Closing Sequence

Welcome, this is the closing sequence, and if you're joining us after completing the dynamic sequence, this is the cool down period. This is creating that space, let's say, for the afterglow of your dynamic practice. And it's also a time to prepare yourself for meditation, and we'll be working directly with the parasympathetic nervous system to create that drop, let's say, into that internal environment of yourself. To help that dropping into the internal environment, I have a dear friend, Masudali Khan, who's going to accompany us on the hung drum and his incredible voice. So thank you, Moose, for being here.

So let's begin in Paschimottanasana with straight legs, pulling the flesh of the buttocks away from your city moans, leaning forward, placing the heel of your palm on the lower thigh just above the knee, fingers up, elbows forward, going forward just to the point where you meet the resistance in your hamstrings. Keep your head in line with the neck, with each inhale, breathing into the back body, feel the fullness of your breath lift you out of the pose slightly. On the exhale, release the collarbones, release the diaphragm, feel gravity taking you down simultaneously extend the spine from the back of the skull. Keep your legs passive, your arms are using the pressure on the thigh to keep your legs in alignment, hips passive. Each exhale as you release through the front body, gently press your elbows forward and extend the spine from the back of the skull, only moving deeper if you feel that release of the exhale creating softness through the pelvis and an invitation to go lower.

Each inhale coming out slightly. Each exhale, re-release, diaphragm, abdominal organs drop, soften the collarbones, armpits drop, press the elbows forward, extend the spine from the back of the skull. One more slow cycle of breath, inhale slowly, exhale slowly. Inhale slowly sit up and we're going to slowly recline back with straight legs, hands on tops of the knees, curling the spine down one vertebrae at a time. When you feel your sacrum flat lowering the lumbar one vertebrae at a time, when the lumbar is flat lowering the thorax, when the thorax is flat pull the chin in toward your throat, try to get the neck to the floor before the back of the skull and then releasing the hands to the floor, bend your knees, feet flat.

Walk your knees together, walk your feet apart, rest your hands on the belly. Breathe through the back body like the floor is part of the lungs. On the exhale diaphragm softens, abdominal organs drop, hands drop. Slow even breathing. Each exhale as the diaphragm releases, experience the weight of your abdominal organs resting on the spine.

Now take the right arm over the head to the floor, extend through the fingers, turn your head to the right, slowly lower the right knee toward your left foot and then as the knee drops press your left knee back towards the midline so your inner thighs gently squeeze. Breathe through the back, the full length of your torso. On the exhale softening the left buttock and pubis gently squeeze your thighs. One more slow inhale, slow exhale and now lifting the left leg on top of the right use the weight of the left leg to help the right knee a little lower. Breathing through the back body, on the exhale diaphragm softens, abdominal organs drop.

Feel the waist lengthen a little and knees drop a little. Then inhale come back to the center, uncross your legs, knees together, feet apart, hands resting on your belly. Notice the asymmetry between the right and left sacroiliac joints, how the right side feels a little more grounded, a little less congested. Then take the left arm over the head to the floor, extend through the fingers, turn your head to the left, slowly lower the left knee towards the right foot. Press the right knee back towards the midline, gently squeezing the inner thighs.

Breathe through the back, the full length of your torso into the pelvic floor. On the exhale release the right buttock, soften the pubis, squeeze your thighs a little stronger. Keep your breathing slow, three to four second inhale, three to four second exhale. Then lift your right leg on top of the left, legs crossed, use the weight of the right leg to help the left knee lower. Each inhale following the sensation of your breath through the back into the pelvic floor.

Each exhale diaphragm softens, abdominal organs drop, feel the waist lengthening, knees sinking. With an inhale come back to the center, then cross the legs, knees together, feet apart, hands on your belly. Pull the chin down a little towards your throat, keep your neck long. Breathe like the floor was part of your lungs, the full length of your torso. Each exhale diaphragm softens, organs drop, top of the lungs softens, heart drops, throat softens, chin drops.

Then bring the soles of your feet together, drop the knees wide apart and walk the heels in to the groin. Rest your hands on the inner thighs, palms down. Keep breathing through the back body, the full length of your torso. Each exhale soften the skin under your hands, feel the knees sink a little. And now with alternate hands gently pump your legs.

