Becoming Warrior 1

Hi, thanks for being here. Thank you, Megan, for being here. So in this first episode we'll be taking a look at Warrior I. And as we take a look at Warrior I, also known as Virabhadrasana I, the question arises is, Warrior of what? And one of the favorite moments in The Art of War by Sansu, for me, is at the very beginning there's a quote, the best generals have never been heard of, because the best generals never actually have to fight. So as we approach Warrior I, in addition to assisting the necessary physical parts that might need to be opened, like that we'll look at the hips, and the hamstrings, and the thigh, and the shoulders, and the low back, and kind of very obvious, gross physical things that might need help. Truly, always the question is, what's the interior alignment? What are we a warrior of? What are we trying to increase our capacity for? And so the illusion with some of these stronger standing poses can be that we're trying to build up strength and endurance. Okay, but truly what takes the most strength and endurance is love. Is peace, is forgiveness, is understanding. And so the hope as we play with this, I'll do my best to keep us on track technically, because my tendency is to kind of wax off to the philosophical very quickly. But in addition to some of the technical aspects, I'm hoping that we have the chance to touch in on some of these deeper alignments. So thanks for being here. The way this will go is in a moment we'll stand and Megan will show Warrior I so that at least we're on the same page of basically what we're talking about. And then we'll move through a sequence that, like I said, opens up the hips, opens up the low back a little bit, gets a sense of the shoulders, so that as we approach the posture we have some reference points. Okay, so what we'll do is we'll come to standing and you'll show Warrior I. I think right foot forward, yes, perfect. So Megan's gonna set up in her version of Warrior I, okay. She's taking some time to make sure, watch how she, like isn't that nice, how she takes some time to kind of make sure her feet are in the right place and notice the amount of organization that she puts towards it. Okay, now Megan, as I'm demonstrating on you, if at any point you need a break you just take one, okay. Okay, so a couple areas that ask, the main thing that's happening here, if you'll just notice the curve in her low back, Warrior I is a back bend, okay. There's a lot of going on here in this lumbar curve. And as it's a back bend, then it's asking for a freedom of movement up in the shoulders to be able to get her heart open, okay. Obviously there's a nice strong stretch happening through here, and the other piece that we'll be looking at specifically is what's being asked of in the hip right about here, okay. So these are some of the main points we're gonna attend to as well as what I mentioned the emotional alignment. Okay, awesome job, come on out of there. And then take a little forward fold just so it feels good. And then we'll find our way onto our back. So will you find your mind your back with your head facing this way? Okay, okay. So let your knees come into your chest and just kind of wobble around a little bit. Did you need, is your bun in the way? It's okay, okay. Okay, so what we'll do, that hip motion, that's where we'll start, okay. Because like getting that hip at that 90 degree takes a little bit of effort. So Megan, what I'll ask you to do is place your feet down on the floor, and you're gonna let your right knee come into your chest, interlace your fingers around the knee, okay. Big deliberate inhale here, and exhale, let the knee come in. And then we'll move in and out of it about four more times. Inhale, knee moves away from you, arms draw straight. Exhale, knee draws back in. So we're starting with something called Ardha Apanasana. Inhale, knee moves away. And exhale, knee moves back in. Nice, two more. So what this does is this allows your hip to start to get a sense of the compression that you're gonna be asking of her, but while also giving some room. So when we move in and out of a posture, we communicate that it's gonna be okay.

