Slow Hip Flow

Good morning and welcome back. This is a lungy, twisty, hippie shoulder opening practice. You might want a blanket nearby when we come into our lunges. We're going to start standing to find a bit more opening through the shoulders. So stand about hips distance apart and just begin by inhaling and squeezing your shoulders up towards your ears and exhale, drop.

Find that again, inhale, draw the shoulders back and up, squeeze, exhale, drop. One more time, inhale, drawing the shoulders up and exhale, drop. Reach the arms out to the sides and begin to press and reach from the heart into the hands. We'll begin to find rounding through the shoulders and then a bit of cactus opening and then rounding again, finding that internal rotation, a stretch through the back, press through the feet, draw the elbows under and up, feel that space across your chest and a few more times, finding that rounded shape, internally rotating the shoulders and externally rotating opening. Let's do one more time, opening and again we'll press and reach through the heels of the hands.

You might look one side to the other, finding that ease through the neck and then draw the fingers under and stretch through the top of the wrists and you might keep a soft bend through your knees, chin might soften towards the heart and then press and reach and then draw the fingers towards the floor, lengthen and then draw the fingers and stretch through the top of the hands. Let's take an inhale together and then exhale, release and shake it out a little bit. We come towards the top of our mat and interlace the fingers, inhale, reach the palms up towards the sky and just allow yourself to lean from side to side, feeling the side body begin to wake up and open, feel that you can lengthen the back body as well. Coming back into the center, let's take an inhale and then exhale, release the hands, interlace the fingers behind the back, draw the shoulders down the back, lift the heart, you might stay here, you might bend the knees and bring the chest towards the thighs, head releases, arms stretch up out and over towards the shape of uttanasana. You can bend your knees, release the weight of the head, release the weight of the arms.

Nice, we'll take an inhale, exhale, bend the knees, release the arms, toe heel to feet wide malasana, bend the knees, sink down into the hips, nice. Reach the right hand to the floor, inhale, reach the left arm up to the sky, let it open, you might twirl the wrist if that feels good, ah, inhale, exhale, release the left hand down, open the right arm up to the sky and then maybe twirl the wrists, find a place where the neck feels good, nice, release the right hand down, toe heel to feet underneath the hips, uttanasana, soft bend through the knees, let yourself dangle and release and we'll roll up together, bend the knees, chin into the chest, use the strength of the legs to roll up, nice and slow, press through the feet, heart begins to rise, shoulders roll up, back and down, let the palms open, we'll take a few moments here in tadasana or samasthiti spreading the toes, the awakening the inner arches, beginning to align with the breath, filling that length up through the spine and the skull kind of floating back right over the spine, nice, we'll draw the hands together at the heart and begin to move with our breath finding a variation of surya namaskara a and some lunges, as you're ready we'll inhale the arms up to the sky, take a moment, press through the feet, feel that length in the spine, exhale forward fold, draw the navel towards the spine, release the head and the hands, uttanasana, as you inhale draw your hands up your shins, you might look up, draw the shoulder blades down the back, exhale, bend the knees, hands find the floor, step back into your plank and pause here in plank, first one reach back through the heels, lengthen forward through the heart, feel that strength and stability through your shoulders, right through the belly, we'll lower the knees, keep the elbows in, draw the shoulders down the back, nice and slow, heart towards the floor, cobra, roll the shoulders down the back tops of the feet on the floor, let the inhale they carry you up into cobra, pause here for a moment and exhale lead with the heart lower down, tuck the toes, press up onto the knees and press back downward facing dog, take a breath here too, finding that length through your spine, rooting through the fingers, you can even bend your knees and reach your sitting bones towards the sky, releasing the head, nice, from here we'll inhale the right leg up towards the sky and square the hips, so flex that foot, inhale and then exhale knee to nose, shoulders over the wrist round the upper back, knee to nose, inhale right leg reaches up to the sky, exhale knee to nose, we'll step it through into a lunge, nice, take a moment to pause here, here's where the blanket might come in handy and then slow lower that left knee down, stay low or rise up onto that right thigh, take a few moments here settling in to sensation, you might keep the back toes tucked or release the top of the foot down, nice, inhale reaching the arms up to the sky and feel that length through the back body, you might stay with this, you might interlace the fingers