Agility and Coordination

Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for being here with me today. For our practice, we'll need a blanket, two blocks, and a strap. Let's go ahead and grab your blanket and fold it once or twice to give you a little bit of height to sit on. If you need a little bit more than a blanket, you might grab whatever plot props you like to just sit on and bring yourself to a position where you're holding your knees and doing a tiny bit of rocking forward and back so you're more aware of where you're sitting, how you're sitting.

Let's all try to get to the place where you're a little bit more on top of your sit bones. When you look out to your horizon line, if you're comfortable closing your eyes, maybe close your eyes or just let them soften as you tune a little bit more into the interior of the body. And doing that more subtle alignment from tailbone to the crown of the heads, And as we're working with good posture, then bringing in awareness to the tip of the nose and a comfortable breath from your nose down in towards your chest area into the lungs. And then on a more energetic level, just feeling maybe a little bit more present and grounded. As we let ourselves settle into that quiet space at the end of the exhale.

Filling up on the next inhale. And again, energetically quieting the mind, the body, at the bottom of that exhale, a little pause, and filling up on the inhale. Alright. When you're ready, let the eyes open and find a soft focal point in front of you. Let's slide your fingertips off to the sides touching the floor with your fingertips if you can. And we'll let that right hand gradually walk out to the right as we take our left arm up and over to our right side.

K. We're gonna do a little sequence of taking this left hand now in front of you. And when your hand meets the floor, there's a little rotation to look towards the right hand. And then we take that left hand back up in the air you're drawing a big circle around you and then let your left arm lower to your side and then slide on back to center. Alright. Sliding out to your left as your right arm comes up and over to this left side of the room, Take your right arm in front of you, and we meet the floor, and there's a little rotation, look towards your left thumb. Right arm comes back up.

We open up through the chest, circle your right arm down, and then slide on back again to center. Let's do that again. Sliding out to the right. Left arm comes up and over, and reach your left hand to the floor in front of you. Your hands are pretty wide as you rotate to look to your right thumb.

Left arm comes up and over with your arm down, slide on back to center. Left hand out. Hopefully enjoying that opening through side body. And when your right hand comes down to meet the floor, that opening through the back, look towards your left thumb, and let that right arm again come up, lead you out of that side bend back to center. Let's do this last one with your legs straight out in front of you, just a little variety.

As you slide your right hand out, take your left arm overhead. And as you bring your hand down, it will be maybe a little different. Just lightly touch the floor. Take your left arm back up. As your arm comes down, we slide back to center.

Slides your left arm out, right arm up and over. And as you turn, it might be a little bit less of a turn to look to the left. Right arm up and over, and eventually we slide on back to center. Okay. Let's bend your legs a little bit and move your blanket out of the way. Slide your feet over to your left and your knees are pointing to the right side.

So if your left knee is tight, you just go straight left leg. If you can bend your knee, join me here. If you can point your toes straight back, you get a stretch through that ankle as well. Right hand on the floor. Let's bring your left arm up in front of you. And as you anchor your right hand, reach your left hand to the right.

Let me see how we're moving side to side as we pull that left elbow back, look over the shoulder. Follow your left hand to the right and pull back, open up through that left side of the chest. Okay. Just kinda feeling how you're moving side to side. Couple more times. Feeling that rotation from the waist area.

Now, this next time when you reach to your right side, take a moment to hold here. And then we're gonna take your left arm up into the air and look straight ahead. Slide your right hand back. So it's a little bit beyond the line of your shoulder, fingers facing away from your hips. And we're gonna look towards your back hand and we're gonna press our hips away from the floor.

And then come back down. Hold on to your right knee for a moment. K. Let your left arm come back up. Look towards your back hand and push your hips forward. Lower your hips, go ahead, hold on to your right knee again.

Take your left arm up, look at your back hand, and do a little push up. As you come down, this time, let's slide your legs in front of you and take a pause between, and when you're settled in between, grab your opposite elbow. And let's see how we move back and do a little rotation to your right. And face forward. And as we go to the left, and face forwards.

And we're gonna do a few more rotations moving inside the sides. And if we feel a little awkward or off balance, agility here might be just to notice how quickly we can come back to feeling centered. We feel a little awkward or ungrounded in a pose, not to get frustrated. Do you notice that's happening? We see how quickly we come back to a place of more equanimity. One more time. Kinda letting yourself find that edge where you might start feeling a little bit awkward and you just practice that here on the mat.

Come back up, arms to your side. Let's slide your feet to your right, knees pointing to the left. So if this is the tighter leg, go for a straight leg. If you can bend your knee, it's one option. If you can bring your foot back, tuck it under the pelvis, With your left hand down, bring your right forearm up. And let's see how we're moving here as we reach to our left.

