Kaliente: Transformation Flow

(waves crashing) Namaste, family, welcome back. Today's practice is called Kaliente. Kali is the incredible goddess of transformation. Sometimes she's seen as something to be afraid of. Certainly, the way she looks can be frightening.

She's seen with her tongue hanging out, blood dripping, she's got a garland of skulls, and her dress is made out of arms. She's got a big head chopper in her hand, so of course you would want to run away, but she's actually meant to be the most benevolent of the goddesses, the most powerful aspect of love, because she symbolizes our transformation. She symbolizes those difficulties in our lives that of course we want to run away from, but that we can use to really transform, to be with. So the theory is and the practice is if we keep running, she's gonna chase, us but if we stop, if we look at her, just look at her, right into her eyes, she transforms. She's the greatest love of the mother and can be termed in our own practice in our lives as our Tapasya.

So in our practice, that's the purification, that is our spiritual discipline. That's what we take on ourselves, into our own hands, especially if we don't have somebody now telling us, "Don't do this," "Don't do that," because it's stopping destructive patterns in our lives and the samskaras, or repetitive patterns, for sure, that we can begin to stop. Kala actually means time. Kala is that great rhythm and this ability to be able to stop, to be able to stop time, to be able to stop any negative, habitual patterns that we want to, in our own lives, and then of course, being able to be part of that transformation in the world. It's also that we can begin to honor the great darkness in our lives, honor the times that we're really angry as doorways and how we can begin to channel it.

Sometimes in yoga we think it's all about shanti and namaste and it is, to be able to find that peace, but what about when we're really pissed off? And it's the Kali Yuga right now, the dark times, and we've got reason to be pissed off, family. So what can we do with that? What can we do with that anger? Begin to use it to transform.

You can all be a part of it. So this move you're going to start with, Kailash vata, it's really fun, you ready? Get all the young children out of the room. It starts with sticking out your middle fingers. I didn't make this one up.

You stick out your middle fingers, and for sure, if you're, there's nothing like that, right? But we do want to begin to transform it. So you're gonna touch the tips of your middle fingers together and then the nail beds of your index fingers come together and then the tips of your thumbs come together so you begin to press the thumbs together and do you see what it makes? It's a beautiful heart. From this heart, again, it's a sword, but it's through compassion.

This great suffering in the world that we use as our own and turn it into this greatest love. Kali just wants to eat it all up. She takes away our ego so of course she comes through those difficulties, but we all need to make great meaning out of these so-called difficulties in our lives. Sometimes an injury in our practice or whatever it is in our lives that we begin to sit with. Create a safe space to be able to sit with.

As your elbows draw back, this is meant to be done with the breath, this Ujjayi, which, again, is victory. Your breath is your life, is time. Time ripens you and especially some of these experiences help us grow, growing pain, if we can use them. Now every time you exhale, see if you can pause at the bottom of the exhale so you're applying Kumbhaka, this retention and a stoppage. So that's this Nirodha, the stopping of this madness, the chitta vritti.

Stop and pause. You're even engaging all the bandhas, these internal locks of great discipline. As the chin moves in, squeeze the pelvic floor. The navel flies up. Draw the ribs, draw the chin in.

Retain and hold, stillness. And then breathe. Let's do this three times. Exhale, pause at the very bottom of the exhale, that stoppage. We don't know if we're gonna inhale again, but go ahead and breathe in.

One more time to exhale everything out and then pause. Stop, still. Let's take one more big breath in. Go ahead and open up your arms wide. Take a big, beautiful breath in.

Reach your arms up to the sky as you sink down. Fizz in this great longing for freedom. Then go ahead and take it into that twist, the revolution as you begin to move from this transformative fire at the belly, again, your own tapas, this agony. So move and twist and in the twist we're gonna do a little Kapala Bhati breathing, so that's the sharp exhalation through the nose. The inhales pretty passive.

You're gonna inhale. It's not so fast but it is a conscious exhalation, and let's go for it. (breathing quickly) Keep it going. Exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, slow it down. Exhale, exhale, exhale, and pause.

Retain, drop the chin, and then take a big breath in as you side sweep the right arm over your head. Take your left shoulder towards your left knee and just fill up this new, fresh breath and then circle and dive inwards, so take your right hand to your left knee and sway a little bit there into the back body, the kidneys, the liver, organs of detoxification. And then from there rise up so it's like a great phoenix from it's own ashes. It rises back up like you have so many times. I know I have.

Rise up and breathe in. And then go ahead, the revolution. Turn as you breathe in. Exhale a little bit deeper. Inhale about halfway, unwind, and let's go for our second round.

