Brighten Your Day

Good morning. This practice is designed to inspire movement and energize you a bit. So for this practice you'll want two blocks. It's not necessary, but it'll feel nice when we begin to come into some warrior one crescent lunge work. So take a moment, start with your feet wide.

We'll just bring it into the neck. So inhale, just draw your shoulders up around your ears, exhale, let them drop. Inhale, draw the shoulders up around the ears, exhale, drop, and one more time, drawing the shoulders up, exhale, drop, reaching that right arm out, finding an internal rotation through the shoulder and then bringing the chin towards the chest and then left ear towards that left shoulder. Starting to notice how it feels through that right neck, part of the neck, shoulder, arm. You might stay here, you might externally rotate that right arm, shoulder, internally rotate, looking down, maybe looking up, keeping a soft bend in the knees, soft through the eyes.

Good. Let the chin come back to the chest, release that right arm, reach that left arm out, find the internal rotation and then bring the right ear towards the right shoulder. You might start by looking down, maybe letting the head and the gaze come up, maybe a little flossing through that left shoulder, finding the internal and external rotation, releasing the jaw, the eyes, breathing, and soft bend in the knees, and then just gradually, no rush, let the chin come back to the chest, release that left arm, walk towards the top of our mat, interlacing the fingers, stretch the palms away, inhale, go up, and then lean a bit from side to side, and keep a soft bend through your elbows, letting the back body lengthen, pressing through the feet, coming into center, inhale, exhale, release the arms, internally rotate the shoulders, interlace the fingers, inhale, lift the heart, exhale, forward fold, uttanasana, let the head drop, let the arms reach up out and over, breathing, releasing the head, soft bend in the knees, releasing the hands, plant the right hand, bring the left hand up towards the sky, bend that right knee for a standing twist, opening it up, you might look up towards the sky, lengthening the spine, inhale, exhale, look down, plant the left hand, bring the right arm up to the sky, bend that left knee and let it open, breathing, and you might look down towards the floor or up, inhale, exhale, release, toe heel to feet wide from malasana, squat pose, plant the right hand, lift the left arm up, lengthen, exhale, left arm releases, right arm reaches up, let that right hip roll open, release, uttanasana, toe heel to feet underneath the hips, soft bend in the knees, chin into the chest, roll the spine, roll your way up, nice and slow, pressing through the feet, rounding your back, inhale, reach the arms up, lengthen, exhale, hands to the heart, taking a few moments here at the top of the mat before we move again, spreading the toes, draw your awareness towards your breath, and moving together as you're ready, inhale, reach the arms up to the sky, exhale, forward fold, uttanasana, releasing the head and the arms, inhale, hands draw up the shins, half arch length in your spine, exhale, bend your knees and step back into plank pose and pause here as we move through surya namaskara A, you might lower the knees, lower onto the belly for cobra, draw the shoulders down the back, inhale, lift the heart, wide through the collarbones, elbows trying towards the ribs, lead with the heart, lower down, beautiful tuck the toes, press up and back into your downward facing dog, walking it off, noticing how it feels this morning in your first downward dog, nice, from downward dog, walk or hop the feet towards the hands, bend knees, forward, inhale, lengthen, exhale, forward fold, strong for the legs, reverse swan dive, reach the arms up to the sky, lengthen and exhale, release the hands, hands find the heart, pausing, toes spreading, moving through lunge salutations, inhale, arms reach up, exhale, forward fold, knees sink, inhale, half arch, lengthen, exhale, bend the knees and step the right foot back into a lunge, left knee bends and lower that right knee down, inhale, draw your hips back for a moment, flex the left foot and then exhale, bend that left knee, sink into your lunge, with an inhale, reach the arms up for crescent lunge, back toes might be tucked or top of the foot might be pressing down, lengthening, breathing, from the lunge, inhale, lengthen, exhale, prayer twist to the left, bring the hands together, right elbow onto that left leg, press the hands together and twist to the left, you might stay here for a few breaths, if you want an extra challenge this morning you might tuck your back toes and maybe lift your back leg up, breathing, strong through that back leg, inhale, exhale, lower the knee, lower the hands, step back downward facing dog, walking it off, from downward dog inhale into your plank pose, shoulders over the wrist, exhale, lower the knees or lower all the way onto your belly for cobra, draw the shoulders down the back tops the feet on the floor and inhale cobra lifting up, wide across the chest, exhale lead with the heart lower down, tuck the toes, press up and back downward facing dog, lengthening, three breaths here, from downward dog walk or hop the feet to the hands, bend the knees, lead your way there, inhale lengthen, exhale fold, inhale reach the arms up to the sky and lengthen, exhale hands to the heart, taking a moment to pause between sides, as you are ready second round, inhale reach the arms up, exhale forward fold, releasing, inhale half arch, lengthen your spine, exhale bend your knees, simply step your left foot back into the shape of the lunge, right knee bends, lower that left knee down, inhale draw your hips back, flex your right foot, toes to the face, exhale lunge forward, might stay low, you might come up, arms might reach towards the shape of crescent lunge, crescent moon, taking a few breaths here, tuning that back foot, breathing, stay here, prayer twist to the right, press the hands together, that left elbow finds the outer right knee, twisting and lengthening, breathing, you might stay with this, you might tuck your back toes, strong for your legs and lift up, feeling the wobble perhaps, and then lowering that left knee down, releasing the hands around the front