Soulful Flow Artwork
Season 1 - Episode 4

Empowered Fiery Flow

60 min - Practice
79 likes

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Burn away what is not serving you in this fiery flow inspired by the 3rd chakra, as we move through strengthening core work, detoxifying twists, and cleansing pranayama exercises. You will feel powerful and transformed.
What You'll Need: Mat

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Welcome, everyone. I saw some of you in the chat and where you're joining from. Thank you so much for being here from wherever you're at in the US. It's Memorial Day. So happy Memorial Day to those of you in the US. And it's a nice holiday here in the desert. We'll get started in just a minute or so. Hope you're in a place where you can get nice and supported and comfortable as we move through our practice. I will say this morning a bunch of times and I understand that that's not true for many of you. So my apologies in advance this morning, this afternoon, this evening, wherever you're at, thanks for joining. So I'm Sarah and today we're staying with the themes of the elements in our practice and we've kind of explored the earth element and the water element last week. And today we're going to move up the chakras into the third chakra with this element of fire. So when I think of fire and when we think of fire in our yoga practice, yes, it has a lot to do with the core and kind of this heating element, but also has to do with kind of this ringing out and this transformation that happens when we move into twists. So we'll explore some twists in our practice today, some core work, and we'll get into the hips a little bit as well, all with just the intention of kind of burning away anything that's no longer serving you. So we'll get into that with some breath work as well. So let's get started on our back. I'm going to roll back here on my mat. And as you come onto your mat, just take a moment to step your feet as wide as your yoga mat and then let your knees knock in to touch. So there's right away just kind of this internal flow of energy. And then if it would feel okay, bring both of your hands to your lower belly. And as you do that, maybe close your eyes just with the invitation to start to tune inward, moving right into the breath, noticing the expansion on your inhale and the quality of letting go on the exhale. We'll move with that a few times. So inhaling through the nose, filling up and then maybe open your mouth and let out a sigh, let something go. One more like that cleansing breath, big full breath in through the nose. And let something go exhale. And then just coming back to the natural rhythm of your breath, or if you'd like to start to tune into Ujjayi breath and begin to let the breath move in and out through your nose evenly and smoothly. And then as you're here just checking in with an intention, anything you'd like to call in for your practice today, maybe there's something you'd like to transform or let go of. Just letting that be your sankulfa for your practice, giving your practice a bigger purpose. A couple more breaths just to arrive, meeting yourself exactly where you are right here, right now. And then as you're ready to reach your arms all the way up over your head, let your knees drop, both knees drop to the right side. So a nice easy spinal twist. And I'm going to start to move with the breath. So as you inhale, draw the knees back through center. As you exhale, let the knees drop to the left side. And then just start to windshield wiper your knees from side to side at your own pace. They're just coming right into the twist, noticing the core here, noticing your hips starting to warm the spine. So you can move as fast or as slow as you'd like.

And if it feels good to linger on one side for a couple of breaths, feel free to do that as well. Just slowly waking up wherever you're at. So nice. Then you can finish up with the knees dropping over to the left side just to balance it out. And then we'll meet back in center. So draw the knees back through center. And as you come here, hug your right knee into your chest, give it a squeeze, and then stretch your left leg long on your mat. So you can just relax that leg down on the earth. As you give your right knee a squeeze in toward your chest and start to engage through the core. So draw the low belly in and up. And then just switch sides. So hug your left knee in toward your chest, let the right leg just go long on your mat. And then drawing the low belly in and up, give it a squeeze. Beautiful. And then just start to work with the legs. So moving from side to side, hug the right knee in, let the left leg go long, maybe float that foot up off the earth an inch or so. So the leg is engaged. And then switching sides, left knee in, right leg long, flexing through the right foot, staying active in the right leg. Beautiful. And then just start to move from side to side at your own pace. If you want a little bit more heat, bring the hands behind the back of your head, let the elbows go wide, and then just start to bring it into yogi bicycle. So opposite elbow, opposite knee, you won't be here long, just moving through a couple more rounds, right side, left side, one more right side, left side. Beautiful. And then as you let that go, easy bridge pose, step the soles of the feet to the earth, lift your hips up, just a counterbalance and feel that stretch through the front body. Big full breath in, slowly release one vertebra at a time as you come back down onto your mat and then gather both knees into your chest this time and just start to rock a little bit from side to side. So noticing the lower back and giving it a little bit of a massage. Beautiful. And then eventually start to take this rock up and down along the length of the spine. So you can bring your hands behind your knees as you start to rock up and down, building momentum. You might even catch yourself in a very brief navasana up at the top of the mat and then come back and we'll take one more like that. Breathe pause at the top, engage the core, lengthen through the spine. Good. And then cross at your ankles and meet me in all fours. So we'll come to a nice tabletop position, letting the shoulders land over the wrist, hips over knees and moving into some cat cows to continue to warm the spine. So as you're ready, just let the belly drop, arch the spine, lift the heart, lift the gaze. Nice. And then as you press the floor away, draw the navel in toward the spine, really rounding through the upper back and you might wiggle back a little bit. Good. And then let's do that a couple of times. So inhale as you come forward, arching through the spine. Exhale, navel to spine, press the floor away, maybe shift the weight back a little bit. And one more inhale, cow pose and exhale coming toward your cat pose, navel in toward the spine. So nice. And then neutralize through the spine, float your left leg back. I'm going to tuck the left toes for a moment and just start to shift your weight back and forth a few times. So you're feeling into the back of your left leg. So nice. And then shoulders over the wrist, float your left leg up so it's floating up off the earth and then engage the core again. So that third chakra tuning in there and as you're engaging the core to protect the spine, maybe take the weight in your left hand and reach your right arm forward. Good. So reaching forward with right fingertips and back through your left heel, allowing a big full breath in here. And as you exhale, elbow to knee, knee to elbow, rounding through the spine. We'll do that two more times. So inhale as you lengthen out and exhale as you draw everything in. One more inhale, lengthen out, reaching forward and back with the same amount of energy and then drawing everything in. So nice. And then reach it forward, right hand down, let your left toes come back behind you again. And then we'll spin onto the left heel, weight into your right hand for artivashi sasana, reaching your left arm up. And then if it would feel okay here, float your left leg up. So again, you're engaging the core a little bit and you're moving forward and back. So from the core, reaching forward and back, maybe top arm over your ear. Beautiful. And then we'll come right into a shoulder stretch from here.

