Tilling the Earth

Oh, hi. Welcome to your practice. My name is Ashley. And today's class, we're going to be tilling the earth of our being. All to be revealed and what I mean by that. For your practice, have a couple of blankets, a couple of blocks, a strap, and a chair.

And it doesn't have to be a fancy yoga chair, any chair that you have we can work with. Once you have gathered all of your goodies, come meet me lying down. And as you lie back, bend your knees, place your feet on the ground as wide as your mat, turn your toes slightly in and allow your knees to fall toward each other. And if the knees don't comfortably meet or if you're feeling any muscular effort through your inner thighs, you are welcome to grab a block. And place the block between your inner knees to give the leg something to rest against.

Consider placing your hand somewhere along your front body. To help ground you. And either close your eyes or if you prefer, find a point to softly focus on. Invite the awareness of your breath down to your belly center. Seeing if you can feel for a lift of the belly, the width of the belly with each breath in.

And a loving hug back toward your midline with each breath out. As you lean into the shape of the breath, See if you can even out your in house and your ex house. Maybe you'd like to set an intention for your practice today. Something you're hoping to let go of or perhaps gain through the course of our time together. And once you have that gathered, if you'd like, you can join me in an opening home.

Nice full breath in. Blink your eyes open if you've closed them. If you placed a prop between your inner knees, sat it off to the side, And now heel to your feet in until they're about the distance of your front hip points. Bring your right knee into your chest and then right the left knee to follow, and circle your knees around one direction. Offering a little massage to the lower back, and circle back the opposite way.

And then find your way back center. Take both hands to your right knee and then inhale stretch your left heel forward. Lower the leg only as far as you can go maintaining the length in your back. And then exhale bring your left knee in, inhale stretch right heel forward. And exhale back in.

And take a few rounds here flowing at your own breath pace. No rush. The next time you have your right knee, pause there. If it feels alright through your lower back and through your hamstrings, lower your left leg all the way to the mat. If the back is not happy about that option, bend your left knee and put the base of the foot on the ground instead. You Keep your left hand on your knee, and now hook your right thumb into your right hip crease.

As you hug the right knee in, use your right thumb to draw the right hip away from the waist until your hips feel a little more level, and the sides of your waist feel a bit more even in length. If you are working with your left leg stretch long, roll your inner thigh down until it feels like your knee and your left toes are pointing straight up to the sky. Take one more breath into what feels center in your body. And then exhale draw your left knee back into your chest and switch your hands over to your left knee. You can place space of right foot down or if it feels alright through your lower back and hamstrings straight and right like long on the mat. Flex through right foot like you're pressing it against a wall. And again, spin the inner thigh down until you feel your knee and your toes pointing up.

You can always take a peek as well. Alright. Leave your right hand on your knee this time. Hook your left thumb to your left hip crease. And as you hug the left knee in, use your left thumb to draw the left hip down and away from the waist. Again, looking for that place where your hips feel a little more even, the sides of your waist feel a little more even.

Take one more full breath into belly center. And then exhale bring your right knee back in. Place each hand on its own knee. Leave right hand on right knee. Place the base of your left foot down, and now grab your strap.

Take your strap around the ball of your right foot. And stretch your right foot up to the sky. Make small circles with your right leg like you're drawing a maldist circle on the ceiling. And maybe through each round, the circle grows a little wider. Pause center, and they'll start with a small circle the opposite direction. And again, with each round, maybe that circle grows a little wider.

No hear that there's no aim, no right, no wrong. Instead tune into what feels purposeful in your body today. And pause center. Put both sides of the strap into your left hand, hook right thumb to right hip crease just like we did a moment ago with knee into chest. And now guide your right hip down and away from the waist. Again, looking for that place where the hips feel level and the sides of your waist feel even in length.

Scoot your hips. Over to the right a bit so that you're a little crooked. And roll all the way on to your outer left hip, bringing your right leg across the body. I'm going to take one of my blocks and place it underneath my inner calf. You can set that under inner thigh or the base of your foot, giving a bit of support to the weight of the top leg so that it doesn't stress your top hip or your lower back.

