Yin and Yang Flow

Namaste. Welcome friends. I'm really excited to share this yin yang practice with you. We'll start right in the yang portion standing, so come to the front of your mat and you can bring your big toes together or keep your feet hip distance up to you. Bring the hands to prayer at your heart and close your eyes. Root down through your feet and as you root down, lift through the top of your head, drop your shoulders away from your ears. Take three slow deep breaths. Feel your whole body light up. And on your inhale, sweep your arms out and up, blink your eyes open. Exhale, dive forward and fold. Maybe bend your knees, half lift on your inhale. Exhale as you fold. Inhale, rise up, reach through your arms. Exhale, prayer to your heart. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, half lift, shoulders back. Exhale as you fold. Inhale, rise up, reach through your arms and exhale, prayer to heart. One more like that. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, half lift, flat back. Exhale, fold. Inhale, rise up, reach. Exhale, prayer to heart. Classical sun salutes. Inhale, sweep your arms forward and up. And then exhale, forward fold. Step your right foot to the back of the mat, lower your knee and pause. Just lift your chest, come to your fingers. Inhale here. And exhale, downward dog. Take about three breaths in downward dog. Strong arms. Lift your tailbone up and back. Take an inhale and shift into plank pose. Exhale, either lower down to your belly or chaturanga. Inhale for cobra or upward dog. Exhale back, downward dog. Inhale your right foot forward, lower the left knee down, pause, come to your fingertips, reach through your chest. Inhale here. Exhale, step forward and fold. Inhale, arms forward and up. Reach and exhale, prayer to heart. So let's continue with that. Inhale, reach up. Exhale as you fold. Inhale, left foot back, knee down, lift your chest. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale plank. Exhale lower, either chaturanga or all the way to your belly. Inhale for cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, left foot forward, right knee down, lift your chest. Exhale, step forward to fold. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, prayer to heart. A little faster. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, right leg back, knee down. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, plank. Exhale, lower. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, right foot forward, left knee down. Step forward fold. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, prayer to heart. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, left foot back, knee down. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, plank. Exhale, lower. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward dog. Inhale, left foot forward, right knee down. Exhale, step forward and fold. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, prayer to heart. One more. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, right leg back, knee down. Exhale, downward dog. You're welcome to hold here or shift forward. Stay with your vinyasa. Stay with your breath. Downward dog. Right leg forward, left knee down. Inhale. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, prayer to heart. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, left foot back, knee down. Exhale, downward dog. Maybe hold or inhale to plank. Exhale, chaturanga. Inhale, up dog or cobra. Inhale, downward dog. Inhale, left foot forward, right knee down. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, prayer to heart. Inhale to chair, pause. Bring your hands to prayer.

Stay with your breath. Inhale, lift your sternum, your breastbone into your thumbs. Exhale, push towards the left. Let the right elbow cross over your left thigh. Hold. Breathe. So feel the contrast here of holding this pose after moving with the breath. And start to breathe into the spaces that maybe feel a little tight or stuck. Stay strong in your legs. Two more breaths. Keep your hands in prayer. Inhale to center. Exhale, other side. Suck your stomach in. Hips are even. Press into your palms. Breathe into the spaces in your chest, in your shoulders. Maybe you feel this in your back. Your thighs are probably burning. One more breath into that. And come back to center. Fold forward. Step your right foot back. Wiggle the left foot to the left a few inches. And then just come to your fingertips here. So your hands are on the inside of your left foot. Reach your heart forward as you inhale and just dip your hips slightly. And then as you exhale, pull back. Maybe even straighten the left leg. Inhale, bend the knee. Reach your heart. Exhale, pull back. Maybe straighten the left leg. Inhale, bend. And exhale, rock back. One more time. Inhale, and exhale, rock back. Nice. Bend the left knee. Pause here. And maybe lower your forearms to the floor for full lizard pose. So you're welcome to lower the right knee down here and flatten the foot. And just hold here for about five slow breaths. So we just worked the legs quite a bit. Now feel the contrast here of stretching the front of your right hip. Into the hip flexors, into the groin, into the quadriceps. Maybe close your eyes. One more breath. And slowly come back up. Press back to downward facing dog. Optional Vinyasa. Inhale, plank. Exhale, lower. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward dog. Deep breath in here. Exhale, float or walk. Feet to hands. Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, fold.

