Inner Freedom Flow

Welcome everyone. We are going to be exploring Garuda Mudra today, like the wings of the bird, symbolizing inner freedom. We're also going to be spinning things around a little bit, facing forward, facing back, intentionally confusing the thinking mind in hopes of kind of just washing it away. The intention is to dive deep into that internal space of freedom that's always there for us, but sometimes a little more elusive than others. So I encourage you to have fun with it. Drop the mind and just let the body take over. Enjoy. We're going to start in Malasana at the front of the mat. Kind of wiggle down into it. And then once you're situated finding that balance point, draw the hands to prayer at the heart center and let your eyes close, dropping down into your breath, making that transition from mind to body and heart, letting go as much as possible of all that stuff that's swimming around in the mind, in the world these days. Let's open together with a gentle Om. Exhale all your breath out. Big inhale through your nose. Aum. Moment of stillness. Let that sink in. And then go ahead and let the eyes open. From here, interlace your hands behind your back. Start to lengthen the legs and ease into a clasped hand, Uttanasana. Saw through the knees, heavy through the head. Breathing into the neck and the shoulders, opening those sticky spots right at the get-go. Give it another breath. And stay for your inhale. And as you exhale, you're coming back down into Malasana. Hands to the heart. Ground for a breath. From here, we're pressing all the way up, again with the hands clasped, this time turning the palms to the sky as you rise to stand. Drop a little through the tailbone, lift a little through the heart, take a couple breaths here. And then we're going to link that all together, building the pace. So stay for your inhale. And as you exhale, come on down, Malasana. Interlace the hands behind the back and inhale, fold, exhale, back to Malasana. Inhale, stand, clasp the hands, press the palms. Exhale, come on back down, Malasana. And then just once again, interlace behind the back, inhale to fold. And exhale, Malasana. Sit down into it. This time inhale, rise all the way up, press it out. And we're staying tall with the exhale. Take the hands to prayer at the heart center. Draw the feet together. Samastitihi. Close the eyes. Awareness drops down and in. Big inhale. And exhale. Good. Float the eyes open. Surya Namaskara A. Inhale, reach out and up. Exhaling, fold out and down. Inhale, halfway, long spine. Exhale, hop or step back. Lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, cobra, up dog. And exhale, downward facing dog. Breathing here for three. Long spine, two. At the bottom of your exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale, lengthen it just halfway. Exhale, bow and fold. All the way up. Inhale, rise. And exhale, hands to the heart. Again, inhale, reach it up. Exhale, fold forward. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, hop or step back. And lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, down dog. Stay here for three. Soft through the neck. Two. And again, soft bend in the knees with the exhale. Hop or step forward. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, fold. Rising all the way up. Inhale, reach it out. And exhale, hands to the heart. Once again, inhale, reach up. Exhale, fold forward. Halfway, inhale up. And exhale, hop or step back. Lower on the exhale. Inhale, reach through the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. And again, breathing three. And two. All right, we're going to stay here and move directly into a low lunge. So with your inhale, just reach that right leg to the sky. And as you exhale, step the right foot forward between the hands, lower the back knee, and give it a little padding if you'd like. And then take the hands to that front thigh and just ease the hips forward tall through the spine. One breath here. And then adding the arms. Inhale, reach it up.

Three. Two. And then with your exhale, release the hands down. Take your hips straight back into Arda Hanumanasana. Hands can grab blocks if you'd like. Inhale, reach through the heart. And exhale, melt down into it. Breathing three. Two. All right, linking them together, finding a little flow. As you inhale, rise, high lunge, reach it up. As you exhale, release hands to the earth, draw the hips back. Again, inhale, rise, reach it up. Exhale, hands to the earth, draw it back. Inhale, float it up. Exhale, bow down. This time, inhale, come all the way up. And with the exhale, just release hands to the earth and then take both hands inside of that front foot, open it out to the right. Listen to your knee here. Don't go any further than feels appropriate. You can stay where you are. You can start to ease down onto forearms and elbows. You might start to walk that right foot wide and open the knee a little bit, accessing the inner thigh. Give that a breath. If this is enough, stay there. If you'd like, right hand goes back for the left foot. You can grab a strap or towel. If you're not quite finding it, let's cover the distance. Three. Two. All right, if you have the foot, let it go. And then from the fold, inhale, walk the upper body back in and up. Tuck the back toes, lift the back knee. As you inhale, take your right leg back to the sky. Exhale, open the hip again. Inhale, straight up. And then exhale, just shake it out, release it, down dog. Take one breath. And then inhale, left leg reaches up and we step directly into low lunge, second side. Step it forward, lower the back knee. Start with the hands on that front thigh and just ease the hips forward, soft through the shoulders, tall spine. One breath here. And then take the arms up. Inhale, rise. Three. Play with your own edge. Breathing into the right hip flexors, two. And then release. Hands to the earth. Take your hips straight back, lengthening that left leg. Inhale, extend through the heart. And as you exhale, just deepen into the fold. Three. Soft through the neck and the jaw. Two. All right, let's find that flow moving between the two. As you inhale, come forward and rise up. As you exhale, release the hands and draw it straight back. Inhale forward and rise. Exhale, hands down, draw it back. Again, inhale, floating up. Exhale, release and draw back. This time, inhale, rise, come all the way up. And then as you exhale, hands down, take them inside of the front foot. Again, be mindful of that left knee. You might stay right there. You might release to the forearms. You might start to open that left knee out to help open through the inner thigh. Take any variation you'd like and maybe left hand goes back for that right foot. Again, you can cover the distance with a strap or a towel or just skip holding the foot. Three. Two. If you have it, let it go gently. And then inhale, walk the upper body back in and up. Exhale, hands either side of the front foot. Tuck the back toes, lift that knee, strong center. Inhale, left leg back to the sky and exhale, open the hip. Inhale, rise and exhale, shake it out, release.