Pull your right elbow back, open the chest. Reach out to your left. And hopefully enjoying all that movement from your hips, through your spine, through the shoulders. K. Maybe one more time with that movement back and forth.

After reaching to your left, this time, take your left arm, take your right arm straight up into the air and look forward. Slide your left hand back. Just a little bit beyond the line of your shoulder, fingers, tips face away from your hips. And we're gonna lift your hips up as you look towards your back hand. Take your hips down and hold on to your left knee with your right hand.

Start again, right arm up, look at your back hand and press your hips forward. Hips down, right hand to your left knee. K. Last one, with your right arm up, look at your back hand, and press your hips forward here. And as you come down, hold on to the knee, and let's bring your legs out in front of you. K. So one more time with a little boat variation.

Let's go ahead and have your arms out in front of you lean a little back as we send your left leg up. And come back to neutral. Lean a little bit back and kick your right leg up and neutral. You just find these different opportunities to to balance. And just see how you're moving as you're shifting a leg forward and back.

One more time, leg up, and leg down. Over the next few moments, work your way slowly all the way down onto your back. Slowly as you can with control, and eventually we meet the floor here. Okay. Once you get down to the floor, let's grab a hold of one block. And as we have a block in your hands, maybe holding it that long way. Let's go ahead and float your shins parallel to the floor here.

So let's take your right leg to the floor as your holding that block and sending it towards the ground behind you. Bring your right knee back towards your left knee and place your block on your shins. And we're gonna take your arms to your side as you curl your head shoulders up. Grab your block. Take your arms back.

Another left leg comes down as you stretch your arms back. Bring your knees back together, hold your block onto your shins, and then curl up as your hands meet the floor. Grab your block, right leg again, down, arms by the ears, knees together rest your block on your shins, curl up, hands meet the floor. Grab your block, left leg down, arms back by the ears, knees together, block on your shins, and curl up. K. One more. Grab your block, right leg down, stretch the arms back, and try to balance the block on your shins, curl up, palms down.

Grab your block, left leg down, arms back. Alright. Now, keep your block here. Last time we do that curling up and lower. K. Grab your block, and now you may or may not like this one here as you hold the block with your feet. And you're gonna try to slide the block over onto your right foot.

K. So here's one of our agility practices. Can you hold that block in the air on your right foot? You could imagine you're holding a block if you don't think this is a safe thing to do for you, if your block in particular is heavy. So it's also a great focal point if you can keep it here. So all we're gonna do is open the left leg a little bit to the left. Without moving your right leg, bring your left leg back in.

Again, we're practicing opening up to the left without moving your right leg. Come back in. So, hopefully, we're having a little fun with this. Do a couple more. If you get a little frustrated, just notice, oh, I got frustrated and bring yourself as quickly as possible back to this moment with maybe a little bit of joy and curiosity about how we could hold this right leg straight and move our left leg.

Alright. Now, bend your knees and slide your block a little bit more over to your left foot. This is part of the agility practice. Turn your right foot to face the ceiling and then hold your legs up and see if it's different to connect to this left leg. K. And again, you can also just imagine you're holding a block. Right leg to the right, come back to center.

Right leg, again, opens a little bit to the right and recenter. Again, out to the right, recenter, out to the right, hopefully having some fun with that. And let's do one more opening out to the side. And recenter. As you bend your knees, reach up so that block doesn't fall on you, and move that block to the sides. Let's catch the back of your knees and get ready to maybe rock yourself back and forth a few times if you're comfortable with that or just stay up that first time you're up.

And then let's go ahead and turn around and grab a hold of your blankets. And we'll add that for some padding under your knees. Okay. So if you send that maybe about the middle of your mat and bring your hands forward so you end up in table top pose. Let's take a moment here to point your toes straight back and maybe bring your knees a little closer than hip distance apart. K. Let's try to lift your left arm forward, maybe up toward the height of your ear.

And see what it feels like to tilt back with your hips while keeping your left arm up. And then bring yourself again forward. Bring your hips again back. Just try and maybe something new and come forward. And again, going back and forward. Let's put your left hand down and take your right arm up and forward maybe toward the height of your ear and we'll tilt a little back and forward.

Two more times, keeping that right arm up as you go back and forward. Last time going back, keeping your arm up and come forward. Now, bring your knees again a little closer together and we'll send your left leg back and then up toward the height of your hip. Let's bring your knee towards your nose and practice that rounding of the spine and then kick your leg back. Two more, curl in, send your leg back, lengthening through your spine, curl in, and the leg back.

It needs close to each other, refresh the spread of the hands, and then take your right leg back, lift your leg up, and then curl that right knee towards your nose round. The leg stretches back. Bringing the knee toward the nose, leg back. We've got one more to do, curl in. And then take that leg back. K. You have both knees down.

