Unwind and Balance

Hey, welcome back. This is a practice to help unwind stress and bring your energy into focus and your life into balance. All you'll need is the mat and a good attitude. How about that? Let's start with a good attitude.

Breathing gets your mind right better than some child's pose. So come towards the back edge of your mat and part the knees, big toes to touch. So you've got some room for your belly to breathe and fall forward through the thighs. And we start by stopping and feeling the breath moving up and down the spine in this gentle spiral action as it sort of winds up on the inhale from tail to crown and then unwinds, decompresses, unravels from crown to tip of the tail. So sense that gentle undulation, that easy current wrapping up the spine and unwinding down the spine.

And on your inhalation, walk the hands to your left, just hand over hand so you add a really good stretch across that right side waist and the right lung. Take a big breath in, exhale through the mouth, sigh it out, decompress. Walk the left arm in line with the left knee and then shift and lift your weight up and out and over that left hand and just yawn as you open the top arm up and circle back down and crawl your way back to center and you're just going to walk all the way over to the other side, getting comfortable going off road here and feeling the texture of the floor versus the mat. Big side breath, exhale through the mouth, ha. Plant your right hand in the same line as that right knee stacking, shoulders over wrists and then reaching out, yawn that arm all the way around and circle back down to child's pose, stepping into the center and melting back.

Inhale, roll to seated on the heels. If you're not comfortable sitting like this, you could always place a block under the hips. Sweep the arms out and up and then exhale, side bend, left fingertips to the floor, reach up and over the edge of the mat, shift your saddle off to the right hip, inhale and then since a little spiral action happening through the spine, little rotation and then exhale, sweep back down. Let's just sweep over to the other side, left arm comes up, reach up and out and then shift to the outer left hip and open your chest up, spinal rotation, exhale, drop back into the center arms by your side, inhale, exhale, sigh it out through the mouth, roll up, little seated half salutation, you'll inhale, reach up, exhale, hands to heart and come all the way up, curl the toes under, make sure your base is nice and supported here on the knees, hips width and then inhale, reach the right arm up and the left hand, make a fist and start to massage the mid-back, the kidneys, you can circle out the top wrist as well and then as you draw the tail down, lift the upper back and shoulders over that left shoulder, take your gaze, square the hips, inhale and then exhale, sweep back down through the center and then you're just going to come up to the other side and walk the right hand under, come to the balls of the feet, again, knead it out, square it off, hug the inner thighs together and maybe create a little bit of space there, a little flamenco wrist energy through the left arm, gaze over the right big breath and then sweep it back down through the center, empty, empty, empty, inhale, roll up again, sweep the arms out, come all the way up and then curl the toes under, hands to heart, this time the right arm is going to come back behind, maybe flip the wrist, parsfoot ustrasana, zip the energy right up through the central channel there, lean back over that right shoulder and then exhale, tops of the feet drop, swing across, other side rise up, balls of the feet, flip the hand, inhale, exhale and then scoop back down to center, I think my knee just fell off, walk the arms forward and then pull yourself forward and through, knee, chin, chest down to the ground, empty, extend and then scrub the shoulders down the back, real easy cobra to start, walk your arms out, so kind of flying here for a moment and come to suction cup fingertips, tenting the hands there in line with your shoulders and then inhale, right shoulder comes across, sense the spiral action and then up and over, left shoulder comes across, nice and mellow, good, come back to center, right side again, learning to turn the other cheek and then left side again, let it go, inhale, back through center, rise up, press into the tops of your feet and then walk the hands in for your cobra base and then from cobra we're going to push off, just easy does it, the right leg bends and you know push off, going off, road, bringing the right leg in for a little tree pose, seated tree sort of feeling here for Janasur Shasana, say that three times fast, Janasur Shasana, God bless you, alright, inhale, forward fold over that leg, just bow and then sweep it back up, you're going to spiral back down looking over the shoulder, little twist and then come back to earth, inhale, cobra nice and easy and then turn the other cheek, you're going to roll to the right, bend your left leg, let it unwind, tree pose, that's familiar, right, inhale, reach up, exhale, bow humbly over that leg, empty out your exhalation, let your head, neck, shoulders go and then rewind it, inhale, you'll spiral to the right and then dive back in, scoop up to cobra, exhale back, child's pose, inhale, walk the arms slightly forward, pull through to a plank position and slow build here, walk the hands slightly forward and then pike up into down dog, let