Lotus Fly

(waves crashing) (claps hands) Namaste, family, welcome back and thanks for tuning in today to our practice called Lotus Fly. So it is Lotus Flow if you've been practicing with me for a few shows now, but a little bit more a lift, right? And a little bit more arm balances and this playful relationship with leaving the ground, 'cause so much of yoga, of course, is to root us, is to connect us into the earth, but then that balance between letting go, right? So that we're connected, connected, but then also this freedom of flight, and reminds me of a wonderful Rumi poem that says, "Birds make great sky circles "out of their freedom." And the question is how do they do that? How do they do that?

I just saw some like this, right? How do they do that? And then the response is they fall. They fall and in fallen, they're given wings. So we do take great risks in our practice, and to take any advanced variation or what seems like an advanced variation sometimes is only to just become a beginner again, to have that beginner's mind, to let go of any attachment and to be free.

So that's my invitation to you today, and let's go ahead and start with Garuda mudra. So that is the eagle, Garuda, Vishnu's great vehicle, in which he is the great preserver and sustainer, to be able to be watchful, right? And present, and see from that great perspective of flight and of freedom, non-attachment. Non-attachment, family, it's so hard, right? So take a few breaths here, feeling the breath, your lungs expand right out into the armpits and your lungs.

Even here, we can get a little bit of freedom, every time you breathe in vast, right up into your chest, into your heart, right up into your face, and your eyes so that the prana rises. In the Gita, Krishna says, "The self lifts the self up by the self, "and we have to lift ourselves up "out of what seems muddy or tomasic or inertia, "this great flight." So if there is something in your life that kind of keeps you down and stuck, and this is a great practice. It's a great, great, great, great practice to take those steps and to not be afraid of making mistakes, right, that we take risks, to not be afraid. Take one more deep breath in. This time, let the belly really move away from the spine, and as you exhale, feel it almost snap back.

I like to think of it like a parachute, right? So we have this inner parachute. If you've ever fallen out of a plane (chuckles) or jumped out of a plane, it's a necessity, and so you always have this right inside, and that's inside of your belly. It's called Uddiyana Bandha. That means flying up lock.

So there's this snap and then there's this pop and this flight up that's just (imitates explosion) and as you are able to float a little bit more. So we're gonna play with accessing this bandha, this inner lock for the prana. So take one more breath in. Really just circulating the breath there at your belly and then feel it move all the way in and up as the diaphragm begins to narrow and slide up. So from here, you're gonna, you can slide your padding out to the side, and come onto your shins so that the spine can be really long.

For me, it's a little bit more accessible. And I am gonna pull my shirt up so that you can see what happens in the belly. This in itself takes a little bit of courage to do. So you do wanna begin to first breathe all of the air out, right? And then the air is gonna stay out, but you're gonna feel like you're drawing all the contents of your belly pretty much underneath your rib cage.

So there's a big hollowing out, and this is a muscle that we're gonna use, and even this internal lock, it's in the subtle body so it's quite subtle, but it's drawing everything in and out. But I want you to keep the chin in towards your throat so that your brain doesn't (chuckles) go flying up, 'cause you can get pretty lightheaded. Keep the chin in towards your throat 'til the very last minute and then slowly lift up. We're gonna do it three times, mmkay? You wanna check it in.

This is what it looks like, maybe watch once? We'll do it twice together. So it's just a regular normal breath in, and even breathe out through your mouth. (exhales deeply) And then keeping the breath out, you can print your fingertips down, and here we go. (inhales deeply) And then breathe in, release the lock, keep the chin in, this Jalandhara. The prana stays in.

So feel this great lightness already, that free falling. And here we go again, big breath in. (exhales deeply) (inhales deeply) (exhales deeply) You can breathe in (inhales deeply) and breathe out. One more time. (inhales deeply) (exhales deeply) (inhales deeply) (exhales deeply) Okay, let's maybe keep that going a little bit as something new, a newer practice, something to access inside, especially when you need a parachute, it will come in handy. So now if you go ahead and grab your blocks and place 'em behind you.

