Flow and Free Yourself

(waves crashing) Good morning. So, this is a short flow to inspire movement in the body. It's not everyday that we feel inspired. And so I find when the inspiration, those moments of inspiration are there, throughout our day, to move with that energy. So if you woke up this morning, and you're like not inspired, join me at the top of your mat.

Let's move together and draw our awareness from the head, down into the body, to find more freedom from ourselves. Okay, just take a few moments here, spread your feet wide apart, we'll interlace the fingers, bend the knees to go up, go down through the feet, out through the heart, take a moment to reach from the heart, into the hands. Let your tailbone descend a bit towards the floor, and a get a sense of lifting your ribs off of your pelvis, find that length, inhale. And as you exhale, let's take it together up, out, and over to the right. Your gaze might look down towards the floor.

Go down through your left foot, as you reach up through your left arm, find that length in the left side body. Breathe. Take a look down, inhale to come back up to center. Exhale, take it up, out, and over to the left. Find that length through the right side body, as well as the left side body, that underside.

Press down through the right foot, up through the right arm, breathe. (breathing deeply) Let the inhale bring you back up to center. Release the arms, find the internal rotation as you interlace your fingers. Feet under your hips, inhale, go out through the heart, reach the hands towards the heels, exhale, bend your knees a lot. Bring your chest towards your thighs, let the head drop, and then stretch your arms up, out, and over.

Now, this might be your first Forward Bend of the day. So, notice how you feel. Most likely there's a dull achy stretch through the body. Let your head fully release, a few more breaths here. You might roll some weight into the balls of your feet, letting your sit bones bones lift.

(breathes deeply) Beautiful, when you're ready, bend your knees, release your hands down by your heels, free your arms, free your head, and then let your upper body, or torso, gently sway a little bit from side to side. It might feel nice as you come over to one size to pause. Stretch and lengthen the other side, pause. Stretch and lengthen, come back to the center. And then bend the knees, chin into your chest, slowly roll up towards standing.

Keep the chin in, and we'll inhale, reach the arms up, find length, reach up. Gaze might look up towards your fingers. Exhale, release your arms. Inhale, squeeze the shoulders up. Exhale, drop.

Inhale, roll the shoulders back and up, give it a squeeze, and drop, and then one more time, rolling it up, and then drop. Bringing the feet towards each other, we'll find the variation of Surya Namaskar A together. A few moments to spread the toes, feel the length out through your spine, aware of Mula Bandha, pelvic floor lifting, Uddiyana Bandha, navel towards the spine. Once you feel that energetic lift, find a bit more freedom as you lift up through the rib cage. Bring the hands together at the heart.

Together moving with our breath. Inhale, reach the arms up, gaze up as you lengthen. Exhale, Forward Fold, navel towards the spine, releasing your head in your arms. Inhale, half arch, lengthen your spine. Exhale, walk or jump back into Plank.

Take a moment to pause and Plank. Lower the knees, keep the elbows in, lower all the way to Cobra. On the inhale, press up to Cobra. Heart lifting, shoulder blades draw down the back. Exhale, release, tuck the toes, you might press up under your knees as you come back to Downward Dog.

Walking it off a few breaths, easing into your Downward Dog. Gazing towards your bellybutton, as you press through your fingers, slight wrap through your shoulders, wide through the upper back, again reaching your hips away from your hands, breathing. (breathes deeply) One more breath here. (breathes deeply) From here walk or jump your feet towards your hands. Inhale, half arch, exhale Forward Fold.

Inhale, circle the arms up. Gaze up, reach up. Exhale, release the arms. Taking a moment to pause here, and connecting with your feet, your spine, your breath. We'll find a second variation, Surya Namaskar A.

Let the inhale reach the arms up. Exhale to carry you forward. Navel towards the spine. Inhale, half arch lengthens the spine. Exhale, walker jump back through Plank.

Take a moment to pause in Plank. From here you might lower the knees or lower through Chaturanga, keeping the elbows in. Cobra or Upward Dog, taking a moment to pause. Press down through the pinky toes, wide through the upper back and the collar bones. Exhale, Downward Dog.

Get a few full breaths here. (breathes deeply) From here walk or jump your feet towards your hands. Inhale, half arch lengthens your spine. Exhale, folds you in. Strong legs and Bandhas as you inhale.

