Flow Towards Wheel

Yogi's, thanks for joining me for this practice. It is a sense salutation that will leave you feeling good and ready to open your heart as we build towards wheel pose. Let's step on down to the top of the mat. And if I just freaked you out by saying wheel, don't get freaked out. We are going to be so ready when we get there.

But how do we open our heart from a grounded place? Plant your feet, bend your knees, coming into tadasana and then allow a little bit of shifting from side to side. You're just going to swing it out and it can be slow and easy and controlled or depending on the day, it's more of a flogging maybe for you as you go side to side. But let it build as you bend your knees, you start to feel this rebound, a little bit of shifting side to side. Oh yeah, just clearing the space really and clearing a path here for your practice.

Take one or two more, just dropping it off side to side and then come back to center. Inhale up, exhale. Let's take that one more time, but to the floor this time. So inhale, yes! And then exhale, let it all go, let your head go, inhale, sway it out and bring the feet a little closer together and welcome to work with the feet together. I like to practice hips width to start, just a little more forgiving for the low back and the hamstrings and then surface here.

Bend your knees, roll up, belly then ribs then chest, sensing your whole body breathing in, reach the arms out, embracing the moment and then as you exhale dive in, heart leads, forward fold, inhale, bend the knees, little micro bend and then lift up, belly then ribs then chest, exhale, empty it out, plant your palms, step the left leg back and then the right to follow. First vinyasa option is to take the knees down and work with cacao, really nice, taking some pressure off the shoulders and the wrists, just working cacao option here. This is vinyasa, right? Second option is to lift and shift the weight forward, so you're on the hands and the knees but then you sort of shift it out over the edge for a variation on chaturanga to the floor, inhale, cobra, lifting through the shoulders and the upper back and then exhale, bow and press yourself back towards child's pose, curl the toes under, inhale, first down dog here, bend the right knee, bend the left, right and then left, one more time, right leg bends and then the left leg bends. Now our third phase and option for your flow here is to lift the weight forward into a plank position, then exhale, elbows hug in, side arms are close and then you can peel forward maybe one foot at a time, splashing it open in your upward facing dog, right?

