Soulful Flow Artwork
Season 2 - Episode 7

Sweet Release

60 min - Practice
101 likes

Description

Explore the sticky spots. Sarah guides us in a well-rounded and fluid practice inviting ease into the habitual areas of tension in the body— the neck, shoulders, low back, hamstrings, and hips. After a supine opening sequence, we warm the joints in Sun Salutes, then play in challenging standing poses. You will feel spacious and grounded.
What You'll Need: Mat

Transcript

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Namaste and welcome everyone. Thank you so much for being here today. I'm excited to dive into another practice of soulful flow with you all wherever you're joining from. I'd love to hear from you about this practice. Let me know how this season is going for you. And yeah, I'm just really excited to share another practice together with all of you. So thanks again for joining today in this practice. We're going to move through just a really grounded and fluid practice. And I like to say that gets into all of the sticky spots or the habitual areas of tension in the body. So the hamstrings, the hips, the low back, neck and shoulders, and just kind of grounding with grace. So allowing yourself to just have this grace with yourself, meeting yourself where you are today in this practice, and hopefully just really feeling good at the end of it. So feel good flow, well-rounded, and let's get started. So let's start on our backs if you meet me there as you're ready. And we'll start by getting right into the hips. So bringing the soles of the feet together, let the knees open up wide, Supta Baddha Konasana. And then just allow yourself to settle in here letting your hands rest wherever it feels natural for the arms to rest, maybe the palms face up on either side of the body. Maybe bringing one hand to the heart, one hand to the belly. And just this gentle invitation to start to tune your awareness to the internal space. And then begin to scan your body. So from the tips of your toes all the way up through the crown of the head. Just start to notice if there are any obvious areas of tension that you might be holding on to. Are there habitual areas of tension that you kind of notice about your own body? Where you might hold a little stress, maybe it's the lower back, the belly, the shoulders. And observing those spaces, but at the same time as you scan through the body, can you notice the parts of the body that might feel a little more relaxed today, a little open? And without becoming too attached to any one location or area, just notice and then move on with your scan through the physical body. And then finally begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath, the rise of the inhale. And that release, that letting go of the exhale, maybe sighing it out the mouth. Allowing a few cleansing breaths together, inhaling through the nose, filling up. Exhaling as you release, maybe sigh it out the mouth. Beautiful. One more like that. Big, full breath in. Long breath out, release. And then as you move back toward the natural rhythm or ujjayi, pranayama, just checking in with yourself. Maybe with the question, what would it mean to call in a little bit more grace today as I move through this practice? What does that mean for me? Grace toward myself, meeting myself where I am, starting from that place, and just letting this be a practice for you. A few more full deep breaths right here as we arrive. And if you want to stay here for 60 minutes, that might be your practice today.

Otherwise when you're ready, interlace your fingers, press the palms of the hands toward the wall behind you, and then nice and slow start to straighten out both of your legs. So take a nice full body stretch here, being a big, full breath in as you lengthen. Exhale, release. And then maybe start to roll out your ankles a few times in one direction and then the other direction, feeling into your feet, maybe spreading your toes and you can point and flex a few times. Go ahead and take one more big, full breath in, stretching long. As you exhale, release. Good. Hug your knees into your chest. Take a moment to squeeze them in and then maybe rock a little bit from side to side here or take your knees in circles. And then start to massage through the lower back. Notice how the back body is feeling this morning. And that is definitely a space for many of us that can feel a little tight. So notice if that's true for you today. Beautiful. And then let your feet find the earth. So take your feet about hips distance and then walk your heels in towards you a little bit.

So if you were to take your hands down, you could brush the backs of the heels with your fingertips and then spread the toes wide, pressing through the feet, moving up into bridge pose, reach the arms up over your head. As you do that, press into the soles of the feet, lift your hips up. Feel that opening in the front body as you do that chest to chin. And then the exhale slowly lower everything back down, arms lower, hips lower. And let's just move with that for a little bit. So as you inhale, rolling bridge poses, arms sweep up over the head, press into the soles of the feet, lift the hips. And then as you exhale, just reverse that, let everything melt down toward the earth, arms lower, hips lower. Good. And again, inhale, arms lift up, pressing through the feet, lift the hips. So we're warming the spine, opening up the front of the body, exhale, release it down. Let's do that one more time as you inhale, sweep the arms up, press through the soles of the feet, lift your hips up. Now keep the arms up over your head, maybe come up onto the balls of your feet if that feels okay, or keep the foot down if that feels better. And then with the arms lifted, slowly lower down, one vertebra at a time. Good. And then as you get to the bottom, step your feet a little bit wider. Let's let both knees drop to the right side. So take a nice easy twist, breathing into the left side body. If it feels okay in the neck, you might take your gaze over your left shoulder, breathing here. Notice where in the body you feel this slow opening. Good. And then as you inhale, draw your knees back through center. Let the knees drop over to the opposite side, left side. Maybe take your gaze over the right shoulder if that feels okay in the neck, and then just breathe into the right side body. You might reach that right arm up a little bit, really feeling into the side body. Beautiful. And then start to windshield wiper your knees from side to side, just taking that a few times as you move from side to side, starting to link your breath with your movement. Beautiful. And then as you come back up through center, draw your knees into your chest. We'll take the hands to the backs of the knees, and you can roll up to seated. You might take that a few times as you massage through your spine. We'll meet in a comfortable cross legs seated position. So find your way into seated, and then let's start to move around here. So we'll get into the hips by taking some circles with the spine. So moving into what we call Sufi rolls. You can close the eyes, letting the head, neck, and shoulders release as you move in one direction. There's any place where it feels nice to kind of pause and linger. Feel free to do that. And then maybe take the circles in the other direction. Maybe close your eyes. Let this be about opening up through the hips, through the spine. Notice how this feels. And really, maybe closing the eyes, letting the head, neck, and shoulders release. So you're kind of softening where you might be holding on to any tension. And then begin to let the circles be a little bit smaller. Coming back through center, find the energy circulating through the center of the body. Take a moment to land there. Beautiful. And then we're slowly building it up. So let's move it to all fours. Come into a tabletop position. And right away, let's stretch the wrist. So turn both of your hands out toward the side of your mat, and then let the shoulders be right over the wrist.

