Hippy and Happy

(waves sploshing) Hi there and welcome back. This practice is designed to tap you into your creative potential and tune you into your ability to flow. This is a creative, wild and fun ride. I recommend that you do have a block for some closing postures at the end of class. So let's go ahead and start on our hands and our knees, bringing the wrists under the shoulders and the knees under the hips.

Then we're gonna recall some of the explorations we've done in our first practice, so as we lift the heart move the back ribs into the heart. And as we round the spine you feel the front ribs draw towards the buttock bones, it's the anchor. Let's do that a few more times, connecting with the breath, breathing in, opening the heart. And breathing out rounding your spine. Breath in one more time, lift the heart.

And breathe out round the spine. Let's take a child's pose, walk the hands out in front of you. Draw the front ribs towards the buttock bones and walk the hands a little bit more. Spread through your fingers but not too much. Keep some relaxed feeling in the hands right, so they're not gripping too hard.

Back ribs forward to look between the thumbs, big breath in, tuck your toes under, lift the hips, aim the buttock bones towards the ceiling, bent knee down dog, big breath out. Draw the front ribs in, move the back ribs forward. Take plank, breathing in. Bend the knees go back, it's very circular. And that's what we're gonna tap into some sort of circular patterns of movement.

Bend the knees go back one last time. Plank pose, breathing in. And this time we're gonna roll over the tops of the feet and bring the knees to the ground right underneath the hips. Go ahead and bring you left knee to meet your right knee so both knees are behind your right wrist. Extend your right leg back behind you.

Lift from the inner thigh. Turn the toes in and out. Good breathing in turning the toes in, breathing out turning them out. One more time, turn them in and turn them out. And then turn the toes in and swing the leg to the side so the foot is on the same plane as your left knee.

Then we're gonna stand up for a modified gate pose, standing on the left shin. Go ahead and turn your right heel in, bringing that foot a little closer to your hip so your ankle is right underneath your knee. And then bend your right elbow letting the right elbow land on the inner thigh, stretching your left arm up. You almost feel like you're pushing that right thigh a little bit out of the way as you lift your left arm up. And take the gaze towards the left hand, too.

Breathe in, breathe out. See if you can get a little more of a stretch in the front of your left hip. Excellent. Take your hands back to the ground, planting them under the shoulders. Lengthen the leg turning the toes forward.

Swing the leg back and then this time you're gonna bring your right knee behind your left, so your legs are cross leg golmukhasana. Tent the fingers, guide the hips back. Your left knee might lift a little bit there. And guide the heart forward, breathe in. So it's kind of like little undulations like cat cow.

Exhale moving back. Inhale lifting. Exhale moving back. And inhale lifting. Good, one more time, exhale moving back and inhale lifting.

Bring the palms to the ground. Tuck the toes, keep the crossing of the thighs. We're gonna keep the legs crossed for down dog, lifting the buttock bones up. You're gonna bring your left thumb next to your right thumb and you're gonna turn towards your right bringing the soles of the feet to the ground, lifting the right arm up for a three legged table top, letting the hips lift up, too. Then we're gonna go ahead and bring the right thumb next to the left, cross the right leg over the left and then turn the other way towards your left hand, lifting your left arm up, letting the hips lift, too.

This time bring the left hand shoulder width apart from the right and then lift the hips up keeping that right leg on top, so the feet are on the opposite sides of the mat. From here, slide that right knee behind the right wrist for a super early pigeon. You might move that left leg a little to the left. And then kind of draw just little circles here. Notice I have the back knee off the ground so that my back leg is really working and supporting this early hip opener.

Maybe take the turns to the other side. And feel that lift in the back inner thigh. And press the hands to the ground, lift the heart and go ahead and reach back through that left heel a little bit more. And then let's lift the right leg up and step the right foot outside of the right hand. Take the right arm up for a nice easy twist.

You're really easing into the shape. And then take your right arm over your head. Right hand to the ground, lift the heart on your breath in. Step your left foot outside of your left hand. And we're gonna keep the hips high for high hip squat.

Let the butt bones lift, let the back ribs move into the heart even as you sit back, draw the front ribs towards the sitting bone. And you do feel like the rib cage is resting on the thighs a little bit, that's fine. Just keep drawing the front ribs towards the buttock bones here. From here take your hands to your hamstrings. Lift the hamstrings up as the buttock bones lift, moving into your forward fold.

Release your neck and any tensions there. Breathe in (breathes in), breathe out. (breath rushes) Take your hands to the ground. Lift the heels, breath in, lengthen the arms, lift the chest, back ribs forward. And then front ribs into the buttock bones to hope the feet together nice and easily. Roll up to stand, lift the arms up as you breath in.

Hands to heart on your breath out. And then hook the thumbs, soft bend in the knees, inhale. The arms lift, lengthen the legs at the top of the inhale. Bend the knees, find the fold. Let your head drop and your hips lift.