From here, if it feels alright in your body, maybe you straighten through your bottom leg and flex the bottom foot like you were pressing it against a wall. Even in this space, try to guide the top hip away from the waist to draw length through your side body. And then if and when you're ready, open right arm out to the right. And if it feels alright in your neck, turn and gaze to the right. Sometimes as I'm coming into this shape, if I feel, like I'm having difficulty getting the hip stat, it can help to shift the bottom hip over to the side to the right a little bit more.

And if taking arm to the side, the shoulder is hovering. Put your hand on your side ribs so that you can find a bit of the release through the chest without pulling. Take one more breath into what feels center, which may feel a little odd as we're turning through the belly right now. Or tilling, if you will. And how bring your right leg back up?

Binge your left knee and scoot your hips back into the midline. Place your left foot inside the strap and take your right foot out. Set the base of your right foot on the ground. And then we'll start with our small circles on the ceiling with the left foot. And again, the circles may grow larger as you continue on. Work within a comfortable range of motion for your body.

Pause center and start back the opposite way. Beginning with small circles, and widening if and when feels right in your body. And come back center. Scoot your hips over to the left several inches so you're a bit crooked on the mat the opposite direction. Place both sides of the strap into your right hand or to your outer right hip. Alright.

And again, consider placing your block underneath outer calf inner thigh or even underneath your foot. If it feels alright through your lower back and your hamstrings, you can explore a straightening right leg long on the mat, flex through the right foot like you're pressing it into a wall. And then we churn through the belly. Revolve through the rib cage and the chest. And maybe you reach left hand out to the sky.

If you preferred, hand on rib cage on that first side, maybe you explore that option here again as well. So tilling the Earth. If this is not a familiar practice to you, it's when the soil is turned over, and there's different machines that will do this depending on, you know, the size of garden or full on farm you're working with. But it's stirring things up so that air can get in there so that Things can grow more effectively. And how come back up? Rebend your right knee if you straightened it.

Put the base of the foot on the ground and scoot your hips back into the midline. Remove your strap and set your left foot down. Bring both knees into the chest once again. Breathe wide into your back body. And then roll thoughtfully onto your right and press the floor away, making your way up to seated.

Make your way to your hands and your knees. Feel free to move your block within reaching distance of the top of your mat, so it's there if you'd like it. And if your knees feel tender on the earth, take a moment to open a blanket below them. Separate your knees a bit wider than your hips and then bring your big toes to touch. Shift, bum back towards your heels.

And at any point in time, if the knee joint itself says no or the front of your ankle is like, I don't straighten like that. Instead of shifting back, stack your hips over your knees, walk your hands forward like so. My friend shifting bum back towards the heels, continue until you meet an edge that serves your body. And then same thing. Lock your hands forward until your arms are fully straight.

Poor your weight a bit heavier toward your fingertips. So you get the lift through the forearms as you spin your outer arms down. It helps me to imagine I'm trying to hide my armpits here, or, you know, just an orange in them as one does. Leave your hands right where they are. And as you inhale, rock forward, separate your big toes and bring your chest through your arms.

That's how tuck your toes under, lift your knees and take your thighs back into your downward facing dog. If you're feeling stress through your hamstrings, through your lower back, bend your knees generously. Keep the bend in the knees. And as you push the earth away with your fingertips, try to reach your sit bones to the place where the wall and ceiling meet behind you. Walk hands all the way back to meet your feet.

Parallel them if they're not already there. Come to fingertips or slide hands lightly up your shins as you reach your chest forward. Pick the option that allows you length. And then exhale, fold it right back in. Press down. And with an inhale, rise up.

Reach up. And exhale join your hands at your heart. Lower your arms by your sides. Grab your strap. And take your strap between your hands behind you like so.

I'm going about a shoulder distance apart. Please feel free to go as wide as your body is asking for in order to fully straighten your arms and broaden your chest. Press the top of your thighs back as you scoop the pit of your abdomen in. Lift through your heart center broaden your chest. Okay.

Press down inhale get even taller. And as you exhale, bend your knees generously and fold your ribs to your thighs as you take your knuckles toward the sky. Straighten through your right leg, keep the bend in the left knee and revolve your torso to the right. And then, re bend right knee, come center with your torso, straighten your left leg to a comfortable edge as you revolve your torso to the left. And re bend both knees.

Reach your heart straight forward straighten through your legs and pause. Absorb the ribs, press down, and stand yourself all the way up. Set your strap to the side. And then grab your chair and bring your chair to the top of your mat. Have the seat of the chair facing you the back of the chair away from you.

