Sun Salutation Flow

Hi there, welcome. So in this practice we're going to move through some variations of sun salutations and it's a really good practice to just kind of warm and open the body and just begin to move with our breath. This is a really good practice on its own but it's also a really nice way to just warm up the body before moving into a deeper practice. So join me at the front of the mat and we'll get started. So coming to the front of the mat, let's bring the feet about hips width to start and just take a moment to close the eyes to begin, start to feel the earth beneath your feet.

You can kind of rock a little bit back and forth, just really get grounded before our movement. Find a little bit of softness in the knees, gently tuck the tailbone and then soften the shoulders down the back, start to lift up through the heart center. You might even close your eyes if that feels comfortable for you. And then we'll just start by moving with our breath a little bit. So on an inhale, start to sweep the arms all the way up over your head, reaching up nice and high.

And then as you exhale, you might sigh it out the mouth, draw the hands in towards your heart center. Good, and let's do that a couple more times. So as you inhale, reach the arms all the way out and up, sigh it out, draw the hands to the heart. Good. And this time let's start to breathe in and out through the nose.

So inhale, reach your arms all the way up over the head and then out the nose, exhale, hands to heart. Good. And then we'll move into our sun salutation. So starting off really slow, inhale, reach the arms all the way out and up. As you exhale, dive forward, keep the knees soft as you come forward, folding in, forward, fold.

And let's hang here for just a couple breaths. You might shift the weight back and forth a little bit. Keep the knees as soft as you need to, just kind of going easy on the low back to start. Good. And then as you're ready, we're going to start with the left foot.

So step the left foot all the way to the back of your mat, coming into a lunge. Let the back knee lower down and just come onto your fingertips. Feel that nice stretch in the left leg as you look up and lengthen. Good. And then from here, plant the palms, tuck your back toe, step back to downward facing dog.

So we're coming into our first down dog, spreading the fingers nice and wide. We'll hang here for a few breaths, maybe pedaling it out through the feet a few times. You can sway the hips from side to side, just whatever you need to feel into this first down dog. And if the hamstrings are tight, feel free to bend your knees a little bit. Maybe sway the hips from side to side, just letting the back of the neck be nice and long.

Good. And then on your inhale, let's glide forward into plank pose. So coming to the top of a pushup, bring the shoulders right over the wrists and then lower your knees down and we'll come through knees, chest and chin. So lowering the chest and the chin down to the earth, hug the elbows in. And then on an inhale, come into cobra pose, draw the shoulders away from the ears, press through the tops of the feet as you lift up, find length in the back of the neck.

Good. And then as you exhale, just lower down, coming back through hands and knees, tuck your toes, lift your hips up and back, coming back to downward facing dog. Good. And then let's inhale the left leg all the way up and back. As you exhale, step the foot through between your hands.

So the left foot comes forward, let the back knee lower down. Come onto your fingertips, lift up through the heart, inhale. And then step your right foot to meet the left, coming to a forward fold at the front of the mat. Good. Folding in and then root down through the feet to rise, come all the way back up to stand on an inhale, arms sweep out and up.

Good. And then draw your hands back to your heart center, coming back through your tadasana. Good. And we'll move to the other side. So that was one half of a side.

We'll go a little bit quicker on this side, just moving with the breath. Now arms sweep up. Good. Exhale, fold in, uttanasana. Step your right foot to the back of the mat this time.

Let the back knee lower down. Come onto your fingertips, lift up through the heart, inhale. And then exhale right back to downward facing dog. Good. And then coming forward to plank pose, lower the knees, chest and chin down.

Inhale, cobra pose. Hug the elbows in as you lift up. And then exhale back, downward facing dog. Pucking the toes, lifting your hips up and back. Good.

Reach your right leg up and back. Step your foot through between your hands. Let the back knee lower on an inhale, lift up through the heart. And then forward fold front of the mat. Good.

Root down to rise. Come all the way up to stand. You can soften the knees as you lift up. Hands to your heart. Exhale.

Good. And so moving into another round. Inhale, arms lift up. Exhale, fold in. Good.

Step the left foot to the back of the mat, back knee lowers. Come on to the fingertips, lift up. Downward facing dog, exhale. Come forward, knees, chest and chin as you lower down. Cobra on the inhale, hug the elbows in, press up.

Exhale, downward facing dog. Good. Moving to the left side, inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step through between your hands. Lower the back knee down, inhale, lift up through the heart.

Exhale, step to a forward fold at the front of the mat. Inhale, root to rise, arms sweep up. Hands to your heart, exhale, bringing it to the right side. Move with your breath, moving meditation. Inhale, arms lift.

Exhale, fold in. Step the right foot to the back of the mat, back knee lowers. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Inhale as you come forward, knees, chest, chin.

