Stability with Ease

Welcome, everyone. We're gonna begin seated today. For this class, you can use a blanket and a block. In fact, if you wanna start on a blanket, you can in Sue Casana. Crossing whichever shin you want in front.

And we'll start here closing the eyes, feeling the steadiness of this posture. And in the steadiness and stability of the posture, there is also ease. To begin to drop into that ease, simply by noticing your breath and how your body feels as you breathe. We're gonna place one hand to the abdomen one hand to the chest. Just feel how your body moves as you breathe.

We're gonna start today with an energizing breath. Really simple breath, one that is great at resetting the nervous system. So I'm gonna guide you through this breath. Just take a full inhale through your nose, feel your whole body, feel your palms, your body, And as you exhale, let it all out through the mouth. The next time you breathe in, you're gonna sharply breathe in two times.

And then out through the mouth. And again, inhale sharply twice in the belly and chest. Out through your mouth. And we'll do that twice more in hell sharply twice. Out through the mouth.

Please do that one more time. Out through your mouth. And then breathe again only through your nostrils. Notice if anything has shifted for you. Perhaps there is a little more ease felt in your body as you continue to arrive on your mat.

Lower your palms if your eyes are closed, blink them open. Let's make our way onto all fours table top position. Your hands are just shoulder width apart, the knees are hip width. Inhale as you draw your chest forward for cow, exhale as you round your spine for cat. Twice more inhale arching, exhale rounding.

Come to neutral with your spine. Set your hands up a few inches in front of your shoulders. Tuck the toes and come into downward facing dog. Do whatever feels good here for your body. Maybe pedaling out the feet.

You're coming up high onto the toes. Just let your body move intuitively and in a way that feels good. And when you're ready, invite that stillness, your body, creating that steadiness, thera, while also dropping into the ease of the posture, which again can be continuously felt as you breathe in as you breathe out. Sira Sukam Acanam, creating stability and ease in the posture. And as you inhale high toes, exhale bend the knees, look forward, step to the top of the mat.

Come up halfway on the breath in. Forward fold on your breath out. Inhale as you rise, reach up. Exhale hands to your heart. Stay at the top of the mat.

Just separate your feet, hip width apart. Ground down and reach both arms to the sky. You're gonna hook your right thumb in front of your left. Stretch up while you root down, inhale. And as you exhale lean over to your right side, you wanna press a little bit more through that left foot, anchoring you through the left side of the body.

And then above your hip point, you're feeling that stretch in the left side of your waist. Come back through the center inhale, switch so that the opposite thumb is hooked, left, over right, breathe in, exhale lean to your left side. Press your right foot into the earth, stretch the right side of your waist, back to center, inhale, maybe look up palms touch, exhale fold. Halfway up, breathe in. Step back, plank pose, top of a pushup.

Pause and plank from your thighs, Draw a little bit of your pubic bone towards the naval as your tailbone lengthens to your heels. Breathe in. Shift forward, either lower all the way or perhaps just halfway exile Chaturanga. Cobra or upward facing dog. Root, the tops of your feet and your hands, shoulders back, exhale to downward facing dog.

Take a breath in through the nose, find that ease on the inhale. Ride that ease on the exhale. And down dog, join your feet together, lift your right leg up to the sky. Turn your right hip open to the right, bend that knee. Just feeling that nice stretch through the right side of your body.

And then straighten out that right leg, square off the hip to the mat. Inhale here. You can point your right toes to the sky, exhale, take your right knee to your right arm shifting your shoulders forward a little bit of core. Inhale right leg goes back. Three legged down dog. XL knee to your chest.

Look forward and step your right foot forward. Try to get your right ankle underneath the knee. If it doesn't get there, just pick it up and place it there. Your feet are hip width on the mat, inhale to crescent. So bending that back knee just slightly increscent just is really nice for the lower back.

It allows you to elongate it. Hope your right thumb in front of your left one more time, and let's lean over to the right side. As you're leaning over to the right side, firm your left leg. Press that left thigh back. It's just gonna give you added stretch through the left side of your body.

Breathe here. One more. Come back to center. Turn your palms to face one another. Relax the shoulders, find the ease there, and the stability in your feet, maybe look up. Palms touch. Take one more breath.

XL to lower your hands to your mat. Back to plank. Jatunanga is in exhalation. Up dog or cobra, inhale, down dog, exhale, pausing in down dog, join your feet together, inhale lift your left leg. Turn that left hip open to the left, bend the knee.

It's like a big yawn on the left side of the body. And then straighten the leg, square off the hip. Maybe point your left toes, inhale, exhale left knee, left arm, shoulders over wrists, inhale left leg back, exhale knee to chest, Step your left foot forward. Adjust your feet as you need to. Feed hip width for crescent, inhale rise.

Again, softening the back knee just gives you more space in the lower back. We don't wanna compress the sacrum. Hook your left thumb in front of right this time, stretch up, lift your back ribs, soften your front ribs, and as you exhale lean over to the left. Press your right thigh back at the same time. Going deeper into the hip.

