Inner Winter

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. For class today, we'll need two blocks, a bolster and a blanket, and you can come onto your back, meet me laying down. As you lay down, go ahead and bend your knees. You can bring your feet nice and wide about mats with distance and let your knees fall together and just rest in an easy broken bridge here.

If it feels alright for you, a hand on your belly and maybe a hand on your chest or both hands on your belly, close the eyes down if it feels alright. And just start to feel the earth beneath you and the way your body rests on the earth. I encourage you to step into this place of introspection with me. In the space where we move a little bit slower and we pause and fall into the breath a little bit further. It's through that space.

We can really see what's happening inside, not just physically, but emotionally perhaps. As you come onto your mat today. Let's find a few deep breaths together. So go ahead and breathe in through your nose, feeling the belly up, chest, heart rise up. Do your mouth or your nose let that breath go?

Do it again, breathing in, belly to chest, do your mouth or your nose a long act sail, maybe a little longer than the inhale here. One more time. A deep breath in. And a full breath out. So if your eyes are closed, you're welcome to blink them open. And then just start to let your hands be by your sides.

That's why the knees gently right and left. Hug our knees into our chest, then feel as if you're squeezing yourself into a self hug. So rocks, side to side or just really give a tight nudge of the knees in towards your armpits. When you're ready, as you exhale, let the feet go roll off through either side, and we'll come up into a tabletop. So you can find yourself onto all fours. Take your time here, feel your 10 fingers spread wide, stack your hips over your knees, and then start to drop the belly and lift the heart into a cow, deep breath in.

Round into a cat pose, tuck your chin under, tuck your tailbone under, and feel the space between your shoulder blades open up. And then we'll move with the breath a couple of times. So as we inhale, we'll find cow. And as we exhale, we'll find cats. One more time, maybe a little bit slower than you normally go. Deep breathe in cow.

Deep breathe out cat lingering in this rounding, chin under, tailbone under. Neutral spine, and then place your right hand a little bit more underneath you. We'll lift the left arm high. Take a moment, lift the chest, have some space, and you roll the wrist out a few times. And find your breath in with your exhale thread your left arm underneath you.

You can rest your head down on the mat. We'll hang out here in this threaded tabletop. If you want a little bit more space for that right shoulder, walk the right hand forward. And then see what's here. What's here in the mind?

Once you're in the body, and maybe the breath is that bridge, just to show you what you're holding inside. A long, slow exhale go. And walk your right hand back underneath your shoulder. If it moves, send your left arm high. Deep breathe in.

Left hand comes down to the earth. Your right arm is gonna go high. Your left hand is your foundation. We'll just switch here. So, big breath in. Stay a moment. Feel the chest. Open up.

Maybe you roll the wrist. And then close it on down. Feel yourself, go back inwards. Rest your shoulder on the earth, rest your head. If the left hand wants to crawl forward on this side, allow it to.

In this softening and start to wash the body. Letting go of any effort or need to be perfect in your process. Long breath out. Left hand back underneath your shoulder if it moved and then right arm high to the sky. Let's find a deep breath in here.

Right hand will come down to the earth, back to your tabletop. So move a little bit if you want to circle the hips or cow a couple times We're gonna start to find our two blocks, so go ahead and walk them right where your hands would be. You can walk them a little bit further towards the top of your mat. Let me give ourselves some space. Top your toes from your tabletop and find your hips stacked over your knees. Find a breath in, gaze forward just to lengthen out the neck.

And as you exhale, you're gonna press your palms into the blocks, and then lift the knees. You're just floating in this tabletop, and you can feel the lower spine. Just gently tuck underneath you. One more breath in here. And gently lower the knees back down towards the earth as you exhale.

So we'll find a little bit of effort. So as you inhale lift the knees, hover the knees up off the earth. And then gently touch the knees back down to the earth. Good one more time. Breathe in, lift the knees, hug the belly button in, and then lower the knees back down towards the earth.

This time you'll lift the knees and then send the hips up and back all the way into a downward facing dog, keeping your hands on the blocks here. So you can walk your feet even wider, giving yourself even more space for your lower back, like maybe feet closer to the edges of your mat. You can bend one knee and the other to feel into the hamstrings, the back of your legs. And then let go of, right, like really over analyzing or scanning the body, over analyzing the mind, and practicing this middle practicing this middle point. I'm just kinda Settling right into where you are.

