Mental Recharge

Namaste, welcome. Today's practice is a mental recharge. If you're feeling a little chaotic in your brain, you can't focus, this practice is for you. We're just going to get right into concentrating and feeling our breath and really just feeling good overall and feeling really present. You'll want one block for your practice. You can have it towards the front of your mat. Let's start with the legs up the wall. So wiggle your hips as close as comfortable to the wall. Take your legs straight up and then rest your head, rest your arms alongside your body. So if your hamstrings are tight, your hips can be pretty far from the wall. Otherwise, if you feel more open, hips pretty close to the wall. Gently close your eyes. Feel your breath. So what's beautiful about this pose is it starts to bring fresh oxygen into the brain. Helps to clear out the clutter and just invigorate the senses and the brain and the mind. Blood flowing into your skull. And as we lie here, just start to find a deep awareness of your breath. Slowing it down. Letting your ribs expand with each inhale. The breath alone can help recharge the mind. Maybe imagine that you're breathing some space in your brain. Feel more slow, deep breaths. Gently blink your eyes open. Place your feet on the wall.

Roll over to one side. Make your way onto your hands and knees. So now with that fresh blood flow in our brain, let's begin to move. Hands about shoulder distance apart. Knees under your hips. Inhale, reach your chest forward, shoulders back for cow. Exhale, round your spine for cat. Inhale, cow, chest forward. Exhale, round. Inhale, chest forward. Exhale, round. Move with your breath. Root through your palms. Really use the earth here to push and pull and create lots of mobility in your spine. From here, come to a neutral spine. Tuck your toes. Gently lift your knees and your hips. Downward dog. Maybe keep your knees bent. Feel free to widen the distance between your hands and feet a little. Pedal out your feet. Shift your hips side to side. Let your head dangle in its own weight. So downward dog is actually an inversion as well. So you're also sending some fresh oxygen into the brain here. Continue to feel your breath. Maybe open and close your mouth a few times. Soften your jaw. Maybe a horse's breath. Flutter your lips. Just releasing everything here. Couple more breaths. Strong arms. And then lower your knees and shift your shoulders over your wrists. So we'll do a modified plank here. Maybe walk your knees back a little bit. Engage your belly. Take a deep breath and shift your shoulders forward slightly. Exhale. Chaturanga. Elbows bend. And then come all the way down to your belly. Flatten your feet. Inhale for cobra. Lift your chest. Shoulders back. Exhale. Lower back down. Let's do two more cobras. Inhale. Chest lifts. Exhale. Lower down. One more. Inhale. Exhale. Tuck your toes. Engage your belly. Push back up to plank slowly. Stay on your knees. Inhale. Dog exhale. Walk your feet to your hands. Take your time. Feet about hip distance. Maybe bend your knees and just let your body hang. Maybe grab your elbows sway. Nod your head.

From here release your arms. Bend your knees. Rag all your body to stand. One vertebra at a time. Adjust your shirt if you need to. Bring your hands to your heart in prayer. We'll do a couple rounds of Surya Namaskar A, Sun Salutations. Inhale. Reach your arms all the way up. Exhale. Dive forward. Fold over your legs. Inhale. Halfway lift. Fingers up your shins. Exhale. Fold. Step back. Downward facing dog. Inhale. Plank pose. So option hold here. Maybe keep your knees lifted if you're feeling strong today and your hips don't sink. Otherwise lower your knees. Take a deep breath in. Shift your shoulders forward. Exhale. Slow lower. Elbows scrape the sides of your body. Inhale. Cobra. Exhale. Downward dog. Maybe come through the knees. Three breaths here. Let your head hang. Hips lift up and back. Draw your belly in. Shoulders away from your ears. Look forward. Start to walk your feet between your hands. Inhale. Halfway up. Exhale. Fold. Inhale. All the way up. Reach your arms to the sky. Exhale to the heart prayer. One more round. Inhale. Reach up. Exhale. Dive forward. Fold.

