching the back of the right leg or the front of the right shin, and draw the legs in a little closer. And then breathe into that. You know, and if one side is feeling quite different than the other, that can happen.

Give some room for that. Oftentimes, our more dominant side is stronger than the non dominant side, but it might not be as open as the non dominant side. Adjust accordingly, breathing in, and breathing out. And step your right foot back down to the ground, keeping the right knee bent, open your arms out wide to the side shoulder height, and step your right foot back down to the ground with your right knee bent, pushing into the right foot, lift the hips, move them all the way over to the left, and let your legs drop over to the right. And you can use the right hand on the outside of the left leg just to, again, a little encouragement. Nothing forced.

Breathing. Breathing out. If you'd like to turn your head and look past your left hand, you can do that. Give yourself room with spacious breath. And coming back up into center. Once again, hug the left knee into the chest, reach for the big toe of the left foot with the first two fingers of the left hand, half happy baby with the left leg, and then either keeping the right foot on the ground or lengthening the right leg out long.

Even allow the shoulders to drop the muscles in the front of the neck to release, breathing in. And breathing out. From here, bring your left knee back into your chest bring your right knee into your chest rolling over onto your right side. Come on up to sit. And then you'll grab your blanket.

And open it up so it looks like this and place that about a third of the way from the back of your space with the smooth end of the blanket towards the front of your space. From here, we're coming into a squat. So I'm taking my heels onto the blanket. The balls of the feet and the toes are off the blanket. Feed are super wide here about as wide as my mat.

Coming into the squat, hands to chest. And if this is feeling a little too intense on your ankles, knees, and hips, you can always grab one of your blocks and sit on that. And if that doesn't feel like enough support, stack one block on top of the other and sit on that. Give yourself as much height as you need here. Again, so that nothing feels too fiery.

There's some softness. There's some sweetness. Last couple of breaths here. Cline the sides of the neck, find some spaciousness in the throat. From here, let's take hands down, lift the hips up high, lengthen out the legs.

You can step off your blanket, turn your toes forward. Keep your feet wide, catch your elbows, and just let yourself hang. Bend your knees if you need to here. And then I know some of us prefer to be still in this one. Some prefer a little bit of a rocking from side to side. Indian, we call this one the dangle pose. Right?

So just let yourself dangle here. Changing the crossing of your arms, couple more breaths. Let the weight of the skull, pull you in a bit deeper. And then release your arms. Find your blocks.

We can start with the blocks up on the highest height, about shoulder width apart from each other, taking them slightly out in front of you, step your right foot right by the right block. And slide your left leg back into a lunge, you can lower the left knee right down on top of that blanket pointing the toes and then begin to walk the blocks back. Now I'll offer some up options here. Right? You can keep your hands on your blocks if that's working for you. If you've got the room and you'd like to take your right hand up on top of your right thigh and your left hand on top of your right hand, you can do that. But wherever you've landed with your hands, see if you can think of the thigh bone moving forward and down as the chest moves back and up. And as we make our way through the Dragon series, feel free to stay anywhere along the way that you're feeling some stretch without strain, without force.

Letting the hips dip down. And then release your hands back onto your blocks if they've come onto your thigh. Just for a moment, staying on the left knee, lengthen out the right leg, flex the right foot, get some space behind the right knee. And then again, we'll bend the right knee, come back into that lunge. This time, take both blocks to the inside of your right foot. He'll tow your right foot out wider to the right.

So it almost is like in a half squat. I'm taking my blocks down to the lower level here. You can do lower level. You can do the mid level. You can even stack the blocks one on top of each other and come down onto the forearms and breathe there.

The body speaks in the language of sensation. And our work in staying present is to be in conversation. One moment to the next. And then you're welcome to stay exactly as you are or take the left hand over towards the right ankle, reach back with the right hand for the left ankle and see if you can draw the left leg in. And then turning the chest, rolling the right shoulder blade back, full breath in here, twisting with the breath out.

Again, breathing in. Draw the left leg in a little closer with the breath out. And release, release, release, release, release. Walk your hands up onto your blocks, push into your blocks, and bring your right knee back to meet your left knee So both knees are on the blanket about hip width. And just for a moment, swing the hips from side to side.

Gentle gentle. Blocks can move over to the side again. And we'll come on to hands and knees, but spin your fingers around to face your knees coming into a wrist stretch. Alright. And this is your heart line meridian, right, right up from the middle finger up through the arms across the chest and down the other side. Now if this feels like too much for you, you can always turn your hands out to the sides, but just start to make some circles with the body.