So options for everybody, then you can keep it the same, this whole flow or modify cacao and change it up, right? A little bit of creative variety here, second option, knees, cobra and then the third option, just tried it on again, they all count, each one, downward facing, flowing forward, chaturanga, low push up, upward facing dog, yes and now you've tried them all on so you can make some conscious choices here, inhale, now sweep the right leg up, three pointed down dog, draw the knee in towards your nose and point your foot right through the hands, set yourself so that your base is hips width, warrior one base, spinning the back toes in and flat and then rise up for warrior one, little warrior dance here, dig in, exhale, warrior two, adjust your stride, front heel comes in line with the back arch and then you just press through the arms, from here drop the left arm down, square it all back off, runner's lunge and then reach out and up and over, warrior three, inhale, exhale, step to the top of your mat, hands to heart, part your feet again and swing it out between sides, deep breath in, come back to center, sweep the arms out and up, exhale, deflate, de-stress, bring the feet together, inhale, reach out and up, exhale, forward fold, dive in, half lift, exhale, plant your hands, step the right foot back, left to follow, your choice, cat cow, knees down to cobra or plank, chaturanga on your exhale, inhale, upward facing dog, coil back, breathe into all your options, bend the left leg, bend the right leg and then the left and the right, one more and then the next time the left leg sweeps high to the sky, integrate as you step through, warrior one base, hips width, spinning the toes down, reach up, inhale, dig in, just long enough to feel good, not too long to get stressed there and then tap the back of the heart, adjust your stride, warrior two base, spreading out this good feeling, right arm sweeps down, right knee, ball of the foot, transition and then lean forward out over the edge, warrior three, integrate the limbs back into the core, stand tall, exhale, let it all go, part the feet, hips width, little wider this time and then we're going to sit down towards the, oh wow, it's a long way down, yeah I'm there, I made it, malasana and in malasana, fingertips to the floor, you might roll it open, one leg opens out, other leg opens out, just bringing some life to the hips here, grounding and then back to center, plant your feet, lift your hips, straighten the legs, heel, toe them together and then from here come halfway up, dive back in, sweep the arms out and up and then come to tadasana, pause, breathe in, feel the push through the feet, reach through the crown and then reaching out and up, exhale, sit down, deep chair, exhale, forward fold, inhale, building that relationship with the earth, nice and grounded, step back, left leg, right leg to follow, your unique path, chaturanga, upward facing, coil back, downward facing, this time inhale the right leg straight away and then bend your knee and look under your left armpit and just you can wave to yourself, oh there it is, there it is, now as you pull your weight and shift it forward, stack the arms over the shoulders over the hand there and then step outside yourself, flip your dog just for a moment, just that playful moment and then bring the knee to your nose, hand to the floor, stepping through warrior one dance, reach out and up, tap the back of the heart, adjust your stride, warrior two, letting it flow, inhale, back arm sweeps down, square it off and then shift and lift forward, inhale, exhale, inhale, step to the top of the mat, exhale, circle the arms, sit down, deep chair, exhale, drop it off, forward folding, inhale, rebound, lift your heart up, exhale, bow, step the legs back, top of the push up, inhale, rock it forward, if you're starting to feel any fatigue in the wrists or any stress in the low back, lower the knees, back off a little bit, lighten up a little bit, exhale, stay connected and maintain the integrity of the path here, downward facing dog, right away, find your steady base, left leg sweeps high, lift and shift forward, knife edge of the right foot, step outside yourself, flip your dog, scoop it up and around, hey, flowers and then circle back to center, inhale, hand down, knee to nose, step it through, warrior one foundation, right away, just rising with the tide, warrior two adjusting, pressing through, inhale, reach out and over the edge of the mat, coming into your lunge, push off, warrior three base, inhale, exhale, stand tall, sit on down, deep chair, inhale, lift up and lift the heels if you can, you're coming to this little hover point, perhaps a little elevator ride down to the floor, drop your hands off and allow the knees to open out again, similar to that melasana kind of shifting, you can stay here and I'm going to walk back a little on the mat so I have some space here to plant my hands, you can come into this and really feel a sense of child's pose, right, child's pose, we like child's pose, yeah, and just breathe, letting the hands go, pressing the outer hips apart, so this floating child's pose variation or walk the hands in, feeling a little fireier today, you can find that chaturanga energy and then lift the pelvic floor, lift the hips, bring the knees in towards the armpits and you're going to use the legs to actually build this fort of support here, claw the floor as you hug the knees into the arms, maybe you pick up a toe, maybe the other toe, maybe you brought ten of them and you're like I'm going to fly them all up and then you can lift the toes, squeeze the knees, lift the low belly and you're flying in crow, you can still be there, stay there as long as