Inhale. Halfway lift. Exhale. Fold. Step back. Downward dog. Inhale. Plank. Knees down or up. Exhale. Slow lower to your belly. Inhale. Cobra. Exhale. Downward dog. Three breaths there. Walk your feet forward. Halfway lift. Inhale. Exhale. Fold. Inhale. Rise. Reach through your arms. Exhale. Palms to prayer at the heart. From here, bring your hands to your hips. We'll come into tree pose. I'll face you just to give you a visual. Bring your weight into your right foot. Take your left foot either to your ankle. Your left toes can touch the floor for stability. Or maybe touch your calf right below the knee. Or maybe touch your inner thigh. And then keep your hands on your hips at first just to feel the hips even out here. Find a steady focal point out in front of you. Soft gaze. Engage your belly. Root through your right foot. You've also got the wall nearby. If you feel you want to move closer to the wall, put your hand on the wall. Maybe hands come to the heart. Feel your breath. So balancing poses are extremely helpful for focusing the hands. Maybe your arms come up today. Play with an extra challenge. Open up your branches. Stay with your gaze. Doesn't matter if you fall out. I do it all the time. Stay with your breath. Gently hands back to heart. And slowly release your left leg. Shake out your right leg. We'll switch sides. Hands to hips to start. Right foot comes up to the ankle again. If that's where you did the other side, whatever you did on the other side, take your foot there. Find your steady gaze. Hips even. Do your best. Feel your root. Your left foot is your anchor. Stay with the breath. Take the hands to the heart if you'd like. Maybe start to take the arms up. The beautiful thing about balancing poses is there's not much else you can think about besides balancing. Soft concentration. Three more breaths. Strong left leg. Don't lock your left knee, but stay strong. Hands to heart, center, prayer. Slowly release. Right foot down. Shake out your left leg. From the top of the mat, hands to your heart. Inhale, reach your arms all the way up. Exhale, forward fold. Now when you're there, make sure your block is near the front edge of your mat, because we'll use it in a moment. From halfway up, inhale. Exhale, fold. So from here, go ahead and grab your block and you can take it maybe to the highest level to start. Both hands on the block. Keep the weight in your left foot and lift your right foot up. Warrior three. So it's lifting back. Doesn't have to lift all the way up. It can lift maybe just halfway up. So do your best here. It's nice to have a block. Work on evening your hips. Another balancing pose. Stay with the breath. If you're feeling steady, feel free to take one hand to your heart.

Maybe both in prayer. Work on finding a T shape in your body. A couple more breaths. Gently release the hands to the blocks. Lower the right foot down. Switch sides. Maybe bend your knees a little. Shake out the left leg. Left leg reaches back. Soft steady focal point. Maybe the hands come to the heart. Maybe prayer at the heart. Reach your heart forward as your left foot presses back. Keep your belly pulling in. Abdominal support. Couple more breaths. And then gently release your hands back to the block. Slowly release your left leg. Fold over both legs. Block off to the side. Step your right foot to the back of the mat. Come high to your fingertips here. Strongly engage your legs. Hug your legs towards each other like your feet could move together, but they're not actually going to. You might stay here. You could also come a little higher onto a block. Place it at the highest level on the inside of the foot. Or you come into full crescent. Inhale, reach your arms all the way up. Put a little bend in your right knee. Reach up through your chest. And then from here, bend your elbows like goal posts. Palms face forward. Inhale, reach your arms back up. Exhale, bend your elbows like goal posts. Inhale, reach back up. Exhale, bend. One more. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, bend. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, hands down to the floor. Step back forward. Switch sides. Left foot back. Hide your fingertips to start. Hug your legs towards each other. That helps with your stability and your focus and really drawing energy in. Stay here or engage your belly and slow rise. Inhale, reach your arms all the way up. Pause. Lift your heart towards the sky, but keep your shoulders plugging in. Maybe bend the back knee a little. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, bend your elbows like goal posts. Inhale, reach and extend back up. Exhale, bend. Inhale, reach. Exhale, bend. Inhale, reach. Exhale, hands to the floor. Step forward and fold. Halfway lift.