Start to move a little bit from side to side. So you're stretching into the wrists. Do a lot of work on our wrists as we move through these vinyasa practices. So giving the wrists a little bit of a release here, stretch, a little love. And if it's not too sensitive, you might start to turn one hand in towards you, the fingers facing towards you as you move around a little bit, exploring the sensation and one of the wrists. Good. And if you're doing that, you can switch sides. So I'm turning the right hand toward me, fingers face toward me as I move around a little bit. Feel into the wrists. Beautiful. And as we move here, just the invitation to move in a way that it feels good to move. Move like you. So reaching both hands forward, shoulders over wrists. Let's stretch the left leg back, tuck your left toes, and then just start to shift your weight forward and back a few times. So feeling into the back of your left leg, the calf, the hamstring. Beautiful. And then land with the shoulders over the wrists. We'll spin onto the left heel, bring the weight into your right hand, sweep your left arm up, and then maybe start to take some circles with that left arm. So feeling into your left shoulder and Ardha Vashisthasana, you can take them in one direction and then circle it around in the other direction. So we're stretching into the side body and feeling into your left shoulder. Good. And then as you come back through center, let your left knee find the earth and thread your left arm under your right arm. So landing on the left shoulder, left side of the face melts down on the earth. And then that right arm can either reach in front of you, or if it feels good to wrap it up, take the right arm behind your back, draw the right shoulder back, and then just take a moment to enjoy this stretch here. Feel the earth. Let it be about inviting in a little more ease, a little more spaciousness into the body, into the mind. Good. And then take your time, press it back to all fours. We'll come up to our tabletop position. And as you come up to your tabletop, we're just taking a few cat cows to get out of that side. So as you inhale, drop the belly, arching the spine, lift your gaze up. Good. And then navel to spine, maybe tuck your toes as you shift your hips back a little bit, stretching into the feet. And we'll get there again. So just notice how that feels if you're tucking the toes. And then let the inhale bring you forward, arching through the spine, coming into cow pose, exhale, cat pose, navel to spine, press the floor away and round. Beautiful. And then find that space between cat and cow. So neutralize your spine. And we'll just take that all to the other side. So stretching your right leg back, tuck your toes, start to shift the weight forward and back, forward and back a few times. Feel into the back of your right leg, the calf, your hamstring. Good. And then landing with your shoulders over the wrist, spin onto the right heel, weight into your left hand, sweeping your right arm up. And then maybe take that right arm up and over your ear, take some circles with that right arms, feeling into the right shoulder this time. Notice how that feels. You can take this in one direction and then the other direction. Good. Exploring those sticky spots, any areas of tension here, the shoulders is certainly one of them for me.