and inhale opening up, maybe there's a slight back bend here, pressing through that right foot, inhale reach the arms back up to the sky, turn the palms away, find that internal rotation through your shoulders, interlace the fingers and stretch the palms away, spacious through the chest, easy in the neck, maybe sinking down into the hips a bit more, breathing. As you're ready inhale reach the arms up to the sky, exhale release the hands together, let's draw the hips back, you can flex that right foot, take a moment here, maybe you release the head, saying good morning to that right leg, hamstrings, moving towards a twisting lunge, bend the right knee, plant the left hand, tuck the back left toes, lift the back leg, bring the right thumb into the hip crease, reach back through that left heel, lengthen forward and then bring the lower belly with you, so I like to bring my hands, my right fingers underneath the belly and kind of reach and lengthen that right arm up to the sky for a twisting lunge, juice through the back leg, heart to hands, easy in the neck, breathing. Inhale, exhale release the right hand, we'll walk it all the way over to the left, finding the shape of hammock, similar to presserita, feet parallel with each other and then go ahead and walk the fingertips out in front of you and then reach the hips away from the hands, so the heart begins to soften towards the floor, so we'll take about three breaths here, rooting a little bit through the outer edges of the feet, you can keep a soft bend through the knees, easy in the neck. As you're ready, bring the hands back underneath your shoulders and then travel back to the top of the mat, spin onto the ball of the back foot, find the shape of the lunge and then step back downward facing dog, nice job, and just walk it off a little bit here, beautiful, find that on the other side, as you're ready, inhale, lift the left leg up to the sky, again you can flex the foot square, the hip, as you're ready we'll inhale, exhale, left knee to nose, round the upper back, shoulders over the wrists, inhale, left leg reaches, exhale, knee to nose, step it through for your lunge, you just kind of help it along, wiggle back through the ball of that right foot, lengthen forward and then slow, lower the right knee down, nice, you might stay low, you might rise up, hands find the left thigh, jaw softens and settling, from here the arms might reach up towards the sky with the palms facing each other and feel that you can lift and lengthen from the back body, breathing, nice, you might stay here, hands might interlace, spacious through the chest, opening the shoulders, nice, taking an inhale, exhale, release the hands, spin the palms away, internally rotate the shoulder, bring the funny knuckle on top, roll the shoulders down the back, reach the fingers away, breathing, inhale, reach the arms back up to the sky, exhale, release the hands and then we'll draw the hips back, my goodness, getting out of that lunge, draw the hips back, you can flex your left foot, come onto your left heel and maybe you begin to release the head, nice, when you're ready bend the left knee, we'll come into our twisting lunge, right hand on the floor, tuck the right toes, lift the right leg, bring that left thumb into the hip crease, reach back through the right heel, forward through the heart, you might use your left hand, draw the fingers, and then open the arm up to the sky for a twisting lunge, breathing, juice through the back leg, drawing your right shoulder blade into your back, nice, inhale, exhale, release the left hand, we'll walk it over to the right, finding our hammock shape, feet parallel, hands walk out a bit further, you can keep it soft bend through the knees as you walk or draw the hips back, again, letting the heart soften towards the earth, maybe there's a little wobble here, side to side, a little swaying, releasing the neck, breathing, okay, and then together hands underneath the shoulders, we'll travel back to the top of the mat, find the shape of the lunge, spin onto the ball of your back foot, step back downward facing dog, nice work, taking a few moments, pedaling out the feet, right, so with an inhale we'll move forward into plank pose and pause, reach back through the heels, lengthen forward, lower the knees, come all the way down, inhale to cobra, lifting up, exhale, lead with the heart, lengthen down, check the toes, press up, downward facing dog, from downward facing dog, walk or hop towards the top of the mat, making your way there, inhale, lengthen half arch, exhale, forward fold, soft bend through the knees, reverse swan dive, inhale, reach the arms up to the sky, lengthen, drop the tailbone, exhale, hands to the heart, and taking a moment here to pause, letting your attention drop down into the feet, spreading the toes, as you're ready, second round, inhale, reach the arms up to the sky, exhale, forward fold, hinge at the hips, maybe there's a soft bend in the knees, releasing the head in the arms, uttanasana, inhale, draw the hands up the shins, lengthen your spine, half arch, exhale, bend the knees, step the left foot back, right foot follows, come into plank pose and pause, again you might lower the knees into on the floor or you might lower yourself