Virabhadra & The Warrior

Hi. My name is Ashley. Welcome to class. For today's practice, you'll wanna have a strap and two blocks. And if you like a little something to pad your joints, you might wanna have a blanket nearby as well. I'm gonna start out today making a loop in the strap as large as it will go. I like so.

And then bring the loop around your body so that the unbuckled side is against your shoulder blades, and the ends come forward right underneath your armpits. And then as you lie back, bring your knees in toward your chest. And before you get too bound up, be sure you have one of your blocks in reaching distance. I'm gonna shift my strap around so that the tail into the strap is pointing down towards me, and this will give me easy access to adjust it as needed. Bring these into chest, put your feet into the strap.

And then invite your arms to fall wherever you feel the greatest ease. Now if you don't have a strap that's wide enough to make this full loop in your body, you can unloop hold the sides of the strap with your hands without bringing it all the way around. If it feels a little bit loose, snug it up. If it feels a little bit too tight, open it. And if you've gone beyond the point that you can open, bend the knees. Until you get some relief through the back of the thighs, through your lower back, and glutes. So once you find the shape that works for you, invite your arms to spill long at the sides of the body, either close your eyes or if you prefer, find a point to softly focus on.

And energetically press your thighs away from your torso. Imagine that the backs of your legs were against a wall. Take a moment in the shape to set an intention for our practice today. And once you have that gathered, If you'd like, you can join me in an opening home. Nice full breath in.

If you close your eyes, blink them back open, sneak your left foot out of the strap and bring it once again parallel to your right foot. On an inhale, lower your left leg only as far as you can go, keeping the strength through your lower abdomen and the supportive length through your back. And then exhale bring your leg back up. And do it again in how lower to a hover. It helps me to press out for the ball of my big toe to keep the leg neutral.

And then exh, how right back up. And do this again in how lower to a hover And this time, pause here. Grab one of your blocks and take it wide between your hands, stretch hands straight up to the sky. Hug a little bit more through the pinky edge of the hand to help wrap your outer arms in. And then breathe out, lift your head, lift your shoulders, like you could put your block on your right toesies.

Think of a front body like a hammock. Can you hollow through the abdomen? And then maybe you invite your arms as close to the line of your ears as you can manage without pain or strain. And then exhale hands back up to the sky. Put your head and your shoulders down bend your left knee, put the base of the left foot on the ground.

And once again, set your block to the side. Now depending on how the hamstrings and glutes are feeling at this point, keeping the left knee bent and the foot on the ground may be the kindest place to stay. If you're looking for a little more resistance and you can do so without strain, straighten left leg long on the mat and flex through your left foot. Again, reach a little more actively through the ball of your left big toe, your inner heel, and draw pinky edge of the foot back towards your outer hip. Notice if the right hip started to hike up to the waist, try to guide your right hip down until your hips feel level. And then once again hands to the sky, this time, imagine the block between your hands and separate your hands at least a shoulder distance apart.

Inhale reach your arms overhead, stretch as much to the wall behind you with your fingertips as you are to the one in front of you with your left foot. And then turn your palms to face the sky, draw the elbows down like cat disarms. And once again, inhale reach long and lying with your ears. Binge your left knee, lower arms down by your sides, and now pick up the left foot and put it back inside the strap. Take your right foot out.

And on an inhale, lower right leg, again only as far as you can go, keeping the lower abdomen engaged, and the low back supported. And exhale bring it back up. And do it again, inhale lower to a hover, and exhale lift. One more time, lower to a hover, and pause there. Grab your block once again, take it wide between your hands, hug a little more through the pinky side of the hand, wrap out or upper arms in.

Try to keep that rotation in the arms, lift your head, lift your shoulders. If the body says, okay, keep the head and the shoulders lifted, and now reach your arms in line with your ears. And exhale block back up to the sky, put head and shoulders down, bend your right knee and put the base of the right foot down. Set your block off to the side. If it feels alright through your lower back, your hamstrings, your glutes, straight and right leg long on the mat.

Send the inner right thigh down till knee and toes point up and reach forward through the ball of the big toe and inner heel. Right? Guide left hip down and away from the waist until your hips feel level and sides of the waist even in length. Inhale your hands straight up to the sky, rotate outer upper arms in until palms face each other. And then hands as close to shoulder distance as you can find without strain. Reach arms overhead as you absorb your front ribs.