Good. And then as you come back through center, the right knee finds the earth, thread your right arm under your left arm, come on to the right shoulder, right side of your face. Good. And then again, you can walk your left hand in front of you or take that left arm maybe behind the back, find that half wrap and breathe into the right shoulder. Take a moment to land and feel this side. Notice how that feels. And just take a moment to notice if there's any difference in this side. Beautiful. And take your time, press your way back to all fours and then stretching both legs back, we'll come into our first plank pose, top of a pushup, take a moment to land and then play with shifting the weight forward and back here a few times. I'm turning on the core and strong in the legs, strong in the shoulders. Beautiful. And then keeping that length in the spine, lift your hips up and back, we'll come into our first downward facing dog. So as you come into down dog, just take a moment to land here and maybe start to move around a little bit. So I like to pedal it out through the feet. You might sway your hips from side to side, maybe shake your head yes and no a few times. And if your hamstrings are feeling pretty tight today, feel free to soften the knees any amount. Let your sitting bones reach up toward the ceiling as you find some length through your spine. Good. Pressing through the inner hand as well as your outer hand. And then on your next breath in, let's come back to plank pose, top of a pushup. Gliding forward on the inhale, keep that nice length in your spine. Good. And then as you exhale, lift your hips up and back, downward facing dog. So starting to warm the joints, we'll take that a couple of times, let the inhale bring you forward into plank pose, top of a pushup. Good. Let the exhale bring you up and back, downward facing dog. One more. Inhale, glide forward. Keep that nice length in your spine. Reach through the crown of your head. Exhale, gliding back down dog. Nice. And this time as you come forward, let's lower all the way to the belly. Welcome to lower your knees. Hug the elbows in, come all the way down. Good. As you get down to the bottom, scoot your hands back a little bit. Let your wrists be right under your elbows. And then pressing through the tops of the feet, draw the shoulders back, start to peel your chest up into bhuzhangasana, low cobra. Good. And then let the exhale release back down to the earth. Rolling cobras, starting to warm the spine. Inhale, peel the chest up, lifting the heart. Let the back of the neck be relaxed and long. Exhale, lower. One more inhale. Peel it up. You can stay nice and low here. Let it be about the length. Good. And then exhale, lower down. Pressing up through hands and knees. Tuck your toes, lift your hips up and back, coming right back into your downward facing dog. Nice work. Big, full breath in here. As you exhale, release, side out, let it go. Beautiful. Let's float the right leg up. Take a moment here. Bend the knee, open up the hip, feel into your right hip. Maybe roll out your right foot in one direction. And then the other, feel into that ankle, spread the toes. Good. And then straightening the right leg any amount, square off your hips, allowing a big full breath in here. Draw your right knee to your right tricep and hover top of a pushup. Let's take a moment to land there. Good. And then sweep the right leg all the way up and back. Big, full breath in. And again, right knee, right tricep. This time we'll step the right foot to the outside of your right wrist. So you're in this nice wide lunge and then come up onto your fingertips for a moment and start to move it back and forth. So you can straighten the legs any amount, press through your left heel. As you inhale, come back forward into that wide lunge and just move around a little bit. So if it feels good to pause somewhere, pause. Otherwise, let it be fluid. And at the same time, can you feel grounded and supported? Beautiful. And then meet me back in that wide lunge. So rebending through the right knee, long in the spine. We'll take a twist here, left hand down, sweep your right arm up, twisting to the right side. Good. And then hug that right hip in. Maybe roll out your right wrist a few times. Feel into the wrist, spread the fingers. Nice. And then lower your right hand to the inside of your front foot. We're walking to the left to face the side of the mat. Take a moment, walk your hands forward, parallel your feet, lengthen through your spine and then coming into an easy wide leg forward fold. Nice and early here for prasarita, letting everything just kind of melt down, sealing the outer edges of the feet down, opening up through the backs of your legs, letting the crown of your head release. Beautiful.

And then as you inhale, come halfway up, turn your left toes out to the left a little bit. But a bend in your left knee will come into skandhasana. So walking both hands over to the left side, straightening the right leg. And then just take a couple of breaths here into that left hip, breathing. Beautiful. And then come all the way back to the front of your mat, find your runner's lunge. Let the left knee lower down to the earth and you can keep the toes tucked or feel free to untuck the toes. And if you have a couple blocks, you might take them under your hands. Otherwise come up onto the fingertips, lift the heart, lift the gaze, allowing a big full breath in here. And then as you exhale, shift the weight back, hamstring stretch, and you can lift the right toes up, draw the right hip back, breathe into the back of your right leg. Feel free to keep a bend in that right knee. And then let's move with this a few times, keeping that fluid quality. So as you inhale, rebend through the right knee. Now you can keep fingertips down or maybe the arms start to lift up as you come into anjai nyasana. Good. And then the exhale brings you back into your half split, arda hanumanasana, hamstring stretch. Take that one more time as you inhale, rebend, come forward, maybe sweep the arms up. And then as you exhale, shift it back, half split. Beautiful. And then rebend through that right knee, step it back to downward facing dog, right footsteps back to meet your left. Beautiful. And let's bring it forward into plank pose on the inhale, lower all the way to the belly. Exhale, hug the elbows in nice low cobra, draw the shoulders back, peel the chest up, offer the heart as you lift. Beautiful. And then exhale, bring it back however you choose into your downward facing dog, tucking the toes. Lift your hips up and back, move around a little bit, explore, notice how you feel. And then let that side go. We'll take it to the other side. As you're ready, float your left leg up and bend your knee, open up through that left hip. Maybe roll out your foot a few times. Feel into that left ankle. Maybe hear some crackling there. Good. And then straighten that left leg any amount. Take a big full breath in. Tap your left knee towards your left tricep as you hover top of the pushup. Good. And then sweep the leg all the way up and back. Big breath in. Good. Left knee, left tricep. This time we'll step the foot to the outside of your left wrist. We're in that wide lunge. Come up onto your fingertips. Reach the heart forward, lengthen through the spine. And then just start to move a little bit forward and back. Feel into your legs. Let it feel good.