This place of radical acceptance for ourselves. Let it the head drop down. Let a deep breath come in. And a deep breath out. Your left foot can come a little bit more into center in your stance, so we can send the right leg high into a three legged dog shape.

If you want here, bend the knee and then just stack the right hip on top of the left to open through your lower pelvis a bit more. Circle the ankle or the thigh a couple times. Reesquare your hips when you're ready and then step your right foot on through. We're gonna keep the hands on the blocks. So hopefully the blocks are just framing that right foot and then drop the left knee down.

In this low lunge, you're gonna lift your chest a little bit more so you lift your gaze and feel the hips drop down. And then breathe into this sweetness. Any space or talk or showing that your left hip is giving you. Long exhale softening the shoulders. One more breath in here.

And then you'll find half splits. Your hands can stay on the blocks. Right? These blocks have settings, so if you always want to lift them, they can come a little bit taller. Shift your hips back and flex your right toes towards your face. You can keep a soft bend of the right knee or a big bend of the right knee. Allow the chest to bow down the chin to drop inwards.

And in this space, as we bow over the right leg, it's like this honoring of the body, this curling inwards towards the heart. As we breathe in, we'll come back forward through our lunge. Keep the blocks where they arm, but send your right arm up to the sky. Keep your left hand on the block. We have this grounded low lunge twist.

So if you're feeling like the ground is just really, really supportive today and you wanna stay a bit softer, stay here. If you want a little bit more lift through your hip and your knee, you're gonna tuck your back toes, and then lift that left knee up. Staying in this open arm twist will be here together for one more breath. Right hand will come back down to the block so you'll close your lunge back down as square the hips and the shoulders, and we'll step right back into downward facing dog. Give it a little petal one more time, just like we did in the beginning.

I'm just gonna see right side versus left side. What's here? Woke your right foot a little bit more into center, and we'll go the same thing on the other side. So your left leg will lift on up. You can keep the left leg there, bend the knee and stack the hips open, a circle of the ankle or the thigh.

A couple deep breaths. Reach the left heel back up to the sky if it moved and then step the left foot on through. Drop your back knee down. You have this low lunge. Your hands can stay on the blocks, lift your chest up and drop your hips down.

And we have one more breath in and half splits as we exhale. Shift the hips back. Use the blocks as your friends. Walk them underneath your hands and your shoulders. And feel that left toe, that left big toe flex towards your face and bow the chest down in honor of this left leg, like this humble honoring of the body.

Of the mind, of the spirit, not needing to fix, not needing to push past this season. Call back to your lunge when you're ready. Your right hand will stay on the block underneath you and your left hand will go high into this low lunge twist. So right this right knee can stay on the earth, the right toes, good tuck if you want a little bit more space in the hips. I'm gonna be here together for a deep breath in.

And a deep breath out. One more breath in. Left hand will come down and you'll step into your downward facing dog hips up, walk it out. Maybe shake the head a couple times. Gonna use that template just to flow one time on each side. So if my pace is a little bit too fast for you today or a little bit too slow, I want you to honor most of all your unique cycle, your unique season.

Right? This inter winter that we're exploring today and class, it's gonna look different for each one of us, and your pace is the most important beyond all. If you're with me, take a deep breath in. Let a deep breath out. Right leg will go high as you breathe in. Right foot will step on through as you act exhale.

Lower your back knee down, lift your heart up as you take a deep breath in. Find half splits as you exhale hips will go back, bow the chest down. Crawl through your low lunge twist, left hand on the block, right arm high, deep breath in. Right hand back to the block, right foot steps back downward facing dog. Find a breath in.

Let a breath go. Left leg goes high. Left foot steps through. Drop your back knee down. Find a big breath in, lift the heart on up.

Half splits as you exhale hips go back, chest bows down. Crawl through your low lunge twist. Left arm will go high. Big breath in, fill up the lungs, belly. And then plant the left hand back to the block and step into your downward facing dog.

Breath in here. Breath to let go. Gently draw your gaze forward. Lift your heels and walk your feet just baby, baby steps towards the top of your mat, all the way until you reach a rag doll shape in your body. Keep your feet very wide.