Let's go ahead and step the right leg back on the breath in, heart forward. Down dog as you breathe out. Plank pose on the breath in. Bend the knees, lift the hips. Bent knee down dog breathing out.

Plank on the breath in. Bend your knees, lift your hips breathing out. One more time, plank breathing in. This time we'll roll over the tops of the feet bringing the knees under the hips. Bring your right shin next to your left shin so the knees are more or less behind your left wrist.

Extend the left leg back, lift the inner thigh. Inhale, turn the toes in. Exhale, turn them out. Inhale turn them in, try to keep your core engaged. Exhale turn them out.

Inhale one more time in. Exhale out and then we turn in to swing the leg to the side. You got that nice internal rotation. Bring the left heel in line with the right knee, same plane. Lift the arms up breathing in, lifting out of the hips.

And then turn that left heel in. Slide the shin back so the ankle's under the knee. Bring the elbow to the inner thigh letting the fingers reach towards the right hand, the fingers of the left hand. And find a nice easy twist here from left to right in the ribcage as you press that left inner thigh towards the outer thigh. See if you can get a little longer in the front of the right hip, so take that bend out of the hip there and stretch the right arm up breathing in.

Gorgeous, good. Take the hands back to the ground, planting them under the shoulders. Turn the side back in as you lift the leg up and then swing the leg back tucking the left knee behind the right, letting both shins turn out. Tense your fingers. Guide the hips back towards the heels.

Let that right knee lift up a little bit. Guide the heart forward. Guide the hips back towards the heels. Maybe you need a little more length in the arms. Guide the heart forward.

Good, do that again, hips back. Guide the heart forward and then tuck your toes under. Keep the crossing of the legs and lift the hips so you've got this sort of golmukhasana legs in your downward facing dog. Keep lifting the buttock bones high. And then we'll take the right thumb next to the left.

Turn towards your left hand for three legged table top, sending that left arm up, sending the butt bones towards the backs of the knees. Take your left thumb to your right. Cross that left leg over, keep the hips high. Lift the right arm up, three legged table top. Good, turning towards the right.

And then go ahead take the right hand to the ground shoulder width apart from the left. Lift the hips keeping that left leg in front and then slide your left knee behind your left wrist for an early pigeon. You'll probably take that right foot a little bit to the right there. And then draw those circles, just easing into the shape. Really keep your back foot anchored and feel that the hips are moving together there.

And then switch the direction of the circle breathing in, breathing out. Let the heart lift, plant the hands to the ground. Tuck the right toes under and lift the knee and step your left foot outside of your left hand. Take your left arm forward and up for a nice easy twist, letting that left hip release, letting that right heel reach back. And take your left arm forward and down, lift the heart.

Step the right foot to the right side of the mat. Take another high hip squat so let the butt bones be the apex of the shape. Bend the knees to bring the hips back a little more. This time we're gonna take the arms on the insides of the legs and press the arms into the legs and keep moving the back ribs forward here as the hips reach back. See if the weight can shift a little bit into your heels.

Breathe in and the inner part of your heels will help you access your inner thighs. Go ahead and release into your forward fold. Lift the heart, lift the heels, breathe in. Back ribs into the heart, so heart aims towards the floor. And then front ribs towards the buttock bone to hop the feet together.

Roll up to stand breathing in. Hands to your heart breathing out. Hook the thumbs, switch the thumb on top, put a soft bend in the knees. Breathe in, lift the arms, let the legs lengthen, back ribs lift. Bend the knees to find that fold.

Let your head release. Step your left leg back on your breath in, look forward. Downward facing dog as you breath out. Plank pose on the breath in. This time lower all the way to the ground breathing out.

Cobra on your breath in. Let the cobra lift you a little higher if you can. You can even lengthen the arms. Tuck your toes, soft knees, downward facing dog. Let's go ahead lift the heels, bend the knees, look forward.

Step and float your feet to meet your hands. Lift the gaze, breath in and let your head drop breath out. Inhale hook the thumbs come all the way up to stand and exhale hands to your heart. Hook your thumbs, reach your arms forward and up. We're gonna build some heat with some surya namaskara.

Bend the knees, interlock your fingers behind your back, rest the belly on the thighs. Lift the hips and let the head go exhale. Finger tips to the ground, right leg back breathing in. Downward facing dog breathing out. Plank pose breathing in, chaduranga on your breath out.

Upward dog breathing in and downward dog breathing out. Lift the right leg high on the breath in. We're gonna step the foot outside of the right hand, breath out. Inhale, left foot outside of the left hand, high hip squat, exhale hands to the ground, hop the feet together. Inhale hook the thumbs, lift the arms up.