I like to use blocks for this, and you're gonna see how you can access this even in the body when we're doing these great lifting practices so that it's there for you. You can take your legs out and in front of you, give them a little bit of a shake. And then take your hands just right to the edges of the blocks, those are behind your hips. Put a bend in your knees. Root down into your hands and feet and then go ahead, fly on up.

Good, take a big breath in here, allowing the chest to open, even exhale through the mouth (exhales deeply) for Lion's Breath, and then from here, you're gonna swing the hips back behind you, keeping your heels down. You can feel that big old lift on the exhale and then go ahead, swing it all the way back up, breathe in, (inhales deeply) and then exhale, drive the inner groins back, press down, lift up. And then one more time to have a big breath in, (inhales deeply) exhale, swing everything back up, maybe you'll lift your heels, and then release your hips down. You can take your blocks on over to the side now, but keep them there 'cause you may need them. And then come on forward onto your hands and your knees and walk your way into Downward-Facing Dog.

Now root down through your hands and your feet, but you wanna always begin to feel this great lift up. So even as you press down, down, down, inside, there's this lightness and lift. And so every time you exhale, there can be this slight lift up through the belly. One more breath in (inhales deeply) and then a big breath out. (exhales deeply) So exhale all of the air out and then you're gonna inhale your right leg up to the sky, and here we go. We're gonna continue to play with that inner lift.

Begin to drag your right knee all the way to the outside of your left elbow. Inhale it all the way back and then exhale, come forward, hold, lift. One more time, up and back. And then come on forward, press the ground away, lift, hollow, hollow, hollow, hollow, and then plant your right foot between your hands. As you sink down through the hips, now extend your arms up and you're in a high lunge.

Don't sink down at the shoulders. Melt away from the back, even a little bit of a bounce, a little bit of a lightness here, and then you're just gonna shift the weight right into the right foot, and come on forward as you swing the arms back so that the knee begins to lift up and you're still having this lift even as you're standing. Swing your arms up, extend the left leg for a breath, and then you're gonna come on forward with a little bend into the right knee. And it is a little early, but we're gonna go for it, just a couple of times, just shift the weight into the hands, but lift the right heel, and then back. And then play with lifting up.

See how you begin to feel a little shift again, still underneath the belly, those inner wings. And then one more time to lift up. From here, step right back into that Three-Legged Dog, and then draw the right knee into your nose, step into your Plank Pose, snap your parachute up, and then drop down for Chaturanga. Hold here (chuckles) even for a breath on a bounce, and then press off the toes to lift up. Cobra for your first one or Upward Dog as you breathe in, and then exhale, tuck your toes and lift up right from your inner wings.

And shift the right foot a little bit center as you breathe the left leg up and back. Draw your left knee towards your right elbow. Inhale it up and back, exhale it to the left elbow, pause. One more time, up and back, and then draw the knee all the way through center, press the ground away, lift, lift, lift, lift, and then drop your foot. High lunge as you sink down.

A little softness again through that right knee, but you can flip the pelvis underneath you and sink down, but lift, shift the weight into the left foot, and then draw the right knee in. Swing your right leg forward, breathe your arms up, and then a little bend through that right knee as you dive forward again. A couple times, so just play, lift the heel. Exhale it down. Again, shift the weight into the hands.

Grip the ground and then exhale. You got one more time like that. Your heel may even lift and then step back here in that Three-Legged Dog. So here's that practice again to draw in, exhale, feel the lift, and then feel the soul lifted in your belly even as you continue to come down. Cobras or Upward-Facing Dogs.

Exhale all the way back. Take a big breath in and breath out. This time, you're gonna lift up onto both of your tippy toes. Shift the weight forward, a little bend in the knees, but hollow out though the belly so it's at the bottom the exhale that you're gonna fly your feet between your hands. So can be a little bit of a springy feeling as you breathe in. (inhales deeply) And then you'll hop forward.

Lengthen up onto your fingertips and then bow on down. And from here, fly on up to stand. It's your big breath in and then exhale the hands, even right back to that Garuda, this reminder of our great wings, our great wings. Make one more breath in and release. From here, you're gonna hook the thumbs, and go ahead, fly up and free.

