Shine Bright and Flow

(waves crashing) Welcome back. Excited to share this practice with you. But before we get started, I wanted to tap into Kriya Yoga. So Kriya Yoga is three components of our Niyamas, and Niyamas are our second limb of the eight limbs of Yoga. So these three aspects of Kriya Yoga are tapas, swadhyaya, and Ishwarapranidhana.

So tapas, and my favorite explanation of tapas I learned from a woman by the name of Ekha Ekhan. She described it as, "That which brings out your shining." So those practices are those rituals we do that bring out the best in us. So that could be meditation, it could be practice on the mat, it could be a practice of fasting, of not speaking, so it could be so many different things, but that which brings out your shining. And swadhyaya, so the study of ourselves, being that outside observer, and so swadhyaya also has another component of studying sacred texts and working with teachers, but this aspect that I'm gonna ask you to really look at is being an observer without judgment, and that's really hard with our human experience. So really just starting to notice, and to use that as a practice to stay interested and to be curious in our travels and our practice.

And Ishwarapranidhana, devotion. So that is a very personal journey, and that's not something I can tell you exactly how to do, but the overall essence of Ishwarapranidhana is that in each moment, we do the best we can, and then we give up the fruits of our action to something greater, to God if you believe in God. So really, how you approach your practice with devotion, or any aspect of your life. So as we dive into our practice today, I'm gonna ask that you look in to see if this is a practice that draws out the best in you, if this is something that starts to bring out your shining. If it does, great.

If it doesn't, start to really recognize what that is for you, and two, be that outside observer looking in, no judgments, just noticing, and three, bring a heart space forward in your practice, so practicing devotion and just showing up with the best you have in each moment, and each moment is so different. So we're gonna start this practice in Balasana, child's pose. So let's start. Big toes touch, knees, shoulder distance to hip distance apart, and the arms can either be in front or behind. Just let each exhale drop into the hips and shoulders, and each inhale feeling a little lightness, brightness through the spine.

And even right here, starting to observe, starting to notice the sensations. And along with noticing the sensations, notice the mind space. For some, this pose might not be super comfortable, and you might be facing resistance already. And that's okay, just notice what the mind does and see if you can just ease, ease, ease into it. And starting to activate through the palms.

Take the forearms off the ground, root into the hands a little bit stronger. Spin the inner upper arms up towards the ceiling, outer arms down, so you're starting to scoop out the armpits. On your next inhale, come up to all fours. Slide the hands out about two inches, curl the toes under, lift the hips, downward facing dog. Inhale, taking the right leg up.

Exhale and knee into nose. Take that sacred pause. Place that foot down, runner's lunge, on the inhale, draw the heart forward, slide the shoulders back. So for some, palms can be down. I like to be up on my fingertips.

Exhale, round the upper back. So we're only moving a few inches with the legs, most of the action is in the spine. Inhale, slide the heart forward, slide the shoulders back. Good, exhale, round, tuck the chin, lift the upper back. Inhale, draw the heart forward.

Good. Exhale, round. With this inhale, draw the heart forward, drop the back heel, rise up, warrior two, let the left arm lift you up. Right palm lifts, take it up and back reverse. On an exhale, coming all the way through, palms down, back heel lifts.

Good. Exhale, right leg long. So you can keep the back heel lifted or drop the back heel down. Inhale, come forward, runner's lunge, back heel lifts, heart comes forward. Exhale, lengthen, fold it in, option heel down.

Inhale, heel up, heart lifts. Good. One more, lengthen. Forward. Palms pressed, slide it back, plank to Chaturanga or the floor, you choosing your transition.

Inhale, heart lifts. Exhale, back downward facing. On an inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, knee to nose with control. Place the foot.

Low runner's lunge, heart lifts. Exhale, round, thoracic spine round. Inhale, heart forward. Exhale. Inhale.

One more, ex. Inhale, heart forward, drop the back heel, rise up, warrior two. Lift the left palm, take it up and back reverse. Good. On the exhale, windmill the hands down, frame the front foot, back heel lifts, draw the heart forward.

