Fluid Heart

(waves crashing) This practice is a heart-centering practice. When you start to feel like your energy is spoking out and maybe you're being drawn off course, this will put you back into your heart center to really listen to the quite voice within. So we'll use two blocks to prop ourselves up. The first block will be on its highest level and this will be for your noggin. I will be using technical terms like noggin from time to time.

The second block will go right between your shoulder blades and it starts really at the base of the scapula or your psychic bra line if you will, fellas. As you come into this, just settle it in right at the base of the shoulder blades, right on the spine, and then you can plug in the block underneath your skull. Soles of the feet together. If you feel any stress on the low back just kinda tuck the tail, glide it down, lift and separate as you need and then allow the arms to unfold like wings. Letting the weight of your mind kinda fall back.

You can even sort of massage your skull here, rinsing right and left. And when you feel like your energy's being pulled come back to your breath and let's begin with ocean breathing in three parts. We'll breathe into the belly, the ribs, and the chest. Let it overflow and then exhale chest, ribs, belly. Feel the wave at the low belly, rinses and rises, belly, ribs, chest.

Exhale chest, ribs, belly. We're settling into this heart-based practice. Putting your heart out there and feeling the horizon of the heart just expand. Taking the arms up and over, perhaps threading the fingertips and just letting the weight of the arm bones draw back to give you a deeper stretch across the chest. Feeling how open the abdomen is here so you can really fill up the belly like a balloon.

Belly, ribs, chest. Overflowing with potential. Chest, ribs, belly. One more big wave. Exhale, releasing the arms.

Planting the palms on the floor. The dismount is always tricky with this one so be gentle. Gather the legs. You might even use your hands and slowly roll off to your side. And that takes a moment to kind of ...

It leaves a mark a little bit between the shoulder blades. You'll feel it. It's okay, you're gonna be alright. But give yourself a little bit of time, a little bit of wiggle time there. And then as you're ready, press up.

Clearing the blocks off to the side. Neatly. (laughs) And then coming onto your back. So use a little core awareness as you come down and plant your feet. Walk 'em out.

Hips width, a little wider, kinda riding the rails of your mat there. And then windshield wiper the legs, just turning in and out. So any residual stress from that opening, wanna free any energy up here. And as you come back to center, planting the feet. Bring 'em back in hips width.

This next exercise is really nice for opening up the chest and the shoulders and it's really lazy and I love lazy so relax, enjoy. Take your left hand and you're gonna flip it so that the fingertips are in line with the shoulder. Yes, it's kinda like one-arm wheel energy. From here, allow the right arm to just breathe out to the side and you're gonna press, almost like you're sorta throwing the energy here. You're gonna press up and over and roll onto your right side and coming onto the third eye.

And then the belly brings your back. And that's it. Just really mellow and sort of push through one hand, ripple and roll and turn and twist and then back to center. Pressing, rolling, you get a nice stretch across the opposite shoulder as well. We'll take one more.

Ripple and roll and release. Come back to center. Plant the arms and just notice the difference in the shoulders. You should feel like one's really downstairs from the other. We gotta be even, so let's do the other side.

Flip the right paw and you're gonna press down into it. Draw the shoulder into the body and then again, like you're sorta throwing the energy, the impetus for the movement is that little push out of the hand and then you roll over towards your third eye. Belly breathes you back. And then you push and roll and breathe. Belly breathes you back.

Reset, reconnect. One more. Anchoring and coming back to center. Again noticing the difference in the arms, the shoulders. Walking the feet to hips width, planting the palms on the floor, press down through the feet.

Ripple up like a wave. Take the arms up and over head at the peak of the wave the arms come overhead and then plug the shoulders in. Keep the backs of the hands on the floor as you exhale, drip down one vertebrae at a time. Soften through the heart center. Thread the ribcage.

Gather at your navel. On empty, hands come by your side. Bridge lift. Inhale, big wave. (inhale Empty it all out.

(exhale) Feeling the natural tractioning of the front body into the back body as you come back down. Hands by your side. Inhale. (inhale) Exhale. (exhale) This time take your arms back by your side.

Gather the shoulder blades underneath. Really snuggle up. Hug an imaginary block between your knees and then release the hands, lift the heels, unfold back down. Inhale, exhale. Knees to the chest.

Rock it up and back a couple of times so you have that oh no, it's boat pose moment and then you just ... Oh, it feels so good! You wanna do it a couple of times. Maybe tap the toes. Tap the toes. And then this last one's the alley-oop to bring you all the way up, coming to seated.

With your right leg in front, sufi rolls. Hands to shins. Inhale, glide your heart forward. Scoop to the right. Hollow and round it back.

Using this as a nice, yummy massage. Stirring the energy at the base. Inhale forward and exhale back. Find your way back to center. Shrug the shoulders.

Turn and twist to your left, then wait for it, spinyasa. Yes, I said it. Spinyasa. We're going to ... What! Turn all the way back around and magically the other leg is in front.

If you missed the magic, we'll do it again. Inhale, sufi rolls opposite directions. Stirring to your left. Hollow back, rounding to the right. Forward, back, hollow.

