Strength for Life

Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for being here with me today. For our practice, we'll need two blocks and a blanket, and I'm really excited to share a strength practice with you all. So if you take your blanket as our first prop and fold it however many times you like to sit on. We'll set that down and have your blocks close by.

If you can come to a cross legged seat, join me in a cross legged seat with your blocks at your side. And at first, we're just gonna hold on to the knees as we rock our hips a little side to side front to back. So you can freshly come into that position that helps you maintain a nice long spine. Soft front body and have that sense of steadiness and ease here at the beginning of our practice. If it's helpful to close your eyes, to do a little bit of a scan on the interior of the body and aligning yourself this way and begin to orient towards your breath for a few cycles of your breath.

Is to get a little more present and ready for a practice to build strengths, and hopefully we think of gradually building our strengths as we age. With the support of blocks to help us add a little bit more weight for our arm movements, as well as holding some poses a little bit longer to also build a little more core strength through the legs. Considering strength is one of our pillars for empowered aging. Unless you feel centered and a little more present here, let's go ahead and let your eyes slowly open if they closed. Bring your fingertips to meet the tops of your shoulders.

And let's do a couple circles with your elbows out to the side just to warm up the joint a little bit. A little daily massage here. And then take it the other direction. And as we're working with the idea of equanimity within the strength practice to think about working, efficiently in a way where we're not working harder, we're working smarter at building our strength. Let's have your arms out to the side and have one palm up, one palm back.

Just get a little more movement across the shoulders and chest. And then while the arms open with your palms facing forward and have your left arm over your right, and let's give yourself a little hug for a moment as you rotate side to sides. Just because that feels so good. And then let your arms open out wide and have your right arm over your left arm stretching that outer shoulder upper back as you rotate, moving those joints of your spine. As you come back to center now, reach your arms down and let your hands grab a block and we're gonna hold on to the long side of the block. And I've got these cork ones which have a little bit more weight to them and I'm using them on purpose.

Your shoulders need, a little less of a workout, maybe you have foam blocks that you hold instead. We are going to start with your elbows hugged in and your palms forearms parallel. We are going to open our forearms out to the side. Stretch your arms out slowly parallel to the floor. Bring your blocks in front of you, squeeze together, and then lift up slowly reaching towards the ceiling.

Take your arms back out to the sides and we'll come back into that place elbows in and four arms parallel. K. We're gonna go slowly out to the side on purpose. Slowly reaching your arms out to that parallel position. Squeeze in. Take a moment. Squeeze your blocks and keep squeezing as you go up towards the ceiling. Arms going back out to the side, our little loop here, elbows hug in, and bring your forearms again parallel.

We'll do one more. Going out. And without speeding up, we're slowly holding the arms out to the side. Bring your blocks in front of you, squeeze. Squeeze as you lift up.

And then arms going slowly out to your sides. Gradually bring those elbows back in towards your waist and four arms parallel. K. Let's set your block to the side, take your hands back behind your blanket and bring your feet forward. So maybe your feet are hip distance apart. Gonna do just a little lift off your blanket to strengthen and engage your triceps as you go up and down.

Little up or arm workout. And a few more times, just a little lift off your blankets. Come down. A little lift. Down Let's do two more. A little lift and down, and one more lift and come down. Almost lean forward and go ahead and grab a hold of both blocks as you move your legs a little bit more forward.

Gonna flip your palms back up to face the ceiling, hold that long side of your block. And from here, as we keep our legs in position like you're going into boat pose, we'll pull the blocks towards your waist. You're opening up through the chest. And then when you lean back, hold your arms out in front of you. Pull your blocks towards your waist.

As you come forward, open chest, and then driving into that core strength as you hold your blocks in front of you. Pull back, open chest. As you lean back, steady those blocks out in front of you, holds, and come forward. So maybe you're noticing with that repetition and going slowly in and out of your posture, your asana, that you're feeling a little bit more connected to your core. Maybe noticing again a little bit of warming up of your body. As we go, maybe one more time into that shape of boat pose with a little variation holding your blocks out in front of you.

As you pull back, put your hands down on your flat blocks and let's stretch your legs out a little bit straighter with a still a little bend of the knees. When you press your hands down, lean a little forward, and we're gonna do a lift now of your hips off your blanket here and then come down back to the arms. Do a little lift up. And down. So I start more vertical and I lean a little forward to get some momentum to push up. Come down. That's the secret to work a little bit as you lean forward a little more efficiently up.

And down, vertical, lean a little forward, see if it's easier to push up, and down, lean back one more time with the little lean forward, strengthening the arms as you lift. And come down. K. Let's set your blocks to the side for a moment now. Side your feet to any side, and we'll come around toward a tabletop shape. So now you might have your blankets opened up here and we'll come together for a little cat cow just to move your spine, hands under the shoulders, knees about hip distance apart.