Good. Exhale, lengthen the left leg. Option, back heel can stay lifted. We can start to drop it down, but really draw the left hip back. Inhale, come forward, slide the heart forward.

Exhale, lengthen, right heel can stay up or down. Inhale. Okay, last one. Lift. Good, heart forward.

Palms down, step back, Chaturanga or the floor. Inhale. Exhale back. Okay, one more time, repeating that flow on an inhale. Take the right leg up, exhale, knee in one time.

Place the foot down, runner's lunge, draw the heart forward. Lengthen the right leg, option, back heels can stay lifted or you can drop it down inside. Inhale, come back forward. Exhale, lengthen, fold it in. In.

You're just moving with your breath. Place the hands down, stepping back, choosing your transition either to Chaturanga or keeping the shoulders above the elbows. We're coming to the floor, lifting up, low cobra, upward facing. Exhale back. Inhale, left leg lifts.

Good. Left inner thigh draws up, exhale, knee to nose. Place the foot down, runner's lunge, slide the heart forward on an inhale. Good, exhale. Feel that rounding, tuck the chin.

Inhale, heart lifts. Good, exhale. In. One more, exhale. Inhale, drop the back heel, rise up warrior two, keeping knee over the ankle.

Left palm lifts, take it up and back. On an exhale, come all the way back down, back heel lifts. Draw the heart forward. Exhale, lengthen the left leg. Option, you can drop the back heel, but draw the left hip back.

Inhale, come back forward, slide the heart forward. Exhale, lengthen, you can keep the back heel lifted or drop it down. Good, inhale. Then exhale, lengthen. Then, inhale, come on back.

Palms down, step it back, plank pose or Chaturanga or the floor. Inhale, upward or low cobra. Exhale back, downward facing. Count three rounds of breath. Complete your exhale.

Step or hop the feet up between the hands. Nice and light, it can be 20 steps, it could be one little hop. Inhale, come halfway up, exhale, fold. Bend the knees, come onto the balls of the feet, option here of moving into Bakasana or holding Malasana. So for those moving into Bakasana, see if you can bring the palms down, lift the hips, slide the knees up towards the armpits.

Good, slide the feet together and then start to, we'll back up just a little bit, you can start to lift the heels up towards the bum. So you can choose to stay right here and hop back after about three breaths. For some, you can also choose to slide into tripod headstand for transition. So you're gonna let it start to draw yourself down, lift the legs up. All right, so arms are in, Chaturanga arms here, so outer arms are drawing in.

You can come back into Bakasana or pike the legs, set the shoulders, and we're gonna slide back right into Chaturanga. Inhale, upward or low cobra. Exhale back, downward facing dog. Good, three breaths. And inhale, take the right leg up.

Exhale, knee to nose. Place the foot down, rise up warrior two. Right into reverse so legs are strong. On an exhale, bring the left hand down, right arm up, lunge twist. Strong through the core, we're gonna lift right into Vasisthasana, outer edge of the left foot presses, and pause.

Right shoulder blade slide down the back. Right knee comes into the chest. Slide back into a lunge twist. On an exhale, back knee and shin down, arms rise up, low lunge. Right, just three breaths here.

Good, we'll exhale, taking the arms down. Slide the hips back, Ardha Hanumanasana. So there'll be plenty of time for those who wanna go into full Hanumanasana, that'll come up. But for right now, draw the right hip back, cinch up the right heel, flex the toes, and fold forward. Okay, let's start to crawl forward, back into a runner's lunge, plant the palms, step back, plank pose, Chaturanga.

Inhale. Exhale back, downward facing. Left side on an inhale, left leg lift. Exhale, knee in. Place the foot down, warrior two, arms windmill up.

Right into reverse. On an exhale, lunge twist. Take the back heel up as you shift the hips. Left arm lifts. Root through the core.

Left knee comes up, Vasisthasana. Then we're gonna take the left knee back into the chest to step forward. Take a pause. Exhale. Hand comes down, right knee and shin down, arms sweep up.