Reach the arms up. Take a moment to lengthen. Look up. Exhale, release the arms. Again, a moment to pause.

Feel your feet, your spine, your breath. (breathes out deeply) Moving into Surya Namaskar B. Spreading the toes. On the inhale, bend the knees, Utkatasana. Navel towards the spine.

Gaze up, fingers together. Exhale, Forward Fold, Uttanasana. Inhale, half arch, lengthen. Exhale, walk or jump back to Plank and then lower through Chaturanga. Inhale to Cobra or Upward Dog.

Take a moment to pause wide through the collarbones. Exhale, Downward Dog. Pivot onto the outer left edge of the foot. Step the right foot forward between your hands. Inhale, come up to Warrior I.

Breathing. From here, bring the chest towards the thighs. Reach the hands behind the back. Draw the shoulder blades down the back. Inhale brings you up to Warrior I, and then exhale, chest towards the thighs.

Strong through the back body. Draw the shoulder blades down the back. Two more times. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, chest towards the thighs.

Draw the arms back. Last time. Inhale, come up. This time as you exhale bring your arms out. Interlace your fingers behind your back.

Inhale, go out through the heart and then exhale, draw the heart forward to Humble Warrior. On the inside of the right leg, reach the arms up, out, and over, breathing. Grounding through the outer edge of the back foot. Let the inhale carry you up. Reach with the arms.

Reach with the hands to come up. Inhale, lift up. Exhale, release the hands. Step back into Plank. Again, you might lower the knees or lower through Chaturanga.

Inhale to Cobra or Upward Dog. Pause, stretch the front line of your body. Exhale, Downward Dog. Take a moment to pause in Downward Dog. Spread the fingers, lengthen the spine.

Find the fullness of your breath. (breathes deeply) As you're ready, pivot onto the outer right edge of the foot. Step your left foot forward between your hands. Ground through the back heel. Inhale brings you up to Warrior I.

Hands together. Breathing. Drawing the left hip back, the right hip forward. Inhale, as you exhale chest towards the thighs, bring the arms, the wings, back. Shoulder blades draw down the back body, palms facing each other.

Inhale, rise up, Warrior I. Again. Chest towards the thighs, releasing the head. Inhale, rise up. Two more times.

Releasing, hands reach. And rise up. Last time. Releasing, long, strong through the back body, and then come back up to Warrior I. Release the hands, interlace the fingers.

Opposite finger on top. Inhale, go out through the heart. Back leg is strong and active. And then folding forward into Humble Warrior on the inside of the left thigh. Arms might reach up, out, and over.

Let the head fully drop, syncing in to the left hip, grounding through the outer edge of the back foot. Breathing. (breathes deeply) Inhale, reach with the hands. Come back up. Reach the arms up, free it up, and then release.

Come in to Plank. Pause in Plank, lower the knees, or through Chaturanga. Inhale to Upward Dog or Cobra. Pause. Exhale, Downward Dog.

Take about five breaths here, spreading the fingers. You might walk your feet. Reach your hips away from your hands. The spine lengthens. (breathes deeply) When you're ready, walk or jump your feet towards your hands.

Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, Forward Fold. Bend the knees, Utkatasana. Shift the weight back into your heels and rise up, bend the knees, gaze up, press down, and release the arms. Again, taking a moment to pause here.

(breathes deeply) Drop into the feeling tone in the body. Knee sensation. From here we're gonna jump our feet out. So I'm gonna jump out to face you. You might jump out to face me.

We'll see how it goes. Engaging the Bandhas. Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha. So feeling that inner quality of support. Hands together at the heart.

Bend the knees and we'll just jump out to the side. Let's do it again. Hands at the heart, bend the knees, and jump. Little set up for Trikonasana. It's kind of, it's fun to jump.

Just kind of shake things up. Bring the left foot and the right foot out. Set up for Triangle Pose. Reach the arms out to the side, and as we come over to the right, see if you can find length for the underside. Inhale, reach the arms out, and exhale as you draw the right hip in.

Can you find that length on the right side? Reaching, reaching, reaching, and the hand might find the shin, the ankle, the foot as you reach your left arm up. Maintain that length on the underside of the body. Rotating the bottom ribs up. Gazing up towards the fingers.

Straight ahead or at the floor. So notice what feels nice for your neck. Breathing. (breathes deeply) As you're ready, inhale, reach with the top arm, come back up. Second side.