So I'm straightening and pressing through that right heel. And then rebending through the left knee. Taking that one more time wherever you're at. Good. And then we'll meet back in that wide lunge. So take a moment to land. Set up with the knee over your ankle. And then planting your right hand down. Take your twists. Reach your left arm up, opening the chest toward the left. And then maybe roll out that left wrist a few times. One direction. And then the other. Let it feel good. Good. And then lower your left hand to the inside of your front foot. We'll walk it to the right this time. Parallel your feet. And then taking it into a forward fold. Let everything melt down. Just for a couple of breaths. Breathe into the backs of your legs. Lift up on your kneecaps. Letting any tension roll down off the spine, the crown of your head. Give it away. Good. And then as you come halfway up, inhale as you lengthen. Hands under your shoulders. Angle your right toes toward the corner of your mat a little bit. And then nice bend in that right knee. Walk your hands over to the right. Keep the left leg straight. Skandhasana. And then you're strengthening through that right hip. Couple breaths. Beautiful. And then keep it low. Come on back to the front of your mat. Find your runner's lunge. We'll lower that right knee down this time. Come up onto your fingertips. Notice the front of your right hip. Good. And again, if you have a couple blocks, they might be under your hands. Otherwise, fingertips down. Big breath in. As you exhale, shift your weight back. Arda Hanamanasana. Draw the left hip back. Maybe spread your left toes. Breathe into the back of your left leg. Feel free to soften that left knee any amount. And then let's move with this a couple times. So as you inhale, rebend the left knee. Maybe reach the arms up. Anjaliyasana. Feel the lift through the heart if you're doing that. Good. As you exhale, hands down, shift it back. Arda Hanamanasana. Half split. Go one more with a breath. The inhale brings you forward, sweeping the arms up. Exhale, shift it back. Arda Hanaman. Good. And then inhale as you come forward. Let's meet in downward facing dog. Step your left foot back to meet the right. And then gliding into plank pose. Lower all the way to the belly. Hug the elbows in. And as the inhale will draw you up into bhujangasana. Cobra pose. Lift the heart. Good. Exhale. Shift it back to child's pose. But tuck your toes. And then let your hips sink back towards your heels. Arms reach forward actively. And then from here, start to peel up to sit back on your heels with your toes tucked. So take a moment. You might need to adjust a little bit. We're stretching into the feet. This is an area that can be a little hard to get into. Sometimes the bottoms of the feet. And what starts by feeling really nice can pretty quickly feel a little bit uncomfortable. So notice if that's true for you, you can always come out of here. Let's reach the arms forward from here. So as we're stretching into the feet, let's get into the shoulders a little bit. Bring your palms to face up and then eagle wrap with your arms. Right arm under your left arm. Either bringing hands together or backs of the hands together. You can also hold your shoulders if that feels a little more accessible today. And then draw the elbows away. Allow a big full breath in here. But as you exhale, draw the elbows in towards you. You can round through the spine. So kind of this cat-like energy in the spine. And then breathe into the shoulder blades, the back body. Feel that opening. You can tuck your chin. Nice. And then as you inhale, come on up out of there.

Release your arms. Take your right hand to your left ear, the outside of your left ear. And then gently start to draw your right ear towards your right shoulder. So you're taking a nice, easy neck stretch. And you can reach that left arm out to the left a little bit. How are your feet feeling? It might be getting a little intense there. Beautiful. And then go ahead and gently release. Walk the hands forward. Untuck your toes. Hello, feet. Sit back on your heels. You can always place a block between your ankles if that feels better. A little less intense. And we'll come to the other side. So reaching your arms forward. Palms up. Left arm under the right this time. Wrap it up. Eagle arms. Draw the elbows away from you. Inhaling. As you exhale, draw the elbows in. Feel the rounding through your spine. Tuck your chin down toward your chest. Feel that opening. So nice. And then as you inhale, slowly come up out of there. And release. This time we'll draw the left hand to the outside of your right ear. Gently draw your left ear toward your left shoulder. You reach your right arm out to the right. Breathing into the right side of your neck. Gently stretching the neck. Also an area that we could say is tense on many of us. I think that's fair.

Good. And then come back through center. Take the hands behind the back. Find an interlace for a moment. Draw the shoulders down the back. Lean back a little bit. Good. And then take your time. Let's walk the hands forward. We'll meet back in downward facing dog. Move on as you're ready. Rise up onto your toes. Big bend in the knees. Slowly walk or lightly hop your feet to your hands. Come to the front of your mat. Let everything melt down over your legs. Forward fold for a moment. Good. And then soften the knees. And just roll up slowly. One vertebra at a time as you get to the top. Bring your shoulders up toward your ears. Big breath in. Exhale. Release. Tadasana. Find your stand at the front of the mat. Mountain pose. And then we'll just start to build heat a little bit. Warming the body with some welcoming sun salutations. So moving right into Surya Namaskara A. As you're ready, inhale, sweep the arms up. Big full breath in. Lengthen through the spine. Exhale forward fold. Soften the knees as you fold in. Inhale, lift halfway up. Either fingertips on the earth or you can walk your hands up onto your shins. Lengthen through the spine. Plant your palms step. If you feel ready, lightly float it back. Moving through your Vinyasa Chaturanga or lowering all the way down. Inhale cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, moving into downward facing dog. Roll over the toes. Lifting the hips up and back. Allowing a few full deep breaths here. Just letting the heels get heavy. Good. And you can find that one point to focus your gaze, your Drishti. Good. And then as you're ready, rising up onto toes. Big bend in the knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, lifting halfway. Exhale, forward fold, release. Root down through the feet. Rise up to stand. Arms sweep out and up. Good. And then gathering hands together in front of your heart. Let's take two more rounds. Surya A. Inhale, arms lift, gaze lifts, lengthening. Exhale, release. Forward fold, Uttanasana. Inhale, lift halfway up. Arda Uttanasana. Exhale, your Vinyasa. Step or lightly float it back, Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. If you're an up dog, firming the thighs up off the earth, straightening the arms. And then rolling over the toes, lift the hips up and back. Downward facing dog. Breathe here. Couple full deep breaths. Allowing our downward facing dog to be a reminder to come home to your breath. Come home to your intention, inviting in that grace, that ease, wherever else you need here. Good. Inhale, rise up onto toes. Bend your knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands in front of the mat. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, release and fold, Uttanasana. Root down through the feet. Rise up to stand. Arms sweep out and up. Good. Drawing your hands. Start, center, last round as you're ready. Inhale, arms sweep up, lengthen. Exhale, soften and fold, Uttanasana. Inhale, halfway. Good. And then move it through. Let the palms step or lightly float back, Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Good. Energy's flowing. Building a little heat in the body. Feel free to stay here in down dog for a few breaths. Or if you'd like, you can always lower the knees, taking child's pose or Vajrasana. Good. And then just take a moment to arrive, to check and to notice. Beautiful. And then we'll rise up onto toes. Big bend in the knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float front of the mat. Inhale, halfway. Lengthen. Exhale, fold.

