Day 4: Committed

Welcome to day four. I can't believe we're already on day four. So this day is all about showing up and you're already here. So you've done the first step. So day four is about commitment. It's about showing up for ourself and it's about the self-discipline, the tapas, that fiery energy that keeps you transforming and keeps you showing up on your mat no matter what's going on. So you find that commitment, you show up and you do your practice and you honor when you need to rest. So this practice might get a little bit fiery. We'll do the best we can. But again, please feel free to honor where you're at. Your body might be feeling a little sore after three days already. So please honor that and join me whenever you feel that you are ready to keep going. So let's begin in a tabletop position. We're going to come right into the movement for some cat cows. So shoulders over wrists, again hips over knees. We've been here before and then right away inhale, arch the back, lift the heart, lift the gaze and then exhale, navel to spine, press the floor away and just start to move with the breath. So again, inhale, our heart reaching forward, arching into cat or cow, excuse me, and then exhale, press floor away, rounding. Good. Any movement here, you might take this into some barrel rolls, finding circles with the spine and just kind of moving in any way that your body is asking for. So I'm smoothing out any rough edges. Feel free to shift it back to child's pose, shift forward. It's intuitive movement with the breath, taking a few more rounds of your breath. Good. And then meet me back in center. So we'll come back to that tabletop position and then reach the left leg back behind you. So you're going to lift the left leg up off the earth, try to keep the hips even so you're flexing through the left foot actively. You can keep the hands grounded here if you'd like or bring the weight into the left hand, reach the right arm forward and find your balance. Good. And then reaching out through the core, through the center, allow a big breath in and then exhale, knee to nose, elbow to the knee, hugging everything in. Let's take that two more times. So inhale to lengthen, exhale round. Good. Inhale, lengthen out. And then one more time, exhale round, knee to nose, elbow to the knee. Good. And then bringing the right hand back down, reach the left leg back behind you again. And this time, let the toes drop behind you. And then we'll spin onto the left heel, setting up for Ardha Vashisthasana. So I like to kickstand the right shin back a little bit. Feel free to keep it stacked if you'd like. So weight into the right hand, reach the left arm up and you can stay right here. You might take the top arm over the ear and you might lift up through that left leg, playing with balance. And this is all coming from the core. So fire up your power center, that place of confidence and showing up for yourself. Good. Taking a few more breaths. Beautiful. And then go ahead and come on back to all fours and just take a moment to stretch it out. So walking the hands forward, keep the hips over the knees, letting the heart melt down, finding puppy pose or Anahatasana. Maybe the forehead finds the earth. A couple breaths to expand across the chest. And the heart seeks this fiery commitment to showing up for yourself. Good. And then when you're ready, walk your hands back up, come to all fours and we'll take that to the other side. So this time we'll reach the right leg back, flex through the right foot and then reach the left arm forward. Find your balance. If you want a little more support, feel free to lower the left hand down. You're welcome to do that, of course. And then allow big breath in, draw the navel up toward the spine and then exhale, knee to nose, elbow to the knee, rounding through the spine. Two more like that. Inhale to lengthen. Exhale, draw it in. Good. One more. Inhale. Exhale. Good. And then lengthening out.

Left hand down, right toes come back behind you. And again, spin onto the right heel and then we'll reach the right arm up. Find Arda Vashisthasana. So supported Vashisthasana. And you might take that right arm up and over the ear. Feel free to lift up through that right leg and then draw the navel in. Let everything radiate out from your center, from your core. And breathe. Beautiful. And then come on back. We'll find our way to a tabletop position. And then coming into down dog. So walk the hands in front of the shoulders just a bit. Tuck your toes, lift the hips up and back. And then just take a moment in the first down dog. Settle in any movement. Good. Good. And then on an inhale, glide forward into plank pose. Top of a push-up. Bring the shoulders over the wrist. Press actively back through the heels. Bring the shoulder blades in line with your hips. And then puff up a little bit through the upper back. So feel that lift in the upper back. Engage through the core. Holding for five. Four. Feel the shaking if it's happening. Three. Good. Two. Beautiful. Allow a big breath in. One. Exhale. Downward facing dog. And then super slowly walk your feet to your hands. Coming to the front of the mat. Finding a forward fold at the front of your mat. Letting everything just melt down. Maybe take opposite elbows here. Bend the knees any amount. Maybe sway a little bit side to side. Shake the head yes and no.