foot, step back into your downward facing dog and walking it off, from downward dog inhale forward into your plank and pause and plank, exhale lower the knees or lower all the way onto your belly for cobra, tops of the feet on the floor, roll the shoulders down the back, inhale lift up, exhale lead with the heart lower down, tuck the toes, press up and back downward facing dog, three breaths here, releasing the head, the neck, from downward dog, walk or hop the feet to the hands, inhale half arch, exhale forward fold, inhale reverse swan dive, reach the arms up to the sky and lengthen, exhale hands to the heart, pausing here at the top of the mat, so from here we'll take our two blocks and bring it to the top of the mat and set up for a few rounds of Surya Namaskar B sun salutations, you can set them on any height you like, I have mine at the lowest setting, standing at the top of the mat, Utkatasana, bend the knees, chair pose, reach the arms up to the sky and lengthen, sit back towards the heels, hinging at the hips, feeling the navel draw towards the spine as you lengthen, inhale, exhale press through the feet, rise up, inhale, exhale forward fold, releasing the head, hands might find the blocks here which feels quite nice, inhale half arch length in the spine, exhale bend the knees, step back into plank pose using the blocks for support in plank and just see how this feels in plank, we're going to lower the knees and lower like we're doing a push up, press yourself up, so that's one option here, lowering down and pressing up, some of you might choose to lower down and move towards upward facing dog, nice and wide across the chest, upward dog feels pretty awesome with the two blocks actually, nice, exhale downward facing dog, well inhale reach the right leg up towards the sky, exhale knee to nose, step the right foot through between the hands, warrior one, pivot onto the outer edge of your left foot, as you're ready inhale rise up, reach the arms up towards the sky, exhale release the hands, spin onto the ball of the back foot, plank pose and pause, lowering the knees to find a push up or chaturanga to upward facing dog, pausing, exhale downward facing dog, catching your breath, inhale reach the left leg up to the sky, exhale knee to nose, step it through, warrior one, spin onto the ball or outer edge of that back right foot, strong for your legs, inhale warrior one, arms reach up, lengthening, inhale, exhale hands find the blocks, come into your plank and pause, lower the knees for a push up or chaturanga, inhale upward dog, exhale downward facing dog, nice three breaths here, how does it feel with the blocks? From downward dog walk or hop the feet between the hands, inhale half arch, exhale forward fold, bend the knees for chair pose, utkatasana, reach the arms up, inhale, exhale press through the feet, rise up, lengthen, exhale release the arms, hands with the heart pausing. From here let's move into a chair twist, inhale reach the arms up towards the sky, exhale bend the knees like you're moving into chair, bring the hands together and then twist to the left, bring that right elbow onto the left thigh, draw the heart towards the thumb, sink down, inhale reach the arms up, exhale chair twist right, left elbow onto that right knee, finding chair through the legs, twisting, inhale arms reach up, exhale forward fold, releasing the head and the arms, hands might find the blocks, inhale half arch lengthen, exhale bend the knees, find your plank again and pause, again the option to lower the knees or find chaturanga with the blocks and maybe upward dog, drawing the shoulder blades down the back, lifting the heart, exhale downward facing dog, we'll move towards a high crescent lunge, inhale reaching the right leg up to the sky, exhale need a nose round and then step that right foot through between the hands, stay on the ball of the back foot, find your legs strong through the legs, as you're ready slow begin to rise up into a high lunge, arms might reach up towards the sky, draw the tailbone under, breathing, nice stay here, begin to open up to the right for a twist, arms reach out, soft steady gaze, sinking down, breathing, float that right arm down, reach up to the sky, pause, lengthen and then exhale bring the hands to the heart, hands to the floor block step back downward facing dog, nice, inhale forward in the plank, lower the knees or chaturanga keeping the elbows in, inhale upward dog, exhale downward facing dog, taking three breaths here, from downward dog inhale reach the left leg up to the sky, exhale step it through between the hands, preparing for high lunge, stay low, find your legs, with an inhale rise up, reach the arms up, find that laying through your spine, drawing the tailbone under, strong through the legs, stay here begin to open up to the left for a twist, nice opening, thinking, lengthening and then sweep that left arm down and up, high lunge, exhale release the hands, plank and pause, lower the knees for a push up or find chaturanga, inhale upward dog and exhale downward facing dog for three breaths, you might pedal the feet, walk it off, lengthen, as you're ready bend the knees, walk or hop forward, inhale lengthen, exhale fold, bend the knees for utkatasana chair pose, strong through the legs, inhale reach the arms up, feel that fire through the legs and press through the feet on the exhale, reach up lengthen, exhale hands to heart, pausing and noticing, you feel that heat inside moving from the center out, taking one final round of surya namaskar B, bending the knees, chair pose, reach the arms, sink down, press through the feet, rise up lengthen, inhale, exhale hinge at the hips forward fold, release the head and the hands, inhale half arch length in the spine, exhale bend the knees, step back into plank and pause and plank, from plank we're going to actually push back into downward facing dog and experiment with rolling the spine into upward facing dog, so you might walk the feet back a little bit further and then you're going to round the upper back a lot, keep rounding the spine, keep the chin into the chest, bring the shoulders over the wrists, dropping the hips towards the floor, come up onto the tops of the feet and soften the elbows, roll the shoulders down the back right and through the chest, upward facing dog, how does that feel?

