Outer Hips: From Effort to Ease

Welcome. Thank you for joining me for this practice where we will explore strength and stability in the outer hips as we move from ease an effort, effort to ease and moving into the yin shapes of sleeping swan and shoelace today. So you wanna have two blocks and a blanket for this practice. And then join me on your back. So we'll start by coming on to our backs, rolling on down, take your time to arrive.

And we'll start in the shape of constructive rest. So stepping your feet as wide as your yoga mat let your knees knock into touch. And then notice what might feel good with your arms. So they might rest on either side of your body, or maybe rest your hand somewhere on your belly. And if it feels safe here to close your eyes, take a moment to let your eyes soften and close, allowing the gaze to shift to the internal landscape of your body. And then start to feel the experience of your breath, the rise of the inhale.

And that softening, letting go quality of your exhale as you allow the body to sink into the support beneath you. And taking a moment to notice the parts of the body that are making contact with the earth. What's holding you here? And can you allow the body to sink in just a little bit more? A feeling that support that grounded stability and allowing your breath to just naturally begin to deepen in and out through your nose.

And bringing the attention to the outer hips, notice what you notice as you bring your awareness there. Maybe there's something you're holding that you'd like to soften and release. Maybe setting an intention for your practice here. Anything you'd like to call in or perhaps there's something you'd like to let go of today. From here, start to reach your arms all the way up over your ears, letting the arms fall behind you.

And then let both knees drop off to the right. Find an easy spinal twist. Breathing into the left side body, the left outer hip. Draw your knees back through center, big breath in, and drop both knees off to the left. And then just start to windshield wiper your knees from side to side at your own pace.

Feeling into the outer hips as you do that, the spine, breathing with this, and starting to open whatever it is that needs to open here. Smoothing out any rough edges, moving at your own pace, maybe a few more on either side, right side. Left side, maybe one more side to side. Beautiful finishing up on the left and coming back through center. Step your feet about hips distance.

And then from here, cross your right ankle on top of your left, making a figure four shape with your legs for thread the needle. Start to draw that shape in towards you, maybe interlace your hands behind your left thigh. And then as you do that, let your shoulders soften down your back. Let your right knee draw away from you as your left knee draws in. And then notice where you feel this the most, specifically that outer right hip, start to send the breath there to create a little more space, a little more ease.

It might feel good to wobble a little side to side, just kind of feeling into sensation. Good. And then keep the shape with your legs. Let your left foot find the earth, and we'll set up for a figure four bridge. So legs are the same. Press into the sole of your left foot.

Press into the palms of your hands. And start to lift your hips up any amount. Let the right knee draw away from you, lifting from your left hamstring, let the shoulders soften down the back and feel that opening across the front line of your body. Big full breath in, let the hips lower down, and then cactus your arms on either side of your shoulders, and take this entire shape off to the left side of your mat. So you might step that right foot down to the earth as you move into a twist and maybe take your gaze over your right shoulder. And then notice where you feel this, perhaps that outer lateral line, the outer hip, send the breath to wherever you feel it the most.

Ring it out. Beautiful. And then come back through center. We'll step the right foot down and take it to the other side, cross your left ankle on top of your right knee, find that figure four shape. Start drawing the legs in towards you for thread the needle interlacing. And then letting your shoulders soften gently tuck your chin so the back of the neck is nice and long.

And then notice if some movement would feel good here, you might gently rock side to side. Start to draw the left knee away as you draw the right knee in. And then breathe into that left side. But allowing a big full breath in, exhale release your right foot down to the earth setting up for bridge, press into the sole of your right foot keeping that figure four shape with your legs start to lift your hips, press the palms of your hands, into the earth, into the bat beside you. Lift from your right hamstring.

Good. Allow a big, expansive breath, and feel the opening in the front body. And then exhale, lower your hips, cactus your arms on either side of your shoulders. Let your shape drop off to the right maybe stepping that left foot down to the earth, and you might take your gaze over your left shoulder. Notice what you notice. Notice where you feel this.

And perhaps it's a little different on this side. Just becoming the observer of your experience, finding that quality of strengthening and softening at the same time. Come back through center as you're ready. Step your left foot down to the earth, and then hug your knees into your chest, give them a squeeze, maybe wobble a little side to side. And then start to take this rock up and down along the length of your spine, and you could do that a few times to build momentum.

We'll cross at the ankles and come to tabletop. So meet me in all fours. And then as you come to tabletop, let your shoulders come right over wrists, hips over knees, and start to take some circles with your spine. So you can shift in clockwise direction, counterclockwise, whatever feels good. Let the inhale bring you forward feeling into your wrist.

