Day 14: Balanced and Focused

Ah welcome back day 14 that equals two weeks you and I together I love it let's get started we're gonna get started in the core warming it's in tabletop come on down let's do this two weeks Wow time flies when you're having fun my friends so cat cow cow pose arch the back exhale cat pose we did this yesterday inhale cow pose exhale cat pose begin to integrate that low belly core into cat one more time inhale exhale very good back into a flat back extend that right leg back lift the right leg lengthen the left arm breathe in a little cow action here exhale knee to elbow similar to cat inhale extend out exhale for inhale extend out exhale three inhale extend exhale to inhale and exhale one now extend out one more time bring the right toes down left hand down open up into side plank left hand below the shoulder left knee below your hip and ground that right foot as you lift the right arm high I want you to we're gonna stay here for this version today you're gonna draw your shoulder blades toward one another and start to begin to feel what scapular stability feels like right take the right arm now reach it long overhead little side bend archy thing there for you good bring your right arm back up inhale exhale the right arm down bring your right knee down pause good send your left foot back lift it up and extend your right arm way out so both limbs extended arching through the back and exhale knee to elbow inhale extend exhale knee to elbow inhale extend exhale three inhale extend exhale to inhale exhale one very good extend all the way out both limbs come back down and you just flow open right into that side plank hey good work left arm up ground that left foot find all of your points of contact your stability points and then find the space in the pose where you can feel some extra little stretchy moments right okay one more breath bring the left arm down left knee down good so we switched it up versus yesterday today now we're gonna double it up in forearm plank rather than splitting it up so walk the left foot back right foot back draw your tailbone back I mean notice the difference check it out right pelvis forward butt up belly is not working at all draw your tailbone back toward your heels pull the belly up and in for 30 more seconds so this is this is this is a 30 count from my perspective starting now 30 29 28 27 26 25 good work 24 23 nice tight core 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 strong core strong legs 10 9 8 good job then six five four three and a two and a two and a two and a one knees down ah Sphinx pose good job I don't think I'll ever get a job counting chest up a little mellow relief here in Sphinx pose you can slide all the way down as we begin our transition out of warm your core so cobra pose inhale exhale push back into child's pose inhale back into table curl the toes under lift up into dog pose good so we tapped into the core a little bit in the beginning as we move into our core spicy balance we will be incorporating even more of the course so as you walk your feet forward toward the front of the mat and to kind of mentally prepare yourself for the focus and attention needed to get through it inhale lift up halfway and fold exhale all right take a nice breath here and as I said before keep your focus your balance breathe in reach all the way up and exhale the palms to the heart to the chest your home base all right this time let's take the arms out like so we'll treat this like a mountain climber plank lean to the right lift your left knee up as high as it will go almost like you're bringing that left knee to your left arm good now tap the left toes down and exhale bring that left knee back up while really squeezing and stabilizing through the abdominal wall that's two inhale down exhale three inhale down exhale four and exhale five nice little squeezy squeeze good bring the left foot down sweep the arms up breathe in and exhale palms back to home base push the arms out like you're in a plank pose lift the right knee up as high as it will go in the direction of your right arm inhale toe tap exhale knee high inhale toe tap exhale four inhale exhale three inhale exhale two and exhale one one one one one bring the right foot down inhale sweep your arms up overhead and exhale hands at home base again good now lift the left knee up high breathe in and exhale step back into high lunge while you sweep your arms up overhead on the exhale plant the palms at the heart and launch gently into warrior three good extend long through the spine strong right leg strong left leg hinge all the way back up to stand lifting your left knee up as high as it will go core strong my friends inhale high lunge exhale warrior three I'm gonna keep finding those focal points that help keep you focused good all the way back up with the knee high high high high good high lunge left foot back all the way up with the arms breathe in I'm gonna try a little prayer twist today so palms at the chest lean your body forward 45 degrees keep the spine long breathe in exhale reach your left elbow across your right thigh if it's helpful bring your left knee down to find the shape good strong through your left leg press your palms together and rotate those low ribs over toward your inner right thigh good slowly come back out inhale reach the arms up and exhale the hands come down to the mat bring your left knee down find a nice sweet low crescent lunge arms reach up breathe in and exhale the hands down walk your right foot to the left side of the mat place your right knee down and find your pigeon pose slide that left knee back because we're not here for a long restorative pigeon pose keep the arms kind of grounded and strong supporting this upright position it's a momentary little restore here good work nice now build out of the pose downward dog three-legged dog right leg bends and lifts open up your hip and bring the right foot back down look to the front of the mat breathe in exhale left foot forward right foot forward forward bend exhale there inhale