Ganesha: Align Your Intention

Hello, welcome. Today's practice is Ganesha aligned with intention. So Ganesha is our elephant friend with one tusk and a twisted trunk. And one of his names is Vakratunda, which means the one with a crooked trunk. And so our practice today, we're going to be working with the energy of Ganesh to align the crooked, not just within ourselves, but also to create this congruency between our inner life and our outer life. So we'll be working with the midline, especially in really bringing our awareness to those places that feel like they need a little bit of sorting out and also bringing our energy to the center of the body so that we can feel that that place from which we can radiate out. So so glad you're here. So we'll begin with a mantra. And our mantra today is Om Gang Ganapatayena Maha. And this is a seed mantra for Ganesha. Gung is actually the seed syllable for Ganesh and it actually represents the energy of Ganesh himself. So we'll begin here together. You'll want to find a comfortable seat. And let's take a moment to set an intention. We'll maybe bring the hands together in front of your heart. And if you like close your eyes. Setting your intention for your practice today, what we call Sankalpa. And maybe how can I bring this idea of alignment into my intention, aligning myself, my inner life, my outer life so they feel like they're in harmony. And then we'll begin our chant here together. So you're welcome to join in whenever you're ready. We'll begin with an Om together. Deep breath and how. Before you are ready wake up with Om Gang Ganapatayena Maha. Om Ganga Na Pa Ta Here Na Maha Om Ganga Na Pa Ta here Na Maha Om Ganga Na Pa Ta Here Na Maha Om Ganga Na Pa Ta Here Na Maha Om Ganga Na Pa Ta Here Na Maha Om Ganga Na Pa Ta Here Na Maha Om Ganga Na Pa Ta Here Na maha Om daang daang pata yene maah Om daang daang pata yene mmaah Om daang daang pata yene maah Om daang daang pata yene maah Last one Om daang daang pata yene maah Om joang daang pata yene maah Om daang daang pata yene maah Om daang daang pata yene maah Phonya ready releasing your hands and opening your eyes and we'll begin together lying our back and you're gonna grab your two blocks and we'll start lying down. So if you're sitting on something right now go ahead set that to the side. We're going to set up two blocks. In one block you'll have ideally this way and then one block will be for your head and when we lie down you're gonna find that spot just around the base of the shoulder blades. So I'm gonna set myself up by sitting back here like this and holding the block and then I look for that spot at the base of my shoulder blades or so and then you can use your hands to grab your other block. Now you might want it a little higher here to support your neck and then allow your arms to reach by your sides and you can bring the arms out and the legs out and just take a moment to exhale into the back. This is a place where we carry a lot of tension. So see if you can release a little bit of that tension into into the block like the block will hold it for you. I'm starting to really deepen into the breath. You might even bring your hands to your low ribs and see if you can feel the expansion of your inhale and the grounding energy of your exhale. So Ganesh you might have seen images of Ganesh of this big big radiant belly and he's got some nice lungs for Pranayama. So really breathing into your Ganesh lungs and closing your eyes if you like for a moment. See if you can start to bring your awareness now to the central channel. So that's Shashamna Nadi. It's our our space to align to today so we're kind of hugging in energetically to this midline. So see if you can start to even hug in the low ribs just a little bit here. See if you can let go any tension again. There's this sense of arriving and grounding. Ganesh is the earth element so really allowing yourselves to ground into earth and then when you're ready we'll bring the hands by our sides we'll bend our knees and then you can roll to one side and come off your block and then we'll set our blocks to the side and then we'll head to downward facing dog. In downward facing dog maybe bend your right knee take your left heel towards the mat and then switch legs. Your right heel reaches your left knee bends just allowing the back of the leg to awaken and then as we inhale both legs will be nice and strong. So wrist creases are parallel to the front of your mat really clawing them out with your finger pads and then on your next inhale sweep your right leg to the sky deep breath and then exhale bend your right knee stack your hip and just take a moment here reaching right foot towards the left inhale straighten your right leg low lunge exhale step your foot through. Okay your back knee lands as we inhale we'll rise up and bring your arms up overhead take a deep expansive breath in and as we exhale hands find their way to the mat step it back plank. Now as you exhale it's either chaturanga or lower down slow so you're welcome to head all the way to your belly. Inhale up dog or cobra exhale downward facing dog and now again walk out your dog this time bend your left knee right heel down bend right knee left heel reaches. Beautiful then both legs straighten inhale left leg reaches to the sky full expansive breath in bend your knee and stack your hip and so allowing ourselves to awaken and align with the inner line of that right leg so your right leg is sort of your your anchor here. Next inhale straighten your left leg exhale for low lunge step through foot between your hands your back knee reaches down inhale arms reach up on jhanaasana low lunge big breath in exhale hands to the mat stick our vinyasa tuck your back toes lift your back knee plank pose inhale align with that center of the body exhale chaturanga up dog inhale urge that mukha exhale downward facing dog hmm nice work take a deep breath inhale big ah exhale ah now on your next inhale really reaching into the hands in your thighs back see if you can activate your downward facing dog and then on our next inhale lift your heels look forward bend your knees step or jump to the front of your mat halfway lift inhale exhale fold now go ahead bend your knees a lot interlace your hands behind your back so your knees can stay as bent as you need to here we're in a forward fold with our arms up and overhead so these prostrate to see arms you might be familiar with and we'll reach the hands towards the floor again the knees can be bent as much as you need would you breath so starting to awaken all those places with hidden energy right aligning with the center of the body so here's our vinyasa we're gonna keep the interlace of the hands and as you inhale you'll bend your knees and you'll sit down into like a little baby chair and as you exhale you'll fold a couple more times inhale sit down lift your heart exhale again inhale sit down exhale fold last one here sit down lift the heart inhale this time as you exhale fold all the way and arms can release and you'll place the hands either side of your feet on the floor inhale halfway lift exhale step or float chaturanga up dog inhale exhale downward-facing dog here we go inhale right leg to the sky breath in