And as you come forward, step the right foot behind the left and swing the arms down. As your hands come down to the ground, you're gonna first hop both of your heels in and then see if you can shoot them down. So it's the practice of snapping your belly in and up. So shift the weight forward and there you go. Breathe in, look up.

Exhale your way down. And inhale to look forward, a bend of the knees, and then fly, lift up, and bow down. Rise up, and back you go. One more time like that. Reach forward, up and back.

The left foot behind as you swing the arms out. Plant your hands down and then hop in and shoot back. And exhale your way into Downward Dog. Breathe in, look forward. Fly.

Lift on your inhale. Exhale it down. Rise on up and land one more time. You can release your arms by your side and then put a bend in your knee as you're gonna be in Utkatasana. So you can sink down, and of course, as the tailbone draws down, the belly's gonna fly up, so they work together, this dragging down and then the inner lift as you begin to come on up.

And as you come on up, you're gonna come up onto your tippy toes. This is called Diver's Pose. It's like should I dive? (chuckles) Drop your heels, come back up, Utkatasana. Diver's Pose, swing up, pause, and then drop your heels and rise up. One more time, Diver's, and then hands down, last big splash.

Rise up, breathe in. Exhale, take it back. A few standing poses as you breathe the right leg high. Step forward and root the back heel down. Rise up, Virabhadrasana I, and then right from here, fly it back.

And then hands down, here we go, put a little shift forward into your hands, lift your heel, and it's one hop, and then fall back, Vira II. As you swing back for Peaceful, Garuda the arms again so that you're in that great wings as you begin to tip it back, and then come forward halfway, lengthen the spine and unfurl like the great sail of those wings into your Triangle Pose. And take a breath in and then begin to put a bend into the right knee and shape-shift right into Extended, moving the pelvis forward, but still lifting up. Both of your arms can come in so that you're supported and lifted internally. And then release your hands down.

Step back into a Three-Legged Dog, and then as you come forward, there's a little bend in your elbow so that you're gonna perch. And again, more than taking flight right away, you wanna sink down but feel light, and then absolutely, there can be some flight as you let go! Rising, and take it home. Inhale your left leg high. Step forward, fly up for your one. Step the right foot and let it go.

Sink down so the hands can come up, and then one hop, fly it open, Warrior II. Peaceful in your Garuda, and then lengthen out through the left leg. Shift the weight forward and unfurl your arms, you're in Triangle. Take a big breath in and then begin to pour yourself into your Extended Angle. So sink into the hips, feel the lift up again as the tailbone carves forward that there is this lift up into the heart, and then you can extend your arms out long.

Release your hands down. Sling it up and back. Climb and perch. There can be this little bouncy type feeling of lightness, and then you can begin to float or face-plant, and then back down. Rise and fall.

Take a big inhale. It's always nice (inhales deeply) to exhale everything out. And then let's check it out one more time. Breathe the right leg high, step forward, fly on up, swing it down, and then you're gonna come right on up into a Tree Pose. So this handstand we're gonna explore is called Upside Down Tree.

So first, we wanna be nice and rooted, and then we wanna let go of those roots, alright? And put our roots up in heaven. So first, sink down, down, down, down. Now let your arms open up nice and free. You're even gonna sink down a little bit deeper, and so deep bend, sink, sink, sink.

As the tailbone moves under the belly, still gonna fly, and then right from here, rise on up, and you're gonna take it back into an Ardha Chandrasana, but sail a little bit. (chuckles) Sail a little bit so that it's nice and light. As the fingertips come to the ground, open up there in between, right? The heaven and the earth place, letting go and also rooted. And take it for one more breath in. You're welcome to reach for the back foot to open up through the top of the thigh a little bit, your beautiful open heart, and then extend it all the way back.