(breathing quickly) Keep it going. Exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale. This Kapala is the skull and Bhati is to shine, to clear. Keep it going, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, and pause, let the mind drop and that silence. And then sway on over with the right shoulder towards the right knee, breathe over your left side of your head, twist open, and then dive back and in.

You're gonna wrap your arms and breathe in a little bit wider underneath your arm pits and then again, you rise up, you rise up. Then inhale, right there into the back of the heart in the shadow side, and then from here, you're going to spin on forward. You can come off your padding, absolutely, slide it over to the side. Take your hands behind you, your feet in front of you, and then you're going to offer it up, so like right up into a fire ceremony. These great sacrifices as you breathe in, and then stick out your tongue, a purifying breath out the mouth, lion's breath.

(exhaling) (chuckling) Soften your sitting bones down, hug your knees in towards your chest, and then it's the same way when we do Navasana, it's an offering of ourselves over, just letting ourselves in the tapas. Satyananda in his commentary on the Sutras even says to accept being or duca as our great purification. So hang in it just for another breath, let it burn just a tiny bit, and then cross your ankles, come on forward onto your hands and your knees, and then begin to make your way into downward dog. So again, this pressing down, and then an exhale all the way up, pause at the bottom of the exhale, that great emptiness or Shunyata, as you sink a little bit deeper and feel that hollowness and deep breath out, if you pause, then there will be this nostril gasp for air as you roll it forward, taking a big breath in, and then you do want to find that lift up through the belly as the sides of the ribs begin to hug in, and then check out lowering yourself down in one piece to the ground, the knees can always come first if you need. And point your toes, and then offer it up, the full prone.

As you press down into the ground, allow your heart to rise on up, and then tuck your toes under and it's downward dog. Exhale completely, and then inhale your right leg up and into the sky. As you exhale, come on forward, touch your right knee to the back of the right elbow, inhale it up and back, draw your right knee to the outside of the left elbow, yes, there's going to be a little burn, inhale it up and back, draw the right, right in towards your heart, press the ground away, and then drop your right foot, right between your hands, slide the left hand back, and then inhale, peel the right arm up and into the sky. You're in another revolution, another twist. And then right into it, a seated spinal twist, as you tuck the left knee behind you, plant your right hand behind you, your left arm up, and then twist.

Again, you're making this abhaya mudra, or fear not, as you sit up tall. And then right back up into that tabletop, lift your hips, exhale through the mouth. (exhaling) Right into Navasana, this is going to be our Vinyasa, cross your ankles, take it forward, plank pose, stay lifted, lower yourselves down if you're ready for Chaturanga, hover, if not, drop to the ground. Upward facing dog or a cobra, and downward facing dog as you breathe out. Just watch for those little pauses today in your practice that you can feel empty.

Inhale the left leg high, exhale the left knee to the back of the left elbow. Inhale it up and back, drag it across to the right elbow, pause, take it up and back, and then draw the knee up into your chest, press the ground away, and then step and open up, you allow the hips to sink down, twisting right from the belly. Audre Lorde, the great activist, said that the revolution's in every moment, not just during those few times. Big breath in, exhale and twist. Sit up tall and then you're wringing it out, again, right through that whole lower back area, as well.

And then back through center, the purifying breath out the mouth. (exhaling) And that fierceness, and go ahead, lengthen the legs, stay there, and cross your ankles. Plank pose, Chaturanga. Upward facing, downward facing. Take a big breath in, and again, exhale everything out.

There's this internal locking that begins to happen with the tailbone and the head and the ribs. As the bandhas engage our inner locks, and then a bend in the knees as you look forward to hop your feet between your hands, lengthen your spine and look up, exhale, bow down, and turn us. From there, you can rise up, rise up, and then slide your hands to your heart. Open your arms by your side, and I just want to briefly introduce you to a pose that we're going to do, it actually comes from the kung fu tradition, martial arts, which so much is about this inner, you know, the fight looks like it's out there, and definitely somebody can drop, but it's more this internal battle that we're constantly, we're constantly faced with, right, that we begin to work with and be able to still and not say that thing we want to say or reach for that thing or do that thing that we know is just gonna cause more pain. So I love it, I stole it from my partner who does kung fu, and it's actually called the unicorn stance, which seems very light and airy, but it's very powerful.