Exhale fold forward, interlace the fingers lifting the hips, dropping the head. Fingertips to the ground, bend the knees. Left leg back on the breath in. Downward facing dog breathing out. Plank pose breathing in.

Chaduranga breathing out. Up dog breathing in downward facing dog breathing out. Left leg high breathing in. Step the left foot forward, exhale. Right foot to the outside of the right hand, breathe in, heart lifts.

Exhale fold forward, hop your feet together. Inhale arms up. Exhale interlace your fingers behind your back. Inhale right leg back, fingers to the ground. Exhale downward facing dog, inhale plank.

Exhale chaduranga. Inhale up dog, exhale downward dog. Inhale right leg up high. Exhale right foot outside of the right hand, heart forward. Inhale left foot outside of the left hand, heart forward.

Exhale hands to the ground. Hop the feet together, forward fold. Hook the thumbs, come on up breathe in. Interlace the fingers, fold forward breathing out. Hands to the ground, left leg back inhale.

Downward facing dog exhale. Plank pose breathing in. Chaduranga breathing out. Up dog breathing in, down dog breathing out. Left left high, breathe in.

Left foot outside of the left hand exhale. Right foot outside of the right hand, breathe in. Hands to the ground, float your feet together breathing out. Hook your thumbs come all the way up, breathe in. Interlace the fingers, bend the knees, fold forward, breathe out.

This time keep the interlaced hands, bend the knees, look in front of you. Pick up your right foot. Move the back ribs forward as you float that right leg back. Take your hands to the ground right into chaduranga on your exhale. Up dog on your breath in.

Downward facing dog breathing out. Let's stay and breathe. (breath rushes) All the way in, all the way out. Spread the toes, press into the pads of the knuckles and the pads of the fingers, feeling the inner wrists lift. Lift the buttock bones.

Draw the front ribs towards the buttock bones. Lift the heels, breathe in, take your gaze forward. Bend the knees. Float the feet between your thumbs as you breathe out. Hook your thumbs, come all the way up breathing in.

Fold forward, interlace your fingers behind your back breathing out. Bend the knees, look forward, pick up your left foot. Float it back moving your back ribs forward. Float the left foot to the ground, hands to the ground. Exhale chaduranga, inhale upward dog.

And exhale downward facing dog, stay and breathe. All the way in (breath rushes), all the way out. Maybe letting out a sigh. We're feeling the flow of the breath, taking a moment in stillness. Stillness so you can really feel that flow.

Feel the breath move, watch it move. (breath rushing) One more breath in here. One more breath out here. And lift the heels, look forward breathe in. Bend the knees, step and float your feet to meet your hands.

Let the heart lift. Exhale let your head drop. Inhale chair pose. Sit your hips back and take your arms up. Sit a little bit deeper into the shape letting the front ribs drop towards the buttock bones, let the back ribs lift.

And then let's go ahead fold over our legs, exhale uttanasana, inhale heart lifts, heart to the ground. Press into the palms, step and float chaduranga. Upward dog on your breath in. Downward facing dog as you breathe out. Good, feel the heat, right leg high breathing in.

Step the foot between the thumbs breathing out. Left heel down 45 degrees. Arms lift for warrior one. Feel the lift of the back ribs as the right knee moves forward, the left inner thigh draws back. We're gonna straighten the right leg and drop the right arm.

Don't side bend too much I want you to feel that right armpit lift as your left armpit lifts. Good, and then let your fingers move in opposite directions. Lift your right foot pressing into the heel, flexing the foot and open up into warrior two, windmilling the arms. Maybe lengthen the stance, maybe bring that right heel in line with the left arch and let that right thigh release. Take your right palm, flip it peaceful warrior breathe in.

Bend that right knee a little more as you lift your left arm up. Take your hands to the ground. Vinyasa plank, chaduranga, upward dog and downward dog. Now that's always optional, you can hang out in plank or down dog in between the sides of our sequence. Let's lift the leg leg inhale.

Step the left foot forward, right heel down 45 degrees. Arms lift on your breath in. Good, feel that left knee move forward, feel that left waist drop back, lift from the heart. Use your right leg and then straighten the left leg. Let the left arm drop, but feel the left armpit lift as the shoulder rests on the armpit.

Flex the left foot get nice and long and then open up into warrior two, changing your stance, making it a little longer, making it a little narrower. Flip your left palm. Reach into peaceful warrior, breathe in finding a side bend, still keep that lift in the right armpit. Take your hands to the ground, breathe in. Plank, exhale chaduranga, upward dog breathe in and downward dog breathing out.

So we're gonna build on that one, have some fun. Stay with your breath, explore the movement and explore your relationship with the moment. Right leg high, inhale. Right foot forward, exhale. Warrior one, breathe in.

Straight right leg, drop the right arm. Flex the foot, breathe out. Inhale here, exhale warrior two, good. Go ahead and take a peaceful warrior on your breath in. We're gonna straighten our right leg, take our time in triangle pose.