Take another inhale here. Big exhale. Back to center. Palms face one another look up. Palms touch breathe in exhale, plank pose, inhale plank, lower chaturanga, exhale.

Inhale up dog or cobra, exhale to downward dog. High toes breathe in, bend the knees, stepping or hopping to the top of the mat. Inhale halfway up. XL fold back in. Chair pose, utkatasana.

One of my favorite poses. It's just so good to build heat. Feel the strength of your thighs while you're here. Shift your hips back just a little. Take another breath, lift your heart in the pose, lift the gaze maybe to the fingers, come out standing, hands to the hearts.

Pausing here for a beat, inhale arms to the sky. We're gonna flow a little bit, exhale fold, inhale halfway. You can just step back to down dog if you're choosing to skip those vinyasa's. Keep the integrity of stability with ease. Reach your right leg back behind you.

Step your right foot forward and pause. You're on the ball of your back foot. Rising into crescent, inhale rise. Spin your back heel flat, move your right foot over to the left a little bit, open to your second warrior. Landing here.

Flip your right palm, reverse it back inhale. Hands to the mat again. Step back to plank. Choose a vinyasa or skip it. We'll meet in down dog.

Raise your left leg back in hell. Step your left foot forward as you exhale. Stay on the ball of your back foot. Crescent, breathe in. Spin your back heel flat as you exhale open to warrior two.

Reverse it, inhale full breath, and hands to the mat, meet in down dog with or without chat thatanga. Cold brow or up dog, and exhale down dog. From down dog, lift the heels high. Bend the knees and at the end of your exhale, step up or hop up, top of the mat, inhale reach forward, exhale refold, Rise, inhale, hands to your heart. Separate your feet here about hip width apart.

And come back into utkatasana. We're gonna play around with our balance. So a couple of pointers when you're balancing, it's always nice to have your gaze down first, and then you can explore. But first get your footing, feel the feet. Draw your hands to the heart.

We're gonna transfer more weight into that left foot. Start to lift your right heel. Pick up your right foot, place that right ankle on top of your left thigh. So as you're coming into what is called funky chair, you wanna watch out for your left hip moving to the left. From it in towards the center of your mat, And even if for those of you who can draw that left shin back even further towards the back of the mat, flex your right foot.

You're welcome to fold. A little closer to the right shin, if you wish. Just be mindful not to round your back. Take another breath. Root that left foot.

Come up standing and set your right foot down and place both feet down again. Inhale chair pose. Right? So find the stability in the posture with two feet on the earth, and there's sweetness in your breath. That ease in the inhale and exhale. Join your palms to your heart.

Lift your left heel. Now weight is transferred into the right foot, cross your left ankle over your right thigh. Mindful of that right outer hip, hug it in. Towards the center of your mat, move the right shin back just a little more. And if it's possible, if you wanna fold a little closer to that left shin, keeping the collar bones wide, Stay for a breath.

Ground that right foot. Up right your toes. So set your left foot on the mat. Lower your arms to Dawsona mountain pose. Inhale reach up, breathing in.

We'll move through one more vinyasa, exhale fold. You can also skip this one and just go straight to down dog. In hell halfway step back, vinyasa fur, those who want it. We're gonna make our way into single pigeon. And if you know that that's not an option for your hip, you can always come onto your back for thread the needle.

Otherwise, lift your right leg up. Inhale. Bring your right shin towards the front of the mat. We're gonna align the right knee with the right wrist and the right ankle with the left wrist. Back knee lowers, and this is where it's really nice to grab a hold of your blanket. And just set up the blanket underneath that right outer hip.

And if you wanna use the block here for your forehead, you can. So resting your forehead on the block. If that doesn't work for your body, it's okay. We're here for a few breaths. We did a lot for our hips today.

So let the muscles in the outer part of your right leg just soften. No gripping. Just breathe through the stretch. Inhale again deeply through the nose. Out through the nose. One more time.

And at the end of that exhale, lift your chest again, move your props to the side, and tuck your back toes, set your hands on the mat, down dog. If you're in thread the needle, please just switch sides. Otherwise, left leg reaches back inhale, exhale your left shin forward, left knee aligns to the left wrist. And the ankle to the right wrist. Use your blanket again underneath the left hip, if you wish, a block under your forehead.

Stability with ease here, Sira Sukam Asana. Tay. Two more breaths. At the end of the exhale, lift your chest. Place your hands on the mat. And one time, one final time downward facing dog.

And from down dog, please lower your knees, and let's meet in sukhasana. So I'm gonna sit on a blanket for added support. And you can choose how you wanna sit in this moment. If there's a better, more comfortable position, go ahead and take that. But once you're in it, close your eyes.

Notice the tip of your nose and your nostrils. And just take a breath in through the nostrils. Purse the lips like you're blowing a candle, exhale the breath out. In health through the nostrils slowly and deeply purse the lips, imagine blowing out a candle as you exhale. One more time.

From here, join your palms together in front of your heart, bowing your chin, honoring yourself for showing up. For creating stability and ease from the inside out. Namaste.