Just three breaths here, feeling the left heel draw back, right thigh forward. Good, exhale, hands come down, shift the hips backs, Ardha Hanumanasana. Inhale, lifting. Exhale, folding as you draw the left hip back. You can slide forward through a runner's lunge, root through the palms, step back, plank pose, Chaturanga, draw the outer arms in.

Inhale. Exhale back. Good, three breaths. Moving through a slightly different variation we'll add on some options, or you can stay with right there with what we just did. On an inhale, right leg lifts.

Exhale, knee to right elbow, round tuck, open, pause here. Inhale back. Exhale, knee into nose, round it out. Place the foot down. Inhale, rise up, warrior two.

Right palm lifts up and back reverse. Exhale, find that twist, left hand down, right arm up. Root through the left hand, shift again into Vasisthasana, right leg on top of left. So option, stay right here, or option, coming into the full pose taking two peace fingers to the right toes. Whoop! Lifting the hips.

So now option, transition into Hanumanasana. You can keep the right leg long or, I like to bend the knee, slide it all the way forward, walk the hands back. Check in with the hips. Draw the right hip back, left hip forward, hips lift. And just a few breaths here.

And you keep the right toes active. And check in, left toes are going straight back. Sometimes our foot has a tendency to be a little caddywhompus. And two more. All right, slowly transitioning back into a runner's lunge.

Back toes curl under, palms press, step it back, take it through your transition. Chaturanga or the floor. Inhale, upward or low cobra. Exhaling back. Left side, inhale, left leg lift.

Exhale, knee to left elbow, round, tuck, open. Inhale. Exhale, knee to nose. Place the foot down, warrior two, drop the back heel, let your arms windmill up. Left palm lifts.

Exhale, lunge twist. Right hand down, lift the back heel, left arm lifts. All right, so again, transitioning into Vasisthasana, root through the right hand, lift the left knee, stack the feet. Whoop! So option to stay right here, or two peace fingers to the big toe, and then taking the left leg high. Bend the knee or keep the leg straight.

We're gonna take it all the way into Hanumanasana. Heel kicks out, walk the hands back, lift the chest. So see if you can lift this left hipbone. Lift your hipbones up, maybe more so than I can do right here. Soft through the ribs.

And checking that that back foot is going straight back. Good, slowly lifting up, coming back through our runner's lunge. Plant the hands, step it back, Chaturanga or high plank to the floor. Inhale, Urdhva Mukha. Exhale back, Adho Mukha.

One more time, each side. This time we'll add on a little lunge onto the end. Inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, knee to right elbow. A little addition option to stay here and lengthen the right leg.

Take a little pause, Eka Pada Koundinyasana. Inhale takes it back. Exhale, knee to nose. Place the foot down, warrior two, arms sweep up. Right palm lifts.

Windmill the arms down, lunge twist. Exhale, roll onto the outer edge of the back foot. Shift it into Vasisthasana. So your choice, you can also stay there, or take that full pose. Okay, knee in or straight leg.

Take the heel all the way forward. And this time, stay forward. Forearms down. For some, you can bring the chest all the way down. I like to keep my right foot flexed.

Back of the neck long. Good, and slowly bring the palms down, come back into a runner's lunge, and then drop the back knee and shin down. Lift up as if you're going into a lunge twist. Bend the back knee, hook on. Inhale, lift the chest, so you're doing a slight twist with the kick back.

On an exhale, fold forward, draw the heel in, draw the right shoulder in. Maybe the forehead can touch the floor. With your breath, inhale, lift, and kick back. Exhale, tuck it in. Hello, left quad. (chuckles) Inhale.

So just moving with your breath time. Exhale, come on back in. This time as you lower down, if available, come onto your forearm. You also use a phone book or something to keep you lifted. And then, let the forehead drop in.

I like to create a fist and let my head rest on my fist, 'cause I'm kinda in the in-between place. And then we'll just take a few breaths right here. Inhale, rise up. Release your right hand down. Toe-heel the foot back in, curl the back toes under, transition back, plank, Chaturanga.

