Ground and Flow

Namaste. Welcome to your practice. We'll start in Virasana. I'm going to turn this way so you can see. You're welcome to use a block and sit on your block if that's more comfortable for you. Otherwise, we're going to get into the feet right away. So go ahead and place one foot on top of the other and sit back on your heels. And you can rest your hands on your thighs, palms down, very grounding energy here. Close your eyes. And then just breathe into your feet and feel the gentle massage happening. Start to slow down your breath, really filling up your ribs and your lungs. Let your shoulders be heavy down away from your ears. You may be feeling like you want to come out of this. See if you can stay with it for a couple more breaths. Really feel the pressure releasing tension in your foot. And then softly switch sides. You might want to take your hands forward as you do. One foot on top of the other. Again, grounding energy, palms down. And it may be helpful to take some pauses at the top of your inhale and the bottom of your exhale just to really allow the breath to slow down. It's most likely the first time in your whole day that you've allowed yourself to consciously breathe. Keep a long spine as your tailbone roots towards the earth and the crown of the head lifts up. And gently release, bring your fingers forward, tuck your toes now, and sit on your heels. And you can keep your fingers forward. If this is already pretty intense for you, stay here. Otherwise, come back upright, hands on your thighs, and really feel that pretty intense stretch sometimes on your toes. Tall spine, belly and tailbone down, shoulders heavy. About five breaths here. Really fill up your ribs. So when breathing deeply, it's helpful to really feel the expansion of every side of your rib cage, front and back, and side to side. Again, you may want to come out, try to stick with it. Two more breaths. And slowly start to come out. One more foot stretch here, fingers forward, come to the tops of your feet, walk your hands behind you and start to lift your knees up. Just any amount. I feel this quite a bit. Stretching the tops of your feet, your ankles. Maybe you want to walk your hands a little further back or lift your knees a little bit higher. Keep breathing. So even at these moments where we're not flowing with the body, you can still feel the flow of your breath. A subtle movement as you expand with each inhale. And relax with each exhale. Take one more breath. Go ahead and slowly lower your knees back to the floor and let's make our way into downward facing dog. Your first downward dog, maybe you want to pedal out your feet a few times and just kind of feel how much space you've created just by those simple foot stretches. Spread wide through your toes. Maybe even take your feet a little wider for a moment to get your hamstrings a little bit longer. Sometimes taking that space on the mat gives more length for the backs of the legs. You can let your head hang. Maybe not it. Yes. I know. And then walk your hands all the way to the back of the mat to your toes. Bring your feet about hip distance apart. Come halfway up on your inhale to a flat back. And as you exhale, fold again, inhale halfway up, flat back. Exhale, fold one more time. Inhale, lift your chest, shoulders back. Now bend your knees and gently roll up through your spine one vertebra at a time. Let your head be the last thing to come up. Once you come up, draw your shoulders down your back and bring your hands to prayer at your heart.

Close your eyes. Take a moment to feel both feet rooting into the earth. And as you root down, find length all the way through the top of your head. And now we'll continue to just move with the breath. Inhale, sweep your arms out and up. And as you exhale, dive forward and fold over your legs. Maybe bend your knees. Inhale to a half lift, flat back. As you exhale, fold and round. Inhale, rise up, root through your feet, reach through your arms. Exhale, prayer to your heart. So just a half salute here. Inhale, sweep your arms out and up. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, halfway lift, flat back. Exhale, as you fold. Inhale, rise up, root down through your feet as you lift. Exhale, prayer to your heart. One more inhale, reach up. And exhale, dive forward. Inhale, halfway lift, flat back. And exhale, as you fold. Nice. Take your feet a little bit wider than hip distance apart. Toes out, heels in, bend your knees and squat into malasana. Hands to prayer. Take a deep full breath, tailbone down, heart lifted. And then we're gonna do these little knee taps. So you'll take your hands to your knees, just like this, and bring your left knee towards the floor as you gaze towards the right. And then inhale to center. And exhale, take the right knee to the floor as you gaze to the left. Inhale to center. Exhale, left knee down. Inhale, center. Exhale, right knee down. Really feeling this in your hips. Exhale, left knee down. Inhale, center. And one more, right knee down. Inhale, center. Now root through both feet and rise all the way up. Reach your arms towards the sky. Inhale. Exhale, prayer to heart and squat back down. Inhale, reach your arms up, belly in, lengthen. And exhale, draw energy down into the earth. Two more like that. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, squat, tailbone down towards the floor. Inhale, reach up. And exhale as you squat. Now crawl your hands forward and come into Downward Dog.

