Clear and Steady

Welcome, everyone. Let's find a comfortable seat. We're going to take just a few moments of pranayama to open this practice. So if you'd like to prop up your sit bones, please do so. And then just let your hands rest and let your eyes close. For now, begin just by noticing your breath, feeling the rise and fall of the inhales and the exhales. Then we'll track the inhales up the length of the spine. So for now, exhale, empty all the breath out. Inhale from the root to the deep belly, to the solar plexus, to the heart, to the throat, the third eye, and the crown. And exhale down the length of the spine. Inhaling, root to navel, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, crown, and exhale down the spine. Last cycle, inhale, root to navel, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, crown, and exhale, ground. Waking up the spine, the central channel. Keep the eyes closed. Take your hands to prayer at your heart center. Exhale, empty all the breath out through the nose, a big inhale. And a moment of stillness to welcome in your intention. Letting the eyes open. Let's go ahead and rock forward, coming directly into a standing forward fold. Wootanasana at the top of the mat. Head heavy, neck soft. Drop the hands or hold the elbows. Maybe sway the body a little side to side. In this fold, the invitation is to just release, maybe even opening, imagining the opening of the crown of the head and letting all the thoughts, distractions, fears, whatever's swimming around in there, just empty out onto the mat. Let yourself have your practice. Enjoy your body and the breath and let the rest go. One more breath here. And then if you have the elbows, let the hands release to the earth. And then gentle bend in the knees, heavy head, inhale, roll all the way up to stand. And exhale, roll the shoulders down the back. Step the feet together. Take the hands to prayer at the heart center. Big inhale. Grounding, exhale. Surya Namaskara. Inhale, reach out and up. Exhaling, fold out and down. Inhale, halfway. Inhale, hop or step back. Lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, lifting the heart. And exhale all the way back. Downward facing dog, long spine, deep breath, just for three. Two. Down of the exhale, gentle bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, fold. Inhale, rise all the way up. And exhale, hands to prayer, heart center. Again, inhale, reach out and up. Exhaling, bow out and down. Inhale, halfway. Again, exhale, hop or step back. Lower knees or chaturanga dandasana. Inhale, cobra or up dog. And exhale all the way back. And down dog. Breathing, three. And two. Soft bend in the knees with the exhale, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale, lengthen it halfway. Exhale, bow and fold, rising up. Inhale, reach beyond the fingertips. Exhale, hands to prayer at the heart. Once again, inhale, out and up. Exhale, fold. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, hop or step it back. And lower. Inhale, lifting the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Breathing here. Three. Sit bones to the sky. Heels to the earth, shoulders rolling away from the ears. Two.

And from here, keep rooting through the hands. With your inhale, take the right leg straight up to the sky and exhale, go ahead and open the hip, bend the knees into it for a couple breaths. And then inhale, reach that leg to the sky. Exhale, take the knee to the nose, lift the belly to the spine. Inhale, go back up. Again, exhale, knee to the nose. Inhale, back up. Exhale, knee to nose. Inhale, back up. With the exhale, step the right foot forward, root the back heel down directly into warrior two. Inhale, left arm draws you open. Sit down into it. Breathing here for three. Two. Keep the foundation. Exhale, reverse, reaching back. Breath into that side body again for three. Two. Inhale, rise and exhale directly into triangle pose, reaching out, extending through the left fingertips and steady here. Three. Two. Inhale, come on back up into your warrior two. With the exhale, hands to the earth, step back into plank pose, lower as you choose. Inhale, lift your heart, shoulders down. Exhale, downward facing dog. Left leg inhale to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Just enjoy that breathing space into the hips. And then inhale, rise. Exhale, knee to the nose. Inhale, go back up. Exhale, inhale, belly to spine. Inhale up. Exhale, knee to nose. Again, inhale, rise. With the exhale, step that left foot forward, root the back heel down, right arm opens you. Inhale, warrior two, second side, and breathe. Three. Two. Exhale, reverse reaching back, extending out through the fingertips, breathing here. Three. Two. Inhale, come on back up. Exhale, extend out and then down. Trikonosana, reaching out through right arm, right fingertips. And extend out. Three. Two. Ground the feet. Inhale, float it up and exhale, hands to the earth.

Step into your plank pose, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, lifting the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Good. Take a breath or two here. In a moment, we're going to link that all together, building the pace and the heat. Slow it down if you need to and rest whenever you need to. As you're ready, inhale, right leg up. Exhale, knee to the nose, just once. Inhale, back up. Exhale, step it forward, ground the back heel, left arm opens. Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, reverse, reach it back. Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, trikonosana. Inhale, back into your warrior two. And exhale, hands to the earth. Step back, you can take the vinyasa or not, follow the breath. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, down dog, left leg, inhale to the sky. Exhale, knee to the nose. Inhale, back up. Exhale, step it forward, ground the back heel, right arm opens. Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, reverse. Inhale, back up. Exhale, lengthen the left leg, triangle pose. Inhale, take it back up.