Create that sacred pause. Inhale. Exhale back. Good, last time. Left side, inhale, left leg lift.

Exhale, knee to left elbow, pause here, drilling it in, or lengthen the leg, Eka Pada Koundinyasana variation, and then back on up. Exhale, knee to nose. Place the foot down, warrior two, rise up, strong base. Left palm lifts, right into reverse. Lunge twist.

Right hand down, left arm up. Root through your right hand, roll onto the right outer heel, Vasisthasana. Left leg lifts, hook the toe, kick the heel out, and still try to lift the hips. Okay, bend the knee or keep it straight as you bring it all the way through Hanumanasana, and this time you're gonna stay folded forward. Inhale, lengthen.

Exhale, fold. And just two more breaths, and a light draw of the right hip forward. Good, slide the hands back. Come back into a runner's lunge. Drop the right knee, shin down.

Right hand stays down. Turn it back into a lunge twist, and then bend the back knee, so you're gonna hook under the pinky side of the foot, inhale, lift, lengthen, slight twist, exhale, draw it in. Forearm down towards the floor, left shoulder inside left thigh. Inhale, lift, kick. And nice and slow, exhale.

Head in. And this one we stay down, so exhale, maybe staying on the palm or maybe the forearm, and again, I like to create a little fist so my head can rest on that, but your head might be able to rest on the floor or stay up on the palms. Slowly lifting up, releasing, bring the left hand down, toe-heel the left foot in. Step back, moving through your transition, and that might just be right to downward facing dog, might be Chaturanga. Just honoring your body in each moment.

From here, take the gaze foreword, step or hop the feet all the way through onto your bum. (relaxed exhale) So slide back a bit. We're gonna come into a cradle on the left side. So if you have a strap, tie, towel, something, go ahead and reach for that so you have access to it. Gonna go ahead and open it.

And then you're gonna bend you left knee as if you're just cradling here. So you might start here and here, and this might be it, this might be your happy place. For some, you can bring your foot into the crook of the elbow, and then vice versa. So I have to lift the little back and draw it in. So this is a little bit more of my happier side you're gonna get to see first.

And you can just do little movements. If you're moving at all, just real slow. See if you can just sit up, low back, soften the shoulders. So from here, we're gonna move into compass pose. So it's as if we're gonna put our left leg on like a backpack strap.

So you're gonna take your left hand to your calf, lift up. So for some, you might be able to lift up more onto your shoulder. For me it's on my upper tricep, and I can squeeze here, 'cause I can't get it all the way up there. So from here, just hang out here for a moment. Give a little wiggle.

The left hand is gonna move down to the floor. You're gonna grab hold of the pinky side of the foot and start to kick out, so moving into compass pose. So this might be where you are, or you can use a strap to hook on, give you some space in the shoulders. So choosing either a strap or no strap for the first one. So flexing through the foot, press through the left hand to draw the shoulders back.

And just one more big breath, and soften. Readjust your backpack strap. So Eka Hasta Bhujapidasana, palms pressed, left leg squeezes. On an inhale, press through the palms, lift the bum. Use your right heel as a kickstand.

So this might be it. For some you can lift the right foot. For some, you can take the right foot to the ceiling. Good, exhale, relax. Readjust.

We're gonna try Hasta Vrksasana. So palms pressed, bring the right foot in, hook the feet, and you're gonna shoot them to the left, squeezing the inner thighs. So hook, squeeze, shift, and take the gaze towards the toes. And then slowly come back. Got both legs out long.

Just take a break before we do the other side, into Paschimottanasana. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, fold. Inhale, come on back up. So right side.

Bend the knee again, find your place, maybe right here, just check it out, maybe working the foot in towards the crook of the elbow. So trying to sit up, trying to draw the shin in towards the chest, but being gentle. So again, so this is my not so happy side. I like to say, instead of saying tighter, my more stable side. So just meeting it with a little bit of loving kindness.