So left knee comes down, left arm reaches up, and then thread your left arm under your right arm coming onto your left shoulder. And just the left side of your face, hips even, maybe walking your right hand forward. You might take that right arm behind the low back, taking a half rep. And then send the breath to the left shoulder or anywhere else you feel this. Letting the breath create a little bit of space, a little bit of ease. Beautiful. And then just take your time, press it back up to all fours for a moment. Come to child's pose. So letting your hips sink back towards your heels, just letting the head, neck, and shoulders relax down. Knowing that as we start to flow today and we start to build that heat and that fire, you can always come here to check in, to rest, breathe, always an option. Just tuning into what you need in your practice today. And we'll come back up to all fours as you're ready. Find your tabletop position and this time float your right leg back. You tuck your toes and then just take that time to shift the weight forward and back a few times. And if feeling into the back of your right leg, noticing I can definitely feel that a lot in my calf. Where do you feel it? Good. And then we'll center the weight, shoulders right over wrists, float your right leg up. And again, just draw the navel to the spine. So you're protecting the spine. Reach your left arm forward. So weight into your right hand. Take a big full breath in. And then as you exhale, knee to nose, elbow to knee round. We'll do that just two more times. Inhale as you lengthen out. Exhale, draw everything in. Good. Inhale, lengthen. Last one. Exhale, draw it in. Beautiful. And then lengthen it out.

Left hand down, right toes back behind you. Ardavashisthasana. Spin onto your right heel this time. Bring the weight into your left hand. Sweep the right arm up. And then maybe float your right leg up. So engaging through the core as you do that. Maybe take that right arm over your ear. So you're feeling that length all the way through the side body. So nice. And then as you come out of here, right knee down, sweep your right arm under your left, coming right back into that shoulder stretch, letting the right side of the face just land down on the earth. And then whatever feels good with the left arm, maybe walking it forward, maybe taking left arm behind the low back. And just take a moment to observe if this side feels any different for you. Breathe into the sensations. Good. And then take your time pressing through your left hand as you come back up. Find your tabletop position. And this time we'll float both legs back. So coming into plank pose, top of a push-up. And again, just finding that shifting forward and back, forward and back a few times. So you're feeling into the backs of the legs. You're always welcome to lower your knees here. Otherwise, just holding for a couple more breaths, strong in the core.

Big full breath in as you exhale. Simply lift the hips up and back into our first downward facing dog. And then as we come into this dog, any movement that feels good. So maybe pedal it out. Maybe sway your hips side to side. Shake your head yes and no. And just exploring into the sensations that are arising as you come into this posture. Letting your sitting bones reach up towards the ceiling as the spine is nice and long. On your next breath in, come forward to plank pose right where we were, top of a push-up. Good. And then just let the exhale guide you up and back, downward facing dog. Okay, let's do that two more times. Warming the joints with the breath. Inhale, glide forward to plank. Exhale, downward facing dog. One more. Inhale, glide it forward. Shoulders over wrists, strong in the core. Exhale, down dog. Good. And then pick up your hands. Walk them back to your feet. Finding an easy forward fold at the back of your mat, letting everything, this melt down over the legs. And you can bend your knees as much as you need to here. Let's take a twist as we're here in the fold. So plant your right hand right under your nose. Try to put a big bend in your right knee. And then any amount, can you straighten out through the left leg and then sweep your left arm up. So you're opening up the chest toward the left side and you're probably feeling it in the outer leg line on the left side, IT band. Place that's tight for many of us, myself included. Good. And then let that go. Left hand right under your nose. Big bend in your left knee. Straighten out the right leg any amount. Reach your right arm up and just notice how this side feels. A little twist.

