Inner Summer

Hi. Welcome to class today. We're going to start standing at the very top of our mat. Go ahead and walk yourself all the way, feet, hips width, or to touch your choice. I'm gonna invite you to lift all 10 toes, spread them wide, and then place them back down onto the earth. Flip your palms forward and feel all 10 fingers spread wide. And then let's arrive together with a couple deep breaths.

Breathe in through your nose, fill up, through your mouth, through your nose, breathe out. Big breath in through the nose. Big breath out. Feel your feet on the earth. With your eyes closed or your eyes open, just take a moment and from your feet, scan up the legs. Up the arms, through your belly, your chest, your back, to the top of your head.

And with your eyes open or close, I invite you to bring in this essence of the sun. We'll move through just a few half sun salutations. We're we're in this inner summer. And so may we bask in this warmth of the sun and cultivate this warmth within the body to reflect that sunshine from within? Inhale, bring your hands up to the sky, full mountain pose, exhale hands through heart center, forward fold, bend your knees as you go first time here, and just hang out, head heavy, hips to the sky.

And kind of bend with me in the other, and a little space in the back of your legs and your calves. Find your stillness, find your center point, find a halfway lift, hands to shins, heart forward, tailbone back, big breath in. Accale as you forward fold. Chest comes back down. Come on up to stand, extended mountain pose, big breath in.

Hands come into your heart center this time as you exhale. Fill your feet on the earth. And we'll flow two times with that sun's salutation welcoming in this feeling of warmth, inhale arms go to the sky, taking up some space, Exhale as you forward fold, chest comes down. Inhale halfway, lift, heart comes forward. Axhale as you forward fold.

Come on up to stand, big breath in and rise. Hands come into your heart as you exhale. Last time to flow, arms go up, big breath in, exhale as you forward fold. Inhale halfway lift, Actale as you forward fold. Come on up to stand as you breathe in.

This time, sit the hips back, reach the arms forward into chair pose, bend your knees, You can feel your shoulders. Stay soft. And then welcome in this warm through the legs now. So the squeeze of the inner thighs and then belly button drawing in. Find a deep breath in, maybe a little half smile through the lips as we sit the hips low, and let that go into your forward fold when you're ready hips high.

Find your halfway lift as you breathe in. Plant your palms into a high plank. Step your feet back. Feel that same inspiration of your mountain pose, so legs long, crown of the head reaching forward. Shiff through your toes, shift the weight forward, and your knees can be lifted for this first time or lowered for this first time.

Let's bend the elbows, go halfway down. As you inhale straighten the arms, lift the heart, up dog, untuck the toes, lift the knees up. And then fold the hips into downward facing dog from here. Big exhale as you land and give a nice walk of your dog side to side. Coming into some stillness when you're ready.

Keep a softer big bed in the knees. You can feel the tailbone reach up towards the sky, and the palms press firmly into the earth. Getting a lot of length through each side body. We'll keep the left foot on the earth, but lift the right leg high up to the sky. Squeeze your right glute.

Find a deep breath in. Let's take that right knee over towards the right tricep. Strong exhale as you go here, shoulders over wrists. Kick the right leg back into your three legged dog, and then take the right knee to your left tricep all the way across your body. Big inhale right leg goes high, knee comes into your nose as you exhale.

Last time, right leg goes up and back, big squeeze, big breath in. Step the right foot on through as you exhale. Spin the left heel down. We're gonna take a big sweep into reverse warrior. So let that left arm lead you as you circle up and back until the right hand is up towards the sky.

Feel the hip, settle down towards the earth, and that right knee just kinda press back and this opening through the chest. Like, what space are you taking up through your practice today? Let's keep length in the spine and through your side bodies, but start to reach forward all the way down until you come into extended side angle. This left arm, start with it up towards the sky, your fingertips reaching to the sky as you can land and feel that rotation of your chest up. Fill the back heel firm on the earth. It's start to reach this left arm over your ear.

