Find Your Balance

Nava stay everyone. Please grab a block for your practice today. We are starting standing and standing at the back of the mat. I'm gonna show you where the block goes. So you're gonna place that block the long way in your upper inner thighs, and we'll start here.

So meet me in tadasana, at the back of the mat, block between the upper inner thighs, Just take a peek at your feet for a moment. They are hip width apart, spread your toes, and just know that if you are a practitioner of yoga, You've already established roots in your practice. You have this strong foundation in connection with your feet already in this connection to the earth. So you understand that. Those neuro pathways have already been created.

So we're just gonna pull from that thread in this class as we are playing around with finding balance today. So close your eyes when you're ready. And drop in with your feet. Just notice them pressing down. We have this block wedged in between our inner thighs. So there is this awareness here of the muscles in the thighs, the quadriceps, and the hamstrings that hug the femur bone. I'm gonna invite you to take a deep breath, fill yourself up slowly to the top of your lungs.

And as you exhale lightly hug the block. Think of hugging from the outer thighs to the inner thighs, drawing energy from the outside to the inside. We're gonna do this a couple more times, and you'll see other muscles are gonna start to wake up as you're hugging this block. In fact, the next time you exhale, draw your tailbone down now feels slight lifting of your lower belly towards the heart. Good. So your core is turned on simply by having this block between the thighs, Keep that engagement in your core, reach both of your arms up towards the ceiling, the palms facing in one another.

I know for myself when I do this, my ribs start to spill forward to the front ribs. So in hell here, And use your exhales. You're hugging the block, also draw the two front ribs down and in. It's like you're closing the space in your abdomen slightly. What this allows you to do is lift the back ribs away from your low back.

So your low back feels more spacious. We're here one more breath. Can you reach and stretch through all of your fingertips? Stay for your exhale. Now in how deeply?

I hope you're still hugging your block. Exhale take your arms out to the sides as you begin with your forward fold hug in that block. With the outer thighs to the inner thighs. Inhale here halfway up. Art Utanasa, we're gonna pause here for a beat.

Stay here, breathe here. In fact, as you exhale, hugging the block is gonna help you lift your pubic bone towards the naval. So there's a lot more space in the lower back. Breathe in through the note, stretch your chest forward. As you exhale, Keep the firming of your thighs as you walk your hands forward to a plank pose.

We're in a top of a push up. Your wrists are right underneath your shoulders. Hands are shoulder width apart. I like to use the blog here because it just keeps everything engaged, the legs, core muscles. Now feel the roots of your hands, which again, have been established already if you are a practitioner of yoga.

This is familiar. We're just pulling from those threads. Take a breath and through the nose. As you exhale shift forward and bend your elbows to lower all the way down to the mat, jatatanga, Nandasana. Point your toes back.

Reach for that block. You can take it out from in between the thighs, but I'd like for you to hold it with both hands now. So it's gonna be held the wide way. Might have to turn it so that it's the wide way and you're holding your block with your fingers, resting on top of the sit bones for a moment and lengthen your tailbone. So with the block on the sit bones, lengthen the tailbone towards the heels, take a breath in through the nose.

As you exhale, straighten your arms, lift that block if it's possible. And if it's not, it's okay. Just think of lifting your chest for Shalumbasana. Feel the strength of your legs. Right? There's the memory of the block there in between the inner thighs.

They're spinning up towards the ceiling. The tailbone's already lengthening towards the heels. Take another inhale. Exhale to lower, sending the block over to the side. Place your hands on your mat.

We're gonna set up for cobra or upward facing dog. It's up to you. If you're taking up dog, your hands are sliding further down alongside the bottom ribs. Inhofer cobra or upward facing dog, curl the toes under downward facing dog. Deep breath in through the nose. Full breath out through the nose.

And even here there's the imprint and the memory of the block between the inner thighs. Join the feet together and down dog, inhale, lift your right leg up. Exale as you step your right foot forward. That foot is beneath the knee. You can lower your back and knee down on the mat.

Keep your back toes curled under and just walk your hands up your right thigh coming into Anjaniasana. Low lunge. So you wanna feel like the scissoring action of the thighs. Your right hip is drawing back and the left hip is drawing forward. Reach both arms out into a t shape.

Turn your palms to face up. And take your right elbow on top of your left and just hold your shoulders here. This is a variation of Garudasana arm, eagle arms, try to get your fingers to crawl in a little bit. So towards the shoulder blades, if you can, if you have the flexibility in your shoulders to do that, you're trying to get your shoulder your fingers to touch the shoulder blades. And if that's not possible, again, we're not here to force anything to happen.

Eventually, it will pause another beat. Inhale both arms to the sky. You can lift your gaze, draw the palms together, exhale circle your hands back to the mat, and just step back to downward facing dog. Join your feet together, inhale left leg lifts. Exhale, step your left foot forward. Place your right knee on the mat.

Back to stay tucked under, walk your hands up your left thigh. For your low lunge. It's a great stretch for the hip flexors, the back thigh, arms sweep out to the sides. Turn your palms up take your left elbow on top of your right one, hold your shoulders like you're giving yourself a hug and try to get your fingers all the way to the shoulder blades. And maybe even try to pull those shoulder blades further apart.

Breathe here. Inhale, the arms sweep up gaze, lifts, palms touch. Exhale hands return to the mat. And this time, you're gonna step back to plank position, breathe in. If you'd like, shift forward, Chaturanga, exhale.

