Detoxify the Body

(waves crashing) Welcome back, hi everyone. Today we're gonna do my favorite go to detox practice. Clearing out the organs and cleansing the blood. We're also gonna be throwing in some ball work at the end of the practice, so if you have a couple balls around that you can grab, tennis balls, racquet balls. Yoga balls, yeah, okay?

We're gonna start standing with a shaking practice and this is actually a practice that comes from chi-gong, and I learned it from monks in the hills of Thailand, so you can imagine the monks in their red robes all doing this with us. And we're gonna do this practice for about two minutes and if you haven't done it before, it can feel a little funny but go ahead and feel funny and do it 'cause it feels awesome. It's like a shot of espresso. All right, ready? So we're just gonna start shaking your whole body.

Shaking, shaking, shaking getting everything jingling. And then you can add a little heel bump, and feel free to add some sound. We want to keep our breath moving so we're doing nice big nasal inhales. (breathing loudly) And you can exhale and sigh it out. (grunting) Inhaling, and exhaling (grunting).

Good, inhaling. (grunting) The more we can get out of our own way with this practice, the more fun it is. Just letting go of control. Work out the hands and the wrists. Make sure you get the shoulders, you can let the head drop a little bit.

And then we're gonna put a little bit more speed behind the actions, so it's a faster tremor. Keep that breath nice and strong. (breathing loudly) And if you pulse the arms forward, it'll help move the back muscles. (breathing loudly) Move those shoulders again, we're gonna slow down that pulse, that fast pulse and go back to our bumping. (breathing loudly) And we're gonna finish it out with a little salsa shake.

So it's more double time. (breathing loudly) You can just let the arms move around, as you shake out the legs. And the bum and the lower back. (breathing loudly) All right, slowing it down. Shake out your legs.

Shake off your hands, and come to the top of your mat with me. (breathing loudly) Exhaling, the hands to the heart. And together beginning our sequence inhaling the arms out and up. Exhaling out and down, swing and a (mumbles) A, inhaling halfway. Exhaling Chaturanga Dandasana.

Inhaling nice and strong. Exhaling downward facing dog. Right into our lunge, right foot forward. Inhaling the arms up. Exhaling we're gonna step right back into downward facing dog.

Inhaling the left leg. As we bring the arms up for lunging, settle into it, take a nice big inhale. And then exhaling right through to Chaturanga Dandasana as we exhale. Inhaling for cobra or upward facing dog. (breathing loudly) And exhaling for downward facing dog.

Two full breaths here together releasing your head, letting it hang, bottom of your exhalation. Feet to your hands. Inhaling. Exhaling soft and fold, let the whole body hang, and inhaling, flying up to the sky. Exhaling hands to the heart.

And together inhaling the arms up. Exhaling out and down, finding that hinge. Inhaling halfway, and exhaling the left foot steps back into twisting, inhaling the right arm up. Exhaling playing with that high split variation of pulling back, toes towards the nose. Inhaling, finding that extension, dipping down low into the hips.

Inhaling, pulling back. And exhale sinking low. One more full breath here. And then we're gonna come to standing, one full inhale. And exhaling, Chaturanga Dandasana.

Inhaling for cobra, or upward dog. Exhaling for downward facing dog. Inhaling the left foot forward, moving right into our rotation, left arm to the sky. And then adding on our high split variation. We'll inhale, lift the hips back, toes towards the nose.

And exhale. Inhaling. Keep pulling back for that hamstring stretch, alternating between the lunge, twist. And the high split variation. As we exhale, we're gonna inhale our arms up.

High lunge, squeezing through the hips and thighs. And then exhaling for Chaturanga Dandasana. Inhaling for cobra, or up dog. Exhaling for downward facing dog. Two full breaths here.

Bottom of the exhalation, we're gonna step the right foot forward, we're moving into a prep for bird of paradise, as we exhale we're gonna bring the right foot around, and hang forward for two breaths here. We're gonna rotate our right foot back forward, spinning on your heels, sweep your right hand underneath, your right arm underneath your right leg and reach your left arm up and around. Let your hips drop, take a big breath here. Practice opening up that hamstring as you dip the hips down. And then we're gonna return that right foot.

You're gonna cruise the left foot heel toeing it, heel toeing it, and heel toeing it, until it's right up underneath your left hip. You're gonna shift your weight over to your left foot, press into your left heel, and together we're gonna inhale to standing. You can practice extending through your right heel as you inhale. And then we're gonna exhale, let that knee bend and use our abdominals, lifting up to come back slowly to the ground. We're gonna open it up, so we've still got our bind.

