Ease Into Your Day

Welcome to ease into your day. If you have two blocks for today's practice, these are optional. Let's go ahead and get started in a child's pose. So come onto your hands and your knees, spread your knees nice and wide, sit your hips back towards your heels and just start to crawl your arms forward any amount, lowering your forehead down towards the earth. Take a moment and just start to sway your head softly side to side.

And then as we begin to find stillness, just start to tune into the body, just becoming aware of how the body feels, sensing and noticing any tension, any efforts, any gripping. And give yourself a moment here to just begin to release all of the effort in the back. Relax through your jaw. Notice if you're squeezing your toes, see if you can invite your toes to relax. And then start to become aware of your breath.

Not changing or manipulating the breath, but instead, just allow your awareness to follow every inhale and every exhale. Muloxiello Belli. And as you're ready, just begin to find deeper fuller in house, filling up the belly, expanding through the ribs, and then letting the breath reach the top of the chest and exhaling feeling and finding the breath releasing from the chest, from the ribs, and from the belly. And let's take about five or six more of the deepest fullest in house, long exhales. Take two more.

Last one. Big inhale. Big exhale. Staying in your child's pose, keep your left arm extended and maybe tense your left fingertips. I'm gonna slide your right arm under the left arm, finding child's pose with a twist and just letting the right side of your head relax down onto the earth. See if you can start to round and roll the left armpit in towards the ear.

And as the armpit rolls in towards the ear, You begin to just allow the right ribs to start to roll up as well. Take two more breaths. And then when you're ready reach your right arm forward, take a pause at the forehead down. And then we'll tent our right fingertips. Same thing on this side, our left arm will thread under the right.

We'll rest the left side of the head on the mat, roll the right armpit in towards your ear. And just start to turn very gently the heart up, up, up towards the sky. A couple more breaths. And then we'll bring our left arm forward. Press the forehead down.

Take a couple of breaths. And then take your time. We'll rise up onto our hands and our knees into a tabletop. So hands will come under the shoulders and knees will stack under the hips. Spread your fingers out nice and wide.

So move your awareness into your thumb pads, push down into the thumb pads. And from the thumb pads, go into the middle finger pads. From the middle finger pads, go to the pinky finger pads, feel all those points of contact and then lift up slightly through the center of the palms. And as you lift up slightly through the center of the palms, start to hug your shoulders back, arch your back, lift your gaze inhale. EX, he'll tuck your tail, curl and round, pushing into the tops of your feet.

I'm just moving back and forth, inhaling arching, opening, spreading across the chest. Exhale rounding, coiling, bring you in. And just move a few more times to your own pace, connecting that breath with the movement. Take a couple more. And then from here, find a nice neutral spine.

You're gonna walk your hands just slightly forward and ahead of your shoulders. We're just gonna start to shift the weight forward, bending our knees, bringing our big toes together to touch, finding a nice gentle backbend, maybe swaying side to side. Start to dip your hips back towards your heels as if you're going into child's pose, but instead roll yourself forward again into that nice soft backbend. Let's do a few more just like that. Bringing it forward.

Opening up. Rolling back one more time. Bring it on forward. And then go ahead and bring it back into your tabletop. I'm gonna walk your hands back so they're under the shoulders.

Let's flip our wrist. So you're gonna flip your right wrist forward. Flip your left wrist forward. So the fingertips are turned back. Sholders are hugging back.

Spread across the chest a little bit more. Now let's take some big circles. Just notice where your gaze is and see if we can find the gaze moving slightly forward out in front of us. Keep moving your shoulders back. And let's go the other way.

And then find stillness? Flip your wrist back around and just pause for a breath. Let that settle in. And then from here, let's extend our right leg back with our toes tucked. You're gonna just pulse gently forward and back.

Just waking up that right foot. Keep that right leg extended, reach your left arm out in front of you. Your thumb is turned up. We're rolling the armpit in towards the ear. Draw the navel in towards the spine. Keep the gaze forward.

You're gonna start to lift the right leg. Reach forward through the left fingertips and at the same time, see if you can press back through the right heel just a little bit more. Take a big breath in, exhale draw your knee to your elbow round. Inhale reach, extend, exhale round, one more time, reach and extend, get nice and long, exhale round, Bring your left hand down. Keep your right leg back.