down chaturanga, this time inhale up cobra or maybe it's upward dog, drawing the shoulders down the back, lifting and spacious through the chest, and then exhale, make your way back into downward facing dog, three breaths here, rooting through the fingers, lengthening through the spine, as you're ready, inhale, reach the right leg up to the sky, this time bend the knee and open the hip, root through the fingers, this might feel really nice, good, square the hips, as you're ready, inhale, exhale, we're going to bring the knee to the elbow, right elbow, shoulders over the wrist, right knee, right elbow, hover, inhale, right leg reaches up to the sky, and then exhale, knee to nose, step it through for a lunge, this time we're going to lower the left knee and toe heel the right foot nice and wide for a lizard, you might even spin the toes out, right from that heel and hands on the inside of that right foot, here's where having a blanket under the left knee might feel good, right, so if and as it feels right you might begin to lean from side to side, you can allow this to be an investigation, here we're looking to find an appropriate edge of sensation, outer and inner hip, rolling side to side, you might stay with this, you might move towards the twist as you bring the left hand to the floor and then twist to the right and maybe the right hand finds that right thigh, opening, sinking down, breathing, this might be enough, you might stay with this, you might play towards bending that left knee, bringing the foot up and if it's right there you might open the right arm, shoulder and then maybe finding the foot, if you find the foot you can kind of kick into it and then lift up through the heart a bit, breathing, notice where in the shape you can soften and relax any effort, let's take an inhale, if you have the foot exhale slow release that foot down, find the shape of lizard, hands on the inside of that right foot and then as you're ready slowly walking, drawing the hips back, walking the hands back, toe heel that right foot back into the center, hands around that right foot, tuck the back toes, find the shape of the lunge, step back, downward facing dog, walking it off, as you're ready we'll find the other side, inhale, reach the left leg up, bend the knee and then open the hip, you might press through the hands, breathing, and then square the hip, extend the left leg, we're going to bring the left knee to the left elbow, as you're ready inhale exhale shoulders over the wrist, left knee left elbow, inhale left leg reaches, exhale step it through between the hands, find the shape of the lunge, lower the right knee down, hands find the inside of that left foot for lizard, we might toe heel that left foot out to the left, come on to the heel maybe spin the toes out, ah and then if it feels okay on your right knee you might begin to roll on the outside of the knee, roll on the inside, softening the jaw, just check in, notice how it feels this morning, allow yourself to lean a little bit side to side, you might stay with this, you might move towards the shape of the twist, right hand on the floor and twisting to the left, towards your left knee, maybe the hand finds the knee and maybe you offer a gentle, so you open, drawing the right shoulder down the back, twisting lizard, twisting lizard, ah breathing, you might hang out here a bit longer, you might bend your back leg, your right knee and if the foot's right there you might open your left arm, open the shoulder and maybe find the foot, maybe not, if you have the foot play with kicking back notice how that can kind of peel the chest and the heart open, again find that ease in the neck, breathing, you might find this side feels a little or a lot different, I know for me it does, nice, nice, inhale, exhale, if you have the foot slowly release it, sometimes it can be like a slingshot when you release it, back of the shape of lizard, hands on the inside, take your time, walk your hands back, draw your hips back, toe heel the left foot back into the center, hands around the front foot, shape of the lunge, step back downward facing dog, walk it off, pedal the feet, breathe, from downward dog inhale forward into plank pose, shoulders over the wrists, exhale lower the knees or chaturanga, inhale to cobra or upward dog, pausing, exhale downward facing dog, three breaths here, as you're ready walk or hop to the top of the mat, find your way there, inhale length and hand slide up the shins, shoulders draw back, exhale uttanasana, forward fold, strong through the legs, inhale reach the arms up to the sky, finding length, and exhale hands to the heart, taking a moment to pause at the top of the mat, hands at the heart, let's find a clearing breath, inhale, nice full breath out of the mouth, exhale, adding on and layering, as you're ready inhale arms sweep up towards the sky, exhale forward fold uttanasana, releasing the head and the arms, inhale length and draw the hands up the shins, shoulders draw down the back, half arch, exhale bend the knees, step back into plank and pause in plank, find your legs, your arms, you might lower onto the knees, you might lower chaturanga, elbows in, shoulders down the back, inhale to cobra or upward dog, exhale downward facing dog, about