Recipe for Joy

Thank you for joining me for the recipe for joy. Let's get started at the top of the mat. So come to stand at the top of the mat with the feet about hip bone distance or slightly wider. The toes turn slightly in. Let's find a soft bend to the knees and just let the arms rest by the sides.

Closing your eyes if it feels comfortable. Let's take a big breath in through the nose. And a big sigh out through the mouth. And then just allow yourself to begin to drop into the body. To first begin to notice, where in the body we feel heavy?

Where we feel stagnant or stuck? And then notice where we feel the opposite, where we feel open, where we feel available. And observe the body. And if the body is moving for most of us, There will either be a slight roll forward and back or a very gentle sway from side to side. And whatever is happening in your body, can you give over to that in this moment?

So if that is forward and back, just start to feel yourself moving forward and back a little bit more. And the same thing if it's side to side. Relax through the low belly. Start to deepen your breath, drawing the breath down into the belly, filling all the way up to the chest. Nice long exhalations releasing and emptying.

And let's take a couple more just like that before we start to move. Big full inhales. Big full exhales. Last one. Biggest fullest breath you've taken so far today. And then sigh, make some noise, release that heaviness, And then inhale reach the arms high to the sky.

Open the eyes. Look up. And then exhale bending your knees. Slowly begin to fold forward. Keep the knees bent. Maybe bring the feet slightly wider.

And we're gonna grab opposite elbows and move. So the tendency when we feel heavy is to try to embrace stillness but I want you to embrace movement. So just go side to side. Shake your head. Yes. Shake your head. No.

Find a bounce to the knees. Don't worry if you feel stuck. I just bend the knees. Don't worry about what it looks like. Shake the head. Yes.

Shake the head. No. And then release opposite elbows. Just let the arms dangle. And we need to roll forward into the balls of the feet. Go back to the heels and see if we can find the slight forward and back motion.

So that we're not too far back in the heels, and we're also not too far forward in the ball. The feet. We start to find the arches of the feet and then bring your hands to your shins halfway up draw the heart forward, the shoulders back, the butt back, exhale fold. One more time. Hands to shin's heart for, butt back, shoulders back.

Ex, helpful. Plan to your hands. We're gonna step back into downward facing dog. So just go ahead and pedal through your feet again, finding movement, Whatever feels good here. Shaking your head. Yes.

Shaking your head. No. Again, maybe the knee's bent. Maybe we find a nice little bounce And then as you're ready, let's roll it forward into a high plank top of a push up, fold it back into down talk. Inhale forward to plank. Xhaled a dog.

Last time, come forward to plank. And let's lower all the way down to the belly. Press and connect into the tops of the feet. Bring your hands quite wide. And using the feet, let's lift the chest up baby cobra inhale.

As you exhale, dip your left shoulder down and just gaze over to the right. Press the feet, lift the chest. And as you exhale, right shoulder dips down, gaze over to the left. Couple more times, pausing up, pausing down, left shoulder down, gaze to the right. Lift it up.

Right shoulder down. Turn the gaze to the left. Come back through center, plant the hands, tuck the toes, press up into plank, and downward facing dog. Take a nice big breath in. Take a big breath out.

Right? Like, height of the sky. Draw all the knee towards the nose and then step the right foot forward between your hands. We're gonna lower the back knee down. Untuck the toes and reach the arms up to the sky. Interlace your hands to the back of your head And see if you can really deliver the head into the hands. Almost like we're riding in a convertible on the PCH.

And we're just gonna start to pulse. Forward and back through this front knee. So it should feel a nice opening beginning to happen in that left frontal hip point. Sides of my neck are nice and long. Nice and easy. Just finding that movement to wake up that stagnant energy in the body.

Keep that right knee bent. So to move the elbows in towards one another, reach the elbows up, lift up, look up, find that back bed, reach the arms up to the sky, and then bring your hands down tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, step forward, and fold. Right away, we're gonna reach out and up to rise up look up And then exhale, bend the knees. Come back down. Step your right foot all the way back.