Feel the arms move in opposite directions there, get super long, let that right hip move back. And then let your right hand either find the ground or your shin, you can even use your block and then let your left arm lift. But breathe. Lift the left pelvic bone, shift the weight into the ball of the left foot, open up the chest. And feel the hips open up a little bit, too.

Breathe into the pelvis, breathe out. Draw the navel back and the front ribs towards the buttock bones. Good, go ahead bend the right knee, warrior two. And then we're gonna take a three legged dog here and draw the right knee to the nose. Cross the right ankle on top of the left thigh lifting the hips.

And then from here shift that left shoulder over the left wrist for side plank. So you'll uncross the legs, lift the right arm up and let the left waist turns towards the right hand. Lift the right foot up and step the right foot to the top of your mat. Ardha chandrasana, half moon pose, lifting your left arm up on the breath in. Lifting the waist up.

Go ahead and look towards your left hand. And then start to circle the left leg forward. We're gonna go right into that high hip squat again. You can tent the fingers there. Breathe in lifting the buttock bones, hands to the ground.

Hop your feet together uttanasana. Utkatasana, breathing in. And then lift your right knee up. Cross the right ankle on top of the left thigh like you just did in down dog. And start to sit down.

So take your left hand to your left hip, hold onto the right big toe with your right index finger and middle finger. Keep the shape of the legs. When you stand up it's just like our early pigeon. And you can even feel that left inner thigh spiral back to get you a little more of a grounded feeling on your left leg. Go ahead and take that leg, open it up.

Keep the right buttock bone dropped and underneath the right shoulder. And you can even take your gaze over your left shoulder. And then maybe even extend the arm connecting the index finger and thumb. Breathe in, maybe the gaze moves back forward. See if you can keep the hips right underneath the shoulders.

Shift the weight into the big toe of the left foot just a little bit and see if you can rotate your right thigh bone externally. And then start to take the leg forward as you lift the left arm up, breathe in. And then let your right arm lift. Go ahead and lower your right foot to meet your left. Chair pose, breathe in.

Fold forward, uttanasana, exhale. Heart lifts on the breath in. Step or float, chaduranga as you breathe out. Upward dog on your breath in, downward facing dog breathing out. Left side, left leg high inhale.

Step out forward as you breathe out. Right heel down, warrior one breathe in. Straighten the left leg, drop the arm breathe out. Drop the left arm. Flex the left foot, lift the heart inhale.

Warrior two, changing the stance as needed to feel that nice openness in the hips. Flip your left palm, lift the left arm up for peaceful. Straighten your left leg. Triangle pose taking your time. Feel like that left hand almost carries that right pelvic bone with it.

Keep going, keep stretching forward and back 'til you can't stretch anymore. And then triangle pose. Letting the right pelvic bone lift, letting the left waist lift, finding a nice subtle back bend, but staying super connected to the core and legs. Breathe in, (breath rushes) breathe out. Think of the inner thigh as almost moving a little away from each other and the front ribs moving towards each other.

Let the collarbone spread open. Root down into the legs and float back up. Warrior two. Hands to the ground. Left leg high, breathe in.

Knee to nose on your exhale. Cross the left ankle on top of the thigh letting the buttock bone lift. Breathe in. Then you start to roll forward like you're going into a plank, but then you turn it into a side plank. Keep pressing the right thigh into the left ankle and then stack the feet and stack your shoulders.

And draw the front ribs in and relax. Lift the left leg, step it to the top of the mat. Ardha chandrasana, half moon pose. To keep stable on your left leg think of the outer left ankle moving towards the inner left ankle. As that right pelvic bone lifts start to swing the right leg forward.

And we're gonna find our high hip squat again, tenting the fingers to the ground. Lift the heels, shift the weight forward, breathe in. Float the feet together, breathe out. Chair pose on your breath in. Stand up, lift the left knee, cross the left ankle on top of the right thigh like we just did in our down dog and then take the hips back.

Take the right hand to the right hip, hold onto the left big toe. Create some little tension there to lengthen the arm. And then as we come up to stand keep the shape. So it's like our early pigeon. And feel that inner spiral in the right thigh to help you get grounded on your right leg.

You can even lift the back ribs up from that inner spiral in your standing leg. Take the left leg to the side. You can take your gaze over your right shoulder. Keep that left buttock bone down. This is actually just like triangle pose.

Take your right arm to the side connect the right index finger and thumb. Let that left thigh bone externally rotate a little bit more as that right pelvic bone moves to the side. And then start to bring your left leg forward as you lift your right arm up. Breathe in, keep dropping that left hip down, keep pressing into the ball of the right foot. Find that inner spiral in the right leg.