lift halfway and fold exhale inhale rise up exhale palms to your heart lift your right knee high good let's do the same thing we did on the other side on this side step your right foot back with control inhale reach the arms up overhead exhale palms to the heart warrior three good all the way up with the right knee bring it up nice and high squeeze through the core good high lunge step the right foot back blast off with the arms get that full expression of high crescent lunge and then stability balance focus warrior three stability balance focus right knee high good step back into high lunge reach the arms up overhead on the breath in breath out choose your twist right palms to the heart lean your body forward 45 degrees left hand on the left thigh I kind of like this as a little maneuver so from our right hand left hand on the left thigh that's right now hook your right elbow across the left thigh wiggle it around in there a little bit from here press the palms together pull your chest away from that left thigh very good breathe actively through the belly a little rotation here very nice slowly come back out inhale bring the arms high and exhale hands come down bring the right knee down inhale low crescent lunge arms up overhead good hands come down to frame that foot left foot to the right side of the mat find your placement for pigeon pose slide your right knee back find a good stable place for your hands to keep your body upright supported hips are square let's grab a little taste of the stretch where is it outer left hip maybe your hip flexors on the right side good work good good good work hands down curl the back toes and begin to exit up into three-legged dog lifting the left leg up bending the left leg and opening through the hip that might feel nice you be the judge of that good left foot back down square off and downward dog find your alignment find a few breaths relax through the neck the facial muscles it's a fair amount of work and I'm sure if you're anything like me you've fallen a few times always doing your best good bring the knees down push back into child's pose for a moment take a rest feel free to take a few moments here roll the forehead across your wrist or forearm or the floor yourself a little massage we have a new closing to move into so kind of looking forward to that hopefully you enjoy so let's come on out we're gonna use a block so grab your trusty block come on down to your seat and onto your back sometimes that just feels so right draw the knees in little rocking a little circle motion could always take the hands right over the kneecaps and create these big circles one way circles the other way nice so from this position here and you have to be the judge of this for yourself and you also have to figure out where to put it but at the very low portion of your back your sacrum there's that flat kind of fused part of your vertebra so it's that flat area basically just find the most comfortable place to place the block on the flat right at your low back okay from here you want to kind of find it in a comfortable place so that you can do one of two things three things keep your feet grounded as they are with your knees up or even the knees drawn toward one another pause there see what that feels like so your feet are out wide on the mat you could draw the bottoms of your feet together for that reclined bound angle and it might feel nice choose between those two for now take a couple breaths begin to settle and relax this closing portion we're calling the low back relief so if you're not feeling that in the block is really uncomfortable figure out how to make it more comfortable this is that trusting listening concept now I'm most likely going to change it you might as well we're gonna begin to lift the legs up so you might find it beneficial to draw the block up a little bit higher just your clothes as you need a little bit higher and the legs right on up if it's too intense you can put a blanket over your block the idea is to kind of work as minimally as you can with the legs up maybe roll your ankles cross the legs if you're suffering right figure out how not to suffer in this shape you could do this without the block maybe stack your palms or your hands on top of one another okay begin to release the feet down take another pause here in the supported bridge pose take another breath and as you breathe in hold it capture it for a moment as you breathe out see if you can dissolve any tension you might be feeling in your low back or your chest or shoulders even in the mind press through your feet to lift your hips remove the block lower down take a moment see what that feels like with your legs bent bring your feet out to the very edge of the mat and draw your arms out wide palms facing up now like a windshield wiper let the knees and legs kind of cross from side to side so when your left goes to the left the right follows and when the right goes to the right the left follows good so this you might feel in your hips but maybe a little release in your low back as well you could involve a little head turn maybe when the legs are to the right your head is to the left legs are to the left head is to the right one more time on each side legs to the right gaze to the left legs to the left gaze to the right and if you're looking this way bring it back over to center take a full breath day 14 breath a two-week breath exhale it all out any other like life anxieties you may have any surface tension or stress whatever you don't need to hold on to let it go stretch the legs out stretch your arms out alongside your body take another full breath exhale yeah begin to let the breath slow down everything release focusing the exhalation while exhaling all muscular effort relaxes one last breath in follow it by a long calming exhale bend the legs draw the legs in and rock up to sit starting to get a little little rusty there so thanks again for joining me and for joining me and yourself for day 14 it's a real gift to be here with you so thank you thank you thank you namaste