Inhale, cobra pose. Lift up, hug the elbows in. Exhale, back to downward facing dog. Inhale the right leg up. Exhale, step forward.

Let the back knee lower. Come on to the fingertips and then step to a fold at the front of the mat. Root down to rise, inhale, arms lift. Hands to heart, exhale. Last round.

Maybe close your eyes on this round. Just trusting the support of the earth. Inhale, lift up. Exhale, fold in. Step the left foot back, inhale, back knee lowers, heart lifts.

Inhale, downward facing dog. Come forward to plank pose, lower the knees, chest, chin. Inhale to lift the heart, cobra. Exhale, downward facing dog. Left side, inhale, left leg lifts.

Exhale, step it through, back knee lowers, fingertips inhale. Forward fold, exhale. Root down to rise, circle the arms out and up, inhale. Hands to heart, exhale. Last side.

Inhale, arms lift, exhale, fold back in, good. Step the right foot back, back knee lowers, lift the heart, inhale, exhale, downward facing dog. Good. Coming forward, knees, chest and chin, keep the hips lifted as you slither through, come to cobra pose, inhale, lift up, exhale, back to down dog. Inhale the right leg up, exhale, step it through.

Back knee lowers, come on to the fingertips, lift up and then forward fold at the front of the mat. Root down to rise, circle the arms out and up, inhale. Hands to your heart, exhale. Take a moment, close your eyes and just check in. Just taking these brief pauses between these rounds of sun salutations to just notice how you feel, notice the heart beating in your chest, the energy you've already created that's already circulating throughout the body.

Let's move into some sun salutations A, surya namaskar A. So I invite you to keep the eyes closed if you feel comfortable with that, otherwise you can blink them open, I'll lead us through. So on an inhale, sweep the arms all the way out and up, good. As you exhale, dive forward, soft knees as you fold in, come halfway up this time, inhale. You might walk your hands up on your shins or you can keep the fingertips down on the earth, just leading with the heart forward and then press down through the palms of the hands. For this first one, bend the knees, just step back to plank pose, top of a push up, good.

So you can always stay with lowering the knees and chest and chin here if you'd like, otherwise you might lower through chaturanga. So shifting forward, start to bend the elbows, keep the gaze forward and then roll over the toes into up dog, maybe cobra here if you'd like, lifting the heart and then exhale, roll over the toes to downward facing dog. Let's take five breaths here. So letting the heel start to disappear behind your toes, maybe take one point to focus your gaze on your drishti and then just finding that ujjayi pranayama, allowing this to be a reminder to come back to your breathing, good. And then on your next inhale, let's rise high up onto the toes, bend the knees, look forward, step or lightly hop your feet to your hands, coming to the front of the mat.