We're gonne cruise that left leg out out out again. Heel toe, heel toe, heel toe. Turn our right foot forward, open up our trunk. And then exhale, releasing our hands for Chaturanga Dandasana. Inhaling for cobra or upward dog.

Exhaling for downward facing dog. Inhaling, we're gonna take that left foot up between the hands, preparing for our bird of paradise on the other side, so walking around and let your body hang and relax, two full breaths. We're gonna work into a side angle here. So you're turning that left foot forward. Sweeping that left arm under the bend of your left leg.

Reaching that right arm over, clasping. And then we're gonna start to make our move pulling the feet toward one another, so the left foot turns back forward. And we move that right foot in, heel toe, heel toe. All the way up underneath the right hip. Shift the weight over, and here we go, inhaling.

Keeping your breath long and full as you squeeze the both thighs strong. One more full breath here together. And then exhale, remember drawing up through the naval to lower, nice and slow, gently back to the ground. I'm gonna turn that left foot forward, and start to work the right foot heel toe, heel toe until you're all the way back. Take a moment to open the chest.

And then exhale, unwind the arms for Chaturanga Dandasana. Inhaling for cobra, or upward facing dog. And exhaling for downward facing dog. Breathing deeply, two full breaths here. (breathing loudly) Inhaling stepping the right foot forward for a foot grab.

Lowering onto that left knee. We're gonna drop the left hand down and sweep that right hand back, giving a good stretch to the front of that left thigh. And getting us ready for our dancer exploration. Exhaling, release. So feel free to move through your vinyasa here, or you could take plank to downward facing dog for a couple extra breaths.

(breathing loudly) And then we'll inhale, the left foot all the way up. Dropping the right knee down to the floor for the foot grab. Lifting and opening the chest. Knowing that you're creating lots of movement. Lots of clearing.

Letting everything that needs to go, go. Releasing, moving through our vinyasa. As you exhale, Chaturanga Dandasana. Inhaling for cobra or upward facing dog. Exhaling for downward facing dog.

And we're gonna step our right foot forward, lunging, in preparation for our dancer. So we'll get nice and rooted into our lunge. (breathing loudly) And then we're gonna come up to standing, pulling our left knee to our chest. Press through your left right heel. Right heel, inhaling, left knee to the chest.

Exhaling, reach for the left foot. And then we're gonna let go of the left leg and sweep it back, we're gonna take that foot grab, just like we've been working on, right? But now we're standing as we extend the right arm. Use your left leg, kicking into your left hand. Two more breaths.

And then exhale as you let go releasing folding forwarding into standing splits. Do your best here to rotate that left leg. So the knee is facing the floor. And then we're gonna play with a little handstand kick up, so we wanna get our hands nice and set on our mat for this. And you'll create a tripod between the hands and foot and just give a little lift to that lifted left leg, and as the right foot comes off the floor, you can practice kicking it into the right bum.

Lift the gaze. Look out to your next tripod point behind your hands. Inhaling. One more time together. And then exhaling, moving through vinyasa.

Lowering down for Chaturanga. Inhaling for cobra or upward facing dog. Exhaling for downward facing dog. Moving toward dancer on the other side, we're gonna step our left foot forward for high lunging. Inhaling.

Pressing through that left heel we're gonna come up pulling right knee forward. Exhaling, start to reach for that right foot. Open it up. Get that good stretch, lengthen the body nice and tall. And then exhale, release.

Passing it back, sweep the left arm forward as you reach the right hand back to the right foot. As the hand meets the foot, start to kick the foot into the hand, breathing deeply, up your spine. (breathing loudly) One more full breath and exhale and release for standing splits, letting your body, head fully hang. Practice getting that good rotation on that right thigh. And then we're gonna set up for once again, the handstand practice, so this might be the side where it's not quite so easy to kick, but just do your best.

It's always great to work both sides. Keep the head lifted, looking forward. Inhale as that right leg kicks up then the left heel comes into the bum. Inhaling together. One more time.

And then exhaling, moving back through Chaturanga. Inhaling for cobra. Exhaling for downward facing dog. So if handstands new getting off of the floor, feels a little freaky, frog legs, kicking up into frog legs really helps that momentum of moving away from the floor, more into an inverted pose, so we just play, and we're gonna just like in Baddha Konasana put the soles of the feel together. So it's one, slap.