your down dog dance and twist across the center, so you just sort of take an easy stroll here at the back of your mat, so check in with your down dog here, roll the shoulders down and out and scoop the inner elbows together, right leg paints the sky as you sweep it up and then snuggle it forward and through, coil in and lower the shin, knee through the hands, back knee down, fingertips tented, inhale, rise up, exhale, pour forward, sense that energy, again rippling up and down the spine, once more, roll it up and then exhale, plant the hands, build this core strength from the floor up, so you're going to lengthen through the back leg, little elevator ride up for the right leg and then from here, step outside yourself, you're going to take the right leg outside and sit down, press into that outer right arm, inhale, rise up and then exhale, plant both feet, so you're in a bridge sort of foundation here, the right arm comes behind your head, press your head into your hand, as you inhale, bridge lift up, look over that left shoulder and then exhale, twist it out, come on down, spiral right shoulder, left knee, inhale, lifting, exhale, releasing back down, one more time, inhale, oh yeah, starting to feel a little shakiness, a little bit of vibration and then release, dive back in, rolling over the shoulder, come on up, easy cobra and then exhale, curl the toes under, down dog, just to kind of, or child's pose here to reset for a moment and then build back into your roots, downward facing dog, dance it off, notice a difference in the sides and then come into center, glide the shoulders towards the hips, hips to the sky, left leg floats, exhale, snuggle it through, have that moment where you round the upper back and really pull it in, pull it together and then lower the shin down, back knee down, tent the hands, inhale, rise up, exhale, pour it out, inhale, ripple belly ribs, chest, exhale, empty, last one, peel your heart up and forward and then bow, plant the strength in your hands, build that foundation, the back leg, elevator ride, coil in round and then step across yourself, shoulder over wrist and then sit down, oh it's nice, it's nice, that dismount, press the left arm against the left leg and then drop both hips down, bend through both knees, aligning the foundation, shoulder over wrist as you inhale, lifting up this upward table variation but with the hand behind your head, now hold your head, let it drop back, exhale, sit down, little twist, coming shoulder to left knee, left shoulder, left knee, right knee, how many knees did you bring? Oh good, and then exhale, just one more, inhale, opening up, exhale, sit it down, unwind that right leg, lift up and over and then you dive back in to the mat, inhale, cobra nice and easy, exhale, curl the toes under, little rebound through child's pose and then reconnect downward facing, this time take that stroll to the top of your mat, walking it all the way down until your feet meet your hands, come to hips width, bend the knees, let it all go, take an easy little shift, like a figure eight sort of swooping across the hips and let that little shift side to side be what breathes you up toward standing with a head rush if you're lucky, yes, roll the shoulders, walk your feet to the top of your mat and then two legs are one, come into the center, inhale, tadasana, just invite the wisdom of this energy moving up and down that winding and unwinding, this easy flow, feeling the breath, push out of the feet, into the fingertips, reach up, look up, lift up and then left arm comes down, easy side bend, just as we did seated there but now we're going to bow forward and rebound through a little chair, oh just a moment, just a moment in chair, empty it all out and then dance it off, come back up, shoulders, easy, side to side, unwinding as you inhale, reach the arms out and up, side bend to the right, drop off any stress as you bow, just one big wave of breath and then empty it all out, pour it into the earth, inhale, lead with your heart, exhale, place the palms, step yourself back top of a push up, nice and strong, inhale, rock it forward, lower your knees, you can come down knees, chin, chest and then skim on through cobra, inhale, exhale, empty it out, tent the fingertips, it's back, the right shoulder comes down, the left shoulder comes down, breathe back through center, inhale, exhale, empty it out, hands come into cobra, and your right leg, this time you're going to roll to your left, keep the right leg bent and then open it into more of a hurdler stretch here, if when you do this your knees like who do you think you are, same variation, right here, yeah, Janasur Shasten from the beginning, otherwise if you've got that freedom, inhale, lift up, exhale, drape forward over the left leg with no stress in the knee, any stress in the knee you create, get creative, right, find that first variation, dig in, inhale, coming up, exhale, you're going to transition and dive back in, inhale, cobra, bend your left leg, step up and across outside, set yourself rolling to the left, hurdler stretch, inhale, forward fold, or stay in that first variation as though you were seated in the tree pose, lead with the heart, send the sitz bones back, and then exhale, you're going to wind on down into the mat, inhale, rise up, exhale, press back, curl the toes under, just a little kiss of the hips to the heels, and then downward facing dog, inhale, right leg paints the sky, exhale, step it forward and