three breaths here, as you're ready inhale reach the right leg up to the sky, bend the knee and let the hip open again, nice, square the hip, flex the foot, inhale, exhale right knee to right elbow, hover again, shoulders over the wrists, inhale right leg reaches, exhale moving towards warrior two, knee to nose, step it through, pause, root through the outer edge of your left foot, use that left arm to carry you up like a reverse cartwheel action, and we've arrived, take a moment, find your feet, find your pelvis and reach your arms out, warrior dance, inhale, press through the ball the right foot, right leg straightens, arms reach up, exhale, bend the right knee, warrior two, settling into your right hip, inhale, press into the ball of the right foot, right leg straightens, exhale, bend the right knee, warrior two, moving towards reverse or peaceful warrior, slide the left hand down the back leg and inhale, reach the right arm up, find length and then press into the ball of that right foot, moving towards a reverse triangle, right leg straightens, from here we'll move towards trikonasana, a triangle, so extend and lengthen the bottom ribs, as you reach the right arm forward towards the top of the mat, your right hand might find your shin, your ankle, foot, maybe your block, left arm reaches up towards the sky, we'll take five breaths here, lengthening the bottom ribs, rooting through the outer edge of that left foot and find a place where the neck and head feel good, you might stay with this, you might internally rotate your left shoulder, bring the hand behind the back or maybe wrap it around your right thigh, as you let the rib cage revolve, the heart revolve, breathing, breathing.

Nice, let's take another inhale together, exhale, release that left arm if it's bound, reach it up and then release the left arm down, find the shape of the lunge and step back downward facing dog, nice walking it off, pedaling the feet, stay here or move through a vinyasa, inhale forward into your plank, strong through the legs, lower the knees or lower chaturanga, keeping the elbows in, inhale to cobra or upward dog, pausing at the top, exhale, navel to the spine, downward facing dog. Second side, inhale, reach the left leg up to the sky, bend the knee and let the hip open, yeah find that ease in the neck, square the hip, flex the foot, inhale, exhale, left elbow, hover shoulders over the wrist, inhale, left leg reaches, exhale, knee to nose, step it through for warrior two, pivot on to the outer right edge, bend the left knee, let that left arm carry you up into your warrior, find your feet, settling in, bending the left knee and pause, dancing with our breath, inhale, press into the ball, the left foot, arms reach up, left leg straightens, exhale, bend the left knee, warrior two, inhale, press into the ball, the left foot, arms reach, exhale, left knee bends, warrior two, one more round, inhale, reach up, exhale, left knee bends, warrior two and reverse, draw the right hand down the back leg, inhale, the left arm up, find that length, bending the left knee, letting the left side body open, take an inhale, exhale, straighten the left leg, finding that reverse triangle shape, moving towards trikonasana, inhale, begin to lengthen towards the left foot, lengthening the underside as you tip over into your triangle, left hand finds the shin, ankle, maybe your block, right arm reaches towards the sky, and breathing. You might look straight ahead, you might look down, you might look up towards your right hand, you can stay with this or internally rotate your right shoulder, bring the hand to the back, around your sacrum, or maybe wrap it around the left thigh, because you roll the shoulder down the back, and then begin to revolve the ribcage and the heart towards the sky. Yeah, you can give a soft bend through that left knee, beautiful. Nice work, inhale, reach that right arm up to the sky, and then exhale, square the hips, plant the hands around the left foot, find the shape of the lunge, and step back down, we're facing dog, walking it off, stay here, lower in child, or move through a vinyasa. Inhale brings you forward into plank, you can lower the knees or lower chaturanga, keeping the elbows in, inhale to the side, elbows in, inhale to cobra, or your upward facing dog, drawing the shoulders down the back, exhale, navel to the spine, downward facing dog. Nice, from downward dog, let's take a nice clearing breath, inhale, let it all out on the exhale. From downward dog, we'll make our way to the top of the mat so you might mosey your feet, you might hop your way there, we'll inhale, half arch, lengthen, exhale, forward fold, and then rise up, reverse swan dive, inhale, reach the arms up, find that length, and exhale, release the arms, taking a moment to pause here, feeling the feet, spreading the toes, letting the palms open, and settling. Nice, from here we'll move into tree pose, so letting the eyes open, and finding a spot out in front of you to focus on. We'll start with the left foot, grounding through the left foot, spreading the toes, affirming that left hip, and then find that external rotation through your right hip like a warrior too. So this morning you might press the heel towards the inner ankle and stay with