Light Up Your Core

Hi, everyone. Welcome to light up your core. We're gonna have fun in this class. It's gonna be heated, if we're gonna move and do a lot of breathing. Please start kneeling.

So this position is called Verasana. You've got your feet tops of the feet on the mat, and you'll take a seat on top of your heels. Now if that is not comfortable for you, there are two blocks in this sequence that you can use, you can place one of them in between the inner ankles. I'm not using a block, but you're welcome to. From here, we'll begin with our eyes closed, and your palms facing down on your thighs.

So take a moment to feel the parts of the body that are on the mat. Feel the sit bones, either on the heels or on a block. And from that place, we can begin to find length in our spine, waist, lift your chest, relax your shoulders. Take a couple of breaths here in and out through your nostrils. We'll do a short breath of fire practice, just as you are. If you are not doing breath of fire, just continue ujjayi breathing.

Otherwise, join me in how through the nose. As you exhale start to pump the naval back, you're inhaling naturally and passively. So your exhale is sharp and powerful. Pulling the belly button back towards the spine with every exhale. Toning and lighting up your core with this breath.

We're going just a little bit longer. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Pause the breath. Relax the shoulders. Pause.

And exhale. Plink your eyes open, come into plank position. So your shoulders are gonna be aligned over the creases of your wrists stretch your legs back. Oh, that feels good after kneeling. So plank pose.

Ground the palms and the feet. Push the ground away. Feel your core intelligence. We're lighting it up right here in the power of your legs. The sides of the belly draw up.

Your heart reaches forward through the gates of your arms. Take one more breath. Now soften the knees, lift your hips back to downward facing dog. In down dog, firm your thighs, draw them back. Think of plank like legs, so really strong through the thighs as your thighs are reaching back, your hips are lifting. Feel the hands rooting down, the inner arms lifting away from the earth.

And then just draw the front ribs slightly towards the back of the body. So keeping that core engagement here. Join your feet together. Inhale, lift your right leg up to the sky. As you exhale, draw your right knee towards the nose, shifting the shoulders forward.

One more time in now reach back up. XL knee to nose. Look between the hands and step your right foot forward. Placing the ankle below the knee grab your two blocks frame your right foot. So the blocks, yes, they're here for support, but we're just gonna place our fingertips on the block.

So you're tinting your fingers on the blocks. And if you want a little more intensity in your practice today, you can always place your fingers, your tendon fingers on the mat. So we're in a runner's lunge. Ground into the heel of your right foot. Stack the knee over the ankle, hug your right hip in, firm your back leg, and start to get a little lighter in your fingers.

See if you care fingers, if your fingers can just float above your blocks. So we're really hovering over that right thigh. You're welcome to keep your fingers tinted on the blocks or reach your arms back behind you, turning the palms to facing towards one another. And it just got intense really fast. So, hopefully, you are reminded of your yogic breath in and out through the nose. From here, put a soft bend in your back knee and inhale into crescent.

So if you're feeling very wide in your stance, you can always hop your back foot in a couple of inches. The back knee stays slightly bent to lengthen the lower back because we wanna find space in the lower back, in the back of the body. At the same time, can you lift your frontal hip points, soften your floating ribs, And at some point, maybe you wanna straighten your back leg, lift the gaze, take one more breath, maybe the palms touch overhead, and exhale lower your hands to the blocks, move the blocks to the side. Step back to plank, pause plank, inhale, exhale down dog. Join your feet together, inhale, lift your left leg.

Exhale, draw your knee to your nose. Inhale lift the leg. XL knee to nose. Step your left foot forward. Grab your two blocks, frame the foot.

Create those little tipis with your fingers. And pause here. So that back leg is very strong. It's also supporting you just as your left thigh is. Start to get a little lighter in your fingertips. Let them hover over the blocks.

Take both arms, stretch them back behind you. Turn the thumb side of your hands down. Palms facing in. Breathe. Soften the back knee, inhale to rise crescent pose.

And same actions here that you wanna apply. Imagine zipping from the pubic bone core. It's the naval softening the floating ribs. So you're lighting up the core even in crescent. Back leg can start to straighten a little bit more, lift your gaze, Take one more breath, inhale, maybe palms touch, exhale your hands, come down, move the blocks to the side, step back, go to plank pose one more time, inhale plank.

This time shift forward, you can lower all the way down or halfway, chaturanga, bending the elbows, inhale to cobra or upward facing dog, shoulders pull back, exhale downward facing dog. Take a deep breath in through the nose, out through the nose. Inhale high toes. XL bend the knees. Step up. Top of the mat, come up halfway, breathing in, Arta uttanasana, uttanasana forward fold.

