Soar Like a Bird

So Namaste, Namaskaram my friends, welcome today we are going to really feel the flow coming into the hips and a lot of hamstrings, so be safe, be mindful, don't push too hard it will be very deep, so take it nice and slow and really listen to your body, the beautiful part of the yoga practice is that we turn inward to really listen and feel, so really spend this moment to really feeling the body, starting with the feet opening out nice and wide and just letting the palms face up, soft bend into the elbows and let the arms release by your side, let them sweep out to the side, rising up to the heavens, lifting hot like a flower reaching to the sun and then let the palms draw down through the center, seal that radiance from above, as you inhale arms out to the side, lift up and feel as you come together drawing down through the center line, together here as we offer the sound of om, right here, feel it rise, om, the arms just continue opening out, rising up, as you draw down, heels turn in, bend the knees, bringing the forearms together, draw down through the center, bringing the thumbs to the third eye, making a fist, forearms together and feel that here, and as you release, hands cross, rising up, lift high, I'm going to do this a few more cycles, hands come together, forearms together, bend the knees, high malasana, draw down through the center, arms come out in front, thumbs together, pressing to the third eye, right, that igniting here at the third eye, as you come up, the wrists cross, arms release out, lift up, bend the knees, right, and just feel that as you draw down, sit a little deeper, each time, come out in front, thumbs to the third eye, igniting here, the third eye center from the root, lift up, cross one more time, and as you draw down, breathing, big exhale, inhale, and release, lift up, hands come into the heart, as we step together here at the top of the mat, tadasana, so you can already feel working at the root, deep into the hip flow here, the hands release, sweep out, rising up, and exhale as you forward fold, uttanasana, inhale as you lengthen halfway, and then bowing over as you fold, lift your left leg, let it rise up into standing split, and take a moment, you can feel the back of your right hamstring, letting the head hang, step your left foot back into your lunge, and as you do, turn your right heel to a 90 degree, but extend your right arm straight out and drop to the little toe of the left, and reaching out, like you're inside plank here, right, except with extended arm, bring your right hand along the horizon, and reach it back, and then take the right arm back along the horizon, big circle all the way open, let the arm come around to the inside of the right foot, pivot on the left heel and walk over towards the left foot, straighten the right leg, and now just press into the little toe side of the right foot, you can even look at the right foot, shift, change, extend the right, and then straighten the left, but lengthen the spine out, yeah, nice and long, and then look to the back, that same motion, come to the back of the mat, find your lunge, pivot on the left heel, drop to the little toe of the right, but extend your left arm out, like you're inside plank, really extension, reach out, left arm along the horizon, reaching back, bring the left arm back, along the horizon, over the crown, circle it, and as it comes around to the inside of the left foot, shift, bend the right knee, straighten the left, lengthen the spine, right, and shift, bend the left, straighten the right, and this time, as you've already started to feel that warming up of the hip and the hamstring if you like, lift the ball of the right foot, looking forward, hands could be here for support, coming forward to your lunge, lowering the left knee down, and sweep out, rise up, lifting high, open out, expanding, and radiate from the center, and as the hands come to the earth, lift the left knee, lift the left foot, take this giant step for life, lifting high, bring your left foot down by the right, inhale as you lengthen, halfway, and exhale as you fall, sweep it out, rise all the way up, reaching up to the sun, tracing down, forward fold, uttanasana, inhale halfway, lengthen, draw the heart forward, and exhale, fold, lifting the right leg, let it rise up and notice, right, we're going to be in the hamstrings a lot so take your time, you can massage the back of the left leg a little, bowing the forehead to the chin, and stepping your right foot back to your lunge, right hand plants, left toes turn to a 90 degree, drop to the little toe of the right, and then extend the left arm, grow long, reach out, left arm along the horizon, as you extend, reaching back, then make a big circle, left arm, full range of motion, all the way around, the hands come around to the inside, pull back, bending of the right knee, straighten the left, lengthen the spine, and as you shift to change, bending the left, straighten the right, lengthen, and then coming to the back of their mat, come to your lunge, turn the right foot to a 90 degree, drop to the little toe of the left, and extend the right arm out, right arm, along the horizon, reaching back, back leg strong like Vashisasana, right arm, full circle, and as it comes to the inside, shift, bend the left, straighten the right, and then shift, stay high, bending the right, straighten the left, or sit a little lower so the left ball of the foot comes up, and then moving forward, coming to the front of your mat, lower the