Parallel the toes, breathe the arms up, and then you're gonna take it all the way forward. You can shift a little bit onto your mat. So as your hands come down, your head can release to the earth for a couple breaths. This getting used to beginning to shift the weight a tiny bit more away from the feet, and then come onto your hands and it's just that play, I promise. You're just gonna lift the weight onto your tippy toes into your hands, but curl into the lower belly, find that Uddiyana again, and down.

The inhale (inhales deeply) and then the exhale to lift in and up. One more time to lift in and up, maybe there's a hop, and that's it. Plant your right hand center, twist. Open up through that left shoulder and then press into your feet. Let it go to rise back up.

In the direction of your Gomukh, can take ahold of your T-shirt, slide the ribs in, and then turn it back to the front of the mat. You're in a Peaceful this time with Gomukh arms so that you can take into your bind for a moment. And twist and open, and then again, there's a play if you begin to move in towards your center of letting go of the back foot. It can just be for a breath, (groans) and then you'll fly free. One big inhale and then you'll circle the hands down.

So let the hips drop just for a moment. Allow the chest to lift, and then you're gonna step right into a squatting position for a moment, allowing the chest to open as you sink down. And then from here, we're gonna take it right up into Crow Pose, a little shift back. So you're applying Hasta Bandha, which is really the (slurps) almost the milking of the ground, so that from there, you can parachute up. So shift the weight forward, lift one foot, lift two feet, lift all the way up and in, and then chest forward, legs back, Cobra upwards, Downward Dog, left leg up and high.

Step it forward and through, fly on up. Swing it back on your breath in, and then rise up, Tree, Vriksasana. (mumbles) Great, just inner shifts. Your hands can find your heart and the breath, expanding wide and then open it up wide. Can soar a tiny bit.

And then sink a little bit further down and deep. Find that little lift inside, even as you're sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking. Rise up and breathe in and then glide. So light, all the way down. (chuckles) All the way down. There you go.

Reach for your right foot, lean backwards, and then let it go as you rise up. Parallel the toes, Flying Warrior on your way down. Again, just tiny little shifts gonna happen to make room for the crown of your head, and then just play onto the balls of your toes a little bit, transferring of the weight. This time, take your left hand center, peel your right arm up, find the back body so that you can draw the kidneys a little bit up, and then press into your feet to rise. It's in that direction of the Gomukh.

Spin the pelvis forward just a tiny bit to lean back and then let go towards the bind. Reach for your fingertips or your wrist and twist it open, and then another little play there. Gather everything in. (squeals) You gotta fall to be free. Rise up, breathe in.

And then again, you'll tumble forward. One inhale there. A big old exhale back into your Crow. Breathe in right here, and then plant your hands down. So hug the upper arm bones in again.

Shift the weight forward, lift into yourself. Fly back. Rise up. And Downward Dog. Breathe in an even exhale out through the mouth.

(exhales deeply) A bend in your knees, look forward. Fly forward and bow on in. A bend in your knees to rise back up, Utkatasana, and then rise on up. Okay, so we're gonna do put a little bit of all that together and explore Flying Crow. So a blanket is nice 'cause you're gonna play with letting it go and actually falling right onto your head.

Well you know, our whole lives, we tried not to fall, not to trip. This is where you're gonna practice falling right on your face. It's a great practice (chuckles) 'cause it happens all the time. So the yogis had a sense of humor as you can tell, right, it's light, to be light and to let go. That's what enlightenment means.

So a blanket is nice as a little bit of a crash pad if you wanna explore this dropping onto your head. If you just want to play with the arm balance, then that's awesome too. But your hands can come to your heart, and again, you're sinking down, no doubt, but then at the same time, can you feel this inner, again, the feeling is a parachute that pulls up a little bit. And so you can shift the weight forward, and again, it's a tippy toe practice, and I really have to come up onto my tippy toes to get my hands fully in the ground like we've been playing with, and even underneath the blanket so that you can still grip your sticky mat. And then as you begin to shift the weight forward, there's a big hugging of the upper arm bones in with your feet, and then bing, you can begin to lift up through your foot.

