Recipe for Stability

Welcome to recipe for stability. Let's get started in a seat. So find a nice tall spine, bring your hands onto your thighs, and just take a moment to close your eyes. Push down into the mat through the sits bones and lift up through the chest. Draw your chin ever so slightly down towards your chest, roll your shoulders back.

Take a nice big full breath in through the nose, exhale out the mouth. Again, inhale fill up. Acail release. One last time, biggest, fullest breath you've taken so far today, fill all the way up to the top, hold the breath. And then exhale, empty the breath out, release, gently open your eyes, and we'll just start to circle and stir around ourselves.

So you can keep your hands on your thighs or if you want a little more contact, have your hands on your knees, and we'll just stir around the pelvis. So try to keep the sits bones grounded. Feel the sense as we come forward of the heart reaching forward as we come back the heart reaching back. And then let's go the opposite direction. So start to circle off to the left.

And then come back to center, bring your left hand onto your right knee, bring your right hand behind you, inhale, lift up nice, tall spine, exhale very gentle twist to the right. Big breath in, push down into the earth through the sits bones, get taller, exhale twist a little bit more, and then come back to center, and let's switch. So right hand onto the left knee, left hand comes behind you, inhale, lift up and out, and then exhale twist to your left. So right side of the belly, over to the left side, inhale, push down, lift up, get even taller. And exhale twist and turn a little bit more. And then we'll come back to center.

And we'll make our way up onto our hands and our knees, finding a tabletop. So bringing your hands under your shoulders, spreading your fingers nice and wide, your knees under your hips, press and connect into the tops of the feet, inhale arch the back, drop the belly, lift the chest, exhale, tuck the tail, curl and round. Let's just do a few more of those. So inhaling arching and opening, exhale rounding. Last time, biggest arch, open up, shoulders back, hard and lungs forward.

Exhale tuck the tail, curl and round. Just come back to a nice neutral spine for a moment, extend your left leg back with your toes tucked and just find a gentle pulse. Forward and back through the foot. Keep the toes tucked just for a moment. Reach the right arm out in front of you.

Thumb is turned up, armpits rolling in towards the ears. Think that as you're pushing back through the left heel, you could reach out and forward a little bit more, gaze is forward. Pick up your back foot, squeeze the left glute, take a big breath in, Exhale round, draw the knee to the elbow, inhale reach, exhale round one more time, inhale lengthen. Exhale round. Go ahead and bring your hand down.

Bring your knee down. Let's switch sides. So send your right leg back. Your toes are tucked. Just a gentle pulse forward and back.

Keep the toes tucked, keep the vision forward. Reach the left arm forward out in front of you. Left thumb is turned up, arm pits rolling in towards the ear. Start to pick up that right leg, squeeze the right glute Big breath in, exhale knee to elbow round, inhale reach, exhale round one more time, inhale reach and exhale round. Bring your hand down, bring your knee down, tuck your toes, lift your knees, send your hips up and back downward facing dog.

Go ahead and pedal out through your feet. Maybe shake the head. Yes. Maybe shake the head. No. But find a nice generous bend to your knees so we can really lift the butt up high to the sky. Draw all the chest back towards the thighs.

Take a nice big full breath in, sigh it out. One more time. Inhale. And exhale. Look forward to the top of the mat. You're gonna lunge your right foot forward between your hands, come up into your fingertips, Inhale, lift the chest forward, push back through the left heel, exhale, step the left foot forward, fold top of the mat.

Inhale, slow rise up, reach the arms, high to the sky. Actale palms to the heart. Inhale reach up. Actsale fold down. Step your right leg back.

Look out in front of you. Get nice and long through the spine. Left leg back downward facing dog. Inhale will come forward into a plank. As you exhale, lower your knees, keep your butt up high, lower your chest and your chin towards the earth.

Slide and slither forward and up. Baby cobra, elbows are in. Heart and lungs are forward. X health forehead comes down. One more time. Push the feet, lift through the chest.

Four head comes down hips back to your heels just for a breath child's pose. Downward facing dog. Big breath in. Big breath out. Look out in front of you, lunge your left foot forward.

Lift your gaze forward. Push back through that right heel inhale. Exhale right foot forward fold. Inhale rise, arms high. Exhale palms to the heart.

Inhale reach up and rise. Actale forward fold. Left leg steps back. Look out in front of you. Inhale, exhale downward facing dog. Inhale forward into your plank.

Exhale lower knees, keep the butt high, lower chest, lower chin. Slide and slither, forward and up, bhujangasana, baby cobra. Four head comes down. One more time. Press the feet, lift through the chest. Fore head comes down.

Hit skip back to the heels. Just a breath and child's pose. And then back up downward facing dog. Big full inhale. Big full exhale. One more time inhale.

And exhale. Look forward to the top of the mat. Step the right foot forward between your hands. This time coming up into a high crescent lunge, reaching the arms up high to the sky. So just check-in with the hips, right hip is back, left hip is forward.

Feel the rise from the pubic bone, up to the naval, up to the sternum, reaching up through the fingertips, through the arms, but keeping the shoulders soft. Press into the ball of the right foot and press back into the ball of the left foot. Feel that stability supporting the rise. Big breath in on your exhale flying lunge, fly your arms back behind you. So keep your right knee moving forward, keep your left heel moving back, reach back through the fingertips, lengthen the heart and the chest forward, and away from the pelvis.

