The Wellspring Within

Welcome to the Well Spring Within. For today's class, you'll need to have a bolster nearby, and we'll begin on our back. You can take yourself onto your back in a comfortable position, meaning you could have your knees bent, knees touching one another, or you can reach your legs long. And you'll place one hand on the heart and one hand on the belly. Deep in the breath, our focus in our practice today is connecting with the inexhaustible resource within us.

So as you deepen the breath, connect with an even flow of inhale and exhale. Like there's no beginning and no end in the breath in and the breath out. Poet and author John O' Donahue talks about the wellspring within as imagining at the very root of your soul a stream of peace, belonging, vitality, visualizing the stream, perhaps with the eyes closed at the very seat or root of the soul. And allowing that stream to move upwards to the heart. The stream moving upwards towards the dry, arid space of the heart.

Letting the stream infiltrate and rise up through the center of the heart feeling renewed, refreshed, and connected to the stream of vitality that is always running through us, and breathe into the visualization and the sense. Sometimes it feels like we're out of inspiration, we're out of motivation, and reconnecting with the endless stream within and allowing it to flow upwards towards you towards the heart reminding you that it exists. And take a few more breaths here. Rease your hands down by their sides when you're ready and separate your feet so that they are a little bit wider than hips distance apart and begin to rock your knees side to side in windshield wiper like movements all the way one way and all the way the other. And notice how certainly the legs tip side to side, but that the pelvis moves as well.

That the ribs move, that the shoulders move, and then the head will move a little side to side. Your breath flows not necessarily exactly linking with the movement, but in tandem, to together. If you'd like to reach your arms up and overhead and or up towards the sky and clasp elbows, we'll take the elbows the opposite direction of the knees. So as the knees go to the right, the elbows go to the left. And as the knees go to the left, the elbows go to the right. So we're adding a little thoracic rotation into the windshield wiper movement.

And if there's a place here you wanna pause for a moment, you're certainly welcome to do that. A few more breaths, a few more rounds. And then come all the way up to center, release your arms down by your side and then narrow the feet so that they are back to being hip distance apart. Hands are down by your side. You can place palms down into the ground and you'll take a deep breath in.

And as you exhale, you slowly curl the belly under so you'll press your lower back into the ground slowly lifting the spine upwards towards the sky and bridge pose one vertebra at a time. And then gently from the top, lower down one vertebra at a time. Good. The pelvis is the last to land. You'll take a breath in and exhale its lifts scooping the tailbone under slowly rising upwards towards the sky, and inhaling rolling down. Exhaling scooping the tailbone under slowly rising upwards towards the sky and bridge pose as high as you wanna go and inhaling slowly lower down.

So good. A few more in a style that works for you. And let's say that there'll be about three more. You'll roll up and roll down three more times or if you prefer you could hold up in bridge pose for those three breaths. And we'll all make our way back down to the ground hugging the knees into the chest, which should feel quite good after a bridge pose.

You can move a little side to side. And then place the hands right down next to your seat. Bring the knees over the hips, low bring your lower back down to the ground. So knees over the hips. 90 degree angle in the knees and in the hips with your lower back pulling down to the ground.

Palms by your side snuggled in for support and you'll breathe in. As you breathe out, you can stretch your right leg forward a little or a lot. So whatever angle that you'd like, you'll inhale bring the knee back in and as you exhale, send that left heel forward. Inhale knees come back above the hips, exhale right heel reaches forward. Maybe a flexed foot.

Breathing in, sending the opposite foot forward. Good. And if you want to challenge yourself a little bit more, you're welcome to interlace your hands behind your head. And lift your head neck and shoulders up as you continue the exhale stamping heel forward and inhale coming back in. So stoking the fire of the belly, Good.

Last two. And one. So good. Draw the knees up and into your chest. Squeeze them in. Little rocking side to side if you'd like.

Gently bring the knees up and over to the left as your right arm sweeps away from you, knees are stacking for a twist. The left arm will stream right up in line with the left shoulder and you'll take your right arm up and towards the sky and then reach it to the left hand. Inhale sweep the arm back up to the sky and up and open into the twist. And as you exhale, right hand sweeps up and comes to the left palm. We'll do that a few more times.

And if you'd like to take a little deviation on your path, you could reach up and overhead and close like a book. You could even reach down towards the hip, make a circle if you'd like. So opening and closing the twist. And then on one of the next times that you open into the twist, stay here. Take your gaze out through the right fingertips and take about two deep breaths.

Right up into the right side of the heart. You might even close the eyes and envision the stream of vitality and peace and belonging flowing up through the right side of the heart. When it feels complete, you can bring your right hand up and over. Draw the knees into your chest reset by pulling the knees up and in. Will come into the twist on the other side.