As you pump your legs the pelvis rocks side to side. Keep your legs passive, feel the momentum of the movement bouncing you off the floor moving you in the opposite direction, but be gentle. Then let the hands rest, let the legs rest. Complete surrender of effort. Breathing through the back body like the floor was part of your lungs.

And now place the hands under your thighs, keep your legs passive, press the knees together with your hands. And releasing the hands of the floor lift your legs up like you're sitting in a chair on your back, thighs vertical, shin bones horizontal. Move the heels away from you a little so you feel the sacrum grounding the floor not the lumbar and then tiny circles with your knees. Keeping the floor massaging the sacroiliac joints. And then circle the other way.

And now taking the legs vertically upward, flex your heels, wiggle your hips a little make sure your sacrum is flat and grounded. Move the hands next to your hips, palms down, arms straight. Gently press into the palms, lift the outer shoulders away from the floor to spread the skin across your shoulder blades. Feel the muscles of the upper back passive. Then release the shoulders down, pull the chin in a little towards your throat.

The neck long, inhale slowly. On the exhale roll the legs over the head, bend your arms, support your hips. Chest dropping, throat soft, chin dropping, weight of the hips heavy in your hands. Breathe through the back the full length of your torso. On the exhale soften through the shoulders, top of the lungs and throat.

Feel your heart sinking, feel the wrists working more strongly to support your hips. Slow inhale, keep the sound of your breath soft, the texture of your breath smooth. And now slowly bending the legs, drop your knees onto the cheeks or forehead. When you feel the knees grounded, walk your hands down the back to the sacrum. Pull your elbows in a little, then lift the outer shoulders, re-spread the skin across your back and then releasing the shoulders down, straighten the legs vertical and stack the legs over your pelvis.

Pull the chin down a little towards your throat, keep the neck long. Shoulders passive, wrists working strongly again to support the sacrum. Breathe through the back body the full length of the torso. On the exhale top of the lungs softens, heart drops, throat softens, chin drops, even the sides of the tongue soften. Feel the root of the tongue drop.

As you feel the spine lengthening, draw the tailbone up a little. And the last part, bending the legs again, slowly lower the knees to the cheeks or forehead. When the knees are grounded, walk the hands to the kidneys. If you move the elbows, pin the elbows, lift the shoulders, spread the skin, then releasing the shoulders down, lift the legs vertically upward, chin sinking towards your throat. Close your eyes.

Keep your attention with your breath, following the fullness of your breath through the back into the pelvic floor. On the exhale, lungs softens, chest dropping, throat softens, chin dropping, spine lifting through the tailbone. Keep your shoulders passive. One more breath, slow inhale, slow exhale. Slowly lower the legs, keep your shoulders passive.

As the legs descend, release the diaphragm and the skin below your navel, release the sphincter muscles. Doesn't matter if the feet reach the floor. Work slowly, working with your breath. Then slowly roll out. When your back is flat, bend your knees.

Sit up onto your forearms. Press the shoulders forward towards your hips, lift the kidneys up. Slide the head back, chin sinking towards your throat. When walking your arms away, lay down on your back. Get a strap.

Lift your legs and loop the strap over your feet. Extending your legs up, take the other end of the strap under the back of your neck and pull it down near the trapezius. Bend the belt so you feel a little tension in the strap and the legs just pass vertical. Slowly press your feet into the strap, supporting the lower part of the neck. Chin lifts as the neck comes up.

Bend your knees a little. Turn your head as far to the right as you can. Then slowly straighten your legs. Bend your knees a little, turn your head to the left and slowly straighten your legs. Bend your knees again, head back to the center.

Move the strap to the center of your neck, halfway between the trapezius and the base of your skull. Straighten the belt if you need to. Hands on the floor and gently press your feet into the strap. Chin lifts a little. Breathe through the back like the floor was part of your lungs.

Each exhale lung softens, heart drops, feet drop a little further. Now bending the knees, turn your head again to the right. Slowly straighten the legs. Bend your knees, turn your head to the left. Straighten your legs.

Bend your knees, head back to the center. Slowly take the strap off. Sit up under your forearms again. Now walking the elbows towards your feet, lower the crown of the head to the floor. Walk the hamstring with the hands, pull the crown of the head in closer.