Lift the left arm up. Slowly lower your left foot to meet your right. Breathe in, chair pose. Fold forward uttanasana, breathe out. Lift your heart on your breath in.

Step or float chaduranga on the breath out. Upward dog breathing in. Downward dog breathing out. Breathe in, (breath rushes) and breathe out. Lift the right leg high, breathe in.

Step the right foot forward, left heel down, warrior one. Same thing, straighten the right leg, drop the right arm, flex the right foot. Big breath in here. This time we're gonna turn the right toes to the left, turn the left toes out, warrior two to the back of your mat. Which is kind of nice 'cause your feet are already pretty much in the right position.

Let's take a peaceful warrior on the breath in. This time we're gonna bring the left elbow to the inner thigh, lifting the right arm up. Kind of like we did at the very beginning, going for that rotation from left to right in the ribcage as we press the left elbow and tricep into the left inner thigh. You're gonna think of the inner left knee moving towards the outer left knee. And the outer left hip moving to the front of the right pelvic bone.

Let that give you more of a rotation. Take your left hand to the ground if you have the room otherwise keep the forearm on the thigh. Breathe in here. We're gonna shift into half bound triangle. So bring your right forearm behind your back.

You're gonna really use your back leg here. Your right leg is gonna help you slide that left hand a little higher on the shin. Looking for a nice open shape here. Open the upper chest, but take a moment and draw those far ribs towards the buttock bones. Big breath in here.

Big lovely breath out. Cool, let's take our right arm over the head, inhale. Wide straddle forward bend as you exhale. Low lunge to the front of your mat breathing in. Right leg high breathing out.

Right knee to nose, right ankle on top of your left knee breathing in. So now we're gonna keep that ankle on the knee, roll to the outer edge of the left foot, reach for the big toe like we did standing. And then take the leg up and add some length to the left leg as you do that. It's almost exactly what you did standing. You can even start with the gaze towards that left hand and then we're gonna move the foot forward and take that foot to the top of the mat.

Good, take the right arm out in front of you, ardha chandrasana. Bend your left knee, reach for your left foot with your left hand and find the chapas in the variation. Don't go for lifting the knee so high. Think of drawing that knee down a little bit so the right waist can lift and you can open up the chest and maybe even take the gaze towards the ceiling. Good.

Let your left leg go. Circle the left leg forward, find your high hip squat. From high hip squat same transition. Hands to the ground, lift the heels, float the feet together. And then you're gonna bring your knees towards your armpits and we're gonna go for crow.

Now in this crow variation notice I'm using the floor, I kind of like the floor better for this, you can use the mat and walk your hands back. We're gonna think of shifting the weight forward and keeping the arms almost long. There's a slight bend in the elbows. But you're really lifting the feet from the lower abdominals more than bending the elbows to shift forward. Go ahead and keep lifting the feet, even lift the waist off of the arms, really doming the back of the heart.

And then you can lower your feet, uttanasana lifting the hips. Lift the back of the heart. Step or float chaduranga. Upward facing dog breathing in. Downward dog breathing out.

Inhale your left leg up high. Exhale left foot between your thumbs, right heel down, warrior one, breathe in. Straight left leg, drop the left arm, reach up. Take it to the back of your mat, warrior two. Feeling the legs, feeling the shape.

Breathing in peaceful warrior. Breathe out, right elbow to inner thigh so it's not on the top of the thigh, it's more on the inner thigh like we did at the beginning. Press the inner thigh towards the outer thigh. Draw your outer right hip towards your inner hip, lift your left arm up. Finding the rotation in the torso, right to left and finding the rotation in your right thigh bone.

Right thigh bone turns out more, breathe in. Breathe out, send your right hand to the ground. Feel both collarbones open, maybe that right hip releases a little bit more. Draw the front ribs towards the buttock bones, move the back ribs to the heart. And take your left arm behind your back.

Slide up a little bit so you can find the top of your thigh and then your left thigh's gonna take you into your half bound triangle pose. Make sure your right shoulder's a little higher than your hip so you're not collapsing. And then lengthen your right tricep and use your legs to find that softness and openness in the upper back. Take your gaze towards the ceiling. Inhale your arm up and over your head.

And then take a wide straddle forward bend, just to pass through to go to the top of the mat. Lift the left leg high when you're here, breathe in. Left knee to nose, cross the left ankle on top of the right thigh, bending the right knee. And we're gonna start to shift towards the side plank. Reach for your left big toe.

Take the leg up even as that outer right hip lifts, the right pelvic bone is energetically moving to the floor so that left leg has a counter balance. Breathe in. And then you're gonna take the leg forward drawing the navel back. Step the foot to the top of the mat. Take your left hand out to the side.

Lift your right leg up. Bend the right knee, chappasana. Now instead of lifting the knee so high, let the knee lower a little bit drawing the heel in and use that as leverage to lift the waist and find that beautiful upper back bend. And even take the eyes towards the ceiling. Think of your left ribs rotating to the right and then follow your rib cage towards the ceiling.