Let the hands dangle down. Soften the knees. Tuck your chin and slowly roll up. And as you get to the top, bring the shoulders up towards your ears. And then roll them down the back. Bring the hands to the heart center. And we'll set up for Surya Namaskara A. So bringing the big toes together. Slight separation between the heels. And we'll slowly build into our sun salutations. So as you're ready, inhale, arms sweep all the way up. Feel the length in the spine as you lengthen up. And then exhale. Dive forward. Heart melts down. Feel free to bend the knees any amount here in Uttanasana. And then inhale, Arda Uttanasana. Maybe for this first one, walk the hands up on the shins. Lengthening. Draw the shoulders back. And then exhale. As you fold back in, plant the palms down. Step back top of a pushup. And then from here, let's lower all the way down to the earth. You're welcome to lower the knees as we lower down. And then untuck your toes. Scoot the hands back just a little bit. Hug the elbows in. And then cobra pose bhujangasana. Start to peel the chest up. Feel the length in the spine as you lift the heart. And then exhale. Lower down. And we'll come back to down dog. Maybe pressing up through hands and knees or through plank pose. And lift the hips up and back. Take a few full deep breaths here in this downward facing dog. Allowing this to be an opportunity to come back to your breath. Maybe taking a moment here to set an intention. Something you'd like to call in or let go of. Maybe your intention is just showing up for you. Good. And then inhale. Rise up onto the toes. Bend your knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands. Come halfway up.

Inhale. Lengthen. Exhale. Fold in. And then root down. Rise up to stand. Inhale. Arms lift. Hands to heart. Exhale. Beautiful. Adding on. Building the pace just a bit. Inhale. Arms lift. Exhale. Uttanasana. Inhale. Halfway up. Exhale. Step back to plank pose. This time maybe move through chaturanga. So start to shift the weight forward. Hug the elbows in. Come halfway down. And then maybe up dog. Straightening the arms. Lifting the heart. Engaging through the thighs. And then exhale. Roll over the toes. Lift the hips up and back. Down dog. Come back to the breath.

Holding here for about three breaths. One. Two. And three. Inhale to rise up onto the toes. Bend knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to the hands. Come halfway up. Inhale. Fold in. Exhale. Root down. Rise up to stand. Inhaling. Hands to heart. Good. Let's take three more rounds of surya namaskar. Inhaling. Exhale. Fold. Inhale. Halfway up. Exhale. Step maybe lightly hop back through chaturanga as you move through your vinyasa. Modify however you'd like. Inhale to lift. Exhale. Downward facing dog. Pausing for a few full deep breaths. Maybe start to find stillness in your down dog. Let it be about the breath. Good. Inhale to rise up onto the toes. Bend knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands. Halfway up. Inhale. Fold in. Exhale. Root down to rise. Inhaling. Hands to heart. Exhaling. Two more rounds. Moving meditation with the breath. Inhale. Lift up. Exhale. Fold. Inhale. Halfway. Exhale. Move through your vinyasa. Cobra or up dog. Inhale. Down dog. Exhale. Breathe. The heels get heavy. Maybe the heels start to disappear behind your toes. Spreading the fingers wide. Find some space between your shoulders and your ears. Spine and neck long. One more round. Inhale. Rise up onto the toes. Bend your knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float. Come halfway up. Inhale. Exhale. Fold. Inhale.