So now next time you move it away, pause. And now with your knee moving away and your arms straight, see if it makes sense. Can you relax the outside of this hip? So on Megan, it's her right hip. Can you relax the outside of that hip? Yeah, does that make sense? How that wants to grip. So you just let it relax. Mm-hmm. Soften in the inner hip pocket. Soften a little bit in the shoulders. Soften a little bit in the eyes and the mouth. And so getting a sense of ease in this region of the hip pocket, can you maintain a sense of ease as you let this right knee come back in towards your chest? Yeah, does that make sense? Okay, so that even as you're in the relationship of compression, you're maintaining a little quality of space there. And now for some of you, this might be as deep as the hip and the compression and the relationship of your back and your pelvis as might be appropriate. Okay, but for Megan, it's totally appropriate to find her way into half happy baby by sliding her right hand towards, maybe it's the ankle, maybe it's the outside of the foot, and then she's going to draw her right knee gently in towards her chest as she reaches her right foot up towards the sky. Yeah, is that okay? Okay. Now big deliberate inhale here. Exhale, let it happen. And as she lets this right knee come down in towards her, and as you do this at home, there's a willingness to keep it spacious in that hip. Is that available? Yeah, soft in the eyes, soft in the jaw. Now can you see how her leg is now in the very similar position as it's going to be asked when she's standing? And so just to mimic it a little bit more, some of you might choose to keep this other knee, this left knee bent because it's more supportive on the back. But Megan, if it feels okay, see how it feels to straighten out through that left leg a little bit. Yeah, and then flexing the foot. Yes, nice. And so now this is closer to what's being asked in the shape, right? Because you've got that stretch through the front of the thigh. You've got this in compression. Last few moments, sometimes your fingers get tired doing this. Isn't that the weirdest thing? So like soften your fingers a little bit. Yep, beautiful. Okay, then I'm gonna ask you to release your leg up towards the sky, shake it out a little bit, release the grip. Nice couple ankle circles, beautiful, good instincts. And then let the leg come back down to meet the other leg. Okay, pause, big deliberate inhale, exhale everything and just notice how that felt. Okay, did anything feel worse? Okay. Okay, so we'll do that on the other side. So bending the knees again, let the left knee come into your chest, interlace the fingers, draw the knee in and pause here for a moment and just notice that without the intention of the spaciousness. When we draw this knee in, sometimes there's this like mushiness, this like, you feel that? This munchiness that happens. What we, in the area we call the hip pocket, yep, in between the torso and the leg. And so now, artha apanasana. Inhale, let the knee draw away from you. And as you exhale, let the knee draw back in. Beautiful. Inhale, let the knee draw away from you. Beautiful. Exhale, let the knee drop back in. So about three more like this and you're, you're moving with your breath and as we've talked about before, like this is how we communicate into the nervous system that there's an exit route. So when Megan moves in and out of it, what she does is she lets the nervous system know, okay, we're gonna be, we're gonna be moving into the state of compression but it's not forever. Okay, I think, I think it's one more. Okay, so hold this out and pause here and now just make a choice to relax the outside of this left hip pocket like, yeah. If it makes sense, if this instruction makes sense, you can soften the left sit bone. Those of you that have been watching along with us on the inner working show, if it makes sense, like soften the pelvic floor. Yeah. So that there's a, there's a sense of space and then you, you, you commit to that sense of space. Yeah, beautiful. As you let this knee come gently back in towards your chest. So that you're deliberately starting to practice putting yourself in a state of compression while also finding ease. So soft in the jaw, kind in the eyes, open in the ears. Yeah. Beautiful. And for some of you at home, just depending on what you're working with in your own body, this might already be a deep enough project. Now for Megan, it's appropriate to find her way into Half Happy Baby by letting her left hand find, maybe it's the ankle, maybe it's the outside of the foot. Some of you might prefer to grab your big toe, that's also available. And then the play here, it's this delicate balance, okay, of shoulder ease and where you can grab. And so as long as the shoulder feels relaxed and comfortable, then you're appropriate. If, if you're straining quite a lot to reach the foot, then you might consider using a strap. Okay, so it's the same idea love. It's like, as you're in this shape, find the space. Does that make sense? So find the space within the compression. Beautiful. Soften the pelvic floor again. Nice. Soften the outside of the hip. And for some of you in the low backs you're working with, it might make more sense to keep your right knee bent. For Megan, it's completely appropriate to play with letting her right leg draw straight and eventually flex her foot. Beautiful. And so now you have, if you remember the shape of the Warrior I, you've got this compression happening, you've got this stretch through this front thigh happening, and you've got the really important practice of staying easy inside. Okay, last few beats. Okay, then she's gonna, eventually she'll release the leg, and like she did before, she had really good instincts of exactly circling the ankle, shaking it out a little bit. And then if it feels okay, flexing the foot and let the leg lower all the way back down. Beautiful. And let yourself pause, like Megan's so nicely demonstrating, and just feel the results of your attention. And it's the most interesting thing, like you can't see this at home, but you can maybe feel it, but what I can see is Megan's feet now look much younger and alive. Okay, how do you feel? You feel like your legs are longer. Yeah, so this might be enough, you might just stay here. I'm gonna ask Megan to roll up to sitting, so bring your knees into your chest, and then lock and roll up. Perfect. And then do you mind turning around? Beautiful. Stay there. So this next part, Megan's choosing a variation on Sukhasana. Just, you know, she has a particular design of flexibility of joints in her knees and ankles that allows for her to sit like this. Most of you at home will sit more like this with your shins in line with each other, but for Megan, this works really quite well. So let your hands come on to your legs, and we're gonna start to get a sense of that low back region. So if it's all right, I'm gonna ask you to inhale, and as you exhale, will you please round your back, opening the back body? Yes. Beautiful. And as you inhale, will you please roll your pelvis forward, let your heart bloom. Gorgeous. Okay, so continuing like this, holding onto your legs, exhale, getting around. Yes. And as you inhale, rolling the pelvis forward, letting the heart blossom. So pretty. About three more. And the play here is really start to get a sense of this relationship, of how your sacrum rolls forward and your heart opens. And now when you draw your sit bones under and your sacrum rolls back and your heart draws down. So pretty.