And then come to stand with your toesies, maybe an inch or two behind the front seat of the chair. Press into the earth and as you inhale reach up to the sky. Acts, how, fold forward, take your hands to the seat of the chair. Maybe you offer a soft bend to the knees and continue to fold forearms to the seat of the chair as you let your head and neck go. Inhale, walk it back up to straight arms, draw your chest straight forward.

Keep the reach of your heart forward and now bend your knees a bit. Step back with your right foot. Sit into your front leg, bend left knee right on top of the ankle, reach your heart forward. And then straighten your front leg to a comfortable edge and fold in. Do that again.

Repend your knee. Reach your chest forward. Straighten your leg and fold. Do this one more time. Bend your knee pause here.

Grip the sides of your chair and try to step it back to a plank. Top of a pushup. So with the hands this high on the chair, hopefully it takes some of the effort out of the upper body and invites a little more grounding through the lower half. As you exhale shift your hips back and walk your feet forward a touch. We're looking for the place where the hips align right over the ankles or as close to that as we can feel for. As you shift your hips back, walk your hands forward, stretch long through your spine coming into a standing version of our downward facing dog.

And just like we did with the hands on the ground, you're welcome to bend the knees if you're feeling stress or strain through your hamstrings or lower back. Inhale, lift your right leg, point your toes straight down, exhale, hug knee toward your chair, and then step your right foot forward. Hop your left foot back far enough that when you sit into your front thigh, it gets a little closer to parallel to the floor. Straight in front leg to the best of your ability, maybe folding a bit in. Rebend your front knee, lengthen from back heel to crown of head.

Do that again straighten and fold. Rebend and lengthen. One more time, straighten, re bend, and lengthen. Pause here this time. If you're at a purposeful edge with your arms straight, keep your arms straight.

Otherwise, maybe you explore taking your left forearm onto the seat of the chair parallel to the front edge of the chair. Hook your right thumb to your right hip crease just like we did when we were lying down. Maintain the bend in the front knee as you try to guide right hip back in line with your left. Grow your heart forward in opposition. And now move your right hand to your sacrum, that triangular shaped bone, just above the tailbone, again, inhale your heart forward.

And as you exhale revolve your torso to the right. If and when you're ready, right hand to the sky. And then x, how bring both hands to the seat of your chair. Here's what things get spicy if they weren't for you already. Walk your chair a little forward.

Slide your back foot a bit in. Imagine the thumb at the hip crease. Can you guide your right hip back? Lift the pit of your abdomen, lift your back leg. Roll your inner thigh up as you reach your chest forward, and then exhale place left foot next to your right, fold forearms to the chair, let head and neck go. Root down inhale, rise up, reach up, and exhale join your hands at your heart.

Okay. Second side. Again, root down inhale lift tall. Exhale and fold forward. Inhale heart forward, bend knees a bit. Step back this time with your left foot.

Sit into your front thigh, elongate through your spine, straighten through your front leg and fold it in. Rebend your front knee. A little different on the side, put your back knee down. Take time to pat it if it's tender. Press down, inhale, rise up, reach up on Jne asana, crescent pose.

Exhale, take your hips forward and your hands down. Shift your hips back so that left hip is on top of the left knee and straighten through your right leg. Press the ball of your big toe forward. Draw the pinky edge of your foot back. Lift through your heart center.

You may stay right here. If you've yet to meet a purposeful edge in your body, walk your hands forward hinge from the hips. If you happen to have a backless chair and it lines up for you to do so, you can hold the back edge of your chair, energetically drag your front heel toward your bum as you reach your heart to the space between your hands. This is our half split. Walk your hands back.

Draw your heel toward you a few inches and rebend your front knee. Tuck your back toes under, lift your knee. Staff it to your plank pose, top of a pushup. Maybe. You put the tops of your feet down bring the hips a bit towards the chair, lift your heart for up dog, and then exhale tuck your toes, press yourself back, fold in downward facing dog.

Inhale, sweep your left leg up and back this time, exhale, left knee toward the chair, step your left foot forward. Hop your right foot back far enough that you can bring your front thigh a little closer to parallel to the earth. And then straight in front leg, fold in. Re binge your front knee, set back knee down, pat it with a blanket if it's tender. Uncurl your toes, root down, inhale, rise up, reach up.

