Fluid Twisting

(water rushing) Hi, yogis. Great to see you. Through today's practice, we will cultivate a sense of space through twisting, so join me in just placing your hands together at your heart, closing your eyes and creating an intention for your practice. Getting clear on what you're here to create, what you're here to invite in, and what you might, perhaps, also shed. Take a deep breath in.

And a deep breath out. Twice more inhaling. And exhaling. Once more, drawing the breath in through the nostrils, holding at the very top, right underneath the collarbones. And then a soft sigh out of your mouth.

Open your eyes. Stretch your arms skyward. And with your exhale, twist to the right, bring your left hand to your right knee, your right fingertips behind you. Inhale to stretch up, moving on the breath. Exhale to twist over to the left, maybe looking back over your left shoulder.

Inhale to stretch up, exhale to the right. Inhale to stretch up, exhale to the left. Once more, inhale to stretch up, exhale to the right. Inhale to stretch up, exhale to the left. Inhale to stretch up once again, this time as you twist, exhaling, bring your left hand to your right knee, your right fingertips behind you, and then gaze back over your right shoulder for three deep breaths.

With every inhale, gather length, grow really tall. Then with your exhalation, spin your gaze back over your right shoulder. Inhale to sit tall, press your back body in toward your front body. Exhale to revolve a little bit more. Once more, full breath in.

And a full breath out. Keep your left hand on your right knee, spin your belly button back to face forward. Then just reach your right arm up and over your ear. Turn your palm to face down. Bring a little bend to the left elbow and start to rotate your chest up toward the sky.

Keep your sit bones rooted as you lean back a little bit and open through the right side of your waist. Full breath in, open a little more with your exhale. Good, stretch up as you breathe in. Bring your palms to press together this time. And then twist over to the left.

So three breaths yogis, inhale to grow really tall, exhale to twist and revolve. Inhale, gather length. Exhale to twist. Full breath in, press your back body in toward the front. Exhale to twist, gaze back over your left shoulder.

Keep your hand on your knee, spin your navel forward, rotate your left arm up and over your ear. Bend your right elbow and spin your chest open. Couple breaths here. Stretch back through center, palms press. Exhale out of your mouth, hands to your heart.

Open your eyes, soft gaze, come around to all fours in table pose. Place your wrists right underneath your shoulders, your knees underneath your hips. Stretch your right arm up as you inhale, weave your right arm underneath your left with your exhalation. For today's variation, just tense your left fingertips and roll your left shoulder head open. Gaze past your left shoulder.

Take a couple of deep breaths, revolving the left shoulder open. Then come back through center table pose. Sink your belly as you inhale, lift your heart, lift your gaze. Stick our your tongue as you round into cat with a lion's breath. Inhale to sink your belly, lift your heart, lion's breath as you round.

One more time. Back to table. Stretch your left arm up, weave your left arm underneath your right, tense your right fingertips, your palm lifts, and press into your fingertips to open your right shoulder. Press both knees and the tops of your feet evenly into the earth. Feel your shins press down, and then with that anchored, roll the right shoulder open a little bit more.

Back to center in table, roll your toes under, down dog. Start with a fairly generous bend to your knees, press your chest back toward your thighs. You can play with straightening the legs a little bit more and let your drishti, your gaze, rest between your feet. Keep your feet hip distance as you walk to the top of your mat nice and slow. Lift to ardha uttanasana, a flat back.

You can keep your hands on the earth or hands to shins. And fold over your legs, uttanasana. Interlace your fingers behind your back, draw your hands away from your sacrum, find a fairly generous bend to your knees and drop your head. Bend your right knee a little bit more as you drop your knuckles over to the right and then roll your left shoulder open and gaze past your left shoulder. Back through center, uttanasana, bend into your left, drop your knuckles to the left, right shoulder opens.

Fold back through center, release your hands down. Inhale to rise all the way up, stretch your arms high, and hands to your heart in prayer. Inhale to stretch up, exhale to fold forward. Inhale to lift, flat back, step to plank pose, top of a push up, shift forward, lower halfway, either from your toes or your knees, chaturanga. Cobra or upward facing dog, rolling over the tops of the feet.

Exhale to pull back, down dog. Lift your right leg as you breathe in, coil your knee toward your nose, step toward your right thumb. Inhale as you draw your chest forward. Float your right arm up with your exhalation, gaze up toward your thumb. Inhale to reach your right arm up and over your ear, gaze under your bicep, then right hand down, straighten the right leg as you flex your foot and fold.