So we're going to throw it into our Vinya, so the arms are gonna come up, and then the right foot's gonna come behind the left, you're on the ball of the toe, I've done this a few times, but instead of the hips and the prana spinning out, they're gonna come forward, so I want you thrust, actually, the pelvis forward a little bit and then find the lift up through the belly and then the chin comes in through the heart. So of course, you know, it's a pretty low thing, the foot can even lift and wrap, but it's inner contained, this inner discipline and sacrifice that we even make that's so much more powerful than anything else. You're going to hold, hold, hold, hold, hold, hold, hold, hold, and then this is what it's going to look like in the Vinyasa, you're going to shoot the leg back and then take it into this great twist. Okay, you with me? Okay, we're going to check it out.

So starting from Utkatasana, fierce pose, powerful pose, again, you're drawing everything, all of your energy inward. Draw the tailbone in, sink down so that you feel your own personal power to transform. We use even this personal responsibility that we take and transform it, so sink down, allow the shoulders to melt down the back, gather the tailbone in, and then absolutely let it rinse over you, shift the weight into your hands, lift your heels, take a big breath in, and then you're going to throw yourself back into that fire pit, Chaturanga. Big breath in, and then big breath out. Here we go, warrior one, reach your right leg up to the sky and then we rise up to face it all with that open heart, your prayer can come as you begin to sink down and lift up, and then unicorn, hold for one, two, three, ow, and then you're going to offer it back up and swing the right arm behind you.

You can take a big breath and flip that right hip back, you can look back behind you, and then use it to spiral over, and then you're going to slice and cut through any ego or anything there in your way. There can be a bend in that left knee as you open your left arm up, and then cross at the arms. You can twist and peek underneath the left elbow for a moment and then you're going to rise back up into those evil arms and then toes out, heels in, and here we go, this is Kali, stick out the tongue. (exhaling) Rise up halfway, clear everything out, clear it out, right into your warrior two as you sink down. Tip it backwards, peaceful, we're even going to go right into a triangle as you lengthen the right leg, reach your right arm forward, you can find a block with the ground, and then peel open, sink down, still find that inner movement towards your center.

As you take a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. Shape-shift into your extended side angle with a big inhale, open an arch, and then circle it down. Plank Chaturangas, big breath in and big breath out. Inhale your left leg up and high. Step forward, seal the back heel, Virabhadrasana one, rise up.

Unicorn stance for a few breaths, sink down, and it's an inner burning, so the Upa Neviah lifts up, the prana moves in, right into the Samana, right here, right in towards the center, the fires. And then shoot it forward as you swing the left arm back, plug the left hip, circle it up, take your left hand towards your right ankle, bend and open, and then weave everything towards center before you eagle the arms, rising up, toes in, heels out, and exhale through the mouth, stick out the tongue. (exhaling) That's it, and then you're going to rise up vira two, clear everything out, sink down, tip backwards, peaceful, into a reverse triangle then drag the right hip back as you place your left hand to the ground, to your shin, a little bend, our self-discipline as you begin to open, you've got to drag yourself to your practice. Open up your chest, and then right into your extended side angle, you can take your forearm to your thigh as you open up, drag the pelvis forward, and then circle yourselves down to plank pose, Chaturanga, cobra or upward, downward facing dog. We've got another round like this, right leg up and high, step it forward and breathe out.

vira one as you breathe in, right into your unicorn Shoot it forward and back, and spiral up as you swing it forward. Cross at the arms, rise up, evil arms, exhale, (exhaling) vira two, burst it out, and tip backwards are you breathe in, and the go ahead and take into maybe a bound extended angle, it can be a half-bound, it's the bind, it's our discipline, it's our tapas, that sets us free. I know, it's a strange thing, sometimes we think free is do whatever I want, but it's actually through this discipline that we can find this internal freedom. And so take the hands, peel the shoulder, take your own hand to wrap the chest open in this guidance, and then maybe you'll find some length. From here, you're going to spin it towards center, if you have to let go of the hands, family, anytime release the hands so that you come through center, a bend in the knees, you'll rise up, either tree pose, bird of paradise, and you'll make your way down, and then as above, so below, take a moment in squatting pose with the knees open and your hips sink down.

And then from here, crow, so you can take a little hop back, so begin to shift the weight forward, grip the ground, and again, it's this internal lift that you begin to drag inwards toward center, sometimes even holding the breath for a moment in that still point and focus. And then you can begin to offer the crown of the head towards the ground, the knees in, and then lengthen up, because Kali just wants your head, she just wants your ego. And then open up the legs. Take a big breath in, and then you're going to swing it back to the front of the mat, and take a big inhale right here, and then step back into your plank, lower down into it, rise up, and then empty yourself back. Inhale your left leg up and high, step on forward, seal the back heel and rise up, vira one, right into your unicorn stance.

Offer it forward as you swing back, clear it, slice everything all the way through. Wrap the right arm over. Rise up, toes out, heels in. (exhaling) Warrior two to the front. Tip backwards as you breathe in, and then again, it can be a half-bind in your extended ankle or a full-bind as you begin to twist open.