this, you might bring it up towards the calf, depending on your balance, you might play with bringing it up towards the thigh, maybe there's a wall nearby or a friend or a chair, finding a soft steady gaze, the hands might find each other at the heart, you might reach your arms up towards the sky, just notice the quality of your breath, quality of your gaze, maybe a slight inner smile. Nice, just allow for an inhale, as you're ready exhale, release and shake it out, I just dance it off a little bit, and we'll find the other side, ground through the right foot, spread the toes, press through the foot, feel that right hip, affirm and support you, and then feel that external rotation through the left hip, like a warrior too, and then press the heel towards the inner ankle, and you might stay right here on this side with this knee, this ankle hip, you might move up the calf, or maybe the upper thigh, on this side I'm going to stay right about here, maybe the hands rest together at the heart, maybe the arms reach up towards the sky, breathing, feeling that wobbling and wiggling and movement, nice, inhale, whenever you're ready exhale, fall out of your tree, gracefully shake it out, notice how you feel after that, we'll make our way to the earth with the sun salutation, spreading the toes, hands at the heart, inhale, reach the arms up, exhale, forward fold, releasing the head and the arms, inhale, half arch, lengthen your spine, exhale, just walk your feet back casually into downward facing dog, and pause here for three breaths, from downward facing dog, we'll move the right knee in for pigeon, so from here you can draw the right knee in, if you like a blanket or a prop underneath your right hip, go ahead and set one up, and take your time to settle into this one, there's no rush, you really know where to get to, and check in with your face, your shoulders, your fingers, and the quality of your breath, you might stay right here, you might gradually release forward, the key is to allow your body to invite you in, rather than to force or push, maybe the head releases, you might find a little movement here from side to side, useful, and the invitation is to breathe into where you feel the sensation, you might stay in the shape you're in, you might begin to press your way up, so you might stay here, you might begin to bend your left knee, draw your foot closer in, similar to that lungy lizard type shape, and if it's available you might open your left shoulder, and maybe you find the foot, maybe you don't, if you find the foot you might kick back a little bit through the foot, and allow that to kind of carry the heart up, kind of like a sail in the wind, and breathe, and finding that place where the neck and head feel comfortable, you might stay with this if you have the foot, and it makes sense for your body, you might begin to draw it in a little bit, top of the hand, your elbow lifts up, top of the hand finds the foot, you're ready, release, come back to the shape of pigeon, and then we're going to move towards Aravatsyandrasana, finding a twist, so lean over to that right hip, swing the left leg over, you might sit up on a blanket if you'd like some support, and from here inhale, reach the right arm up to the sky, and exhale, twist to the left, wrap the right arm around the left leg, you can reach that left arm behind you, inhale lengthen through the spine a bit, and exhale, gently twist towards the left, breathing, let's take another breath here in the twist, you're ready to slowly let yourself unwind, and lean back and free your legs, we're going to come into Navasana boat pose for fun, bring the hands behind the back of the thighs, draw the shoulders down the back, and this might be your boat today, you might play with leaning back and maybe lifting the legs up, drawing the shoulders down the back, you might play with extending the legs towards straight, and maybe reaching the arms out, let's take three breaths here, one, two, and three, releasing the feet, place the hands in front of you, and just step back downward facing dog, walking it off, if it would feel nice, you might lift that right leg, bend the knee, and just let the hip open, kind of freeing it up, back into downward facing dog, we'll find Pigeon on the left side, bring the left knee through, and as you set up for Pigeon on the left side, you might bring a blanket or a bolster underneath your left hip, we really got to customize it for your body and your hip and your knee, and taking a moment to settle here into sensation, let's take a nice full breath, exhale, you might stay here, you might gradually begin to release onto your forearms, and maybe releasing the weight of the head, really paying attention and being honest with the side, your knee, your hip, and breathing into where you feel the stretch or sensation, and exhale, notice the quality through the eyes, the hands, feeling the wave of breath move through the body, and you're welcome to stay and encouraged to stay right where you are, if it would be fun and exciting to come up and bend the knee, bend that left knee, you might make your way there, so bending the knee, bringing the foot up, and then maybe opening that right arm and shoulder, a little twist, maybe the hand finds that right