So just moving into your general pelvis spine shoulder movements, cat cow, arching, and rounding in a way that feels good for you. If you're inclined to tip your hips a little bit back towards your heels, feel free to head that way. Just to get you a little more warmed up for practice. K. Now, let's go ahead and maybe settle together in the table top position and then take your left leg back and right leg back. So now you're in plank pose.

As you press firmly through your hands and your toes maintain that long spine as if you were standing, we're gonna try to keep your hips more or less where they are as you alternate bringing a knee to touch your blanket and then the knee back up. Take a knee down, and then back up. So the hips are relatively level. At your own pace, you're dropping one knee, and then straightening the leg. Drop one knee. Straighten the leg.

Think of the top of the head, staying about the height of your heart, of the shoulder line. So the only thing that's really moving is that knee that's coming towards the floor. Let's do one more to each side, holding your plank for a little bit more strength. And then take both knees down, bring your pelvis to your blanket. And as you come down to the floor, slide your hands right beside your chest and have your forehead nose just above the ground, toes point straight back.

So think of our cobra shape. Now let your hands hover above the floor. So without touching the floor with your hands. As you inhale, let's do a little lift of your face and chest off the floor, and then lower back towards the ground without touching the floor with your hands. Inhale, we lift our face, and our chest for some deep strengthening of the back and lower.

And we're not doing a huge lift. Most likely, we're not doing a huge lift. Come up and down. And again, building that gradual strength as you lift and lower. Let's do one more.

The legs are strong, lengthen as you curl up. And then go ahead and lower. Now, slide your arms out to 90 degree angles so your elbows are most likely off the side of your yoga mat. Nose just above the floor. Now second round here, we'll do a little lift of the face and chest just to get a feeling for what's happening through the upper mid back and then lower.

Now let's try that same lift with your elbows and hands coming off the floor. So working at that back strength, and then bring yourself back to the ground. Inhale, lift your elbows, the chest, we curl up, and lower. Now if it's better for you, elbows can stay down. You're still strengthening the back. Two more, a curling up, and lower down.

One more strong legs, inhale lengthen and lift. Slowly come down. Take a moment, slide your hands under your forehead and wiggle your hips a tiny bit side to side just to shake out any stiffness in that lower back area and enjoy a comfortable belly breath in and out here. Alright. Let's go ahead. Lift your head up.

Slide your hands by your chest with your toes curled under. Let's press back now to tabletop and put your knees on your blanket. If you're someone who likes a little more padding for your knees, fold your blanket one more time, and we've got some good padding here. Let's grab one block and place that block between the thighs, maybe in the medium position, toes curl under. And as you bring your legs in, so you're feeling the block with your thighs, we'll pause here. And then start a little flow where we take our arms up while you squeeze that block.

Lower your arms in front of you as you lean back and we feel a little bit more core engagement. Bring your arms back up, and then we're going to hinge forward and come to our tabletop. From tabletop lift your knees, and we end up in plank pose, squeezing the block, and come to downward dog, squeeze your block and press your thighs back the block back towards the wall behind you. And then keep working the leg part here as if you're, being pulled back, by a rope wall, if you ever got to treat yourself to that. The hips are being pulled back away from the shoulder slowly as you keep squeezing the block with your legs. Come back through your plank, knees touch down, walk your hands to your blanket, and then reach your arms forward and up.

And with your toes curled under, we're gonna lean back and pause, squeeze here. Inhale arms up. We're gonna hinge forward, walk the hands a little forward of your shoulder line to set up for your plank pose. Connect with that block as you hold. Send your hips up and back and squeeze that block as you hold your downward dog.

It's feeling that difference of engaging the legs. And maybe feeling into a little bit more opportunity to lengthen through your torso, open through your shoulders when the legs really awake. Come back to your plank pose. Knees touch down, walk your hands back in towards your blanket, and then arms come up. And then the arms in front of you as you lean a little bit back, squeeze your block.

Gonna feel lots of energy through the core. Come up, and our last time as we hinge, walk your hands out. Come back to your plank. As a great way to work on strength for the whole body. Extra focus on the legs today as you go from plank to your down dog.

Squeezing that block. And feeling as your legs are drawn back a little more space through your torso and shoulders. Let's come back through your plank pose, knees touch down, walk your hands back in towards your blankets, and then last time with the arms up. Let your arms come down to your side and we'll wanna move that block just for a moment. As we curl the toes under, and we're gonna come up to stand, and we'll move your blanket off to the side for now.