Root to rise. Exhale. Hands to heart. Just breath cues this time. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Take your vinyasa. Inhale. Exhale. Holding here. Hey, three breaths. Feel free to lower the knees. Rest in child's pose if you'd like. You can also take a couple cat cows if that feels good. Just tuning in to the energy within. Let movement. So feel free, if you're in child's pose, to stay there as long as you like. We'll move on. So from downward facing dog, inhale to rise up onto the toes. Bend knees. Look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands. Come halfway up on the inhale. Fold in. Exhale. And this time we'll come to chair pose. So scoot the weight back into the heels. Sweep the arms up. And then sink the weight back. Take a look down at your toes. Make sure you can see all 10 toes. Good. And then maybe sink it down a little bit deeper. And then inhale, straighten the legs, and draw your hands to your heart. Exhale. Good. Moving into surya namaskar B. As you're ready, inhale, back to chair, utkatasana. Exhale, hands down, fold over your front legs. Good. Inhale, come halfway up. And then your vinyasa, feel free to modify however you'd like. Inhale, lift the heart, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Good. So inhale the right leg up to the sky. Exhale, step your foot through between your hands. Spin the back heel down and we'll come up to warrior one. Inhale, reach the arms up. Take a moment to arrive here. And then in your warrior one, let's take a variation with the arms. So bringing the palms to face up, arms reach forward. We'll take eagle arms. So bring the left arm underneath the right, wrap up the arms, and then draw the elbows away as you sink down a little deeper into that front leg. On an inhale, lift up. And then exhale, elbows draw into your midline, fold over that front leg. So you're in this in a humble warrior with eagle arms. And then inhale, come all the way up, release the arms above you, maybe press the palms together above your head. And then exhale, lower your hands down, move through your vinyasa, or you can always step it right back to downward facing dog. We'll meet there. Beautiful. Allow a big breath in. And then open the mouth, let something go with a sigh out the mouth. Left side, inhale the left leg up. Exhale, step the foot through between your hands.

Spin the back heel down, heels aligned. And then Virabhadrasana one, warrior one coming up. Take a moment to arrive. So let the left hip draw back, let the right hip roll forward. And then again, bring the arms in front of you, palms facing up. This time bring the right arm underneath the left, wrap it up, eagle arms. On an inhale, draw the elbows away, lift up, maybe an arch in the upper back. And then exhale, humble warrior. Draw the elbows in, fold over that front leg, lift the head and neck, relax down. Breathe. Good. And then rooting down to rise, release your arms up over your head. Inhale, lift up. Exhale, vinyasa, feel free to skip it. And you can come right to downward facing dog and we'll meet there. Taking a few full deep breaths. So this will be our Surya B variation. And we'll start to move freely with our breath. On your next breath in, rise up onto the toes, deep bend in the knees, step or lightly float your hands. I'm halfway up, inhale, fold in, exhale, root down, rise up to chair, Utkatasana. Good. And then straighten the legs and draw your hands to your heart. Beautiful. Let's take two more rounds with the breath. Feel free to skip any of these rounds and rest in child's pose. Inhale, chair, Utkatasana. Exhale, Uttanasana, fold. Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, vinyasa. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Now one breath per movement. Inhale, the right leg up. Exhale, step through. Inhale, warrior one. And then we'll come back right down through your vinyasa. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Left side. Inhale, the left leg up. Exhale, step through. Inhale, one breath, warrior one. Exhale, vinyasa.

So lowering through, feel free to lower the knees and modify, cobra or up dog. Inhale, meeting back in your downward facing dog. Let's take three or four breaths. Nice opportunity to reset, come back to your breath, back to that commitment to your practice, to showing up. Good, just one more round if you want it. Inhale, rise up onto the toes, bend the knees, look forward, step or lightly float. From halfway up, inhale, fold and exhale. Chair, Uttanasana, inhale. And then straighten the legs, lift up through the heart, hands to your heart. Last round, inhale, Uttanasana. Exhale, Uttanasana, fold. Inhale, halfway up. Exhale, vinyasa. Inhale, lift up. Exhale, downward facing dog.

Right leg left, inhale. Exhale, step through. One breath, warrior one, inhale. Exhale, take your vinyasa, maybe keep that right leg lifted as you lower. Inhale, shine the heart. Exhale, down dog, last one. Inhale, the left leg. Exhale, step through. Inhale, warrior one. Exhale, vinyasa, you got this. Maybe keep the left leg lifted, straighten out the arms, and then right to child's pose. Lower your knees, reach the arms forward. Let the head rest. You might even stack your hands, letting the third eye rest on your hands. And just take a moment to notice what you notice.