Inhale to bend back into your right knee, exhale down dog. Inhale to glide forward to plank, exhale, chaturanga. Inhale, upward facing dog, exhale down dog. Left leg lifts, inhaling, coil knee to nose, step to the left thumb. Inhale in your runner's lunge, just draw the chest forward.

As you exhale, reach your left arm up, gaze up toward your thumb. Reach your left arm up and over your ear, inhale. Hand to the earth, straighten the left leg, flex your foot and fold. Inhale, lunging into the left knee. Downward facing dog as you exhale.

Inhale, glide forward to plank, exhale, lower. Inhale, upward facing dog, exhale, down dog. Right leg lifts, step to your right thumb. Inhale in your lunge, stay with your hands planted, exhale, right arm reaches high. Inhale, rotate it up and over your ear, straighten, flex your right foot as you exhale.

Inhale to re-bend the right knee. Exhale, down dog, inhale, glide forward to plank. Exhale, lower halfway, inhale, upward facing dog. Exhale, down dog, inhale, lift the left. Exhale, step forward, inhale, pull the chest forward.

Exhale, revolve your lunge, inhale, rotate your left arm up and over your ear, exhale, straighten and fold. Inhale to re-bend your left knee, exhale, down dog. You can always skip vinyasas or inhale forward, exhale, lower halfway. Inhale, upward facing dog, exhale down dog. One last time, yogis, inhale, lift the right leg, exhale step forward, inhale, pull your chest forward.

Exhale, reach your right arm up, inhale to revolve the right arm, exhale, straighten and fold. Inhale, re-bend, exhale, down dog. Inhale, glide forward, exhale, lower halfway. Inhale, up dog, exhale, down dog. Inhale to lift your left, exhale, step forward.

Inhale in your lunge, exhale, left arm up. Inhale to rotate your left arm, exhale, straighten and fold, bow toward your shin. Inhale to re-bend, exhale, down dog. Inhale to glide forward, exhale to lower halfway. Inhale, upward facing dog, and exhale, down dog.

Five deep breaths, and always lower to your knees and rest in child's pose. Be mindful about your movements. What's creating space for you here on your mat today? Where could you soften a little more? Where can you engage?

Continuously being mindful about what feels spacious. Physical level, mental, or energetic. Let's just walk the feet really slowly to meet the hands. Separate your feet hip distance apart. Catch your big toes with your peace fingers, lift your chest, exhale to fold, bending your elbows.

Three deep breaths. Release your toes, bend your knees and just roll up into standing, stacking your spine. Stretch your arms up, and hands to your heart. Pause, closing your eyes as you breathe in. As you breathe out.

With your feet hip distance, we'll call this stable chair today. Bend your knees, sit back into stable chair. So you can rock your weight forward to the fronts of your heels, you can even pick up your toes. Breathe in as you sit low, then as you exhale, you'll come to standing and draw your left knee in toward your chest and just flex your foot. Stand tall.

With your next exhale, your right hand comes to the outside of your left knee, your left arm stretches back. You might get a little wobbly here. You might look back toward your thumb, or not. Now spin back to center, keep your foot flexed, bring your arms by your ears and you'll step back so slowly, coming onto the ball of the back foot, and running your arms back by your hips. Rise to crescent pose, stand tall.

Reach your fingertips up, lengthen the crown of your head up. Inhale as you gather even more length. And then left arm forward and right arm back. We'll take a few breaths here, so reach evenly through your fingertips, and once again, option to look back toward your right thumb. You're playing with your drishti.

Drop a little lower into your right thigh. Right fingertips graze the back your left thigh, reach your left arm all the way up and lift from your sternum, so as you lean back, hug your navel toward your spine, move this backbend up behind your heart, then hands down, step forward. Feet hip distance, chest lifts, exhale out of your mouth and fold. Bend your knees, sit back into stable chair. Right knee into your chest as you exhale, flex through your foot, interlace at the top of your shin, then twist, left hand to the outside of your right knee, right arm back.

Back through center, arms by your ears, then step back, dikasana, reach your arms back by your hips, rise to crescent lunge. Nice and tall. Open arm twist as you exhale, reach through your arms really evenly, maybe look back toward your left thumb, Then tip it back, left hand to the back of your right thigh, reach your right arm up, and hands down. This time, step back to plank. Shift forward, lower all the way to your belly.

