Inner Spring

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. We are going to start in a seat for practice today. So go ahead and get comfortable with your legs crossed. And place your hands on to your kneecaps just so you can kinda anchor in and shoulders drop down your back.

If you'd like to close your eyes, you're welcome to if softening the gaze feels better and start to slowly lower the eyes. Find your center point, your pelvis, your naval, your belly button, Tracing up to your heart and to the top of your head. And let's arrive together with a few deep breaths. So inhale through your nose. Mouth or nose as you let the breath go.

Again, breathing in all the way up to the top of the head. Breathing out awareness down to the tailbone. One last time, full breath in. And a full breath out. Your eyes are welcome to stay closed here.

If you want to blink them open, stay with a soft gaze, but start start to round through your spine and tuck your chin under, tuck your tailbone under into a seated cat. Your hands can hold on to your kneecaps here. Your head drops down. Fill your shoulder blades spread apart. With your next breath in, roll the heart forward into a seated cow.

So belly comes forward chest lifts and he gains lifts. And as you exhale round back into that seated cat, we'll just move with the breath a couple times. So inhale seated cow, heart forward. Exaling to your seated cat, round the tailbone under through your shoulder blades, chin in. Last time, inhale roll forward and exhale roll back.

Find your neutral spine. Open your eyes if they're closed. And we're going to meet in a boat pose. So start to uncross your legs and plant your feet right in front of you. You can start with your knees bent and your hands behind your, thighs, and then start to roll the shoulders back, lift the chest up a little bit more.

You can feel the inner thighs squeeze together and through that motion, the naval pull in and up. This might be a great place that you wanna stay if you wanna play with starting to hover one foot up off the earth, you can lift You can lift the other foot so you're floating in your boat, hands stay where they are, or maybe hands come out in front of you for a moment. Let's find a deep breath in wherever you are. Come into your seat, cross your legs. This time we'll fold.

So relax to the hips, relax to the belly and let your arms come down towards the earth. Palms or elbows resting. This contrast here just a really heavy belly. We'll go through that boat pose one more time. So as you inhale start to lift the chest back up, go ahead and uncross the legs.

You might come right into the hovering point or you might plant the feet back on the earth. Let's find three deep breaths. Finding that center point, right? Naval, belly button heart, crown of the head, and this energy that's starting to build back up inside of us in this inner spring. Breathe in. Big breath out.

Across your legs again, maybe opposite in front, and then let yourself fold back down. Relax the belly. Relax the shoulders. And know that this process is a slow re emergence from our previous season. So we can remember not to rush ourselves in our process.

Lift back up when you're ready. Start to come into a tabletop now. So swing your legs around. All fours is where we'll meet. And then if you want to circle the hips cat cow a couple times that might might feel nice in your body.

We'll start to make our way towards a gate pose. So after you're done moving, your right leg can come out long so the edge of your right foot plants onto the earth. And then just rock the hips back and forth a couple times here. See where the sensation speaks to you. Maybe it's that inner line of your right leg, your left hip, where you can pause and find that left hip stacking over the left knee.

So we're having our shoulders right over our wrists as well. Ground to the palms even more, feel the back of your heart reach up to the sky, and then start to lift that right foot up off the earth. It's going to be just tiny maybe and squeeze the right glute, set the right foot back down to the earth. We're gonna go two more times with that. So inhale, squeeze the right glute, lift the right heel, and then place the right foot back onto the earth.

Stay connected to the left hand, lift your right foot, squeeze your naval in, hold here, and then swing the right leg back so it kicks your right foot is hovering, point your toes, gaze forward, lengthen the spine, as you exhale round the knee into your chest, round the chin in. Two more times, inhale kick back, look forward, exhale round and curl, tuck inwards. Inhale kick back, look forward, exhale round and curl. Now, this time the right foot is going to step all the way through. So you can step that right hand out of the way. Slide the left knee back a little bit more. And reach both hands all the way up to the sky, crescent moon.