Check in that fiery heat of transformation, those tapas. So allowing a few more full breaths here. We're staying here as long as you like. If you're ready to move on, we'll come up to all fours. And then from here, lower the forearms down. So we're setting up for forearm plank. So let the shoulders come over the elbows, spread the fingers wide, gaze between your thumbs, and then reach the legs back actively, tucking the toes. Let the hips lower toward the height of the shoulder blades, and then reach the sternum forward. Reach through the crown of the head. Keep hugging those elbows in, holding for five, four. At any moment you want to lower the knees, go for it. Otherwise, embrace the shaking. Three, two, one. Good. From here, start to walk your feet in toward you. Coming toward dolphin pose, recommit to the shoulders being over the elbows. And then you're essentially in downward facing dog on your forearms. So let the sitting bones reach up toward the ceiling. You can always bend your knees here if you need to. Otherwise, holding for five, four, three, two, one. Lower your knees down. Nice job. Sit back on your heels for a moment and just take a moment to breathe and check in. Good. And then coming back to down dog, tucking the toes, lifting your hips up and back.

And then from your downward facing dog, let's rise up onto the toes. Bend your knees, look forward, step or lightly float to your hands. Come halfway up, inhale, fold in, exhale, root down, rise all the way back up to stand. Beautiful. And then draw your hands to your heart. Let's take a moment here to stretch through the side body. So inhale, arms sweep all the way back up, interlace everything but the index fingers and then let your right foot get nice and heavy and then start to tilt over to your left side. So you're stretching all the way up and through the right side body. You might even start to take your gaze up toward the ceiling underneath that right arm. Beautiful. And then come back through center, inhale, exhale, reach up and over to the other side. Let the left foot get heavy and then maybe take your gaze up underneath that left arm this time. Breathe. Good. And then come back through center, enhance the heart. Good. So let's move into a standing balancing pose. We'll come back to eagle pose. We were there yesterday. So as you're ready, come back to chair, Utkatasana, and then cross right leg on top of left, right arm underneath, wrap it up, find that balance. And again, just like we said yesterday, feel free to kickstand the right toes down if you'd like, or you can lift that right leg up or wrap it around the left calf. Just a brief hold here. The transition will be to warrior three. So unravel. I like to take hands to the heart as they reach the right knee up toward the chest, soften the left knee a little bit, and then reach the right foot back actively flexing through the right foot, reaching the heart forward. If you want a little more, you can reach the arms forward or stay right here. You can also find airplane wings or reach the arms back. And then that transition right into crescent pose. So step the toes back, find your high lunge, soften through the back knee and go ahead and let that front knee land right over the ankle, soften the shoulders, gaze. Good. And then a little bit of a different transition. Let's bring the hands down. You're going to roll to the outer edge of your right foot and then step your left foot back like you're coming toward Vashisthasana, but keep going. Step the left toes behind you and flip your dog. Yeah, or any variation of Vashisthasana, you can take that first variation that we did, the knee down. Good. And then as you unravel, we'll come through a vinyasa here. Maybe keep that left leg lifted as you lower through cobra or up dog. Inhale. Beautiful. Down dog. Exhale. Good. Take a breath and let it go.

One more. Inhale and let it go. Exhale. Beautiful. And then rise up onto the toes, bend your knees, step or lightly float to your hands. Halfway up. Inhale. Fold in. Exhale. Root down to rise up to stand and draw your hands to your heart. Beautiful. Coming right to the other side. So coming back to chair, Utkatasana. This time cross the left on top of the right, left arm underneath, eagle pose.