Beautiful. And then just let everything melt back down over the legs, soften the knees and walk your way back to down dog. Feeling the earth beneath you as you walk your hands forward, coming into your dog pose. Beautiful. And then moving on, we'll float the right leg up. Take a moment, bend your right knee, open up through the hip. Maybe roll out that right foot a few times in one direction and then the other one. And then you can straighten that right leg any amount. Look between your thumbs and we're stepping the right foot all the way through between your hands. Can be one step, a bunch of steps, doesn't matter. Good. And then as you come to your lunge, we'll keep the back knee lifted. Come on to your fingertips for a moment and then just reaching the heart forward. Let's plant the left hand down under the left shoulder and take a twist here. Reach your right arm up and then let this twist happen from the navel up. So you're hugging your right hip in, stay active in your left leg and then just breathe, bringing it out and breathing. So beautiful. And then lower your right hand down, lower your back knee down. Just start to shift your weight back. So you're folding over that front leg, half split, arda hanumanasana, lifting the right toes up and then sending the breath to the back of your right leg. So you're welcome to soften that right knee any amount and just breathing. Beautiful. And then rebending through the right knee. Let's step it back to downward facing dog. Right foot meets the left. Good. On an inhale, come forward to plank pose. This time welcome to lower the knees. Let's hug the elbows in and lower down slowly for three, two, and release on one. Good. Untuck your toes, scoot your hands back just a little bit so the wrists are under your elbows. And then cobra pose, start to peel the chest up off the earth. And can you let this be a massage for the abdominal wall? So notice the belly pressing into the earth. And then as you exhale, release it down. We'll do that a couple more times. Inhale, bhujanasana, draw the shoulders back, peel the chest up.

Exhale, soften and lower. Good. One more rolling cobra. Inhale, lift up. And exhale, soften and lower. Nice job. Press it back to down dog, either coming up through hands and knees or plank pose if you want a little more. Take a big full breath in. I'm going to open the mouth, let something go. Side out. Beautiful. I'll just take that all to the second side. So sweeping your left leg up, keep that bend in the knee, open up through the hip. Keep pressing evenly through both hands. So let your shoulders stay level. The head relax, maybe roll out your foot. And then you can straighten through the left leg any amount. We'll step the left foot all the way through between the hands. Just take a moment up at the top here, come up onto your fingertips, lengthening through the spine, and then plant your right hand down right under the right shoulder. Take that twist, sweep your left arm up. Good. And then stay really active in your right legs. You're really engaging, letting the twist happen from the navel up. Beautiful. And then just lowering your left hand down, frame your front foot, lower your right knee down to the earth, and shift your way back. Half split, hamstring stretch, drawing that left hip back, breathing into the back of your left leg, and that left knee can be bent any amount. You're just finding your sensation. It's going to be different every time we arrive here. So honoring that, tuning into the teacher within. Nice. And then rebend through your front knee. We'll meet back in downward facing dog, planting the palm, step your left foot back to meet the right, come forward to plank pose, and welcome to lower the knees, slowly lowering for three, two, and one. Just one cobra this time. Untuck the toes, press through the tops of the feet, peel the chest up, maybe coming up a little bit higher. Beautiful. And then exhale right back to your down dog, tucking the toes, lifting the hips up and back. Nice big full breath in here, and then opening the mouth side out, let it go. Good. Slow walk to the front of your mat, finding a forward fold as you get to the front of your mat, and then softening the knees any amount here. Start to roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time.

Let your head see the last thing to arrive. As you get to the top, just bringing your shoulders up towards your ears, holding them down the back, and just take a moment to land, maybe close your eyes, maybe bringing one hand to the heart, one hand to the belly, and just taking a moment to check in. Excuse me. Coming back to your intention, coming back to that transformation, and that fiery energy as we start to pick up the pace a little bit. Again, resting whenever you need to. Let's move towards sun salutation. So stepping the feet together at the front of your mat, bringing the palms to face forward for tadasana. On an inhale, sweep your arms all the way out and up. Maybe take a gaze up toward your fingertips, feel the lift in the upper back, and then soften and fold into uttanasana. So diving forward, forward fold. On an inhale, walk your hands up onto your shins, lengthen through the spine, draw your shoulders back. Good, and then planting the palms down, step your left foot to the back of the mat, and then right foot to meet the left, so your back and plank pose. Shift your weight forward, this time halfway or all the way down, moving through chaturanga. You can stay with cobra. If you're ready for upward facing dog, you'll straighten out the arms. Firm the thighs up off the ears. Good, and then coming back into your downward facing dog, lifting your hips up and back. Nice. Now float your left leg up to the sky. Take a big full breath in, look between your thumbs, step it all the way through, and then find that twist again. So keep your right hand down, sweep your left arm up, just one breath here, and then lower that left hand down to frame your front foot. Step to a forward fold this time, front of the mat, right foot meets the left. Come halfway up, inhale, lengthen, maybe hands on shins or hands on the earth. Exhale, fold in, uttanasana. The root down through the feet, rise up to stand, arms sweep out and up, and then gathering your hands to heart center. Then we'll take it to the other side as you're ready. Inhale, arms sweep up, lengthening, feel the lift in the upper back. Exhale, uttanasana, folding in. Inhale, halfway up, offer the heart. Now as you exhale, step your right foot back, plant the palms, step the left foot back to meet the right plank pose. Shift your weight forward, halfway or all the way down, chaturanga, cobra or up dog on your inhale, downward facing dog. Exhale, good. Floating the right leg up, take a big full breath in, gaze between the thumbs, step it all the way through. Finding that twist again, keep your left hand down, sweep your right arm out, and then lower the right hand, step your left foot to meet the right forward fold, front of your mat. Good. Inhale, halfway up, lengthening. Exhale, soften and fold. Root down through the feet, rise up to stand, arms sweep out and up, and then gathering your hands together in front of your heart center. And again, just taking a moment between the movement to pause, to notice, and to breathe. We'll move into that one more time. We're just going to pick up the pace a little bit, moving with the breath. As you're ready, inhale, arms sweep up, exhale, forward fold. Inhale, halfway up, step the left foot to the back of the mat, step the right foot to meet the left. On your exhale, lower halfway or all the way down, shot around. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Find your twist, right hand down, sweep the left arm out, forward fold, front of the mat, right foot meets the left.