Good facing dog. Take a grounding, centering breath here. Okay. And ground through the hands. Inhale, take the right leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee, just one breath here. And then inhale, reach it to the sky. As you exhale, take the right knee towards the left elbow, swing it over to the right and inhale back up. Two more like that. Exhale, left, right. Inhale up. Exhale, left, right. Inhale up. Okay. With the exhale, step your right foot forward between the hands, but aim it towards the left hand and then step the back foot in a little bit towards the right. You're in a sort of crisscross pyramid. And then slowly start to twist the body to the right, coming to the outer edge of that right foot for a little IT band, outer right leg stretch. And just pause, three, two, right. From here, inhale, spinning all the way around to the left. So we're facing the back of the mat, grounding that back heel and rising, warrior one, nice and tall. Sit way down into it and reach up out of it for three, two. We're staying at the back of the mat. So keep this. Inhale, reach the heart up. Exhale, release the hands down, step straight back into plank pose, lower. Inhale, lift the heart and exhale, downward facing. One breath. Good. Exhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip, bending the knee. Give it one breath here. And then inhale, reach the left leg up. Exhale, draw that knee towards the right elbow. Swing it left and inhale up. Exhale, right. Swing it left. Inhale up. One more.

Exhale, right, left. Inhale up. And then exhale, step the left foot forward between the hands, walk it over towards the right, step the back foot in a little towards the left, and then spin towards your left to the outer edge of that foot, breathing into it. Just notice where any pull is, any resistance is. Take your breath there. We're coming all the way around on the inhale, face the front of the mat, ground that back heel and rise, warrior one, second side, easing into it. Deep breath, three, two. Stay right here. Inhale, reach through the heart and exhale, release. Step back to plank, lower chaturanga. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Take a breath. All right, here we go again with the inhale. Take right leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale directly back up. One circle under the body. Exhale to the left. Swing it right. Inhale back up. Exhale again. Step your right foot forward towards the left hand. Step the back foot in a little, maybe twist a little deeper this time. Explore it. Breathe into it. And again, we're coming all the way around. Let the inhale spin you left all the way to the back of the mat, ground that back heel and rise, warrior one. Find your foundation first and then take a big inhale. And as you exhale, swing your right elbow underneath your left, interlacing the forearms. Then inhale, rise through your heart and exhale, draw it down and in. Inhale to rise. Exhale down and in. Inhale, rise. Exhale down and in. Inhale, rise. Ground on your exhale. Picture full Garudasana and then start to ease the back foot in, grounding through that left foot. When you're ready, transfer the weight, pick it up and wrap the right leg around. Do what you can, fall out of it a million times. Just keep coming back. When you find your stability, breathing into it. Three, two, and taking flight. Inhale, reach your arms out wide. Exhale, unwind that right leg. We're diving into a standing split. So release the hands to the earth, sail that right leg to the sky and release into it. If you feel really steady, you might take hold of that left ankle with one or both hands.

