Core Connection

Hi, everyone. Grab a block for your practice today. We're gonna start on our backs when you're ready, lie down. Bend your knees, placing your feet about hip width apart, maybe a little bit wider. And we're gonna take the palm of the hands and place them on top of the thighs.

And they'd like you to slide the heel of your hands all the way down to the creases of your hips. It's that part of the body where the hip points and the top of the thighs meet. When you're ready, you can close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Fill yourself all the way up to the top of the lungs.

And when you exhale, press your palms into the thighs. And draw your tailbone towards the back end of the mat. And again, inhale deeply through the nose. Press the hands into the thighs one more time, lengthen your tailbone towards the heels, feel the slight scooping of your lower belly, towards the naval. And then relax your hands. We're gonna lift the feet up, bringing the legs into a tabletop position. So, you wanna stack your knees right over your hips.

And place your palms just right in the center of your thighs this time. Take a deep breath in through your nose. And as you exhale, draw the sides of the belly towards the mat, your tailbone forward and gently start to press your hands into your thighs, but your thighs are gonna resist that push. So what you're working here are opposite, energies where your thighs are drawing into the hands, but the hands are trying to push away the thighs, and the thighs are resisting. Your focus is on your lower abdominal wall.

So if you're not feeling this, you might need to push the thighs a little bit more and resist that push more. Keep drawing the sides of the belly down. Stay here. Brief here. One more breath. And exhale.

Please lower your feet to the mat. We're gonna go ahead and grab our block. You're gonna take your block and place it on top of your, or in front of your left thigh, and your right hand is gonna go on top of the block. Bring your knees back up into that tabletop position so your feet are once again off the mat. Just rest that left arm alongside your body for now.

What I want you to feel here is you're pushing your right hand into the block. The block is moving into the thigh on the left side, and the left thigh is resisting that block and that push. K, reach your left arm towards the ceiling. On the inhale, your right leg's gonna move forward. Your left arm is gonna move back.

That's a breath in. Exhale it draws back. To center. Inhale, your right leg goes forward. The left arm goes back.

XL drive back to center. Three more. Inhale reach. EX, he'll come back to center. You are really still pushing that right hand into the block as well, inhale reach. This is for excel center.

And one more. And exhale. Good, lower your feet. We're gonna switch sides, take the block over to the right thigh. Place your left hand on the block.

Just rest your right arm alongside your body for a moment. Please bring your legs back up to that tabletop position. Your right arm is resting alongside your body. K. And then reach your right arm up towards the ceiling. On the inhale, your left leg goes long and your right arm goes back.

Exhale, drive back to center. Inhale, left leg forward right arm back. Exhale. That's two. We have three more. Continue to push your left hand into the block and resist that push with your right thigh. This is for one more time, five inhale and exhale.

Lower your feet. Place your block to the side. Draw your knees into your chest. We're gonna make our way onto all fours. Tabletop position.

So once you're in your tabletop, set up your hands so they are shoulder width apart. You're extending your right leg back behind you. Please the toes on the mat and keep the inter integrity of your core here. Okay. So you wanna draw the sides of the belly up towards the naval. Your back leg's lifting away from the floor now, toes are lifting, reach your left arm forward.

Inhale here. As you exhale, draw your left elbow to your right knee and your right knee to your left elbow. Inhale extend the arm and the leg. Exhale, knee to elbow, elbow to knee. Go for that extension one more time, and set your hand down, lower your knee.

Second side, left leg goes back, just put the toes down for a moment and think of zipping up from your pubic bone to your navel, hug your right hip in. Now lift your back foot off the mat that back leg's lifting, right arm reaches forward. Breathe in, exhale elbow to knee, knee to elbow. Reach on an inhale. Bring it in on an exhale.

One more time, go for the reach, sides of the belly lift, and right hand down, left knee down. From here, let's come into plank pose. So we've really established that core connection, and it's here even in your plank. Feel the strength of your core, your center, take a breath in through your nose, gaze is forward. Shift forward, lower all the way onto your mat.

Rest your forehead on the mat. Point to your toes back. Feel your tailbone drawing down towards your feet, your pubic bone lifting towards the heart. We're gonna interlace the hands behind your head like you're doing a sit up. And as your pelvis firmly presses into the mat on your next inhale, lift your chest, lift your head.

Pause here. So now working the back muscles, which are also really important to strengthen when it comes to establishing core connection, create a strong core, stay for another breath, maybe lift an inch higher. Exhale lower. Interlaced the opposite index in front. We have one more Shalumbasana like this on your next breath.

Inhale lift your chest. Your toes are pressing down on the mat, so they stay rooted. You're just lifting the upper body. Breathe and lift a little higher and exhale lower. Mislease your hands alongside the bottom ribs. If you're going to take up dog, you can always stick with cobra, inhale upward facing or cobra.

Oh, stay here for a beat. One more breath in, shoulders back, collar bones wide. Exhale downward facing dog. Deep inhale, full exhale. Come up high on your toes, bend your knees, and step up.