Two more. Nice. It's actually one and a half more. Art. And the next time you come into the rounding, try this. Next time you come into rounding, pause, and see if you can get a sense of rolling your hips open. Like, can you feel more space in the hips? And then maintain that as you roll your pelvis forward, draw your heart up. So beautiful. If it's hardened in the low back, let a little high breath happen. Yes. And then some of you, this might be deep enough, but for Megan it's appropriate to start to walk her hands forward. And as she walks her hands forward, the keys are those same things. Softness in the mouth, softness in the jaw. Because remembering what are we becoming a warrior of? And when we're rushing and being aggressive, then that's what we're getting better at. That's all we're practicing. Okay. And so now you've got the combination of the hips rolling open. She's rounding her back a little bit so she's got some stretch happening. Now to start to bring the awareness in the heart, the request is this. Are you comfortable? The request is this. Can you start to feel the back region of the heart? And can you start to feel the movement of the breath here? And so the question is, can you just feel the gentle rise of the inhale and the fall of the exhale? And this is not an easy area to access. This area that sits right behind the heart, right down along the spine. And I apologize, what I mean by the heart here is specifically what we call the energetic heart in yoga. The Sanskrit is often the anahata, meaning unbeaten or unbroken sound. Yeah. Okay, so pretty. And then slowly when you're ready, Megan, chin into the chest, roll back up.

And then let your hands come behind you. And as you let your hands come behind you, start with fingertips pointing straight back. Now with fingertips pointing straight back, you'll be able to get a little bit more room in the wrists. Okay, most of it, like sometimes that feels better. But if you turn your fingertips forward, sometimes that lets you get a little bit more alignment in the shoulders, but it's more demanding on the wrist. Can you feel that? So which one feels better for you? That one? Okay, good. Now pause here and see how your pelvis is starting to want to roll forward and your heart's starting to want to lift. Can you remember the back of your heart? Does that make sense? Can you allow this to stay full, even as you start to lift up into the chest? Wobble a little side to side, so you're remembering the sense of breathing into the back of the heart, even as you're opening up the front of the heart. And most of you, this will be enough. And keeping your chin dropped tends to be the most calming, the safest. Only if it would feel really good, the throat starts to open. Only if it would feel really nice, the face starts to brighten. Okay, beautiful. And notice how slowly and thoughtfully Megan's approaching this shape, okay, because she's really, she's listening inward, beautiful, last few moments. And notice how she's made this wonderful decision to turn her hands in. I don't know if you can see that at home, but it's okay. What that's doing is it's allowing for a more pleasing rotation of her shoulders for her. So this is more about noticing what you do, not trying to do somebody else's rules. Okay, so nice. Now let an inhale bring you, lead with your heart, let yourself come back up. Beautiful. Pause, it's nice. When you come back up, if you rush out of this, you miss some of the nice juice. Okay, so only as you feel ready, you'll switch the cross of your legs. And we'll repeat that same thing. So with the hands on the legs, okay, inhale, you'll let your pelvis roll forward, you'll let your heart lift.

And as you exhale, you'll hold on and you'll round, and really like hold on, like whoa, yes. And then inhale, you'll roll your pelvis forward, letting your heart lift. Yes. And exhale, you'll round and roll pretty. So nice. Beautiful. Three more. And watch. So you're starting, you're training your body in the undulation of the spine, and you're getting a sense of how the sacrum moves. Okay, because if you can have a sense of how the sacrum moves here, it's so much easier when the project becomes more complex. Gorgeous. Okay, now pause here, let the hips roll open a little bit. Yes. And then maintain that opening as you now roll your pelvis forward and draw your heart open. Yes. Gorgeous. Now maintain that. And some of you, this might be deep enough, but if you're more like Megan, it might feel good to walk your hands forward. Yes. So pretty. Okay. So there's a play here of letting the hips rotate open. There's a nice stretch starting to happen back here. Now that last sequence we focused on breathing behind the heart. In the interest of tuning our awareness just a little bit lower. See if it's available, Megan, to breathe more towards the region of the kidneys. Just to help that a little bit, I'll come stand behind you. So this area right here, okay, right about here. The kidneys, usually when you see them in a drawing or an image, they sit underneath that bottom rim. Okay. But anatomy is art. Yes. Beautiful. Yes. So just the effort to try to bring the breath a little bit lower. Uh-huh. Yeah. So nice. Uh-huh. A couple more moments.

Okay. Then as you're ready, chin into the chest. You'll slowly roll back up. And then just like we did on the other side, when you're ready, you'll bring your hands behind you. Fingertips pointing in the unique particular way that feels good. Now as the pelvis rolls forward and the heart wants to start to lift, the temptation is to kind of jack that up a little bit. And the play here is as you come into that, can you just be more sensitive to letting this, yes, to letting the back body, back by the kidney region, stay wide and open. Yeah. Pretty. So that as you allow the heart to begin to bloom and you wiggle up in there, there isn't that temptation. There's less temptation to rush it. We tend to open this without nourishing from the source. Yeah. And as Megan's showing, some of you might let the throat open and the face blossom. So pretty. Kinder in the eyes, easier in the mouth. Beautiful. Okay. When it feels like you've cooked equally on that side, let the heart lead. Come on back up and then pause and give yourself the time to, like, sit here for a moment. Like, this feels so nice.