Exhale, fold. Bend your knees. Chair pose. Take your arms alongside your ears. And like you're sitting back in an imaginary chair, hold here. Then start to come a little deeper. Hinge at your hips. Do your best here. So if this is enough here, great. If you can go deeper, great. Strong legs. Engage your belly away from your thighs. Take an inhale. Exhale, sweep your arms behind you. Inhale, reach your arms forward. Exhale, big sweep behind. Two more. Inhale, hold energy behind. Exhale. Inhale, arms forward. Exhale, big sweep. Inhale, all the way to standing. Exhale, hands to heart. Close your eyes. Take a couple breaths here. Mountain pose. Feel your heart beating. Inhale, reach your arms back up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, fold. Step back, downward dog. From here, reach your right leg into the air. I'm going to step forward just so I don't hit the wall. And then bend your right knee and open your right hip. So your right hip's kind of stacking on top of your left. And then shift your shoulders forward and bring your right knee into your chest. A little core work here. Do your best. Look between your thumbs and slowly start to step your right foot through. If it doesn't come through easily, maybe place it down in the middle, grab your right foot, pull it all the way up. Spin your left heel down to the floor. And inhale for warrior two. Left arm back, right arm forward. So pause here warrior two. Arms extend. And then straighten your right leg. Reach forward. Pull your right hip back. Come to triangle pose. Right hand down to your right shin. Left arm stacks.

You can look down or up. You're welcome to stay here or take your left hand to your left hip. Maybe grab your block. It's a really nice tool for this pose. Place your block about a foot in front of your right pinky toe. Lift your left leg into the air. Gaze at a spot on the floor. Ardha chandrasana half moon. It's helpful sometimes to keep the left hand on the hip, but if you're feeling steady, take your left arm up to the sky. Maybe even play with your gaze if you're feeling exceptionally balanced. You could take it to the side. Just play a couple more breaths. Deep focus and concentration. Slowly step all the way back into warrior two. Inhale, reverse warrior. Reach back. Maybe melt your right side down another inch. Breathe into your heart. One more inhale. Exhale, hands to the floor. Step back downward dog. Reach your left leg in the air. Open hip, bend knee. Feel like your left hip could stack on top of your right hip. It helps open the hip. Take another breath in. Exhale, shift your shoulders over your wrist, knee to your chest. Pause. Use your belly here. Really round your back. The more you round your back, the more you can find more room to step the foot through. So again, maybe step it in the middle and pull it up. However you get the foot up there. Warrior two, spin your right foot down and inhale. Reach the right arm back. Left arm forward. Start to straighten your left leg. Reach forward. Sometimes it's helpful to shorten your stance a couple inches. Reach forward. Left hip pulls back. Triangle. Left hand to left shin. Right arm reaches up. Breathe here. You're welcome to stay or play with artichandrasana. Right hand to hip. Bend the left knee. Maybe grab your block. Place it about a foot in front of your pinky toe. Lift your right leg in the air. Flex your right foot strongly. Gaze at a spot on the floor. Deepen your breath. Maybe pop your hip. That always happens to me. Maybe the right arm comes up. It's not a bad thing. It's just little air pockets. Soft, steady gaze. Two more breaths here. Try not to lock your left knee. Slow step back to warrior two. Easy does it. Arms extend out. Reverse warrior. Left arm reaches back. Inhale. Reach up through the heart. Find lots of length out of your left hip. One more breath in. Kneel hands to the floor. Step back down or dog. Take a deep breath in through your nose.

Open your mouth. Sigh the breath out. Again, deep breath in. This time stick your tongue out. Out the mouth. Lion's breath. One more deep breath in. Out the mouth. Tongue out. Slow your knees. Rest in child's pose for a few breaths. Hips toward your heels. Let your head relax. And just breathe into your back body. So nice to take moments of rest in our practice. Especially when we've been working quite a bit. Asking a lot of our energy and our muscles and our strength. Just feel slow breaths. It's nice here to do a nice side stretch. So go ahead and dip your left hip towards the floor. Walk your hands over to the right. Any amount. Take a couple breaths there. And then go ahead and walk your hands back through center. Dip your right hip down. Walk your hands over to the left. Come back to center. And then come on to your hands and knees. Let's take another inversion dolphin pose. It's very similar to down dog, but you'll be on your forearms. So lower the elbows right under your shoulders. Your hands may want to come together here, so you're welcome to interlace your fingers. Or you can work on keeping your hands parallel to each other. Sometimes it's helpful to have a block between your index fingers. I like to do that. And you can go ahead and tuck your toes. Lift your hips. Lift your knees. Just like down dog. But you're on your forearms. Let your head hang and breathe here. Engage your belly. Maybe keep your knees bent. Press your heart towards your knees. So you're also helping to open the heart. A few more breaths. Fresh blood and oxygen into the brain. And then gently walk your feet back. Lower your knees back down. If you have a block, move it off to the side. Come high up to your fingertips. We'll take heart opening pose. Starting to open some space into the chest. Flatten the tops of your feet. Keep your hips over your knees here and walk your hands forward as far as you can. Let your heart melt to the floor. And then rest your forehead towards the floor. And breathe. Maybe it touches the floor. Try to keep this active. Under sides of the arms. Just stay lifted. Shoulders plug in. A couple more breaths. And slowly start to walk your hands back. And go ahead and sit on your heels for a moment. If sitting on your heels isn't comfortable, you can sit on your block. We'll move into camel pose. So I like to roll the mat one or two times just to get myself a little padding. And then you'll come on to that padding with your knees. Take your hands right on top of your buttocks. I like to say get to know your buttocks a little. Like you're putting your hands in your jeans' pockets. The butt is a nice cushiony.