Turn palms to face the sky and with an exhale draw your elbows down like cactus arms. Inhale reach it back. And exhale hands back up to the sky, bend your right knee, put right foot back inside your strap, and then grab the sides of your strap. Bend your knees a bit pull down against the strap and try to rock yourself up to a boat pose. Now you can keep your knees bent, lean your upper back against the strap.

If your body says okay, maybe you straighten your legs. Lean the upper body back against the strap. And if you feel steady doing so, offer your hands straightforward. Or maybe. You come a little forward on the sit bones and see if you can raise your arms.

A little closer to the line of your ears. Notice the tendency to round the spine. Use the strap lean back. And then bring your hands forward, grab the strap once again, bend your knees and place your heels down. Free yourself of your strap and set it off to the side.

That was exciting. Make your way to your hands and your knees. And, set hands right underneath your shoulders, knees right underneath your hips, and spread your fingers evenly wide. Stretch your right leg back, tuck your toes under. Lift the pit of the abdomen, and just like we did lying down, try to guide the left tip away from your waist.

Lift through the pit of the abdomen as you invite your right heel to walk the height of your bum. All for left hand forward, and one time exhale hug it into a little ball, and inhale reach it out. Xhale place the hand down, set the knee down, round through your back. And lift through your heart. Return to a neutral spine.

Shut your left leg back, tuck your toes under, draw the pit of your abdomen in, and guide your right hip away from your waist. Try to keep the hug of the navel up towards your back as you lift your heel. If you feel steady doing so, offer right hand forward in opposition, exhale draw in and inhale reach out. Place right hand down, put left toes down, step it back to your plank and take a full breath in. Exhale glide forward, use knees if you'd like the added support as you lower all the way to meet the mat.

Brush your toes back. Roll your inner thighs up and hug your outer ankles in. You can bring your forehead briefly down and take your hands to your back body. Back of hands rest on the sacrum palms up to the sky. Broaden your collarbone so that the elbows rise, and then peel your heart forward and up.

And I'll reach right arm forward. And then x, I'll draw the elbow back just like the cactus arms we did lying on the back. Do this twice more. So today's story features one of the many versions of Shakti, the love through many lifetimes of shiva. And after your final round, bring right hand back, put your forehead down.

Anch her through the tops of the feet, spin inner thighs up as you hug your outer ankles in. Draw your chest forward and up. And this time sweep left arm forward, exhale elbow back. Do it twice more. So in this particular lifetime, shaakdi was born to a mortal father, Daksha.

And her name was Sati. So this next time, when you bring the hand back, put it down like you would for cobra, place right hand down, pull back with your palms, lift your chest, and exhale return to the mat. Tuck your toes under, walk them in, inhale to plank or hands and knees, and exhale lift your hips. Take your thighs back to downward facing dog. Grow a little longer through the sides of the waist and then draw your front ribs in as you take your thighs back.

Inhale to your tippy toes, look to your hands. At the base of an exhale, step or hop your feet up to meet the hands. Take your thighs back as you reach your heart forward, and then exhale fold. Route down inhale rise up, reach up, maybe look up, and exhale hands to your heart. So Sati basically from birth was like, Shiva is my man. I love this guy.

When are we gonna make this dream come true? And Shivaa felt the same way. Right? Unfortunately, her dad, Docsha, did not. Take a seat, utkatasana, chair pose, lift your heels, sit your bum towards the heels, and then sit the butt all the way back, catch the back of your legs, press your hands into your legs from shoulders against the back. Off your hand straightforward and then come halfway down. Acts, I'll pick it up, catch the legs once again, cross at your shins, roll over them.

Step or float it back through any vinyasa you desire. What do you need in this moment? So Doctor's not really a fan of Shiva in part because he's busy destroying things burning stuff up, which means he's always covered in ash. Inhale, reach your right leg up, exhale right knee to nose, step your foot forward between your hands. He'll appears dirty.

He's also gone for long periods of time. Pivot the back heel down, heel to heel. Pin the right hip in, press down an inhale, rise up, reach up, virabhadrasana one, warrior one. Exhale hands to your heart, pivot to face the long end of your mat parallel your feet. Open your arms straight out to the sides, angle your right toes slightly in, and from your left hip socket, rotate your entire left leg open.