Exhale downward facing dog, tuck the toes, navel the spine, pausing here, moving towards our high crescent lunge on the right side, inhale reach the right leg up, exhale knee to nose, step it through between the hands, find your legs, as you're ready inhale rise, rise up, nice, sinking down draw the tailbone under, lifting the heart, breathing, from here hands find each other at the heart, lean forward and then bring the back toes in, setting up for warrior three, hinge at the hips, strong through that right leg and then begin to hinge forward, lifting up any amount, hands might stay at the heart, you might reach your arms to the sides or behind you and then maybe eventually finding the blocks, nice, wherever you are bend the standing leg, find the shape of the lunge, step that left foot back, shape of the lunge and right foot back, downward facing dog, you'll find that rolling into cobra again, as you're ready, rounding through the upper back, the spine, hips draw towards the floor, heart draws through the hands, saw through the elbows and then press through the hands, draw the shoulders down the back, brighten through the chest, navel to the spine downward facing dog, lengthening, I love that feeling, I don't know about you, let me know, it's so nice with the blocks, from here inhale reach the left leg up to the sky, exhale knee to nose, step it through, find your legs for the high crescent lunge, inhale reach the arms up to the sky, draw the tailbone under, strong through the back leg, reach up, nice, you might stay here, hands might find the heart, maybe bring those back toes in strong through the left leg and then lift off or maybe not, lift off, hands stay at the heart or reach out, drawing that right hip towards the floor and then maybe finding the blocks for a moment, pausing, kind of enjoying the support, as you're ready bend the standing leg and then slow find the shape of the lunge, lowering the right foot down nice and easy and then step your left foot back, downward facing dog, if you want to play with the rolling into upward dog one last time, join me otherwise you might lower yourself down with a push up, as you're ready come up onto the balls of the feet, round the back, keep rounding shoulders over the wrists, draw the hips towards the floor, begin to draw the heart through, shoulders roll down the back, brightening through the heart, see the throat, easy in the neck and then navel towards the spine, downward facing dog, we'll take three breaths here, making our way forward with a walk or a hop, bending the knees, inhale lengthen, exhale fold, one last chair pose, utkatasana, bend the knees a lot, sink back into the heels, inhale reach the arms forward, press through the feet rise up lengthen and exhale, release the arms, taking a moment to pause, spreading the toes, beautiful we'll make our way down to the floor through malasana, squat, step the feet wide you can bring your blocks off to the sides, hands might find the heart pausing for a moment, and then from malasana, slowly carefully make your way onto the floor, hands might come behind you, baddha konasana, bring the soles of the feet together, knees wide, and taking a few moments in this shape, letting the hips open, you might stay upright, you might walk your way forward a bit, the back might round a little here, breathing, and beginning to relax some of the effort through the arms, the spine, the legs, making your way up, making our way into a pigeon, we'll start with that right leg forward, draw the left leg back, if you like support underneath your hip you might bring a block or a blanket there, and taking your time to ease into pigeon, there's no rush here, notice what you prefer to do with your right foot if the heel is closer in or further away, and releasing here for a handful of breaths in pigeon, staying with the wave of your breath, check in with the face and the jaw, and slowly walk your way up, downward dog would feel nice, tuck the back toes and find down dog, just walking it off, we'll find pigeon on the left, bringing the knee through, and settling in, might have a prop underneath your left hip, most likely this side feels different, and again allowing the body, your body to invite you in to the shape, leaning a little bit side to side, would feel inviting, palms might be turned up or down, this for some reason is not working for your hip and knee, you can always come on to your back and find that reverse pigeon shape by the needle, we'll be here for about a handful of breaths. And then slowly walking your way up, it would feel nice to take a down dog, tuck the back toes, come back into your downward facing dog, nice, lower the knees, take a child's pose, knees wide, pausing here, from child's pose we'll meet on our back, so make your way there, slip over, draw the knees into