Two, slap. And three, slap. Fun, right? Inhaling, bringing that right leg forward for pigeon as we exhale, softening into it. Lengthening and deepening your breath.

(breathing loudly) And then we're gonna play with splits, so we're gonna move that right leg back, once again into our three legged dog, inhaling, sweeping it up. And exhaling, sliding it forward. And you just practice. You can practice moving from that high split position or you could immediately drop the left knee down to the ground. (breathing loudly) You might try bowing forward sometimes that feels good.

So we'll slowly come out of our splits, inhaling, placing the hands under the shoulders. Working your way out of it and coming back into downward facing dog, just peddle push out the legs for a few breaths here. Let your head go. And then we're gonna inhale, sweep our left leg up into the sky, bringing it forward for our pigeon, exhaling. Sliding back, working your hips toward the ground and then softening down.

Easy breathe, imagine every single cell of your body opening to receive your breath. Those deep, conscious breaths, helping the arteries to move the blood from the heart out through the body. And so our healthy veins can return them back to the heart. I'm gonna come up, and one more time into our three legged dog. We're gonna play with our splits, so just working on pulling it forward from that high split variation.

Remember, you could also lower the knee. Just go as far as it feels good to you. Where you're getting a great big stretch here. And if you find that the breath is getting thready or stuck, just back it up and lift the hips up a little bit. Sometimes one side is a little tighter than the other.

Just honoring where each side is at. One more full breath here. And then we're gonna drop back. And we're just gonna press it out into our downward facing dog. And then together we're gonna move through our vinyasa, so set yourself up for a strong, successful vinyasa from plank, exhaling, Chaturanga Dandasana.

Inhaling for cobra. And exhaling for downward facing dog. From here, we're just gonna drop into a mini pigeon, so it's close to the body, you're bringing that right leg down, and you're gonna lay the left leg so that the foot is turning back and we're gonna bring it in, in preparation for Parighasana. So we're getting ready for the cross beam of the gate. We're gonna stretch that right leg forward.

And you're creating a long line bringing your right side down as close as it's comfortable to your right leg, as the left arm comes up and over. You can play with reaching for the foot. It's not important to grab the foot. But if it feels good to do so, go ahead and let it happen. And then we're gonna take the right arm and start to pull it forward as well, and see about it coming to the inside of the foot.

But again, if it's more comfortable out here, be sensitive to the rotation of your shoulder. Make sure it feels good. Make sure that your breath can be regular and full. So when we're leaning into the right side, we're working the liver. And getting that good squeeze and flesh action of the liver.

One more full breath. And then we're gonna inhale ourselves back up to seated. And we're gonna swing that left leg forward. And draw the right leg back for Parighasana on the other side. And so as you draw the right foot back, reaching out through the left leg, as best you can you want to elongate it straight out in front of you, and then you're stretching that left arm down, getting the good reach.

Getting close to the left leg, as the right arm sweeps up and over. As we come into the left side, we're working the spleen action. Spleen and stomach. Just letting your breath take you on a tour. And traveling through, the inner landscape of your body.

Inhaling together, that right arm sweeps us back up to seated. And exhaling, we'll stretch that right leg out. And we're gonna set up for Urdhva Dhanurasana, upward facing bow. Let's do an abdominal strengthener, so we'll set our feet, reach our arms forward and give the belly a good squeeze to lower back. One vertebrae at a time, keep drawing the naval in.

Keep drawing the naval in, nice and slow. And then setting the feet nice and wide. Giving yourself a broad base. And then setting the hands, right up underneath the shoulders. Let the back arch and then we'll inhale ourselves up.

And breathe here together for several breaths. Feel free to do bridge pose if that's a more comfortable position for you. Together inhaling. Keeping the heels nice and strong, driving them into the floor. Using the legs, squeezing the inner thighs and knees together as you breathe here.

And exhaling, returning to the floor. Tuck the chin as you come down. And we're gonna come up to seated for seated forward fold Paschimottanasana, inhaling. And stretching out the legs. Getting the sit bones well placed into the mat.

And then getting ready for your reach, so when you go for the reach, get that nice deep hinge in the hips, so the spine can be nice and long. And then just go ahead and relax the head. Softening the shoulders. And squeezing the thighs in towards one another. And as you exhale drawing up from the floor of the pelvis, squeezing up through the muscle of the perineum.

Inhaling together, we'll come back up to seated. And we're gonna set ourselves up for plow. So we'll be returning onto our backs. Just giving ourselves a good stretch. If you'd rather do happy baby, feel free.