Cool brow upward facing, exhale downward facing dog, adho mukha Shmanasana. One breath in through the nose. Full breath out through the nose. High toes breathing, bend the knees and step up top of the mat, inhale halfway up. Exhale fold.

Inhale rise. Hands to the heart. UTkatasana in health chair pose. Oh, imagine you had the block here. So if you did, you'd be hugging the block with the outer thighs to the inner thighs, drawing the energy from the out side to the inside, the inner thighs spin down, tailbone draws down.

Take a breath in through the nose and exhale full deeply. Come up halfway, breathing in. You can step back or jump back to Chaturanga if that's an option for you, if you're feeling the strength today in how cobra are up doc. Exale to downward facing dog. Right leg lifts to the sky, breathing.

Right foot forward, back heel spins on your next inhale, reach up. Warrior one. As you exhale, take your hands behind your back, interlace your fingers. That's not possible. You can always bring your hands to your hips.

Those of you with tighter shoulders and pin your elbows back. So once you have that clasp, seal the edge of your back foot into the mat, feel the anchor of your back leg, lift your chest, open your heart, exhale into humble warrior. Arms go above, The head, up and over. Lift the shoulders away from your ears. Feel the roots of your feet.

Finding balance here as you inhale rise back up, exhale hands to the mat. Vinyasa is optional. If you are feeling warm enough, you can start to skip them or keep going. Wanna build that inner fire, pause and down dog. Reach your left leg back.

Step your left foot forward. Spin your back heel flat. Inhale warrior one. On your next exhale, bring your hands behind your back, interlace your fingers. Notice if it's the same index on top.

Maybe switch it up. Press your feet down, scoop the pubic bone to the naval, lift your heart, big breath in, exhale humble warrior. P pausing here, firming your left hip into the midline of your mat. And now reach back up warrior one. XL hands to your mats.

Take a vinyasa or skip it. Pause in your down dog. Take another full cycle of breath. We're coming up high onto our toes, bend the knees, and step up or hop. To the top of your mat, Arta uttanasana inhale, uttanasana exhale.

Chair popes inhale. Stanned hands to your heart. Beautiful. And we're gonna take a little moment here to play with balance. So your feet are hip width apart and just come back to that imprint of the block between your thighs.

Those strong legs, drawing back, your tailbone, drawing down, and you have that lift of your pelvic floor. So from here, chair pose uttanasana. We're keeping the left foot down. Pick up your right heel and cross your right thigh over your left. And you could take the pinky side of your right foot and just touch the outer part of that left calf or wrap it around.

So coming into eagle pose. Stabilize here. Your arms go out to the sides. You're gonna take your left elbow on top of your right. You can hold your shoulders or take full garudasana with your arms.

So imagine you had a block. That you could really squeeze here, just hugging the outer thighs to the inner thighs here, getting really compact in the legs. And that's gonna give you that act that we're looking for in our lower belly, that little scooping of the low belly to the naval. Great. And then from here, lift your elbows. Move your forearms away from your face. I hope you're breathing.

This is pretty fiery pose. So we'll stay one more breath. And then release the right foot. Unwind the hands, inhale chair pose, exhale, stand mountain pose, and just check-in. We have a second side.

So one more time, inhale utkatasana. Pause, feel the grounding of your right foot, pick up the left leg, wrap it, either you're taking the foot to hook it around that right calf or just letting it hang out alongside the calf. Arms into a t, right elbow on top of left, hold the shoulders or full wrap. And then same little action here of hugging the outer thighs to the inner thighs. Scooping the low belly, creating all of these new neural pathways in your brain and these new connections with muscles perhaps we don't think about very often.

Try to lift your elbows a little more, move your forearms away from your face. Just stay one more breath. In health, uttanasana. And exhale rise, mountain pose, pause, breathe. And then from here, inhale one more time, We'll move through Thuriya Namaskar A for one final vinyasa as you exhale forward fold.

Halfway up breathe in. Step back. Chaturanga. Exhale. Up dog or cobra inhale downward facing dog, exhale. Lower your knees to your mat, and come lying down onto your back.

I'm gonna offer up supportive bridge pose after that today. So take a hold of your block. Slide in underneath your sacrum. It's like under the pelvis. I'm gonna decide low height today, but you can certainly take the block up higher.

We've done a lot to warm up the spine. So if you wanna take the block to the highest height, you can. That gives you a bigger backbend. Let this be a moment to elongate the breath. Meaning inhale slow down, exhale slow down. Stay for two more.

And when you've completed those two rounds, ground the feet, lift the hips, slide the block out from underneath. Lower your spine. And we'll take a twist to counter that pose, so cross right leg over left just like you did in Garudasana. And shift hips to the right, drop your knees to your left side. Your left arm can reach to or your right arm can reach to the right.

Turn your head to the right and just let yourself receive this pose. Done really good work today. Back to center, crossing the opposite leg on top, left over right, shift your hips to the right. Drop your knees right. Open left arm to the left, maybe drop the head to the left.

And back to center. Both feet on the mat. Either you can rest in Shavasana here or join the soles of your feet together, let the knees part out wide, close your eyes for a moment. Just dropping into this sweet release. Place one hand in your heart, one on top of your belly in gratitude to this practice.

To your health, your well-being. Namaste.