So tempting to miss the fruits of the breakfast. Okay. Now there are a lot of ways to transition from seated to standing and so you might have your own way. The way we're gonna do it is we're gonna make our way through a squat. Does that seem okay? We're gonna come into a squat that to uttanasana. So I'll ask you to come into a squat facing this way. I'll come, I'll, we'll do it together. Right about there's good. Yes. Okay. So squat's not such an easy posture, so I'm taking for granted that you, that this is available today. Letting the hips relax. So if squats not your thing, we're not gonna detail out squat, then just skip this part. And just, it's that same idea. Can you feel how your hips are compressed, like in the happy baby? But can you allow for more of a sense of spaciousness? Yeah. Exactly. Okay. And then make your way into uttanasana, standing forward fold. And hang there a little bit. Let your knees soften. Now the way I like to do uttanasana, I like to let one knee bend and then the other leg straighten. And then let the other knee bend and the other leg straighten. And Megan is coming up on her tiptoes, which is super cute. That's more advanced. I usually just casually let one knee bend and then the other knee bend. The tiptoe thing is pretty awesome though. Okay. And then eventually dangle. And then when you're ready, Megan, chin into your chest, hands on your legs for support, and you'll let yourself roll up towards standing. Beautiful. So nice. Now, for the purposes of our friends at home seeing more clearly, I'm gonna ask you to turn to face this way. And what we'll do is we'll start by finding our tatasana. So tatasana, as we've spoken about before, and just to make it more visually pleasing, would you stand more about here? Yeah. Tatasana, okay, which means mountain pose, it becomes our blueprint of how we approach the postures. So again, what are we a warrior of, you know? And so tatasana becomes where we sort of tune the elements that then we bring to our standing postures. So the way we'll tune tatasana today, we'll stand with our feet about hip distance apart. Your hips are not that wide. Okay. Spread your toes perfect. Big, deliberate inhale. And exhale, let it happen and ground. And so the play here, the grounding, if you let your knees just soften a little bit, like we take some of this lockout, if we let the knees soften a little bit and we let the sit bones get heavy and you let your low belly relax a little bit. Okay. Like you'll know you found a feeling of grounded when it feels like you're kind of at the bottom of the exhale a little bit. And there's a there's a sense that you can feel your feet. Yeah, beautiful. Okay. And the play here is how to maintain that sense of grounded. How to maintain that sense of grounded. Okay.

While also letting the heart begin to express. This is one of the cosmic ironies of yoga is actually the whole program is to designed to notice that we're already connected. And yet the heart longs to experience connection. And the irony of this is that it requires a sense of separation to then experience this longing for connection. Desire, Eros, implies a want. And so do you remember that feeling when your heart was was opening a bit? Do you remember that feeling? So the play is, do you remember the back of the heart full? So maintain that sense of the back of the heart full and so gently press into the feet just enough to feel this natural generosity. Yes. And if and when we push too much, right, we lose our connection with and when and if we push too much, we lose the connection and it'll feel anxious. And so if it ever feels anxious, you just let another little happen. Yeah. So beautiful. So pretty. Okay. Does that make sense? Can you feel that balance? And you just let your head align. Let your head align so that the base of the skull is wide. Now for the practice of the postures, one of the pranayamas that's quite effective is what's known as ujjayi pranayama, which usually gets translated as the victorious stretching of the breath. And so just to help Megan start to find this, I'm gonna bring my hands around where I imagine her diaphragm is. You at home could either bring your hands like this. Some people prefer to do something like this, but like not everybody's shoulders let them do this. Okay. So it's always good to have a friend. So I'm gonna bring my hands around her diaphragm and I'm just offering the slightest bit of squeeze. Okay. So that you can get started. Yes. You start to get a sense of breathing wide in to the diaphragm, into the ribs. Yes. And so you're looking for a sense of expansion. Now this is a very willful breath. Okay. And it's a very focusing, willful breath, which is designed to help literally like get it up for the postures. Yes. But the problem is, is that then it's also exhausting. Can you feel that? It also requires a lot of you. So on these next few breaths, Megan, what I'd like you to lean in on is, is a place or a word that inspires you. So you might choose a word like, what do you want to become a warrior of? Do you want to become a warrior for the health of the ocean? Then you think ocean. Do you want to become a warrior for joy? Then you think joy. And where you think that is right at the beginning of the inhale. So right at the beginning of the inhale, find the word. Maybe it's joy. Maybe it's love. Maybe it's the mountains. Yeah. Yes. And can you see how that lets the breath happen more naturally? What's your word? Kindness. Kindness. So that's the warrior we're working on today. A warrior of kindness. You might have a different warrior, but that's what Megan and I are working on. Beautiful. So you maintain that, Megan, okay? So no matter what we're doing, you maintain that mantra. That will, because we talk a lot about the breath being connected to the posture, but what's the breath connected to? Okay.