Let your right leg go. Circle it to the side, high hip squat. This time, you're gonna bring the arms behind you. And you're gonna bring your thumbs to the inner heels and start to inch your shoulders underneath your legs. Now from here dome the back like you did in crow.

And then move the back ribs forward as you tent the fingers on the ground and start to sit on your arms. And if you feel like you can take it further hands to the ground, sit a little bit to move the chest forward and then lift the buttock bones to lengthen the legs. And you can even add a little length to the arms. Breathe in. So even now I'm moving forward the back ribs are lifting, brighten up the heart and that gives me the counter balance for the butt bones moving back.

And then see if you can go back into your straddle. Walk the hands forward, lift the heels. You can hop the feet right back into chaduranga, and then up dog breathing in, down dog breathing out. Right leg high breathing in. Step the right foot outside of the right hand.

Let the back ribs move forward as you drop the back knee. If you need a blanket you're more than welcome to get the blanket. Let your left hand move a little bit to the left here so you've got some room in the collarbones. And really isolate the bend in the left knee from the hamstrings so that you can roll a little bit more onto the thigh. Maybe you can access that left foot with the right hand and you press the left foot into the right hand so you get a little bit more openness in that left collarbone.

Feel that the right knee moves just a little bit forward not in front of the ankle, but try not to let it veer to the side too, too much. Breathing in, right, so you want to keep grounding on that inner right foot. Go ahead and breathe out there so you can get a little more openness. And see if you can also make sure that outer left foot is pressing into the right hand if you have it. Let the left leg go, take the right hand to the ground.

We're gonna sit halfway back for a runner's stretch. And then let the butt bones move back and the back ribs move forward so you get that stretch in two directions in the spine. Take your right hand outside of your right foot. Pick up your right ankle with your left hand. And move your right foot to the left side of your mat.

And you're gonna rotate your right thigh bone externally. And walk the hands out to the right side just taking a little twist here, maybe getting into that i-t bend a little bit. See if you can let the left foot relax as you twist to the right and lift the right hip up a little more, breathe here. (breathes in) Nice and easy, take it nice and easy. And then you're just gonna bring your hands shoulder width apart and bend your right knee, viola, you're in pigeon.

Now for the back bend in pigeon, if you're gonna take it with me. You're welcome to go forward at any time. Go ahead and extend the top of the foot so there's that nice long line in the front of your right shin. And press into that right shin there and see if you can lift the back ribs up a little bit more and maybe bring the right hand to the right thigh and the left hand to the right foot. Try not to sit into your right hip.

You want to really keep the hips even, the pelvic bones nice and even. Bend your left knee. And we're taking the back bend but it is more about the hips today. So hold onto the left foot with the left hand and as you press the left foot into the left hand, move that left pelvic bone up. Let the right waist move back.

And to get the hips closer to the ground you're gonna slide the left thigh back a little bit. And then from here lift the chest. Keeping kicking back, you can point the toes or flex it or play with a little bit of each. Let your left leg go. And take your hands out in front of you.

A few things here, you can stretch the arms forward, you can bring the forearms to the ground or you can make a pillow with your hands. Even as we move forward keep thinking of that left big toe sliding back and just rest here. If you encounter tension and sort of that impulse to leave the shape, see if you can breathe with that impulse. And if its telling you you need to leave still then maybe you do, but otherwise stay, it might dissipate just a little bit. Let's go ahead and lift the chest on the breath in, lift the heart.

And then tuck the left toes under, downward dog. Let's just roll out into a plank, breathe in. Bend your knees exhale, lift the hips. We'll take that real simple vinyasa. Lift the left leg up, breathing in.

Step the foot outside of the hand, drop the right knee, get padding if you need it. Take the right hand to the side a little bit. Let the hips release, bend the right knee from the back of the thigh. Lift the left arm up and then reach for your right foot with your left hand if it's accessible otherwise just keep the twist. And see if that left knee can move forward as the right foot presses back.

I like to draw the front ribs towards the buttock bone here so we peel the waist away from the thigh. And if the left knee moves forward energetically then I can get a little more in the front of the right hip. See if you can open up the right collarbone. Big breath in. (breath rushes) Big breath out, press the outer right foot into the hand and then let it go. Whoo, love that.

Take the left hand to the ground. Sit halfway back for a little runner's stretch or half hanuman. Let the butt bones move back, let the ribcage move forward lifting the chest. Let the right foot relax. Then we're gonna take the left hand outside of the left ankle.

Hold onto the left ankle with the right hand and bring it to the right side of your mat. Externally rotate the thigh and walk the hands a little bit to the left. Relax the top of the right foot, lift the left waist, look over your left shoulder. You might feel a lot going on here in that left outer thigh. If you don't that's okay too.