On an inhale, we'll lift back halfway up, exhale, fold in and then root down through the feet to rise, inhale, arms circle all the way up, hands to your heart, exhale, good. We'll do two more rounds of surya A, moving with the breath, inhale, arms lift, exhale, fold in, inhale halfway up, this time plant the palms, step or lightly hop back through chaturanga, good, cobra or up dog on your inhale, downward facing dog, exhale, holding for five breaths. Might take your gaze up towards your navel or at a point behind you on the floor between your feet and again, just coming back to your breathing, three more breaths, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, last one, inhale, exhale and then rising up onto the toes, bend your knees, foot forward, step or lightly hop, inhale, lift up, halfway, exhale, uttanasana, fold in, root down to rise, arms sweep up, hands to your heart, exhale, one last round, inhale, arms lift, good, exhale, fold in, inhale halfway up, exhale, take your vinyasa, any variations as you move through, cobra or up dog, getting hit and then down dog, fold in, holding, taking five breaths here, if at any point you want to lower your knees and maybe take a child's pose for a few breaths, feel free to do that, beautiful and let's rise up onto the toes, bend the knees, look forward, step or lightly float to the front of the mat, inhale, lift halfway up, exhale, fold in and then this time let's come to chair pose, so bend the knees, start to sink your weight back into your heels, draw your shin bones back, reach the arms up, start to lower the hips toward the height of the knees, draw the shoulders down the back, take a big breath in and then as you exhale, straighten the legs, hands to your heart, good, so moving into suryanamaskar B, we'll start coming back into chair pose, so on an inhale, utkatasana, arms sweep up, as you exhale, fold in, uttanasana, inhale, lift halfway up and then your choice, step or lightly float back through chaturanga, cobra or up dog on the inhale, roll over the toes, down dog, exhale, reach your right leg up to the sky and then draw the knee in toward your nose, step your right foot all the way through between your hands, spin the back heel down and then reach your arms forward and up, coming into Virabhadrasana one, warrior one, good, so front knee comes over the ankle, we'll hold here in this first round for a couple breaths, start to draw that right hip back, let the left hip roll forward and then where can you soften a little bit, so soften the shoulders, energize through your fingertips, good, now let's take one more big breath in, you might take a gaze up and press the palms together above your head and then as you exhale, lower the hands down, vinyasa, feel free to skip it if you'd like, otherwise, oaring through, cobra or up dog, inhale, downward facing dog, exhale, coming right to the left side, inhale the left leg up, exhale, step through, warrior one, spin the back heel down, arms sweep up and then soften in, sinking down toward 90 degrees in that front leg, again, relax the shoulders, energize through your fingertips, your gaze at one point in front of you, yeah, and then on your next breath in, look up, maybe press the palms together, exhale, hands down, vinyasa or right to down dog if you'd like, cobra or up dog, inhale, downward facing dog, exhale, hold here and breathe, just taking a couple breaths in between each round to ground and settle, good, and then on your next breath in, rise up onto the toes, bend your knees, look forward, step or lightly float to your hands, come to the front of the mat, inhale, lift up halfway, exhale, fold in, come back to chair, utkatasana, arms sweep up, sink it down and then press through the feet, draw your hands to your heart, exhale, pause for a moment and just check in, feel the breath, let's come into round two, when you're ready, inhale, chair pose, one breath per movement, exhale, fold in, utkatasana, come halfway up, inhale, your choice, step or lightly float back, vinyasa, cobra or up dog to lift the heart, exhale, downward facing dog, inhale the right leg up, exhale, step through, warrior one, just one breath, reach the arms up, maybe press the palms together and then moving through your vinyasa, step back, good, inhale, up dog, exhale, downward facing dog, inhale the left leg up, exhale, step through, warrior one, inhale, arms sweep up, exhale, vinyasa, step back, lowering through, inhale to lift the heart, cobra or up dog, exhale, downward facing dog, hold here, breathe, taking a few breaths, again if you want to lower the knees, you might take some cat-cows or child's pose, go for it, otherwise coming back to the breath, more than anything allowing this to be about the breath, good and let's come back up for our first round, come high up onto the toes, bend the knees, look forward, step or lightly float to the hands, inhale, lift halfway up, exhale, fold, chair, utkatasana, inhale, sweep the arms up and then straighten the legs, hands to your heart, come back through center, last round, ready, inhale, utkatasana, exhale, fold in, let it be a moving meditation, inhale lift up, vinyasa on the exhale, step or lightly float back, inhale cobra or up dog, exhale downward facing dog, inhale the right leg up, exhale step through, inhale warrior one, arms sweep up, exhale vinyasa, cobra or up dog inhale, exhale downward facing dog, last side, inhale left leg up, exhale step through, warrior one, inhale, exhale lowering through, last vinyasa if you want it, cobra or up dog inhale, downward facing dog, nice job, holding here, take a big breath in and then open the mouth, sigh it out, one more big breath in together through the nose, and then stick out the tongue, lion's breath, good, go ahead and lower your knees down for a well deserved child's pose, big toes together, you can squeeze the knees together or take them wide, whatever feels best for you, letting the forehead just rest down, staying a few more breaths here, feeling the expansion through the back ribs on your inhale, the grounding quality of the exhale, and then staying in child's pose just start to tent your fingertips and then walk your hands to the right any amount so you might lift your torso up and kind of drape it over toward the right a little bit and then letting a little bit of weight shift off into the left hip, feeling that nice stretch through the left side body, beautiful, and then walking your hands back through center let's take it over to the other side, so taking it to the left fingertips crawl over let the hips start to sink a little bit to the right and you should really feel that nice stretch all the way through the right side body, beautiful, and then coming back through center and just rolling up for a moment, sitting back on your heels, letting the hands just rest on the tops of the thighs and then we'll come on to our back, so shifting the weight off to one side, rolling over and just coming down and just take a moment as you get there to hug your knees into your chest maybe rock a little bit from side to side just massaging through the low back noticing all the effects of that movement in the body and then letting the soles of the feet come back down to the earth, you can step your feet hips distance, walk your heels in and go ahead and brush the backs of your