Exhale, hands to the earth. Step into plank and lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, down dog, rest as needed. Otherwise again, inhale, right leg up, knee to nose, exhale. Inhale, up. Exhale, forward, ground the back heel, warrior two. Inhale, exhale, reverse. Inhale, up. Exhale, triangle pose. Inhale, back up. Exhale, hands to the earth. Step back and lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, down dog, left leg, inhale, knee to nose, exhale, back up, inhale. Exhale, float it forward, right arm opens, warrior two. Exhale, reverse. Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, triangle pose. Inhale, back up. Exhale, hands to the earth. Step back and lower, lift the heart, down dog, rest. Or again, inhale, right leg, knee to nose, exhale, back up. Step it forward, grounding the back heel, left arm opens, warrior two. Exhale, reverse. Inhale, up. Exhale, triangle pose. Inhale, warrior two.

Exhale, hands to the earth. Step back and lower. Inhale, heart up. Exhale, back, left leg, inhale, knee to nose, exhale, back up, inhale. Step forward, ground your back heel, right arm opens, inhale, warrior two. Exhale, reverse. Inhale, up. Exhale, triangle. Inhale, back up and exhale, hands to the earth. Step back, plank pose, lower, lift the heart and downward facing dog. Really nice work. Stay there for three, two. Bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale, lengthen it halfway up. Exhale, bow and fold, strong center. Inhale, rise all the way up and exhale, hands to prayer at the heart. Take one breath. Wutkatasana, bending the knees. Inhale, scoop it up and holding strong, palms open or press, gaze wherever the neck feels best for five, four, three, two. As you exhale, come into Ardhutkatasana. So the chest bow is parallel to the earth. Hollow out the belly a little, take the hips back and reach the arms out.