A line front heel with the center of your back arch bend your left knee in line with your second toe. And as you wrap your left cheek under you straighten through your back leg, smooth the bum down, lift your chest, and now rotate front arm so palm faces the sky reverse your warrior. Inhale come up right, exhale cartwheel your hands to the mat. Find the ball of your back foot and step to plank. Take the vinyasa your body needs.

What serves you best in this moment? So beyond being dirty, beyond being gone for long periods of time, he's gone meditating on the top of mountain sometimes for full lifetimes. Doctor doesn't want, you know, his daughter to have an absentee husband. He's also known to have a little bit of a temper. Inhale, lift your right leg.

Next, I'll need to nose, step foot forward between your hands. Stack knee on top of your ankle, pivot the back heel down, heel to heel. Hug your right hip in, press down. And as you inhale, rise up reach up warrior one. Xhale hands to the heart, pivot to face the opposite long end of your mat, parallel your feet. Open your arms out to the sides a little different on the return.

Take your hands to your hips, inhale up the front of your body, open your chest. X, how weight a bit forward in your feet hinge from your hips fold in. Take your hands to the earth or to props if the earth feels far, rock weight a little head of your heels as you reach your chest forward. X, how walk hands around to the left, pivot on your feet, find a lunge facing the top of your mat. And if your stance feels a little narrow, move your left foot over to the left to touch, widen the base for more stability.

Take your hands to your thigh just above your knee. Bring your ribs away from the front thigh, navel away from the front thigh. And now find your cactus arms broaden your chest. On an inhale reach your arms straight forward in line with your ears, exhale elbows back. Do it again.

Inhale reach it forward. Exhale elbows back. This time, push off of your back foot, bring it part way in, and then root into the front foot, hug me to the chest. Lift. Set your foot down, lower your arms down.

Bring hands to your heart center. Sit heavy to your heels, bend your knees, circle arms overhead. Lift your heels. Sit bum to the heels. Sit it back. Pops your legs.

Press hands against the leg shoulders against your back. Come halfway down. Exhale pick it up, catch, cross at your shint, roll over them. Plant hands, step back, come through your vinyasa. So when Sati is of marrying age, Doc should decide to have a big old party and invites every eligible bachelor in the land, except Shiva.

Inhale, lift your left leg. Xhale me to nose. Step, left foot forward between your hands. Pivot your back heel down, heel to heel. Pin, left hip in, press down, rise up, zero one.

X, all hands to your heart, pivot to face the long edge of your mat parallel your feet. Take your arms open to the side. This time, angle left toes y slightly in, from right hip socket, rotate your whole right leg open. A line front heel with center of back arch and then bend right knee in line with your second toe. Draw your right cheek under you, press your left thigh straight back.

Leave hips as they are as you try to square your chest to long edge of the mat. Rotate front arms to palm faces this sky, reverse your warrior. Viprita virabhadrasana. Inhale, bring both arms up, exhale cartwheel hands to mat. Find the ball of your back foot, step to plank, take the vinyasa your body needs.

So this is, you know, quite the rejection, but Sati comes to the party with a plan. And it comes to the point in time when she's supposed to pick her sooner, her husband. She tosses this garland up into the sky. She shouts out Shiva's name and he bursts up through the floor. Inhale, lift your left leg.

Ex, I'll meet to nose, step the foot forward between your hands. Pivot your back heel down, heel to heel, hug your left tip in, press down, inhale, rise up, reach up. Exhale hands to your heart, pivot to face the long end of your mat and open your arms out to the sides. Take a peek at your feet, adjust as needed so that your feet are parallel to each other. Take your hands to your hips, inhale up the length of your body, open your heart. And as you exh, I'll wait a bit forward in your feet. Fold in half.

Take your hands to the earth or if the earth feels far. Put your hands on props. Bring earth to you. Draw your chest forward, elongate through your spine. Acts, walk your hands over to your right foot, pivot on your feet, find a lunge facing the top of the mat. And if you feel like you're on a bounce beam, move right foot to the right, find train tracks instead.

Guide your right hip back in in for abdomen as you take your hands to your thigh just above your knee. Open your arms out to the sides, and then inhale reach forward. X. I'll draw back. Do it again. Inhale reach forward.

And exhale back, hop back foot halfway in, and then stand it up, hug left knee to the chest as you reach your arms to the sky, and exhale put the foot down lower your arms down. Shiva shows up just in the nick of time. So he's burst into the sky. The garden lands around his neck. And as the rules go at this time, whoever wears the garland gets the wife.