Let both knees lower up and over to your right side. Stretching your left arm away and your right arm With the left hand, you can sweep it up to the ceiling and over to the right palm. Use your breath in to sweep it back up to the ceiling, opening like a book out to the side inhaling. And exhale up and over and closing. We'll continue this movement.

You know that you could take it up and overhead if you'd like instead, like dialing a clock. Or like the hands of a clock, you could sweep it down by your side. So moving once again through the thoracic spine. And then one of these next times that you open, you'll stay there. You'll stay in the twist.

Couple of deep breaths in here. Perhaps the eyes close on this side. The wellspring within, flowing up through the left side of the heart. And release the left hand up and over to the right. Slowly come on to your back.

Plug the knees into your chest once again in printing the lower back. And we'll make our way up to our hands and our knees. So you can roll You can rock, you can rise up in whatever way you'd like as you make your way up and into tabletop. And you know that in tabletop, knees are underneath the hips, and wrists are usually underneath the shoulders, For today, we're going to bring the wrist a couple of inches forward. So let's say like two to four inches forward, spreading the hands.

And similarly to cat cow, we'll bring the heart forward look up, bring the sit bones up, as you slide the shoulders above the wrists. And when you exhale, you'll scoop in and round and bring the hips over the knees. So it's a little bit of a rocking horse movement, breathing in, shifting forward, and breathing out rocking back. And depending on the length of your breath and your desire to do so, if you want on the exhale, you could reach even further back as if you were going towards child's pose. And if you wanted to reach even further forward into sort of more like an upward dog on the inhale, you could do that too.

So a different way of doing something that we do pretty often, spinal movement and a little bit of warming through the synovial fluid in the shoulders and the hips. The next time that you bring yourself forward, you can recenter so that the risks are indeed underneath the shoulders, and the knees are underneath the hips. Pour the weight of the body into the left hand and reach your right arm up to the sky. Allow the chest to open to the right and breathe in. We'll thread the needle, right hand goes underneath the left side of the body as you breathe out. Two more like that, breathing in, reaching up towards the sky, and breathing out, sweeping it down and beneath you.

Inhale opening. And exhale threading it through. This time, we'll hold. Let the right shoulder come down into the mat. Let the right side of the head come down on the mat and deepen your breath here.

One more breath in. And as you exhale, push your left hand in for support as you rise back up onto your hands and your knees. The left arm reaches upward towards the sky as you breathe in, thread it through as you breathe out, twisting and rotating, inhaling open, and exhale thread it through. Inhale, and exhale bring the left shoulder onto the mat. Allow the head to release. Remain here for a few deep breaths.

Last breath in. And slowly unwind, come to your hands and your knees. Maybe a cat cow to ring it all out, bringing chest forward, and rounding. And when it feels like time for you over the next breath or so, you'll start to build your way up to downward facing dog. In the familiar pose with the hand spreading and rooting down, the inner elbows moving forward, lifting your heels upwards to the sky and dropping them down towards the ground as you breathe out.

Let the head move a little just to ensure that there is no gripping, grasping or tightening that is not really needed. You'll step your feet one foot length forward on the mat, and then take your feet, let's say almost as wide as your mat or if you're quite tall, maybe as wide as your mat. So you're in this shorter downward facing dock. Keep your left hand where it is. Right hand will reach to the outside of the left leg or ankle. So holding here, bending your knees, of course, if that's helpful to you.

And with the right hand holding the outside of the left leg, peer over towards the left side like you're looking up and underneath the left side of the body, under the armpit towards the ceiling. Gently release that right hand back down to the ground, switching to the other side, the left hand holds the outer. Right ankle, looking up and underneath your right armpit. Look up towards the ceiling. And gently release the left hand back down to the ground.

Walk up to a forward fold, hang over yourself, hold the elbows and rock a little side to side here. Head might release a little bit more, knees could bend as much as you'd like. Hands to the Earth, bend the knees, slowly roll up to stand. Let your arms sweep up and overhead. Bring the hands to the heart as you exhale.

With the hands at the heart, take a deep breath in. Let it go out the mouth. Inhale stretch your arms out and up. To the sky, and as you exhale hinge at the hips, fold forward, let the heart lead the way, hands come down. Touch the shins or the ground to inhale to the flat back, reaching the heart forward, fold in as you exhale plank pose.

Nice stable feeling toward in the shoulders and the belly. Breathe in. Lower down as you exhale, you can drop your knees on the way. Tent all 10 fingertips to the outside of your yoga mat with your elbows tip upwards towards the sky. The cobra here is an inhale gentle pressure through both fingertips, lifting all the way up, and then as you exhale, right shoulder drops towards the center of the mat as you look over your left shoulder.

