Peaceful Flow

Namaste, welcome. Today's practice is going to be a very peaceful, calming flow meant to balance the central nervous system and just feel like everything is just a little easier. So we're going to start in a seat. We'll use one block for our practice and you're welcome to come into Varasana like I'm sitting and sit on the block at the lowest level right between your heels. Sometimes that's a little kinder on the knees. You're also welcome to sit in a comfortable cross-legged position as well. So go ahead and close your eyes, rest your hands gently on your thighs, feel a tall spine, feel your sitting bones rooting down into your block or into the floor. Let your shoulders drop down away from your ear, soften the muscles in your face. Just feel the natural flow of your breath moving in and out through your nose. Allow yourself to soak in this moment right here, right now. Gently blink your eyes open. Coming into alternate nostril breathing, such a beautiful way to breathe when you need to really balance and calm yourself. I do it in traffic a lot actually, but keep the eyes open when you're in traffic. In this version we'll close the eyes but you'll take your peace fingers on your right hand, place them on your third eye center. The right thumb is going to be free to block off the right nostril and the right ring finger blocks off the left nostril. So you're going to go side to side in a moment. So go ahead and close your eyes. Exhale all the air out of your lungs, block off your right nostril, inhale only through the left for three, two, one, hold the breath in. Exhale through the right only, three, two, one, hold the breath out. Inhale through the right, three, two, one, exhale left, three, two, one, left. Inhale, three, two, one, right exhale, three, two, one, right inhale, three, two, one, left exhale, three, two, one. Release your right hand, breathe in and out through both nostrils. Feel the benefits. And slowly come back into the room. Come on to your hands and knees facing the front of the mat. Spread through your palms, knees directly under your hips. Inhale, chest forward, cow pose, lift your gaze. Exhale, round your spine, cat pose. Inhale, chest forward, cow. Exhale, round cats. A few more. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Last one, inhale. Exhale. Come to a flat back. Go ahead and start to step your right foot forward. You might come to your fingertips to make that happen. Wiggle your left knee back. Keep the left foot flat on the floor. And if you're left knee sensitive, go ahead and pad either the left side of your mat under your knee or grab, you know, a shirt or a blanket. Keep your right knee over your ankle and inhale, reach your arms all the way up. Anjaniasana, crescent moon pose. And just lift up through your heart as you root through your right foot. So lots of energy in your legs. You could feel like your legs are sucking towards each other and then lift up to your heart. Pull your shoulders back. Subtle engagement in your belly. Take another big breath. Lower your hands to the floor and just gently step your right knee back where it was and step your left foot forward. Again, maybe wiggle the right knee back a little bit. Inhale, reach your arms all the way up. And you're starting to find some space in the front of the body, all the way from your right knee up into your heart. Energy through your fingertips. Maybe lift your gaze. One more breath. Lower your hands down to the floor. Bring your left knee back. Child's pose. Knees wide apart, toes together, sit your hips back towards your heels. Three slow deep breaths into your back body. Maybe feel the breath skimming the back of your throat. The breath of yoga. And then slowly stack your vertebrae. Start to come up back to Varasana, but just for a moment. Hands to heart center. Inhale, rise up, lift your hips and lift your arms to the sky. Exhale back to child's pose. Come onto your hands and knees as you inhale. And then exhale, slowly lower your chest and chin down, crocodile. Inhale, come into cobra, lift your chest. And then exhale, downward dog, tuck your toes. Maybe come through the knees and lift your hips. Couple breaths here. As you inhale, lower your knees back to the floor. And as you exhale, sit back on your heels, hands at your heart. So we'll move through those poses. Moon salutations with the breath. Inhale, reach your arms up. Exhale, child's pose. Inhale, all fours. Exhale, slow lower down, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra, lift your heart. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, lower your knees. Exhale, sit back on your heels. Inhale, reach up, lift your hips. Exhale, child's pose. Inhale, hands and knees. Exhale, slow lower down. Inhale, cobra, lift your heart. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, lower your knees. Exhale, sit on your heels, hands to heart. One more. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, child's pose. Inhale, find all fours. Exhale, lower down. Inhale, cobra. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, lower your knees. Exhale, sit on your heels. Come back into child's pose from here. Maybe arms alongside your body.

Three slow, deep breaths. Going inward. Let your shoulders really round. Reach your arms forward. Come back slowly to downward dog from here. Tuck your toes, lift your knees. Maybe pedal out the feet. Find a little more depth here. Let your head dangle. Move side to side. Soften your face. Walk your feet forward all the way to your hands. Halfway lift as you inhale, fingers up your shins. Exhale, fold forward. Inhale, all the way to stand. Reach your arms up to the sky. Exhale, hands to heart center. Inhale, reach up. Move with the breath. Exhale, fold forward. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, fold. Step your left foot all the way to the back of your mat into a lunge. Gently lower the left knee down. Inhale, reach your arms all the way up, Anjani Asana. Exhale, hands back to the floor. Inhale, lift your back knee, tuck your toes. Downward dog as you exhale. Take a deep breath in here. Exhale, lower the knees, chest and chin. Inhale, find cobra, shoulders back. Exhale, downward facing dog. Inhale, step your left foot forward all the way to your hands. You may need to grab your ankle, pull it up. Gently lower the right knee down. Inhale, reach your arms all the way up. Exhale, hands to the floor. Inhale, lift your back knee. Step forward as you exhale. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, fold. Inhale, all the way up. Reach your arms. Exhale, palms to the heart. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, fold. Stay with the breath. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, fold. Step your right foot to the back of the mat. Lower your right knee. Inhale, reach your arms up. Exhale, hands to the floor. Inhale, lift your back knee. Downward dog, exhale. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, lower the knees, chest and chin.