Two more breaths here. And then when you're ready, let's spiral it open, warrior two, nice and wide. So right knee right on top of the ankle. Open the arms up nice and wide, relax through the shoulders, flip your right palm up to the sky, reach up, reach back, peaceful warrior, warrior two, Turn your right toes in, reach the arms high, and then dive it down wide legged forward fold. Maybe bend the knees, sway it out a little bit from side to side.

Then keep your knees bent. You're gonna walk your hands far out in front of you for a little wide legged down dog. I like to tent my fingertips, move your knees forward, move your butt, move your thighs back, and reach your heart forward out in front of you. Take a few more breaths. Go ahead and walk your hands back.

We're gonna spin back towards the left leg, step the left leg back downward facing dog. Inhale forward into your plank, exhale lower knees, chest and chin. Slide forward and up, baby cobra, send your hips back to your heels child's pose just for a breath, and back to downward facing dog. Look forward between your hands, lunge your left foot forward between the hands, come up into our high crescent lunge, relaxing through the shoulders. Again, left hip back, right hip forward, left knee is moving forward, Menergetically pushing back through that right heel, take a nice big breath in, exhale, fly the arms back for flying lunge, reach the heart forward.

Spread across the chest. Keep moving that left knee forward. Keep pushing back through the right heel. Reach out of yourself two more breaths. And then spin open warrior two.

So nice and wide. Peaceful warrior, left palm flips up, reach up, reach back, warrior two, turn your left toes in, arms high, and then dive it down wide legged forward fold. Keeping the knees bent, crawl your hands forward one more time, perhaps in the fingertips, think knees forward, think butt and thighs back, reach the heart forward and out of the hard shell of the back. Try to look forward. To keep moving the shoulders back away from the ears, two more breaths, and then walk your hands back. Let's come back towards the right leg, step the right leg back downward facing dog.

Inhale forward plank, exhale knees, chest and chin. Slide forward and up baby cobra. Four head comes down hips to heels, child's pose for a couple of breaths. And then go ahead and come back up. We're gonna come onto our bellies, onto our forearms, finding sphinx, So elbows are right under the shoulders.

Spread your fingers wide. Push down into the mat with your forearms and think that as you push down, you're pulling the mat back to reach the heart forward and then reach the heart up. If your toes are squeezing, try to relax the toes, two more breaths, and then stack your palms forehead lowers on the palms. Swish your hips side to side. This time full cobra, bring your hands into the mat towards the upper corners of the mat, push into your palm straighten your arms and lift your chest, pushing down into the tops of the feet, Big breath in.

Big breath out. Lower down slowly. Stack the palms, swish the hips. And just for a couple of breaths, let your left knee, left thigh open out to the side for half frog. Try to release through the thigh.

Feel your low back release. Feel the breath. Just moving into the belly. And then bring your left leg back in, and we'll switch sides. So right knee, right thigh opens out to the side.

Just releasing any squeezing to the glue, to the low back. Couple more breaths. And then go ahead and bring your right leg back in. Push yourself back up onto your hands and your knees and your table, maybe take a couple of cerc one way. Couple of circles the other way.

We'll move into pigeon from here. So you're gonna slide your right knee forward behind and outside of your right wrist. You can bring your right shin. It's far forward in parallel to the top of the mat as your knee will allow, gentle flex to your right foot, lift your chest for a moment, and then start to come forward and fold any amounts for a few breaths. Skyiding that right hip back in space, reach your heart forward, even if you're folded, invite the sense of the heart to move forward.

So we're not sinking too deep into the shape. Let's take a few more breaths, right, here. Then press back up onto your hands. Just lift your chest for a moment. Maybe lift the gaze up.

Take a nice big full inhale. Take a lion's breath, stick out your tongue. And then we'll slide our right knee back. We'll come back into all fours, some big hip circles here just to rinse that out. So go a few times one way.

Go a few times the other way. And then let's take our pigeon on the other side. So the left knee is gonna slide forward behind and outside of the left wrist. You're gonna guide the left shin forward parallel to the top of the mat as much as the knee will allow it. You're gonna flex your left foot gently. Lift your chest for a moment.

And then as you're ready, go ahead and come on down and fold any amount. So if you feel like you're overly rounding or sinking, I want you to feel the sense of the heart reaching out. We're reaching out and lengthening out of the tail, out of the hard shell of that low back. Just notice your breath if the breath's getting stuck. Keep it moving.

Relax the jaw, relax the forehead. The low belly is clenching and holding in, see if you can soften it so we can sink a little more. Just take a few more breaths right here. Let's go ahead and press back up onto your hands. Keep your chest lifted.

Maybe lift the gaze and drop the head back. Just take a nice big breath in through the nose. Lion's breath stick out your tongue. And then go ahead and slide your left knee, left shin back, finding all fours, take a few big circles one way, take a few big circles the other way. And then spread your knees nice and wide, big toes touch. A few breaths here in our child's pose.

Maybe swaying the head softly from side to side. Just intentionally directing a few big deep breaths, right, into the low back. And then go ahead and come back up into your hands and your knees. Find yourself in a virasana so bringing your knees, your thighs, your shins together, sitting back on your heels, place your hands on your thighs, and just close your eyes. Feel the sits bones pushing down into the heels and feel the upper body lifting up and away from the lower body, from the stability.

Bring your left hand to your heart, your right hand to your belly. And just take a moment to turn the head towards the heart, to seal in your effort, to seal in your practice today with gratitude.