Keep all of this and then inhale, arms go wide. Exhale, forward, inhale, open. Exhale, in. Inhale, open. Exhale, in. This time, inhale, reach all the way back, interlace the fingers, clasp and ease into the fold. Give the shoulders some breath and love, three, two, bending the knees. Inhale, let's come back up into Wutkatasana. As you exhale, sit down into it, pressing through the feet. Inhale, rise all the way up and as you exhale, open through the heart, offer it up. Inhale, reach it back up and then exhale, dive right back down into your fold. Inhale, lengthen halfway and exhale, hopper, step it back, lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, all the way back, press through the hands. Inhale, take the right leg to the sky. As you exhale, step it forward and open directly into warrior two again and then exhale into side angle. You can rest the forearm, you can root the hand, bind or half bind, reaching through those fingertips, soft through the neck. Take all the unnecessary tension out of the posture and breathe. Three, two, good. Grounding through the feet. As you inhale, lift it back into your warrior two and then exhale, we're going to lengthen that right leg, turn the feet to parallel, hands to the hips for Prasarita Padottanasana. So starting simply, grounding through the feet, inhaling, reaching the arms up and then let's trace the midline, keep the legs and the core strong as you fold forward, hands to the earth, releasing the weight of the head. Neck is soft, head is heavy, maybe the fingers line up with the toes, they don't have to. Let's do what you can and keep the quad muscle strong as you bring a little weight into the front of the feet. Breathing, three, two, and then inhale, draw the body halfway up. You have a couple options here. If you're really grounded and steady, you might come into tripod headstand, otherwise just reaching the arms out as you pull the hips back and let the heart melt towards the earth. Just releasing here, three, two, yeah. And then if you're in tripod, slowly with control, release the legs back to the earth. If the arms are extended, walk them back in, essentially under the shoulders, inhale halfway up, keep the belly engaged, exhale, hands to the hips, press through the feet, inhale to rise, and then exhale, open it back into your warrior two. Take a big inhale, exhale, hands to the earth, step back and lower, inhale, lift the heart, and exhale all the way back. Left leg, inhale up, exhale, step it forward, grounding the back heel, right arm opens you, inhale, warrior two, and then exhale directly into side angle. So again, forearm to thigh, hand to the earth, bind or half bind, finding the ease wherever it's possible, reaching it out, five, four, three, two, two, pressing through the feet, inhale back into warrior two, exhale, lengthen that left leg, and again, turn the feet to parallel. This time, we'll clasp the hands behind the back, interlacing the fingers, inhale, lifting through the heart, and as you exhale, go ahead and fold forward. Arms up and over, breathing into any sticky spots, three, two, stay in your fold. The last variation of prasarita is up to you. You can stay here, you can release and grab the big toes, you can come back into a tripod, you can twist whenever you feel for. Once you have it, ground and inhale, and then just deepen, exhale, five, four. If you're twisting, you might want to shift into the other side here, two, and one. Gradually coming back to neutral, feet are on the earth, hands are on the earth, essentially under the shoulders, inhale halfway, exhale, hands to the hips, pressing through the feet, inhale back up, exhale ground, warrior two, left foot forward, big inhale, exhale, hands to the earth, step back and lower, lift the heart, and exhale, downward facing. Again, three breaths, give yourself a chance to settle, three, two, two, and bottom of the exhale, soft bend in those knees, hop or step to the front of the mat, inhale to lengthen, exhale, fold, flat back, strong center, inhale all the way up, and exhale, samasthiti, take a breath, right, from here we're going to move into a few standing balance poses, start with the hands on the hips, steady the gaze a few feet out in front, ground through your right foot, and simply draw the left foot up into tree pose, hands can stay on the hips, they can come to the heart, or you can reach the arms to the sky, if you feel really steady you can draw the gaze up as well, and just steady breath, three, two, but if the arms are up, draw the hands back to prayer at the heart center, we want to keep the standing leg strong, the energy rising, and simply cross that left ankle over the right knee, left foot is flexed, protecting the knee joint, and then slowly start to sit back and down, breathing into that outer left hip glute area, just enjoy this, you choose, you can stay right there, or you can just experiment with taking the hands to the earth, bending the elbows, making that shelf with the upper arms, and then as with any lift you want a really strong center, drawing it in and up, pressing through the hands, looking forward, and then just experiment with drawing that right foot off the earth, and maybe extending it back, and then just come right on back, plant the foot, and with control, inhale, rise, exhale, let it all go, okay, from here, grounding the left foot, steady the gaze, draw the right leg up, tree pose, second side, take your time, and again any arm variation you feel for, standing leg is strong, energy is drawing up through the midline, maybe the arms rise, and maybe we lift the gaze, three, two, if the arms are up, the hands come home to the heart, gaze to the earth, standing leg stays strong, cross the right ankle over the knee, flex that foot, and then just start to ease the hips back and down, even as the torso comes forward, there's a sense of lift, which will help to deepen the stretch through the hip glute area, again it's up to you, keep it where you are, or plant the hands on the earth, and bending the arms, make that shelf with the upper tricep muscles, and then lift, lift, lift from the belly in and up, looking forward, maybe the left foot rises, maybe the leg extends back, give it a breath, and then just right back in, and press through that left foot, inhale to rise, and exhale, shake it all out, let it all go, and come home to samastitihi, take a breath, okay, from here we're rooting right foot again, and drawing the left foot up into half lotus, this is optional, if it feels like too much for the left knee, you can repeat tree or ankle across the knee, if the foot is in half lotus, that left arm wraps behind, take this in stages, maybe the left hand simply holds the left, sorry, the right arm, maybe you can find that big toe, yeah, if that's enough keep that, if you'd like start to ease the upper body forward, right hand to the earth, hips are as neutral as possible, and then just ease down, use your gaze, three, gazing at the right big toe, or you can release the head and look at the navel, two, one, okay, so if you're in the fold, we want to come out really slowly, inhale just halfway, exhale here, and then slowly inhaling all the way to stand, exhale go ahead and release the left leg, shake it all out, let it go, okay, let's try the second side, grounding through the left foot, and draw the right leg up, half lotus for arta bada padmottanasana, okay, again stay with tree or ankle across the knee, if you'd prefer, if the foot is content in half lotus, reach the right arm behind and just hold that left arm, or maybe you find the big toe, lengthen, inhale, and fold, exhale, if you're close but can't quite get the toe, you can always hook a towel or a strap around the foot, and then just ease down, gazing at the big toe or up towards the navel, drop that right hip, three, two, all right, we want to come up slowly, inhale just halfway, exhale, stay there, microbending that left knee, inhale, rise all the way up, and exhale, go ahead and release, hands to the heart, big inhale, and exhale, nice and easy, inhale, float the arms up, exhale, bow out and down, inhale just halfway, and with your exhale, you'll stay in your fold, open the feet a little wider than hips distance, toes out a little, heels in a little, give that a breath or two, and then easing down into malasana, progressively opening the hips, you can rock a little, and then just finding the center line, if this is really challenging, you can always slide a blanket under the heels or even a block under the sit bone, and then hands to the heart, tall through the spine, breathing into the hips.