Chair pose this time, Uttanasana. Weight into the heels. Arms sweep up. Draw the shin bones back as you let the hips sink down toward the height of your knees. And then straighten out through the legs. Feel the lift in the heart space. Take a moment. Draw your hands to your heart. And let's pause here at the front of the mat for a moment. Maybe close your eyes. Maybe bring one hand to the heart. One hand to the belly. Tuck the chin down toward your chest. Taking a moment to observe the energy. Observe the breath and your heartbeat. See where all that lands. Good. And then moving from this place, let's come back to chair. So take a moment to pause in your chair pose, Uttanasana. Keep the legs how they are. Allowing a big full breath in. As you exhale, sweep the arms back. Lower the torso down toward your thighs. And then as you inhale, come back up to chair. So gathering energy on the inhale. Letting go as you sweep the arms back. Exhale. One more like that. Inhale. Arms sweep up. Exhale. Exhale. Sweep the arms back. Maybe interlace hands behind the low back. Find a forward fold. Maybe step your feet a little bit wider and you can soften the knees any amount. So you're getting into the shoulders a little bit here as you come into your fold. Beautiful. And then let the hands come down toward the earth. We'll come halfway up on the inhale. Lengthening. And then move it through your vinyasa. We're coming right back. You can always step it right back to downward facing dog. We'll meet there. Nice work. Big breath in. Maybe let out a sigh. Beautiful. Moving into our standing sequence as you're ready. Float your right leg up. Inhale. This time draw your right knee across the body to your left tricep and hover top of a pushup. Good. And then inhale. Sweep your leg up and back. As you exhale, step all the way through. Setting up for warrior two. Let the left arm guide you up and open. Take a moment to land. Good. Find your alignment. So bending toward 90 degrees in that front leg, seal the outer edge of your back foot on the earth. Let your weight be centered. Find ease in the effort. And then let's move with this. So as you inhale, sweep the arms up. Straighten your front leg. And then as you exhale, just bring it right back into warrior two. Let's move with that a couple times as you inhale, sweep the arms up. Maybe lift your gaze. Exhale deep in warrior two.

And more. Maybe close the eyes. Inhale. And that will have me wobbling a little bit. Exhale, warrior two. Good. Flip your front palm, reverse warrior. Feel that nice length and stretch through the right side body as you reach it up and back. And then circle your hands down to the earth. Step the right foot back. Your vinyasa, maybe chaturanga, cobra or up dog inhale. Meeting in downward facing dog. Lift the hips up and back and breathe. Inhaling. Exhale, release. Beautiful. And then balancing it out. We'll take it to the left side. So inhale the left leg up. Now draw the left knee to the right triceps. So crossing the body, hover top of a pushup. Beautiful. Inhale, sweep the leg up and back. Exhale, step it through. Find your warrior two base. Spin the back heel down. Let the right arm guide you up and open. Take a moment. Find your adjustments and then land. Land and breathe. Soften the shoulders. Soften the face. Your gaze. Our face is this great dashboard for where we might be holding tension in the rest of the body. So can you relax the jaw? Soften the space behind your eyes. And then let's move with the breath. So inhale, arms sweep up. Straighten the front leg. Exhale, deepen into Virabhadrasana two. Rebending the left knee. Good. Inhale, arms sweep up. Maybe lift your gaze. Exhale, warrior two. Last one. Inhale, maybe eyes are closed. Playing with your balance a little bit. Trusting the support beneath you. Exhale, warrior two. Flip the front palm. Tilt it back. Feel that nice length through the left side body. Beautiful. And then circling your hands down to the earth. Step your left foot back. Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Nice work. Moving into your down dog. A couple of full deep breaths here. Beautiful. And then rising up onto toes. Bend your knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, release. Coming back to chair. Utkatasana, arms sweep up. Good. And then straighten the legs. Feel that lift in the upper back. And then taking a moment, draw your hands to your heart. Taking this reset at the front of the mat to breathe, to notice, to become the observer of all that's happening. What has shifted from when we first started? Feeling the heartbeat. Feeling the temperature of the space around you. Observing what sounds might be occurring. And maybe it's the beating of your heart, the sound of your breath. Letting this be a work in versus a work out. Going inward. And then let's add on to what we've already created. As you're ready, inhale, come back to chair Utkatasana. Pausing here. Keep the legs how they are. Allowing a big, full breath in.