So we create a little bit more reach towards the top of our mat. And then from this space, we're going to swim into prosoritas. Let that left arm guide you all the way down towards the earth, parallel your feet, bring your right toes in, and then just kind of hang out for a moment. Let the head drop. Let a deep breath go.

Lift the heart as you inhale, bend into the left knee for a lateral lunge. This can be a Skandasana variation if you want the right toes up to the sky, a little inner thigh opening there. Hands on the earth or they come into heart your choice. We'll pivot to the back of our mat, so over towards this left leg. Go ahead and turn your way towards the left foot in a low lunge.

High on the right toes. Full crescent as you breathe in. Back knee is lifted. Hips are squared towards the top of the mat, firm through that left big toe pressing into the earth. So, find a deep breath in to energize us, right?

Like, using this energy to help us move into strength, finding airplane when you're ready as you exhale kick the right heel up, swim the hands back behind you. And imagine like you have a really strong t shaped through the body. That's what you're inspiring yourself towards. From here, we'll find a breath in and stand all the way to extended mountain. So set the right foot on the earth, reach both hands up to the sky, grow really, really tall deep breath in.

And then forward fold as you exhale. We'll find a halfway lift, heart forward, tailbone back into a high plank pose. Step the feet back. You'll lower halfway knees lifted or grounded. Inhale into your up dog, your chaturanga, exhale into your downward facing dog.

Pause to feel what's here. Every season, every cycle has its lesson. Left leg is gonna go high to the sky. Left knee comes into your left tricep as you exhale. Shoulders over wrists, strong, high plank shape.

Kick the left leg back, deep breath in. Left knee to right tricep exhale. Left leg high. Knee into your nose one time, tap it and then kick the left leg back, deep breath in, step the left foot on through, spin the right heel down, big breath in reverse warrior, so big arms as you go to and then lean back, lean the chest back, and say steady through each heel of each foot. Keep all this length you have in the spine and start to reach forward, and your hips shifting back towards your right heel give you a little bit more space.

Keep that left rib cage away from your hip, your spine long, your right arm high hanging out here in extended angle. Say the same legs in the torso, but just reach the right arm over your ear, firm to that back heel even more reach to the right fingertips and breathe in deeply. Proserita, as you go, exhale, and left toes, turn in, hips high. Let's come right into that scandasana lateral lunge on the right leg. Hands can stay on the earth or you bring them into your heart space.

And from here, we'll pivot towards that right foot once again. Turn, left toes are tucked, left knee is lifted, hips squared and you rise, high crescent. Let your gaze settle, right, like we're preparing for this transition to take flight. Let yourself find a full breath in. Start to swing into airplane, swing the arms back, lift the left leg, steady through the right foot, soft through the face. Are you shying away from taking up even more space, though? Left heel back, crown of the head forward, big heart.

And breathe in and rise, full mountain, left toes down, big breath in to reach. Exhale as you forward fold. Halfway lift inhale. High plank pose through your chaturanga of choice. Use your exhale to lower.

Your inhale to lift into an up dog and fold it back into downward facing dog. A couple breaths to land and then we'll move with that in a dance, each posture, each breath. We do invite you like you're still channeling in that inner summer that sunshine on your skin, the smile on your face, and what it's like to be expansive in these movements as we flow. Lift your right leg high, big breath in, Bring your right knee to your right tricep as you exhale. Right leg high.

Right knee left tricep across your body. Right leg high. Need to nose exhale. Right leg up. Step the right foot through.

Spend your left heel down, reverse warrior, big breath in. Extended side angle as you exhale. Swim that left arm over your ear through proserita and then bend the left knee in your lateral lunge. Pivot to the back facing your left foot High crescent, deep breath in. Airplane pose as you exhale.

Full mountain right toes down, arms up, big breath in. Forward fold as you exhale. Halfway lift, inhale. High plank through your Chaturanga of choice. We'll all meet in downward facing dog.

