Day 6: Chop Wood

Hi, and welcome to day 6 chopping wood. We'll begin, like, a lovely little log on the ground lying down. And as you lie back, you can either have your knees bent if that feels kinder to your lower back or shut your legs out long like we would in Shavasana. Rest your hands briefly on your front body to anchor, to ground you. And if it helps give you direction, take a moment to set an intention for our practice today.

Once you have that gathered, if you'd like, you can join me in an opening home. Nice full breath in. Blink your eyes back open. Sweep your arms overhead, stretch to the full length of your body. And as you exhale, bend your knees and hug your right knee to your chest, Take your right foot cross it past your left thigh, smooth your inner right thigh away from you, opening your hip.

You can stay here or pick up your left foot, either interlacing your hands or threading a strap or towel behind the leg for more space. As you hug your leg in, use your right elbow to gently guide your inner right thigh away from you. Leave your left hand where it is, unthread your right hand and grab hold of your right big toe with your first two fingers and thumb. Try to keep your right leg where it is as you set your left foot down. And now open your right hip to the side like you would for happy baby pose.

Now if you get to this place in your ham, strings are growing muscles are not a fan. You can either take a strap around your foot to give yourself more space or simply hold on to the back of your thigh right behind your knee. Okay? If you're on the opposite end of the spectrum and you feel you have a little further to safely move into, straighten your left leg long on the mat and flex through your left foot, like you're pressing it up against a wall. Take a generous breath to your hips and exhale as though you could through the inseam of your legs. And rebend left knee if you've straightened it. Again, you can hold here, or if your body says okay, Slowly, slowly straighten your right leg as though you were gonna put your right toes on the ground in line with your head.

And the key words in that phrase are as though. Exhow, rebind your right knee Hug it briefly to your chest, and then place your right foot down. Sweep your arms overhead. Grow your branches, and exhale hug your left knee into your chest. Take your left foot across it past your right thigh, flex through your foot to help protect your knee. Again, you can hold here or pick up your right leg, either interlacing your hands or threading a strap or towel behind your leg.

As you hug the right leg in, use your left elbow to encourage your inner thigh away from you. Big breath into your left side hip. Leave right hand where it is unthread your left. And grab your left big toe with your first two fingers and thumb. Set your right foot down, leaving left leg where it is.

And now open your left leg to the left. Open your hip, like half of a happy baby pose. Make the adjustment in where you're holding on to find what gives you the stretch without the strain. And again, if the body is willing without pain, straighten your right leg long on the mat flex through your right foot like you're pressing it up against a wall. Big breath into your hips.

Once again, exhale through the inseam of your legs. And rebend your right knee. You may hold here or explore straightening your left leg to the best of your ability. Maybe bringing left toes a little bit more in line with your head. Need any resistance that's arising with the patience of your breath.

And then exhale. Rebing your left knee. Hug it in. Drop both knees in, cross at your ankles, and switch to the way you less frequently cross. Rock yourself up to seated.

Make your way right into your downward facing dog. So bring hands a few inches forward of your shoulder tuck your toes, lift your knees, and press your thighs straight back. Put the earth away with your fingertips getting nice and long through your spine. And with an inhale high to your tippy toes, exhale deep into your knees, look to your hands, Step or lightly hop your feet up to meet them. In how fingertips in line with your toes or hands on your shins.

X how fold it back in. Let your head and your neck go. Read down in how rise to greet the sky. And exhale, take your hands to your heart. Relax your arms by your sides.

Root down through your right foot and come to the toes of your left. From your hip socket, rotate your leg forward and back a couple times. The next time you open leg to the side, pause here. Make sure your front hit points are parallel to the wall that you're facing, and then smooth the top of your bum down. You can walk foot to inner calf or if you feel steady doing so, place your foot against your upper inner thigh, just making sure it's above or below the knee, never on it. Gather your hands at heart center.

And as you continue to smooth your bum down, lift your heart, and once again, grow your branches. Rick Shasana Tripos. Return hands to your heart center. Bring your knee forward, coil your abdomen in. Try to keep that connection through your core as you send your heel back.

And reach your heart forward. Place your hands to the earth or if the earth feels a little far away, put your hands on your blocks. Bend your right knee deeply and step way back with your left foot. High lunge. Step it back again, finding your plank, Glide forward, lower Chaturanga, andasana. I've agreed the Earth for Cobra or if you're ready right away, upward facing dog.