you like, stay a little longer or jump it back, coming down into your squat, inhale, straighten the legs, let it all breathe and then walk your hands back out, build to plank, inhale, exhale, pike the hips up, downward facing dog, inhale, moving through a flow, through a vinyasa, chaturanga, your unique expression, upward facing heart opening and coil back to downward facing dog, breathe in, breathe out, inhale, right leg lifts nice and high, bend your knee, open your hip, this time you're going to pull forward, stacking for vashastasana, side arm balance, you can keep the toe in the sand, the right foot down, top of the right foot down, maybe that leg just floats towards bow, maybe we even clasp that top of the foot and kick into side arm balance in bow, but for sure you feel the vibration coming up and out of the floor into that shaky left arm, inhale, right leg high, down, step that leg forward and down, warrior one, sweep the arms up, now the dance feels so good as you come to warrior two, sweep the arms back this time, pause here, if you have a block you might use your block or come out over the edge for half moon pose, inhale, exhale, come here, square it off as though you were coming towards warrior three and then plant your left fingertips and open the right arm up, revolved half moon, breathing in, still feeling that energy of plank through the core, you don't even need your hands here, exhale, standing splits, just bow humbly and then step back through plank, vinyasa, diving through and then meet back in child's pose, inhale, I'm going to use a block for the second side just to show that option here, it's nice when the floor comes to you, yeah when the world comes to you, inhale, downward facing dog, building our energy for the second side, inhale, left leg paints the sky, bend your knees, look under the arm there and then lift and shift to side arm balance, aligned, active, engaged, maybe the toes come down to the left foot and then you can stay, you can play, come to the top of the foot, maybe you lift up, use the bottom leg even more, maybe you kick into that top hand, yes and then breathe it back through center, inhale, exhale, left leg coils in, steps through, warrior one base, you rinse it off, warrior two base, press and clear, sweep back to your right and then take your energy up and over, left fingertips on the block, right arm reaches up, half moon pose, again all that work in side arm balance is to build the core strength to fly here, inhale, exhale, square it off, both headlights to the hips, down towards the floor, elongate, inhale, right fingertips to the block, maybe left hand at your sacrum to pull the energy in and then unfold and open up, inhale, lift the back leg, exhale, empty it all out, standing splits, maybe using the block a little lower and then gently step back, clearing your props, next vinyasa, inhale, exhale, lower, inhale, rebound, exhale, downward facing, inhale, lift and shift, child's pose, walking the hands to prayer, elbows forward and feel the breath in the side body, flowing into your armpits, all this energy, flowing towards the heart channel, deep, easy breath, take a deep inhalation, filling into the back body and then exhale, let the arms go, plant your palms in a little closer to the knees and then press up towards seated to transition, as you exhale crawl forward, align yourself on your mat so you've got some room behind you and have your block nearby just in case as you exhale lie back and come into the arms of the earth for a few breaths, now if you're on your cycle, you want to stay a little more neutral here, you could simply hug the knees into your chest and let the low back release, we're moving towards an inversion here and it can be as simple as that, letting the knees come in, letting the legs float, clasping the hands and oh that's nice, I don't have to do much of anything, oh I'm flying, it's floating, everything's just draining and feeling good and clear, second option should you choose is a nice release for the low back as well, we'll take the block to the first level or second level, depending on your low back, allowing for some nice expansion across the chest and the cervical spine is neutral, keep your gaze steady towards the sky, one leg other leg lifts, you might consider unfolding the legs make it a little more active here, second phase really nurturing, so good for you, stay there or if again you're looking for just a little bit more focus, a little bit more activity and action and you're healthy in the cervical spine, making sure that you don't turn your head when you come into this and that your neck bones are not on the floor, you want to have the base of support for plow and shoulder stand as the upper arms and the shoulders, yeah in the base of the head, so as you exhale, bring the knees in, use your hands, use your core awareness to press the legs back, you can build a little shelf of support here with the heels of the hands, it can be simple, it's 45 degree angle and really using the framework of the upper body and the palms there to support this, yeah, another option is to lower down, bringing the balls of the feet towards the floor and then activating this perhaps extending through the arms, interlacing in the bridge, inhale, exhale coming into halasana, using the hands to lift through the mid back and then coming all the way up into full shoulder stand, still a little bit of space between the chin and the chest, streamlining your effort, keeping your gaze on your toes and scooping out a little more space at the back of the heart, so all variations of a gentle inversion, you've got a lot of creative control there, lots of opportunities to adjust and shift to your day, your