When you come up to stand, let's go ahead and start with one block of toward the top of your mat, and you might put this block in that medium position. So when you bend your knees, your knees are more in line with your hips. Okay. Give a squeeze as you're in your mountain pose. When you're ready, you're gonna come to chair and reach your arms forward and try to feel your heels really dig into the ground here. Let your arms open out wide.

Let your arms squeeze back behind you and then we'll come back to arms forward and up, and come into your chair with your arms maybe a little bit in front of you. Sit down a little deeper in your legs. Arms open out wide. Arms to your side. And then from the bent knees, sweep your arms back up, and coming back into your chair. Hopefully, now you feel your legs starting to really warm up.

Open your arms out wide. Bring your arms back, squeeze, and coming from bent knees up to straight legs. One more time coming into your chair, arms may be a little bit in front of you. Squeeze your block. Open up wide.

Arms parallel squeeze between your shoulder blades, and we're coming all the way up to straight legs and let your arms lower to your side. Alright. Grab the block between the legs and let's find your other block and we'll come to the longer side of your mat holding on to your blocks. Okay. Let's turn your toes out a few degrees and come into that high straddle position here. And as we have your elbows in and you're squeezing the blocks together, do another little loop for the arms, where we take our elbows out to the side and up. Hold your blocks as you stretch your arms out.

Now the top of the shoulders start to get a little workout here. Bend your elbows, and we squeeze back in. Let's try that again. We're gonna lift our elbows out wide. Hold the blocks as you slowly stretch your arms out without rushing.

Bend your elbows. Squeeze back in. We'll do that loop again. Pull those elbows up toward the height of your shoulders. Hold your blocks out wide.

Bend your elbows and we squeeze back in. Let's do two more. We're gonna pull those elbows slowly out and hold arms wide. Bend your elbows and we squeeze back in. Last one, going out wide, hold, stretch the arms out straight, bend your elbows, and again squeeze.

K. Let's straighten your legs now. And we turn your right foot up first, if you go a little wider, Take one block into that tall position and then one flat. So your blocks are kinda making a t shape here and set to the inside of that right leg. Alright. Let's have your arms open out to your sides. Now without the blocks, it might feel really easy, Bend your right knee, straighten your leg, and let's make sure that you feel you're balanced and steady with a bent right knee.

As soon as you feel comfortable, we're going to lean to the side and put your fingertips on your blocks versus your palm, so you're up pretty high in your torso. Let's keep that left arm straight up above your shoulder as you bend your front knee a little bit more. Maybe as you warm up into this shape. And eventually you might put your hand down or maybe like the feeling of your fingertips on that block. See if you can really energize that back leg as we're keeping the front knee bent, doing a slightly longer hold to build a little bit more strength.

One more moment here. And let's gradually tip up, straightening your front leg, bring your back left foot closer to your blocks. And then when you're there, you're going to turn your feet forward. Circle your hips a couple times. And let's reach down and grab ahold of our little setup and move it to the left side of your mat.

And you wanna maybe know that you can reach down and touch that as you bend your left knee and adjust your stance, maybe going in and out a few times. Okay. The arms open out to your side as we bend your front left knee and make sure you're steady here. Get sometimes a little more challenging when you tilt to your side and we're putting in our fingertips down on purpose, right arm up, so we're a little bit longer through the torso, engaging our core, and keeping long through both sides of your waist. So as you deepen maybe into your feet, when you get more comfortable in the pose, you might naturally put your hand down. But we're trying to be able to hold this pose a little longer. So staying up might be a nice treat for your torso as we're kind of working the legs a little more here.

Take one more moment, letting yourself sink into both feet, both legs. And then gradually tilt yourself up. And when your arms come down, work this right leg in closer to the left leg, and then we end up for a moment with your again, hands at your hips. Let's do a few of those hula hoop circles to release any stiffness here. Alright. We'll bring your legs and feet in towards each other. And let's go ahead and move our little table setup out of the way.

And let's meet more now at the top of the short end of your mat again. With your feet maybe a little bit wider than your hips and your toes facing out a few degrees. Alright. So again, focusing on strong legs here as you have your arms out in front of you and we'll start to bend the knees and come into a little bit of squad might be like a chair pose as you adjust your feet, angles, heel width. So you might come down a little bit more in your legs, and then arms down straight legs. K. We try to look straight ahead like you're holding a box and lower.

Use your legs to bring you back up. Again, a little bit of sinking down and work your way up. Okay. Mindful of your knees. Mindful of your back. Lower, push down, lift up.