Inhale, find cobra, lift your heart. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, step your right foot forward. Take as many steps as you need. Exhale, lower the left knee down. Inhale, reach your arms up. Exhale, hands to the floor. Inhale, lift your back knee. Step forward, exhale. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, fold forward. Inhale, rise. Reach through your arms. Exhale, hands to your heart. Inhale, reach back up. Exhale, forward fold. Step back to downward dog from here. Bend your knees. One foot, then the other. Reach your right leg into the air, three-legged dog. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, bring your right knee all the way into your chest. Shift your shoulders over your wrists and then bring your right foot between your hands. Again, take your time. Wiggle it up there, however it needs to get up there. Then come to your fingertips. Spin your left heel down. Inhale to warrior two. Left arm circles back, right arm forward. Your feet should pretty much be lined up where you want them in warrior two. Right foot pointing to the front edge of the mat. Left toe slightly angled in. Broad chest. Come back to your slow, steady breath. Take your right palm up. Inhale, reverse warrior. Reaching back. Pause, lift through your heart. Take another breath in. Exhale to extended angle pose. Right forearm touches your right thigh. Left arm straight up or over your ear. Full deep breath. Reverse warrior as you inhale. Exhale to extended angle. Make it a dance. Inhale, reverse warrior. Strong legs. Exhale to extended angle. Fluid body. Inhale, reverse warrior. Exhale, extended angle. Come back to warrior two. Straighten your right leg. Parallel your feet. Bring your hands to your hips. Inhale, lift your chest. Hinge at your hips. Exhale, fold forward. Wide leg forward. Bend. You can keep your hands at your hips or maybe grab your calf muscles. Shoulders away from your ears. Five slow breaths here. Again, an opportunity to go inward. Anytime we bend forward and fold, it's a really nice way to just calm everything in your mind and your body. Root through your feet. Strong legs, but let your upper body just hang. Maybe nod your head side to side. Take your hands back to your hips. Use your belly. Inhale, slowly come all the way up. Find warrior two facing the front edge of your mat. So simply pivot your right foot. Bend your right knee. Arms out to the sides. Reverse your warrior on your inhale. Exhale, both hands to the floor. Cartwheel them down. Step back downward dog. Reach your left leg in the air. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, bring your knee to your chest. Round your shoulders over your hands. Slowly step your foot through. Spin the right heel down. Inhale, warrior two. Right arm back, left arm forward. Pause there. Feel your feet rooting into the earth. Broaden through your chest. Breathe into your ribs. You might even feel so steady here that you could close your eyes. Feel your body from the inside. Left palm up. Inhale, reverse your warrior. Pause again. Lift through your hearts. One more inhale. Exhale to extended angle. Left forearm to left eye. Right arm either straight up or over your ear. Breathe into the right side of your body. Make it a dance. Inhale all the way to reverse warrior. Exhale to extended angle. Move with the breath. Inhale, reverse warrior. Exhale to extended angle. Inhale, reverse warrior. Exhale to extended angle. Back to warrior two. Pause. Straighten your left leg. Parallel your feet.

Hands to hips. Inhale, lift your chest. Exhale, hinge at your hips. Fold forward. A couple options from here. You could interlace your hands at your lower back. Or you could maybe release your hands and gently pull into one leg and then the other. So whatever feels good here. A couple more breaths. Hands to your hips. Use your belly. Inhale, slowly rise all the way back up. Point your left toes to the front edge of the mat. Bend your knee, warrior two. Inhale, reverse warrior. Exhale, hands to the floor. Step back downward facing dog. Find your breath in and out only through your nose. Maybe close your eyes again. From here reach your right leg in the air. Inhale. Exhale, step your right foot through. Bring your hands to the inside of your right foot. Lower the left knee. You can keep the left knee lifted. It's a more active version. Or lower, either one. Maybe this is enough. Lizard pose. You can also come down to your forearms. You can also place your forearms on a block. Let your head relax. Couple deep breaths into your left hip. Soften your face. Slowly start to come up. From here move the block if you have the block. Come into a lunge.