Let the exhale bring you back. Some organic movement, maybe shifting the weight side to side, feel the opening, the outer hips, the side body, your spine, maybe taking your circles in the opposite. Direction as you just feel into what your body is requesting to start to wake up, feel the cracking in your joints. Beautiful. And then take your time.

Let's meet in down dog. We'll walk the hands just slightly in front of the shoulders, tucking the toes, and lifting the hips all the way up and back. And same thing here. Any organic movement that feels good in this first downward facing dog, maybe pedal it out through your feet. Maybe sway your hips side to side.

See if you can let your sitting bones reach up to the sky pressing through the inner and the outer hand. Find some spaciousness in your spine, allowing the head to hang heavy. Feel free to put a soft bend in your knees or step your feet a little wider. Beautiful. And then from here, start to sweep the right leg all the way up and back. We'll put a bend in the right knee to feel that open opening in the hip, press through both hands.

Allow your shoulders to stay level and maybe roll out your foot, your ankle, or you could start to take some big circles with that right leg. Feeling into the right side body, the right hip. Beautiful. And then start to straighten out through the right leg. You could square off your hips and gaze between your hands. Draw your knee in towards your nose and take an easy step through between your hands.

One step, bunch of steps doesn't matter. We'll come up onto our fingertips. I'm going to grab a couple blocks here and take them underneath my hands. You might have fingertips on the earth. Let's lower the left knee down to the ground coming into low lunge. And just take a moment to let everything sink in. So really feel the earth beneath you feel into your right hip flexor, the left so as yielding into the support.

Lift up through the chest a little bit, lift the heart and the gaze. Good allow a very big full breath in. And then as you exhale, shift your weight back, binding half split, Artahanamasana, you can lift your right toes up off the earth. Feel free to keep as much of a bend in that right knee as you'd like, and then send the breath to sensation in the back of that right leg. For me, it's hamstring.

What's it for you here? Good. And then let's allow the breath to guide us in our movement. So let your inhale bring you back into that low laundry, bend your right knee, look up and lengthen. Breathe in. Exhale shift back. Breathe into the back of your right leg.

Go one more time and let the inhale bring you forward, low lunge, heart lifts, gaze, lifts. And then exhale, shift it back, fold over your front leg, let your spine be nice and long here. Good. And then rebend through your right knee. You can take the blocks out to the side if you have them and we'll step back to downward facing dog. So letting the right foot meet the left. If it feels good to keep pedaling it out or feeling into your legs, go forward or maybe start to find some stillness, finding one point to focus your gaze.

And we'll clear that side with a big full breath in through the nose and a long full breath out. Beautiful. And taking it to the second side, start to sweep the left leg up and back, bending through the left knee to open up through that side, finding any movement that feels good, maybe circle out that left leg. Peeling into your left hip. And to the side body, pressing through both hands, allowing the shoulders to stay level. Good. And then start to straighten out through the left leg square off the hips, draw the knee to your nose and take a big step through.

Good setting up. However, you'd like here. We'll let the right knee lower this time, maybe blocks under your hands. And just take a moment to settle in. So letting the weight of the earth support you, leg sinking, feel into your left hip, your right so as feel the lift in the chest and the heart space, allowing a very big full breath in. As you exhale, start to straighten your left leg, any amount lift the toes up off the earth, breathe into the back of your left leg, and find some length in your spine. You could spread your toes.

Beautiful. And then moving in and out of those two shapes a few times, let the inhale bring you forward. Big full breath in. Let the exhale, bring you back, Arta Hanaman. Go one more time. Inhale as you come forward, re bend through your left knee, lift the heart and the gaze, and exhale shift back, moving energy as we breathe.

Creating a little space, inhale, revenge your left knee, and we'll step back to downward facing dog plant your palms, left foot meets the right. Allowing a very big full breath in here and a long full breath out. Good rise up onto your toes. Put a bend in your knees and just start to walk your feet to the front of your yoga mat, finding a forward fold feet can be about hips distance, maybe even a little wider, soften your knees, let everything melt down. Tuck the chin.

Maybe shake out your head. Yes. And know a few times shifting a little weight forward toward the balls of your feet, sending the breath to wherever you feel this. Beautiful. And then lift halfway up as you inhale lengthen your fine, heel to your feet as wide as your yoga mat. And then toes out heels in setting up for yogi squat, melasana, bending your knees deeply, let your hips sink down. You're welcome to sit on one of your block here.