right knee down, sweep the arms out, rise up, and then let it open, expand, nice and wide, arms fully extended, hands to the earth, lift the right knee, lift the right leg, standing split, and bring your right foot down by the left, inhale, lengthen, and exhale as you fall, sweep it out, rise up, and drawing your hands into the heart, breathing here, and just notice, right, that drawing up from Pada Bandha, lifting the crown to the heavens, fullness of breath, radiance of life, as you root down through the soles of the feet, and feel that, drawing that life force up through the body, right, so let the hands release in here, lift up, rising, exhaling and fold, uttanas, feel the spine lengthen halfway, and as you exhale, fold, lift the left foot, once again, standing split, press down to rise up, and then step the left foot back to your lunge, lower the left knee down, straighten the right leg, and flex the right foot as you bow over Ardha Hanuman, as you come forward now, sink the hips towards the right heel, draw the hands back, and then shine the heart, reach the arms forward, straighten the right leg, flex the right foot, bow over, come forward, pull the heel in, hands across the earth, lifting the heart, one more time, pressing back, straighten the leg, flex the foot, and then letting it come forward, shining the heart, reaching, let it radiate out, as you come forward, step back through your vinyasa, so either with knees down, straight legs, chaturanga dandasana, up dog or cobra, and drawing it back into down dog, and the feet come together, double leg lift, so press the right heel down, left leg, inhales to the sky, exhale the left foot by the right, inhale the right leg, let it rise, and as you exhale, set the right foot forward between your hands, bring your left foot in, about a foot, as you straighten the right leg, press that right hip back, lengthen the spine, and as you exhale now, fold, feel that little ripple through the spine, inhale, come up just a quarter of the way, keep sending the right hip back, and then lead with the heart as you fall, inhale, just a small lengthening, and folding over, and again, as you're here, feel free with your right hand, maybe massage the hip, maybe massage your hamstrings, so that you can really let them release, let it go, bringing your hands up to the hips, feel the body rising up to a flat back, and then pause, gaze out in front of you, heart is lifted, shining like a light, soften the right knee, lean forward, and then let the left leg float, let it come up, Vira 3, and as you lift the body, bringing your left knee in, giving yourself a hug, and you may need to just pause and stay here today, for those who are ready, root down, lift the heart, so every time we come rising, let your heart shine, let it lift up, right hand to the hip, left middle and index finger down to the left big toe, and you pause, and again, staying here, or as you're ready, extend the left leg out, and keep lifting up, not collapsing, rise up, if it's there, open the left leg out to the side, make sure you're smiling here, and then bringing the left leg forward, keep the heart lifted, take the right arm up, left arm up, send it back into Vira 3, reaching out through the toes, through the fingertips, soften the knee, and step back, high crescent, let the arms expand out, coming into the heart, as you exhale, twisting to the right, take left elbow across, and let the right arm just extend to the heavens, and as you bring that right hand by the hip, windmill the arms, open it up into Vira 2, and then land just softly, turn the right arm, face up, feel that inhale rising, and as you exhale, cartwheel all the way down to the inside, and just pause a moment, so you're going to feel that skandhasana shape, walk your hands back, straighten the right leg, lift the ball of the foot, and then pause here, and some of you are going to need the hands here for support, some of you may take the hands and bring it into the heart, and if you'd like, left arm down, extend the left arm's shoulders on the inside, and then let the right arm, if you like, rise up, extend out, bringing back to the heart, face forward, hands to the earth, stay on the inside, and coming forward into your lunge here, hands on the inside, and then start to lower the forearms down, and again, start where you need to, if you need to lower the back knee, lower the back knee, if you need to, feel a little more activation, lift the left knee, and maybe rock a little forward and back, now for those who can go a little deeper, take your right shoulder underneath, and maybe right arm out like a wing, left arm out like a wing, and maybe you come around binding at your back, now coming out, hands down, either step back, or now, if you like, keep that right shoulder underneath, press into the earth, extend the right leg, hey, and this might be your edge, or if you like, lean forward, lift the left leg, and let the body hover, ekapada, kandinyasana, and then we'll step back, plank, and lift into down dog, and take a big breath, inhale, exhaling, feet together, right leg, inhales to the sky, exhale, you step the right foot forward, bring your left foot up to meet the right, and fall, sweep out, rise all the way up, and draw the hands into the heart, take a moment, let's go, feel the breath, the soles of the feet connecting down into the earth, and just notice, notice the difference, as we're spending time here in the hips, you can feel the difference, that awakening, right, the root, so the left