Inhale rise up and exhale left shoulder dips towards the center of the mat. Look over your right shoulder. Inhale. Inhale and exhale. We'll do one more on each side.

Raise all the way up to center. Bring yourself down. Please the hands underneath the shoulders, press up to plank or hands and knees, and to downward facing dog. Right leg rises up behind you. Bend your knee and open up your hip, lifting and lowering through the left heel.

Notice that the left heel gives you a little bit of lift. So the next time it lifts send the right foot through the hands, so you get a little more space there. The back heel will spin down to the ground and you'll circle the arms open into warrior two. A nice steady posture with the front knee tracking right over those front toes the outer edge of the back foot down onto the ground, and the shoulders nice and soft. Take your breath in here, sending roots down through both feet as you breathe out. Turn the right palm up, tip it back for peaceful warrior. Rise back up to warrior two. Inhale.

Right elbow comes down to the right knee as you exhale. Left arm can reach up towards the sky or it can reach up and overhead inside angle pose. Two breaths. Rise all the way up, we'll go right into peaceful warrior tipping back for a deep breath into the right side body. And as you exhale hands come to the earth, step back to plank pose, inhale, lower to the earth as you exhale. Tenth the fingertips to the outside of the mat, cobra, one steady cobra through the center inhale, and lower down as you exhale.

Hands underneath the shoulder, up to plank pose or hands and knees, and downward facing dog. Left leg rises up, bending the knee, opening up the hip, lifting and lowering the right heel. And on a lift inhale, Step the foot in between the hands as you exhale back heel spins down or your two. A full round of breath to get yourself steady through the straight back leg. The bent front knee.

Turn the left palm up, tip back for peaceful warrior. Breathe in. Warrior two. Breathe out. Left elbow reaches and stacks on top of the left thigh as the right arm reaches upwards to the sky. If you prefer the arm reaching up and overhead, inside angle as an extension of that right leg, you can do that.

Another round of breath. All the way up and back to peaceful warrior as you breathe in. Cartwheel the hands down to the earth as you breathe out, step back to plank and inhale, lower as you exhale. Tense your fingertips breathe in, heart lifts forward. Lower down downward facing dog.

And take a deep breath in, let your heels lift, bend your knees look forward, hop, or step up to the hands. Half lift as you inhale. Fold in as you exhale. Arms sweep out and up. Breathen hands to the heart as you breathe out.

Keep the hands at the heart. Inhale. A little bit more breath in. Out the mouth. Inhale sweep your arms up to the sky.

Fold forward as you exhale up and over. Inhale to the half lift. Hands plant, step back. Our last time lowering through down to the ground. Tenting the fingertips up and breathing in cobra, lowering down downward facing dog.

Allow the knees to come down to the ground. Located your bolster and pull it onto the mat long ways. We'll set ourselves up with the seat next to the bolster. So eventually coming into supported fish pose, but first a forward fold. And if you know that you like a little hype in your forward fold, you can sit on the edge of your bolster.

Both feet flexed together or hip distance apart. Let your arms stretch up to the sky. Inhale. And as you exhale fold over hands land where they land, legs, mat, or feet, and head releases. And sometimes there's even a moment where head releases, and then it releases even more.

We're back softens, and then back softens a little bit more. About four more slow deep breaths. Slowly start to rise up. If you were seated on the bolster, you'll shift your seat down so that your seat is on the ground and the bolster is behind you. And when you're ready, you'll start to roll up and over onto the bolster assessing how this feels comfort wise, if you want a little less sensation in the back, you can bend your knees.

If you want a little more sensation here, you can bring the soles of the feet together. And the knees wide. So many choices. And similarly to how we began, a hand on the heart and a hand on the belly, deepening the breath here. And like finding a location on the map that you've already been to, you find the root of the soul.

Connect with the endless stream. Vitality of inspiration, of abundance, of belonging, and allow it to flow upwards through the heart. When we return our attention to this again and again, we strengthen the energy We strengthen the neural pathway, so it becomes more and more natural and a part of who we are in our everyday life. If you feel quite comfortable here, you can stay in the supported fish pose for Shavasana. You can keep the soles of the feet together, and the knees wide, or you can straighten the length.

If it feels comforting to have the hand and the heart and the hand and the belly, you'll stay there, or you'll release your hands down by your sides. Let everything release Shivasana. Take a deep breath in. And let it go. Move the head side to side and start to move your fingers and your toes.

When you're ready, you'll bend your knees and shift over to your side slowly making your way up to your seat. Drowing the hands to the heart in prayer deepening the breath. I'm feeling sensing and seeing the stream within you. Take a deep breath in and bowing into the heart. Thank you for sharing your