Right foot in, left foot out. Take a moment to inhale, lengthen the spine, reach, and then as you draw the left hip back, lengthen the left side body. So lengthen, lengthen. It's gonna feel different on each side, most likely. Lengthen and then let the hand find the shin, the ankle, the foot as you reach the right arm up.

Root through the outer edge of the right foot as you lengthen the spine, the torso, and find a position where the head feels comfortable, it feels good. Breathing. Inhale, reach with the top arm to come up. Bring the foot in. So from here we're gonna find Revolved Triangle, and this is one of my favorite poses to avoid.

(laughs) So we'll do it together and see how it goes. Okay, so face the front of your mat and square your hips. So the right foot is, the right leg is forward. The left leg is back. Square your hips.

Inhale, reach the left arm up. The first step as you draw the right hip back, is to find length through your spine. So right hip draws back. Lengthen through the left side. Root through the back foot.

You might stay right here and work on lengthening your spine. This feels pretty good. You might begin to bring the hand towards the floor. On the inside or the outside of the right foot. Today I'm bring my hand to the outside of the right foot.

Square the hips, aware of your Bandhas. And then reach the right arm up towards the sky. Breathing. Reach from the heart into both hands. Spin the bottom ribs up towards the sky.

Out and through your legs. You can do it. Breathe. (breathes deeply) Good, bring the right hand to the sacrum. Gaze down towards the floor, strong legs.

Inhale, come all the way back up, open up. And other side. Turn the other direction. Back of the mat. Left foot is forward, right foot is in.

Inhale, lengthen the right arm up. First step is to ground through the feet, lengthen the right side, reach through your fingers, and then begin to draw your left hip back. And then slowly hinge forward. Root through the outer edge of the back foot as you lengthen, lengthen, lengthen. And the hand might come onto the inside or the outside of the left foot.

Maintain that length. Pelvis is more or less even. And then the left arm. Reach up towards the sky. Breathing.

(breathes deeply) Good, take a look down. Hand onto the back of the sacrum. Let the inhale bring you up. Awesome work. Arms out to the side.

Bring the hands onto your hips. Bring your hands down your legs. Bring the arms out in front of you. Inhale, lengthen your spine, and then exhale, Fold Forward. Bring your head towards the floor and do a variation of Prasarita Padottanasana.

Perhaps the heels of your palms are in line with the heels of your feet as you draw your head towards the floor. As the head comes towards the floor, draw the shoulder blades up the back, away from the ears, active through your feet, breathing. (breathes deeply) You might stay right here. If you happen to be quite curious today and if it's appropriate, you might play with again drawing the shoulders up the back and then shifting the weight into the crown of the head. Pressing down through the palms, and the feet might begin to lift up off the floor.

Baby steps. Inhale, lengthen the spine and then walk the hands out in front of you. We'll find a hammock. So with hammock you're pressing through the fingers and you're reaching your hips away from your hands. Drawing the heart through towards the floor.

(breathes deeply) Soften through the back of the neck. Okay, we'll find a twist from here. Bring your left hand towards your left ankle, and then begin to twist as you bend through the left elbow, twisting up towards the ceiling. Breathing. (breathes deeply) This feels awesome.

Notice how it feels for you. Gently come out of it. (breathes deeply) Inhale and then right hand to the right ankle. Extend out through the left arm, and as you bend the right elbow gently twist. And we're not cranking ourselves into it, we're breathing into it.

(laughs) Nice and easy. Find a place where the head can fully release. The neck is relaxed. And then let's get out of there. (laughs) (exhales deeply) Bring the hands under your hips, you might toe-heel the feet slightly closer together, and then inhale.

Let's come up to standing. Oh. Taking a moment to pause and then we're gonna jump to the top of our mat, just like we jumped from the top of our mat to here. For fun. Bend the knees and we'll jump.

(laughs) How did that go? Okay, let's make our way down to the floor with a Sun Salutation. Taking a moment to check in with the feet, the breath. (breathes deeply) As you're ready, inhale, circle the arms up. Exhale, Forward Fold.

Inhale, half arch to lengthen. Exhale, walk or jump back, lower through. Inhale to Cobra or Upward Dog. Exhale, Downward Dog. A few breaths in Downward Dog.