Find some length and parallel the toes, and then begin to slowly walk your feet forward towards one another. It can be a tree pose as you rise up or it's your bird of paradise. Sink down, open up as far as the leg will allow. Mine for right here is here. And then you'll begin to sink back down.

The hips sink towards the ground, and then crow pose number two. Shift the weight forward, and then this time, just hop the legs wide. Spin it out towards the front of the mat. Big breath in, and then again, right into that Chaturanga, lift chest, empty back. Take a big breath in here, a complete breath out, and then lift your heels, look forward.

Hop to the top of your mat, lengthen spine, and bow forward. Wrap the arms again around your legs, as you dive inside, and then begin to rise on up to stay. Bring your hands to your heart. Take a big inhale and then arms by your side. (speaking in foreign language) You are going to need a couple blocks for this.

Some of you may not need it. I like to use a couple blocks for Titibasana, firefly, and even Bhujapidasana, because the pose, just like we've been burning it out this way, the legs begin to come forward, but they first drag in. So it's a discipline of the legs really wrapping around the upper arm bones that draws everything inward towards the center, and then from there, there can be this offering, or a cleansing out. So you can experiment a little bit, forwards and backwards, how far you want your blocks, or if you want them this low way. For today, I'm going to use them kind of this midway.

And then even taking the arms this way and coming forward this way (exhaling) to empty out, so that you can dive underneath the thighs and then walk in a little bit closer so that your hands really sink down and your inner thighs begin to reach back. Again, I like to squeeze the blocks this way, and then maybe your right foot over to your left. This is more where you want to live, so that you're drawing in the inner groin's back and then lifting the feet forward, and like in a firefly, you can only see the light in the darkness. Right, they're so magnificent. Like Rumi says, the wound is where the light comes through, you know what I mean?

So right from there you can begin to, (puffing) by pressing down, lifting up, allow the chest to lift. And then drop it down, family. You can remove your blocks to the side, let your head release. Make it one more towards the center and then we're in downward dog. Any movement there through the hips.

You can always take that once or twice or a few times. And then we're going to take one more standing pose sequence to really twist and wring it out, as it's our aversions, right, it's the other side. So you begin to rise up, same thing, hold in, and then swing it forward and through, and then this time, you are going to reach for your block one more time so that you can revolve your triangle pose. As you sink down, the belly can begin to move, right from this twisting, and open up. Exhale into your feet so that you can twist and expand upward, let the burning be the purification, and then take your right arm underneath the left and you know it, we're going to rise up.

From it, lift the back heel, sink a little bit deeper, and then you're going to take it right into a vira three with this garuda arms. Come up through center, and then you're going to take it into a twist to the left, so you're welcome to reach for the outer edge of the left knee as you twist open, for those of you who want to move on. (speaking in foreign language) You're breathing, it's getting hot in here! Kaliente! And then full eagle, full eagle, let arm under, left arm over. Dive it in. The mythical bird, the garuda, that flies above hope and fear, all these extremes, and then unravel, sink back into Utkatasana.

This is when you've got to be fierce, calling on that, sometimes called tough love. Twist it on over to the right side. Churn, and again, remember, it's from the heart and you get to face it as you drive the right hip back. And then come up onto your tippy-toes, take it a little bit twisted, this is the beginning of noose pose, right, Pasasana, very intense, deep twist, we won't go all the way, but it is this, sometimes we feel that way. As we're guided, we move a little bit deeper, and then from here, you can begin to shift the weight forward towards Parsva Bakasana, side crow, as you begin to shift the weight forward, I like to even drop my head, because remember, Kali just wants our heads, with her head chopper, so let it drop, and then you're welcome to lift the top leg for fallen angel and then maybe from there, you'll rise up and scissor the legs one more time before making your way down, Navasana.

And then you still have your blocks here, so use your blocks to press your hands into them, see if you can lift the legs up and then move them back, that wasn't so graceful, maybe the next side. You'll move it through and then exhale into downward facing dog. Anytime you want to move the blocks out of the way, and then use them again. Like all of our blockages, we get to use them. Okay, let's check out the left side, breathe your left leg high, step forward, and you're in vira one.

You're back in your unicorn stance. You'll shoot it forward, swing it back, and then here, I'm going to use a block one more time in my Parivrtta, those vrittis, Trikonasana, to really begin to take the whole left side of the ribs, you can even take them yourself, your ribs, and then peel it open. Hanging it for a big breath in, so it gets to change you. One more exhale. A big inhale, and then weave under and rise up.