Drop that right knee. Untuck the toes, reach the arms up, interlacing the hands to the back of the head again. So we're in the convertible again. And just start to pulse, word and back. So waking up at right frontal hit point, Let the head really relax in the hands.

And then keep that left knee bent. Draw the elbows in. Reach the elbows up. Look up. So to find the back button and then reach the arms up to the sky. Big breath in, exhale, bring your hands down downward facing dog.

Now from here, Let's roll forward into a high plank. I want you to keep your toes tucked. With your toes tucked, Drop the knees in the thighs slightly. Move your shoulders back. Move the heart forward and up for a tuck toed upward facing dog.

Fold up and back down dog. Let's do that a few more times. So roll it forward tuck toed up dog. Fold it up and back down dog. Once again, roll it forward.

Tuck toed up dog. Keep the knees and the thighs lifted the shoulders back. Downward facing dog. Inhale the left leg height of the sky. Step the left foot forward between the hands.

Lower the back knee down. Reach the arms up, interlace the hands, head goes into the basket. We're in the convertible again. Bouncing gently forward and back. And then draw the elbows in as we find stillness.

Lift up. Reach the arms up back then. Big breath in. Exhale hands down. Forward fold top of the mat.

Circle out and up, reach up, and exhale right away. Come down into your forward fold. Step your left foot back. Lower the back knee. Last time with this.

Reach the arms up, hands to the back of the head. Find those pulses, dropping the head into the hands, and then find stillness, right knee on top of the ankle. Elbows draw in. Reach the elbows up. Reach the arms up.

Back then inhale. Exhale downward facing dog, hands come down hips go up and back. Come forward into a tiptoeed upward facing dog. Downward facing dog. Big breath in.

Big breath out. Right leg high to the sky. Take the knee to the right elbow tap. Inhale the right leg. Knee of the left elbow tap.

In how the right leg high. Let's take the knee of the nose, right foot between the hips, this time coming up into a high crescent lunge. So I'm gonna bring my hands to my hips just so I can get organized here. So the right hip hugs back, the left hip hugs forward, right knee on top of the ankle. My left foot is almost all the way over into its own lane. So my feet aren't crossing.

Reach the arms up to the sky. Find those gentle pulses here. Just playing with the depth. Waking up that stagnant energy. And then we're gonna open it up into warrior 2.

So nice wide stance and not getting rigid here. We're really stuck in the alignment, but finding that movement. So my right knee is moving forward and back. Forward and back. Peaceful warrior.

Flip your right palm up. And just reach up and back. And then side angle. Tap the right forearm to the right thigh. Left arm up and over the left ear.

Up and back peaceful. We're not gonna get stuck there. We're just moving through it. Side angle. Peaceful.

Couple more times. Maybe close your eyes. Just feel that fluidity. Last time. Peaceful warrior. Heart wheel your hands down.

Downward facing dog. Come forward into your tuck toed up dog. Keep the knees and the thighs lifted shoulders back, fold up and back, downward facing dog, big breath in, Big exhale. Left leg. Hi. Left knee taps left elbow.

Inhale the leg high. Left knee to right elbow. Inhale the leg high. Take the knee of the nose. Left foot between the hands.

Come up into your high crescent lunge. So feel it out with your arms reaching up. And then if you need organize yourself, bring your hands onto your hips. So our left hip strong back or right hip strong forward. Right foot is quite wide, so my feet aren't crossed.

Reach the arms up and play with these pulses. Waking up that stagnant energy might be sitting in the legs, sitting in those frontal hit points. Open it up way or 2, nice wide stance. And again, not getting stuck with the alignment. But really moving, pulsing that left knee, and then peaceful warrior.

Left pump flips up. Reaching up and back. Forum to the thigh, right arm up and over the right ear. Peaceful warrior, left palm, flips up and back, and let's floss back and forth. Nice and easy. Maybe closing your eyes.

Just let it feel really good. One more time. Cartwheel your hands down. Downward facing dog, roll forward, top toed up dog, fold the hips up and back downward facing dog. Big breath in.