Exhale, hips forward, hands to your chin. Shift your hips back, stack right hip on top of right knee, straighten through your left leg. Press the ball of your left big toe forward, draw the pinky edge back. You may stay upright the whole time. Again, if you can move from the hinge of your hips as opposed to a rounding backwards, you might walk your hands toward the back edge of the chair.

Energetically drag the left heel back to plug the leg in as you elongate through your spine. Half split. And walk yourself back up to straight arms, draw your heel toward you a few inches, rebend your front knee. Tuck back toes under lift the knee and pause here. If body says okay, take right forearm to the seat of your chair parallel to the front edge.

Bring left thumb to left hip crease. Guide the left hip back in in, elongate from tailbone to crown of head. Place your left hand on your sacrum and again ask for length through the spine as you exhale revolve. Hand can stay here on the back of your pelvis or if and when you're ready, top hand to the sky. Breatven to what feels center.

And as you exh, how welcome the ring out, place left hand down, come back up to your right hand, slide your chair a bit forward. Slide your back foot a bit forward. You can keep the back toes on the ground the whole time, or if you feel steady doing so, lift your back leg, reach your heart forward, and exhale place your foot down fold in, root into the earth as you inhale reach up to the sky. And as you exhale join your hands at your heart. Okay.

Most of us slid the chair maybe a little bit off the front of our mat as we work that transition. So if that is your story as well, bring it back so that all four corners of your chair are on the ground. And then Take your right foot onto the seat of your chair. Make any adjustments you need so that your left hip is right on top of your left ankle and your left toesies point straight forward. Draw right hip back, left hip forward, and now place a hand on the low belly, one on the top of the bum, scoop up and in. Can you keep the connection to your lower abdomen as you lift your heart and now lift your arms?

Alex, how keep the arms up as you revolve to the right. And you may notice in doing so that the right hip wants to hike up toward your waist. Can you steer the hip down like you had a spare thumb to put at the hip crease? Inhale get a little taller, keep the arms up, exhale, maybe revolve a touch more. Place left hand to your outer right knee, reach your right arm straight back. Give a touch of resistance of the right leg into your left hand and allow that resistance to once again align right knee with second toe and to draw the right hip into the midline.

Exhale unwind. Nice. Take foot off of chair and we'll set the second side. Place left foot now into the seat of the chair. Stack right hip over right ankle, spin inner right thigh back so that knee and toes point forward.

Alright? Drag your front hip back, your back hip forward. Until hit points are parallel to the wall you're facing. Inhale sweep your arms up and overhead. Keep your arms up and overhead. And as you exhale revolve naval, rib cage, and chest.

To the left. Press down inhale get taller still. And as you exhale, maybe revolve a bit more using our internal levers, our muscles, as opposed to the limbs to crank us around. Alright? Now you can place right hand on left outer thigh close to the knee, reach your left arm back.

And instead of pulling the leg in toward, you press your leg against the hand. Until knee tracks with second toe, and you may actually feel or be able to see the outer hip hug in. Lift the pit of the abdomen elongate through your spine and maybe you revolve a touch deeper. Ex, how unwind. Take foot off of the seat of your chair, press down, inhale take your arms up to clear the sleep.

We're gonna exhale fold in hands to the seat of the chair or forearms to the chair, let head and neck go. Inhale, draw your chest straightforward. Xhale fold it back in. And then press down inhale to rise all the way up. And exhale take your hands to your heart.

Grab your two blocks and set your blocks on the seat of your chair. Step your right foot once again onto the seat of the chair. And now, your left foot back of it. So that you can sit into the front thigh welcoming a little link through the front of the hip. Okay. And now shift it back, come to the heel of the foot, fold it in.

Rebend your front knee, lift your heel, lift your heart, and then back heel back and down. Come to the heel of the foot and fold. One more time, bring it forward, and up. X, I'll take it back and pause. Press the ball of your big toe forward.

Draw the pinky edge back. And for many of us, this is plenty. You can stay here. If here is too much, give a little more of a bend to the knee. Maybe walk your blocks more to the front edge of your seat. If you're on the opposite end of the spectrum, maybe walk your blocks forward instead of rounding the spine, reach your heart to the space between your hands. One more breath here to the back of your thighs.