Around the wrist. So almost as if the wrist is a compass point and you're circling. You know, sometimes especially If we've been, on our phones a lot or on computers a lot, the wrists can get pretty congested. The hands can get tight. So push into the fingertips and then take your circles in the opposite direction. Eazy does it here.

And coming back into center, just give your wrists a little bit of a shakeout. And then we'll reset in a squat feet come wide back in the squat hands to heart. Just to reset in center, give yourself a full breath in. And a full breath out. Once again, hands come down, lift the hips up high, lengthen the legs, stepping off the blanket feet wide.

This time, take your hands and palm the tops of your feet and drop your head. Notice if the knees have started to lock out, see if you can give a little bit of room and space to soften the knees. There could be a shaking out of the head, a yacht nodding yes or no. And then once again, find your blocks highest height, shoulder width. Your left foot will step towards the left blocks slide your right leg back into a lunge and lower your right knee down point the toes of the right foot and begin to walk your blocks back.

Quick moment on alignment here, see if you can get the left knee directly over the left heel. So the shin is completely upright. It's a little safer for the knee. We wanna protect those knees. And then left hand can come on to the left thigh right hand on top of the left hand, push the thigh forward and down, move the chest back and up. Relaxing at the shoulders.

And we can just keep checking in here. Find the places that might be holding on to tension. For some of us, it's the belly. Some of us, it can be the shoulders or the jaw might grip. Just keep encouraging a spacious feeling.

Hands can come back down onto your blocks, pushing into your right shin, your right knee, start to lengthen out your left leg flex the left foot. Opening up the back of the knee. And then right away, bending the left knee again, blocks come on the inside of the left leg, heel, toe your left leg out wider to the left. Your blocks can come down. I'm building myself almost a little shelf here, and then forearms come down.

And breathe. And I know some prefer to be completely still. Some prefer almost a a gentle rocking, just staying in, an easy dynamic stretch. You're staying there or take your right hand across towards your left ankle, and reach back with your left hand for your right ankle. See if you can catch the ankle and not the foot that just helps to keep the foot more in line with the center of the shin, and then we'll turn the chest. And breathe.

Rolling the left shoulder blade back. Letting the hips dip, breathe in, breathing out. Just one more breathe in, breathing out. And release, release, release, hands come back up onto the blocks, pushing into the blocks, left knee comes back to meet the right knee, both knees on the blanket, a little swing of the hips from side. To side.

Blocks move off to the side again. Back on to hands and knees. Again, you can spin your fingers around to face your knees. Start to make some circles in one direction. Circle it up in the opposite direction. And then sit back in one more time.

A little bit of a shake out for the wrists. And then crawl your hands forward and come down into sphinx pose. Stretching out through the fingers, pressing into the tops of the feet. Give some emphasis to pushing into the forearm so the chest stays lifted, and then allow the lower back just to drop forward. Coming into a flexion in the front of the hips.

If the sphinx pose is feeling like enough for your lower back, you'll stay just as you are. Otherwise, you can take your hands a bit wider, pushing into the hands, start to lengthen out the arms. So we're coming into, almost a shallow cobra here. Now remember, we're not looking to go to the limit of our range of movement. So if you'd like to take maybe one step back with the hands to come up a little higher, you can do that.

But find a place where you can linger, and the breath can still be full, pressing into the palms. Guays stay soft and gentle, legs heavy. Last breath or two here. Last breath or two here. And then if you came off your forearms, come back down onto your forearms, stack your right hand on top of your left hand elbows can widen out to the sides, turn your head to the right, allowing the left ear to drop on top of the hands.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Left hand on top of the right hand, turn the head to the left. Full breath in. Full breath out.

Bringing the head back into center, hands under the shoulders, and you'll push yourself right back up. This time we're bringing big toes together, knees apart, reach for your bolster, taking the bolster close in towards the belly with the narrow end towards the front of your space lift up the bolster and place a block underneath it. I like the medium height here, and then pull the block in to the place where when you rest your forehead, The block feels like it's directly under your forehead and you're in your supported child's pose and we're turning the palms up. And the bolsters in real close to me. It's resting on the centers of my thighs so that my belly feels really supported here.

Give yourself a couple breaths in your child's pose. Taking hands under shoulders roll your way up. Keep the bolster. Keep the block, but lift the bolster up and take the block just one lower, one level lower. And then I'm taking my right shin forward and my left shin back and coming into what we refer to Indian as swan pose.