Bring hands to your heart. Sit heavy to your heels, bend knees, circle arms overhead, utkatasana. Acts how fold your ribs to your thighs, then straighten your legs. Inhale heart forward. Ben knees plant hands, step or thoughtfully float back, chaturanga, and through any vinyasa you desire.

Again, you might skip the chaturanga and follow my lead straight to down dog. Daksha dad is not happy, but the rules are the rules. Shiva wears the garland, they get married. Inhale, lift your right leg. Lead from your inner thigh, so toes point down.

As you exh, I'll hug your knee toward your nose, float your shoulders over your wrists, step your foot between your hands, stack me on top of your ankle. Pivot your back heel down once again, heel to heel. Draw right hip in from abdomen, and then press down inhale rise up returning once again to your warrior one. Guide the right hip back the left hip forward. As you smooth your bum down, lift your heart, open your chest, straight in front leg, draw elbows down. Inhale sit in, reach up.

Twice more. So shiva's gone once again on one of his meditation ventures. And Doc should decide to throw yet another party, not inviting Sati's husband, Shiva to the party. She's deeply upset. Interlace your fingers.

Take your hands to the top of your thigh. Pivot to the ball of your back foot and then hinge forward. Like you're making a little sandwich. Your hands are whatever delicious filling you'd like to put in that sandwich, upper body, and lag the bread. Slide your back foot halfway in and pause. Notice if your right hip cheated a bit to the right.

Guide the right hip back, pin it in, and draw your navel a bit away from your hands. Tip, wait forward, and maybe you hang out here today on the tippy toes, building strength. If you feel steady doing so, press your hands firmly against the thigh, lift your left leg. Roll outer left hip down so that toes point down. You can keep hands here for added stability, you might gather hands at your heart, perhaps you take them wide like cactus arms, and a big maybe reach arms forward in line with the ears. Warrior three.

Press down. Stand up. Hug left knee toward your chest. You can keep the knee bent. You might stretch the leg long. Oh, and then put the foot down. The sound effects let you know something serious is happening here.

Lower your arms by your sides. One last side to go. Sati is so upset with her dad. She goes and complains. She fights with him and such a burning fire and rage filled within her.

That she actually sets herself on fire from within. Nothing but ash. Bring hands to your heart, sit heavy to your heels, bend your knees as you circle your arms overhead, uttanasana. Exhale fold ribs to your thighs, straighten the legs, hotanasana. Inhale heart forward, hard, uhanasana. Bend your knees, plant your hands, snap or float, through any vinyasa you need, including a child's post.

Right? So, Shiva, though he's far away on a mountaintop, feels that this has happened in his core. And he's so upset that he rips a dreadlock from his head, throws it down with such force that it moves all the way through the earth right into the center of the party. As it bursts up from the ground, it transforms into Vira badra. The warrior.

Inhale lift your left leg, exhale knee to your nose, float shoulders over your wrists, step left foot between your hands. Pivot back, heel down, heel to heel or wider, hug left hip back and in. Root down, inhale, rise up, reach up. When the warrior bursts through the floor, hands are up, guide your left hip back, your right hip forward, anchor through your back heel and smooth your bum down, lift your heart, hands to the sky. Acts how interlace your fingers, take your hands to the top of the thigh, close to the front hip crease hinge forward. Again, make that little sandwich between upper body and lower body. Pivot to the ball of your back foot, bring your back foot a little bit forward, pause.

Draw your naval in like you could create a touch more space between the front body and the lower body. And then tip forward a little bit more coming to your right, tipby toes. Press hands back against the leg, lift right leg. Notice how the ribs wanna fall. Draw them back in.

Big maybe. Elbows to the side, cactus arms, inhale, arm straightforward warrior three, press down. Dance a little bit about it, because Shiva is also a dancer. Bring right knee toward your chest. You can keep the knee bent or explore a straightening of the leg before putting the foot down.

Lower your arms down. Give a little shimmy. Yeah. Okay. We're at the party. The warrior has burst through.

He popped up to the floor like warrior one, and then he pulled his bow like warrior two, with one fell swoop, killing Doksha. Not a good look for your father-in-law. Grab a block. Rotate legs, so toes angle slightly out and come into a supported squat sitting on your block. So with this arrow, it went cleanly through Doctor's neck. He loses his head.

