Heart Awakening

(waves lapping on beach) Welcome back. In this episode, we're going to explore eka pada rajakapotasana, or one leg king pigeon pose. So, welcome. Let's get to it. Step to the front of your mat.

Find your tadasana. Bring your hands to your heart and just close your eyes for a moment. Let your face relax, let your eyebrows relax. Let's chant om, inhale. Om.

Now, gently open up the eyes. Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch back. As you arch back, straighten the legs. Exhale, bend your knees, fold forward, interlace your fingers behind the back, and just stretch the shoulders. Place your hands down, step your right foot back to a lunge, inhale, exhale, lower the right knee down.

Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch back, exhale, place your hands down, step back, downward-facing dog. Inhale, move forward, plank pose, exhale, lower your knees to the floor, the chest, and then the chin. Slide into cobra pose, inhale, exhale, child's pose. Let the forehead touch down. Tuck your toes under, stretch back, downward-facing dog.

Inhale, step your right foot forward between your hands, lunge. Exhale, left knee to the floor. Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch back. Exhale, place your hands down. Step your back foot forward, fold into your legs.

Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch back. (inhales deeply) Exhale, bend the knees, fold forward, interlace your fingers behind your back. Inhale, hands down, left foot back, lunge. Exhale, left knee to the ground. Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch.

Exhale, hands down. Step back, downward-facing dog. Inhale, plank pose. Exhale, knees, chest, chin. Inhale, cobra. (inhales deeply) Exhale, child's pose.

Tuck the toes under, downward-facing dog. Inhale, step your left foot forward. Exhale, lower the right knee down. Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch. Exhale, place your hands down.

Step your back foot forward, fold. Inhale, hook your thumbs, reach up, arch back. Exhale, arms alongside the body. Surya namaskara A, we'll do this two times. Arms up, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, fold. (exhales deeply) Inhale, look up.

Exhale, chaturanga. Inhale, up dog. Exhale, down dog. Breathe, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, one. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. Bend the knees, step or jump your feet forward.

Inhale, look up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, come all the way up. (inhales deeply) Exhale, arms alongside the body. Again, inhale, arms up. (inhales deeply) Exhale, fold down. Inhale, look up, chaturanga.

Up dog. Down dog. Three breaths, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, one. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. (exhales deeply) Bend the knees, step or jump your feet. Inhale, look up. Exhale, fold.

Inhale, come up. (inhales deeply) Exhale, arms alongside the body. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply) Good, utkatasana, bend the knees. Inhale, arms up. Exhale, hands down first, then straighten the legs. Let your head release.

Inhale, look up. Chaturanga, exhale, up dog. Down dog. Warrior one. Right foot forward, left heel grounds.

Inhale, reach up. Breathe here. (breathes deeply) Take about three breaths. (breathing deeply) Inhale, straighten your front leg. Exhale, open out the arms, hips, and shoulders. Now, bend the the front knee, warrior two.

Place your right hand on the outside of your right foot, or on to a block. The left arm up over the ear, gaze toward the center of the palm, breathe. Exhale, one. Inhale. Exhale, two, imagine spinning the chest open toward the ceiling.

Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. Inhale. Exhale, four. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, five. Good, pyramid pose.

Left hand down, straighten right leg as much as possible. Step your back foot in a little. Inhale, look up. Exhale, fold into your legs. And breathe, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, one. (exhales deeply) Inhale, we'll take three deep breaths.

Exhale, two. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. Inhale, look forward. Exhale, bend the front knee. You're gonna scooch your left foot back a little bit.

Lift your heel. Lower the left knee down. Flex the right foot, and let your head release, and breathe (inhales deeply) for one. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three, let's go for five breaths. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, four. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, five.

Inhale, look forward. Exhale, bend the front knee, lizard pose, right hand on the inside of your right foot. You can walk the right foot out toward the right side of your mat. Some of you might like to roll to the outside of the foot, or not, both work. Lift the back knee up as you take your forearms to the floor or your blocks, and breathe here. (inhales deeply) Breathe for one.

Inhale. Exhale, two. Inhale. Exhale, three. Now, lower your back knee down.

You might wanna let your head release and just move into this hip stretch, or if you wanna twist, that's an option too. Bending the left knee, reach back for your foot. Reach back for that left foot with your right hand, and then gaze up over the shoulder, breathing deeply, inhaling. Exhaling. Release your foot down, come back to the center.

Now, you're gonna find that lizard pose again. Forearms down, lift your back knee up, inhale. Exhale, shoot your right foot back, forearm plank, and see if you can hang out here for a moment. Try to release the tailbone, open through the chest, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply) One more big breath. Lift your hips up, walk your feet in a little bit.

Dolphin pose, ground down through your inner wrists. Let your head release. (breathing deeply) And then stretch your arms straight, downward-facing dog. You might need to crawl back on to your mat. Inhale, plank pose.