through, come into a low runner's lunge, reach out and up, exhale, hands to heart, now you're going to open into a little humble warrior variation, ooh, that is humble, yes, if it's too much on the hips or the knee, come up a little higher, or you might even come in and out of this, and you might make faces while you do it, because it's like in and out, it's a little tricky, yeah, the last one, so you're not staying in anything that feels sharp or stressed, reach up and out through that right arm, and then plant the left hand, similar to what we did in the very beginning, you're just going to shift off, open up that side body, and then perhaps you could lift the opposite leg, lift that right leg off the floor, spin it inward, and then maybe there's a little kick of the tail here, bring the heel towards the hip, that's enough, draw the navel in towards that right hand, or perhaps you can clasp in bow and kick the shin away from you, so it's the kick of the shin that creates the traction through the upper back, the shoulders, the pecs, draw the belly in, and then exhale, ooh, lean back down into that humble warrior, press down through the palms, and then up and around, we rewind it, runner's lunge, plant your hands, lift the back leg, step back, downward facing dog, or come through a little flow here, knee, chin, chest, your choice, always, and then knee back, downward facing dog, through a little breath of child's pose, inhale, left leg sweeps up, exhale, draw the knee in, step the foot through, back knee down, low lunge, reach out, sweep up, a little breath of fresh air here, now the right toes are going to come towards the top corner of the mat, then you sit down in it, again, any stress at all, stay up a little higher, or move in and out, so that you're in a conversation, and not just sort of doing time here, or feeling the hips screaming as you come into this, take a deep breath in, the next time you come up and over, take your right hand down in line with the knee, push off through that left side body, long line of action here, scrub the shoulder down the back and drive the shoulder blade, right shoulder blade forward, so that you take the weight to the fingertips, you can lift that back leg, it just happens, it just happens, maybe you bend through the leg, if you can find the foot, it's elusive sometimes, but draw the front body into the back body, and then maybe come to clasp, inhale, lift through the pelvic floor, kick through the shin, draw the shoulders down the back and root through that right heel of the hand, inhale, exhale, release, circle back down, it's that big yawn that takes you back, inhale, and then rewind it, right arm, right leg, plant your hands, step back, down dog, or your flow, knees, chin, chest, cobra, exhale, breathe it back, downward facing, inhale, bend your knees, look forward, and you can again just roll it to the top, or maybe you take a little hop to meet the top of the mat here, bend the knees, forward draping, empty, empty, empty, feel that easy sway, side to side, and let that ease about you be what draws you back up, and the shoulders just sort of figure it down, and then you heel toe the feet together, and come back to tadasana, inhale, sweep the arms out, exhale, left arm down, side bending, swoop on down, into chair, this time take the left elbow across the thigh, rebound into a nice deep twist, be mindful that the hips aren't higher than the heart, but that you're grounded, your heart is open, the spine is just unwinding, and you might even fly your arms out into a nice offering from the earth to the sky, inhale, exhale, sweep back through center, drop it all off, halfway up, exhale, and then just sort of dance it back up again, shoulders easy, it's that little zigzag through the hips, create some freedom in the low back, and then inhale, reach out, side bend right arm down, drop it off, swoop it up, sweep into utkatasana, and then take that right elbow across in opposition, so as you twist here, drop the tail, lift the heart, pull the shins back, and then perhaps there's this opening up through the upper back and shoulders, draw the right knee back, exhale, reach back up, and then this time empty it all out into the earth, half lift, step back leading with the right leg this time, inhale, shrug the shoulders, take your vinyasa, knees down, chin and chest, and then skim through, lift up, exhale, tent the fingertips rise up, right shoulder, left shoulder, come back to center, palms to cobra, inhale, you're gonna bend your right leg, this time reach all the way up and around, oh, guess what, draw your navel up, lift through, a little flip dog feeling, rock star feeling, as you come all the way up, right leg's heavy, grounded, left knife edge of the foot is the blade supporting you here, circle back around, yes, draw the right knee in towards your nose, step it through, nice and lifted in your runner's lunge, inhale, bend the back leg so you can find that scissoring action through the hips, nice and square, inhale, as you reach out through the lunge, draw a bow, warrior two base, yeah, that humble warrior on the knees really gives you a new appreciation for warrior, right, this doesn't feel so bad now, reverse your warrior, inhale, you're gonna circle on down, come back to the lunge, left hand in the earth, come to the blades of the feet, knife edges of the feet, and then you're gonna sit down, oh, we gotta do that a couple times, right, and come back up, little IT band