Let's get a little bit into the shoulders. So interlace your fingers in front of you, turn your palms forward, and go up. Now as she goes up, what I'm gonna ask you to do is let the elbows bend a little bit so your shoulders relax back and down. Does that make sense? Yeah. And then once her shoulders are relaxed back and down, tune into your mantra again of kindness. Because if your mantra is kindness, yes, you're not gonna force anything. Press into the feet and lengthen. Beautiful. And just feel like snuggle up out of yourself. Like wiggle a little side to side. And so what she's establishing here now in that warrior, she's establishing a sense of being able to reach. Aha. Soften the sit bones a little bit. And for the last few moments, Megan, can you remember how to ground at the same time? Can you let a happen? Yeah. Gorgeous. Okay. From here, inhale. And as you exhale, Megan, let the arms open out to the sides of you. Yep. Rotate your shoulders forward, exactly, and bring the hands behind your back to clasp. Interlace. Wiggle the shoulders back and down. Now if that's not useful for you because it's too much torque at home, then don't do it or use a strap. Inhale here. Exhale. Bend your knees. Chest comes to your thighs. Head drops. Arms reach up out and over and away from you. Okay. So she's getting a little bit of mobility from her through your shoulders. You're getting a little bit of grounding in the feet. Last few moments. So nice. Okay. Let your arms come back towards you. Relax the hands towards the earth. Bend the knees. Chin into the chest and roll on back up. Feel the belly and feel the heart and feel the throat and the face. Gorgeous.

Pretty. Do that one more time. Okay. So ground. Tadasana. Big delivery now. Exhale. Let it happen in ground. Okay. Get your grounding. Like we joke around where we hang out in Ojai, we joke that the best way to feel grounded is to feel grounded. Okay. Now maintain that sense of grounding. Let that natural generosity of heart that we experienced earlier occur. Like feel that opening. Let your head find the alignment. And these are the keys that you'll remember when you're in the warrior one. And then tune your mantra. Yes. And then only as you're ready, Megan, interlace your fingers. Weird knuckle on top. So it feels like you have someone else's hand. Turn your palms forward. Go up through the arms. Yes. Soften the elbows enough so the shoulders have room. Gorgeous. Soften the sit bones a little bit. So pretty. And then wiggle and lengthen. And as you're wiggling and lengthen, let yourself stay inspired by the warrior you're becoming today. Yeah. So nice. Okay. Inhale here. Exhale. Relax the hands wide. Rotate the shoulders forward. Interlace your fingers behind you. Weird knuckle on top. Wiggle your shoulders back and down. And then do this. This just so make sure people, our friends at home can see. Turn this way so that when you come into the forward fold, people can see what's happening. Yes. Inhale here. Exhale. Bend your knees. Chest finds your thighs. Head drops. Feel the arms reach up out and over and away from you. So nice. Letting your head get heavy. Beautiful. And Megan has appropriately, she's let her hands separate a little bit so her wrists have more room. Okay. If you remember, the way she chose to put her wrists indicated that she's, she's caring for them. Okay. Hands back to your hips, love. Arms down by your feet. And then bend the knees. Chin into the chest and slow. Let yourself start to roll back up. Belly. Heart, throat, face. Nicely done. Beautiful. Okay. So we have one more thing to prepare. So we've prepared the hips. We've prepared the the heart region and the shoulder region. And we've prepared the mind. We just need to get a little, just want to get a little opening more in the front thighs.

Is that okay? So I'll ask you to come to the front of the mat. Okay. And what we'll do is we'll just make our way through a simple lunge. So we'll do it like this. Tadasana. Big, deliberate inhale. Exhale everything. Ground. Tune the heart. Let the mind be light. And we'll make, we'll do it with a sura namaskar. So let your hands come together at the heart. Inhale here. And as you exhale, let the hands come down towards your, towards the earth. Like, sorry, I'm gonna step a little bit. So inhale here. Exhale, hands towards the earth. Inhale, circle your arms up. Pretty. And as you exhale, let yourself fold forward. Right. Inhale, half arch. And as you exhale, let your left foot step back first. Let your right knee bend. Shape of the lunge. Okay. Wiggle back through here. And then curl your right sit bone under. Let your right knee come down to the floor. And then, yeah, stay low.