Just getting into any sticky spots. Coming back to center. Shrug the shoulders. It's back. Turn to your right.

Breathe in. The feet kinda hold the space here and all you're gonna do it wind back down. It's yoga magic. Inhale, hands to heart. Interlace the hands, press through heels to hands.

Reach up to the sky like you're standing on the sky. Easy side bend to your right, to your left. Hands back to center and then exhale, fingertips down behind you. Shrug the shoulders and puff your chest up where you're just opening your heart to sunshine. And soak it in.

Might even walk the hands back a little bit and really kiss the shoulder blades together. Open through the throat. Exhale, pour your heart out. Let it all go. Just forward draping for a breath.

Inhale, back to center. Turn and twist to the left. Ready, set, spinyasa. Inhale. (inhale) Exhale.

(exhale) Better already. Interlace the hands, press down and out through heels of the hands maybe opposite thumb on top. Up and over to your left, to your right. Back to center. Puff your chest up.

Inhale, plug into the earth. Exhale, pour your heart out. Empty it all in the earth. Inhale, rolling up twisting to your right and wind it on back down. (exhale) Shifting to all fours, coming towards the front of your mat.

As you come to all fours just kinda tread into your paws here. Inhale. Walk your hands forward a couple inches. Curl the toes under and let's just tread out our first down dog. First one's always a rub here so just massage it out, twist across.

Think of it as like a down dog dance break. Yeah, here and give yourself permission to breathe. Then slowly walk yourself or dance yourself towards the top of your mat. Just baby steps to get there. Once you land, plant your feet hips width.

Exhale, forward fold and then hang out. Bent knees. Three part breath rhythm. Belly, ribs chest. Chest, ribs, belly.

So gently roll up. Belly, ribs, chest. And then exhale and press down through the soles of the feet. Sweep the arms out and up. Exhale, hands to heart.

Offer your heart. Flip the fingertips. Walk the hands, just really starting to massage the back of your lungs. You can take deeper and deeper breaths. Breathe the front body into the back body.

Bend your knees, pigeon toe, and then rebound and lift up. A little standing backbend here. If it makes you squirrelly and dizzy, don't drop your head back, keep your gaze forward. If you already were squirrelly and dizzy, you're in good company here. Forward fold, interlace the hands.

Bend your right leg. Straighten your left. Open your chest to the left and just extend. Exhale, drip back through center. Left leg bends.

Right leg straight. Open your chest and that felt luxurious so let's bend the right leg and open then straighten through the left. Then pour forward. Left leg, straighten the right and then let it all go. Bend both knees.

Fingertips to the floor or the shins and kinda launch your heart forward. Lift the kneecaps. Exhale, spread the sitz bones, microbend the knees. Plant your palms in the earth. Step back.

Top of a push up. Inhale, find that hover point as you pull forward. Lift the navel lower than knees. Knees, chin, chest. Cobra.

Exhale, bow. Lift your belly and press back through child's pose. Curl the toes under. Downward facing dog. Inhale, right leg paints the sky.

Exhale, hover. Knee to nose and step it forward and through. Low lunge. Reach out and up. Tap the back of the heart and then press left hand forward, right arm back.

Active twist. Inhale, reach forward. Tap the back of the heart. Left arm forward, right arm back. Twist.

One more. Inhale. (inhale) Exhale. (exhale) And then sweep back to the earth, tap the back of the heart, and bring your left heel in. Kneeling warrior.

Sweep right arm up, left hand down, like a big yawn. Just press back. (speaking foreign language) Circle. Kneeling warrior. And then go back to the ground, left hand down, right arm threads.

Twist. Step back into the strength of your heart. Plank. Knees lower. Knees, chin, chest.

Cobra. Splash open. Exhale, bow. Child's pose. Breathe it into down dog.

Inhale, left leg floats. Massage it forward and through. Low lunge. Reach out and up. Tap back of the heart.

Lift through the pelvic floor, scissoring action through the legs. Pressing right hand forward, left hand back. Inhale, sweep it up. Exhale, press and clear. Inhale, gather.

Exhale. As you reach back out towards the center, rise up, lift through the pelvic floor, tap back of the heart and spin the right heel in. Humble kneeling warrior. Reach left come up and over. Push out through the right arm and then circle it back down.

From here come up and over the top, right hand down. Thread into the twist. And then circle back. Plank. Lift the navel, lower the knees, shrug the shoulders.

Knees, chin, chest. Slither on through. Exhale, empty. Hollow back, child's pose. Breathe in, breathe out.

Inhale, downward facing. Stump your feet together. Bend your knees. Take a nice easy little float to the top of your mat. Halfway up.

Dive into the center of yourself. Two feet are one. As you reach out, reverse swandive come all the way up. Exhale, hands to heart. Inhale, offer your heart.

Exhale, interlace and bow forward. Tread right leg bends, left chest opens. Left knee bends, right chest opens. And then empty it all back down into the earth. Step back or jump back.