Inhale, lift halfway up, lengthening. Exhale, fold. Root down through the feet, rise up to stand, arms sweep out and up. And exhale, back to center, hands to heart. Last side, coming to the right side. Inhale, arms lift, gaze lifts. Exhale, uttanasana, fold. Inhale, arda uttanasana, halfway up. Step the right foot back, step the left foot back, plank pose, lower through, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Good. Inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step through, find your twist, left hand stays down, right arm lifts. Beautiful, forward fold, front of the mat, left foot meets the right, come halfway up, lengthening. Exhale, fold. Root down to rise, arms sweep out and up. And then gather hands to heart, just take a moment here to pause, to breathe, and to just tune in, go inward and just notice. Maybe one hand to heart, one hand to belly, allowing the gaze just to shift to the internal space, moving from the inside out.

Beautiful, and let's move on. So we'll come to chair pose as you're ready. Feet together, uttanasana, weight into the heels, arms sweep up and just take a moment to land. So draw your shin bones back a little bit. Maybe take a look down, make sure you can see your toes. And then lengthening through the spine, let the tailbone melt down, reach the arms actively up as you soften through the shoulders a little bit. Good, big full breath in here, gathering energy. Exhale, release, let it go. And inhale, lift halfway up, lengthen through the spine. Plant your palms, you can step or lightly float back through chaturanga. If you're floating back, just land with elbows bent. Good, and then as you exhale, we'll meet in downward facing dog. Taking a big full breath in here, tongue out, lion's breath, let it go.