Exhale, chaturanga. Up dog. Down dog. Left foot forward, right heel grounds, warrior one. And then, again, we'll take about three breaths in the pose.

Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, one. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. Straighten your leg, open out for triangle. Separate the feet a little bit. Extend (audio skips) angle A. Place your left hand down, and then take the right arm up over the ear.

Breathe. You can go on the finger tops for this one. Two. Inhale. Exhale, three.

Inhale. Exhale, four. Inhale. Exhale, five. Place your right hand down.

Straighten left leg, step your right foot in. Pyramid pose, inhale, look up. Exhale, fold into your legs. Breathe for one. (breathes deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three.

Inhale, look forward. Exhale, bend the front knee. Scooch your right foot back. Lower your right knee down, runner's stretch. Straighten left leg, let your head release.

Maybe you could put your hands on blocks. Do whatever you need to do. Breathe for two. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, four. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, five. Inhale, look up, bend the front knee.

Let's come toward that lizard pose. So, forearms to the ground or your blocks. Remember, you can always keep your arms straight as well. Tuck your back toes under. Lift the knee up for a couple of breaths.

(breathing deeply) And then lower the knee down. You can let your head release, you can let that foot open out. You can move toward a twist. Right forearm down, left arm back behind you, reach for your right foot, and then gaze up over the shoulder, breathing deeply. You might wanna let yourself open out that left leg.

Gently release this down. So, right foot back, walk your hands back. Let's come to lizard again. So, forearms down, lift your knee up, inhale. Exhale, you're gonna shoot that left foot back.

Forearm plank. Inhale. Exhale. (exhales deeply) Okay, dolphin, lift your hips up. Push down into your inner wrists. Push down into the inner edges of your hands, and lift up.

Lift up through the arms, through the shoulders. Let your head go. (breathing deeply) Stretch your arms straight, downward-facing dog. Inhale, plank pose, just plank pose. Exhale, downward-facing dog.

Stretch right leg up toward the ceiling, inhale, and then exhale, right foot between your hands, lunge. Inhale, arms up alongside your ears. (inhales deeply) Inhale here in your high lunge. Now, as you exhale, you're gonna take the left knee forward and up. Without using your hands, draw the knee into the chest and press your hands back. Inhale, let the knee come down, palms face up.

Exhale, draw the knee forward. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply) Inhale, hover left knee above the floor. Exhale. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, and find a little momentum. Inhale. Now, let your knee come down and hover.

Draw your tailbone into the body. Lift the front rim of your pelvis up. (inhales deeply) Pray. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, release your left knee down, anjaneyasana. Now, this variation, you can use a belt. So, we'll take cow face arms.

Right arm is gonna go behind your back. You can hold the belt with your hand, and catch the belt, or you can catch your hands, so your fingers behind the back. Now, lean the weight of your head into your arms. Lift the heart up. So, as always, you wanna welcome the sense of freedom in the pose, but make sure that freedom comes with a consciousness and awareness of your hips, your lower back, and engagement of the belly.

Good, inhale, come up. Reach the arms up. Exhale, hands down. Tuck the back toes under, downward-facing dog. Inhale, reach your left leg up toward the ceiling.

Exhale, step your left foot forward to a lunge. Inhale, arms up alongside your ears. (inhales deeply) Exhale, you're gonna take the right knee forward, press your hands back. Inhale, bend the right knee, hover, Exhale, come up. Inhale, down. (inhales deeply) Exhale, up. (exhales deeply Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, press your hands back. Inhale, lift up. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply Inhale, now stay.

Breathe for one. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two, lifting the lower belly, tailbone long. Three, melt your back knee down, arms up. Now, you may wanna grab your belt. You can take the belt and use it just like you did on the other side.

So, reaching the arm up, putting the belt in your hand, and reaching back, or catching hold of your fingertips. (inhales deeply) Breathe here. (breathing deeply) Inhale, arms up. (inhales deeply) Exhale, hands down. Tuck your toes under, downward-facing dog. You can move the belt over to the side.

Plank. Exhale, all the way down to the floor, and lift up cobra. You can go low cobra, you can lift up a little higher. Do what you need to do. Maybe lift the palms up.

And release your head down. Bend your knees, reach back for the tops of your feet, exhale. Inhale, lift up, bow pose. (inhales deeply) Breathe for one. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three.

Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, four. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, five, release. Place your hands by your low ribs. Up dog, inhale. (inhales deeply) Down dog, exhale. Inhale, plank. (inhales deeply) Back to your belly.

Bow pose again. This time, we'll take a little variation. So, forehead down. Bend your knees, reach back for your feet or your ankles. Inhale, you're gonna lift up. (inhales deeply) Exhale, rock over to the right side.