Maybe a little rock just to explore a little. And then moving into compass pose on this side. Again, starting with, you're putting your leg on like a backpack strap, so right hand to the calf, lift up, and it might go up towards the shoulder, it might go towards the upper arm, and just pause, press the palm down. So if you have strap near you, go ahead and bring the strap near the foot, just a little loop around, readjust, palm down, hand on the strap, and then kick the leg out, and as the leg straightens, press the palm and flex through the foot. So you wanna find a place where you can really extend, lengthen through the shoulder, kick through the leg, and then we bend the right knee, put the strap off to the side.

Come on back, create that little backpack strap, palm down, left heel sinks into the floor, lift the bum, and then if you can, lift the left leg, Eka Hasta Bhujapidasana. And for some, you might get the foot to the ceiling. For some, the heel might be on the floor. Good, readjust. Palms down.

You're gonna slide the left knee, left foot in, find the hook, shift forward, kick the feet out to the side, squeeze the inner thighs. Check out your toes, keep the back of the neck long. Good, and then come on back. Legs long. Exhale, fold, just folding forward, finding neutral.

And then we're gonna put it all together in a flow. So we're gonna inhale, slowly rise up, cross the feet, come on back into downward facing dog. Hips lift, and just pause. Nice. So just taking a few breaths here, 'cause we're gonna start to go in through the flow, and so we're gonna move into the arm balance of Eka Pada Koundinyasana.

We're gonna try to use our core strength to lift up to bring the left foot through to Hasta Vrksasana and then back into Eka Pada Koundinyasana. So let's just give it a go. Let's have a little fun with this. On an inhale, bring the right leg up. Exhale, knee to right elbow.

Slide forward into the arm balance, and then bring the left leg through, just draw the feet together, squeeze 'em, and then same thing to come out. Left leg long, back into Chaturanga with strength here, stability, inhale. Good, exhale back. Just taking about five breaths before we move to the opposite side. Okay, when you're ready, left leg lifts.

Exhale, knee to left elbow. Remember, you can hang out here. You don't have to keep going. So I like to do a little adjustment here. Bring the right foot all the way through, find the hook, squeeze, and then bring it back through.

Lengthen. Good, and then back to Chaturanga. Try to keep the shoulders up. Good, move it through, exhale back. When you're set, jump it all the way through.

You can jump to the hands and then sit down or take the gaze through all the way. Good. We're gonna come onto our backs. Lower on down lightly. And then setting up for bridge pose, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana.

Take the feet hip distance apart and just create a little space between your bum and your heels. Flip the palms up, and then start to root into the feet as you lift, pubic bone, heart. I like to start to slide my shoulders under. And if it's available, go ahead and interlace the hands. You can start to take the fists down, but really press down the back of the arms.

Create a little space between your neck and the floor. And just settle into your breath. Now your thighs, see if you can roll them up just a bit, your inner thighs roll in towards each other. So option, hang out right here. We didn't do a ton of back bending.

This is completely a counter pose, so if it feels good, you can move up into a Chakrasana, Urdva Dhanurasana, or stay right here, just trying to sustain it lightly. Finger pads behind the shoulders. You can go ahead and lift up either onto the crown of the head just to readjust the arms, or swan swoop. So just taking a few breaths here. Feet still stay at that distance.

So your choice, hang out right here or toe-heel the right foot in towards center for a little bit. Root through the right foot, left knee can come into the chest. Slide the left hip down, and then left leg can lift. Good, bend the knee, come on down, switch sides. Left foot to the center.

Right knee comes in towards the chest. So there's a little bit of your right sit bone articulates down, and then right leg lifts up. Trying to scoop out the armpits. And then slowly lower down. Tuck the chin so the back touches before the head, roll it down.

And just take a moment, knees resting, one hand on the belly, one on the heart. And just feel your breath rate slow, your heart rate. Then slowly draw the knees back into the chest. Just give one, two, three rocks on the spine. We're gonna come all the way up.

And coming into Upavistha Konasana, so taking the feet about 90 degrees, flex the feet, and then from here, lift the hipbones. Feel your sit bone start to root, and then bring the hands in front. So if already your hands are in front and you're starting to feel like you're rounding here, take 'em behind you. Flip the fingers back behind you to roll open the chest and hang out here. If it's available, you can take the hands in front and just start to walk forward.