Using your exhalation to take your legs back. You can leave your arms out by your sides, or you could interlace your hands. One more full breath together. And exhaling we'll release our arms as we come down. You can let the knees bend slowly making your way.

Dropping the feet down to the floor. And dropping your knees over to the right. And then over to the left, just windshield wiping the knees right and left. Inhaling, coming back to center. Letting your legs stretch out.

Reaching your arms overhead and we're gonna come into our ball work now. So you can reach and grab your set. And so we're gonna start with two balls underneath our sacrum, right where our sacrum meets our spine, so right here you're gonna set the balls. Rolling over them, you'll lift up, pushing into your heels for a baby bridge to get 'em set, and then you're gonna hang the tailbone down toward the floor, opening up your chest. Go ahead and reach your arms over your head.

And breathing in and then we're just gonna do a little rock and roll massaging the top of the sacrum. Right there where L5 beings to meet S1. So, L5 is the number five of our lumbar spine, and S1 is number one of our sacral region. Sacral coccyx region. We're just massaging it out here, and then you're gonna keep the balls in the same line, but you're gonna just move 'em apart an inch.

So then they're right out there on the sacroiliac joint. And you're gonna drop the tailbone again. Get settled, you can open up the arms if that felt good, and begin to move again, rolling across the balls. You can also just hold the position a little more pressure. And give the hips a swivel so think like creating a figure eight, or the infinity symbol from the headlight of your hip bones.

Swishing from side to side, rolling it out. And then the balls are gonna start to work themselves apart, and you're gonna find yourself out toward the glutes and we're gonna pause here. And we're gonna cross the right ankle, up onto the left thigh and we're gonna lean over more into the right glute, so the ball is right up in the glute here. Piriformis gluteus minimus, and you're leaning over. And if this is a new practice for you, sometimes this can feel intense especially if you're working with a tennis ball and not a rubber ball.

But it gets better after time, I promise. Nice big breaths, just letting the muscles relax and do your best to just notice if you're tensing in the legs, see if you can relax leg muscles, belly muscles. And then you can give it a little swish, rolling across, and sometimes those muscles can feel a little cored or cable-like, don't be surprised, it's very common. Sometimes you might even want to let out a little yow. Ow.

Anything that helps you breathe and relax more. And then we're gonna switch it up. So you can just leave the right ball that's underneath the right hip, just leave it there. Change the cross of your leg, bring the left leg up. And then you're gonna set the left ball in that same region on the other side.

So right into the gluteus minimus piriformis where we just were on the right side. Now on the left side, and you're leaning into it. And then we'll start to swish back and forth. Rolling across there. And there's really no wrong way to do this.

You can be exploring all over this area, the glutes. Inhaling, coming back to center. We're gonna move the balls now into the lumbar region of the spine, so little higher than where we had them before, you're gonna set 'em right together. Either side of the spine. So now they're in the lower back.

And you're gonna tuck your chin to your elbows. And slide your body across, so we're working the QL, the quadratus lumborum, the four muscles, quad, four. That make up the lumbar spine. Good, then we're gonna slide right up to the bottom of the ribs, you're gonna set the balls back together. Sometimes they move apart, so put 'em right back together on either side of the spine there.

Until you feel, you want 'em in the spot where you feel you can hold yourself up. So for some of us, it's gonna be a little higher up the spine, you see where it's best for you, and we're gonna start sliding, up the middle of the back. And then one last spot, all the way up the spine. Just place the balls on either side of the spine, right up at the top of where we just finished. Let your head rest into your hands.

Start to drop your head back a little bit lower, raise your hips up, and moving across. The trapezius and rhomboid region of the back muscles. Sometimes those little hairs from your head start to get stuck under there, so you just wanna pull 'em up out of the way. And there's whole lots more that can be done with the balls, so feel free to explore around. So now we're gonna transition into Savasana.

Letting your whole body stretch out for final resting pose. Just letting all the muscles relax from the bones. Letting go. Breath by breath. Just let yourself stay here a little bit longer.

I'm gonna come up to seated. Just seeing you out of savasana. (singing in foreign language) (metal gently clanging) Beginning to move your body. And stretching it out. Gradually making your way to seated.

Just take a moment to sit tall. All clean and cleared out. All the majesty you witness on this earth, you are this majesty. You were made up of the earth, and the sky, and the water, and the air and the ether. As we move into our day, may we all be happy and free.

It's an honor to work with you. Namaste.