As you exhale, sweep the arms back. Lower the torso down. Good. Inhale, gather energy. Arms sweep up. Exhale, sweep the arms back. Good. One more. Inhale, chair. Good. Exhale, sweep the arms back again. Find that interlace behind the back. You might heel toe the feet a little bit wider. Soften the knees. Let the arms reach up over your head. Let the head relax. Good. And then hands to the earth. Heel toe your feet together. So big toes and heels are together. And then let the knees go wide. Let your hips sink down, coming into yogi squat. Malasana. And then if it feels okay in your knees, start to walk your hands in front of you. Feel a bit of a rounding through the back. Let the head, neck and shoulders relax. And just let this be a sweet release. A couple breaths here. So you're stretching through the inner leg line, the low back. Probably feeling in the shoulders, the neck. Anywhere else you feel this. Nice. And then walk the hands back in towards you. Straight in the legs. Forward fold. Come halfway up. Inhale. And then move it through your vinyasa or feel free to step it right back to downward facing dog. We'll meet there. Take your time. No rush. Beautiful. And then adding on. So coming back to that right leg, sweep the right leg up. Big breath in. Draw your knee to your nose. Round through the upper back. Press the floor away as you do that. Good. Sweep the leg up and back. And then step it through. Let's come back up to warrior two. Spin the back heel down. Let the left arm guide you up and open. Take a moment to land. And then moving with the breath. Inhale. Arms sweep up straight in the front leg. Take the gaze up. Exhale. Deepen warrior two. This time flip your front palm. Tilt it back for reverse warrior. Keep the legs how they are. And then move into extended side angle. I'm bringing elbow to top of the thigh. You might have fingertips on the earth. Top arm reaches up and over your ear. Take a moment to land here.

Feel that long line of energy from your back heel to your left fingertips. And then let's move with this. So keeping that fluidity. Dancing warrior. Inhale. Bring it up and back. Exhale. Bring it up and over. Extended side. Two more. Inhale. Bring it up and back. Exhale. Extended side angle. Last one. Inhale up and back. Light on your back fingertips. Exhale. Extended side. Good. This time as you bring it up and back, let's get out of that front leg. Straighten your front leg for reverse triangle. And feel that nice length in the left side body. And then keeping that length. Let's bring this all the way up and over into half moon. So you're bending the right knee. You might step that left foot in a little bit. Let the right hand come down to the earth right under your right shoulder. And you can float that left leg up. Float the left arm up, playing with balance. If you're wobbling, you're not alone. Meant to challenge you. Meant to be a practice in presence. And soften the right knee a little bit. Good. And then step your left foot to meet the right. Let's come back to chair pose at the front of the mat. And here we are. Big full breath in. Sweep the arms back. Exhale. Again, inhale. Gather energy. Exhale. Sweep the arms back.

Last one. Inhale. Arms sweep up. Then catch the hands behind the back. Find that interlace. Heel-toe the feet a little wider if you need to. Soften the knees. Let the head hang heavy. Let something go here that you don't need. Good. And then hands to the earth. Heel-toe the feet back together. Big toes and heels together. Knees wide. Coming back toward that yogi squat. Malasana. Walking your hands forward. And you can stay right here. If this feels soothing to you and healing in the body, I invite you to stay right here today. If you want to play with the arm balance, here's a nice opportunity for bhakasana. Bringing hands to the earth. It'll bring us there. Let your knees come above the elbows. Find the upper arms. Chaturanga in the arms. Gazing in front of you. Start to bring a little weight into the hands. And maybe that's where you're staying today. You might have a pillow under your face in case you face-plant. Good. Keep the gaze in front of you so you can see where you're going. Maybe lift up one foot. Maybe both feet lift. Maybe you're holding for a couple breaths. And then however you choose, you can come back through your vinyasa. I've felt extra rough today. How are you feeling? And then a big full breath in. And then let it go on your exhale. Let's breathe together. Inhale through the nose. Tongue out, lion's breath, release. Inhale through the nose. Maybe flutter your lips, horse's breath. And then let all of that go. And we'll move to the second side as you're ready. Float your left leg up. Inhale. Need a nose. Round through the upper back. Good. Inhale, sweep it up. Step it through. Setting up for warrior two. Find your base. Let the right arm guide you up. Take a moment to land. And then moving. Flowing with the breath. Inhale, arms sweep up. Lift the gaze. Exhale, deepen warrior two. Flip your front palm tilt back. Reverse warrior. Extended side angle. We'll pause in this first one. Find your alignment. I'm bringing elbow to top of the thigh, right arm over the ear. Find that energy from right fingertips all the way to right heel. Good. And then stay strong in your base as we start to flow through dancing warrior. So the inhale brings you up and back. Reverse warrior. Exhale, flowing through. Extended side angle. Good. Let's take one more. Inhale, reach it up and back. Exhale, extended side angle. Letting the breath guide the movement. Bring it up and back. We'll straighten through the front leg. Reverse triangle. Nice. And then keeping that nice length in the left side. Bringing it all the way up and over into half moon. Stepping the right foot forward a little bit. Left fingertips find the earth. Float your right leg up. Flex your right foot like you're stepping on the wall behind you. And then breathe here. Find your balance. Good. You can soften that left knee a little bit. Good.