And the shoulders soften. They just did a bit of work that stay steady through that right so you're lifting up and out of both side bodies. As you exhale, right arm will go back into an open arm twist. Left arm reaches forward and you're seeing again like what energy is building into the breath and the body, and how that reach through fingertip to fingertip might inspire a little bit more space to breathe into. Exalted crescent is where we'll go from here.

So back into your back thigh, lean back, lift the gaze perhaps and reach the left fingertips up and back. Wind a deep breath in. Your hands will crawl inside the right foot. From here, tuck your back toes, crawl through a proserita, and then right on into a lateral lunge, just gondasana. So your right toes will flex up towards the sky. Hands can stay on the earth if you want.

You could also take the hands to heart to hover and a little bit more balance. Take your gaze back towards your right foot though and find a really deep breath in. Start to crawl your way through a high plank facing the front of your mat. So, pivot over the right foot, step the right foot back and we'll hold here and we can pause We remind ourselves there's no rush. We'll come down to our belly and play with the cobra. Your knees can ground if you want as we come down, untuck the toes, slide the palms back slightly, lift the chest, stay low or straighten the arms for a full cobra.

Wherever you are a full breath in. Roll through a child's pose, set your hips back and then tuck the toes, send the hips high into a downward facing dog and give it a nice petal right and left. So we'll come back to that high plank, roll forward shoulders over wrists just so we can gently, as maybe as slow as you can, lower the knees onto the earth, back into your tabletop. Lock the hands underneath you, so they're right underneath your shoulder points, and then kick the left leg out. We'll find this half gate pose first, so just kinda rock the hips back and forth, see what's here in the left leg, in the right hip.

Rock enough until your right hip is over your right knee. Your shoulders are over your wrists. And then start to ground through the palms a little bit more. Think about the navel drawing in so our lower abdominal line is active. Find an exhale and start to lift that left heel up off the earth and squeeze the left glute.

You lower the left foot back down to the earth. Two more times. Big breath and lift, and then lower the left heel back to the earth. Ground through the right palm, hug the naval in, left heel lifts So hold here and then swing that left leg back. Keep the left heel lifted, but point the toes, gaze in front of you lengthen the spine. Round and curl as you exhale, knee into your chest.

Two more times, inhale kick back gaze forward. Big exhale round and curl. Inhale kick back gaze forward. Round and curl and this time, strong step through, left foot forward, untuck your back toes, reach both hands up to the sky, crescent moon. Landing, firming the left foot into the earth.

There's that little bit of active press and a lift up and out of your side bodies. Left hand will go back into your open arm twist. Right arm will go forward. Again, notice this side is I'd wanna have a little bit more softer shoulders, does it need a little bit more reach through both fingertips? You're gonna take that back hand to the back thigh and then reach the right hand all the way up to the sky, revolved or exalted crescent moon. Let those shoulder blades be like a shelf for the heart squeezing together so your heart can pour open to the sky.

Breathe in and find your way crawling through your lunge, plant your hands inside the left foot, crawl through proservita, and then bend the right knee all the way into Skandasana, that low lateral lunge. Hands on the earth here or hands come into heart if you want to play with that little bit of balance. Engage towards your left foot, start to crawl your way into a high plank. Plant your palms in front of you, step your left foot back, find a deep breath in, lower down to your belly as you exhale. Untuck the toes, find cobra, low or a bigger one straightening the arms.

Roll through a child, sit the hips back, and then tuck the toes, hips side downward facing dog, give a nice walk, right, and left. And then relocate, where are you on your math space? Where is your mind? Where is your breath? From this down dog shape will flow that sequence right and left one time each side.

Start to lift your right leg up to the sky and find a deep breath in. Bring your knee into your nose just one time as you exhale. Shift the shoulders forward. Lift your right leg up and back. Step your right foot on through. Drop your back knee down, crescent moon, big breath in, lift the chest.

Open arm twist, right arm swims back. Exalted, crescent, left arm goes high, big breath in. Hands crawl inside your right foot. Come through prosorita, scandasana left knee bends. All the way to high plank facing the front of your mat space, step your right foot back, lower down to your belly, inhale cobra, straighten the arms, lift the heart.