Otherwise, if it feels okay, draw your hands together in front of your heart. Maybe close your eyes. Let your tailbone melt down. Feel the lift through the heart space and up through the crown of your head, and can you invite in that quality of ease within your effort here? Of strength and softness at the same time.

And then come back to your breath. Beautiful. And then hands down to the earth, soften your knees straighten your legs. Enroll up nice and slow one vertebra at a time coming to stand at the front of your mat. You draw your shoulders up towards your ears and roll them down your back, taking a moment, whatever you need to do up at the top. And eventually inviting in stillness, noticing the experience of your breath.

And we'll step the feet about hips distance playing with a little balance here. And the soft and the knees coming toward chair pose, and then transfer the weight into your right foot, pick up your left foot, and just like we did on our back, make that figure four shape with your legs, whoop, and then find your balance, find your drishti. One point to focus here, gaze. You can flex through that left foot a lot, sink your hips back. It's going to help if you gaze at something that's not moving, and then really ground through the sole of your standing foot.

Beautiful. And then from here, we'll start to straighten out through the right leg and draw the left knee in toward your chest, engage your core to protect your spine. And then sweep your arms up so you're standing on your right leg. The left knee is drawing in towards you. And then as slowly and softly as you can, let that left leg go back and we'll step into crescent pose. So toes find the back of the mat, and just take a moment to sink in here. You can soften your left knee a little bit, let the tailbone melt down.

Energize up through the fingertips. Good. And then draw your hands back to heart center in your crescent pose. And from here, open up to warrior two. So spin the back heel down, open the arms wide. And take a moment to set up for your warrior two, Verabhadrasana two, letting the front heel align with the center of your back arch, and then find just as much energy in the back leg as the front leg reaching forward and back with the same amount of energy.

As you find that strengthening in the outer hip, sink in toward 90 degrees in that front leg. Beautiful. Allow your shoulders. To soft and centering your weight right over your pelvis. Good. And then keep the shape with your legs. Flip your front palm and tilt back for reverse warrior.

You might even sink a little deeper into that front knee, feel that nice length through the right side body, keeping that length come up and over into extended side angle at your elbow, find the right thigh. The left arm can be straight up or maybe take it up and over your left ear. And then from there, find that line of energy from your left fingertips all the way back to your left heel. And then fill the shape with your breath more than anything. Let it be about the breaths. Beautiful. And then we'll come up and back for a reverse warrior, big full breath in.

And then circle your hands to the inside of your front foot, come onto the ball of your back foot, setting up for lizard pose, start to heel toe your right foot toward the right side of your mat. And I am going to grab my blocks again and take forearms to my blocks. You're welcome to stay up on your hands. You could take the forearms all the way to the earth And the back leg knee might stay lifted or you might lower your back knee down to the ground. So lots of options here.

Find which one. Meets you right now here today in this moment. And we won't be here very long. We'll save those longer holds for our yin shapes, but do take a moment to sync in and breathe, and notice that right outer hip, or anywhere else you feel this. And can you invite in a little more softness here, allowing a very big full breath in to fill the shape and an exhale to release, to let go just a little bit more. Beautiful. And then walk back up onto your hands.

If you're not already there, we'll tuck the back toes, lift the back knee up and then step your left foot to the outside of your left wrist. So you're back in Malasana at the front of the mat, sink your hips down, toes out heels in, maybe draw your hands together. In front of your heart. Let the tailbone melt down. Lift up through the crown of your head. Beautiful. And then go ahead and straighten your legs.

Paril your feet. Let everything melt down. Soft knees to roll up nice and slow. One vertebra at a time. Maybe draw your shoulders up towards your ears. Roll them down the back.

And then reestablish your connect with the earth. So as we set up for balance, maybe start to rock your weight forward and back a few times, finding your center. Let the knees soften a little bit. Allow your tailbone to melt down, and then feel your center. So find your center, and then move from that place with intention, with attention. Now we'll start to transfer the weight this time into the left foot. Find that gazing point, your drishti soften your knees, pick up your right foot, cross your right ankle on top of your left knee, find that figure four shape.

Let your hips shift back. You can always take your hands to a couple blocks if that would help you with stability or you might even go a little deeper. Into the stretch. Otherwise, embrace the movement. It's a balancing shape. It's meant to challenge us.

Notice if this side feels perhaps a little more, a little less stable. Practice and presence. Good. And then start to straighten your left leg, draw your right knee into your chest, engage through your core, find your drishti. And then as slowly as you can, like, slow motion, step your right toes to find the back of the mat, finding crescent pose. Good. And as you find crescent, again, just letting the right knee soften a bit, bend a lot through your left knee energize up through your fingertips.