Bend your knees as much as you'd like. Keep your hands on the blocks or reach for opposite elbows. In traction through the spine here, let the top of the head go towards the earth. You can take this time in this pause. What did movement in the body, in the breath, evoke within you.

As there been some space that's cleared to show you what needs to be put down, where rest is needed, and where you fall in line with rest, is it a comfortable place? Is it uncomfortable? Is there a way you can find this space of pause just to be and not think and not move? Just find this sense of surrender, soften the face, and let your breath run into the nose. And out through the mouth. If you have an interlace of the elbows, go ahead and gently release the palms back down towards the blocks. Roll the heart up just into a halfway lift.

Your hands can stay on the blocks. You can bring them to your shins or your thighs. We're gonna give ourselves some space to widen the feet even more, bring your heels in, bring your toes out. Bend your knees and come into a frog spot, Milasana. Now, sometimes I like to just keep the blocks in front of me and take them to the taller setting.

So I have this space of like contact, where I'm supported and where I feel like my hands are still grounded onto something. If for you, it feels alright for the next couple of breaths, You wanna kick the hands into the heart. You can find a prayer, mudra, and use the elbows to press the knees a little bit wider. Be here for about two more inhales and exhales. Is there a point with your gaze? You can settle the eyes on or close the eyes.

Relax the belly. Relax the belly. One more long exhale here. We will be in this frog squat for just a moment longer, but we'll use one of the blocks to place our right hand onto. You can bring it a little bit wider than your mat, if you'd like. We'll just use the left arm to open up and rotate through the spine a bit more here. And same thing that we did in a low lunge twist.

If you want to kind of roll the wrist out, that felt nice to you. Sometimes like a big squeeze of the hand and opening of the hand is a nice contrast to feel in the mind and the body. And if you want for the next couple breaths, you can find this half wing of the left hand behind your back. But wherever you are, just two to three more exhales. Unravel that left hand if you have the wing, left hand will come down into the block in front of you.

Bring it slightly outside the mat if you want it and then reach the right arm high. And you're using that opposite elbow to press against your knees. We're staying open through the hips. Open through the heart. Softening where we can to be in this middle ground, knowing we're in this place of surrender through the heels, through the belly, not half wing if you want it, the right hand behind your back for two to three more breaths.

Right. Hand will reach back up to the sky if it moved, and then right hand comes back to the block. Let's send the hips high and come out of this fold this frog squat all the way into a forward fold. And then parallel the feet, bend the knees again, ragdoll and sway. And one knee and the other, and soften again through the cheeks, the eyelids, the brow, and the shoulders. Bend the knees softly, and we'll just gaze forward.

So we have this halfway left. We're gonna start to set up with our props a little bit more. So walk the two blocks just off of your mat space. Find that bolster and start to bring it onto the top of your mat. And then from here, we'll step the right foot forward a little bit more and step the left foot back, just giving us space to set up for a single pigeon.

You'll walk that right foot all the way over towards the left. So you can set your shin down onto the earth. And here I sometimes like to put the blocks underneath my hands for a moment so I can tuck my back toes and then just gonna walk that left knee back a little bit more. Untuck the back toes and then take this bolster a little bit closer to you. If it's too low and you want some more lift, A great way is to add the two blocks underneath.

And I'll do that today. Just to bring a little bit more lift to my own life. So we have this nice bolster in front of us You can lower the chest down, lower the elbows onto the bolster. And then hang out in your single pigeon. We have some time to be here.

So we've had time to move. And through the movement, maybe show us like what was underneath in the soil that we could like stir up, things that maybe we've been carrying from our past cycle, the past season. And then looking at this soil, like this barren soil that we have during wintertime in metaphor. What's it been holding? What's it asking to clear away?

Knowing that that clearing process allows space for new to enter in. What have you been holding on to? You feel has been past its cycle or been not serving you in any way. There's no need to make it go away right away. It's just to see it right now to be with it.

No fixing at this moment. I'm just breathing with it. We have one more deep breath in here. And a nice slow deep breath out. I invite you to move Super slowly.

Take your time. Start to just lift the gaze first. Walk up to your palms if you're lowered. I can take you this bolster set up off to the side. We're gonna come into a downward facing dog here, so I want you to know where we're going, but you can take your time to get there, untuck your back toes to give you some space and then start to walk out that right leg in downward facing dog.