Vira Badra, the warrior reaches down to grab the head reaches forward in the shape of warrior three and sets the head on a stake. It's getting worse. Right? Lift your heart. Open your chest. Breathe down your body to the root of your pelvis.

Come off of your block and sit it all the way to the earth. Take the soles of your feet together, open knees to the sides. If you're here and you're rounding through the back or collapsing through the chest, this is a place where a blanket might be handy underneath your bum, or you can always sit on a block. Take your hands to the front of your shins, press your hands against your shins from your shoulders against your back, elongate through your spine. You may stay right here.

If this is straining your back or your hips, even if you're sitting on a prop, instead of holding the legs, put your hands back behind you. Lift through your heart, open through your chest. Let the lean away from the legs help you find a little bit more length through your spine. Wherever you are, focus your breath to where you're feeling the resistance, the greatest, and slow down. So Sati, the pile of ash over here, is stirred by all that is happening, and she quickly incarnates into a new body scolds or calls for Shiva, I should say.

Shiva shows up dismisses Vierbadra, and is immediately remorseful. Mostly Casati is real mad. And she says, you need to make this right with my dad. Bring hands forward, draw knees toward each other, and then roll all the way onto your back. Bring your right knee in toward your chest, take your right leg, cross it over your left.

Tucking knee behind me. And if your anatomy says this isn't working, set up like you would for a thread the needle instead, right ankle to left thigh. Right? You may stay right here you might bring knees in toward your chest flex through your feet. If they're there without pain or strain, find the top of your shins as close to the top of your foot as you can and breathe into the opening through the outer hips that have been working so hard to stabilize us in balance. So Shiva looks at the head that Vira withdraw has severed and determines it's not good for reconnecting.

So he looks around for the nearest head, which happens to be that of a goat. It's like, this'll do. Nice clean-cut, puts the head on Docsha, takes a full breath in. Let's do that with him. And then sigh it out.

He breathed life back into Doctor, goat head and all. Shut your feet up to the sky, put your right foot down, cross your left leg over your right. Bring knees in towards your chest. And again, if they're there without pain or strain, grab the front of your shins as close to the top of the feet. If they're not, you can keep holding the knees. Again, focus breath to where you're feeling the resistance, the greatest.

Doctorcha is so grateful to have been given life back He apologizes, Shiva apologizes, and to, like, tie this up with a beautiful bow after the giant massacre, Doc just like, you know what? I'm gonna throw one more party. And he does, and he invites shiva this time. Release your shin, stretch your feet to the sky, and then bring your knees to the chest. Keep the knees bent, but take them wide like you're framing your ribcage with your inner thighs. And the knees back toward each other, place your feet down. You can stay right here.

If it feels alright for your lower back, stretch your legs out long, allow your feet to flop open, walk your shoulders underneath your chest, offering a lift to the heart, and invite your arms to fall long at your sides. Either close your eyes or if you prefer, find a point to softly focus on, and let go of all the doing, and come back to the being. So this lesson and that is offered to this story, one of many is perhaps the famous saying, two wrongs don't make a right. Doctor, though he felt he was acting in his daughter's best interests, keeping her from this filthy hot tempered god. Wasn't able to see past his own wants and desires to recognize that this was the being that made his daughter most happy, that cared for her, that cherished her, and she the same.

And in rejecting their happiness, He ended up creating the loss of his child and really stirring the fire within Shiva. While Shiva had not been treated fairly by Docsha, it was very reactive of him to create this warrior that came in and slayed the father. Also making Sati, the woman he loved, suffer. And so perhaps the invitation here is to be less reactive, and instead, to find the practice, to find the things in life that allow us to take a breath and thoughtfully respond. And this is not just about mitigating the harm we do to others, but also about the path of the yogi of the stilling of the mind.

How do we keep our peace? Our calm within even when the world is swirling with chaos around us. If you're at ease as you are, stay as you are. Otherwise, welcome a bit of movement to fingers to toes. If you'd like with an inhale, take your arms overhead, stretch the length of your body.

And as you exhale, bend your knees. And roll on to your side. Maybe pause a beat here to catch up with self. And when you're ready, press the floor away and bringing yourself up to seated. So though a lot of crazy stuff went down in this story, I think it's beautiful that it actually wraps up in a bow.

And it's this lovely reminder that even when we have done wrong, there is always the possibility to make it right again. You can bring your hands together at heart center, lift your chest. We bow our chins in gratitude. Thank you all for sharing your practice. Have a beautiful rest of your day.