Take a full deep breath. Without lifting your right leg, step your right foot between your knees. Spin the left heel down for Warrior II. Inhale, left arm back, right arm forward. Now reach both arms up as you inhale. And exhale, push energy down towards the floor. Inhale, both arms up, sweep. And exhale, grounding energy into the earth. One more like that. And exhale. Nice back to Warrior II. And then just straighten your right leg, pivot your feet, wide leg forward, bend over your legs. You can grab your ankles for a moment or maybe your two big toes. Draw your shoulders away from your ears, reach your heart. One more full deep breath here. And then take your hands back to your hips, root through your feet. Inhale to rise back up. Warrior II to the back of the mat. Just switching it up. Bend your left knee, arms out to the sides. Now inhale, bring energy into your heart.

And exhale, push energy out. Inhale, space into your heart. And exhale, release anything unnecessary out. One more. Inhale, bring it in. Exhale, push it out. Cartwheel your hands down to the floor by your left foot and step to plank pose. Now optional vinyasa here, take a deep breath in. And exhale, slowly lower. Inhale for cobra or upward dog. Lift your chest. And downward dog as you exhale, press back. Full deep breath here. Step your left foot between your hands. Take as many steps as you need, Warrior II. Spin the right heel down, right arm back. Now reverse your Warrior. Take your left palm up and back. Inhale. And as you exhale, come to extended angle. Just making a little dance here. Inhale for reverse Warrior. Root through your feet. Exhale, extended angle. Inhale for reverse. And exhale, extended angle. And come back to Warrior II. Straighten your left leg, parallel your feet. Hands interlaced at your lower back. Inhale, lift your heart. And exhale, forward fold. Take a full deep breath here. And then relax your hands down to the floor. Come about halfway up and point your toes slightly out. Bend into your right knee, skandhasana. And inhale through center. Exhale, bend into the left knee. You could crawl your fingers over if you'd like. And inhale through center. You could even bring your hands to prayer.

Exhale. Inhale. Keep rooting through your feet. Exhale. And inhale. One more each side. Strong legs. Come back to center. Parallel your feet. Hands to hips. Inhale as you rise up. Exhale, Warrior II. Right toes forward. Inhale for reverse Warrior. And exhale to extended angle. Inhale, reverse Warrior. Keep feeling your feet. Root down. Exhale, extended angle. One more each side. Inhale. And exhale. Come back to Warrior II as you inhale. And exhale, hands to the floor by your right foot. Step to plank as you inhale. And exhale, lower. Inhale, lift your heart, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward dog. Three breaths here, in and out through your nose. Feel your palms, feel your feet connecting to the earth. So now we'll just move a little faster, but keeping that grounded energy. Again, without lifting your right leg, step your right foot forward. Inhale, Warrior II. Exhale, sink deeper. This time inhale, straighten your right leg. And exhale to triangle pose. Inhale, back to Warrior II. Bend your right knee. Exhale, back to triangle pose. Push into your right foot. Open your heart. Inhale, back to Warrior II. Exhale, back to triangle. Inhale, Warrior II. Exhale, forward fold. Straighten your right leg. Dive over your legs. Fingers to the floor. Inhale, half lift. Exhale, fold. Again, inhale, half lift. Exhale, fold. One more. Half lift, inhale. And exhale, fold. Rise to stand. Inhale, arms up. Exhale, Warrior II to the back of the mat. Inhale, straighten your left leg. Exhale to triangle pose. Inhale, back to Warrior II. Exhale, back to triangle. Pull your hip back. Inhale, Warrior II. Exhale, triangle pose. Inhale, Warrior II. Exhale, hands to the floor by your left foot. Inhale, plank pose. Exhale, lower. Inhale, cobra wrap dog. And exhale, downward dog. Inhale, your left foot forward. Rise up, Warrior II. Settle in here. Reverse your Warrior again. Inhale, straighten your left leg. Exhale all the way down to triangle. This time, hold your triangle. Maybe look up at your top hand. Maybe push your left hand into your left leg to get more lift in your heart. Take one more breath. And then bend your left knee and find Warrior II. Take an inhale here. Exhale your hands to the inside of your left foot and pivot to the ball of your right foot. Wiggle your left foot over to the left. Finding just some dynamic lizard here. Inhale, lift your chest. And exhale, round your back. Inhale, lift your chest. And exhale as you round back. One more. Inhale, heart forward. Exhale and round. Crawl yourself to the center of the mat. Pivot your left toes in. Keep your right hand on the floor and inhale your left arm up for a twist. Exhale the left hand down.

Inhale the right arm up. Exhale the right hand down. Two more each side. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Last one. Inhale and exhale. Nice. Walk yourself to the front of the mat and pivot your feet. Come to the ball of your left foot. Wiggle your right foot to the right a little. Inhale, lift your chest. Exhale, round your spine. Inhale, heart forward. Exhale, round. One more. Inhale. And exhale. Nice. Wiggle your right foot between your hands. Spin the left heel down. Rise up, warrior two, as you inhale. Inhale in for the exhale. Inhale, reverse your warrior and straighten your right leg. Come forward triangle. Exhale. Hold this triangle. Broaden through your shoulder blades. Broaden through your chest. Maybe gaze up. Stay with your breath. Come back to warrior two. Inhale here. Exhale, hands frame your right foot. Step to plank as you inhale. Lower down. Exhale. Inhale, cobra or upward dog. And exhale, downward facing dog. Take three breaths. Fill up your lungs. From here, walk your feet to your hands. Inhale for a half lift. Exhale as you fold.