heels with your fingertips and we'll set up for some rolling bridge poses just to open up the chest and the heart, so hands down by the side feet hips width on an inhale start to press through the soles of the feet and then reach your arms up over your head as you press into the soles of the feet and start to lift the hips up any amount here good and then on your exhale lower the hands down lower the hips down and we'll just take that a few times with the breath, so on an inhale press through the soles of the feet reach the arms up over your head lift the hips and then as you exhale slowly one vertebra at a time just lowering down again inhale lift up arms lift hips lift and then exhale arms lower hips lower and then keeping the arms pressing down by the sides come into one round of bridge so pressing through the soles of the feet lift your hips up lifting from your hamstrings and your hips and then you might start to interlace the fingers beneath the low back rolling the shoulders underneath you and we'll be here for five breaths so just starting to draw the chest up toward your chin yeah a little softness through the back body feel that nice opening through the chest two more breaths inhaling exhaling last one inhale and then exhale good and starting to release down let the shoulders go first and then rolling down one vertebra at a time scoop the belly in as you lower down good and then as you get to the bottoms bring the arms up on either sides of the shoulders you can bring the palms to face up like goal post arms and then step the feet a little bit wider than your hips and this take a nice spinal twist so dropping the knees to the right side you can look straight up it might feel nice to take a gaze over that left shoulder and if you want something a little bit deeper here you can take your right foot on top of your left thigh and just kind of encourage that left leg to come down toward the earth a little bit take two more breaths here and let's take it to the other side so soles of the feet to the earth a little wider than the hips this time drop the knees to the left and you might stay right here taking the gaze toward the right if you'd like that doesn't feel so good in the neck you can always just look up and if you want something a little deeper take that left foot on top of that right thigh and just gently encourage the right leg to come down toward the earth just holding here for a few breaths beautiful and then slowly come on out of that side step the feet back down to the earth and let's take a nice hip opener on our back so crossing your right knee on top of your excuse me your right ankle on top of your left knee making that figure four shape with your legs and then starting to draw the legs in towards you for thread the eye of the needle and you might interlace behind that left thigh if you'd like or on top of that left shin to go a little deeper it's fine where it feels like a nice opening for you and then feel that opposing action here so letting the right knee kind of draw away from you and the left knee draw in towards you and then finally just softening the shoulders relaxing your gaze and just sending the breath to any sensations in the body so most likely in that right hip starting to create some opening some space taking just a couple more breaths on this side and then releasing that as you're ready step the feet back down to the earth and we'll take it to the other side so crossing your left ankle on top of the right knee and then drawing the legs in finding thread the eye of the needle on your left side and then maybe interlacing wherever it feels good for you and then again just drawing that left knee away you might even use your elbow to kind of press the leg away and then draw that right knee in but more than anything where can you soften a little bit in the shoulders from releasing any tension that you might be holding on to in your face so allowing this to be about the hip sending the breath to the left hip and just taking a few more breaths on this side noticing maybe if this side feels a little bit different from the first side good and then release that as you're ready and let's hug the knees back into the chest Apanasana good and then as you hug the knees in we'll take a happy baby so hands to the outsides of the feet arms on the insides of the legs you can also take peace fingers to the big toes if you'd like and then open up the legs bending through the knees and then as you arrive soften through the low back relax through the shoulders and just send the breath anywhere you feel this and if it feels good to rock a little bit here from side to side you might take a little movement here you might even straighten out one leg and then the other good if it feels good to take both legs wide go for it or it might just feel nice to find more of a stillness here as you come back to the breath and then from here just bring the knees back together hug the knees into your chest and let's start to draw your nose up to the knees so drawing everything into a tight little ball and we'll take a big breath in let's hold the breath at the very top so inhaling holding and then side out the mouth let everything go so straighten out the legs into Shavasana if you want to stay with the hips you're welcome to bring the soles of the feet together let the knees open up wide or you can stretch your legs out for Shavasana I'm gonna take this Supta Baddha Konasana shape and then maybe one hand to the belly one hand to the heart or you can bring the palms to face up on either side of the body and if it feels okay for you to just close the eyes start to take the gaze to the internal space and as we come into this Shavasana just move through a very brief breathing practice together so we're gonna inhale on the count of four hold the breath for four exhale four and then hold the breath out for four so when you're ready inhale one two three four holding the breath in three two one exhale one two three four hold the breath out three two one one more round together inhaling one two three four brief pause four three two one exhale four three two one pause one two three and four and you can stay with that or just kind of release the effort as you come into your Shavasana ah Thank you. So slowly begin to deepen your breath. Just inviting any gentle movements back in, maybe the fingers, the toes, the ankles, your wrists.

And then as you're ready, start to reach your arms up over your head, just taking a nice full body stretch, allowing a big breath in. And then let everything go, sigh it out. Reaching the soles of the feet to the earth, just gently rolling over to your side, maybe taking a moment to rest on your side to just notice what you notice, checking in. Keeping that same ease of Shavasana, we'll gently press our way up to a comfortable cross-leg seated position. Taking a moment to arrive, rooting down through your sitting bones, keeping the eyes closed, gathering your hands together in front of your heart in Anjali Mudra, just bowing your head towards your hands, tracking the breath.

Let's take one more big breath in, holding the breath at the top, and then open the mouth, let everything go. I'm going to blink the eyes open, bring your hands to your third eye. Thank you so much for sharing your practice, your presence with me. Namaste.