Good. And then draw the elbows away. Just a brief hold here. Good. And then that unraveling, transition, warrior three. Reach the left leg back, flex through the feet. And then you might, might, might reach the arms forward, turning it on. Just a breath. And then right back, crescent pose. Beautiful. And then hands find the earth, roll to the outer edge of your back foot, left foot. And like you're coming back toward Vashisthasana, you're welcome to pause there or step right toes behind you and flip your dog. Beautiful. And to get out of there, unravel. Keep the right leg lifted. Lower. Good. Inhale. Cobra or up dog. Exhale. Downward facing dog. Nice work. Now walk your hands back to your feet. Step your feet as wide as your yoga mat. And then toes out, heels in. Start to bend your knees. Let the hips sink down. And let's find Yogi squat, Malasana. So you can bring the hands to the heart, let the spine lengthen, reach up through the crown of your head and take a moment here. If this does not feel good in your knees, feel free to come up into a higher squat. You can also always sit on a block here if you'd like. And let's just take a moment to close the eyes and check in wherever you're at. And if none of that works, do something that does. This practice is all about you enjoying it and taking it at your own pace. And can you allow this squat, this Malasana, to be an opportunity to lift up and open through the heart, committed heart. Good. And then hands down as you're ready, parallel your feet, fold back over your legs and just take a nice wide leg fold, maybe shift the weight back and forth a few times. And then slowly, feeling the connection with the earth beneath you, start to walk your hands forward, back into your downward facing dog.

Good. And then from your downward facing dog, let's come to a seat at the front of the mat, however you'd like to get there. So you might hop and cross at the ankles, finding that seat, and then we'll bring the legs out in front of us and just take a roll down onto your back. Take a moment to hug the knees into your chest, rocking a little bit side to side, and feeling the low back, nice massage for the lower back. Let's set up for a few rounds of bridge and wheel. So let the soles of the feet find the earth, walk the heels in towards you, and you might take your fingertips to brush the backs of your heels, and let the ankles fall right under your knees, and we'll come into bridge pose for this first round. So pressing actively through the soles of the feet, press into the palms of your hands to lift up through the hips, and then start to wiggle the shoulders underneath you if that feels okay. And you might stay right here, maybe even hold on to the outside of your yoga mat, or if it feels okay, you can interlace fingers underneath the low back, and then holding here, let the chest draw up toward your chin, let the inner thighs roll down, and see if you can release any clenching or holding on in the back body. Take a few more full deep breaths right here. Beautiful, and then as you're ready, release the clasping of the hands if they're interlaced, let the shoulders roll out, and then slowly roll down one vertebra at a time. Scoop the low belly, and as you come down, and then step your feet as wide as your yoga mat, let the knees knock into touch, and just take a nice constructive rest here. So this is just a gentle release in the low back, maybe the hands come to the belly, and feel what's going on within, shifting the gaze to the internal. Beautiful, so for round two, you're welcome to stay with bridge what we just did if you'd like, if that felt good for you. If you're ready for wheel, we'll come into ervadonyarasana, so I'll bring us into wheel, but stay with bridge if that's where you're at today.

