Radiant Foundations

Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining me. Today's class is going to invite us to come back to the basics. So really working on our foundations and the postures, the alignment and going a little slower in this class. So let's go ahead and start on our backs. You're gonna begin with your knees bent and your feet on the mat.

And I'd like for you to breathe, fill the belly all the way. And as you exhale, just press your feet down into the earth, draw your tailbone forward. Just a little flattening of your low back, not entirely. We just want to maintain the natural curve of the low back. From here, cross your right ankle on top of your left thigh in this figure four position, flexing the right foot, I'm gently opening that right inner thigh, breathing in and out through the nose cultivating your yogic breath. You're welcome to stay here.

If your energy levels are lower today and you need to do something that feels a little less, you could just breathe in this posture or take your hands under your head interlace your fingers and join me in a little bit of core work. So you're gonna inhale here resting your head and your hands as you exhale, lift your head and your shoulders. Like a little sit up. Inhale as you lower, maybe not all the way, just halfway. XL and lift.

Inhale to lower. Right. So just halfway, keeping the front ribs tucked in, and then exhale lift up. We'll do two more in hell lower. XL lift. And one more.

Pause as you have your head up. Hold here. Feel the core. Feel your naval intelligence. And rest your head back down. Release your arms alongside your body and just set your right foot on the mat.

Cross your left ankle over your right thigh flex your left foot. Anch your right foot in the mat. So that knee points straight up towards the ceiling. Take a few breaths here, feeling the inner left eye opening. You're welcome to stay here or hands interlaced underneath your head.

Inhale, your head's resting in your hands, exhale lift up. Inhale down. Not all the way. Exhale up. Inhale lower. Be mindful of your front rinse.

XL lift. That's three. Keep going. Two more. XL lift. And one more. Lift up. Hold your head up.

Lift your chin just a few inches away from your chest. Pause and release. Take the hands from underneath you. Lower that left foot. Just feel your core, your naval intelligence, and hug your knees into your chest.

We're gonna make our way into a plank position. So coming on to your hands for a moment, your knees and setting up from here. You're just gonna take your legs back in plank, pausing for a beat. Your hands are beneath your shoulders. Mounds of the big toes and pinky toes pressing down.

Breathe in and exhale, lift your hips back to down dog pausing in your downward facing dog. Please look back at your feet so they're hip width apart. We're gonna do that again. So inhale, shift forward, come into plank. This time pausing just a little bit longer.

We've just worked our core, that naval intelligence. So you already have that awareness there. Can you draw the sides of your belly up towards the back of the body? Reach or sternum forward. Your heart is open for this plank.

Take another breath. Exhale to down dog. Come up high on your toes, bend the knees. At the end of your exhale, please step up to the top of your mat. Half way up, breathe in. Forward fold, breathe out.

Root your feet into the earth rise, inhale. Hands to the heart. Arms alongside your body, inhale reach up. Read in, think of your plank pose as you're standing here in tadasana, exhale and fold. Inhale halfway up.

We're going to step the right foot back as you exhale. Lower the right knee to the mat. Low lunge, inhale, reach both arms to the sky. Exhale hands to the mat. Step back.

Go to plank pose. And pause in Helen Plank. If you need more support, you can always lower your knees to the mat as you exhale all the way down. Shut that angle, setting up for cobra, inhale lift your chest. Exhale downward facing dog.

Reach your right leg back behind you inhale. Right foot forward as you exhale, left knee lowers. Inhale, low lunge. Exhale hands to the mat, lift the back knee, step up, top of the mat. Right away, halfway up, inhale.

Fold back in, exhale. Rise, breathing in. Hands to your heart. Suriya namaskarsi, inhale arms go up, exhale forward fold. Halfway breathe in.

Step your left foot back, lower the left knee down as you exhale. On the next breath in, reach both arms up, low lunge. Exhale hands to the mat. Step back plank. Pausing plank, inhale, all the way lower or halfway, chaitananga exhale, cobra, or maybe you're taking a up dog this time inhale.

Downward facing dog, exhale. Lift your left leg, inhale. Left foot forward, exhale right knee lowers. Low lunge on Janjaniasana with breath, exhale hands to the mat, right foot steps forward, right away halfway up inhale. Fold back in exhale.

Ground the feet. In out, come up. Bring both hands to your heart. Lower your arms by your sides. Just observe your heart. The pulse is a little faster.

We're building heat from the inside. We're gonna step out wide on our mat. And you're going to grab a block. I'm going to invite you to place that block behind your right heel. So you want to step out wide enough about one leg distance apart and your arms are going to stretch out into a t shape.

So it's not a one size fits all, but try to get your ankles underneath your wrists. From deep inside your hip socket, bend your right knee, turn your right leg open so your toes are now pointing. To the front of the mat. Slide your back toes in slightly for triangle pose with tita trikonasana. When you're ready, reach reach reach forward, hinging from that right hip, set your right hand down on the block if you need one.

I like to use a block for triangle pose personally, and you can decide what height you want for your block. You wanna press the mound of your right big toe into the mat, putting weight there, slight bend in that right knee so you're not locking the knee. And that back leg is super strong. Chest is open. Heart is open. Take another full breath as you appreciate the openness of this posture.