I should never say, "Just," right? 'Cause sometimes it's a big effort. So staying right here like you're drawing the heart forward. So option to stay right here or continue down on to the forearms. Find that place where you can still reach the heart forward and just soften in.

For some, it might be available to keep going down. I like to stack my hands so I can rest my forehead, just in that in-between place. For some, your chest might start to lower down onto the floor. It may also feel good to take the arms out in front, almost like you're trying to drag your chest forward. And then you're still pressing the back of the thighs into the floor, and then playing with the low back, so you're trying to space, create space, create space in the middle through the upper, the whole entire spine.

And so walk the hands to the right. You wanna keep your right form on the ground. Take the left arm up overhead, and for some, you might be able to tickle the bottom of your foot. Take the left arm up. And just let the head dangle, or you can tuck the chin to look up.

So there's nowhere that your left hand has to get to. It might touch the floor, it might stay up. And then the left sit bone, you can kinda play with putting a little weight down. If it starts to lift, just give it a little rock. And then exhale, lower the left elbow down.

Inhale, come halfway up just to lengthen, and then exhale, fold over the right thigh. Inhale, lifting up just lightly a few inches, walk it back across center. Take a pause. Just find neutral. And then walk it over to the left.

Left palm starts to turn up, left forearm stays down, and then take the right arm up and over. So trying to breathe into the upper back, trying to soften through the low ribs. And again, depending how the neck feels, you can keep the gaze down. You can tuck the chin, you can start to roll it up. So for me, my right sit bone wants to come up, and I can rock down a little bit, just a little play.

Then slowly, right arm comes down. Chest over the thigh. Take an inhale to lengthen over the left thigh, and then exhale, fold it in. Then inhale, come on back up. Walk the hands back to center.

Inhale, shine the heart forward, and then one more time, fold it in. Inhale, come on up, slide the legs back down your mat, bend the knees, and then slowly lower onto your back, knees in. And then just take the arms out, either into cactus or fully, and slowly let the knees drop off to one side. And if you have a favorite twist you wanna come into, feel free. And then let your left arm, or whatever arm is away from the legs come over, touch the opposite hand.

Kinda even out, and then draw open just to find some length. So nothing to do here, just completely let go. Come on back up to center. Let your knees drop off to the opposite side. I'm gonna let the arm that's furthest away come all the way over.

And then I inhale, let it draw all across the arm, open all the way up. And you have nothing to do, nothing to hold onto. Inhaling, coming back up to center. And giving one last squeeze of the knees, and you can squeeze 'em in strong if that's what you're feeling, or just a light little draw in. And then legs long, one leg at a time coming all the way out onto your mat, setting up for your final pose, Shavasana.

Just allowing palms up, shoulders could get heavy. Just letting the feet go. We're just doing a scan, head to toe. See if you can soften through the eyebrows, letting the eyes just get heavy, cheeks, the jaw, and the base of the throat, soften. Let your shoulders just sink into the mat.

The elbows, the forearms, and the center of the palms, just let that all get heavy. Soften right around your heart space, through the belly, through the hips, so you can let go of the legs even more. Soften through the quadriceps, the knees, the calves, the feet, and even the toes. Slowly bringing your awareness just back to your breath. Maybe wiggling the toes, the fingers.

And if you'd like to, take the arms overhead. Slowly rolling onto our right side, just taking a moment to honor our more nurturing side, our left side, our moon channel. And if you need it longer, Shavasana, please feel free to stay there. And if not, feel free to press up into a comfortable seat, and keeping the eyes soft and heavy. Meet with hands at heart center, bowing in.

And tuning back into Kriya Yoga, tapas, that which brings out our shining, starting to really tune into what brings out our shining. Swadhyaya, be willing to observe ourselves, not judging but just noticing. Then Ishwarapranidhana, devotion, just doing the best we can in each moment and letting go of the fruits of our actions. And thank you all so much for joining. Hope to see you soon.

Namaste.