Just sort of stay here and use the arms and use the hips, creating some counter tension to open up the body. We're gonna walk the hands forward and bend your left knee and set up for your pigeon. Now again point the left toes for the back bend or keep the foot flexed for the forward bend. You want to press into the top of the shin, breathe in. Let the back ribs lift, let that right foot drag back.

Walk the hands onto the left thigh. Maybe that right hand just rests on that right foot. And you get a little more of a lift from the back rib. Bend the right knee. Reach for the right ankle with the right hand and since it's about the hip use that connection to bring that right pelvic bone forward.

And use the lift of the heart to help find more length and space in the hips. And then you might slide that right thigh bone back. Again you can take the forward bend anytime you're ready. See if you can slide that right thigh bone back without collapsing into the left side so you're still nice and spacious in the front of your left hip. Go ahead, release your right leg.

Walk forward, arms can be out stretched, forearms can be on the ground, or you can stack the hands under the forehead. And see if you can still feel almost like someone's got your right big toe and they're sliding it back. That inner right thigh is spiraling up and helping you to release in your left buttock bone. And your back ribs are still peeking into the heart so you've got that nice stretch. And sort of soften around any tightness.

Let the breath allow you to be here. Allow you to be exactly where you are. Go ahead and lift the heart and slowly come back up. We're gonna take the right leg out in front and set up for gomugas in the legs. So go ahead and cross the right thigh on top of the left.

So with the right leg over the left try to get a tight fit so you might lean forward into the shin and really get that right knee on top of the left. You can sit on a block if the hips are tight. Mine are tight too, so I understand a little leverage helps. Take your left elbow outside the right thigh and we're gonna prayer the hands. And think of the sternum moving towards the hands as you press the left tricep into the outer right thigh creating some space there in the right thigh.

Try to even find a little tiny back bend to create some space in the hip flexor. Big breath in. Big nice juicy breath out. We're gonna turn this into ankle to knee. So you're gonna slide your left shin forward so it's parallel to the side or the front of your mat.

And then bring your right ankle on top of your left thigh. It's very important to have the outer ankle moving towards the inner ankle so you're not collapsed into your feet. Walk the hips back a little bit especially that right one, it kind of wants to move forward with the top leg. And make sure you're on the front of your buttock bones. Take your right index finger and middle finger to your right big toe.

Lengthen the arm and open up that right collarbone. And then slide the left arm between the legs and hold onto the left big toe with the left index finger and middle finger. And we're gonna bend the elbows towards the sides of the waist and move forward in a flat back. Now you might stay more or less seated here. Try to move forward with a flat lower spine instead of a rounded back so that you're not putting pressure on your middle vertebrae.

And see if you can broaden the collarbones here and as much as you reach forward there's an equal action reaching back. And that's through the hips. From here we're gonna roll onto our seat and keep the big toes. And then open up for kundalini lotus. So you're gonna be on the fronts of your buttock bones.

And then you're gonna feel a little shaky there. Move the front ribs towards the buttock bones and move the back ribs into the heart. So you're gonna keep the shakiness, like that's the point of it all. It's not so that everything's gonna be just totally fluid, we're actually gonna find fluidity even when things are shaky, even when we're not balanced, even when things aren't going 100% our way. So this is practice for that.

Let's go ahead and switch the legs. So we'll bend the right knee, draw the heel towards your seat and then bend the left knee over. So we're going back into that gomukhasana shape. Again shift forward so you get that nice fit of the left knee on top of the right. And then have a seat.

Take your right arm to the left thigh and prayer the hands. And try to let the sternum reach toward the thumbs there a little bit more. Breathe. See if you can let that left hip ground a little bit more. See if you can find a little more space in the heart and from that space in the heart find a little more space in the hips.

And twist just a little bit more, big exhale here. Let's transition to ankle to knee. Start with the bottom shin. So move the right shin forward and create that lovely right ankle, right angle, with the shin and the thigh. And then cross the left ankle on top of the right and remember outer ankles towards the inner ankles so your left knee can be a little lifted as long as your feet are really working.

And if this is too much you can cross that left ankle in front of the shin. So hold onto your left big toe with your index finger and middle finger. Thread the right arm through and hold onto the right big toe. Broaden the collarbones, bend the elbows towards the side ribs and then move forward as much as you're moving back. So this is like our half hanuman or runner's stretch.

Where the heart was moving towards the front because our hips were lifting and moving slightly back. Our buttock bones, rather, were moving back. And stay here and breathe and see if you can find that opening just a little bit more. Let the thighs release. And you can stay as seated as you need here.

You don't need to go into the forward fold at all. In fact I spent years in this pose just sitting upright. Go ahead and rock back onto the buttock bones. And then take the legs out to the side for kundalini lotus. We're gonna turn this into blossoming lotus.