When you're ready, lower the knees, press back Child's Pose for a few breaths. Arms might stretch out in front of you, or you might release your arms down by your sides. (breathes deeply) Hmm, allow for one more breath in Child's Pose. (breathes deeply) And then reaching your arms out, come onto your belly from here, and bring the forehead towards the floor, and then reach the fingers towards the toes. (breathes deeply) From here, begin to bend the left knee, and the hand might reach towards the foot.

Take a moment to pause here as you draw that left shoulder down the back. Feeling a stretch through the thigh, you might bring the heel in slightly closer. (breathes deeply) And then release. Bring the right heel in. Hand might find the foot, as you lengthen through the right thigh, and then draw that right shoulder back.

Heel towards you. Breathing. (breathes deeply) Releasing the right foot. From here the play towards Dhanurasana, Bow Pose, is to bend both knees. Hands might make their way towards the feet, towards the feet, and if they find the feet take a moment to really pause here.

Draw the inner thighs towards each other as you begin to widen through your collarbones, just like you're interlacing your fingers. Aware of your Bandhas, Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, drawing the navel towards the spine. Get long through the front line of the body, and perhaps on the inhale, inspire, lift up through the heart. You might keep the heels right where they are. You might begin to play with kicking up, lifting up through the heart.

The heels might flex as you begin to play with rocking forward and back. Drawing the thighs towards each other as you widen through the collarbones. Find a bit more ease through your neck. Inhale to lift. Exhale, release.

Beautiful, release the legs for a moment. Pause, rest. (breathes deeply) Now that might have been enough for you this morning. If you wanna join me for a second round, find a hold of your feet. Again, you might stay right here and work on lengthening your thighs, lengthening through the collarbones.

And here you might begin to lift the heart and then kick back into your, kick back into your feet. Kick back into your feet. You can explore flexing the ankle or pointing the feet and drawing them towards each other, lifting up through the heart. Breathing. Inhale.

Exhale, release. Beautiful work. Release, bring the elbows wide, forehead rests on the hands. You might shimmy the hips, or bend the knees, Reverse Windshield Wipers side to side. Relaxing the effort in the back body.

(breathes deeply) And then from here, release the legs, palms underneath the shoulders. Press back into Child's Pose. Hips towards the heels, forehead towards the floor. Arms might release along your sides. Take a few breaths into the back body.

(breathes deeply) And then slowly roll up. Bring the palms underneath you. Chin to the chest. Take a moment to pause in Vajrasana. From here we'll find our way onto our backs.

Draw your knees into your chest. And take a moment, allow yourself to rock a little bit, from side to side. As you come in to the middle it might feel nice to curl up, forehead towards the knees. Get round into a ball and then release. Nice, drawing the right knee and extend through the left heel.

Flex the foot, soften the shoulders down the back. Inhale, exhale, and switch. Draw the left knee and extend through the right heel. Let the thigh bone descend, the shoulders release. Inhale, exhale, and switch.

And then switch. Left knee draws in, right heel extends. Nice, and then switch. From here that left heel might be off the floor, and then switch. Right heel off the floor, left knee in, and then release all, both legs.

All legs, both legs. And then shake it out. (exhales deeply) Nice, draw the knees in. We'll find a spinal twist to the right. So you might stack both knees on top of each other or wrap your left leg over your right leg, and then rolling onto your right side.

Stacking the shoulders and the hips, and then letting the left arm open. Shoulder towards the floor. Lengthening the left side body and then breathing here. (breathes deeply) And then slowly unwind back to center and then switch. If you're stacking both knees, roll onto your left side or wrap your right leg over your left leg.

Roll onto your left side, stack the shoulders and the hips, and then reach your right arm up. Shoulder towards the floor. Feel the rise of the inhale, exhale. Softening the belly. Shoulder towards the floor.

And you're relaxing any tension or gripping through the jaw, the face, down through the hips. And then let the inhale bring you back up. Unwind, and then release into Savasana. Just a few minutes, letting the whole body release. Feeling the eyes soften, and the back of the heart receiving the support.

Palms soft. And it might feel nice today to stay here. When you feel ready to transition, invite movement back into your body and then roll to your side, taking a moment to pause. Now linger in this quality. And then pressing your way up towards the seat.

Taking a few moments here to settle. (sighs) Allow for an inhale. Exhale. (breathing deeply) When you're ready, joining your hands together at your heart. Namaste.

Thank you for your practice. Have a beautiful day. Namaste.