Roll the down dog. You keep your knees grounded or lift the knees and fold the hips up and back. Left leg goes high. Knee comes into your nose. Left leg goes up.

Left foot steps through. Back knee drops down crescent moon, breathe in. Open, arm twist, breathe out. Cressa, exalted crescent moon, inhale, crawl through your low lunge, through proserita, and then bend the right knee, get low in that lateral lunge. From skandasana, press to high plank pose, left foot steps back, exhale as you lower to your belly, inhale to cobra, downward facing dog is where we'll meet for a few breaths.

So stillness, there's a little bit of movement here. Use this pause to admire, admire our process. Staying in down dog from here. You're gonna lift that right leg back up to the sky Breathe in. Step the right foot on through as you exhale.

Keep the back knee lifted this time. You can widen the stance of your feet to give your spot space a little bit more stability and then rise into high crescent. So we can just kind of see what it's like to sprout from the low points of our mat now up higher feeling this strength that's built within us. Bring your hands to touch and bring your palms into your center point, your heart space. Find your naval, your additional center point hugging in, so abdominal line, holding you in center.

Lean the chest forward. Squeeze that left heel back as you do. Rotate the left elbow towards the right thigh and hang out in revolved crescent. You can feel that left elbow and the right thigh having some conversation here. Right? Like there's contact of the meeting. You can press the elbow into the thigh.

Feel the shoulders, drop down your back, and the chest rotate up a bit more. Two more breaths here. Start to bring your gaze towards your right foot. So we're holding ourselves steady. The goal is hand stay where they are.

That's just a goal. Right? So be patient with yourself as we go. But this left foot is going to meet your right foot, big step forward, and you're in revolved prayer twists. Fill a little bit of heat, shift from the right leg, now into the left as well. And you're here for a couple more breaths. If you want to stay with the prayer variation, stay there, or you could fly the arms into a big wide open twist.

Let's find a deep breath in together. And a deep breath out. So we'll stand and rise. Bring your hands back into your heart if they're open. Lift the chest.

Lift the right knee as you go. So we're standing on this left foot, finding our balance point with our eyes, and then point your right toes down towards the earth. Bring the right knee wide like you're opening a gate with that right thigh. Place your right foot onto your calf or inside your left thigh for tree pose. We have five or so more breaths.

Feel your left foot growing roots into the earth. And the way those roots are connected into the soil that helps you grow tall and sprout up, maybe the hands even sprout up to the sky here as we get a little bit more reach through the side bodies. Yeah. Alright. So right knee will come back into center. Close the hip off, bring your hands into your heart. As you step that right foot onto the earth, You're gonna sit back into your chair. Deep breathe here.

Chest is leaning forward, tailbone's back. We're gonna move in reverse. So the right foot will stay grounded. Your left knee is gonna lift. Prepping in a tree on this side. Point your left toes down, bring your left knee wide, place your left foot inside your right calf or your right inner thigh.

Right foot growing roots into the earth, pressing down, chest and crown of the head lifting up to the sky. Perhaps the fingers join that bit of sprouting and lifting up. Bring the hands back into your heart center. Close the left knee off. So square the hips.

Left foot will come down and you'll meet back into that chair shape of the legs. So prepping into a evolved, chair twist with your right elbow over towards the left thigh. Place it on there. Feel the right elbow, press into the thigh. The thigh, press into the elbow.

Pick one point with your eyes, feel your feet and feel your breath. And take your gaze to your left foot. Right foot. It's gonna get a little bit lighter. We're staying in this revolved prayer twist of the arms. Kick your right foot up and start to step the right foot all the way back, and we land in revolved crescent lunge.

The same thing that we did on the other side. See if you can feel the right heel squeeze back And then stay again. This little bit of edge where that elbow can press the thigh and rotate the chest up. What's happening in your neck as well? You can give a little bit more space, shoulders dropping down. Ears reaching out of shoulders.