Step your right foot to the back of the mat. Ground your right heel down. This time, warrior one, arms come forward and up. Inhale. Exhale, interlace your hands at your lower back. Inhale, lift your chest. And exhale, come towards the inside of your left knee, humble warrior. Take a full breath there. Relax your hands to the inside of your left foot. Come to the ball of your right foot and gently lower your back knee. So moving into lizard with a tail, pull your left foot over to the left. Reach your left hand back and grab your right foot. Kick your foot into your hand, pull your left shoulder back and breathe. Hug your legs towards each other energetically. You could even let your left ear, sorry, your right ear just hang towards your right shoulder. Take one more breath and gently release left hand to the floor. Step back, take a vinyasa if you'd like. Exhale as you lower, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward dog. And exhale back, downward dog. Full breath in. Full breath out. Walk your feet to your hands. Half lift. Inhale. Exhale, fold. Step your left foot back. Warrior one. Spin the left heel down. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, interlace your hands. Maybe the other pinky comes on top. Inhale, lift your heart. Exhale to the inside of your right knee. Take a full deep breath. Maybe let your head hang. When hands come to the inside of your right foot, pivot to the ball of your left foot, lower your left knee, flatten your foot. Wiggle the right foot over to the right. Lizard with a tail. Grab your left foot with your right hand. Kick into your foot. Kick into your hand. Draw your legs towards each other. Maybe let your left ear hang towards your left shoulder. One more breath here. And slowly release. Step back to plank. Inhale. Exhale, lower. Inhale, lift your heart. Exhale, downward dog. Full breath in. Full breath out. From here, bring your right knee behind your right wrist for single pigeon. Flex your right foot. Draw your left leg back. Let's keep it active at first. Hide your fingers and hug your legs towards each other. Feel your right hip pull back and your left hip pull forward. Lift through your chest. Take an inhale here. As you exhale, just bend your elbows and come about halfway down. And then inhale to lift back up. Draw your legs towards each other. And as you exhale, bend your elbows and come about halfway down. One more. Inhale, lift through your chest. And exhale, come all the way down. Maybe stack your forearms and rest your forehead. Three deep breaths. Slowly come out. Walk your hands back up. Press back, downward dog. Switch sides, left knee behind your left wrist. Flex your left foot. Keep it active at first. Hide your fingertips.

Puff up your chest. Hug your legs towards each other. Inhale here. Exhale, bend your elbows and come about halfway down. Inhale, press back up. Exhale, bend your elbows. Fold. And inhale one more time. Up. And then exhale, come all the way down. And again, maybe just rest your head on your forearms. Three deep breaths. Maybe let something go. And slowly start to come back up. Make your way back to downward facing dog. From here, walk your feet to your hands and slowly sit down onto your mat. Bring your feet forward slightly. Grab your block and bring it between your feet at the longest distance apart. And it's just going to be there so that you can hug inward and really feel your feet root down. We'll do some slow C curve rolls down and up. Take your arms forward. You're always welcome to grab behind your knees if you need to. And then slowly lower down. Start to round your spine for ten. Nine. Draw your belly in for eight. Seven. Six. Stay with your breath. Five. You'll start to feel that place where the lower back comes to the earth. Your feet might want to lift. Try to keep them down. Last four. Three. Don't let your shoulders touch the floor. And we'll slowly come back up. Maybe with a little smile. Ten. Nine. Eight. Try to keep your feet rooting down. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. Coming all the way up. One. Let's do one more. Again, you can grab behind your knees. Ten. Maybe close your eyes. Nine. Eight. Belly in. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Shoulders don't touch. Lift back up for ten. Nine. Eight. I'm going to even have to grab. Seven. Six. Five.

Four. Three. Two. One. Move your block gently off to the side. Come onto your back. Supta baddha konasana. Soles of the feet together. Knees open up. Shoulders away from your ears. Let your arms splay out to the sides with your palms facing up. Feel the soles of your feet connect. Exhale all the air out of your lungs. Inhale slowly. Fill up your belly, your ribs, your chest. Out your mouth. Let your breath go. Feel the soft energy of stillness. Taking your hands to the outer hips. Draw your knees together. Make your way into shavasana. Extend your legs. Take a full breath in. Hold your inhale. And let it go. Rest. You're welcome to stay here longer if you have the time and you need it. Otherwise join me in closing by gently coming back into the body. Wiggling toes. Fingers. Bend your knees. Your feet rest on the floor. And gently roll over to your right side and press yourself up to a gentle seat. Take your time. Rest your hands on your thighs, palms down. Take one more slow deep breath in through your nose. Out your mouth. May you feel grounded throughout the rest of your day. Hands to prayer. Namaste.