Langhana Shorty

In this short but sweet practice, we'll move with the breath to bring about a more cooling, calming, perhaps even parasympathetic, activated state into the system. So we'll start at the front of the mat, so you can step to the front in Tadasana and get your feet about hip distance apart or sitting bone distance apart, arms could rest by your sides, and just close the eyes and feel the feet settle into the earth, can even wag or sway the body a little bit side to side or a little bit forward and back. Feel the heel bones descend down and from that earthiness, the tall curvy ascension of your spine upwards, the flowering open of the collar bones, the crown just regally balancing on top of the spine. We'll take a moment to establish ourselves in the breath, so take a longer, deeper, more effulgent breath in and out through the nose. Feel the whole body just throw the doors open to receive the breath in, feel on the exhale the whole body just tending back to the heart, this involution back to your center.

Keep the breath grand even as you let the eyes flutter open. Bring the hands to where your tush and your thighs meet and then inhale, create a little greater length and then as you exhale, put a tiny bend in the knees, hinge from your hips, fold forward over your legs and the hands might slide to the backs of the knees or the calves or the ankles, there's no need to pull. Then inhale, grow long behind the heart, lengthen the back of the neck, long spine to come all the way back up, your hands could trace back up the legs. Now let's try this a few more times, exhale now for five counts as you fold down, inhale, lengthen to come up. Let's try six counts now to fold forward, inhale, lengthen to come up and seven counts to fold forward, just doing the best you can, feeling that you can soften inwards a little bit more each time, inhale, lengthen to come up and fold forward maybe eight count exhalation.

This next time as you fold forward, stay here, you could release the hands or fingertips down by your feet, well, inhale, send the left foot to the back of the mat, your legs could stay hip distance apart and perch up onto your fingertips or place your left palm to the mat and then inhale, let's reach the right arm up towards the ceiling to a twist. Next inhale, take your right arm alongside your ear and just spin your nose to face the floor just releasing any tension in your neck. Then as you exhale, draw your right elbow into a little cactus shape, charge the belly up, easy rotation maybe flattening your left shoulder blade on your back. Two more times, inhaling, right arm overhead, you can turn your nose to face the floor. Exhale, belly moving in and up, rotating the heart.

One more inhaling, right arm overhead, release your head and neck, exhale into the twist. Return your right hand to the floor, we'll step the left foot forward to meet the right, fold down over your legs. Right foot to the back of your mat, then wiggle the feet open so you feel steady, hips more or less squaring to the front. Right fingers or palm to the floor, just lighten the load on your right arm, take your left arm up towards the ceiling, inhale left arm alongside your ear, maybe looking down, exhale elbow into a cactus, rotating the heart up. Two more times, inhale, left arm overhead, exhale into your twist.

One more time, lower the left fingers down, this time place your palms to the back and step back into downward facing dog. Feel free to wiggle your seat a little side to side or adjust your stance and then just allow yourself to be still, steady your gaze, steady any of the adjusting moves. Inhale, roll forward towards your plank and then with your exhale, lower the body into the mat. Your next inhale, inhale, lifting heart and head up, very baby, gentle cobra. The top of the inhale, bring your chin just a little bit in so you feel the back of the neck long.