Nice and steady. Two more breaths. You're doing great here. Alright. So, firm to the left foot. Deep breathe in to rise into high crescent. Reach both fingertips up to the sky.

Feel your shoulders and your hips square towards the front of your mat. And then we remember these sprouts that are just growing up and outwards from the feet to the fingertips. Where the earth is beneath you. One more breath in as you exhale hands come down to the earth. Left foot's gonna step into your downward facing dog.

Hang out in stillness or walk your dog, bending one knee and the other. I take this moment and lovingly observe what's happening in the body after that bit of effort The warmth in the body that's risen, ground your knees when you're ready. Swing your legs all the way in front of you, come on to your seats. So we'll bring our feet together and our knees nice and wide in this seated butterfly shape. You can take your hands to your ankles.

You can roll your shoulders down and back. This might feel real nice here. And this anchor of the hands to the ankles can allow the shoulders to drop down and back I invite you for a few moments, perhaps stay upright and drop your chin to your chest, and then just roll one ear, one shoulder. Chin back to chest and opposite ear, opposite shoulder. Just go side to side.

Nice and slowly here. Following your breath. Honoring your body's whispers, even in these small little subtleties, the muscles of the face. Chin to chest, and then lift your head back up. Now let's take a deep fold.

So if you want to walk your feet a little bit more forward, you could walk your hips a little further back. But go ahead and drop the chest down. Let your shoulders round. Let your belly be heavy again. Let your focus be your body, your mat, your moment.

When you're ready, use your inhale to lift on up. You can place your palms on your shins and roll the chest back up and close the knees together. And come down to our backs. Once you're on your back, give your knees a nice big hug. Give yourself a nice big hug.

And sway. You can roll the knees around in one direction. You can feel this nice massage of the earth on our lower sacrum, our lower back. Keeping your knees hugged in towards your chest, give them a little tighter squeeze, and then start to bring them wide into a happy baby shape. You can grab the back of your thighs or reach up towards your shins or your feet.

Notice what your head is doing. Can you just give a little tuck of the chin and let the back of the neck be long? As you press your tailbone down towards the earth. I invite you to picture filling your lower belly with breath. Filling the belly balloon outwards.

Each breath in, and your lower back soften with each breath out. After your last exhale, bring your knees back into your chest. Let your knees fall over towards the left. You can kind of bump your hips over towards the right to give yourself more space into this supine twist. Arms can come wide into it to your cactus.

Your gaze could fall over towards the opposite way of your knees, give your cervical spine a little extra twist. With these exhales invitation to surrender to experience perhaps this space of surrender that's always there for us, even outside a winter that comes before a spring. Where the quiet welcomes us in after we bloom outwards and use our energy in a new found way, we can restore and replenish Let your last breath be here and with your next inhale, knees through center all the way over towards the right. Gaze can fall to the left and nothing to do here besides breathe and notice the breath. One more inhale, and a full exhale.

Bring your knees back through center. Start to slide your legs long. Start to let your arms come right by your sides, lay yourself into this final rest of Shavasana. Let the breath be easy, uncontrolled. Let the mind be open and soft.

Let the body be in this space of replenishment. Knowing that this energy that's rising within us is teaching us to honor something new in this cycle. And I'll offer, as you sit here in Shavasana, question of what I am honoring in this season. What am I honoring in this season? Feel the belly and the chest rise with this next breath in a little bit deeper.

Your shoulders, the legs, often heavy with the exhale. The toes wiggle. The finger pads tap to your thumb one at a time. A good full body stretch. You'd like to reach your arms overhead and find a deep breath in, and then roll off onto either side in supported fetal.

Curling your knees in and rest your head down onto your arm. This is where I'll seal with you today. You're welcome to hang out in your supported fetal and pause in this rebirth shape for as long as you'd like. I just encourage you to keep honoring what you are nurturing in this cycle, rest, new ideas, new projects, and that you may walk in peace and freedom the rest of your day.