If you want to shift there early, hang out for a couple extra breaths. Do you? Full exhale, full inhale, left leg high. Left knee, left tricep. Left leg high.

Left knee, right tricep, big exhale. Left leg high. Need to nose as you exhale. Left leg up. Left foot steps.

You got it. Reverse warrior, big breath in extended angle as you exhale. Right arm over your ear, big swim through prosorita, bend the right knee in your skandasana. Pivot towards your right foot, set up for high crescent, rise, and breathe in. Airplane as you exhale, left heel lifts arms behind you. Full mountain, inhale rise.

Full exhale forward fold. Half lift, inhale. High plank step, or maybe you want to jump as you exhale lower as you inhale, lift your up dog. As you exhale, hips high, downward facing dog. Find a long exhale.

Fill your hands and your feet on the earth, gaze to your hands, and then lower your knees all the way down. Let's take a moment in a seat. Slide the hands onto your thighs, palms down or palms up. Track the breath from the base of the spine as you inhale to the top of the head. Hold full. That's the peak of summer holding in our fullness. And then exhaling and letting the breath go.

I'm beginning again, breathing in. Holding full for a moment, abundant, and letting go with the exhale. Last time together, breathing in holding full in this sweetness and exhale softening and letting the breath go. Slowly start to blink the eyes open if they're closed. Let me roll the shoulders down and back a couple times, feel some movement in the body once again.

We're going to swing the legs around and meet in a boat. So your feet can start grounded, but your knees will be bent. Perhaps you start with the hands behind your thighs to just feel like the spine lengthening in the heart lifted, and that just gives us our foundation where we can start. Your feet, they can hover up off the earth if you want at any point. Squeeze the inner line of the legs together.

And then if you wanna play take the hands out from behind the thighs. You're welcome to stay here. You're also welcome to join me in some lowers. So as you inhale, we're going to lower halfway through our boat, kick the feet forward, lean the chest back. And then exhale, pull it back into your high boat and go a couple more times, inhale low boat.

Exhale high boat. Inhale low. Axale into your high boat, wherever you are about three more breaths, move or be in stillness. Let this heat from your center point be radiance for you. Radiating all the way out into the arms and the feet.

And a proud heart last time to lift if you're lowering, take your hands behind your thighs, lower the feet onto the earth. Let's make sure we have space as we come down to the earth, so scoot your hips forward if you need, and then take a really slow roll, almost like you're lowering through that low boat, vertebrae by vertebrae. Down onto the back. And then once your head reaches the earth soft and sway the knees side to side and just kind of release through the hip flexors a bit. Feels nice to breathe on the back.

You can really get this full lung capacity with the inhale and exhale. Enjoy this moment of pause. And bring your knees through center and plant both feet onto the earth. We will move through a several rounds of a bridge. What we'll start with is a single leg bridge.

Let your left foot be on the earth and bring your right foot up to the sky. Take your hands onto the earth so they're right beside you, and then start to lift the hips as you exhale so squeeze to the left glute, reach to the right toes as high as you can up to the sky. And as you go, you might feel this little bit more lift through the hips and the chest. Big breath in, exhale lower the hips back down towards the earth and plant your right foot onto the earth. We'll just switch, so left leg will go up to the sky, firm through the right foot, Big breath in, exhale to lift into your single leg bridge. So it's not only that press of the right foot into the earth, it's the reach of the left toes up.

And a big inhale and exhale just to lower you back down, hips to the earth, left foot on the earth. Same thing other side with this slight variation. Lift the right leg back up, Take a breath in and a breath out to lift the hips on up in your single leg bridge. Stay here or play with that left heel lifting up off of your mat space. Stay with the right foot reaching up to the sky.

The hips reaching up to the sky. Full breath in, left heel to the earth, hips to the earth, right foot to the earth. Left leg up to the sky, lift the hips and firm through that right foot. Find a little bit of shimming underneath your shoulder blades if you've been scooching forward or back so you feel more balanced and held. Stay here or lift the right heel, playing with this single leg glute bridge.