Curl your toes under now as you walk your hands towards your knees. So we got a little more padding. Let's fold your blanket up one more time. So we've got more cushion as we come up to that kneeling position. Stake your right foot forward first.

And we're gonna put our hands on this right knee and lean a little bit forward and lift up your back knee. And then bring your knee down and your back to neutral. Again, lean forward, lift your back knee up, and then knee down, lean back. One more time, lean forward, lift your back knee. And lower down lean back.

Okay. Now, you got kind of the idea of how to move forward in that way. Let's open the arms out and see if we can without using our hands on our knee lean forward. And now, we're gonna lift the back knee and step to the top of the mats. Keep your arms wide. Let's retrace our steps back.

Drop your knee, and we come back to holding the knee. Okay. So let's work on that transfer arms wide. Lean forward, lift your back knee. Step to the top of the mat, rebends the knees, retrace your steps, left leg back, drop your knee down, hands to the knee. K. We got one more.

Arms wide. Lean forward, lift your back knee, step your back leg forward. Okay. Arms down, roll your shoulders, shake things out a little bit. K. Let's go to the back of your blankets. Knees down, and we'll get ready for side two as you take your left leg forward.

Hold on to your left knee as you look straight ahead. Back toes curled under, lean forward, and see how it feels to lift the back knee. The down were vertical. Lean forward to feel that momentum, lift your knee. Down lean back.

K. One more, kind of feeling that momentum leaning forward, maybe easier to lift your back knee. Down. Now, with your arms out to the side, the hands free transfer may be a little leaning forward back knee up, step forward. Look straight ahead. Take the right leg again back beyond the blanket.

Drop the knee. Hands touch down. Open wide, lean forward, lift your back knee. Step forward and stand. Again, retrace that step back with your right leg.

Need down. Take a rest. Arms wide, a little leaning forward, lift your back knee and step forward of your blankets. Alright. Arms down. Let's walk back.

Mindful of our transition. Bend your knees, grab your blanket and set that to the side. Okay. If you stay for a moment, oriented, close ish to the top of your mat. We're gonna have your arms move back in space like you're pushing into a wall, opening up through the chest. And we'll lift your left knee up towards the ceiling.

We're gonna step back with your left leg and come into a little bit of a low lunge with your arms forward. And we'll go back and forth a few times, lift your knee arms back. Okay. Step down, arms in front of you, swing your knee up, lift the chest. I play around with how you're transferring springing forward and back. Touch down. Drop that knee.

Lift your knee looks straight ahead. Okay. Last one. We'll lift that knee up. And then set your left foot down. You might move your hips, a little side to side, or little circles.

And then re center yourself where you might like your feet a little bit closer together We'll send the arms back, and now lift your right knee towards your chest. Step back into that low lunge. As you come up, press your arms back. Hold that right knee up. Low lunge, look forward, knee swings up.

If you're awkward or off balance, again, just notice how quickly you can reset without getting frustrated, knee up, arms back. Great place to practice. A little bit of equanimity here in our practice. We are going to keep your knee up, arms back, and then anchor down. Okay. Shake things out.

And let's orient towards the longer side of your mat. Left of the arms flowed up to your sides. Cross your left leg back so you're on the ball of your foot. So you bring your right arm down, bring your left arm over, bring yourself a little closer to the floor. And we're gonna step out and do our goddess shape here. Step onto that left foot swing your right leg back, and we're gonna arch and reach a little bit more over to your left side.

Come back to your goddess pose. Swing your left leg back, lower towards the floor, reach to your right. Got this pose. Right leg back, lower down as you arch to your left. Goddess pose one more time, bring your left leg back.

You're on the ball of the foot, lower. Gottis. And stepping with the right leg back, coming down to our little curtsy. As we come back to our goddess, we're gonna hang out here, settle down in the legs and bring your hands to your knees, lean forward and press into your left knee as you look over your right shoulder. Come back to center, press into your right knee, look over your left shoulder.

And then come back to center. Let's touch down with your fingertips as you inhale, reach your arms forward to come all the way up and then take your arms down. It's heel toe, your legs towards each other and shake out your legs and let's grab ahold of your blocks. Okay. Turn them in the tall position. Let's put them down about shoulder distance apart.

Go a little wider with your legs now. As you reach over with bent knees to hold on to your blocks. Let's turn your left foot out first. And as you start to bend your left knee, see if you can move your hips a little bit more towards your left heel, as you stretch your inner right leg. And see how we move back to center, turn left foot in right foot out.