And then as you reach your chest forward, you can breathe the left leg back. Fly and then fall. (chuckles) Hug the upper arms in a little bit more and then you can unravel it up, and you're in Sirsasana B. And then you can come back toward Utkatasana and take it on the other side, but if you wanna play coming up with the other leg, find that Figure Four, hug the left shin up and around your upper arm bones, take a big breath in, and then lift up. Woo, chest forward, right leg back. You'll come back up.

If you've got one more in you, it's a regular Crow. I barely have it in me. And then step back. Jump back into Downward Dog. And take your knees to the ground.

Little moment in Child's Pose. Let your head rock. You can just your outfit. And take a deep breath in and a big breath out. And then rise on up, and we (claps hands) are gonna take it over to the wall, so carve out a space for yourself in your home.

Especially try to move any paintings (chuckles) out of the way if you have them on the wall. I've done that. I've kicked everything out of the way and gotten in trouble, so I don't want you to. But move everything over to the side now, and your blocks to make sure everything's clear. And then pretty tight in with your mats towards the wall.

And we're actually gonna start standing back on our feet so that you can experience what it's like to take the same shape and then flip it upside down. So this nice groundedness. You know, with everything, it's opposites in yoga. You know, practice and detachment, and unsteadiness, ease. So we wanna cultivate both.

We wanna be nice and grounded and then also be able to flip it, where we get to act without being worried about its outcome. So a little bend into the knee. That's the same lungey type shape. So sink down and see if you can still experience this great spaciousness and light as you extend upwards so that you have two gravitational forces, one sinking down and then one drawing you in, even pulling you upward at the same time. Even gonna take it into a little twist, a revolution, so that that same wingspan can open even as your hips drop down.

As you come back towards center, you're gonna keep the right foot there almost like a little compass and you're gonna spin it back towards a Virabhadrasana III. So tiny bit there, maybe little movement there in the feet to readjust as you come forward, taking the same shape, horizontal to the earth, find the lift up through your center, and then dive forward. Can take your right foot directly underneath you and then with the right hand down, one more revolution to expand open into your Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana just for a breath, and then come forward and down, a little bend into the right foot that's up on the wall. Plant your hands down again and play with the transfer of weight into your palms, and then begin to pluck the left knee in towards your nose before you extend it up and you're in a L-shaped handstand. So the head drops, your foot's supported, and then just play with lifting your heel up the wall, but pressing those roots up and into the sky.

Maybe you'll play with your toes lifting. It's just that play. (squeals) And then take both feet to the wall. A soft bend in your knees, this gonna be a big drop, so parachute upward and then hop you feet down, big inhale and exhale, rise up, and then you can take your right foot over your left and spin it back (chuckles) to the wall. Throw the left leg up into a lunge. Just a standing lunge.

Watch out for that bottom heel. Keep it in line with the toes. Sink down, lengthen up, and then rotate, keep the chest open. Your chest expands wide out through the shoulders and then back up through center, swivel. Arms can come behind you first before they open out, and then dive forward.

Peel up your right arm just for a breath. Your gaze can turn down if it's uncomfortable for your neck and then release. Walk your hands back again and there's a bend through the knee, left knee for a moment. As you transfer the weight into your palms, pluck the right foot in and then shoot it up towards the sky. A little play, whee! Whee! (chuckles) And then both feet to the wall, and a hop.

Inhale, lengthen, and exhale down. Rise up as you breathe in and then back into your heart. So now you're gonna face the wall and we're gonna check everything that we've done to take it all the way up into your handstand. We've been doing it since the beginning of practice. So you can begin to make your way into Downward-Facing Dog with your hands, I don't know, about a foot away from the wall as you're palms really sink down, but roll the shoulders away so that your hands are now feet and that there's this nice strength there in your arms.

If you have kind of hyperextended arms like I do, there's just a tiny bend so that you don't drop into the joints of your arms. But we're gonna play with it in the same way so it's flying a little with the right leg up to the sky, swing it forward, I love to swing, all the way back. (chuckles) There's nothing like swinging (chuckles) all the way back. One more time to draw in and then swing it up. A deep bend into that left knee and then go ahead, fly. Your knee can begin to come in towards your chest.