So one more like that, super detoxifying, big full breath in, tongue out, lion's breath. Perfect, and then sweep your right leg up and back, big breath in. Step your foot through between your hands, and we're going to stay on the ball of the back foot. Step the left foot to the left a little bit, just to widen your stance. And we're coming up toward crescent pose, so keeping a bend in that front knee, sweep the arms up, and then just take a moment to land. So let the back knee soften a little bit, let your tailbone melt down, and you can draw the rib cage in, shoulders relaxed, gaze relaxed. And then let's take a twist from here. So reach your left arm in front of you, reach it forward, and then reach the right arm back, so the upper body starts to turn toward the right side of your mat. Beautiful, and then reverse that. So bring your right hand to the back of your left leg, reach your right arm up and over your ear. Good, and then coming right back into that lunge twist, left hand down on the inside of your front foot, sweep your right arm up and twist. Nice, and then lowering your right hand down, and just stepping it back. Plank pose, feel free to skip any vinyasas, otherwise lower halfway or all the way down. Cobra or up dog inhale, roll over the toes, down dog exhale. Again, big full breath in, long breath out. Beautiful, and just taking it to the left side. Inhale, sweep the left leg up, exhale, step it through between your hands. Step your right foot to the right a little bit, widening your stance. It is a balancing pose, so finding that nice base, reaching the arms up into crescent, keeping a nice bend in that left knee, and soften the right knee, let the tailbone just melt down, and then breathe, relax the shoulders. Notice if you're holding onto tension in the face. I definitely do that, and you soften it a little bit, and that allows the rest of the body to relax a little bit more. And then we'll twist right hand forward, left arm back, twisting the body toward the left side of your mat. Good, and then tilting back, reaching that right arm up and over your ear, left hand finds the back of your right leg, and then circle your right hand down for a lunge twist. Right hand under the shoulder, left arm lifts, so beautiful, and then lower your left hand down, step it back, plank pose vinyasa, or skip, and come right to downward facing dog. Let's meet in downward facing dog, big full breath in, long breath out, long breath out, and then holding here for five or so breaths, or maybe you're lowering your knees down, maybe you're taking a seat back on your heels, letting your hands rest on top of your thighs, closing the eyes, and just breathing, noticing, taking these moments of pause to check in before we continue, noticing if anything has transformed up until this point, and maybe it's just that my breath has gotten a little slower and my heartbeat has gotten a little faster, this noticing is all good. Allow it all. All right, let's come back to down dog whenever you're ready if you're not already there, and we're going to just start to add on to this pattern. So coming back to the right side, inhale the right leg up and back, exhale, step it all the way through between your hands, right back to crescent pose, just one breath, inhale, arms sweep up, find your twist, left arm reaches forward, right arm back, and then exalted warrior tilt back, revolve, beautiful, and then left hand down, right arm lifts up, find that lunge twist, this time lower your right hand down, pause here in your runner's lunge for a moment, we're setting up for warrior two, so spin your back heel down, front heel to back arch alignment, and then lead with your left arm as you come up and open to face the side of your mat, then just take a moment to land, find your own intuitive alignment, can take that gaze over your middle finger, coming toward 90 degrees in that front leg, but letting the front knee land over the ankle, let it track over the second and third toe, good, and then keep the legs how they are, flip your front palm with tilt back, reverse warrior, moving into extended side angle, either elbow to top of the thigh, or if you want to go a little deeper, fingertips come to the inside of your front foot, and left arm can come over your ear, or maybe today you're taking a half wrap, and bring that left arm behind the low back, letting your left fingertips find the top of your right thigh, and then encouraging that left shoulder to just draw back as you reach through the crown of your head, just a couple more breaths here, breathing into the shape, and then moving from your center, from your core, come back up to warrior two, flip your front palm, tilt it back, reverse warrior, good, and then circle your hands down to the earth, stepping back to your plank pose, your vinyasa, right into down dog, we'll meet there, allowing a big full breath in, open the mouth, let it go, good, and then next side, inhale left leg lips, exhale step it through, again setting up for crescent pose, wide stance, arms sweep up, big full breath in, good, and then twisting right arm forward, left arm back, upper body twists toward the side of the mat, and then tilts back, exalted warrior, good, spin it down, right hand under the shoulder, left arm sweeps up, and then lower your left hand, we're pausing here for a moment, runner's lunge, setting up for warrior two, spin the back heel down, lead with your right arm, circle it up and open, and just land, take a moment to arrive, tune into your just intuitive alignment, you know what you need here, good, more than anything the breath, beautiful, and just keeping the legs how they are, keep that nice bend in the front knee, flip your front palm, tilt back, reverse warrior, maybe even sinking down a little deeper into that front knee, beautiful, extended side angle, elbow to thigh, and then maybe take that right arm over your ear, if you want to go deeper the fingertips might crawl to the inside of your front foot, just keep the integrity of the spine if you're doing that, maybe there's that half wrap happening, right hand behind the low back, draw the right shoulder back, and expand, extend here, breathe, keep the core involved, engage to protect your back, beautiful, and then come on back up, warrior two, flip your front palm, tilt back, just to come forward again, circle your arms down and through, step your left foot back to meet the right, lower halfway or all the way down, inhale cobra or up dog, exhale down dog, again, holding for five breaths, or maybe you're taking a child's pose, or sitting back on your heels, I kind of love this because it keeps the heart space open, and draw the shoulders back, maybe close your eyes, and again, just taking that moment, what's transforming in this moment, and then this moment, and then this moment, different from breath to breath, beautiful, taking just a couple more breaths wherever you're at, and then we'll meet back, in downward facing dog, moving through one more round with this, adding on a little bit, and as you're ready, coming back to the right side, inhale right leg lifts, exhale step through for crescent pose, one breath, inhale brings you up, find your twist left arm forward, right arm back, exhale, inhale tilt back, reverse, exhale lunge twist, left hand down, right arm lifts, lower your right hand down, warrior two, spin the back heel down, circle it open, take a moment to land, good, flip your front palm, tilt back, reverse warrior straighten through your front leg this time, reverse triangle, and then start to shorten the stance just a little bit as you come through the triangle pose, reach your right hand, just below the knee, left arm lifts straight up, or maybe you're playing with that wrap again, left hand behind the back, reaching through the crown of your head, take up space, expand here, nice, and then we'll gaze down, setting up for our balance half moon, put a bend