side, hands release, inhale, lift up, and exhale, you fall, inhale halfway, and exhale, you fall, hands plant, right foot rising, standing split, right foot goes back, lower the right knee down, and then straighten the left leg, as you flex the left foot, bow over, and then come forward, keep the right knee down, pull the hands back, lift the heart, and then reach forward, straighten the left leg, flex and bow, come forward, hands draw back, lift the heart, one more cycle, and bowing over, come forward, lifting the heart, releasing, stepping back into plank, cycle your vinyasa or skip it, chaturanga dandas, up dog or cobra rising, and drawing back, into down dog, feet together, right leg, inhale, exhale the right by the left, left leg, inhale, let it rise, and exhale, step it through, step the right foot in about a foot, straighten the left leg, lengthen the spine, press the left hip back, and then lead with the heart, as you fall, and just do that little ripple, through the spine, lengthen a little, and then fold a little deeper, and then let it lengthen, and then bowing completely, and hands coming to the hips, rise up halfway, gaze out in front, keep the heart lifted, let it shine, as you float, lift up, Vira 3, squaring off, and now lift the body, pull the right knee in, take your right middle and index finger around the toe, or maybe just holding the knee in, left hand to the hip, just pause, so find that moment, remember to root down through Padamanda, if you're taking hold of the toe, extend the right leg out, heart stays lifted, shining like a light, like a big flower, like these beautiful flowers here today, let it be happy, if you open it out to the side, lifting up, and then bringing it back, taking both arms up, extend out, reaching through, Vira 3, and then softly step it back, high crescent, coming around into the heart, hands to prayer, and twisting over to the left, big breath, inhale, and exhale, now send the left arm up to the sky, let it reaching up, and your left hand down by your hip, windmill the arms, lift up and open it out, Vira 2, inhale reverse, pause for Vira 2, cartwheel it down to the earth, and then walk your hands back towards the right heel, straighten the left leg, either stay high or start to get a little low, hands for a supporter, hands at the heart, and if it's there, open your right arm out, right arm on the inside, left arm up, and breathing here, so hands coming back, center, and then gaze forward, stay to the inside, as you move towards the front of your mat, hands on the inside, and again, maybe you need to lower the back knee down a moment, we're going to lower the forearms down, and some of you staying right here, some lift that right knee, charge the right leg, and maybe you rock a little, forward and back, so you're going to press back and take your left shoulder under the left knee, maybe the arms open out like wings, maybe coming around to the bind, and then staying here, or as you press in, lift the left leg, extend, and let it rise, smile at your toes, and stepping back, plank, and lifting up, ah, down dog, take a big inhale through the nose, open the mouth, ah, two more, just like that, letting yourself just settle, inhale, ah, once again, in breath, ah, as the feet come together, left leg let it rise, step the left foot forward, and then bringing your right foot up to meet it, as you fall, sweep out, rising, and drawing down to the heart, and just pause, feel within, so take a moment, and letting yourself just listen to the flow of the breath, hearing that pulse of the divine rising up within, so we're going to turn off, open out to the side, so we didn't forget our opening movement, right, so heels turn slightly in, hands rising, and as you draw down, bend the knees high, malasana, through the center, and then lift out, thumbs to the third eye, four arms together, cross and rise, so we're setting up, yeah, come down, a few more cycles, we're preparing the body into this flow coming in, bird of paradise, beautiful, so we've got to get down, root into the earth, into parabandha, soles of the feet, to really let that energy come up, shine forth, right, so here, sweep out, rising up, and then drawing down, so my friends, some may be wanting to use a strap, so I'm going to show first cycle with the straps, and your strap will be used, you don't need to make a buckle, you can just let it hang, right, and you can walk your hand down the strap, really finding where you can get closest together, but it's going to be behind you, so it's a little challenging, I understand, you've got to kind of swing the strap around, so we're going to show it first with the strap, the next time without, alright, so have the strap centered and ready, sweep out, lift up, and then draw down, come to the third eye, right, cross, rising, and now folding, yeah, so finding your strap, and you're taking the strap, taking it through the legs, bringing it into your left hand, and now with your right hand, bend your knees, find that malasana, your left hand is holding the strap at your sacrum, right hand comes around the back of the right thigh, and you're just holding onto your strap, and then lean into your left foot, and bring your right foot closer, now here's where padabhandha, and all those standing really helps, because we're rooting the left foot into the earth, and as you hold the strap, draw the right leg up, and you may feel a little wobbly some days, and some days a little stronger, and now your heart is lifted, alright, here's where