Introduce yourself. Inhale, draw back a little bit. Exhale, sink in. And do that about four more times. Inhale, draw back a little bit. Exhale, sink in. Inhale, draw back a little bit. Exhale, sink in. Mm-hmm. Two more. This is the same thing as, as, as when we were working an appanasana, this moving in and out. Yes. Now, pause back here for a moment. And remember that same thing when we were supine, where you find the space in that hip. Do you remember? You have softness in the eyes. So that as you come forward again into the lunge, and you're compressing into this right hip. Okay. There's a sense of openness. This hip is, is that you're letting this get long. Okay. And we're just gonna stay low. This for some of you at home might be enough to intensify the opportunity through the front of the side. If Megan deliberately starts to draw this left sit bone under. Okay. And she simultaneously deliberately starts to reach back through this heel. Does that make sense? But you keep the knee on the earth? Yeah. You can feel these two opposing lines. Do you feel how that makes it a little more dynamic? Yeah. That for most of you at home is going to be enough. This kind of pulling, this, this opposing action. It doesn't look like you're doing much, but you can feel it. Yes. Okay. Now, the last piece, if it's appropriate to stretch more. You imagine that you have a, like a soft pile of baby kittens on the back of your knee that you don't want to wake up. They're sleeping. You keep this so soft, so tender. You keep drawing this sit bone under. You keep reaching this back, and you're just gonna lift the knee off the floor. A smidge of a smidge of a dewdrop of an essence. Yes. Pause. Is that okay? Can you feel that? So there's a dynamic action going on. This is drawing under. This is reaching back. Now, can you, last few moments, can you remember your mantra of kindness? Yes. Okay. Beautiful. Let that leg come back down to the floor. Nicely done. And then lift up through the back of that leg, and you're gonna step this foot forward. Rock and roll. Nice. Inhale, half arch, and then exhale, step your other leg back. We go back. Same idea. Move in and out of it a couple times. So inhale, draw back. Exhale, sink in. Inhale, draw back. Nice. Exhale, sink in. Nice. Three more. So again, like the moving in and out, because the nervous system's first response to when we're doing new things like this is stop that. And so when we move in and out, it just communicate that there's an exit route. We communicate that it's not forever, and things relax more. Now pause here. So pause in that last one, and just like we were doing on the floor, like find more space here. Just decide to find more space. Does that make sense? You don't have to do anything technical or anatomical. Even find the mantra of kindness. Yeah. Okay, and then only as you're ready, you start to sink in, letting that left knee bend, letting this right sit bone draw under. Beautiful. Nice. Now if this is enough, just being here and being passive will stretch the front thigh region. Okay, there is not anything more necessary required. We're choosing to play with something slightly more dynamic for fun, in which you're going to draw that sit bone under a little bit more actively, as you simultaneously reach back more through that heel. Yes. Does that make sense? So you have these two opposing lines. It doesn't, like from the visual eye, it's like what's different, but you know it's different, yeah, and you know it's different. And so for most of you, soft in the mouth, for most of you, this is enough. This extra addition is quite demanding, and yet really quite useful for the simultaneous stretching and strengthening of an area. So you keep the back of the knee soft. I have to call out Lisa Walford on this one. She's the one that showed me this a million years ago. And if puppies are more your things than kittens, a pile of puppies sleeping. So soft. So soft. And just lift the knee, a little smidge of a nano smidge of a smidge, of a rainbow dewdrop essence. Perfect. Keep reaching back through here, keep drawing through here, and then kindness. Beautiful. Okay. So nice. If you're not doing it home and you're just watching, it's so much harder than it looks. Okay, let that leg come back down. Pause. Nice. When you're ready, Megan, find your way back to Uttanasana. You'll lift up through the back of this leg, and you'll rock and roll, and you'll step that leg forward. And inhale, half arch, and exhale, forward fold. Nice. Okay.

So now we've prepared most of the parts for Warrior I, which doesn't mean you have to do it. But we're going to. Okay, bend the knees, hands on the legs, chin into the chest, and roll on back. So nice. How you doing? Okay, you're doing great. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so keeping her right foot forward. I think this will be the easiest for people at home to understand. We'll start with your right foot forward. You're going to step your left foot back, and you're just going to find the stance that's right for your Warrior I, but keep your hands on your waist. If that makes sense? Okay. So Megan's going to establish her stance. Now, as we've talked about before, the stance of Warrior I is a very unique decision. Now, you'll maybe, I don't know if you can see this, but Megan, you know, you've probably noticed Megan has quite a long, you know, slender frame, and so it made sense for her. Okay, then you can let that leg straight, and so you don't have to work there so long. She has chosen, okay, to line up her front heel, you know, pretty close towards her back heel. Okay, so that's what she's chosen. If, okay, you, and that is going to make her work more her balance. It's going to tune more her accuracy and her balance. If she wanted to work more a sense of stability or grounding, she could choose to step this foot more forward, okay, and wider. Okay, so you can, you can make this stance work for you. Today, this is what Megan has chosen, and so I'm her friend, and I trust her. The other thing that you might notice is often in Warrior I, will you bend the knee a little bit, often people end up feeling it here, because they hear the instruction, point the hip points, you know, point the hip bones forward, so then they try to torque this leg, and the knee takes the brunt of it. Come back up. Any knee pain for you today? It doesn't look like it, but okay. If you are experiencing knee pain, then usually what works is to turn this foot more forward. We just show, so they know what I mean, like to turn this foot more this way, right? You just, yeah, you just rotate that, and what that does, it allows, does that make sense? For more rotation here. Okay, okay, but you can put your foot back to where you like it. Okay, let your legs draw straight. Now, step one is the Tadasana alignment. So, pause here, big, deliberate, inhale, exhale, let it happen, and feel grounded. Okay, because again, a warrior of what? And it's really hard to be an effective warrior, unless you can feel the earth beneath you. Yeah. Okay, and then remember this, so remember this back bend that's happening. Okay, remember a sense of space here. Yes. Okay, and right here, you can start to remember the sense of brightening. Like, so you're just, you're playing on memory. That's all we're really playing on. It's one of our key, like, skills is forming more, not forming new memories, but like attuning to what we're remembering. Okay, now try this, interlace your fingers like we did in Tadasana, turn the pumps forward and go up. Yes. So now, okay, you're getting that sense of length. Okay, remember the sense of grounding. Okay, and now in the midst of all that, tune back to your mantra and let that influence your Ujjayi Pranayama. Yes. So pretty. Now, maintain this beautiful extension you have, Megan, as you start to let this front knee bend, letting the knee pause about over the ankle. Yes. Lengthening. So beautiful.