Big exhale. Right leg high. It's bend the right knee, open the right hip, and draw some big circles. From here, moving into wild thing, take the right foot behind you, lift your hips, lift your heart, lift your belly high to the sky, down dog split, right hand, down, right leg high. Take the knee to the left elbow, fall in trying. I'm gonna throw that right leg out.

Hips heart and belly high. Come back to your down dog split one more time, bend the knee open hip, lift up. Right away into falling triangle like your break dancing, right, like in front of the left. Left arm hips hurt and belly up. Downward facing dog, come forward into your plank, tuck toed up dog, downward facing dog.

Right leg high. Step the right foot outside of the right hand. And lower the back knee down for lizard. So from here, you could stay up on your hands, You could come down on your forearms. I'm gonna stay at my hands.

If you have blocks nearby, you could use blocks for your forearms. But feel free to let this right thigh and this right foot open if it naturally wants to. Find your breath. And then you could stay here or perhaps we start to bring our right hand onto our right thigh We begin to bend the back knee, point the toes towards the butt, maybe reach back with the right hand, get the back foot, Kick the foot into the hand and then surrender into that opening. Perhaps leaning the chest softly back, finding the backbend.

And then release that back foot. Single pigeon. Right foot takes a little walk to the left Right knee comes down. Slide down onto the top of the back leg and foot and let yourself come forward into your forearms. Maybe grabbing some support of a block or stacking your fist or coming all the way down.

Just about 5 or 6 breaths here. Feeling that stirring, feeling that energy, that awakening, and just allowing that to move into that hip joint. 3 more breaths. Come up into your hands. Lift through your chest.

And then downward facing dog. Peddle out through the feet. Inhale the left leg high. Then the left knee, open up that left hip, wild thing left foot behind you. Lift your hips, lift the heart, lift the belly, high to the sky, and then down dog split.

Left hand down. Left leg high. Left knee right elbow, a extend the left leg out for fall and triangle. Right arm hips hurt and belly high. Down dog split.

Right hand down left leg high. Then the knee open the hip again. Wild thing hits heart and belly high. Feel that expansion. Here comes the breakdown.

It's left hand down, left leg in front of right. Right arm hips are in belly or up downward facing dog. Come forward into plank. Tuck toed up dog. Last one.

Downward facing dog. Left leg high. Left foot outside of the left hand. Lower the back knee down. So you can stay up on your hands or come down into your forearms.

We'll grab any amount of support that you would like. Move the shoulders back. If the left side, left foot wants to be open, just let it. Find your breath. Focusing on the exhales.

And then you could stay there. Or bring your left hand onto your left thigh. Peel the left thigh, the left foot open. Leaning back and perhaps stay there or start to bend the back knee, point the toes, reach back with your left hand, Get the back foot and surrender into that quad opening, leaning back. You'll need the opening of that left collarbone.

Left lung. 2 more breaths. Release the back foot. Pigeon. Left foot goes over to the right side of the mat.

Slide on down top of the back leg and foot. Come down into your forearms. You might stay here. You might come further forward. You might grab your support.

We're just here for 5 or 6 breaths. Just breathing all of that goodness, all of that joy into that left hip. Focusing on the exhalations And then when you're ready, let's come up into our hands. Lift through your chest. And let's come back to downward facing dog.

Peddle through your feet one more time. Take your head. Yes. Shake your head. No. And then let's take a little walk forward to the top of the mat halfway up inhale. Exhale fold.

One more time. Halfway up. X fold. Yeah. Circle the arms out and up to rise up.

Reach up. Look up. And exhale hands to the heart. Take a moment. Let your arms rest by your sides. Close your eyes.

Soft into the knees. Feel the vibration. Feel the stirring inside of you. And just feel all of that space moving through the whole body. Feel the beat of the heart, reconnect with the breath, Let's take a big inhale.

Big exhale. One more time. Inhale. Exhale. Both of your hands come right into the center of your chest. Bow your head in towards your heart.

Seal in your efforts. Seal in your practice with gratitude. Thank you for sharing your practice with me today.