Two more lower arms in front of you to help you balance. Come out. And that last one, when we're close to the floor, let's go ahead and put your hands down and then slide one leg and the other leg back. And let's reclaim your blanket here. So if you open that up for some padding for the knees, and we had been have visited table top before, and this version, we're gonna bring our elbows down to have your elbows under your shoulders and now knees a little bit closer together.

So one area that I think is really great to keep working on are the glutes. So in this case, we're gonna take your left leg back first. Float your left leg in the air about the height of your pelvis or a little bit higher. So when we bend our left knee, we're gonna do a little lift of the knee up an inch or two, and then down. Up or two, and then down.

And we'll do that a few more times without going really fast. We're actually airing on going slow at lifting your knee up and down. So you've got really some time to think about firing up that left glute and then moving your knee up. And down. Engage the glute and lift your knee up and down. And maybe two more times just to make sure you're aware of that muscle and that area starts to feel a little bit warmed up from our sequence.

K. And then bring that knee down. Alright. Let's go ahead with your knees close together, right leg back. Just so it's easier to balance. Right leg up. Maybe a little higher than the pelvis, bend your knee. And now we're gonna lift that knee up an inch or two, and down.

And just kinda ask that right glute to fire, lift your knee, and lower. Engage the glute, lift your knee. And lower. So we're moving a really small range up and down just a few inches. Engage the glute lower. Engage the glute and the knee drops an inch or two, engage and lift.

Lower, engage, and lift. Lower. Let's do two more. Just make sure that side feels as awake as your first side. And then bring your knees down for a moment.

And you might like with your toes curled under just a moment to stretch your hips back and then we stretch through the glute area in that extended child's pose. Let's come down, onto your elbows and make an easier transition down onto your belly and down to the floor with your pelvis. Hey, from here, it says stretch your arms all the way straight out in front of you. Just taking a full body stretch. And let's do a whole body engagement for strengthening as you lift your hands, your feet like you're super human flying above the ground.

So whole body engagement and exhale to the floor. Let's take five seconds to complete our lift. So slow inhale one, two, three, four, and five. Slowly mindfully come down. One more time like that with a slow lift, count of five. Lift one, two, three, four, and five.

And then go ahead and lower. K. Let's roll to a sides, and then we'll come on to your back and have a block within reach. As soon as we come down to the floor, we'll add your block again between your thighs, maybe in that medium position, so swing your legs towards you. Keep your shins parallel to the floor and your arms at your side. So as you squeeze the block, you're firing up the legs, the core area, flex your ankles, and let's hold that block and let your heels touch down, and then squeeze your legs back in towards you.

Squeeze your block and touch down. Just some basic core work, legs in. You can maybe feel some engagement in your abdominal area as your legs go back and forth. And we're airing on slow versus fast. And if your heels don't touch the ground, that's fine. You might do more of a smaller tilt back and forth.

Just so that you feel some of these deeper core muscles are awakening, without too much, without over efforting. Just the right amount to feel a little bit of engagement. When your knees are by you, the next one, we're just gonna do a couple. See what's different when you squeeze the block up by your lower calf area and flex your ankles. I like to tuck my hands under the sacrum area here.

So squeeze the block with your lower leg and go up and down. Squeeze and lower and lift. It might just feel a little different. Lower, and lift. That was just to give you something new to play with. Move the block to the side. Let's go ahead with your feet down, arms a little bit out of your way. You might let your legs do a little windshield wiper side to side, if that feels good.

Or any other move to unwind you a little bit. And to eventually get us to our constructive rest pose, maybe with your arms out to the side. If you're ready for a little moment of Shavasana, you might stretch your legs down to the floor. Take up some space here. And to try to let all of your muscles soften here.

Shoulders, arms, all those muscles of the upper back, all the muscles through the belly and organ area. For a moment feeling those muscles soften through the legs, down to the feet. Thinking about our practice of building strength is something that's slow, something we're doing to sustain the muscle tone that we have, and perhaps even still work at building some muscle mass as we're aging. It's still possible. Alright.

Seeing yourself, again, here, a little bit stronger than thirty minutes ago. Let's go ahead and bend your knees so your feet are on the ground. Get ready to turn to a side. And then working your way up toward a seat where once again, you might slide a block underneath you or fold your blanket. So you've got a little bit of height to sit on.

And when you are sitting up, in whatever position works best for you. When you look forward, rock in your pelvis, a little forward and back. And you might notice when you're right on top of the sit bones, if you even felt for your back area, you might feel. Again, there's a little bit of tone in your back when you're sitting up nice and tall. So good posture is a way to also help you build a little bit more overall core strength. So be mindful here.

Comfortable breath in and out. Alright. And thank you so much for being here to practice today. Nava stay and may others continue to benefit from our practice? See you next time.