It's nice. You're welcome to tuck your toes or keep the tops of the feet on the floor. Try to keep your hips over your knees. They're going to want to sink back here, but keep them over your knees. And then just squeeze your elbows towards each other as much as you can and lift your heart up. So think about lifting up more than back up. So extending and lengthening the sides of your waist. Shoulders roll back, but keep lifting the chest up. Just a modified camel here. A few more breaths. It feels good to hang your head back. Feel free to hang the head. Keep pushing your butt down. It helps your tailbone move down. And then inhale to slowly come out. Go ahead and sit back towards your heels. Unwind your mat. We'll come on to the back. So come onto your back, knees bent, roll down, and we'll move straight into bridge pose. So keeping that opening in the heart, arms alongside your body, palms flat, root through your feet, inhale, lift your hips up. You can stay here if available. Maybe interlace your fingers together under your back, wiggle your shoulders under, root down through your feet, breathe into your heart. So heart opening is extremely energizing for the body. It gives us this just lifted sense of well-being and feeling open, available, spacious. Two more breaths. Slowly lower down as you're ready. One vertebra at a time. Pause for a moment. Bring both knees into your chest slowly. Take your arms out to the side like a T. Lower your hips to the left. Stack your knees to the left. Knees to the right. Two knee twist. If you want to go deeper, you can wrap your right leg over your left leg for eagle legs. And just let your body ring out here. Couple more breaths. Inhale back to center. Slowly lower the hips and legs over to the right.

Stack your knees or cross your left leg over your right knee. You can gaze to the left if it feels OK on your neck. Twists are all about releasing, so go ahead and let go of anything that is not going to serve you for the rest of your day. Inhale, come back to center. Give yourself a gentle squeeze. Both knees into your chest. Rock side to side. And then give yourself a moment to come into a little ball. Tighten everything up. Maybe even lift your chin and your chest. Take a deep breath in and hold your breath. Hold your energy. Contain everything in. Tighten. Big exhale. Let it all go. Let your legs play out. Let your arms play out. Shoulders away from your ears. Hips away from your shoulders. You wiggle your legs and hips a little bit. Any kinks that are still there, just let them go. Take one more breath in through the nose and out the mouth. And then no more control over your breath. Stillness in your body. Feel the back of your head sinking down. Allow your forehead to soften. Your eyelids. Your cheekbones. Your mouth. Your neck. Let the shoulders soften. Completely relaxed on your mat. Feel the weight of your arms. Feel the weight of your rib cage. Allow your hips to melt even deeper towards the mat, towards the floor. Feel the weight of your legs. Soften your toes. The whole body. Heavy and still. Feel the weight of your body. Feel the weight of your body. Feel the weight of your body. Start to come back into your body. Wiggle your fingers, your toes. Take a full deep breath. Bend your knees slowly. Roll over to one side. Use your hands to press yourself up and come to a comfortable seated position. Hands together at your heart, eyes softly close. Bow your chin towards your palms and take a moment to seal your practice with gratitude.

Thank yourself for giving your mind a fresh start. Thank yourself for taking the time to feel some space. And with this clarity, ask yourself, how do I want to feel when I move off my mat? And take that energy with you. One more easy breath. Link your eyes open. Have a wonderful rest of your day. Namaste.