Ganesha Flow

Namaste, thank you so much for joining me. Today we're going to invoke the energy signified by Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, and really what he is is a symbol of the energy that exists already within you that clears obstacles from your path. So Ganesha is invoked at the beginning of a journey or an endeavor or if there's anything that is challenging you in your life, Ganesha is going to help to smooth that path to clear your destiny. So the words of the chant are Ganesha Sharanam, which means I take refuge in this energy of Ganesha, and then Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha, so Gam is the Bijo or the seed sound that invokes Ganesha and Ganapati is a name for Ganesha, so Ganapataye Namaha I bow down to. So just joining me as you get the words and calling out, so with all of these chants it's really about just calling from your heart and really using your emotion and turning it into devotion and I'm going to call to Ganesha.

Ganesha Sharanam Ganesha Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha, Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha, Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha, Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha. Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha Om Ganesha Sharanam Ganesha, Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha, Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Sharnam Ganesha Sharnam Ganesha Sharnam Ganesha One hand to the belly, one hand to the heart. Deep breath in. Let it all go with a big ah. Breathing in, lifting through the crown of your head as you press through the tailbone.

Exhale, gently draw the belly in and lift up a little taller. Just start to find the breath into the hands, breathing into the belly and the chest. Softening on the exhale. Dropping down through the base of your spine, down into the earth. And then pressing down through the sit bones, inhale lifting taller.

And exhale drawing the belly in and lifting again through the crown of your head. Bring the hand from the belly onto the heart. Just calling yourself home into your heart centre. Feeling the hands touching the chest. Seeing your pathway, clear, whatever you're facing at this moment, any obstacles.

Just seeing them be removed, seeing grace come in to support you as you move through this current challenge or point of evolution that you are being asked to grow through. And calling in Ganesha to support you. One more breath here. And exhale releasing. I'm going to meet you on hands and knees coming into cat cow.

Spread the fingers and turn them slightly out to the corners of the mat so you can roll your shoulders back. Have the knees hip width apart, slightly behind the lower back. Root down into the earth, press the earth away from you as you inhale lift the chest. And then exhale draw the belly in and round. And inhale lifting the chest.

And exhale rounding. We're going to draw that left knee in towards the chest and then inhale send that left leg back. Exhale draw the knee in and then inhale send the leg back. Okay let's drop that left hip so the hips are even here. Draw the belly in, engage your core muscles.

So Ganesha is connected with the root chakra. So we're engaging the core gently if you know what this means engaging willabanda or just lifting the perineum slightly. And then inhale reach out through the right arm. Lengthen through the spine. Nice.

And then exhale draw the knee to the elbow. And again inhale lengthen. Engaging the core one more time. Exhale rounding. And then inhale release.

Let that right hand come down onto the ground. We're going to bring the left foot out to the side. Sit back onto your right foot and allow yourself just to fold forward. And breathing down into the inner thigh. One more breath here.

And inhale coming back up onto your hands and your knee. Lift that left leg bring it around to the outside of the right leg. And turn and look over your right shoulder as you press out through the left heel. And press the left ribs to the left to get a stretch through the left side. And lift that left foot and bring it forward between the hands.

Inhale lifting up through the chest. And exhale folding forward. Inhale lifting the chest. And one more time exhale folding forward. Inhale come forward with the hips.

Walk the left foot out to the edge of the mat. Bring both hands inside the foot. And just allow yourself to drop this right hip down. Nice. Let's take a lion's breath just for fun.

Inhale and exhale release out through the mouth with a haaa. Let the tongue out. Again inhale and exhale let it go with a roar with a haaa. Nice. So either stay here or if you want to come down onto that right forearm you're going to bend that right knee lift the left arm and find the back foot.

Inhale lifting the chest. Exhale one more here. Press through the bottom hand. And exhale release that foot. Bring the left foot back between the hands.

You're going to place the hands on the ground. Tuck the back toes under. Lift the back knee and reach that left leg up to the sky. Point the toes. Inhale.

Nice. Open the hip up to the sky. And then exhale drop the foot down. Come forward into a plank position. Strong through your core.