Let's just take a couple more pulses through that right foot. And then we're gonna take our right leg out nice and wide. So that the right big toe lines up with the left knee. I like to come up onto my fingertips here. You're gonna put a nice bend to your right knee.

We're just gonna stir the hips. Big circle. Just getting into all the corners and all the edges and then go the other way. And then go ahead and bring your right knee back, circle your hips a few times one way. Few times the other way.

And then let's take the other side. So send your left leg back with your toes tucked, and let's just find that nice pulse forward and back. Just waking up that left foot. And then go ahead and find stillness. Reach your right arm out in front of you.

Turn the thumb up. Roll the armpit in towards the ear. Keep your gaze out in front of you as you start to lift the back leg up. And same thing on this side. Reach forward through the right fingertips.

And at the same time, press back through the left heel. Draw the naval in, take a big breath in, exhale knee to elbow round. Inhale reach, exhale round, one more time reach, exhale round. Bring your right hand down. Keep your left leg back with your toes tucked one more time. Just pulse a little bit.

And then we'll take our left foot out nice and wide. So ideally our left big toe is lining up with the right knee. Find a bend to your left knee. Maybe come up onto your fingertips and just stir. Take it the other way.

And then go ahead and bring your left knee back in. Circle your hips a few times one way. Few times the other way. And then from here, let's tuck our toes, lift your knees and your hips up and back downward facing dog. Just be easy in this first dog pedaling out your feet.

Maybe shaking your head yes and no. Heeping a very generous bend to your knees, start to lift your tail up nice and high, think that the belly could meet the thighs, wrap and roll the armpits and towards the ears. Again, find that slight lift up through the center of the palms. Take a nice big full inhale. Big exhale.

One more time. Inhale. And exhale. Look forward between your hands. I'm gonna lunge your right foot forward between the hands. From here, grab your blocks.

Let the blocks frame the front foot. On an inhale lunge deeply forward, lift your chest, and then exhale start to straighten the front leg, fold into yourself. And let's just go back and forth. Shoulders back, lifting up through the chest, exhaling, extending. And as we extend through that front leg, push into the ball of your front foot like you're pushing into your gas pedal.

Let's do one more. So nice generous deep lunge. Lift the chest. Extend through the front leg. And then go ahead and bend your front knee, step forward, and fold at the top of the mat.

Half lift, bring your hands to your shin, send your heart forward, your shoulders back. And exhale fold. Again, hands to shins, push the heart forward, move the butt back, shoulders back. And exhale fold. Grab your elbows with your hands. Go ahead and sway a little bit side to side.

And then just take a moment, find stillness as you keep your elbows. Notice if you're locking out your knees. I want you to bend your knees. So we get a nice sweet release through the low back. And notice your feet.

Notice if your toes are turned out and your heels turned in, see if we can reverse that and turn those big toes in slightly in the heels out just a little bit. Let's take five more breaths here. Let your head relax. And then release the elbows, hands to shins one more time, half lift, heart forward. Exhale fold.

Take a nice slow rise up one piece at a time. Let the head come up last. Roll the shoulders once you get up to the top. Inhale reach the arms high. Exhale forward fold.

Come back down. Let's step back into our downward facing dog. From down dog, come forward into plank, lower down to your knees. Keep your butt nice and high as you lower down to your chest and to your chin. Elbows are in.

Slide forward and up baby cobra, hands by the chest, push into the tops of the feet, exhale lower your forehead down. One more time. Push into the tops of the feet. Lift your chest elbows and baby cobra. Four head comes down. Send your hips back to your heels, child's pose, knees once again, nice and wide. Just five breaths here.

Reaching the arms forward. And let's go ahead and come back up into downward facing dog. Move your feet once again. Find that nice generous bend to the knees. Belly yearning for the front thighs.

The back thigh is lifting up, sits bones lifting up. Take a nice, big full inhale. Big exhale. Look forward between your hands once again. Lund your left foot forward between the hands. Again, grabbing your blocks, if you wish, hands on the blocks, shoulders back, inhale lunge deeply forward lifts your chest, exhale straighten your left leg fold into yourself.

I'm just gonna go back and forth. Nice and easy. Opening up the chest. Pushing into the ball of the left foot as we extend through the left leg back and forth a few more times. Last one.

Lunch, lift your chest, lift your gaze. They stand through your left leg. And then go ahead and re bend your left knee step forward to the top of the mat and fold once again. Hands to shins, heart forward, push the butt back, exhale fold. Again, half lift, inhale, and exhale fold.