Then crossing the arms, hold the tops of your shoulders, pull the elbows down towards your navel, pull the collarbones away from your ears. You can stay here if you want to go deeper. Lift your legs, feet together, lift your arms, palms together. Good, and release. Back flat, knees bent, feet flat.

Interlock your fingers behind your head, back of the hand flat on the floor. Place the tip of the thumbs on the side of your neck and gently press the tips of the thumbs in until you touch the sides of that top cervical vertebra. So you're slowly navigating the tip of the thumb through the muscle into the bone. When you hit the bone, you'll feel a little dull ache sensation in the skull. And then gently rock your face side to side.

Rock your face up and down. Side to side. Up and down. Releasing the thumbs, move one vertebra lower, seat two. Press the thumbs in until you touch the bone and gently rock your face side to side.

Rock your face up and down. Side to side. Up and down. And last one, one vertebra lower, seat three. Press the tips of the thumbs in, touching bone, rock your face side to side.

Up and down. Side to side. Up and down. And release the hands. Lift your elbows up.

With your thumbs in the front of the trapezius, fingers in back, pinch the trapezius muscles with your hands. Moving up near the base of the skull and then moving back down near the head of the shoulder. And release. Roll to your side and sit up. You'll need a bolster and a sandbag coming up onto your hands and knees.

Knees wide, feet together, have the sandbag handy. Bringing the pubic bone forward onto the bolster, supporting the sternum, collarbones unsupported, arms forward, forehead resting on the floor. And take the sandbag and place it on your sacrum. Try to spread the sand in the bag so it's even. And you want to feel the sandbag on the downhill side of the sacrum, moving towards the tailbone.

Take weight on your nose and forehead. Relax your legs. Breathe through the back body, the full length of your torso. See if you can move the sensation of your breath into the sandbag. On the exhale, soften the top of the lung, heart sinking, gravity pressing you onto the bolster more, spine naturally lengthening, occasionally slide your nose forward on your mat as the spine lengthens.

Keep your breathing slow. Breathe through the back body, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso. Feel your bones at rest. Feel your organs at rest. Breathe through the back body, the full length of your torso.

Breathe through the back body, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso. Breathe through the back body, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso, the full length of your torso. Slowly bringing yourself upright, let the sandbag slide off the butt, moving the bolster and props out of the way. Grab your strap, sitting in a simple cross-legged position. Keep your eyes closed.

As you grab the strap, open your eyes and extend the strap through your thumbs and take the strap around behind your back and then looping each side of the strap around your knees. If you need more length out of the buckle, just loosen the strap and then as you set yourself upright, adjust the strap as needed to feel your lower back supported, hands resting on the knees head upright. Close your eyes, slow your breath down. Breathe into the front side and back of the lungs. Each exhale, release through the shoulders, chest and belly, gently lift the spine from the back of the skull, head upright.

Try to find that perfect alignment of the head over the neck where the weight of the head disappears. Each inhale, following the cool fullness of your breath into the front side and back of the lungs. Each exhale, feeling that soft, warm sensation of the exhale, releasing tension wherever you place your attention. Keep the spine engaged lightly from the back of the skull. Try to find the same quality of stillness sitting as you had reclining.

Keep your breathing slow. Breathe in. Keep returning your attention to your breath from the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the tailbone. Keep returning your attention to your breath from the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils. Keep returning your attention to your breath from the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils to the tip of the nostrils.

into the sockets until you feel the eyeball resting on your upper jawbones and curling the tip of the tongue to the place where the upper gum meets the palate. And as you place the tongue soft in the sides of the tongue, feel the root of the tongue sinking towards the throat. And slowly, with one hand only, with as little movement as possible, slide the strap up off the knee and as the support releases try to maintain the same posture that you had with the support, legs passive, spine lightly engaged from the back of the skull. As you create your own support, remove the other strap, maintaining that effortless support without the strap. And slowly bringing your hands together in front of your heart.

Keep the touch of your hands so light it's hard to tell if you're touching or not touching. As you feel this presence of each hand, feel the warmth that comes from deep within the skin, and you're more conscious of the warmth than the contact of the skin. And slowly, with one hand only, feel the warmth that comes from deep within the skin, and you're more conscious of the warmth that comes from deep within the skin. Thank you for sharing your practice, namaste.