Feel a couple really deep inhales and exhales. So help with that flushing away and that sensation accumulated. Isn't that single pigeon? I'm gonna set up the left side and single pigeon. So start by stepping the left foot forward for a moment.

Drop your back knee down. This will give us time to set up for the two blocks in the bolster or just the bolster if you don't want the blocks. And then from that space, toe heel the left foot all the way over to the right. You can set your left shin down onto the earth. Take a moment.

Slide that right knee back just a little bit. Untuck your back toes. Hands can come onto the bolster. Elbows can come onto the bolster if you want to lower. We have about 10 or so rounds of breath on this side as well.

I'm coming right back into that sense of stillness as much as you can. Honoring that space in your heart, honoring what's in your heart in this moment. Welcomeing in your heart just as it is today. And the hips, the pelvis, and the belly to match the softening and unguarding of the heart. That we may be with ourselves in compassion.

In this sweet tender stillness of winter. You have a couple more breaths here. Breathe deeply. Slowly here. Lift the gaze. If it's lower, gently open the eyes if they're closed.

Lift on to your palms. This time, we'll gently roll off onto the left hip, swing the right leg all the way around you. You can plant your feet right in front of you with your knees bent, and you can kinda shift the knees side to side just to flush out from single pigeon on the left side. So we'll use the two blocks in the bolster for just a moment longer. The right leg is in a straighten out and your left foot into your right inner thigh so the left knee falls out. Bring that blanket underneath your left knee if you want for a little cushion.

And the bolster is gonna come off so we can set up these two blocks. One on the tallest setting and one on a second setting that feels like it gives you a shape where you can place the bolster into this little slant. We'll put our elbows down onto the bolster into our half fold. If you want to go down further, you could give a nice hug of the bolster underneath and rest one cheek down onto the bolster in front of you. Couple deep breaths.

Nice and soft on the inhale and slow a little bit longer than the inhale as you. Let the breath go. One more deep breath in and a full full breath out. Slowly, we'll come on out of this so we can switch onto the other side. Lift the chest up.

You can keep the blocks right in front of you. Just kinda move the bolster out of the way so you can switch the legs. Switch the blanket underneath your right knee, and then adjust the block so they're closer to your left leg and slant that bolster right on top of the blocks. Come on down, rest your elbows, or rest your cheek down onto the bolster once again. Notice as you just kinda settle back into softness if you're holding in any space, like your belly or your shoulders.

Perhaps play with that empty point of the breath. That's the winter of our breath, and that pause of emptied before the spring, before the inhale. Exhaling and seeing what's there, empty, still, and quiet. If your next breath in, slowly start to lift your way back on up out of your fold. And we'll make our way towards our backs, but before we do, we're gonna set up with our props.

So take the two blocks off to the side on either side of your mat, take this bolster vertically, right where you want to lay down for your spine and your head. We're gonna take this blanket now, unfold it until it's a nice long rectangle. And then once you have your long rectangle, we're gonna create like a little burrito shape so you will roll the edge of your blanket all the way until it's a nice long skinny burrito. And you can shimmy your tailbone right up next to the bolster here. Plant your feet in front of you and bring the feet together. We're gonna take this blanket and wrap it around the ankles, and you can take the edges of the blanket and just kind of like nestle them in towards your ankles.

So it creates like this hug sandwich feeling. And as you lay down, allow your knees to fall out wide. This is where the two blocks can come in handy if you want support on the outer thighs, allowing ourselves to land. Into this supported, reclined butterfly shape. And we're here, land with a big exhale.

Your hands can rest on your belly if you want to stay connected into that space, your lower pelvis, a hand towards your lower pelvis as well. If you'd like to just let the arms fall on the earth and the palms up, that also might feel supportive to you. Close the eyes if you'd like. Gentle scan head to toe this feeling of the prop supporting you and the earth supporting you. Where you can now release any control of the breath, any need to control body or mind And to relish in this pause, this sacred rest, this inner winter you're exploring for yourself.

Amazing effort showing up to your mat today. I will encourage you to stay, stay and rest in Shavasana as long as you have when it is time for you to transition off of your mind. I do encourage you to move slowly to let this stillness influence the remainder of your day if you have another moment to pause, to check-in, and to be with your inner season, your landscape, and your soil. May you walk in peace, and may I see you soon? Thank you for joining.