Shift a bit to the right, look to the left. Okay. Back to center right toes forward. Now, move your blocks with you as you're turning to the right, to the left, blocks move with you, and you go a little deeper into that left side leaning position as you look to the right. Turn your left foot forward blocks forward. Right foot out. Move your blocks with you this time as you lean a little bit to your right, anchor left foot, and bring yourself back to center. One more time, altogether, arms move, left leg moves.

We dip into our side lunge. Reset in the center, blocks move to the right, toes turn right, sink into that right leg, and then come back around to center. Bring your feet a little closer together with your blocks flat and wide. So we're gonna hold on to the block so we have something to sit on. As you come on down, Keep your arms to the inner knees.

Look straight ahead, and we're not gonna sit for very long. We're gonna do our transfer with your arms coming forward and up, we'll come up to stand, and then gradually come back down to sits on your blocks with your arms down. Let's feel that transition going up and slowly working your way down, ideally looking straight ahead. Inhale up. And working on that transfer back down, one more, going with our transfer up, and taking our transfer down. Now, bring your legs a little bit closer together here, and let's take your left leg and tuck it back, and hopefully sitting on this stack of blocks works to sit up nice and tall like that.

Hold on to your right knee with your hands and arch and round like you do in cat cow as you hold your knee. Just to kind of feel if you're falling backwards a little bit or you're too far forward, find your center. When you find your center position, take your left hand to the outer right leg, right hand on your hip, we're going to turn to look a little bit over that right shoulder. A little spinal rotation in. And then come back to face forward.

With your arm, left arm down, touch the floor and tuck your right leg back. So you're in virasana. Just for a moment, we're gonna walk our hands forward. And then lift your knees up so you end up in plank. Take a stretch and downward dog.

And then work your way back down to your knees on the ground. Walk your hands to your knees and your back in virasana. Now, we'll free your left foot forwards for a moment. Hold on to your knee. Slide your right hand to the outer left knee and your left hand to your hip. We're gonna sit up tall, roll open that chest. Look over your left shoulder.

As you turn to face forward, and we tuck that left knee under back to virasana, Let's one more time walk your hands out, and we come to toes curled under position to come to plank. Let's lean a little forward, open the chest, and a little upward dog. And then swing your hips up and back into our downward facing dog. And let those heels gradually sink towards the floor here. K. We'll bring your knees back down to the floor.

Lock your hands back towards your knees and point your toes straight back and we'll end up sitting on your tall stack of blocks. Okay. Let your shoulders roll back and down here a few times just to unwind a little bit. Alright. Now, let's go ahead and find where your strap is. And as we get our strap opened up, you're gonna want probably, the length of the strap so that you're able to have your hands wider than your shoulders. And as you're holding a little bit tight with your hands and keeping the arms wide.

Gonna open the hands so they're really loose on the strap as you let your arms go back and down, which I know can be sometimes awkward in the beginning. And then we can pull on that band a little bit as you reach it back up. Again, maybe you hold a little bit more firmly as you get comfortable with going back and down and coming up, holding a little more tightly on your band. Go back and down. A little shoulder flossing and then coming back up.

If you want a little more challenge, your hands would maybe go tiny, but closer together going down and up. One more going down and up. Now, let's take your band and we're going to fold it more in half, so you have less fabric to work with. So as you hold on to your strap, maybe a little wider than your shoulder distance apart. Hold tightly. And if you've got a metal part, I always like to hold it so it doesn't hit the floor.

Gonna lean over to your right side a little bit. And then reach forward, which kinda throws you a little bit off balance. Head to your left and back. And again, over to your right. Maybe your arms drop down closer to the floor before sweeping to the left, back.

And maybe you got the flow now. We're gonna move forward, left, back in a way that might just slightly throw you off center. Let's see if you can stabilize a little bit with your legs, your core, And of course, have that attitude, again, where we're adopting some equanimity in our awkwardness as we're leaning a little forward. Last time, and let's go ahead and take a little pause. And simply bend your elbows just to get that last little posture check with the elbows wide here, pulling tight on your band, opening through the upper chest.

Holding tight one more moment. And then let's have the arm stretch up towards the sky, and then again down in front of you. K. We can fold up that strap and set it to the side for now. And then rest your hands on your legs. And just let yourself walk a little bit back and forth so you're freshly aware of where you're sitting, how you're sitting. And we can come back to that place where you feel hopefully pretty aligned long top to bottom.

If you like closing your eyes to do that inner alignment, we pause here. And maybe once again, meet that quiet space at the end of an exhale. Fill up and awaken on the inhale and meet that quiet space at the end of the exhale. Alright. As we're ready to finish this phase of our practice, perhaps bring the hands together in front of the heart. And may others continue to benefit from our practice of equanimity and agility?

Thanks for being here. Namaste.