And then let's meet in chair pose. The front of the mat. Make sure the knees are even as you find Utkatasana. Inhale, gather energy. Arms sweep up. Exhale, sweep it back. Last couple. Inhale, arms sweep up. Gathering. Exhale, sweep it back. Last one. Inhale, arms sweep up. Exhale, this time just find your forward fold. Release. Let it go. Good. Inhale, lift halfway up. Vinyasa, if you want it, feel free to take a crow pose as you come into your flow. Otherwise, let's just move it through. Clear the energy. And then meet in your down or facing dog. Nice work. Good. Let's take it down a little bit here. We'll get into the hips. Inhale, sweep your right leg up. Bend the knee. Open the hip. If you're healthy in the shoulders, maybe flip your dog shoulders over wrists. Step the right toes behind you. Sweep that right arm up. Feel that lift in the upper back. Nice. And then as you unravel, right hand down, right leg lifts, and then draw your right knee to your left tricep. Maybe thread that leg all the way through for fallen triangle. If you're doing that, bring the weight into your right hand. Sweep the left arm up. Maybe take it over your ear. Feel that lift in the upper back. This is our heart opener today. So opening up through the chest. Left hand finds the earth. See if you can keep that left leg straight. And then lower, or right leg straight, excuse me, and then lower all the way to your right hip. So that leg is still threading through. And we're getting this big stretch in the outer right leg line. And you can untuck your left toes. Start to angle your torso toward the front of the mat. And if this is just too much sensation in the leg, which it definitely can be, we're moving toward single pigeon. So you might come right there. Otherwise, if this feels okay for a couple of breaths, bring the forearms down to the earth. Breathe into the sensations that you feel in that right leg. Let the heartbeat start to slow a little bit. And notice what that transition means for you from a whole lot of movement, a whole lot of fluidity, to more of this grounded stillness. What happens when you move into that space? Not only on a physical level, but where do the thoughts go? Does the energy feel? And there's no right way. Just observing. It's going to be different every time we show up to our mat. Can you become the observer? And notice. And then let's slide that right leg toward the front of the mat. It doesn't have to be fully parallel, but we'll move into single pigeon. If this is not the hip opener of your choice, feel free to come onto your back. You might take thread the eye of the needle or any other hip opener. And we'll take our time to move into single pigeon. If you're there, walking your hands forward and bringing forearms to the earth. You might rest your forehead on something. And then again, just listen inward, letting this be a work in. And as the thoughts enter, which they will, the nature of the mind is to think. It's not about erasing the thoughts. But can you notice them without too much attachment? And then perhaps come back to your breath. Or maybe it's the sounds around you that you're noticing. Just becoming aware of what's happening in this moment. To me, it's a crow outside the door here. Noticing nature as it exists. Beautiful. And then take your time. Let's crawl our way back to down dog. Take your time coming out of that side, maybe pedal it out, whatever you need. If you want a vinyasa, feel free to take it. You can shake it out, sway the hips. And then left side as you're ready, floating your left leg up, bend your knee, open the hip. You can stay here. If you're healthy in the shoulders, maybe flip your dog. Stepping the left toes behind you, bringing the weight into the right hand, sweep the left arm up. Feel that lift in the upper back. Good. Unravel left hand down, left leg lifts. Draw your left knee to the right tricep. Maybe thread it through for fallen triangle. Spin onto your right heel. Weight into the left hand, sweep the right arm up. Again, feel that lift in the upper back. Good. And then maybe you're keeping that leg threaded through and straight. As you lower that left hip down, you can untuck that right foot, start to let the torso spin toward the front of the mat. Take a moment up at the top, or you're moving right into your single pigeon, if that's where you're heading. Maybe walking your forearms down to the earth, breathing into the outer left leg line. Allowing a few full deep breaths here. Noticing where you feel this, the sensations as they arise. Does this side feel a little bit different? Beautiful.