life, your body, on the way down, you can use your hands on the back or use the core awareness, hands on the floor to come down in slow motion, one vertebrae at a time, ooh and then when you land, draw the knees in, plant your feet and pause, allow the arms to release out by your side before we transition towards a little counter pose for the neck, the shoulders, thyroid, this counter pose that gives us even more balance, more focus, windshield wiper the legs side to side. This next variation is a way to build some freedom, some strength in this range of motion that we will require for wheel pose, but this prep feels so good, even if you don't do wheel, you're going to be so happy you did this, so flip the right palm behind you, like you were in a one wheel, sort of one arm wheel variation, or like you're going to throw, what do you, I don't know what you people do, but if you're going to throw a ball or something, right, so you're going to flip the fingertips towards the shoulder, one arm wheel variation, the feet are in that bridge base, but now we're going to push through the right hand and roll towards the left, and then come back to center, so just that, the head stays on the floor, again you're going to push and throw, and the impetus for the movement comes through the rotation of the spine, and that action of the push through the heels of the hands, yeah, feels really good on the whole spine, come back to center, and release the arms, let your head go side to side, and we'll come to the other side, now the left hand, you're going to flip the fingertips back behind you, and again it's that sense of throwing, and the push becomes a little bit of a twist, keeping your head on the floor as much as you can, and then rocking from center, push, and roll, trying to hold space there with that left hand, push, elbows in, and roll, last one, push, and roll, inhale back to center, keeping that sense of throwing the energy out there, we'll come to bridge pose, just tuck that in, there we go, so we'll come to bridge pose, and you could stay in an active bridge, right, heels are just a whisper away from the fingertips, keep your heels on the floor, all ten toes on the floor, and this nice track, this nice connected line, we'll use the block for, yeah, oh, now you've got some feedback there, continue to come into your center, stay centered as you open your heart, take both arms now, and you're going to flip them, fingertips in line with the shoulders, and then hug the outer elbows in, press firmly through your base of support in the hips, and then take a little wave up, the hips are going to lift, you might stay just here, activating, energizing, second phase, keep hugging the outer arms in, and then come to the crown of your head, reset, try not to push towards the knees, but instead, if you want to go to the third level, press the hips over your head and open your heart, keep hugging the daylight out of that block, inhale whole front body wide open, and then exhale, come back incrementally, crown, tuck the chin, and then lower back down, release the arms, circle out your wrist, and release the block, and you're welcome to do this like a hundred more times, yeah, you can just do it all day long, we'll do one, one big full wheel, and then extend the legs back out nice and long, just feel how open your heart center is, and then on your next deep breath, stretch the arms up and overhead, push any energy, any stagnation out through the soles of the feet, and circle out the wrist a little bit more, pull the prayer down and in, and then from here, draw the right knee in towards the chest, and then exhale, draw the left knee in towards your chest, and plant the feet on the floor, right leg comes across and eagle legs, allow the arms to unfold, and then exhale, drop this shape across to your right, knees go right, gaze rolls to the left, really it's that gentle turn through the head, spiraling action through the neck, unfolding through the shoulders, exhale, come back to center, keep the crossing of the legs, but draw the knees in, and just this may be where you stay, or walk the hands up, and hold on to the ankles, the soles of the feet, if you just get your calves wherever you land is perfect, giving the low back one last little dose of gratitude, and then unfold it and plant the feet, inhale, reach up, exhale, left leg comes across, drop the shape to your left, twist it out, breathe, gaze rolls to the right, exhale, navel draws you back to center, keep the shape, and just reach for your knees, and flexing through the feet, maybe walk towards your ankles, maybe the hold onto the feet, breathe in, drop the tail down, exhale, and then gently let this go, release it, send the legs out, and start to find your way into Shavasana, straight legs, knees bent, or coming to a nice wide Upavishta position, the left hand on the heart, right hand on the belly, and coming into Shavasana, just feeling the breath moving in a circular pattern, inhale, suspend, the suspension flows into the exhale, the exhale empties into the potential of the inhalation, and there's no beginning, no end, sensing the breath moving in the fluid, the rhythmic shape, the space of wholeness, the space of feeling complete, entered that peace. Good. Thank you. The next few breaths. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth as though you were blowing off steam, decompressing.

And then stretch the arms like a big yarn. And bring the feet to the floor. Exhale. And roll to your side. And pull your heart into your hand, your heart overflowing with compassion.

Gently press up to seated. Gently sweep the arms out and up. Exhale. Back down into the earth. Breathe the hands to your heart in prayer.

Namaste.