in your right knee, reach your right hand forward below the right shoulder, float your left leg up, flex your left foot a lot, like you're stepping on the wall behind you, maybe float that left arm up toward the ceiling, embracing the wobble, embracing any movement that's happening here, and then chair pose at the front of the mat, left foot meets the right, utkatasana, sink the weight down into the heel, so we were here, but this time let's take a twist, so bringing hands to heart center, letting your left elbow come to the outside of your right leg, and then draw that prayer in front of the heart, maybe gazing up toward the ceiling, and you might take a peek at your knees and just make sure they're even to one another, letting your hips just sink down a little bit more than maybe normal, good, find your edge, just a couple breaths, good, and then as you exhale, let that all go, heel to your feet so they're about hips distance, and then you might hook your piece fingers onto your big toes, the first two fingers and your thumbs for padangustasana, on an inhale lift halfway up, offer the heart, exhale, elbows out to the side, just let everything melt down, and just bow in toward yourself, a couple full deep breaths here, maybe letting a little weight shift toward the balls of your feet, shake your head yes and no, nice, and then releasing your toes, come halfway up, inhale, lengthen, heel to the feet back together, and then move through your vinyasa or right to downward facing dog, and we'll meet in downward facing dog, no rush to get there, take your time, big breath in, long breath out, let it go, beautiful, left side as you're ready, inhale, left leg lifts, exhale, step it through, nice, setting up for crescent pose, stay on the ball of the back foot, arms sweep up, and then find your twist, right arm forward, left arm back, tilt back, reverse, good, and then lunge twist, right hand down, left arm sweeps up, lower your left hand down, spin the back heel down for warrior two, lead with your right arm, reach it up and open to face the side of your mat, take a moment to land, good, and then flipping your front arm, inhale, tilt back, straighten through your front leg, reverse triangle pose, keeping that length through the side body, reach forward so that you keep that side body stretched, and then the left hand lands, below the knee, right arm lifts up, or maybe the right hand comes behind the low back, find that wrap, the right shoulder back, reach through the crown of your head, and keep the quadricep engaged, just so you're lifting up on that left knee cap and not locking it out through your joints here, beautiful, and then setting up for half moon, gazing down, big bend in the left knee, reach forward with your left fingertips, float your right leg up, flexing through the right foot, maybe float the right arm up, and if you really want to test your balance, take a gaze up toward your fingertips, good, press through the ball of your left big toe, and then meet me in chair pose at the front of the mat, right foot meets the left, sink it down, arms sweep up, draw your hands to your heart center, good, and then taking that right elbow on the outside of your left leg, draw the prayer in front of your heart center, letting your hips sink down toward the height of your knees, you might gaze at your knees and just make sure they're even, and then just breathe, couple breaths, wringing it all out, big breath in, release, let it go, make your feet hips distance, maybe bring the palms of your hands underneath the soles of your feet, so stepping your feet into your hands, on an inhale lifting up, exhale release, the crown of the head melt down and breathe, couple whole deep breaths, what might you let go of a little bit more, right here, beautiful, and then releasing your hands, soften your knees, roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time, again just coming to the top of the mat, bring your shoulders up toward your ears, big breath in, exhale, release that and let it go, and just take a moment to stand, stand tall, feel your feet, grounded energy, move into a couple balancing poses here, so stepping your feet maybe about hips distance, we'll let the right foot start to get heavy, so bring your weight into your right foot, spread the toes, and if you're near a wall you can hold onto a wall to help with your balance, otherwise start to hug your left knee into your chest, and that might be enough, right, you might have fallen over already, that's fine, some days the balance is there, some days it isn't, but see if you can let it be about the core, so engage your core, draw the low belly in and up, and then maybe, maybe reach your arms up toward the ceiling, maybe straighten that left leg any amount, and then use that as you transition back to warrior three, draw your hands to your heart, left leg sweeps back, hips even, offer the heart forward, and then step it back to crescent pose, right where we were, lower your back knee down to the earth, draw your hand back to your heart center, and then keeping the length in the spine, let's take another twist here, bring the left elbow on the outside of your right leg, draw the prayer in front of your heart, and you can stay here supported with the knee down, or tuck your back toes, lift the back knee up in your back in crescent pose, crescent prayer twist, just a couple breaths, beautiful, one more big full breath in, and then gaze down as you exhale, release your hands to frame your front foot pyramid pose, step your back foot in and to the left a little bit, and just fold over both of your legs, drawing that left hip back, let the right hip roll forward, and then send the breath to the back of your legs, and again you can bend that right knee any amount, just want to feel that stretch, good, so welcome to stay right here, if you want to come into revolve triangle, we'll bring the left hand to the inside or outside of that front foot, and then bring your right hand to your hip, maybe take your right thumb into your hip crease for a moment, and then lengthen through your spine, start to peel the chest open to the right any amount, there's that IT bend again, and then maybe float your right arm up, just a couple breaths, you're wobbling, you're doing it right, good, and then let your right hand lower down, fold back over your front leg, and we'll move into a seated twist here, so the left knee is going to slide behind your right ankle, and then you're going to find a seat, all right, so crossing that right foot, it's on the outside of your left knee, you're welcome to straighten out the left leg as well, if that feels a little less kind of confined, crunchy, and we'll bring that right fingertips behind, sweep your left arm up, sit up nice and tall, and then twist to the right, either hooking the elbow on the outside of the right knee, or you can hug the leg in, with every inhale, grow tall, with every exhale, just ease without force into the twist, and again you're just twisting from the navel up, and then as you counterbalance, we'll gaze toward the front of the mat, bring your hands to the outside of your left hip, and just let your head relax, I always think that feels so good, beautiful, and then just crawl your way out of that, we're coming to Navasana, bring the soles of the feet down to the earth, hands to the backs of the knees, and then float your legs up off the earth, parallel the shins to the earth, and then you're keeping the hands behind the knees, if you have anything going on in the lower back, if you feel pretty healthy there, maybe reach your arms forward, and then we'll come into breath of fire, that transformative breath, and you might have a tissue nearby, so as you're ready to take the big full breath in, and then quick exhales out the nose, sounds like this, couple more for five, four, three, two, big full breath in, and then exhale, step the soles of the feet