Inhale rise, reaching up, breathing in, hands to your heart, adding some more fire, inhale, chair pose, utkatasana. Pausing here. And just like we did in crescent, zip up from the pubic bone towards the naval. Find length in your lower back. See if you can sit just a little more.

Until you come all the way down into boat pose. So this is particularly challenging. You can always put your heels down on the mat, hold the backs of the knees. Or backs of the thighs. You can also do it with the heels up and hold the back of the thighs.

Otherwise, reach your arms forward. Inhale, we're gonna lower. Halfway, Ardenavasana, exhale lift. In at lower, exhale lift. That was two. We have three more in hell lower.

I was gonna go for 10, but I think that's not gonna happen today. So that's three. Here's four. One more with enthusiasm, and exhale lift up pause. Hold Nevasana. This is chair pose, just on your sit bones.

And then bring your heels in tight, tightly towards your body. Just roll back a couple of times so that you can make it your way back to chair pose. Use your hands if you can't come up All the way, they maybe you'll surprise yourself, plant your feet, chair pose, inhale, and fold forward exhale. Half way up, breathe in. Heal the fire in your belly, step back.

Well, needing and downward facing dog. Pause in here. Gratefulful for movement and breath and stillness. Please lift your right leg. We're going to flow, exhale draw your knee to your nose.

Step your right foot forward, feet or hip width on the mat, inhale crescent pose. Stay for an exhale. Take one more breath. And as you exhale start to lean over that right thigh pause hovering over that right thigh, your arms are gonna swing back behind you. Palms facing in, step into your right foot, warrior three.

So with that naval intelligence, your back leg is firming sides of the belly draw up, chest is reaching. Take one more breath. And as you exhale join your hands to your heart, start to draw your left knee forward, lifting that left knee to the height of your hip. We're now standing at the top of the mat, and your knee is lifted. Left knee to the height of the hip.

Take a breath in. As you exhale, set the left foot down, mountain pose at the top of your mat, inhale chair pose, exhale fold. Halfway in, breathe in. Step back, vinyasa. Maybe linger an extra breath in your up dog stretching the front body.

And exhale downward facing dog. So now you know when it's coming. We're gonna lift the left leg. Excel left foot forward. Stay on the ball of your back foot.

Rise to crescent. Pause and crescent. Feel the feet. Breathing in. As you exhale sweep the arms back, lean over your left thigh, hover here.

Ground into your left foot, inhale. Step up warrior three as you exhale. One more breath. Hands to your heart. Pull that right knee in towards your chest.

Come upright. Draw the right knee to the height of your hip. In hell here and exhale set your right foot down mountain pose and pause two feet on the earth again. One more time, surya Namaskara, a, inhale arms go up. XL fold back in.

Halfway up Arda uttanasana, step back, flow through your vinyasa with the breath. Pausing and down dog. So please place your knees on the mat. We're gonna move into our bridge pose. So lie down on your back.

Bend your knees, stack the knees over the heels, over the ankles, and we wanna grab the mat here. So with your fingers, you're gonna pull the mat forward to encourage your lower back to lengthen. So I'm gonna feel that there is a slight lifting of your lower belly towards your naval. Take a breath in through your nose. And as you exhale, push into the floor, into the earth with your feet, and lift your hips up.

And you're still gonna tug on your mat drawing the mat forward away from your shoulders. If you're able to clasp your fingers here, you can underneath your body. So joining your hands together, maybe even. Shimmy in your shoulders closer to one another. Notice if your chin is really close to your chest, there should be just a little bit of space between the two.

Take one more breath. And as you exhale, release your hands and lower your spine, Relax in here for a moment. Draw both knees in towards your chest. For happy baby pose. Grab a hold of the edges of your feet, your ankles, or your shins.

And even here, think of lengthening your tailbone away from the top of the mat. Please lower your left foot and cross your right thigh over your left. Open your arms into a t shape, shift your hip right. Drop your knees left. You can look up at the ceiling or over that right shoulder. Bring your knees back to center, and then back into your chest, both knees in. One last time, happy baby pose.

Lower your right foot, cross your left thigh over the right, open the arms in a t shape, shift your hips left. Drop your knees right. And coming back to the center, both knees into your chest. Place your feet on the mat and decide if you wanna straighten out your legs for Shavasana, you can also do soles of the feet together and knees parted wide. Just ending in a way that feels complete for you.

Just like you did throughout the whole practice, place your body here in a special way. It's intentional. A sacred moment of rest. So begin to deepen your breath. Invite movement back into the toes and fingers.

Bend your knees, make your way into a seated position. Once you're seated, let's join the palms in front of the heart, Anjali Mudra. Using this as a symbol of gratitude, bowing the chin towards the heart, honoring yourself or showing up today, and honoring the light within you. Thank you for practicing with me, Namaste.