Step your left foot back. Wiggle the right foot to the right. The hands are in the inside of your right foot. Come to your fingertips. Inhale, reach your chest forward. Exhale, pull back. Straighten your right leg any amount. Inhale, bend the knee. Reach your chest. Exhale and pull back. Two more. Inhale, bend. Exhale, pull back. Inhale, bend. Exhale, pull back. Inhale, bend. Pause. Maybe lower to the forearms. Lizard pose. Maybe lower the back knee down. Let your head relax and soften your face. Witness the quality of your breath. One more breath. Come up. Downward dog. Stay here or vinyasa. Inhale, plank. Exhale, lower. Inhale, heart lifts. Exhale, down dog. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Float or hop. Feet to hands. Inhale, half lift. Exhale, fold. From here, stop your right foot back into a lunge and rise to crescent pose. Inhale, the arms up. So we'll move dynamically quite a bit, really strengthening, maybe a little bend in the right knee. Take an inhale. And as you exhale, sweep the arms behind you and hover over your left leg. Inhale, back up to crescent. Exhale, big sweep. Arms back. Inhale, crescent. Exhale, sweep. Really root through your left foot. Inhale, crescent. Exhale, sweep back. Inhale, crescent. Bring the weight into your left foot and lift your right leg up. Hold your knee. Half step. Find your balance. Now dynamic. Reach your arms up. Inhale. Exhale, step back to crescent. Inhale, come back up. Hold your knee. Exhale, back to crescent. So try this. A few more times. Inhaling up. Exhaling back. Soft vocal point. Inhale up. Exhale back. One more. Inhale. Exhale. Hands to the floor. Lift your left leg in the air. Three-legged dog. Bend your knee and open your hip. Then bring your left knee behind your left wrist, coming into single pigeon. But we'll make it fairly active. So you might come to your fingertips. Hug your legs towards each other. Really engage the pelvic floor. So those of you who know Mulabanda, lift the pelvic floor. Hug in and up into your belly, into your heart, and breathe.

You're welcome to stay here. Keep your legs active. Flex your left foot. Or you can even come to your forearms, but keep your legs active. Five breaths. And come back up to your hands. Shift back. Downward dog. Full breath in. Full breath out. Float or walk feet to hands. Inhale. Halfway up. Exhale. Fold. Step your left foot back. Lunge. Inhale. Crescent pose. Rise up. Nice. Bind your stance. Gaze at a spot out in front of you. Root through your right foot. Take an inhale. Exhale. Big sweeps. Arms back. Inhale. Reach up. Exhale. Sweep back. Inhale. Reach up. Exhale. Sweep back. One more. Inhale. And exhale. Nice. Inhale up. Root through your right foot. Lift your left leg in the air. Hold onto your knee. Find your balance. Nice. Take your arms back up. Step back to Crescent. Inhale here. Exhale.

Hold your knee. Inhale back to Crescent. Exhale. Hold your knee. Inhale Crescent. Smile. Exhale. Hold your knee. One more. Inhale. And exhale. Step back to Crescent. Take your hands to the floor. Lift your right leg in the air. Flip your dog. Don't flip your dog, actually. Just lift the right knee in the air. Then come into Pigeon. Sometimes we do that, but not today. All right. Find your active hold here. Extend your left leg back. Engage your legs. Maybe come to the fingertips. Feel your breath.

Maybe drop to your forearms. Once again, feel the contrast between the flow and the hold. Two more breaths. Come up. Downward dog. Optional Vinyasa. Stay connected to your breath. Lift your right leg in the air. Open your hip and bend your knee.

And since I invited it earlier, let's flip the dog. Root through your left palm. Reach through your heart. Inhale. And exhale the right hand down. Bring your knee to your chest. Step forward. Warrior two. Inhale. Exhale as you settle in. Take your right arm up by your right ear and bend your elbow so your hand comes to your back. You're welcome to hold your right elbow here, or you can reach back with your left arm. Take full Gomukhasana arms. Find a little reverse warrior with Gomukhasana arms. Lift through your heart. Maybe drop your right side down. One more inch, but hug your legs towards each other. Feel so strong and active in your legs. Nice. Take an inhale. Lift a little bit more. Exhale into extended angle. Maybe take a half wrap or a full wrap. Your choice. And then maybe release your head towards your right shoulder and get your neck released. So your left shoulder draws down away from your left ear. Breathe into this hold. Strong legs. Slowly. Come back up. Warrior two. Reverse your warrior. Reach back your right arm. Inhale. And exhale. Cartwheel your hands down to the floor. Step back to plank. Optional vinyasa. Left leg in the air. Inhale. Open your hip bend, journey. And maybe flip your dog. Just for a breath. Inhale. Hello, flowers. And exhale.

Left hand down. Left foot forward. Warrior two. Rise up. Inhale. Settle in as you exhale. Gomukhasana arms. The same variation you did on the first side. Lift through your heart. Lift out of your left hip so the left ribcage pulls away from your left thigh bone. One more breath here. Slowly hinge forward. Come into extended angle. Maybe with a bind.

Maybe let your head release towards your left shoulder. Breathe into your neck. Breathe into your side body. Last two breaths. Slowly come back. Warrior two. Reverse. Inhale. The left arm up and back. And exhale. Hands down to the floor. Step back to plank. Optional vinyasa. A couple breaths here and downward dog. And then float or walk your feet to your hands. Inhale, half lift. Exhale, fold.

Bend your knees. Sit down in the center of the mat. Let's come into vasana for a moment. Lift your feet. You're welcome to start to straighten your legs. You're welcome to hold behind your knees. And you can stay here, otherwise we're going to move dynamically. So inhale as you lower. Halfway and exhale, lift back up. Inhale as you lower. Exhale, lift back up. Inhale as you lower. Exhale, lift back up. Three more. Engage your belly. Last one. Nice. Come all the way onto your back. Start to rock. Forward and back.