Chaturanga. Upward facing dog. Hollow back, downward facing dog. Adding on inhale, right leg flies high. Step it on through.

High lunge. Reach out and up. Tap the back of the heart. Bend the back leg and you just press through the resistance here. Inhale, reach up.

Exhale, bend through, scissoring action. One more. Inhale. (inhale) Exhale. (exhale) And then transition warrior two.

Tap the back of the heart and press through. Inhale, lengthen, tipping out over the edge for a half moon. If you need a block, using the block to bring the floor up to meet you. Sensing that the hips and the heart are in the same line. Steady your gaze, deepen your breath.

Inhale. Exhale, step back. Reverse warrior. It's fun. And then come up and over the top.

Vinyasa. Chaturanga. And you can always work with knees, chin, chest, and cobra. And then mix it up. Inhale, left leg lifts.

Massage it forward through the hands. Find that steady base. Open up, inhale. Exhale, press right hand forward, left arm back and then sweep and gather. Inhale.

And exhale. Inhale. (inhale) And exhale. (exhale) Inhale, transition. Tap the back of the heart.

Press through the borders of the heart. Really extend yourself here. Inhale and then reach out over the edge, shifting the weight, using a block as you need so you feel like you're really light through that bottom arm. The top leg's really holding you up. The top side waist is holding and supporting you here.

Inhale, suck the limbs back into the core. And then gently step it on back. Warrior two. Cartwheel on through. Plank.

Chaturanga. Upward facing. Downward facing. And child's pose. So gently crawl forward come onto your backs.

Now we feel all that heat, all that opening in the heart space. Grounding through the lower body. Use your core to curl down. Plant your feet. Opening bridge.

I'm gonna squirm a little just to get in the right spot. So you have this same flip of the hand that we've been working with. We'll start with bridge here. Planting in the feet. Lifting and snuggling the arms under just feeling how much more open and connected the body is now.

From here, stay for five breaths or if you're feeling like you want to fire it up a little bit more, flip through one hand, flip through the other hand, building courage and strength here. Root in the feet. Hug the shoulders into the body and come to the crown of the head to begin. This may be where you stay with no weight on the head. Exhale, pressing.

Hips over heart. Coming into full wheel pose. Hugging an imaginary block between the thighs and breathing into all four borders of the hands and the feet. Free and easy. Inhale, exhale reverse it.

Tuck chin to chest. Curl it on down and windshield wiper the legs. Ya have to do it more than once, it's just the rule. You can't just do one wheel, you have to do another wheel because it feels so good and the second one feels even better than the first. So flipping through the hands, gathering your strength, gathering your purpose.

Root to rise. Crown and then press up and feel the full circle of energy here. Feel your heart in your hands. Strength of heart in the palm of your hands and then exhale, soak that in. And let it go.

What's that you say? You want to do another one? Okay. Three is the charm. First one's for the body.

Second one's for the mind. This one is all spirit. So flip the palms. Gather the elbows. Hug and hollow as you lift right up into it.

You can be here for the whole day. Shrug the shoulders. Reinvent, reconnect. Reinspire yourself here. And then everything you're gathering, soak it in.

Let it go. Then let the wrists kind of play here. Nice little release and counter. You'll use a block underneath your pelvis. And as you lift into bridge, you can start with the first level.

It just feels really nice. A nice release for the lower back and just draw the knees in. Let it all kinda float. If you feel like you wanna go a bit deeper, turning to the second level of the block, or third level of the block being mindful that you don't tuck the tail under or you end up shooting the block out from underneath you. The tail is buried in the sand on the opposite side of the block.

And then you float the legs. Maybe even extend and step on the sky and the arms can traction or release. And then you float. It's really easy to judge your pedicure here, but don't. Don't.

Resist that urge. Don't judge the pedicure. You're enough. These toes, let them breathe. Let it snuggle back in.

Then gently place the feet on the floor. Lift up. Draw back down. Pause here. Bring the feet together.

Take the right leg over the left. Stack the knees for eagle. Just rinse it side to side. Your own timing. Draw the knees back in towards you.

Reach up over to the knife edges of your feet. Happy cow pose on your back. Just massage that out. Gently release the legs. Plant them.

Unfold. Opposite side, left leg comes across. Stacking the knees. Then just rinsing. Let the weight of the top leg stretch across that T-bend.

Then the other side. When you're feeling even, reach up, hold onto the knife edges. Massage out the low back. Release the legs, maybe peace signs to your big toes just to have one little moment here to release through hips and then gently hands by your side, with core awareness lowering down. Shavasana.

Breathing in belly, ribs, chest. Suspend. Emptying out chest, ribs, belly. Empty to stillness. Gently as you start to reawaken, take your hands to any part of the body that needs just a little bit more courage.

All this heart-inspired work. Take that heart energy into the palm of your hand and let it flow and take that strength of heart, that courage to that part of yourself that needs just a little bit more love, patience, expansion. Soak that in and let that be what lifts you, roll over to your side, and carries you up to seated and opens you up to your day. As you breathe the hands to your heart, you are all heart moving forward. Namaste.