Going three, two. We're going all the way back into downward facing dog. So find some stability through that left foot, through the hands. Float the right foot all the way to the back of the mat. Step the left foot back to meet it. Lower into Chaturanga. Lift the heart and downward facing dog. Pause, gather the energy. Inhale, left leg up. Exhale, open the hip. Inhale, back up. Exhale, one circle under the body. Inhale, back up. Exhale, left foot forward towards that right hand. Step the back foot in a little towards the left and then spin left, maybe a little deeper, breathing into it. Three, two. We're coming all the way back to the front. Let the inhale spin you right and take you forward, grounding the back heel and rise again. Warrior one. Find your footing, reestablish the foundation. Big inhale. Exhale, swing the left elbow under. Inhale, rise. Exhale, curl in a little. Inhaling, rise. Exhale, curl in. Inhale to rise. Exhale, curl in. This time inhale, rise and feel your feet connect especially through that right foot and start to ease the back foot in. As you're ready, transfer the weight onto that right leg. Pick up the left full Garudasana. Wrap that leg around and sit down into it, tall through the spine. Nice. Three, two. In flight, inhale, spread your wings, reach it out. Exhale, unwind the legs, diving into your standing splits, releasing the hands to the earth. Sail that left leg to the sky, soft through the neck. Hands as is or take hold of that right ankle with one or both hands. Three, two, and making your way all the way back. So grounding through the hands and that right foot, float the left foot all the way to the back of the mat, step the right foot back to meet it. Stay for your inhale. Exhale, lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Take a moment here. Centering in the breath, coming back to that deep internal source. And then as you're ready, with the inhale, simply step the right foot forward, spin the back heel down. Begin by opening the body into warrior two and then just spin the left foot out and ease the hands to the thighs, swaying a little side to side. And then stay for a big inhale. And as you exhale, dive towards the earth and slowly, kind to the knees, start to bend that left knee, left toes are out a little, and ease the hips to the left, Skandhasana. This can stay high or drop low. Just finding your own edge with it, breathing into that inner right thigh, breathing into any areas of resistance. Steady for five, four, three, two, lifting from the center. Inhale, draw it back towards the mid line and then exhale over to the right. Again, go slowly at first, just listening to the knee joint. And if you feel for it, take it a little deeper. Kneezing down into it and breathe here for five, four, three, opening that inner left thigh, two, and one. Inhale again, drop back towards the center. This time the feet are parallel and just release the head into the fold. Give this a breath or two, saw through the neck. From your fold, inhale, lengthen it just halfway. Keep the legs and the core strong. Exhale, take the hands to the hips, pressing through the feet. Inhale, rise all the way up. And exhale, just ground for a breath. Then turn the toes out, heels in, sit down into it, really strong through the legs. Feel that incredible foundation supporting you as you draw the hands into Garuda Mudra. Hooking the thumb, spread the fingers wide and just rest the mudra right on the center of the heart. Let your eyes close and let your awareness go down into the heart center, feeling for that deep internal sense of freedom, peace, beyond the fluctuations of change, beyond any strife or struggle and feeling your own center, an abiding sense of freedom. And then gently let the eyes open and as you inhale, let the legs lengthen and extend the arms out wide. Offer the heart up and exhale, come on back down, bending the knees and returning to the mudra. Again, inhale, extend out wide and exhale, draw it back in. Feel that incredible expanse. And once again, big inhale, heart wide open, offer it all the way and exhale, bending the knees, come on back down, seal that sense of inner freedom in the center of the heart. Take one inhale here and ground on the exhale. And then inhale, simply open it into your warrior two. And as you exhale, take the hands to the earth, step back, plank pose, lower. Inhale, lift the heart and exhale, downward facing dha. Take a grounding breath or two here. And then as you're ready, bottom of the exhale, simply hop or step all the way through to sit for dandasana, seated staff. So grounding in your dandasana, move any flesh out from under the sit bones, take the hands outside of the hips, press into the earth and let the spine rise. If arms are longer than torso, simply walk the hands back a little, very, very slight drop of the chin, gazing tip of the nose, top of the thighs, or close your eyes. Use this as an opportunity to reconnect with the earth. Incorporating and grounding all the energy you're cultivating. Three, two. And then inhale, float the arms up and exhale, fold forward, Paschimottanasana. Take any grip you'd like. When you have it, inhale, send the heart out and exhale, simply release.

Let your back round, let your head fall, melting down into it. Three, two, three, four, five, six. Keep your grip, inhale, lengthen, and then exhale, release. All right. I'm gonna turn towards you for a little exploration. The invitation throughout the sequence is to honor each stage, really be fully present with each stage and take it as far as you feel comfortable. Yeah. And little by little by little, it will progress over time. Okay? So for the first step, we're just gonna cross that right ankle over the left knee and then draw the left foot in for a seated hip opener. Try to keep that right foot flexed, protecting the knee joint. And you can ease it way back or you can start to walk the upper body towards the legs, which of course will deepen the stretch and then steady your gaze and just breathe. Five, four, right into that right hip. Three, two, one. Okay. If this is fairly intense in your body, you can just stay there and keep breathing into it. It's more than enough. If you'd like to explore the next stage, just kind of ease back a little bit and extend that left leg. Okay? Keeping the right leg hugging in towards the body and draw the right foot into the left elbow crease. Okay? Keep the foot gently flexed so you're protecting the right knee joint and then cradle the leg, hugging it in towards the chest. Right? Let's take it as close as you can. And again, steady the gaze and breathe into it for five, four, soft smile. Have some fun with it. Three, two, and one. Okay. Again, if that's enough, enjoy it. Stay right there or even return to the previous variation. If you'd like, you're going to open that right hip out a little bit, take hold of the top of the foot with the left hand, and then start to draw this right leg behind the right shoulder. Okay? It was like hoisted back there, hook it around, and then the right hand plants on the earth. Okay? If that's enough, great. Keep what you've got. Maybe start to lengthen through that right leg. Okay? See how that feels. Five. Start to work that right shoulder back a little, no force. Four, three, two, and one. If this is enough, stay with it.