So pick your tight hip, for me it's my left one. So I'm gonna bend that knee, hold onto the foot and slide my elbow underneath the back of the thigh. And then I'll bend my right knee and slide the elbow underneath the back of the thigh. Let the heels touch and go for that lift in the back ribs and that groundedness in the seat. So the front ribs are moving towards the buttock bones.

This is a great place to stay, connecting the index fingers to the thumbs, letting the chest lift. We'll also explore firefly or tittibhasana one more time. So if you wanna explore that hold onto the ankles and guide the shoulders underneath the thighs. And you can almost bring the heels back to touch, but they're more in line with your face. Take the hands to the ground, press the arms into the thighs and then you lift the hips and lengthen the legs.

And think of the outer ankles moving towards the inner ankles as the arms press out into the thigh. And then when you're ready just have a nice seat there. Whoo. Bring the soles of the feet together and sort of wiggle the hips out just a little bit. We've done so much hip opening.

It's nice to feel that openness in the knees. Walk the butt bones back. Lead with the heart for a nice bottikanasana. And same thing as to ankle to knee and all the work we've been doing today. When we move forward there's an equal movement backward, so we're being stretched into two directions which brings us to the center of the experience.

Let the heart move a little bit forward and then let your head bow to the experience. Go ahead roll up to sit. And then we're gonna do our closing postures. And I recommend that you have a block for our closing postures. We're gonna start with laying on our back.

Have a block nearby. Roll onto your back. Let your knees touch and your feet widen. So that you're giving your hip flexors a little bit of a break. You're opening up, that you're broadening the sacrum and opening up the fronts of the thighs.

Really nice and easy open the arms. Take the knees to the right. Let them sort of stay there for a moment. And then take the knees to the left, let them stay there for a moment. And bring the knees back up.

Bring the feet right underneath the knees. Lift up for a half wheel and slide the block underneath your sacrum. And your sacrum is below the lumbar and above the butt bones. So make sure that it's not too high up on the spine. And I would have it on low or medium.

I have it on medium myself. And from here we're gonna take just a nice restorative half wheel, opening up the front of the hip flexors since we've been in such deep flexion for so much of the class. And then if you'll stay here, relax into the block. Just let the breath remain deep. Let your tension be on your breath.

You can interlace your hands if you'd like. And we're gonna do what might be my favorite pose. And if this feels like it's starts to hurt lower your block to the setting below this. Start to let the legs lengthen and let the arms move above the head, stretching the fingers back behind you. And just letting the pelvis rest on the block and then even letting the feet just go.

Stay here, nice and easy, nice and restful. Just let gravity do all the work. Honoring the body for all the work that it's done, all the work that it does do and all the work that it will do. Go ahead and bend the knees so you bring the feet back underneath the knees. Take the arms by the sides of the waist, lift the hips.

Slide the block out of the way. And let the knees touch again. Let the hands rest on the thighs. Go ahead and draw the knees in towards your armpits. Just get a little nice stretch there.

Let the tailbone lift, but then let it anchor and even let the front ribs move towards the buttock bones to feel that anchor a little bit more and then let the knees draw in one more time. Now go ahead and take the feet to the ground, knees touch, lift the arms. Turn the palms to face the wall behind you, stretching the outer shoulders up. And take the shoulders down away from the ears and let the shoulders reach to the ground, the arms lengthen. The upper body starts to release into shavasana.

And then when you're ready let the legs lengthen into shavasana. You can stay with the knees bent as long as you'd like. Let your head get heavy, let your jaw go. (instructor breathes slow and deep) Let your limbs get heavy, let your jaw go. Let your toes and ankles relax, your knees, your thighs.

Your pelvis. Your waist and your chest. Your skull, your temples and your eyes. Let your breath begin to soften even more. Let your body relax even more.

And start to let your breath deepen. We'll go through the toes and the fingers. Let your head sway gently from side to side. And slide your feet to the floor, letting the feet be mat width apart, letting the knees touch. Take the arms over the head, give a nice stretch there, breathe in, stretch the left arm back, stretch the right arm back.

And then let the right arm stretch back as the legs move to the left and look over your right shoulder. And come back center and let the left arm stretch a little bit further back as your knees move to the right. And go ahead and take your whole body to the right rolling to your right side. Make your way on up to sit, find a comfortable cross legged seat. And take your hands to the thighs connecting the index fingers and thumbs.

Take a moment to sit with your spine, your body, your mind, wherever you land before or after you practice. The idea of the practice is that it's accessible to us with wherever we're at or how we show up to it. So it doesn't matter where we are, who we are and what we are. We always have a right to a practice. You can stay seated as long as you like.

Let your hands find your heart when you're done. Namaste, so fabulous to practice with you. Thank you very much.