Full breath in, lift the left toes up, up, up, land the right heel, land the hips, land the left foot back to the earth, and find a deep breath in and out. So one last variation of our bridge will keep both feet on the ground. Walk those shoulder blades back underneath you even more, and start to lift both hips up. Full bridge. So from here, again, more space to walk the hands underneath you.

This time, interlace your fingers. And squeeze your knuckles, the pinky side of your knuckles down onto the earth. Just getting into the chest a little bit more. Stay here. If you want a bit more space in your lower back, both heels will lift up in this bridge variation.

With your eyes open or your eyes closed, find two to three deep inhales and exhales to yourself. Where can you find maybe a little bit more lift in any area of the body to feel this expansion outwards growing out? And then lower the heels if they're lifted unlace the hands, if they're together, and lower the hips down to the earth. You might like to sway the knees in movement if you want stillness, find a deconstructed bridge by knocking the knees together. Wherever you are together, we'll just find a couple breaths to reground.

We'll meet with our knees apart and our feet planted, just underneath us, slide your left leg long, and then bend your right knee out wide, and your right foot can come inside your left calf or your left inner thigh This is perhaps the familiar shape of tree when we're standing. We'll play with this on our back so we we are on the earth that we are in this shape that feels alive. Your arms, they can be on the earth resting beside you. Your arms could go overhead like your growing branches through your tree. Even if we're in these spaces of energy of abundance of feeling like there's a harvest that we're cultivating within us.

Doesn't mean that you have to be the biggest person in the room or taking up so much space in your practice, but perhaps for you, it's this place of confidence of solitude within yourself. Reassurance that you hold gifts within you, that you are the one that gets to tend to those gifts You may feel this radiance that's within you, from your center, out down your legs up through your arms. We'll meet with a deep breath in here and a deep breath out. If your arms are overhead, take a moment Let them come by your sides, give some support for your right knee to come back in, plant your feet back on the earth, feel your lower back, melt back onto the earth. And slide the right leg out long, standing up for tree on the side, your left foot can come inside your calf or your inner thigh, let your left knee fall wide, arms by your sides, or perhaps and any variation, it could be really unique and creative to you.

If you need a hug for yourself in your tree. Breathe from that place of our inner radiance of this season. What are you honoring, cultivating, bringing forth from your practice day to day? Welcome a deeper breath in. Let that full breath go.

Bring your arms right by your sides once again. Perhaps give a little support for your left thigh, bring your knee in, both feet in. A little sway the knees side to side. Is there anything that your body is really craving or needing in these last few moments? Is your body wanting to stay horizontal on the earth? In a traditional Shavasana?

Or is there an invitation and an excitement thinking about a seat? I'll invite you to choose between the two. Wherever you land, you can bring your eyes to a gentle close or a soft gaze above you or in front of you. Cultivate a couple conscious breaths, sealing in this effort you've done through the physical practice. Slipping into this awe now of what your body has done, what this energy inside of you has inspired you to move with to take beyond this practice.

And two, for a moment, you scan top of your head. That sunshine that we began with welcoming it in like it's shining down upon your head. You feel this radiance, this warmth, or this light that washes through the muscles of your face, down your chest, down your arms, back of your pinkies, palms of your hands all the way through your stomach, your back, your hips, your pelvis, your glutes, your thighs, your knees, and the back of your knees. To your shins, your calves, and this warmth, this light swirling around your ankles and your heels. Tops of your feet, arches of your feet into each toe.

To bask in this glow. To pause in awe of you Great in a little bit deeper here. Just this inhale and this exhale. And this space is yours entirely. You may rest, you may sit, you may be in solitude with what's here inside, what's here around you.

Do not feel a need to rush yourself, but I will deal with our words of gratitude. And may this radiance walk with you in each step off of your mat today and may you walk in peace and thank you for showing up? Namaste.