And then when you have the invitation to come on out of there, observe that, and you can start to parallel this in toward the front of the mat, coming in towards single pigeon or whatever hip opener you took on that first side. Honoring that. Take a moment up at the top, settle in, and then as you're ready. And when there's the invitation to go a little deeper, walking your hands forward. Breathing into the left hip. Maybe you're a little more settled on this side as we've come toward these held postures. Letting the breath anchor you here with grace, with acceptance, with ease. A couple more full deep breaths. Good. And then take your time. Let's come on back to downward facing dog. If that feels okay, just peeling it back up, step your left foot back, move around, whatever you need to release that side. Maybe shake your left leg out. Good. And let's come to seated at the front of the mat so you can cross at the ankles. Maybe just shifting your weight off to one side, however you choose to arrive there, bringing both legs out in front of you, setting up for a seated twist. So stepping the right foot to the earth, bend your right knee, sit up nice and tall. Now you can stay here if this feels good for you, or step your right foot across your left leg onto the earth and then right fingertips behind you. Reach your left arm up and then twist to the right, either hooking elbow on the outside of the right leg or you can hug the knee in, sitting up nice and tall, inhaling as you lengthen. As you exhale, maybe take the gaze over your right shoulder without force, just wringing it out. Letting go a little more with every exhale, all that heat that you've built up, that you've built up, just wringing it out here. And then gazing forward, gentle release. Reach your right leg long and we'll bend the left knee, step your left foot down to the earth, sit up nice and tall, lengthen through the spine, maybe step your left foot across the right leg onto the earth, left fingertips behind you, sitting bones rooting down, reach your right arm up and then twisting gently to the left, either hooking the elbow or if it feels a little better to just hug the knee in, go for it, and then maybe start to take your gaze over your left shoulder, wringing it out, releasing. Beautiful. And then take your gaze in front of you, gently release your twist, reach both legs long on your mat, sit up nice and tall on your sitting bones, wiggle in, and then let's just balance it out, right and left leg. So inhale, arms, sweep up, lead with the heart, Paschimottanasana, folding in and just letting your hands fall wherever they fall. You might bring your hands to your ankles or your feet, breathing into your hamstrings, lower back, letting your head, neck and shoulders release. Hopefully feeling a little bit more open in those tight areas, those areas of habitual tension or the sticky spots as I like to call them. Good. And then as you inhale, come on up and roll down onto your back. As you come onto your back, have your knees into your chest. We'll give ourselves a little rock side to side, massage in the low back, let it feel nice. Good. And you can either stay here or maybe happy baby holding onto the feet, the shins, peace fingers might find the big toes, whatever feels best for you when bending the knees, drawing them in towards you, let the shoulders release and soften, low back releases. There's any movement side to side that might feel nice. Whatever would complete your practice this morning, this afternoon, this evening, wherever you are, honor that. And then we'll hug knees back in as you're ready, nose up to knees, hug everything in, create a little tension here, inhaling. We'll open the mouth, just everything for Shavasana, letting the legs go long on your mat and see if you can bring the palms to face up on either side of your body, letting the arms fall away from you a little bit. And then just moving from the toes up through the crown of your head, where can you soften and release just a little bit more? Letting the earth support you, let the body feel held with grace, letting go, letting be, just rest.

Good morning. Thank you very much. And just begin by bringing awareness back to the breath, allowing the breath to deepen a little bit, and inviting any organic movement back in, maybe starting with the fingers and the toes, the ankles, the wrists, just observing how you feel for a moment. And then just like how we started, we'll interlace the fingers, pressing the palms of the hands toward the wall behind you, point through your toes, maybe roll out your feet or point and flex a few times, full body stretch, inhaling, exhale, release, soles of the feet to the earth, reaching arms up overhead, roll to either side. And if it feels okay, just take a moment on your side to pause, to check in, to observe.

And then with that ease of Shavasana, pressing your way up to a comfortable seat. If you want to take a longer Shavasana, of course, feel free to stay there as long as you'd like. Otherwise, we'll take hands together and Anjali Mudra in front of the heart, taking a moment to bow inward towards yourself, just acknowledge yourself for showing up for you today, wherever you are. Such an honor and a pleasure to be sharing the practices of yoga together in this way. Thank you so much for letting me guide your practice.

Namaste, everyone. Hope to see you online very soon. Have a beautiful rest of your day. Thank you.

Comments

Rachel S
1 person likes this.
Perfect practice for today! Thank you!
Sarah Beston
I'm so happy to hear, Rachel S! Thanks for checking out the practice and hope to practice with you again soon. Warmly, Sarah
Marlo
1 person likes this.
Ooh that stretch after fallen triangle was super juicy! Thank you for guiding this practice. 
Sarah Beston
I love that stretch too, Marlo L! As always, such a pleasure to be practicing with you and hope you and your family are staying well!
Ali
Ali
1 person likes this.
I loved that stretch from fallen triangle before going into pigeon. This was a wonderful whole body check in. Thank you.
Sarah Beston
I am so happy to hear that, Ali! Thank you for sharing your experience and please stay close. Warmly, Sarah
Holly N
1 person likes this.
Thank you, Sarah!  I enjoyed the freedom to explore sensation in the poses.  I also always enjoy your gentle cuing, guiding us through a sequence, but reminding us that yoga is a personal practice. 
Sarah Beston
Absolutely, Holly N! Such a pleasure to be practicing together and wishing you a beautiful Sunday. Warmly, Sarah
Julie M
2 people like this.
Lovely Sarah, what a gorgeous inviting flow. I felt seduced by each pose, gradually nudging me to open just a little bit further at a time when wasn’t feeling overly active. It felt gentle and safe and not at all overwhelming...just wonderful and thank you for being you!
Sarah Beston
1 person likes this.
What a beautiful description of your experience of the practice, Julie M. Thank you so much for sharing this with me and I am so grateful to be practicing together in this space. Have a beautiful Sunday. Warmly, Sarah
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