down to the earth, maybe wipe your nose, and then we'll bring the hands behind you, press into the hands, lift your hips, take a big full breath in, lion's breath, tongue out, let it go, beautiful, lower your hips, cross at your ankles, and just step back to downward facing dog, if you'd like a vinyasa, feel free of course to take that, otherwise let the heels get heavy, really press back actively through your legs, so nice, and then walk your feet to your hands, come to the front of your mat, soften the knees, and roll up, nice and slow, one vertebra at a time, as you get to the top, the shoulders come up towards your ears, big breath in, release them down your back, and we'll set up for the second side, so really ground down through the feet to start, and then we'll bring the weight into the left foot this time, you have a wall and you want to hold onto the wall, go for it, otherwise hugging your right knee into your chest, let it be about the core, draw the navel into the spine, low belly draws in and up, beautiful, and if you're adding on arms lift, straighten your right leg in front of you, and then levering back for warrior three, hands to your heart, crown of the head reaches forward, heart reaches forward, good, crescent pose at the back of the mat, right toes, find the earth, arms sweep up, and then lower your back knee down, and draw your hands to your heart center, and we'll take a twist here, right elbow on the outside of your left, if you want a little more, you're tucking the back toes, lifting that back knee up off the earth and breathing, and just taking a couple full deep breaths here, good, big full breath in, and as you exhale hands frame your front foot, step your right foot in into the right, hold over both of your legs for pyramid pose, and if you can just let your head and neck relax, and maybe you're staying right here for a few breaths, you want to revolve your triangle if you did that on the first side, right hand to the inside or outside of your front foot, left hand to your hip, and you might bring that left thumb to the hip crease, just kind of encourage it to draw back a little bit, and then lengthen out through the spine, peel the chest open any amount, and then maybe add your left arm, notice the outer leg line on the left side, and breathe, good, and then let that go, hands find the earth, we'll set up for that seated twist, so drag your right knee behind your left ankle, find your sitting bones sitting down, nice and tall here, let make sure both sitting bones are on the earth, and again if you want to straighten out the right leg, go for it, left fingertips behind you, inhale right arm lifts, hooking the elbow or hugging the knee in and twisting, every inhale find some length in the spine with every exhale, ease into the twist a little bit more, so nice, couple more full deep breaths, and then as you counterbalance gaze to the front of your mat, bring both hands on the outside of your right hip, and just let your head, neck, and shoulders release, coming back up through center, one last navasana, step the soles of the feet to the earth, hands to the backs of the knees, sit up nice and tall on your sitting bones, and then lengthen through the spine, parallel the shins, you can straighten out the legs if you want, but go easy on your hip flexors there, and then reach your arms forward if that feels okay in the low back, draw the shoulders back, breath of fire, big breath in through the nose, quick exhales, keep going for five, four, three, two, big full breath in, exhale lower the feet, side out, bring the hands behind you, lift your hips, big breath in, tongue out, lion's breath, good, and then lowering your hips down, cross at the ankles, reach your hands forward, downward facing dog, feel free, again to take your vinyasa if you like, otherwise let your heels get nice and heavy, feel that nice stretch in the backs of the legs, and then lower your knees down to the earth for a moment, bring your forearms down to the earth, let your shoulders land right over your elbows, and then press through the inner hand as well as your outer hand, stretch your legs back, forearm plank, letting your hips be in line with your shoulder blades, gaze between your thumbs, stay nice and active in the core, you're always welcome to lower the knees down here for support, and then let's invert, start to walk your feet in towards you as you lift your sitting bones up toward the ceiling, coming toward dolphin pose, and you're feeling it in the backs of the legs, feel free to soften the knees, letting your shoulders stay over the elbows, just beginning the heart up over the head, couple full deep breaths so strong in the shoulders, good, and then walk it back out one last time, forearm plank, feet together at the back of the mat, roll to the outer edge of your right foot, and then come back through center, roll to the outer edge of your left foot, and then let that go, let your hips lower all the way down, sweet release, find sphinx pose, walk your hands forward a little bit, and let your heart reach between your hands as you kind of traction the mat back, and breathe, breathe here, let this be your heart opener, maybe pressing through the hands if you want to lift your elbows up off the earth to go a little deeper, go for it, beautiful, and then we'll land in a shoulder stretch here, so reaching your left arm out to the left, bring the palm of your hand to face down, and then tent your right fingertips on the outside of your right shoulder, and then we're rolling to the left hip and the left side of the face, bend your right knee, and step the toes behind you, so there is a twist happening, there's a shoulder stretch, maybe you're feeling this somewhere else, if you want to take that right hand behind the low back, and keep it with that wrap, go for it, and just breathe here a couple of full deep breaths, beautiful, and then coming back through center as you're ready, rolling onto your belly, reach your right arm out to the right, tent your left fingertips, come on to the right side of your face, roll to your right here, bend your left knee, stepping toes behind you, breathing, breathing into wherever you feel this, feel the shift, shift in energy, you start to slow it down a little bit, cooling the fire, beautiful, and then roll back to your belly, let's just take one round of other shalabhasana with the legs straight and stretching the arms back as you lift up, or maybe you're bending the knees, reaching back to find the feet or the ankles, kicking the feet into the hand as you lift up, and this be your heart opener this morning, a few full deep breaths, letting the back of the neck be nice and long, big full breath in, release that, reverse windshield wiper, your knees behind the low back, good, and then from here, you're on your belly, just roll over onto your back, so you're facing the back of your mat, hug your knees into your chest, and just give a little rock, side to side, side to side, massaging through the low back, and just noticing how that feels, beautiful, and then keeping your right knee hugging in, let your left leg go long on your mat, and then we'll take this into a twist from here, so bringing your left hand to the outside of your right knee, draw the knee across the body, reach your right arm out to the right, maybe taking your gaze over your right shoulder, and just finding that detoxifying, ringing out of the spine, every inhale, lengthening with every exhale, ease into the twist a little bit more. And as you come out of this twist a little bit different, we're going to hook the right ankle on top of your left knee, so bending that left knee, setting up for a thread the eye of the needle, drawing the legs in towards you, and maybe interlacing behind the back of that left thigh or on top of that left shin, letting the right knee draw away from you, keeping that right foot flexed in the shoulders, relax.