the chest, and we'll set up for a round of bridge, feet come down to the floor, hips distance apart, arms down alongside the body, breathing in, exhale, curl the tailbone, press through the feet, lifting the pelvis up, feeling the back body, lengthen, front body lengthen, feel nice, you might tuck the shoulders under the back, maybe interlace the fingers if that's available this morning, feel that space around the throat, and press evenly through the soles of the feet, here you might allow for a nice full exhale, notice if you can soften around the butt a little bit, feeling the support of your legs, nice, we'll release when you're ready, lift the heels up, come high under the balls of your feet, arms reach up to the sky, round the upper back, and then slowly release your spine down to the floor, release the arms, clearing breath, exhale, now continuing with our theme of back bending, heart opening, you might stay with bridge, as you move towards a second round, if we will, Urdhva Dhanurasana would feel nice and invigorating for your body and safe, join me in Urdhva Dhanurasana, setting up the feet, and you might be moving into bridge, you're moving into wheel, place your palms, your hands back, and then draw the elbows towards each other, keep the elbows drawing towards each other, and then begin to curl the tailbone under towards the knees, and you might stay right here just working the shoulders, you might inhale, and on exhale, press up onto your head, moving towards wheel, keep wrapping the elbows towards each other, you might stay here, you might extend the arms and press up to wheel pose, find that freedom through the head and neck, pressing through the arms, reaching from the heart into the hands, soft through the butt, relaxing the butt, feel the strength of the legs, and the inner thighs drawing towards each other, without squeezing the knees, breathing, and you might emphasize your exhale here, hands might even walk in a little bit closer if and as you need to feel more, inhale, when you're ready to lower down, keep the chin to the chest, bend the elbows, chin stays in, and then slowly lower down, upper back, middle back, low back, pausing, nice, feet might be wide, knees might rest together, you might draw your knees into your chest, maybe find a bodhikonasana, soles of the feet touching knees wide, most likely your body will tell you exactly what it wants to do from here, listening. When you feel ready, draw your knees into your chest, extend the legs towards the sky, you might stay here if plow would feel like a nice way to close your practice, bring the hands to the floor, and then begin to roll back, nice, letting it feel spacious around your throat, might stay where you are, you might bend the knees a little bit, allowing the spine to round, allowing the back to round, if you're here and you feel any compression or irritation through your neck, lowering down, and then when you're ready, slowly release the spine one vertebrae at a time, kind of begin to look towards your feet, keeping the head heavy, using the strength of the belly, arms are helping, soft through the face, and lowering the spine all the way down, knees into chest, stretch the legs out, the fish pose would feel good, you can press your forearms into the ground and then come up onto the top of the head, feeling that spaciousness through the throat and the heart, and then chin into the chest, releasing knees into chest, side to side, setting up for Shavasana, any support that would feel nice for your body, you might bring the feet wide, knees together, soles of the feet together, knees wide, we're stretching the legs out, allow for an inhale and hold the breath for a moment, and then exhale, reaching the arms out, perhaps the legs out, feeling the whole body, your whole being, release, receiving the support of Shavasana, all the way down. Allowing yourself to rest for a few more minutes, allowing yourself to rest for a few more minutes. A few more moments here.

Feeling the energy and space that's been created for your practice. If you have time, you might stay longer in Shavasana. And as you feel ready to begin to transition, you might wobble your head a little side to side, stretch the arms overhead, reach through your toes. Flexing the feet might feel nice, pointing the feet, bending the knees into your chest, rolling to your side, rest on your arm there. Keeping the head heavy, curling up into a ball.

When you're ready to come up, use the hands, arms, head heavy, come into a seat. Getting the alignment of your body, your seat, just right for you. Let's sit together for a few moments. We're going to begin our practice together with the sound of om, joining the hands, allow for an inhale. Vowing the head towards the heart.

Namaste. Thank you for your practice. Have a beautiful day.