Slow rise up one piece at a time. Head last. Roll the shoulders at the top. Inhale reach the arms high, exhale forward fold, empty back down, step it back into downward facing dog, inhale come into your plank, exhale knees, but high, lower your chest, lower your chin, slide forward onto your belly, pushing into the tops of the feet, baby cobra, forehead comes down. One more time. Push the feet. Lift the chest.

Four head comes down. Hips to heels. Childs pose just a few breaths this time. These nice and wide. And let's come back downward facing dog.

Big full breath in. Big exhale. One more time. Inhale. Look forward between your hands. Lund your right foot forward once again.

We're gonna stay up off that back knee, reach the arms high, high crescent lunge. So finding your right hip drawing back, your left hip drawing forward, your navel, your sternum, lifting up. So there's that slight sense of a backbend. Push into the ball of the right foot, inhale lengthen the right leg, exhale, rebend the right knee. Inhale lengthen, exhale bend, One more time lengthen, exhale bend, open up nice and wide warrior two. So nice wide stance, right knee, right on top of the ankle, relax through your shoulders, low belly zips in and up.

From here, straighten your right leg, reach the arms high, exhale bend the front knee. Inhale lengthen. Exhale bend one more time lengthen, and exhale bend. Car will your hands down downward facing dog. We'll inhale forward to plank, exhale knees, chest and chin, slide forward and up baby cobra, hips to heels child's pose, and back downward facing dog.

Inhale fully, exhale completely. Look forward between your hands. Lunch your left foot forward. Stay up on the ball of your back foot. Reach the arms high.

High crescent lunge. Left hip is back. Right hip's drawing forward. Relax your shoulders even as you reach up, and then push into the ball of the left foot to inhale lengthen the left leg, exhale re bend the left knee. Inhale lengthen, Exale bend one more time lengthen, exhale bend, open up nice and wide warrior two.

So nice wide stance, left knee on the ankle, left toes straight forward, navel in towards the spine, arms open up nice and wide. Push into the ball, the left foot to straighten the left leg, reach the arms high, exhale bend the knee, bring the arms down. Inhale reach. Exhale bend. One more time. Reach, exhale bend.

Heart with your hands down downward facing dog. From the down dog, come into your plank again, lower your knees, lower your chest and your chin. This time, you can press up into a baby cobra or perhaps push into your palms. Finding a fuller cobra. This feels okay in the low back, stay here or bend your knees.

Just like we did in the beginning, maybe just moving a little bit side to side kinda shimming the shoulders. And then release the legs down if the knees are bent. Lower all the way down to the belly. Stack your palms for a moment. Rest your forehead on your palms and switch your hips.

Open your left knee out to the side. So your left thigh is parallel to the top of the mat, finding a half frog resting your right ear on your palm. Just for a moment. Breathing quiet deeply into the belly. And you're gonna extend your left arm out in front of you, maybe tensing your left fingertips, slide your right arm under the left, and then we're gonna start to open up to the left into a twist. Maybe the right hand on top of the left thigh, gently tractioning the thigh down.

Take a few more breaths. And then your left arm is gonna come back. You're gonna roll back onto your belly, bringing your left leg in, stack your palms, forehead on the palms, twist your hips once again. Side to side. And then we'll take our half frog on the right side.

So right knee will open up nice and wide. Right thigh is parallel to the top of the mat. Go ahead and rest your left ear onto your palms. I'm just breathe here right into the belly letting the breath swirl around to the low back. And then as you're ready, you'll take your right arm out in front of you nice and long, tempting your right fingertips.

We'll thread the left arm under the right and slowly roll over to the side. Finding your twists, just allowing that left hand to find the right thigh. Few more breaths. And then go ahead and come back into your belly. Stack your palms once again, forehead to the palms and move the hips from side to side.

Press yourself back into one final child's pose, sending your hips back to your heels, arms forward. Sweigh your head outside to sigh. Three more breaths. And then slowly guide yourself up onto your hands and your knees, bring your knees and your thighs together, sitting back on your heels, hands onto the knees, or into the thighs. Just relax your shoulders, maybe close your eyes, and take a moment to turn your gaze down towards your heart to feel the space that you've created today.

To feel the ease and the body and the mind and then the hearts and to acknowledge your efforts with gratitude. Thank you for sharing your time and your practice with me today. Namaste.