Really straighten your right leg. Walk your back foot in about a foot or two. You may keep a bend in your right knee here. You may even want to come up to your block again. You can bring it to the inside of your foot. Give yourself a little more of a lift for pyramid pose. There's really two options. You can keep your spine straight. Sometimes that feels really good to lengthen the back. Other times it feels good to really fold over the right leg. No matter how much the right knee is bent you're still going to get a nice rounding in the spine and lengthen your right hamstring. Couple breaths here. Gently bend your right knee and start to step your left foot back to your lunge. One more pose here. Left hand either on the floor or on a block. Right arm in the air. Big open twist. Breathe into your ribs. Lower the right hand down. Move the block off to the side. Step back down. We're done. Left leg in the air. Deep breath in. Exhale. Step your left foot forward. Bring your hands to the inside of your left foot. Wiggle the left foot over like an inch or two. Maybe lower the back knee. Maybe lower the forearms to the floor or a block. Lizard pose. Deep breaths into your hips. Soften your face. Gently start to come back up. Move the block off to the side. Go ahead and come into a lunge. Straighten your left leg and walk your back foot in about a foot or two. So you're in pyramid pose again. You may want your block. You can stay with a flat back or start to round your spine. Maybe the left knee is bent. Smooth, steady, even breaths. Slowly bend the left knee. Step your right foot back into a lunge. Right hand stays down on the floor or a block. Lift the left arm up. Big open twist. Lots of space in the heart and the ribs. Lower the left hand down. Step back, downward facing dog. Rest in child's pose. Knees down. Big toes together. Sit back. From here, come onto your hands and knees. Bring your right knee behind your right wrist.

Bend your left leg back behind you. Coming into single pigeon pose. So depending on your hip flexibility, it may feel best to have your right heel where it is. But if you feel like you have more room, wiggle your right heel up towards your left wrist. And you can come high to your fingertips. Puff up your chest here. Take a deep breath in. And then exhale. Maybe come down to your forearms. Going a little deeper. If this is too much, come back up. If you can go deeper, stack your forearms and rest your forehead on your forearms. Just a couple breaths here. Into your right hip. I lied. One more breath. Slowly come up. Walk your hands back. Press back onto hands and knees. Bring your left knee forward behind your left wrist. Extend your right leg back. Wiggle your left ankle forward if you need to. Come out of your fingertips. If that feels good, puff up your chest. Try to find some length here. Lift through your heart. And then slowly maybe down to the forearms. Slow deep breaths. Maybe stack forearms, rest, forehead. Each exhale, find some space. One more breath. Slowly start to come up. Come back to your hands and knees. Simply scoot your knees forward. Sit down off to one side and bring your legs out in front of you. Coming into seated forward bend. You can pull the flesh away from your sitting bones here. Maybe bend your knees as much as you need to to feel a long spine. Reach your arms up. Inhale. And exhale. Reach towards your toes any amount. So maybe this is what you look like. Your hands can rest on the floor. And then round your spine once you find your shape. Some of you might have straighter legs. Some of you might grab your feet. Take about five breaths here. Going inward. Each exhale, let yourself just drop in. One more breath. Slowly roll up. Stack your vertebrae, one on top of each other. Feel your tall spine. We'll come onto the back. You'll want your block with you. I'm just going to turn the other way. And go ahead and roll down onto your back. Your block is right with you. Feet hip distance apart, knees bent. Lift your hips and slide the block underneath you at your sacrum bone, which is the flat bone at the base of your spine. And we're kind of right above your buttocks here. Restorative bridge pose. So maybe the lowest level feels good. Maybe we even could go up to the middle level in your block. Let your arms relax alongside your body. I'm going to scoot down because I'm totally off my mat. Once you've set up your pose, just let yourself soften into the block. And let your body settle into the earths. Close your eyes.

Breathe into your heart. So as we rest here, I'd like to offer you a mantra, a repetition of words for your mind to focus on. And the mantra is, I am deeply peaceful and I am completely at ease. I am deeply peaceful. I am completely at ease. I am deeply peaceful. I am completely at ease. As you're ready, start to softly push into your feet. Move the block over to one side. Lower your hips to the floor. Gently lower your knees to the right. You might scoot your hips to the left first. Just lower the knees for a gentle twist. Arms out to the sides. Inhale, bring your knees back up. Exhale to the left. Maybe scoot the hips to the right. Back your legs. Inhale, bring your knees back up. Completely relax each leg out long. Shoulders wiggle away from your ears, arms alongside your body. Final relaxation, Shavasana. Keep lying here. I'm going to slowly press up to seat to guide you through your Shavasana. So keep your body still on the floor. Feel the weight of your legs. Feel the weight of your arms. Feel the weight of the back of your head. Allow your forehead to soften. Allow the bridge of your nose to soften. Feel your teeth gently part and allow your jaw to relax. Feel your right cheek heavy, sliding off towards the right. Feel your left cheek heavy, sliding off towards the left. Feel your whole body still. Feel your whole body so heavy. Feel your breath. Feel and ease within your breath. Again, hear the mantra, I am deeply peaceful. I am completely at ease.

As you're ready, softly begin to move your fingers and toes. Take a full deep breath. Bend your knees and gently roll off to one side. Use your hands to press yourself up to a comfortable seat. Once you arrive, close your eyes. Bring your hands together at your heart in prayer. Bow your chin down. Take a moment to feel grateful. Thank yourself for taking the time out of your day to feel peaceful and at ease. It is not only going to serve you, but it is also going to serve everyone around you. One more slow, easy breath. Gently blink your eyes open. Have a beautiful rest of your day. Namaste.