You'll slide your right knee all the way up off of your mat, weave your left arm underneath your right arm and then roll your chest open, dropping your head down, reach your right arm in the opposite direction. You could cactus the arm, you could extend the arm out. Just rest for a moment. Back through center, onto the belly, slide your left knee up off of your mat, weave your right arm underneath and then reach your left arm in the opposite direction. Back through center.

You can always hold this a little longer if you'd like to pause the practice, and come back to an extended child's pose, knees wide, big toes touch. Drop your forehead down. As you're ready, come up to all fours and roll your toes under, downward facing dog. Lift your right leg, bend your knee, open your hip, and then begin to hug your knee toward your nose, step to the center of your hands. Spin your back heel flat, and rise up, warrior two.

So drop down into your right thigh, work your right thigh toward parallel with the earth, perhaps. Send a soft gaze out of your right middle finger, and then extend through your arms evenly once again. So as you drop down into your thigh, feel rooted and a powerful posture, but a sense of softness and spaciousness through your torso. Return to the breath and stretch forward. Either bring your forearm to your thigh, or your right hand to the inside of your ankle, your left arm up.

Gaze up toward your left thumb, bend your left elbow and find a half bind, back of your hand to your low back or fingertips to the inside of your right thigh. If you have a full bind practice, you're more than welcome to take it here. Roll your left shoulder head open, take your gaze up, breathe. On your next inhale, reach your left arm up, left hand down to meet your right. Now, heel-toe your right foot over to the outer edge of your mat, and spin on to the ball of your back foot.

With your hands shoulder distance apart, just pull your chest forward as you breathe in, and tap your back knee to the mat as you breath out. Bend your back knee. This might feel like enough of a stretch for some of us, or to find your twist, you'll reach your right hand all the way back, catch your ankle or the top of your foot. You're more than welcome to loop a strap around the foot, a towel, a tie, gaze back over the right shoulder. If you'd like, or need more, you slide down to your left forearm and stay here for a few breaths.

One more full inhale, a soft exhale out of your mouth. Release your foot, right hand down, wiggle your right foot more toward the center and pull back. Straighten your right leg and flex your foot. Draw your chest forward as your breathe in. You can have your back toes rolling under or top of the foot pressing down.

You can fold ever so slightly. I like to walk my hands a little wider and pull the chest forward. I'm just taking a couple of breaths to release the right leg. And lunge back into your right knee. We'll step right back to down dog.

Optional vinyasa if you'd like coming forward to plank, lowering half way, and upward facing dog, downward facing dog or you skip it. Lift your left leg up as you breathe in and then bend your left knee, open your hip, draw your knee toward your nose, step to the center of your palms, pivot your back heel flat so your front heel aligns with your back arch. Leading with your right arm, rise up, warrior two. A moment to ground, reflect on your breath. Stretch forward, either forearm to thigh or left hand to the inside of your ankle, right arm stretches up, half or a full wrap.

Gaze past your right shoulder. Send your breath behind your heart and into the sides of your waist. Right arm stretches up, right hand to meet left, wiggle your left foot over to the outer edge of the mat, separate your hands shoulder distance on the ball of the back foot, chest forward as you breathe in. Back knee to the mat as you breathe out. As you bend your knee here, pause, take a moment to decide if this feels like enough, or rotate the left arm back.

You can catch the top of your foot or your ankle, roll the left shoulder head open, send your drishti there. You might mosey down to your right forearm, but notice if it feels like too much. Be really mindful. Release your foot, left foot to the center of your hands, pull back, straighten the left leg, flex your foot and then fold and you can walk your hands a little wider, chest pulls forward. Lift your heart, this time slide your left knee back to meet your right, balasana, knees together, arms stretch back by your heels.

And from child's pose, we'll make our way onto our backs. As you come around, come onto your back, draw your knees into your chest in apanasana. Give them a little squeeze, and keep your right knee hugging in, send your left leg long and guide your right knee across your body, looking out over your right shoulder. Soften your right shoulder towards the earth. Come back through center, squeeze your right knee in.

Release it, left knee hugs in toward the chest. And guide your knee across you, look out over your left shoulder. Left knee hugs in, right knee comes in to meet it. Give yourself one last big squeeze. Even bring your nose up to meet your knees in a little ball and then soften into shavasana.

Extend your legs long, turn your palms to face up and let go of any effort that remains. Please stay here as long as you would like, or if you would like to join me, slowly make your way up to seated. You could roll to your right side or rock all the way up and then just find a comfortable cross legged seat. Fold your palms together at your heart and bow your head, truly honoring your body, your breath, and your practice. A deep breath in, a big sigh out.

May there be peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in our world. Namaste.