Breathing. Tuning your mind, and as it would feel good, you can relax your hands, you can relax the grip. Yes. So pretty. Now, for the last few moments, remember the mantra. Soft in the shoulders, gooey in the eyes, let this front hip feel more spacious. Yes. Root back through the back foot a little bit. Ah. Magnificent. Okay. Inhale here, and when you exhale, let your hands come back down to that front right foot. Roll up onto the back left foot, pause in the shape of the lunge. Yep, that looks like it feels good. Do that instead for a moment. And then come into a lunge. Roll, and then you'll step the left foot forward, half arch, and then exhale forward forward. Gorgeous. Okay. Soften the knees, and I'm gonna ask you to inhale, circle your arms wide as you come back up, finishing your sun salutation. Exhale, hands back to the center of the heart. Yeah. Did that make sense? Kind of, sort of? Yes? Okay. So again, the play is, it's like, what are you remembering? Okay. So what we'll do is we'll find that on the other side. Okay. So have your hands on your waist, and now you'll step your right foot back. I'm pretty sure. Yep. And again, watch how Megan finds her stance. So again, for you at home, you're looking for the stance that's comfortable. We explored this a bit in the posture show, in the posing show. Like, so notice how she's, she's, she's bending and straightening. She's, she's playing with the rolling of her hips. Okay. You know, we were joking earlier, you know, there's warrior one, there's warrior two, there's warrior three, and earlier the joke was, and there's warrior.25. So the play is like, where are your hips? You know, if, like, if, if I look at you, your hips is, you bend, right? And if we, if we were forcing your hips to point forward, right? Can you feel what that is? Can you feel how your knee takes it and your back ankle takes it? So I love where you've chosen. Your hips are just a little bit this way. Does that make sense how you've done that? Beautiful. Okay. We stand up for a moment. So another thing is, is Megan, as you can see, it's really easy for her to keep her back bent like this, you know, in this low back bend. But what I'll do in this next one, Megan, if it's okay, we'll tune your warrior, and then I'll offer just a few alternative positions for if things are hurting, and I'll ask you to demonstrate that. Is that okay? Okay. So once Megan's found her stance, big deliberate inhale. We'll keep the leg straight, and exhale. Remember that sense of grounding. So ground first.

Feel the earth. Beautiful. And then once you've grounded, you start to feel that same spaciousness in this front hip pocket that we tuned earlier. Isn't it? Isn't it amazing? It's just there. You just remember it. It doesn't have to be much more technical than that. Feel the natural generosity of heart we explored. Yes. Find your mudra or your mantra of kindness. So pretty. Beautiful. You find your mantra at home. Your mantra might be different. It might be something like freedom, delight. Interlace your fingers in front of you. Weird knuckle on top, if you remember. Turn the palms forward. Go up through the arms. Press into the feet in length. Gorgeous. So you notice that she's got this nice length. Now again, because of Megan's body and how she's put together, she's got the room in her upper back and her low back to be in the back bend. Okay. But some of you might already notice that just lean forward just a little bit. Some of you might just lean forward a little bit to take some of that compression out. Does that feel okay? So that's a nice way to just, you know, there's no need to force yourself into something that doesn't work okay for you because it's okay. Come back up. And then as she starts to bend her knee, she keeps this beautiful length and as she starts to bend her knee, now Megan's body lets her knee bend, you know, towards 90 degrees. But your body might prefer to be way back off a little bit, something more like this. Okay. There's a lot of argument of this is more stable, that's more stable. Really your body knows best. Beautiful. Now feel the spaciousness again. Yes. Press back through that back. Yes.