All right, you're welcome to simply release the hands to the earth, take a fold and hop or step back, or you can plant the hands, take the gaze forward, take that same lift through the center, and try for the arm balance, bhakasana, grow, keep it simple, hug it in and up, you're welcome to return the feet to the earth and simply step back from there, or stay for your inhale, and shoot back, with your exhale, lift the heart, and downward facing now, good, take a breath or two here, and then with your inhale, roll it forward into plank pose, and with your exhale, simply release the body all the way down to the earth, and we'll take our backbends on the belly in this practice, so for now, just resting the arms alongside the body, draw the legs together, resting the chin gently on the earth, and then shalabhasana, inhale rise, lifting the legs, lifting the arms, sending the heart out and breathe, five, four, three, two, release, and then it's your choice, you can gently stack the hands and rest the forehead on that top hand, and you can turn the right cheek down to the mat, or you can press through the forearms and the elbows, press through the palms, tuck the toes and rise into forearm plank, super strong core, breathing ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, exhale, come all the way back down, and then be mindful of the back, if you'd like to stay in that shalabhasana A variation, feel free, otherwise we'll draw the legs together, this time clasping the hands behind the back, and then inhale, rise, lift the hands up off the tailbone, lift through the heart, five, four, three, two, exhale, release, again, simply stack the hands and rest the forehead, turn the left cheek to the mat, or once again, rise up forearm plank, tuck the toes, lift the hips and breathe, slightly looking forward and reaching through the heart, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, all the way down, again, listen to the back, if you want to repeat either of those previous backbends, feel free, otherwise bending the knees and try to work with the knees no wider than the hips here, take hold of the feet, and as you're ready, inhale, lift it up, open through the heart, feel free to rock and roll a little bit, five, four, three, two, exhaling, melting down, nice and easy, take the hands outside of the ribcage, inhale, press yourself to your hands and your knees, and exhale, take it all the way back into downward facing dog, take a breath here, giving this one more breath, and then inhale, take the right leg to the sky, and exhale into pigeon, releasing the hips, support it if you'd like, and roll onto your back if you'd prefer, lengthen, inhale, and exhale just melting all the way out and down, and we'll give this a full 10 breaths, allowing the body to just slowly, organically open, 10, 9, 9, 8, 7, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14. Three, two, come out of it, slowly inhale, rise, exhale, tucking the back toes, lifting that knee, inhale, reach your right leg all the way back to the sky, and whatever you feel for here, you can open it, you can circle it around a little, shake it out a little, and we'll meet in downward facing dog. Left leg, inhale to the sky, exhale, draw it through, pigeon, support it as needed, grounding down, and then inhale, lengthen, and exhale, full, surrendering down into the earth, letting the body begin to rest a little, and breathing into the hips, and nice, exhale, nine, eight, seven, six, seven, eight, nine, eight, nine, eight, nine, eight, nine, eight, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 25, 24, 26, 27, 28, 28, 29, 30, 28, 90, 31, 32, 33, 41, 35, 42, 48, 39, And slowly, with the inhale, walking back in and up, and exhale, tucking the back toes, lifting the back knee, inhale, sweep the left leg back to the sky, and then again, you can shake it out, drop it up and over, circle it around, whatever feels best, meeting, downward facing dog. Take a big inhale, and exhale, release to the hands and the knees to set up for shusasana, headstand. If headstand is not a part of your practice, you can just work with the building blocks, you can take shoulder stand or legs up the wall, even a happy baby.

If you are moving into headstand, set up the base mindfully, elbows no wider than the shoulders, crown of the head on the earth. The tendency for a lot of us is to kind of want to look forward, which of course strains the neck, make sure the head and neck are straight in one line with the spine, and then once you're grounded, tuck the toes, lift the knees, start to walk it forward. You can take one leg up at the time or draw both knees in and rise from there. Let's hold steady for 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13, 14, 5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. All right, lower with control.

If you can, keeping the legs straight, slowly easing the hips back to counter the movement of the legs coming forward. And maybe with control all the way down. Knees to the earth, hips to the heels, child's pose. Knees together or wide, arms out or back. Keep the head low when you come down from the inversion.

Let the energy and the blood settle. And breathe here. And let yourself sink down, breathing into the back. About five breaths. Letting it all go. One more breath here.

And then gently inhale. Just rise onto your hands and your knees. Keep this really simple, crossing the ankles, unwinding the legs, and just rolling all the way down onto your back. Hugging the legs in towards the chest. And just hug them in and rock a little.

Happy baby if you feel for it. Really gentle, rocking, releasing. And then take a nice big inhale. Exhale out the mouth, let it all go, extending the legs. And letting the arms rest alongside the body.

Closing the eyes. And just lay it all down, let it all go. One big inhale through the nose. Gently hold. Open the mouth, exhale.

Resting, resting, resting. Offer it up. Exhale. Exhale. If you have the time and the space and you'd like to stay in Shavasana, always feel free.

The words emerging together, deepening the breath, inhaling the arms up and over. Exhaling, bend the knees, feet to the earth, rolling to the right, guiding the body back to a comfortable seat. Rest the hands, close the eyes, nice and tall through the spine. Hands to the heart, inhale. Gently inhaling and exhale a soft bow forward.

Namaste.