Roll the shoulders back. Drop the knees. Lengthen through the spine as you sit back with the hips. And then look forward and dive forward between the hands. You're going to release the hands alongside the hips.

And let the forehead come down to the ground. Deep breath in. Exhale. Pressing the palms down into the earth. Inhale lift that left leg up.

Press through the hands and lift the shoulders. Draw the belly in. So engage your core muscles here. And feel how the lower back is supported by engaging the core. Exhale come back down.

Lift that right leg up. Point the toes. Press through your hands and lift through the shoulders. Draw the belly in and breathe into the chest. Exhale back down.

Nice. Both legs lift. Inhale. And then reach the arms back behind you. Interlace the fingers.

Breathing up into the chest. Draw the belly in. Beautiful. Exhale come back down and we'll move into a child's pose. Just finding your breath.

Let your shoulders relax. And as you exhale, just letting any mental energy, any confusion or stress just drain down into the earth. Breathing in and as you exhale, dropping the head, releasing out any stress or tension. And then inhale come back up onto hands and knees. Exhale rounding the back.

And inhale arching. Draw that right knee in towards you. As you exhale, extend the leg back as you inhale. Exhale using your belly. Draw the knee in and send the leg back.

Drop the right hip so the hips are even. Engage your core and extend through that left arm. Beautiful. Deep breath in and exhale knee to elbow. From your core extend, lengthen, inhale.

And exhale rounding. Extending and lengthening. Drop that left hand, bring the right foot out to the side. Sit back onto your left heel and drop the head forward. Two deep breaths to the inner thigh here.

It's bringing the awareness to the base of the spine, that whole root chakra area. And then coming up. Inhale, lift that right leg, step it over to the left. And as you press through your right heel, press the right ribs to the right. So you get a nice stretch.

All through the side body there. One more breath in and then exhale and bring that foot forward between the hands. Inhale lifting. And exhale folding forward. Let's play with it a little bit here.

Inhale lifting the chest. Exhale folding forward. And then coming forward, we're going to walk that right foot out to the edge of the mat. Bring both hands inside. Just allowing this hip to drop down.

Sometimes I like to come up onto the fingertips to lift the chest and allow that hip to drop a little lower. Let's take lion's breath on this side. Deep breath in and let it out. Whatever you've been holding in there, just with a ha. Nice, again inhale.

Let the tongue out. Ha. And then allowing yourself to either stay up here or come down onto the left forearm. Then the back knee and reach back with the right arm. Press through your left hand, lift up through the chest.

Draw the belly in. Nice. One more breath here. And then release that foot. We're going to walk the right foot back between the hands.

Inhale lifting the hips. And exhale you're going to step forward with the left foot. Lifting the spine, lengthening. And exhale folding over. Uttanasana.

And deeper breath in. And exhale allowing the head to drop. Just nod the head yes and no. And then pressing through the feet, rolling slowly up through the spine. And reaching the arms out wide.

Exhale bring the hands to the heart. Touch the thumbs to the heart center. And breathing into the heart. Exhale down through the soles of your feet. One more breath like that, inhale into the heart.

And exhale down through the soles of your feet. Get a little taller. Beautiful. We're going to bend the knees, reach the arms up. And exhale keep the knees bent and fold forward.

So feeling your feet really strongly connected to the earth. Inhale, light torso, lift up. And exhale strong legs folding forward. One more time, inhale lifting up. Uttanasana.

Nice and then exhale folding forward. Inhale flat back, step it back with that left foot. And turn over to the side. We're going to come into a surfer's lunge. One breath here.

And then ninja style, we're just going to take it over to the other side. And take a lunge on the other side. Deep breath in. And then come back to center. Bring the feet parallel, inhale lift the chest, lengthen through the spine.

Walk the hands out away from you. And drop the head. Feel your legs really strong. So as you inhale lift through the inner thighs. Exhale draw the belly in and drop the head down.

One more breath here. And then walk the hands back towards you. Turn the heels in and the toes out and bring the hands onto the legs. I'm going to move a little side to side here. Just really calling up that strength in the base.