You can even begin to roll the toes a little bit out so that you're in this tree-type shape. And then with your heel towards the wall, there can be a play with lifting it up. Release down, even more, hang into your legs, or Child's Pose absolutely, and then check it out over onto the other side. So inhale your left leg up to the sky, a few swingings in towards the nose, up and then in. Up, in so that you fly.

One more time, this time a bend through the right knee. So this left leg's high and you really have to pop up this back leg to land. And then even upside down, everything moves in towards center. You can begin to play with popping the heel off the wall and balance. And then begin to come on down.

And then this time, you can begin to have a seat for a moment and come close down to the ground. That's one thing I love about birds. They're so on the ground and they're in the sky the same time. Right? (claps hands) So we can be nice and rooted. I'm gonna also find this flight and freedom.

It can be in our lives. A little bit of detachment. So one more breath in and then this time, as you come up, you're gonna check out coming up with both feet. And even a little bit less of a jump, we're gonna play with all that Uddiyana. So I want you to play with Crow Pose and see if from Crow, we can come up into a handstand, but just without the hopping, just using those inner wings.

You wanna tuck it in. This can be something to practice, and again, so that we can all be new. Maybe for some of you this is not so new. But I like to place my head towards the wall. If you have a bun, you may have to slide it back a tiny bit.

And then from here, you'll lift on up. See if you can come back out, slowly, slowly, slowly. And then drop down (laughs) onto your back. (chuckles) Okay. So you actually do wanna come down onto your backs with your hips enclosed towards your heels and just take a moment to land, and again, feel the breath and that lightness and that freedom that comes from letting go.

And then do begin to root down into your feet. Find the chest beginning to lift up towards Bridge Pose. You can waddle your shoulders underneath you and interlace your hands, but come in pretty close, and again, you want your toes touching the baseboard between the wall and the ground so that it really connects and draws the toes inward and down a tiny bit, so that from here, your chest can fly up, your heart can fly up as you press down into the ground. You can even stay here for a few breaths. If you're ready and you wanna move onto Urdva Dhanurasana and even one more flying gesture, plant your hands on either side of your head, rise up, hug the upper arm bones in, your knees can touch the wall, and then begin to make your way up.

One foot's gonna come back up on the wall, then the other one. You can lengthen the legs, and then a little bit of a split as you begin to make your way down, and then keep your hands right where they are, lengthen up through the right leg, and you'll make your way back down, first pausing, one foot, the next, and then chin in towards your chest, and lower down. Throw your legs up the wall, just in a restorative inversion for a moment, feeling your feet in those roots that sometimes keep us attached up in the sky. So take one more big breath in, and then begin to exhale and hug your knees into your chest, even scoot yourselves back quite a bit away from the wall, and then give a hug of your knees in towards your chest, and allow them to drop on over towards the left so that you can allow that great wingspan again to open here on the ground. Feeling the breath rise and fall.

You're up in the sky, but completely in your life, from a fresh perspective. Then take it over to the other side. Breath and gravity. And then give one more big hug of your knees into your chest, and lengthen out for Shavasana. So scoot yourselves out as far as you need.

Really take some space and then allow your body to come down. You can squeeze everything tight. Lift everything up and then exhale, let go. (exhales deeply) Take a few moments and follow your breath and even let that go. (exhales deeply) And then begin to, deep in the rhythm of your breath again, I'm breathing full, alive, this freedom's that's this close.

Move your fingers and toes, come back into your body. Big hug of your knees into your chest. And then with a couple rocks and rolls, rise on up to sit. Find your seat on the earth. Always this mudra of remembrance.

And practice so much is about remembrance, remembrance. And as we work towards our own freedom, and it's about the wish for all beings to be happy and free. And may your freedom be a symbol, and giving permission for others to do the same. And join your hands at your heart in prayer, and let's breathe in all together, in the sound of Om. (inhales deeply) Om.

Fly out for the next one. (inhales deeply) Om. Take it right into your third eye. (inhales deeply) Om. Bowing down to the light within one another, namaste.

See you next time.