And as you exhale, you're going to lower your right cheek or right temple all the way down to the mat, inhaling, buoy the heart back up, baby cobra, exhale, lowering heart and left cheek down, inhaling, heart lifting, inspired by the breath. Exhale lower heart and right cheek down, everything melting inward, inhaling, heart up, baby cobra, exhale, heart, left cheek down, knee lifting your heart, exhale this time, bring your nose to the floor, we'll squeeze the belly in towards the lower spine, we'll press the floor away and come back to your hands and knees, so you might have to walk your hands inward so they're right underneath your shoulders, your knees right underneath your hips, chakra vakrasana, inhale heart moving forward through the gates of your arms, again keep the forehead quiet, the neck long, exhale, bring your chin inward, bend your elbows, tail back to the heels for child's pose, forehead could come to the mat. Come back to the hands and knees, breathe the spine long, heart forward into cow, let's try a five count exhale to come back into child's pose, again chin stays in, belly rising to meet the heart, inhaling hands and knees, six count exhalation back into child's pose, inhaling back to hands and knees, let's try a seven count exhale back to child's pose, just notice you can exhale a little bit more than you think you can slowing down, stay in child's pose, if your head doesn't reach the floor you could stack your fist, just let the forehead rest on something and let the forehead flash wrinkle more towards your nose, then up towards your hairline, a little bit more quieting for the nervous system. Long slide the hands back by your knees, keeping your head heavy, just lazily bring yourself up to sit, you could roll up through your spine, and then just swish your hips off to one side and we're going to come now down onto the backs, so you can make your way gently down, we'll bring the feet to the floor, the knees can bend, lift your seat in and scoot your seat a couple inches over to your right side, we'll straighten the left leg down the mat, bring the right knee into the chest, a little awkward to begin but it gets better, we'll stretch the right foot print up, the arms can open out to the sides or stay down by your hips, we'll breathe in, and then as you exhale take the right leg across the body, maybe bring it about parallel to the floor and if you'd like you can turn your right ear or cheek down towards the mat, inhale again lifting your right leg up towards the ceiling, you can center your head, exhale take the leg across the body, maybe spinning the nose away from that working leg, one more inhaling, and exhaling taking the leg across the body, and bring the leg back up towards the ceiling, and bend the right knee into the chest, we'll step the feet to the floor, even out your seat on the mat, we'll take the other side, lift your seat, move it a couple inches over to your left, we'll slide the right leg down the mat, bringing your left knee into your chest, arms can be by your sides, and inhale reach your left foot print up, any amount, if your leg doesn't straighten it's not a big deal at all, breathing in, breathing out take the left leg across the body, and you can turn the nose away from that working leg, inhale bringing the leg back up towards the ceiling, you can center your head and neck, and then exhale again bring the leg across the body, everything melting towards the heart as you rotate, inhale bringing the leg back up, exhale the leg across the body, and bring the leg back up, bending your left knee, sending both feet to the floor, even out your body on the mat, and then we'll lengthen both legs down the mat, and you're going to adjust your body so you feel comfortable for the next few minutes and you won't have to move, we'll do a little breathing technique together called Analoma Veloma, and so you just want to make sure you feel warm and comfortable so you don't get too fussy, so as you adjust your body we'll close the eyes, and let's begin by just taking an inhale for six counts, and an exhale for six counts, we'll do this a few rounds, just as slow as you feel comfortable with, just feeling the body expand on the inhalation, and not contract on the exhale but quite the opposite, just softening inwards towards your heart, the next inhale, inhale for six, but this time we'll judge it up a bit, so exhale for two counts, and pause, exhale two more counts, and pause, and then exhale all the air out, and pause, and then inhale again for six, we'll exhale a third of the way out, and just pause, not a grasp or hold, but just a suspension, two more counts, and pause, the last two counts, emptying out, and pause, let's do this two more rounds, exhaling for six, if your pace doesn't match mine, don't worry, go with your breath, exhaling for two, pause, exhaling for two more counts, pause, exhale completely, pause. One more round, inhale for six, exhale two counts, pause, two more counts, pause, exhale everything out, and just pause in that brief moment of emptiness of no thing, and inhale for six, exhale for six, with no pauses, just letting the breath recover.

Relax the breath now no longer having to shape it or stretch it or fuss with it in any way. Bend one knee at a time and place your feet back to the floor, roll over to the right side into a fetal position, can make a little pillow for your head with your arm, and place your left hand down into the floor and just ease yourself back into a comfortable seat. Bring the hands together in front of the heart, bowing your head to your heart, just a moment of gratitude for your practice, your own experience in that practice, really the experience of you in all of its perfect, imperfectness. Namaste.