So again, step feet hips distance, walk the heels in, this time we'll bring hands next to the ears, letting the fingers face toward the shoulders, hug the elbows in, and then I'll take us in three steps. So step one, press through the soles of the feet to lift your hips up, so let the knees draw forward. Step two, press into the palms of the hands to come on to the top of your head, and then recommit to hugging the elbows in, and then any amount press up into your bridge or your wheel pose. So you can straighten the arms, any amount, evenly distribute the weight across the spine, holding for five, four, three, two, beautiful, and then tucking the chin, lowering down slowly, and again, step the feet as wide as your mat, knees knock in, and then check out the after effect of the posture. Hands to belly, notice the heartbeat, notice if the heart is a little bit more free than when we started. Beautiful, and then for the third and last round, again, feel free to come to bridge, where I'll bring us back into wheel, so totally up to you wherever you're at, be there, you might even take a supported bridge for this third round. So again, stepping the feet hips distance, walking the heels in towards you, and then bringing hands next to the ears, hug the elbows in, step one, lift the hips, let the knees draw forward, step two, lift up onto the crown of the head, hug the elbows in, and then any amount, straighten the arms, lift up, good, and try to evenly distribute the weight across the spine, find your breath, three more breaths. Beautiful, and then when you're ready, slowly release, this time soles of the feet together, knees wide for Supta Baddha Konasana, maybe one hand to the heart, one hand to the belly, gently release and low back, and just check in, notice. Let the shoulders soften a little bit more, and we'll move into a hip opener on our backs, so whenever you feel ready, step the soles of the feet back down to the earth, and we'll set up for thread the eye of the needle, so crossing right ankle on top of the left knee, find that figure four shape with the legs, and then start to draw the legs in towards you, and then maybe interlace fingers either behind your left thigh or on top of that left shin, whatever feels best for you, and if you know that you just want to go a little deeper, you can always take Reclined Pigeon here if you'd like, otherwise, in here, recommit to relaxing through the shoulders, and then find that opposing action of the pose, so the left leg is drawing in towards you, and that right knee is drawing away from you, you can even use that right elbow to press that right leg away a little bit, just go easy on the knee, and then send your breath to your right hip, start to create some space in the right hip, but can you also create space between the breath, between your thoughts, beautiful, and then from here, let's release your arms out on either sides of your shoulders with the palms facing up, step the left foot back down to the earth, and then cross your right leg on top of your left, and very similar to what we did standing, we'll find Eagle Legs, so you can let that right foot float, or maybe hook the foot behind your left shin, or your, excuse me, your left calf, and then we'll scoot the hips over to the right a little bit, let your knees drop to the left for Eagle Spinal Twist, and then as you move into the twist, it might feel good to look straight up toward the ceiling, or the sky, wherever you're at, practicing, or maybe if it feels okay in the neck, you can let the head roll toward that right shoulder, maybe take the gaze towards your right, I'm just holding here, wringing it out for a few breaths, and if this ever feels like too much of a twist, sometimes it can be a little much in the low back, just uncross the legs and stack your knees, good, and then when you're ready, we'll unravel from there, step the soles of the feet back down to the earth, take your head to the tops of the thighs for a moment, and just massage through the hip points, through the tops of the thighs, take a moment to let that side go, and then we'll come into the second side, so crossing left ankle on top of the right knee, find your figure four shape, draw the legs in towards you, interlacing, either behind the right thigh or on top of that right shin, again if you took that reclined pigeon on the first side, go for it here, otherwise find that place where you feel that sensation, where you can start to send the breath to wherever you feel the sensation, and create that space, so space in the body, space between the breath, space between the thoughts, notice if this side feels any different, honoring the difference between the two sides, and becoming that observer without attachment, good, and then release your arms out on either side of the shoulders, palms facing up, step the right foot down, cross your left leg on top of the right, find your eagle legs, whatever variation works for you, and then scoot the hips to the left bit, drop the knees to the right, and either gaze up or take your gaze toward your left shoulder, be here, right here in this moment, feel the support of the earth, and breathe, unravel when you're ready, and back through center, we'll hug the knees in and maybe take a happy baby just to balance out the right and the left side, so bringing the hands to the outsides of the feet, bend the knees, draw the knees in toward you, and then see how much of the spine you can allow to melt down onto the earth, so let the low back soften down, let the shoulders relax, and if there's any movement here that feels good, you might rock a little bit from side to side or even straighten out the legs if that's calling you, beautiful, and then we'll hug the knees back into the chest, give it a squeeze, and then any other movement that your body's asking for, otherwise we'll make that transition into our shavasana, taking a nice rest, well-deserved rest after that fiery committed heart practice, so letting the legs go long, the feet roll open, you might bring hands to heart or the palms face up on either side of the body, arms away from you, and then relax the shoulders, lift through the heart, softly close the eyes, and let go of everything.

So so so so so let it all sink in, let it integrate body mind heart and then invite any movement back in when you're ready you can reach your arms up taking a full body stretch allowing a big breath here and open the mouth, side out, bring the soles of the feet to the earth and just gently and in your own time make your way up up to a comfortable cross legs seated position and we'll find our seat for a brief seated meditation so you can let the backs of the hands rest on the legs maybe bringing the palms to face up maybe let the thumb and the index finger meet and then close your eyes and meditate on your heart and notice the rise and the fall of the breath and the quality of the beating of the heart and then gathering your hands in anjali mudra in front of the heart center and just take a moment to bow toward yourself thank yourself you deserve this time make one more big breath in holding the breath at the very top sip in a little more air and then sigh it out thank you so much for joining me day four see you for day five just one more day namaste