And then if you walked your blocks away from you, walk them back toward you. Rebend your front knee shifting onto the ball of your front foot or sorry. That's your back foot, isn't it? The ball of your back foot, as I was saying all along. Step your right foot off of the seat of your chair. Step your left foot onto the chair and then give a little hop or wiggle in a wiggle of the right leg back so that as you come forward stacking knee over ankle, the heel rises a bit, lift your chest.

And now sit back into the heel of your back foot come to the heel of your front foot and fold. Rebend your front knee, lift your back heel, lift through your heart. Bring back heel back and down. Come to the heel of the foot and fold. One more time.

Bring it forward, lift it up. Shift it back and stay. Alright. Plug your left leg in reach your chest straightforward. If here feels a little too aggressive as we're holding in the shape, bend the knee a bit. Maybe you bring the blocks a little more to front edge of chair or You're welcome to walk the hands and blocks forward.

Reach heart to the space between your hands. Bring your hands back. Bend your front knee. Take your foot off of the seat of your chair. Lovely.

Set your blocks to the side. And now come to stand, once again, in front of the front edge of your seat, toesies oh, say like an inch from the front as we begin, we'll adjust as we go. Take your hands to your hips, give a little bend to your knees, and step back with your left foot, anywhere from a foot and a half to three feet depending on your height and stability. Incharm now, your right foot forward a bit. So it's just underneath the front edge of your seat.

Press through the ball of your big toe as you guide your right hip back. Anch her through the outer edge of your back heel as you guide your left hip forward. And now once again, scoop the pit of your abdomen in, smooth your bum down. Inhale up the front of your body. And as you exhale, continue to guide your right hip back as you fold forward.

You may place hands to the seat of the chair. If this is a purposeful edge, honor it. Stay here. If the hamstrings and low back are willing without saying bad words to you, bring your forearms to the seat of the chair. And know that if you're like, I feel a little bit in between. You can always grab a block to split the difference.

Press again through the ball of your right big toe, steer right hip back and then reach your chest forward. Take your left forearm parallel to the front edge of the chair and actually hook right thumb to right hip crease. Guide the right hip back as you grow your heart forward. You may stay here. If body says okay, place your right hand on the top of your bum right at the sacrum.

Elongate from tailbone to crown of head. And as you exhale revolve your torso to the right. Get as even in length as you can through all four sides of the torso. And if neck and shoulders say okay, reach top hand to the sky. Revolve triangle parivrtta trikonasana.

Next, how bring both hands back to the seat of your chair, little bend to your front knee, hop back foot forward, we'll switch the legs from here. Alright. Set yourself up, heel to heel, or a little wider for more stability. Before we surrender fully into the loving support of the chair, stand up. Press the mound of your left big toe, guide your left hip back.

Anch her through your back heel, guide your right hip forward. And when the hips get a little closer to square, notice how the pelvis spilled. Can you pick up the spill of your abdomen, lift your heart? Inhale all the way up the front of your body. And as you exhale, continue to guide the left hip back as you fold forward.

Place hands or forearms to the seat of the chair or again split the difference with your block. Recommit to the ball of your big toe, guide your left hip back and get longer through your spine. You may see it right here. If you'd like to layer in the twist, and it's a kindness to your body because sometimes we'd like things but they're not of service. Right?

Bring your forearm parallel to the short end of the mat. Guide hip backing in, get longer through your front body. Maybe you move hand to sacrum, elongate once again for the spine. And with the exhale, maybe you resolve a touch more to the left. Hand can stay where it is the whole time, or if and when you're ready, top hand to the sky.

Parvita trikonasana, revolved triangle. Ex, I'll bring your hand back down. Press yourself up to straight arms, little bend to your front knee, hop back foot up to meet your front foot, elongate, and then fold in. Reach your chest forward, rise up, shut your arms up, and lower them down by your sides. If you had a block in your chair, hold on to the block.

And come to sit sit far enough forward in your chair so that the tendency to round back is taken away of it. So a little bit more towards the edge of the chair so that your feet can ground, and you can rock a touch more forward on your sit bones. Set your block to the side in reaching distance for now, and then gather your right leg with your hands. Lean back a bit, pick up your right foot. Try to bring hand to the heel of the foot, rotate from the hip socket, and set your foot just past your thigh.