foot or not, if you have the foot you might kick back a little bit, and notice what that does to the front of the body and the shoulder, breathing, and easy through your neck, you can stay with this, if and as you need to feel more, you can bring the top of the hand to the top of the foot, now I'm feeling a lot of sensation through the right thigh and the left hip, nice, good, and then slowly gracefully releasing the foot, find the shape of pigeon, and then we'll move towards the seated twist, so lean towards that left hip, swaying the right leg across, bring the foot all the way across, and you might have a blanket underneath your sitting bones, we'll inhale reach the left arm up to the sky, and exhale twist to the right, wrapping the left arm around the right knee perhaps, inhale to lengthen and exhale twist, and taking a few breaths here in the seated twist, notice if there's any hardening through the mid-back area, you can allow that to soften a little bit, even relaxing through the belly a bit, okay allow for an inhale and then exhale unwind, lean back we'll find that boat pose, navasana again for fun, hands behind the back of the thighs, draw the shoulders down the back, stay right here, or maybe lean back, beginning to awaken the abdominals a bit, you might stay right here, you might play with extending the legs, some juice through the toes, hands might stay on the legs for support, or they might reach out in front of you, lifting up through the heart, offering the hands, breathing, feeling that wobbling, one more breath in, exhale cross the feet or ankles, and step back downward facing dog, finding your way there, walking it off, if it would feel nice inhale reach the left leg up, bend the knee open the hip, ah, and then release the left leg down, go lower the knees, child's pose for a moment, sink the hips back towards the heels, forehead towards the earth, nice full exhale, and then slow chin into the chest, roll up badrasana, from here we'll transition onto our back for a bridge, find your way onto your back, roll your way down, feet right underneath the hips, and take a moment here, pausing, all right bridge pose, spread the toes, heels in line with the sitting bones, inhale, exhale curl the tailbone under, press through your feet, lift your pelvis up, now palms might be facing down, you might decide to roll and tuck your shoulders under your back, maybe interlace the fingers around your sacrum area, press evenly through the soles of the feet, you feel that slight internal rotation through the thigh bones, beautiful lengthening through the front body and let it feel spacious around your throat, your face, breathing, see if you can relax some of the effort through the butt, right through those outer glutes, relaxing the jaw, we'll take an inhale and exhale, to release let's come high up onto the balls of the feet, so lift your heels up, release your hands if they're interlaced, stretch your arms up to the sky, round the upper back and then slowly lower your spine down like a wave to the sand, one vertebrae at a time, releasing the arms and paws, knees might fall together for a moment, feet wide, clearing breath, exhale, spring your knees into your chest and let yourself rock a little side to side, we'll find a spinal twist from here, bring the right knee into the chest, extend for your left leg and then we'll twist to the left, bring that right hand on the outer part of the left knee, might reach your right arm out from the heart, inhale, lengthening a bit and then exhale, softening the belly and find a place where the neck feels comfortable, you're ready, inhale, come back up, keep that right knee into your chest, left leg extends and then just stretch it out, shake the legs out for a moment and then we'll find that on the other side, left knee draws in, right leg extends, right hand finds the outer part of your left knee, spinal twist to the right, bring that left knee over, if you reach that left arm out, lengthening on the inhale and softening on the exhale and just notice what your head and neck want to do, hmm you're ready, inhale, back onto your back, keep that left knee and right leg extended and then stretch your left leg out to meet your right, shake it out, knees into the chest one last time, rock a little side to side and if you want to curl up into a ball, draw your chin into your chest, bring your forehead towards your knees, round, round, round and then exhale, release into shavasana and release the legs, release the arms, you might find a starfish shape, if you'd like support on your back you might bend your knees or bring a bolster underneath and a few moments to consciously rest in this space you've created for your practice so you're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like, you feel ready slowly inviting movement back into the body, knees might draw in, and just roll on to your side, let the head rest on your arm, just taking a few moments on your side, and when you're ready keep the weight of the head heavy, use your arms to press yourself up and we'll take a few moments to sit together, just finding a comfortable seat, and from your seat draw your hands together at your heart, we'll close our practice with the sound of om, allow for an inhale, namaste