That's what Ganesha's all about, strength in the base. Bring on the base. One breath in. And exhale. Nice.

And then we're going to straighten the legs and reach the arms up. So interlacing the fingers, pointing the index finger. We're going to do a little energetic clearing here. So I'll show you first what we're going to do. We're going to come down by bending the knees and going ha.

And it's like you're chopping away all of that confusion energy that's in the way or anything that's in your path that's not clear, that's not letting you move forward with ease. So you're going to do a little energy work. So inhale, lift up. And exhale with a big ha. Nice.

Again, inhale. Ha. And inhale, reaching up. One more time, exhale. Ha.

Bring the arms out wide. Feel your power through your legs. Nice. And then coming all the way up, hands on the hips. We're going to just pause here, bring the feet parallel.

Feel the energy moving through you. Deep breath in. And exhaling. Turn that right foot forward. And you're going to set up for warrior two so you might need to adjust your feet slightly.

Just pulse it so you find that right place for you. Bring the palms together. And then straighten that front leg. Press the hands out and roll the shoulders forward. Interlace the fingers behind you.

Draw the belly and lift up through the heart. You're going to roll that left shoulder back. And then bend the right knee and send the knee to the right. So what you're feeling here is this left shoulder moving back, the right knee moving to the right. And you feel openness across the whole front body.

And you feel really strong in your legs. Nice. With that strength in your legs, feel these light arms lifting up. Beautiful. Deep breath in.

And say, Jai Ganesha. Jai Ganesha. And then reaching forward, letting that right forearm come onto the thigh. One nice long stretch here. Left arm overhead.

And exhale, hands down onto the ground. We're going to lift that right leg up to the sky. And then swivel on the left foot and land inside plank. Strong through your hands, strong through your legs. One breath in and exhale, come down.

Come down through plank. Inhale, up dog or cobra. Exhale, down dog. We're going to lift that left leg up to the sky one more time and bring the foot forward to the right ankle. Coming up onto your fingertips.

So it might be useful to bring a block or a blanket underneath this left hip to support the hips so the hips feel even. So take your time for that. Inhale, lift up and then exhale slowly. Start to come forward. Deep breath in.

And exhaling. And allowing your head to drop so you really release the head. And maybe you rest it on your hands. Maybe you rest the head on the ground. A few deep breaths down into the base, down into the hips.

It's clearing that root chakra with your breath through your awareness. One more breath here. Inhale, lifting up. Bring the hands in front of you. Tuck the back toes under and lifting that left leg up to the sky. Inhale and opening the hip in a counter pose.

And exhale down with dog. Let's find two breaths here. Inhale, look forward and step forward with the left foot and swivel round to the right. Feet parallel. Inhale, lengthen through the spine.

And exhale, dropping forward and just holding the legs with your hands. Maybe the head touches the earth, maybe it doesn't. Just allowing the head to fold forward. Deep breath in. And exhale.

Inhale, lifting. Bringing the heels in, the toes out. And bringing the hands onto the thighs and just moving a little side to side here. Bring the hands, one hand onto the belly, one hand onto the chest. And find your breath.

One more breath here. Straighten the legs. Feet parallel, lift the arms and feel the energy moving through your body. I'm going to turn that left foot forward and just set up for warrior two with the feet. Pulsing, finding your warrior fitting.

And then straighten that front leg, bring the hands together at the heart. Open the arms and roll the shoulders forward, interlace the fingers. Reach the hands down, lift through the chest. And roll this right shoulder back as you bend that left knee and move the knee to the left. Feel that openness across the front of your body.

And strengthen your legs, strengthen your base. And then light arms come up. Beautiful, deep breath in. Exhale, sinking down through the feet. Jai Ganesha, bring that left hand onto the thigh, reach through the right side.

Bring the hands down. We're going to lift that left leg up to the sky and rolling onto the edge of the right foot. And finding side plank. Coming down through chandaranga, inhale, up dog or cobra. And exhale, down dog.