And then just look down at your right foot if you were looking up. Bring your left hand to your hip. Bend your right knee. Take your block with you and step up. So your block is moving up to the right slightly so that the block lands underneath the right shoulder.

We're putting all of our weight in that right foot. Left leg is lifted into half moon. So keeping that foundation of your right foot, the weight is a little more distributed through all four corners of the right foot. Firm your right hip in, Flex your back foot. It's an enthusiastic leg. It's lifting, and maybe your left arm is reaching up as you take full expression of Arta Chandrasana. And if you wanna play with your balance, consider lifting your gaze to the sky.

Take one more breath. If you're looking up slowly, take the gaze down, point your back toes, bend your front knee, come back to triangle pose. So bring your block back with you. Placing it right next to the foot with tita trikonasana, ground both of your feet, take the block with you, inhale rise on up, and then bend that knee on the right side, turn the right toes in, place your block over to the left behind the heel. When you're ready, bend your left knee, turn your left leg open.

Your toes are now pointing into the back of the mat, slide your back foot in slightly, inhale here, ground your feet, press down from your legs. As you exhale, reach forward, hinging at your hip, place your left hand on the block and your right arm to the sky. So you wanna be mindful of where your left hip is in space, from it into the midline. Feel the anchor of your back foot and leg. Take two breaths.

The rib cage is stacked. Sholders are stacked. Looking down, right hand to your hip. Bring your block with you as you bend to your left knee, move the block up slightly to the left, and lift that back leg enthusiastically, flexing your right foot, firming that right thigh. And if you want the full expression, right arm to the sky, feeling your foundation of that left foot rooted.

Holding the posture. If you wanna challenge your balance, lift your gaze, possibly. Look down, bend that left knee, triangle pose, step back. Try to land softly. Triangle pose, and grab the block with you.

Inhale root down to rise up. Bend your left knee, turn your feet in, and step your feet together again. Coming back to the top of the mat and mountain pose and just feeling both sides of your feet, legs, hips, the whole center line of the body. Surya Nomaskara, inhale reach up, exhale fold. Halfway up breathe.

Step back. You can choose to go back into down dog if you want to skip the vinyasa. Pausing and down dog. Take your right leg back as you breathe in. And exhale, step your right foot out to the right. So we wanna go outside of that right hand. Maybe slide your left toes back if that's available.

If you have the space in your body, put the back knee down on the mat, grab your block here. We're gonna come into a supportive lizard pose. So we've done a lot for our hips today, opening the outer hips in our thighs. What you wanna be mindful of here is that your ankle and while your knee, first of all, is behind the ankle, not in front of it. So just pausing here for a couple of breaths, breathing into the inner right thigh, outer right hip.

If you're feeling really strong today and you want to lift that back knee, you've got another breath in through the nose. Out through the nose. If your back knee is up, please place it down. Lower your hands back to the mat, pausing in your lizards at your block to the left side. We'll use it again in just a moment.

Back toes are tucked, lift your back knee. Take your right foot back to downward dog and hold here. Inhale your left leg reaches back exhale, step your left foot to the outside of your left hand. Setting up for lizard pose, place your right knee down, grab your block again. Lower your forearms on the blocks.

So taking a peek at your knee, your left knee where it is should be behind your ankle. If you want a little extra today, lift your back knee, take a full breath in through your nose, full lizard pose, keep the heart open, collar bones wide. If your back knee is lifted, lower the knee, pause here. And then lower your hands to the mat again. Lift your back knee and actually step back into plank position.

So you're taking your left foot back into plank in help plank. Shift forward, please lower all the way down onto your mat. So we're gonna go into Shalambasana. Tops of the feet around the mat stretch both arms back behind you. I'm gonna give you a couple of variations here with your hands. You could keep your hands apart, turning the palms to face in or take a clasp with your fingers if that's available.

Firmly press your pubic bone, pelvis into the mat, length in the tailbone to the heels. And as you inhale lift your chest, lift your arms. Press the tops of the feet into the earth. Lead with your chest, your sternum, so you inhale lifting up a little bit higher. Feeling your back muscles, your back body strengthening, one more breath, and exhale as you lower releasing the clasp if you chose to interlace your fingers I'm gonna come into crocodile.

So you're gonna stay as you are just stuck your hands under your head. And place your forehead onto your hands. Just letting this be a reset pose. Please your hands alongside your ribs. Talk your toes, please.

With your knees on the mat, press up. All fours into child's pose. And from child's pose, let's come onto our backs. Okay. Grabbing your block once more and just setting the block, the medium height underneath your sacrum. So below the lumbar below your lower spine, Just coming into a supportive bridge, allowing your whole system, your nervous system to down regulate.

Please lift your hips off the block, lower your spine onto the mat, cross right leg over left like you're sitting cross legged, shift your hips a little over to the right, drop your knees over to your left. For spinal twist, you can even extend your right arm to the right. Coming back to center, switching the crossing of your legs, shift your hips a little over left, drop your knees to the right. And back to center, ending in Shavasana today, you can extend the legs out in front of you. You're welcome to also just bend the knees for added support.

Place one hand over your heart, one over your abdomen. Grateful for the practice and the invitation to come back to the basics, to foundations. Thank you for practicing with me today, Namaste.