Forward and back. Make it playful. And then come all the way to forward. Fold over your legs. Let's hold. Grab behind your legs. You're welcome to grab your forearms, your elbows. Maybe just kind of hold anywhere on your calves. And just feel a long stretch here. Five breaths. Root down through your feet. Lift your sitting bones up. Shoulders away from your ears.

Then release your hands down. Step your right foot to the back of the mat. Lower your right knee. Shift your hips back. Arda Hanuman. Walk your fingers onto your shoulders. Flex your left toes up. Inhale, reach your heart forward. Exhale as you round. Inhale, reach your heart forward. Exhale and round. Two more. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Now hold here. Maybe even grab the bottom of your left foot and pull it back a little to get a deeper stretch. Some of you may feel more open to come into a full split. You're certainly welcome to take that option. Wiggle your left foot forward. You don't even have to come all the way down. Just feel it out. Maybe hide your fingertips. Lift through your belly. Suck your legs towards each other. Two more breaths. Slowly inch your way out. Step back. Downward dog. Full breath in.

Full breath out. Float or walk to your hands. Half lift. Inhale. Exhale, fold. Step your left foot back. Lower your knee. Shift your hips back. Arda Hanuman. Walk your fingers onto your shoulders. Inhale, stretch your heart forward. Exhale and round. Inhale, stretch your heart forward. And exhale to round. Two more. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Hold. Maybe reach for the bottom of your right foot. Pull back. Or maybe take the full splits variation if you did that on the other side. So listen to your body. Again, maybe you're not going all the way down. You don't want to tear anything. So backing out is always better. Hugging in is always better. A couple more breaths. Lift through your heart. Slowly start to back out of it. Press back to downward dog.

Hug. Fold deep breath. And walk or float. Feet to hands. Inhale, half lift. Exhale as you fold. Step back to your hands and knees. And just gently lower all the way onto your belly. From here, extend your left arm out to the left, palm flat. Keep your right hand by your right chest and roll to the left side of your body. You can bend your knees or place your right foot behind you and let your left leg be kind of straight here. So breathing into the left shoulder, your head rests on the floor. You're welcome to thread the right arm behind your back. Or you can even reach back for your fingers if you feel pretty open. Five slow breaths into your chest, your shoulder, wherever you're feeling this.

Maybe even in your neck. Slowly inch your way out onto your belly. You don't want to rush out of this. Take your right arm out to the right. Take your left hand by your ribs and roll over to the right. Maybe place your left foot behind you. Maybe thread the left arm back. And just enjoy the stretch. The yin to the yang. Take one more breath.

Slowly come back onto your belly. A couple options here. Just to fire it up one last time. Into the back we go. So you can interlace your hands and take a version of shalabhasana. Lift up or you could bend your knees and grab the tops of your feet or your ankles. And lift up on your inhale and see if you can hold for about 10 breaths. So even though this is quite a dynamic pose, see if you can slow down your breath and find a little more yin within the yang. Breathe into your heart. The gaze might come up. You could stretch your throat. And lengthening your whole spine. Keep kicking your feet into your hands. Active feet.

You might even close your eyes for a moment. Engage your belly slightly to protect your lower back. Last three breaths. Slowly lower down. Stack your forearms out in front of you and rest your forehead. Move your hips side to side. Maybe bend your knees and windshield wiper your legs.

Come up. Hands and knees. Reach your left arm out and up. Open your chest. Inhale here. And exhale. Thread your left arm under your right arm to the back of the shoulder. Rest your head. You can stay here or also thread your left leg straight out to the left so it's on the inner edge of the foot. So you're twisting. You're getting into many layers of the body. The inner thigh, the back of the shoulder, the chest. Breathe. You're welcome to wrap that right arm behind your back. You might even push into your left thigh bone. Just kind of draw it back an inch. Okay. Breathe here. It's like a triple whammy pose. You get three for the price of one. Take one more breath. Gently come back to your hands and knees.

Right arm up. Inhale. Open through your chest and exhale. Sweep it under. Maybe take that optional leg out. Right leg out to the inner edge of the foot. Come back in. Breathe. Though if it's ever too much, you can always back out just a hair. Here, experience your breath. Last two breaths here and come back hands and knees. Child's pose. Maybe the knees are a little wider apart. Completely surrender here. Arms can be forward or alongside your body. Rest your forehead.

Take three more breaths here into the back side of your body, into your ribs, into your lower back. Completely relax your head and your facial muscles. And slowly start to come up. Make your way onto your back. Shavasana. Arms out. Legs out. Let your fingers naturally curl.

Feel the weight of every muscle and every bone dissolving into the earth. On your next inhale, really fill up and expand your breath. And with a long sigh, let it go. Wiggle your toes. Your fingers. Bring your knees into your chest for a moment. Wrap yourself and give yourself a hug. Roll over to one side. Press yourself up and come to seated.

Hands in prayer. Bow your chin to your chest for a moment and seal your practice in a way that honors you and what you need for the rest of your day. Namaste.