Kindness. Now as she releases her arms, for some of you arms straight feels really good. But for most of us and what we're working with on our shoulders, letting the elbows bend just a little bit. Yeah. It looks like it feels good on you too. Relaxes the shoulders back and down. So pretty. Last few moments. Be the warrior of kindness. Yes. Gorgeous, Megan. Last few moments. Okay. Okay. You're ready. Inhale. Exhale. Let your hands come back down around the front left foot. Shape of the, you took a forward fold that last time. Let's do that. That usually feels good. That may or may not feel good for you at home. You decide. And then eventually, yep. Inhale, half arch. Forward fold. Nice. Keep going. Go with it. I told Megan before we came I was like, if you're not doing your own yoga, it won't work. Okay. Beautiful. Thank you. So the way we'll finish is I'll ask you to find your way into Uttanasana and then a squat. So at home, that might, you might continue your standing practice. Like if that was sort of, that was useful and you feel like you want to do a few more standing asanas from that same sort of understanding. The standing asanas that go with warrior one are the Parsvottanasana, the pyramid pose, are warrior three. Okay. All the forward facing posture. So you might explore a little bit because those same ones that work for warrior one also work for those. But this time I'm gonna ask Megan to find her way into a squat. Malasana. Again, if squat doesn't work for you like it works for Megan. We're making our way down towards the earth now. We're not gonna be standing up again. So you know, you might come along with us or do something else. And then because we've the same preparations for warrior one also work nice for bridge. I'm gonna ask you to bring your hands behind you and find your way to sitting. But then I'm gonna ask you to do the awkward thing of turning around so your feet face that way. Scoot forward a little bit. Yep. Reach your arms in front of you and roll on back down. Nice. And then hug your knees into your chest. So much of the same opening that we just did for the warrior one, right? With the preparation of the thighs and the preparation of the low back and the preparation of the shoulders. Much of that also works nicely for bridge. So we're gonna use that as our finishing asana and then we'll find our way in towards Shavasana. So as you're ready, does that seem like it would feel good to you? Yeah. Okay. Because that would be really important that it felt good to you. So let your heels come down in line with your sit bones, arms along your side. So right here, okay, big deliberate inhale, exhale everything. And just if it helps to focus the mind, find that mantra. Mantra manas, the word usually associated with the mantra protection. Okay. So beautiful. And as you're ready, Megan, inhale. And as you exhale, ground your feet and root as you allow your sit bones to draw under, lifting your hips up off the earth. Yes. So some of you might stay right here. This can be often deep enough. Only if it would feel good, you will again find an inhale. You'll root down through the hands. You'll lift up a little bit more. And only if it feels correct, you'll start to wiggle your arms underneath you. Now we did this shape standing with the shoulders rolling underneath you. And some of you might choose to just press through the pinky side of the hands. Some of you might choose to interlace your fingers like we were doing earlier. Does that feel okay for you? It's okay on your wrists. Okay. And then the play here is you're rooting. You're pressing a little bit through the outer pinky pads. And you're drawing the sit bones under and reaching through the heels. So the hips are actually trying to externally rotate. Okay. Which is counter soften to what the pose is asking. Because the pose is sort of asking them to internally rotate. And just to kind of help Megan, do you mind? Press into my legs. Yeah. Does that help? You might not have a buddy at home to do that. You can create a buddy with a strap. You just wrap a strap around your legs so that you have something to press into to help that external rotation. Yes. Is that okay? Okay good. It's always nice to have a yoga friend. Okay. When you feel cooked you'll release the interlace of the arms. You'll come up onto the balls of the feet. You'll reach your arms up towards the sky. And then you round your upper back as you roll back down. Upper back. Beautiful. Mid back. Low back. Hips. Heels.

Arms down along your side. Now this is gonna sound kind of radical. For most of you it makes the most sense to bring the knees into the chest and counter pose the back a little bit. Like so you you choose. I'm gonna give an option. That's what would feel good for 95% of people on the planet. Okay. But if you start to feel settled enough you'll maintain some of that inspiration of the back bend. If you just slowly let your legs straight and towards shavasana. Does that make sense? But if it doesn't feel safe you hug your knees into your chest. Okay. This is like one of those things like what we do in yoga can become just as habitual as our daily lives. And so all the time you know you find that you get used to certain patterns of posing and counter posing which are appropriate and smart and good. But sometimes it's fun to break the rules. Does that feel okay? Big deliberate inhale. Exhale everything. And as you're moving in towards your shavasana. Okay like this. Tune maybe just for the slightest moment. Tune towards the quality in the heart. Right? Like the heart is really who we work for. It's really who's in charge. Sometimes people talk about wanting to follow their heart. But if you look at the circulatory system you've got 25,000 miles of heart. You are on your heart's path. And so really like what are you fighting for? What are you a warrior of? Softer in the mouth, easier in the eyes.

And it just seems like the nicest thing to do to let Megan continue to rest here. And you at home might also continue to rest. When you feel ready to come out you'll come on back up to sitting. Set the intention for your day. Thank you for being here with us. Let us know if this pattern works or doesn't work or what you find helpful. We're in this together. Namaste.