If if you're in, hot yoga, you might call this a pigeon prep. But again, the bolsters in so close that it can support my belly And then I'm walking my hands forward. You might need to adjust the block a bit further away here. But again, the block should be basically underneath where your forehead has landed for your swan pose, and you'll breathe here. And the bolster is resting right across my right shin. And what I love so much about some of these yin poses is that you get in that initial framework of a pose.

And then you start to feel how the body just softens into it. And if for some reason, swan pose is not so great for your knees. You're welcome to do the figure four stretch on your back like we did in the beginning of practice. Last few breaths here. And also, just to say out loud, if doing, your swan pose without a bolster feels better for your body, then you'll do that.

But this is just a nice way to feel cushioned. Walking the hands back up You can move your bolster and your block off to the side, keeping your right leg where it is, bring your left leg all the way around so you're sitting cross legged on the edge of your blanket. Letting your hands rest on your thighs, drop your head off to the left, left ear towards left shoulder. Left arm comes over the top of the head, an easy stretch on the neck. You can even take your right arm out to the right, resting the right fingertips on the ground.

Full breath in. Full breath out. Keep the head where it is. Lower the left fingertips down, push into both sets of hands and bring the head back up into center. Drop it off towards the right, right ear towards right shoulder.

Right arm comes over the top of the head, Again, just an easy, easy weight here. Those little vertebrae in the neck are delicate, be gentle. Just opening up the left side of the neck. See if you can keep the ribs on the right side elevated. So both sides of the waist are long, and we're isolating in the stretch into the neck. Keep the head where it is.

Bring the right fingertips down, pushing into both hands, bring the head back up into center. Lean back into your hands, stretch your legs out. Give them a little shake out. And then we'll reset swan pose on the opposite side. So left leg is forward.

Right leg is back. I'm gonna find my block again, lowest height. Could be medium height if that's better for you, or you skip the block entirely. Find your bolster and slide it right on top of your block, and the end of the bolster can come right under your belly and you're folding forward. And I like to actually use my hands just to frame the block here.

Elbows can come down. And you're in your swan pose on the left side. Give yourself a few breaths. And then walking the hands back up. Roll back up.

Bullster can move off to the side. Block off to the side. Keep the left leg where it is. Right leg comes all the way around and you're sitting cross legged. Again, on the edge of your blanket, drop your head off to the right. Right arm comes over the top of the head, left hand out to the left.

Gentle neck stretch. Release the right hand down, push into the fingertips, bring the head back up, drop the head over to the left, left arm over the top of the head. Superate your teeth, soften the muscle of the tongue. Keep the head where it is. Left fingertips come down.

Bring the head back up into center. This time, turn your fingers away from you, step your feet as wide as your mat, puff up through the chest, stick the tailbone back, lift the chin full breath in, lie and breath any excess heat. And release, release, release. And then you'll grab your props. Come off your blanket, fold your blanket, non fringe to non fringe.

You'll place your blanket towards the front of your space with the smooth end towards the back of your space, find your blocks, blocks go on the lowest height, about a foot away maybe 20 centimeters from the back of your space on the lowest widest setting. I'll take my bolster and just lay it at a 45 degree angle right up against the blocks. From here, I slide up close to the bolster and throw my legs over it. The bolster should fill up the backs of your knees. And then when we roll down onto the back, you want your head and your neck on the blanket, but not your shoulders.

The tops of your shoulders are brushing up against the bottom of the blanket. Arms come out at 45 degree angles, palms turn upward. Eyes can close here, and let yourself just drift. One of the things that can happen when there's fire in our sign or really for any of us if we're in that fiery time of year. Because the light is bright.

We can end up in leadership positions, and that's a great thing. To be a clear sighted strong leader, it's important. And we also wanna balance that out by dropping some of that responsibility every once in a while. Just giving way, surrendering. In yoga, philosophy, we call that ishvara Pranidana.

Surrendering our efforts. Trusting. Higher power, the universe. And then if you have the time, please stay just as you are otherwise. Some little movements with the fingers and toes, stepping your feet onto the bolster, roll to the right pressing into the hands.

Come on up to sit. Find your seats. Maybe in that continuation of surrender the palms are upward on the thighs. We'll close with the sound of ulm breathing in. Thank you so much for sharing your practice.

Namaste.