Acts how hips up and back downward facing dog. Push the earth away with your fingertips get longer through your spine. Inhale. Lift your left leg. And exhale knee to nose, foot shoulders over your wrists, step your foot forward between your hands. Stack knee on top of ankle, pivot your back heel down, heel to arch aligned, lengthen from growing to inner knee, And then press down and windmill yourself up and open, Vira Badrasana 2, warrior 2.

Press into the Earth in how it reach up to the sky. And exhale lower it back in. Do that again. Root down and how rise up. Reach up. X. I'll lower it in.

One more time, inhale come up and out. Pause at the top. Open your arms back out to the side. Poor weight a bit heavier to the ball of your left big toe as you shift your hips back and reach out over your front leg. When you can't shift or reach anymore, take your left fingertips to the earth or a prop at the pinky side of your leg.

Choose the height underneath your bottom hand that allows you to create even length through both sides of your torso. Draw your front ribs in. Smooth your bum toward your back heel as you breathe into the expanse of your heart. Utita Trikonasana extended triangle pose. Press down, stand yourself back up Exhale, rebend your right knee and cartwheel your hands to the mat. Find the ball of your back foot.

Hop your back foot up to meet your front foot. Come to fingertips, or you can even put your hands on your blocks. Draw your chest forward and acts how fold forward. Press into the earth in house sweep up to the sky, ordva hastasana, and exhale hands to your heart equal standing. Shift your weight this time onto your left foot. Come to the toes of your right.

From your hip socket, rotate your leg forward and back a few times. The next time you open, go only as far as you can manage keeping your front hip points facing forward. Toast can stay on the earth. You can slide foot to inner calf, or you can place your foot against your opposite inner thigh. Right?

Once you have the position set that works best for you, smooth your bum down. Lyft your heart, lift your arms. This time, if you can do so without wrinkling the back of your neck, lift your gaze, and maybe touch your palms. Exhow, bring your hands to your heart. Draw your knee forward.

Coil your abdomen in inviting me a little closer to the height of your hip. Try to keep the connection through your core as you send your heel back and reach your chest straightforward. Place your hands to the earth or to your props. Bend your left knee deeply and step way back with your right foot. Plant your hand, step it back to plank pose.

Take the vinyasa you need. So we talked a bit yesterday about ego, and ego unfolds into Attachment, rub us. In how lift your right leg this time, exhale knee to nose, foot shoulders over your wrists, Step your right foot forward between your hands. Pivot your back heel down, heel to arch, and notice if your right hip wandered. Scoop your right cheek under you, lengthen through your inner right thigh.

Press down, windmill yourself up and open, verabhadrasana 2, warrior 2. Press into both of your feet straighten your leg. Reach up. X. I'll lower it back in. Do that again.

Inhale sweep up. Reach up. Exhale, lowering. One last time. Inhale. Lift tall.

Keep your front leg straight. Open your arms back out to the sides. Poor weight heavier to the ball of your front foot as you shift your hip back and reach over your front leg. When you can't shift your reach anymore, take your left fingertips to the earth. Direct your tailbone toward your back heel and then turn open through your heart. Reach in opposite directions, breathing into the spance of your heart and exhaling out through all of your limbs.

Press down in house stands you back up. Exhale. Rebing your right knee and cartwheel your hands to the mat. Find the ball of your back foot. Hop your back foot up to meet your front foot, inhale heart straightforward. X. How fold forward.

Press down in house. Rise up. Maybe. Look up. And exhale hands to your heart. Adding on.

Inhale again. Reach to the sky. Xhale. Wait a little forward in your feet. Fold your ribs towards your thighs. Inhile stretch tailbone to crown of head.

Bend your knees, plant your hands, step or float, chaturanga, and through your Vinyasa. What do you need in this moment? So attachment sometimes keeps us stuck in old patterns and old habits doing what we do just because it's the way we've always done it as opposed to checking in to what we act. Actually need. Glide forward, shift forward, and lower all the way onto your front body. Brush your toes back.

And now roll onto your left side. Make a little pillow with your arm, letting your head rest on the arm. Gazed on your body, and if you can see your toes, take your legs back Trying to create that clean line of Tedasana while lying on your side. Bend your top knee Open your hip and set your foot either inner calf or upper inner thigh. And you may notice that the top hip wants to roll backwards. Instead, rule your top hip forward.