Lift the back heel, deep bend into your knee, shift the weight forward and fly. Draw the right knee up and into your chest. Take the twist with the bent knee, reach for the outer edge of your foot. Garudasana. Right leg over, right arm under.

Draw it forward and through. That watchful gaze. Utkatasana. Parivrtta Utkatasana. And then come on up onto your tippy-toes.

You can move these over to the side a little bit. I'm going to need them in a minute. Twist for your Pasana prep, and then begin to make your way forward and down. You can drop your head, fallen angel, and then scissor the legs as you lift your head before bending the knees and drop your sitting bone. Lift it up, navas.

(groaning) One more deep breath in. Exhale to hold and then grab those blocks. Cross your ankles, lift up and shoot the legs back. Lower. Rise.

And exhale it back, family. Drop your knees and child's pose. (sighing) Take a big breath in and a big breath out. And then rise on up to sit. We're going to end our practice today with a nice, long shoulder stand, shoulder stand or Salamba Sarvangasana, means supported all parts pose, so it really does purify and nourish every single part of us because you're literally flipping things over, and like a candle, when you have the flame, and you flip it over the other way, it has this opportunity to burn through, especially all those past karmas that keep us bound to repetitive patterns for who knows how long.

So the more we begin to spend time in these, the freer we begin to get. So do set yourself up, move everything out of the way. I would love for you to use a blanket so that it protects the very tender vertebrae in your neck. You can lie one or two, however many you like. If you're not inverting today, you can throw your legs up a wall, but otherwise, even folding the sticky mat over the blanket is a nice thing to do, so that you can really stick the shoulders into the sticky mat.

And then lie down on the ground so that your head's on the ground, but there's this real nice space, you can check it out underneath that cervical spine. And then use your fingertips into the ground to begin to flip your feet up and over your head. You can, you know, just a little bit of waddle the shoulders, not too much so that you can keep the neck stationary, and then come through a plow pose, allowing the arms to move down towards the ground. Tuck the toes under and have a real plow pose moment to lengthen the spine. And it creates this natural Jalandhara Bandha there in the throat, the cloud catching lock.

As you take your hands to your hips, and then begin to lift the legs up, as one of the most purifying tapas is the tapas of speech, right, what we don't say. And you can begin to lift the legs up, I like to take the weight back into my elbows so it's actually not really constricting the throat or strangling it, but just gently constricting it, and then the thighs can begin to move back, you can walk your hands up as long as you like, and then, you know, a good, long time up here. Variations are fun to play with, or stay and breathe and meditate on your belly, a belly meditation, moving in and out, really looking deep and inside. And then if you wanted to play with candlestick, it's a balancing. Take your hands back down, stay as long as you like, and then begin to make your way back down towards the plow pose, a moment in Karnapidasana, where you draw the knees around the ears, squeeze out all external sound.

And then even, as you lengthen your legs, you can walk your feet on over to the right, take both knees there, walk them over to the left, you can take both knees there. Then as you walk them towards center, use your fingertips as real brakes, and then begin to make your way down. Keep your knees bent, and you'll find a natural release in the chest, and that's so much of a fish that can sometimes aggregate, aggravate the vertebrae in the spine. Just allow the chest to open. Pause here for a moment.

And then begin to undo your mat. Take your blanket out to the side. And then hug your knees into your chest. Let them both drop on over to the left side for a moment as you take a twist and look back. Come back through center, and the whole movement on over to the other side.

Just the breath and gravity. And then feel the real effects of your own tapas, your own effort. And then rest here for a moment, and then I would say right into Savasana today, so blankets, again, can always come underneath the knees. It feels nice to have the low back drop a little. Your arms can release by your side.

Sava meaning corpse, the yogi's practice of letting go of everything, even the physical body, and really any thought that happiness can be brought by really anything external. And we let go of everything to find what we've been looking for. So renounce everything as it burns away in the sacrificial fire. You can let your breath go and be breathed. (breathing) And then you can stay here for as long as you like.

You are beginning to slowly come back into your breath, that first breath, your rebirth, and appreciating each one, this rhythm of life, this kala in time, and appreciation for each moment, and sometimes that's what comes out of, when we let go of something or lose something. Let's begin to give a big hug of your knees into your chest. And then begin to make your way on up to sit. Taking a couple moments, just sit up before you make your way back into your day. This great openness of the heart, to face everything, everyone, especially the challenges that are around you, transform instantly to this compassion.

We use our own suffering. Come to awaken more, this heart. And draw your palms together, in great gratitude. Even all those difficulties, the challenges around that we can use, we really can. To awake, big breath.

(inhaling) (humming) Namaste.