And lift that right leg up to the sky and bring the right foot towards the left wrist. And coming up into pigeon. So you might want to support underneath the right hip with a blanket or a block. Just to keep the hips even. And then start to come forward slowly.

So there's nowhere to get to here. Just being with wherever is comfortable for you. Stay connected with the breath, deep breath in. And exhale. And then allow yourself to come forward and maybe you can rest your head on your hands or on a block or on the ground.

Bring your awareness into your root, down into the base of the spine. One more breath here. And you start to lift the head, walk your hands back and we're just going to come to lying on our backs. And take a deep breath in and as you exhale, really let yourself drop into the support of the earth. Just feeling that grounding energy, the bones dropping down into the earth.

Gravity assisting you to release any heaviness, anything that's ready to be released that's no longer serving you. Deep breath in and exhale letting it drop with a haaa. And bring the knees into the chest and gently wobble side to side. Keep holding onto that right knee, extend the left leg straight along the ground and then extend the right leg up and hold the back of the right leg. Inhale, lift the head and reach the hands up to the back of the leg.

You're going to lift that left leg an inch off the ground, engage your core. Nice big smile here, deep breath in and exhale, release it down. Hug the knee in towards you and then just allow that knee to come out to the side. You can extend the leg here if you like, deep breath in. And bending that knee, bringing it back and we're going to extend the leg out to the other side, just reaching through the right fingertips.

Inhale, bring the knee in, bring the left knee in as well and then extend that right leg straight along the ground. Deep breath in and then exhale, lengthening through, extending through the left leg. Lift the head up towards the left knee and you're going to lift that right leg an inch off the ground, engage the core. Deep breath in and exhale, release it back down. We're going to bend this left knee and then allow it to move out to the side, maybe extending that leg out straight.

Deep breath in and then bending the knee, bringing it back to center. And you might just keep it bent as it falls over to the side or you might extend that leg straight. And then inhale, bring both knees back into the chest, gently wobble side to side. Release the soles of the feet down onto the ground, arms alongside the body. And then bending the elbows, press through the upper arms and soles of the feet, lift the hips and then walk the shoulders towards each other underneath the back.

Release the arms down, maybe just pressing the hands into the ground or maybe interlacing. Strong through your legs, inhale, lift that energy from the base of the spine up to the heart, let it crack your heart wide open. Jaganesha, exhale, beautiful, one more breath here. And then releasing, lift the heels, reach the arms up to the sky, lower the back down onto the ground and rest the knees against each other. Deeper breath in and exhale.

You're going to bend your knees, flex your feet, bring your arms wide, engage your core, draw your belly in. And then gently drop the knees to the right, hold them an inch off the ground, engaging your core muscles and then inhale, knees up to center. Keep the feet flexed, exhale, over to the other side, hold the knees an inch off the ground, draw the belly in. Beautiful, inhale, lift the knees back up to center, draw them in towards you, gently wobble side to side and release into Shavasana. Just extending the whole body on the earth.

Deeper breath in and again exhale, dropping down, feeling yourself grounded, noticing how the earth is holding you, is supporting you. As you exhale, just allowing any tension in the body that's willing to release, just to give it up down into the earth. Beautiful, just like that, deep breath in and exhaling. It feels true for you, just silently inside, just repeating, I am held, I am supported, I am held, I am supported. Deeper breath in, exhaling. And then just bending the knees, crossing the shins, allowing yourself to roll up, rock and roll up.

Find an easy seated position, bring the flesh from underneath the sit bones, you might sit on a blanket or a bolster, close the eyes. Deep breath in, exhale through the mouth, let the belly drop with a long haaa. Just allowing your pelvic floor muscles to relax, just really feel yourself dropping down into the earth, through the base. And then gently, as you press through the tailbone, draw the belly in and lift up. You feel like the heart is light and supported by your strong base, your connection to the earth. Just closing the eyes, feeling the breath moving through the body.

Bring the hands to the heart and see your path, your journey, just moving with ease and with grace, all obstacles removed. Jai Ganesha, thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing with me today. Namaste.