To the top of the mat. Come up into Arta. Oh, tenasana. Feel your core connection here. XL full deeply. Root to rise. Inhale.

Join your palms to your heart. Suuriya Namaskar A, inhale arms go up. Exhale fold. Halfway up breathing in. To Chaturanga, you can jump back or step back your choice, move through your vinyasa.

Pausing and down dog. Join the feet together, inhale your right legless. Exhale draw your right knee to your right arm. Maybe you tap above the elbow to the tricep. Could now take that leg back inhale.

Cross it over to your left side. We're gonna extend that right leg over to the left. Set the edge of that foot down on the mat or the floor, actually, not on the mat, the floor. Right hand stays down. Left arm goes up for falling triangle.

You're spinning onto the arch of your back foot. Nice opening stretch. Lower your left hand. Slide your right foot back to the mat and then take it all the way up. Three legged down dog inhale.

And as you exhale, step that foot forward. Spin your back heel flat, align your front foot to your back arch, warrior two. Oh, and it's nice to be up. So we'll pause here for a beat. Bend into your right knee, track that knee over the ankle, maybe with the second or third toe, firm your back leg.

Take your deep breaths, feel your core connection here, and then straighten out through that front leg. You can always adjust your feet, heel and toe your back foot in a little bit if this feels wide. Start to hinge at your right hip. So you're reaching that right hip back, right arm forward. I'm gonna use a block.

You can place your block outside of your right foot, right hand down, left arm up for triangle pose. And even here, you wanna feel that core connection. So your tailbone is lengthening towards the back foot. Right? We've done this enough times in different shapes today. Same action, different shape.

Your two front ribs are drawing in, looking down at your mat, gaze at your right foot, take the block with you, bend your right knee, move the block up. It's going about two feet forward for ardha chandrasana. Transfer weighting to your right foot and lift that left leg. Yes. It is about the standing foot and leg. But it's also about your core connection here.

So your center, your naval center is offering a lot of support here to your standing leg. Your back foot is flexed and active, lifted leg is strong. One more big breath. We're exiting back into your second warrior, bend your front knee, land that back foot on the mat, warrior two, pause, inhale, circle your hands to your mat, step back and just go to downward facing dog. Left leg lifts inhale.

Left knee, left arm, exhale. Left leg lifts inhale. Across that knee to your right, exhale. Extend that leg to the right. Set the foot down, spin the arch of your back foot to the mat fully triangle on this side, breathing in, lower the top hand, breathing out, slide that left foot back towards the mat, sweep it up and back three legged, step your left foot forward, spin your back heel flat, warrior two, and we'll pause, lands, breathe and notice your pulse, your heartbeat.

You wanna feel a strong back leg, supportive back leg. Straighten out through that front knee. So left leg straight, heel and toe your back foot in, start to reach forward, elongate the left side of your waist, grab that block again if you're using a block for triangle pose. Your left hand lowers, right arm reaches up. Think long through all four sides of your waist.

So the backside, the front side, right and left sides, your center, your core connection offers that long, lengthy spine, and waist. Take one more breath here. Looking down at your left foot. Bend your left knee. Let's step up into half moon pose.

You're anchoring that left foot on the ground, firming that outer left hip in, flexing the right foot, but also really feeling your center. Your core strength. Take another breath. Inhale. Rebend the front knee.

Step back. Warrior to. Inhale in warrior two. XL, circle your hands to your mat. You're welcome to flow through a vinyasa here if you wish.

Meeting and down dog. And from down dog, place your knees on the mat. For child's pose. Slow down the breath. And let's come up to a seated pose.

For getting a set up for UPA Vista Kuna. So taking the legs out wide. And you can certainly use a block here. I I'm going to use mine. Your legs aren't in any degree as far as how wide they should be open.

Take your fingers to the outside of your thighs, actually, and tent the fingers to the mat. Like, little levers, you're gonna lift your chest As you exhale leading with your chest start to forward fold, bring your hands forward, let them land and rest wherever is comfortable for you. And if you are using a block, you could take your forehead to the block. Lengthen the breath in through the nose, see if you can allow the exhale to be Just a little longer. One more like that.

Maybe it's an inhale for four or five. And an exhale for five or six. Inhale rise up. Please the hands beneath the knees, bend the knees, join the soles of your feet together for bada konasana. Slide the heels in.

Hold the arches of your feet. Your thumbs are in the inside of the arches. Inhale, lift your sternum. Then exhale fold. You're welcome to take your elbows and just press down. Maybe they're resting on the shins and the calves or on the thighs, but it's a gentle encouragement.

Of the knees to open the inner thighs to stretch and lengthen. Take one more breath. Maybe in for four or five. Out for five or six. Slowly rise up lifting your chest.

We're gonna end class today in a seated position, letting your hands rest, palms up or down. Just taking your attention to where your center is. Find your center. Find your middle and breathe into that space just once more. Let's join the palms together.

Front of your heart, bow the chin, honor yourself for showing up, and honor this practice. Namaste.