Good. And then draw your hands together in front of your heart. And we'll open up to warrior two, face the side of the mat. Adjust your stance as needed. Once you find that stability in your legs that support in the lower body, find that lightness and ease in your upper body reach your arms forward and back. Energizing through your fingertips and allowing your shoulders to soften, soften down the back.

Beautiful. And then as you center, your weight will keep the shape with the legs. Flip your front palm. And as you tilt back into reverse warrior, try to stay light on your right fingertips. Feel that nice stretch through the left side body and the strength that you're creating in that outer hip. Good. Keeping the shape with the legs left elbow, left thigh extended side angle.

The right arm might reach straight up, or you might take that right arm up and over your ear. If you're doing that, notice the energy lines from the right fingertips to the right heel, And then send the breath to wherever you feel this the most. Creating a little space, a little ease. Good. And then we'll root down through the soles of the feet to Kamal the way back up reverse warrior, circle your hands to the inside of your front foot for a lizard. Come onto the ball of your back foot, heel toe the left foot to the left a bit. Maybe this side is a little different.

Palms down, maybe blocks under hands or forearms. I'm lowering my forearms down to the blocks and I'm letting my right knee come down to the earth. You might stay a little more active and keep it lifted. Notice what you notice and what feels good on this side. And then honoring what you need, coming back to your breath, and notice the experience of your breath here.

Just a couple full deep breaths. Feel that outer left hip. Good. And then take your time to make your way out of that side, walking back up. Onto your hands, tuck the back toes, lift the back knee up. And then one more time, we'll come to Malasana, step your right foot to the outside of your right wrist.

Bend your knees and sink in. You're welcome to sit on a block. Let your tailbone melt down, maybe draw your hands to heart center and breathe. Breathe into your hips, your lower back. Good. And then go ahead and parallel your feet straighten out through your legs that everything melt down. Walk your hands up onto your shins to lengthen your spine.

We'll step back to plank pose, top of a push up, lower all the way down to the earth, hug your elbows in. From here, just take one cobra, feel that opening in the heart space. The front of the body, peel the chest up off the earth engaged through your core. Big full breath in. By pressing up and back downward facing dog.

And then from here, allowing a big full breath in, maybe open up the mouth, let out a sound or a sigh to let something go. Beautiful. And then go ahead and lower your knees for child's pose. So you could take the knees a little wider than your hips. Let your hips sink back toward your heels. Let your torso drape down. Between your thighs.

And just take a moment to let that movement land and settle in your body, resting your forehead on something. And just observe. Notice what you notice. As we take this brief pause in the pose of the beginner, can you tune into that quality of curiosity, beginner's mind. And then we'll make our transition from our movement practice toward our yin shapes So, again, you might have a couple blocks or a blanket nearby.

And the first pose that we will explore is sleeping swan. So we'll start by coming into a tabletop position, and I'll show you a couple variations here as we move into this shape. So I'm gonna draw my right knee in toward me. And then bringing it behind the wrist setting up what we would do in the vinyasa practice as pigeon pose, but finding that right ankle drawing in toward the midline just a bit I am going to take a blanket under my right hip. You might do that as well. A blanket, a block, a bolster might work as well. So we're not finding the fullest expression of the shape.

We're finding about 60 to 70% of our edge and softening there. So I have the blanket under my right hip. I'm gonna wait for the invitation to walk my hands forward into the shape. And then I'm allowing the shape to find me to meet me where I am. So as I bring forums down, you might take a bolster underneath you, underneath your head.

Your sternum, your torso. I'm taking a block right under my forehead. I'm letting it rest there. And then yielding to the support beneath you. So once you find your expression of the shape, the essence of yin is to find stillness.

And as we know, there's so much movement and stillness. Once you find that expression of the shape, can you invite in that quality of ease of observation. And of staying. Lowing the breath to be your anchor. Breathing into resistance.

I'm just going a little deeper into the connective tissue as we allow ourselves to stay. What would it mean to stay and to breathe and to observe? Where might you soften? Just a little bit more. We're at about two and a half minutes.

We'll hold the shape for three minutes on each side. So allowing a few more breaths here. Notice what arises for you without judgment. Anchering back to justice's breath. And then very slowly with nowhere specific to get to, you can take that slow transition by walking your hands.