stretch, sit it on down, good, one more, as you reach back down, and come all the way around, plant your hands, frame the foot, sweep that leg high to the sky for fun, and only if it's fun you're gonna inhale, push off, lift the navel, lower your left knee, three pointed chaturanga here so you take the chin and the chest towards the floor, and then if it's in your practice today you can pick up the left toes and then stretch through that quad, lift up, traction the quad with that left leg, and then surrender all the way down, inhale, cobra, exhale, empty, press back through child's pose, I'm gonna need a second for the other side, take a big inhale, reconnect, exhale, downward facing, scrub the shoulders down the back, inhale, come all the way down, chaturanga to the floor, all in one piece, inhale, cobra, exhale, bow, come here the left leg bends, you're gonna flip your dog in slow motion here, find the balance, set your base, knife edge of the right foot, scrub the shoulders right underneath the wrist there, and then right over the wrist, hey flowers, and then circle back around, exhale, knee to your nose, step it through, high runner's lunge, inhale, bend through that back leg, feel that surge of energy, that spiral of energy up the body, and then push through, warrior two, draw it like a bow, empty an anchor here, scan the body for anything you're holding on to, let it smooth out, reverse, exhale, swoop on down, right hand, little twist, and then open all ten toes to your left, sit down through that outer right hip, and then reconnect, and then inhale, exhale, one more, and then coming back through, again it's about your attitude, right, what's the attitude of your effort for this second chaturanga, you're gonna take that leg high, knee to the floor, knee, chin, chest, kiss the ground, and then maybe you pull forward, lift through the top of the pubic bone, stack the thigh on the top of the foot, and then skim on through, inhale, exhale, child's pose for about a day or two here as you empty out, take the arms by your side, and breathe, okay, leave all of the effort on the floor here as you roll up and feel a little lighter, take a rounding through the spine, and then inhale that same cobra, up dog energy, let your heart float up towards the sky, one more of these, just curl it in, and then let it all lighten up, coming to neutral, transitioning towards the floor, shavasana is so close, is so close, as you come onto your back, we have one last little twist that is the mother load of twists really here, so come to neutral, use your hands as you need, and coil down, using the feet here to ground in a little mini bridge pose, you're gonna lift the hips, sometimes swing a little right and left, that's just for fun, and then shift the hips to your left about six inches, going off to the left, extend the right leg, draw your left knee into your chest, using your right hand to guide this, come into a gentle twist here, this might be where you stay because it's so good, it feels so good, you turn your head in the opposite direction of the knees, or we've been building and sort of warming the body for this deeper offering here of extending any amount through the top leg, the left leg, you hold onto the knife edge of that foot, maybe you even use your left hand to steer the outer hip down and away, so it's really yummy traction for the low back, the bonus round should you want, depending on your day, is to look for the right leg, the bottom leg, you're like where'd it go, oh there it is, there it is, and then we take this same kick, this bow pose energy and kick that leg in opposition, as you hold onto it, it's a slippery sucker, it's trying to get away from me, and then press both shoulders down towards the floor, energetically lengthening through the spine and unwinding any last bit of stagnation in the hips, the low back, really the whole body gets this nice release here, deepest breath of the day, rolling your gaze any amount to the left, and then release the bottom leg, release the top leg, let it all rewind, come to center, reset through the hips, breathe, notice because it's pretty fantastic that flow through the left hip, nice deep release, shift the hips up and over to the right six inches, extend the left leg, draw the right knee in, use your left hand to steer that leg across the body, and again depending on the life you have lived and where it is held in the body, this is a deep enough twist for some, it feels really good, no need to go any deeper.

Second option, your body's warm and open and considering, yeah, you'll take that right leg across, use your right hand to adjust the thigh down in a way, traction the low back, inhale, as you exhale you might curl up and just see if the other leg did fall off, in fact, no, it's still there, clasp, kick the legs in opposition here and then extend through the spine, create some space through the mid back, upper back, gaze to the right and feel the spiral action of the spine, the breath, the breath creates movement, open up a little deeper and then exhale, let it all go, bottom leg, top leg, center, bring yourself back to neutral and then settle in for Shavasana, which might feel nice to take Shavasana with the soles of the feet together, the knees wide and then arms open out and back to the visualization of the breath, moving up the spine, the spiral staircase and then as you exhale, let it all unwind, fall away and be still. All right, so that's how you do the