And then just breathe, breathe into the right side. If there's any movement that wants to happen here, you can rock it out a little bit, it never feels good. Good, and then letting the left foot come down to the earth, straighten your right leg long on your mat, hug your left knee into your chest, give it a squeeze, and we'll set up for the twist on the other side. So with your right hand, draw your left knee across your body, reach your left arm out to the left, gazing over your left shoulder, wringing it out, letting that left shoulder soften, and just breathing into wherever you feel this. Final twist.

Good, and then as you unravel and coming back to center, hook your left ankle on top of your right knee this time. Setting up for a thread the needle, you can hug that right shin in, or you can hold on to the back of your right thigh, but wherever you're at, can you let the shoulders release? If there's any movement that wants to occur here, honor that. Breathing into the left side, notice if this hip feels any different from the first side. And what you might be holding on to that you can release.

Beautiful, and then as you release the right foot down to the earth, let's gather both knees into the chest, taking a happy baby, holding on to the outsides of the feet, knees wide, softening through the low back, relaxing through the shoulders, maybe rocking a little side to side, or any last posture or movement that the body is asking for here. Check in with that. There's something else you need to feel complete in your practice today. Good, and then knees to chest, draw your nose up toward your knees, hug everything in, again engaging the core one more time here. Take a big full breath in, holding the breath at the very top.

And then sip in just a little bit more air through the mouth. And then open your mouth inside out. And then just release, let everything just melt down so legs go long on your mat. Let your feet just roll open like books. And then soften that space in the low belly, third chakra, that fiery energy, let it settle.

And maybe bringing your palms to face up on either side of the body, letting the eyes gently close, allowing the integration of your practice, body, mind, and spirit, letting the earth hold you. Letting go, letting the Shavasana. Thank you. Just taking your time to come back to the physical body, deepening the breath, allowing any gentle movements back in, maybe the fingers and your toes, the ankles, and your wrists. Just taking a moment to notice how you feel.

And then whenever you're ready, reaching arms up over your head, take a nice big full body stretch, big breath in, inside out, exhale, let something go here. Bring the soles of the feet to the earth, and just take a moment, roll to either side. And if it feels okay to just rest on your side for a moment, you can kind of create a pillow with your arm. Take a moment here to observe, to notice how you feel, to notice what you notice, and check in with any changes, whether it's mentally, physically, emotionally, from when we first started about an hour ago. And keeping that with you as you press your way up to a comfortable cross-leg seated position is taking a moment to arrive in your seat.

Maybe the eyes stay closed, letting the gaze just rest on the internal space. Let your sitting bones root down as you lengthen up through the spine, through the crown of your head. And then gathering your hands in Anjali Mudra in front of your heart, taking a moment just to bow in toward yourself with gratitude. Acknowledging yourself for showing up for you today, which can often be the most challenging part of the practice. Congratulations.

Now take a big full breath in, holding the breath up at the top. Sip in just a little bit more air, and then open the mouth, sigh it out, let it go. The Divine in me greets and honors the Divine in each of you. Thank you so much for sharing your practice from wherever you are. Namaste, everyone. Hope to see you soon.

Take good care.

Comments

Elizabeth M
This sequence and your energy were just perfect for me today, Sarah. Thank you so much! ❤️ 🙏 
Brian M
3 people like this.
Sarah, as always your classes are amazing! Nice flow, clear instructions, and some good heat! Thanks so much!!
Pamela Macht
Thanks Sarah!  I’m loving your new Soulful Flow Series. One hour feels just right to me. I thought the video quality was improved on this latest episode or was it just my eyes??
Sinead O
1 person likes this.
Wow, this was a perfect flow, I love this sequence, thank you Sarah.
Anna W
1 person likes this.
Loving your series, Sarah. Thank you. 
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
So happy to hear, Elizabeth! Thank you so much for practicing with me and thank you for all you are doing for Yoga Anytime. Warmly, Sarah
Sarah Beston
Hi Brian! Thank you so much for sharing your experience of the practice and I'm happy to be practicing together here. Warm regards from California and hope to see you in a live class one of these Mondays: https://www.yogaanytime.com/live
Sarah Beston
I am so happy to hear, Pamela Macht and lovely to be practicing together here. I am glad the quality seemed better as well—we are all trying to navigate these new at home set-ups! haha
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
I am so glad this was a good practice for you, Sinead! Happy to be practicing together here. If you are free on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. PDT (California time), I'll be sharing a new live class tomorrow: https://www.yogaanytime.com/live 
Sarah Beston
You're so welcome, Anna! Thank you for practicing with me and keep me posted as the series progresses. All the best, Sarah
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