Enter the previous pose. If you'd like, kind of hook that knee a little bit further back and plant the right hand, plant the left hand and start to draw that left foot in. You know where we're going from here. You're going to take the left foot over the right and hook it in and then engage through the arms and through the center, lifting up to take flight. Then the legs extend out and the upper body tilts forward and we hover, taking flight. Three, two, and then just draw it back in towards the midline and home to center. Beautiful work. Let's try it on the other side. Okay. So just extend that right leg a little bit. Give it a moment of release and then cross the left ankle over the right knee. Take the right foot in, finding your own edge. Again, you can be pretty far away from the legs or pretty close to them. Steady your gaze and breathe into your left hip. Five, four, just three, two. Mm-hmm. Keep this if you'd like to. Otherwise, easing back a little. You'll hug that left knee in towards the body as the right leg extends. Take the foot right into the elbow crease. Keep it flexed, protecting the knee joint and then hug it in towards the chest. Tall spine, breathing into it. Five, four, three, two. This is enough. Enjoy what you've got. If you like, open that left knee a little bit more and then take hold of the outer edge of the foot with the right hand and then hook that left hand kind of under the left leg to help draw it back behind the shoulder and then plant the left hand. You can keep it right here or you can start to explore lengthening the left leg tall through the spine, reaching it out. Five, four, three, two. All right, here we go. Giving that inner freedom and opportunity to fly. Take that left hand down, draw the right leg in as you root through the right hand as well and then hook the ankles. Again, it's strong through the arms, but it's also a lift through the center, drawing it in and up as you tilt the weight forward. Maybe you pause there. Maybe the legs start to extend and the upper body comes forward a little. Do what you can, holding three, two. Inhaling, come on back to center.

Let it all unwind. Just extend the legs out and kind of rock them out a little bit. Bounce them out a little bit. Beautiful work. Try it all over again if you'd like or gently draw the legs in and turn back towards the front of the mat. Then simply extend the legs straight out. We're going to counter all of that forward moving with the shoulders by opening it up again. Take the hands back, fingers point forward, easing into Purvottanasana. Suppressing down through the hands, lifting up through the hips and head can stay neutral or drop back. It's up to your body. If you prefer tabletop, bend the knees and plant the feet. Holding here, five, four, three, two, and then just easing all the way back down and drawing the legs in. Let's wash that away. Take the hands to the earth, step back into your plank pose and then press all the way into downward facing dog. Really big inhale, exhale, child's pose. Knees together or wide, arms out or back. Lay it all down and rest. Offer it away. Five, four, three, two, and then gently as you're ready, inhale, lift to the hands and the knees and more opening through the chest and the front of the shoulders with Anahatasana. Exhale, walk it out and rest either on the forehead or the chin. Maybe over time the heart itself will land on the earth. Five, four, three, two, and as you exhale again, slide back into child's and just stay low for a breath or two. Let that settle. When you're ready, inhale, lifting back to the hands and the knees. Exhale, pressing all the way into downward facing dog. Take a breath here and then coming all the way through to sit the bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, hopper step forward. Nice and easy. Come to a comfortable seat. Prop it up if you'd like. Tall through the spine and return the hands to Garuda Mudra. Let the eyes close. Let the mudra rest on the center of the heart. Let your awareness drop down and in to that center. Knowing that you are safe, you are held and that this internal source is always there beneath the fray. Letting the practice call you back to it over and over again. If you'd like to, you're welcome to stay here resting in meditation with the mudra for as long as you'd like. If you'd prefer, simply release it and let yourself roll all the way onto your back for shavasana. Letting the legs roll open, letting the palms roll open, letting the eyes close. Lay it all down, offer it all the way and just rest. Exhale.

Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale.

Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale.

Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Let the breath begin to expand again. Gently drawing your awareness back, bring some movement into the hands and the feet and inhale, extend the arms up and over. Exhale, bending the knees, feet to the earth, roll to either side and guide yourself all the way back to a comfortable seat. Draw the hands to prayer at the heart center. Inhaling. And gentle inhale. Soft bow with the exhale. Namaste.

And here is to your inner freedom.