you have to smile like a pretty flower, okay, so lift the heart, because if you're rounding and collapsing, don't worry about extending the leg, but let the heart be lifted, and then when you're ready, yes, you open out, yeah, and then we come back, a little slippery, and releasing the strap, yeah, we'll come down into malasana, elbows pressed to the inner thighs, lengthen, lifting up, alright, so we'll come in the other side, because you can't do just one side, hands release, lift the hips, heels turn out, take the hands to the waist, and rise up, ah yes, so let the arms sweep out, rise up, heels turn in, bend the knees, draw down, thumbs coming to the third eye, cross, lift, and fold, yeah, so this time, taking it the other side, left arm will thread under behind the left, and the right arm comes up and over the back, bring your left foot closer towards the right, and then root down, letting yourself rise up, yeah, and then the heart's lifted, yeah, so again, expand across the chest, big heart, big smile, and then when you're ready, yay, left leg extends, and then softly up, and we come back, and we come down, ah, malasana, yay, and just take a moment, pause, breathing here, and you'll notice some days you're going to feel a lot more solid in standing asanas, and other days it's a little shaky, and that's okay, life is like that, it's never the same day twice, right, so let the hands come down behind, always sit down, yay, so as we come down, take the hands behind you, this is really going to help guiding the pelvis forward, so hands press, and also like I said today all throughout this practice, we're lifting the heart, we're leading with the heart center, right, forward folds, rising asanas, lead with the heart, so press down, lift the heart, feet are flexed, and bring your heart forward, and then pause, and bring your hands, and then keeping that length, not rounding the lower back, but keep the length in the spine, walk the hands forward, maybe onto the forearms, and it's still leading with the heart, neck is long, some of you staying up high, some of you here, some of you maybe walking all the way out, coming down, and walking back in, take your time, feeling the side body, take your left arm threaded over to the right, left shoulder on the inside, and then let the right arm rise up, and rolling the heart, and then lift all the way up, big motion, changing sides, right arm threading over to the left, right shoulder to the inside, left arm up and over, and when you find your tone, it may not today, it may just be extending out, if you find the tone, roll the heart up, and feel the body rising, coming up, and then hands to the outside of the knees, drawing the feet together, and we'll roll down onto our back, so as you roll down, let's hug the knees a moment, drawing in, and then extend your left leg, extend it out onto the earth, still hugging the right knee, take your hands behind your right thigh, extend up through the right leg, and this might be it, and again you can always use your strap, for those who like, walk your hands up the back of the leg, bring your forehead to the shin, now those who like also, it's a little pressure point, a little marma point here in the hip, if you take your right hand, you can feel a little divot in there, and as you press in, you'll be able to find more length, and drawing the right foot back, and then lay the head down, with your left hand coming to the little toe side, taking the right foot over to the left, and then opening your right arm out, turning your gaze to the right, let's pause a moment, bringing the head back center, release the foot, rolling back, and then hugging the right knee in, and extend the right leg out onto the earth, and just feel now, noticing as we come into this lunar wave down here on the ground, just take the time to experience, to feel, big breath in, and exhale, and now hug the left knee, taking your hands behind the back of the left thigh, straighten the left leg up, pressing through, and then walk your hands up the back of the leg, bring your forehead to the shin, and again, keep your right hand there, use a strap, your left thumb can come into the hip crease, and you draw the foot back, laying the head down, right hand moves to the little toe side, or you could also just bring it to the outside of the knee, and then taking your left foot across to the right, right arm opens, and then the left arm to the left side, and just letting yourself just pause, and then as you release, bring your right foot up, hug the left knee in, and extend it out onto the earth, and just take a moment here, as you surrender down, just let yourself let go, feel this moment, soft and still within, just allow your body to surrender, the mind quiet, and finding that sweet spot that you let go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. So, my friends, take a deep inhale and exhale completely. Start to bring movement and awareness to the body. As you draw your knees in, giving yourself a hug, gently roll off to your right. As you take your time, pressing yourself up, rising, coming to seated.

Drawing your hands into the heart center, Anjali Motra, and just pause. Just honor your practice today, honoring that divine flow of life, that great Prana Shakti, letting it shine forth in all that you do. Let it radiate from your center, rising up out of the earth. As we hear now, we'll offer out the sound of Aum. Inhale as you feel the breath rising. Aum As you honor that God, God that's within Satguru. Namaste.