So front hit points are facing the wall you're now facing, even if that means the knee comes a little more forward. Draw your abdomen in and smooth your bum away from your waist. You can stay right here. You might. Proop your head in your hand, pick your foot up, and if accessible without strain, grab your big toe.

Here's where things get exciting. It's the sound effect that really sells it. Smooth your bum away from your waist. Again, notice if you're starting to roll back. Bring your top hip forward. Draw your navel in and try to lengthen your tailbone toward your back heel.

Anantasana, this new couch, exhale, lower your leg, roll on to your front body, and over to the second side. Or if you'd like to stay facing me, you can turn around like I'm doing. Right? Bam. Side too. So find your Tedasana side lying head on your arm.

Bring your top knee in toward your chest. Open your hip. Set your foot to inner calf or to upper inner thigh. If neither of those worked, you can absolutely put your foot on the ground in front of you for more stability. Flex your right foot, roll your top hip forward, and hug your navel in. Smooth bum away from the waist.

Nice. Let it be challenging for you to be here. You may opt to stay right here in your sideline tree. Maybe you pick the foot up, grab your heel, prop head in hand, and then slowly straighten leg to the best of your ability. You can also hold on to the back of knee or calf if toe is inaccessible. Smooth your bum away from your waist.

Roll your top forward a little more of your navel in, and release your top leg. Roll back onto your front body. If you're facing the back of your mat, and that's not your jam. You can come meet me back at the front of your mat. Make your way to your plank pose top of a push up.

Walk your left hand forward about an inch. And slightly in, roll to the pinky toe side of your left foot, hug your knee toward your chest, and guess what? It's there for you. Again, tree pose. Turn open through your heart. You may stay right here. You might grab your big toe with your first two fingers and thumb. Perhaps you stretch your heel skyward.

Rebend the knee. Step it back to plank. You just get to see me dance all over this mat today. Plank on the second side here. This time, walk your right hand center about an inch and slightly forward.

Roll to pinky edge of your foot. Hug knee in. Open your hip. If this isn't working for your body today, put your foot on the ground in front of you. Turn open through your heart, reach. You can stay here, or grab your big toe.

Maybe. Stretch. Stretch. Stretch. Bring it back. And plant your hands.

Step it back. Lower all the way to the mat. Brush your toes back. Lift your heart. Ex. I'll tuck your toes, press to hands and knees, round back, and briefly fold it in.

Breathe into your back. And again, exhale soften into soft. Once your breath feels a little more balanced, take your time. Roll yourself all the way up. Briefly coming to take a seat on your heels.

You can stay as you are, or you can follow me turning back around to face the top of my mat. Yep. And from here, shift feet to one side and bring them out in front of you. Alright. Lie down. Separate your feet as wide as you're mat.

Turn your toes slightly in and let your knees fall toward each other. After all of the hip opening, it's nice to come back the opposite direction to counter to balance. If the mind is feeling busy or scattered at all or if you're just craving a little added grounding, rest your hands somewhere along your front body. And we'll stay here for a few breaths. So Raghas attachment Attachment is often born of experience.

And what I mean by that is If you have a great experience with something, you chase that experience. You chase that high, if you will. Trying to recreate it again and again, which eventually leads to suffering because there are no 2 experiences in this lifetime that are the same. This idea of chopping wood. My grandfather was a farmer.

And this makes me think a little bit about the time of year where there was a harvest. Now if The vegetables stayed on the vine too long. They would eventually rot. And so as violent of an image as it is to chop something down, there is purpose behind it. Oftentimes we need to cut back in order to grow a bit fuller, a bit richer.

If you feel it ease in this shape, please stay in this shape. Otherwise, bring your feet toward each other. And if you're craving a last hug of the knees to the chest, a happy baby pose, or any other finishing posture, take a moment to indulge. And in your own time, surrender Shavasana. Lock your shoulders under your chest.

Leave a little lift to your heart. As you rest your arms by your sides. So what if today you made the choice to let go of some attachment. The shapes that we explored today are challenging for a lot of our bodies, mine included. Instead of striving for perfection, which is such an illusion, What if we chose to let that go and just be in the practice?

Striving for some bit of consistency, striving for truth, striving for self, As you're ready, bend your knees. We'll carefully onto your right side. Make a little pillow with your arm and pause for a breath or 2, and then press the earth away. Bringing yourself up to seated. Join your hands together at heart center.

Lift your chest. We bow our chins and gratitude. Namaste. Thank you. Have a beautiful day.