Back in toward you. And as these are longer holds, and we're going a little deeper, just being super deliberate with your transition out. And then start to let your weight shift off to one hip. Bring your left leg out in front of you and just find a seated position for a moment and neutral shape to observe. Maybe it's a comfortable cross legged seated position.

Maybe close your eyes, letting that shape land in your body. That quality of observation. And the next shape that we'll move into is called shoelace. So I have a blanket underneath my sitting bones that might feel good for you as well. I'm going to move into half shoelace, but I'll show the full variation of shoelace as well if that feels best for you. So I'm stretching my right leg long on the mat, bending my left knee and crossing my left knee on top of the right, drawing the left heel in toward me. So this is the half variation.

If you wanted full shoelace, you'll also bend through the right knee. You can lean to one side and start to draw that right heel in towards you as well. So with the leg straight or drawing in, sit up nice and tall, wiggle in, find your sitting bones rooted on the earth. And you could stay upright, maybe resting your hands on top of your legs. Your hands might come down to the earth.

There might be the invitation to start to walk the hands forward a little bit coming into a fold and tucking the chin again. Find your edge and soften. And then once you find your expression of the pose, again, not the fullest expression of the shape, but where you can be in stillness, with your breath present to your here and now experience. Once you find that place and it might shift over time, at least finding a place where you can invite in stillness. The essence of yin is stillness is yielding.

An observation of your here and now experience. And allow yourself to be right here. Be passive. The muscles, I can let that right foot kind of relax a little bit, soften. Perhaps let go of the effort of the breath.

Mind. So this is also a three minute hold. We're at about two and a half minutes. And there may be that invitation to slip a little deeper into the shape. But noticing if that's any sort of striving or the feeling that you need to get somewhere, and can you Let's be where you are in this moment.

Very slowly. You can walk your hands back in. If you've come into any variation of a fold, coming out, slowly, and then just taking your time to find that neutral shape may be a comfortable seated position, neutral, observe. Notice the echo of both of those shapes, specific to the outer hip or not. Letting it settle in the body, becoming the observer of your experience. Good. And then we'll take that same three minute hold on the second side. So taking your time, come to tabletop, maybe set up with your blanket.

For the left side, we'll draw the left knee in. Bring the shin behind the wrist, but you can kind of relax your left foot and draw the heel in towards your midline, sinking in, taking the blanket under my left hip. You could do a block, a bolster, centering the weight, waiting for that invitation to find your expression of the shape. I'm taking a block under my forehead, relax seeing my forearms down to the earth. For me, it feels good to close the eyes, to go inward, and then inviting stillness, breath, and observation.

Sleeping swan. You might notice that this side feels a little different or a lot different. You might notice resistance, totally normal. These shapes can often be confronting. And if we're holding a motion or tension and our hips, what comes up for you here?

Can you meet that with breath, with presence? Kindness. Perhaps noticing where you may have gone. Come back to your breath. Can you soften just a little bit more?

Lowing just a couple more breaths here. And then super slowly take your time to walk your hands back in. We'll shift the weight off to the left hip, finding a neutral shape, maybe a comfortable. Seated position to just let that land in your body. I'm gonna sit up on my blanket, observing that side.

Letting it land, allowing a big breath in, and a long breath out. I would stretch your left leg long on your mat. We'll bend the right knee, stacking the right knee on top of the left, drawing your right heel in towards you. And again, if you're taking the full shape, can draw your left heel in and bend both knees stacking at the knees sitting up nice and tall on your sitting bones. Wherever you are, just taking a moment to land to root down through your sitting bones.

And then waiting for that invitation, maybe walking your hands forward and just moving into your expression of shoelace on the second side, relaxing, through that left foot if your leg is straight. And then where can you soften and yield into the support beneath you just a little bit more? Maybe relaxing the head, neck, and shoulders. And this might be a completely different experience on this side, honor that. And then biting in stillness.

Breath, quality of awareness, aligning with that quality of trust. Beginners mind that curiosity of what comes up for you and the shapes. Lowing a few more full deep breaths here on this side. Slowly start to make your way. Out of that side, finding a neutral position, maybe a seated position.

If it would feel better to come onto your back, you might take Shavasana or just landing in a comfortable seat and finding that quality of neutral, of noticing the residue of the shapes, where does it land? Feeling that integration, the body, the mind, and the spirit. Let's take a few moments here to allow yourself to let go and to let be feel free to stay where you are as long as you'd like Otherwise, maybe finding a comfortable seat and gathering your hands together in gratitude in front of your heart. Thank you so much for sharing this practice, your presence. Namaste.