Ooh, parsvottanarasan. Gaze up, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, one. Inhale, make it a very taught bow. Exhale, two. You can lift the head up.

Exhale, three. Now, inhale to the center. Exhale to the other side. Inhale, up. Exhale. (exhales deeply) Breathe, inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, one. (exhales deeply) Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two.

Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, three. Inhale to the center and lift up. (inhales deeply) Exhale, release. Collapse. (laughs) Inhale, come upward-facing dog. (inhales deeply) Exhale, downward-facing dog. Okay, pigeon pose, right leg up, inhale, and then right knee forward. So, as always, with our pigeon pose, you can sit up on a blanket here.

I don't want you to let your torso come forward. So, we're in back-bending mode. We're opening up the front of the body, the back. So, you don't wanna go forward here. Keep your chest open, keep breathing.

We're gonna move toward a back bend variation of pigeon, one-leg king pigeon pose. So, you can use your belt here. Take your belt, make a little loop with it, and then, stick it around your foot. Okay? You're gonna hold on to the belt, as close to the buckle as you can, and then you're gonna draw that left elbow down, forward, and up.

Let as much belt as you need slip through your hands. Reach the other arm up. Hold on to the belt and breathe. It's okay if you have a big distance of belt. Draw the elbows in a little bit.

Stay open through the heart. Some of you may have the flexibility to do the pose without the belt, so you'll take your hand out like you're holding a tray, take your thumb right to the pinky toe mound, so just below the pinky toe, same action with the elbow. Down, forward, and up. Hips are squared forward, maybe the other arm reaches up. Hold your foot, maybe your head goes back.

Release. Downward-facing dog. You can vinyasa, or move right over to the other side. So, inhale, left leg up. Exhale, left leg forward.

Make sure your belt is within reach. If it's hard to reach back and put the belt on your foot, let's go back down dog for a second, you can just come down. Maybe that's a little nicer. Come down on to all fours. Stick your belt on, tighten it up.

Yeah, like that. Okay. Left leg forward, then reach back, your preset belt. Go as close to the buckle as you can. Swing the elbow forward and up.

Your hand can stay here for stability, or reach back for the belt, open through the heart. (breathing deeply) Beautiful, and let that release. Take your belt off your foot, downward-facing dog. Knees down, cat-cow stretches. Inhale, arch. (inhales deeply) Exhale, round. (exhales deeply) Inhale, arch. (inhales deeply) Exhale, round.

Inhale, arch. (inhales deeply) Exhale, round. Find a neutral spine, cross right ankle over the left. Take your seat behind your feet, and come to lie down on your back. Half wheel on to your back, arms alongside your body. If you want to, you can take your belt, since you've got it here, and make a loop with your belt that's about hip width, and bring the belt mid-thigh.

This will keep you from splaying your knees way out to the side and crunching your lower back. So, a good back bend is a long back bend, meaning not that you hold it for a long time, but that you have length in your spine. So, getting this inner rotation of your thigh will help you find that. Arms alongside the body, and then lift your hips up, interlace the fingers underneath you, wiggle from shoulder blade to shoulder blade, and breathe for one. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale, two.

Inhale, you might wanna close your eyes, that's nice. Three. Four. Five, release all the way down. Inhale. (inhales deeply) Exhale. (exhales deeply) You might wanna stay right here, you might wanna come up half wheel again, or if you've got one more in you, full wheel.

Leave the belt on. Exhale, and then inhale, lift up. One, two, three, four, five. Chin to the chest, release down. (sighs happily) We can take off the belt.

Just bend the knees. You're not gonna draw the legs all the way up into the chest right now. You'll just grab hold of your knees with your hands, and let the weight of your legs drop into your hands. So, you're just, kind of, holding the spine in its natural shape. You're not pressing the lower back down.

Let the spine just start to release itself. Now, we'll twist. So, we'll drop the knees to the left, so we can twist to the right. So, scooch your butt over. You can cross your top leg over your bottom leg.

Open out, let the shoulders melt down. Okay, come up, and we'll scooch hips over to the other side, cross the leg. And come up to the center. Hug your knees into your chest. Very gently, rock up.

Fold forward, paschimottanasana. Let your head release. (breathing deeply) And then inhale, up. Exhale, all the way down. (sighs) Shavasana.

You can let your head go from side to side a little bit. You can rock on your heels, get all your wiggles out, and then, let yourself release. Let go. And deepen your breath. Reach your arms up and lengthen.

(breathes deeply) And roll over on to your right side. Very gently, make your way up to a seated position, closing your eyes. We'll end our practice with a prayer for peace. (speaking in foreign language) Which means may all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, the words, the actions of my own life contribute to that happiness, to that freedom for all. (singing in foreign language) Here, you do it, even if you're at home.

See how it goes. (singing in foreign language) Your turn. (singing in foreign language) Om. And bow forward, sealing your practice.