Now if you discover that this is a little bit too much pressure through your right knee, try walking your foot a bit further away from you and see if that alleviates some of the stress. Alright. Bring the pit of your abdomen back, lift your chest. I like to place my hands one on the front of the ankle, one near the front of the knee. Clean flex to the foot. And I give a bit of resistance of my hands against the shin to help bring my back body forward.

And not only is this keeping us lengthening the spine, but it may actually increase a bit of the opening through the outer hip, through your piriformis muscle and your glutes. If you can move from the hinge of your hips as opposed to a rounding in your back, maybe you fold it forward, and maybe you need to make some sounds about it like I did too. It helped. Right? So tilling the earth is no small feat.

As I mentioned, sometimes it takes a machine to do it, and sometimes you are the machine that is doing it, poking holes, turning over the dirt, But it's the type of effort again that allows for new life for new growth. Route down in how come back upright, uncross your foot. And we'll do the same thing on the second side. Pick up the foot. Find the foot with your hand.

Rotate leg from hip socket and set your foot just past your thigh. Again, if you're feeling this too intensely through the knee or the hip, try walking your foot further away and see if that relieves the stress. You may say as you are, and you might take hands to front of shin press hands in to shin from back body forward. If and when you're ready, perhaps you hinge from the hips, fold in. So the same is true of filling the earth of our being. What I mean by that is doing the sometimes uncomfortable things, the things that we maybe don't choose for or want for or reach for.

But when we know that the challenging thing is going to create the potential for growth, for ease, for understanding, or peace, like perhaps coming to this practice today. Right? Inhale bring yourself back up. Uncross your foot, place it down. Grab a blanket.

Take the folded edge of your blanket right into your hip crease. I like to grab the sides of my blanket and anchor my thighs, lift your heart, and then exhale. Try to fold your abdomen over the resistance of the blanket. Alright. I am very short torso, and I don't know if you've noticed. But when I fold forward, my torso is short enough that my arms land right at the front of my knees, and I can let my head and my neck go from here.

This is not going to be everyone's story. So if it is not your story, maybe you bring your hands to rest on the front of the shins or the earth. If you're feeling somewhere in between, perhaps you grab your block and you raise the earth a little bit closer to you. Right? Breathe into the resistance of the blanket fold at your abdomen and allow that resistance to help you expand into the fullness of your back body. If you don't feel the resistance, increase the fold. And in how reach your heart forward, place your hands to the top of your knees, and then press your thighs away, bringing yourself upright.

At the end of all of the churning, of all of the tilling. We get to rest Shavasana. So as we set ourselves up for our final resting shape here, you may wanna use your chair underneath your calves. This is particularly nice if you're a little more tender in the lower back with legs stretched out long. You can place a blanket over the seat of your chair.

Have your second blanket in reaching distance and scoot in close enough that your calves come to rest on the seat of the chair. And if you get here and discover the proportions of your chair and the proportions of your body are not lining up great for this option, instead of using the chair underneath the legs, you can roll both of your blankets and set them underneath your knees. I sometimes like in the shape to take my second blanket, fold it in half and place it over my abdomen just to invite in a bit of grounding. Allow your arms to fall wherever feels most natural in this moment. And either close your eyes find a point to softly focus on.

Twisting the physical body. This churning can stoke the element of fire within our being. And at times that might show up as feeling a little warmer temperature wise in your body. At other times, it might feel like the brightness of energy from the churning, but sometimes it makes the mind frustrated, agitated, fiery on a whole other level. Any and all of these responses, these reactions are natural. They're part of the journey.

Just as tilling the earth can be effortful. Agitating. It can make us hot physically and mentally. But hopefully on the other side of the effort, We are clearer for it having burned through some of what is no longer serving us and creating the space for that witch will. If you'd like to stay here longer in your Shavasana, please do stay as long as you would like.

Otherwise, with an inhale consider reaching your arms overhead stretch length of your body. As you exhale, if you have your legs on a chair, bring your feet towards the front of the chair, your knees a little closer to your chest. There's a blanket on your abdomen, set it to the side, and then roll on to your right. Make a pillow with your arm and be here for a breath or two. And press the floor away, finding your way up to seated.

And you join your hands at your heart. And may the tilling of your being today leave space for growth tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your practice.