exhale bend your right knees stack your hips so that's your exhale inhale straighten your right leg exhale your right knee taps your left elbow this is really sweet inhale three-legged dog find that space exhale step through for low lunge back knee to the mat arms reach up on your inhale so there's a big sense of expansion here now my back toes are tucked okay and when I'm ready on my next inhale go ahead and lift your left knee take a deep breath here inhale exhale you'll open warrior two beautiful pause here turning your right palm to the sky it's arm to ear hand to wrist this is jhana mudra so the thumb and first finger come together as you inhale reach up and sink your hips expand it and then slowly reverse your warrior you can look towards the back edge of your back foot or look past your right arm big breath here inhale exhale side angle pose so either elbow to thigh or go ahead grab that block we'll place a block near that right ankle and your hand you can have it the highway your right hand will be on the block and you want this arm nice and steady you're wrapping your right hip towards the midline and then today's practice we're gonna reach this arm straight up and breathe for two ohm three inhale come back to warrior to vinyasa exhale hands to the floor go ahead sit your block to the side either the left side of your mat have it ready chaturanga upward facing dog downward facing dog let's take an ah together so on your next inhale take a deep breath big ah ah align with the midline of your body right here see if you can find that idea of the central channel you might not necessarily feel something physically but there's this kind of visualization you can create next inhale your left leg sweeps exhale bend your left knee stack inhale straighten the leg take a deep breath exhale left knee taps right elbow three legged dog reach and expand back to low lunge exhale step through your back knee lands arms reach up inhale go ahead tuck your back toes if they're not tucked and so the power comes from hugging in to the midline here so as you tuck your back toes inhale lift the back knee line it up and then as you exhale you'll ground your back heel the Virabhadrasana too and taking a moment to find your way and then from here left arm to the sky take your left arm toward your ear right hand to left wrist jhana mudra inhale reach up exhale reach over towards your right foot expand into your back leg you can also look past your left arm take an inhale exhale either elbow to thigh or again you can grab that block and so again the block is sort of aligned with your left ankle wrap your left hip towards the back heel right arm up inhale can gaze toward your thumb or gaze down if it bothers your neck take another breath here inhale exhale hug in inhale warrior two exhale vinyasa so you can plant your block or set your block down step it back well vinyasa up dog inhale exhale downward facing dog beautiful work yogis now go ahead take your knees down and tuck your toes reach your arms out child's pose and this is where we really want to bring that breath into its rhythm that seems sustainable so sama vritti pranayama equal part breath and then when you're ready you'll walk up and grab your block so with your block you'll come to sit on your hips and you'll reach your legs out in front of you shake them out okay so this is called past the block it's one of ganache's favorite games so I'm gonna take my block put it between my feet so go ahead grab your block and then hook your thumbs now as you inhale you're gonna reach back lay back exhale you're gonna grab your block inhale lay back exhale your feet grab it so it's like we're we're just passing the block back and forth so let's give it a go here we go block reaches out hands reach out inhale exhale find your block so we're prepping for bakasana for crow pose here so we're just taking a couple of moments to activate that core as we inhale and exhale so we can fly our crow inhale exhale one more inhale exhale nice work go ahead plant your block down for a moment hug your shins lift up out of your low back so this is the other version of pass the block and this one we're gonna bring the block under the feet so you'll hold your block like this on your inhale you'll lay back again lay back exhale bend your knees see if you can squeegee the block underneath your feet inhale lay back exhale inhale reach it back you've got it exhale see if you can get that block underneath your feet inhale lay back like a little half boat exhale come up let's do one more you got it inhale reach exhale last one lay it back inhale exhale nice work set your block to the side hug your shins ah breathe from here we'll tuck our toes let's come on to our knees and we'll come into a toe squat and we'll prepare like a little little melasana a little yogic squat so bakasana crow is actually a hip opener too so it's not just an arm balance and so pausing here heels together big toes together your heels can be off the floor it's not a big deal breathe maybe you turn your palms up now if you're newer to bakasana to crow you're gonna use your block and I'll show you this first round what that's like and you can be a baby crow on your block so set your block on your mat and then take the balls of the feet onto your block and you stay wide so that same position that we are just in and this can be where you stay like your little nesting version of bakasana next option is to lift your hips quite a bit see if you can get your knees towards your armpits your upper arm bones and you might just hang out here so my feet are still on the block right so you can keep your feet on the block you can lift one foot or another you can try that it's a fun foot and put those toes down and lift the other foot put those toes down and then come on down and mist up off the block and set that to the side so you're welcome for this next round to continue using your block okay we'll take a moment just pausing here so one trick I find in bakasana is if I can find the idea of like a Halloween cat in the upper shoulders so you're welcome to stay with what we just did or the hands plan the hips lift bring my knees to my upper arm bones again one foot can lift or another or when you're ready maybe both feet come up and then you want to see if you can find your like inner meow if you're a cat bird you know meow and then come on down we'll pass shake out our wrists nice work you can even squeeze and release if you like we'll take one more round together you're welcome just to step back to down dog when you're done with this round or I'll show you how to float back to chaturanga if that's in your practice today as you inhale lift your hips set your knees again you can stay here feet down or both feet lift and find your inner meow and then maybe float it back shoot back chaturanga inhale up dog exhale downward facing dog from downward facing inhale take your right leg to the sky exhale bend your right knee stack your hips inhale to create space lengthen the leg exhale right knee towards left elbow now from here we're gonna hover the knee I'm gonna ground into my left foot right leg stay our right arm stays strong inhale take your left arm up you're breathing here exhale left hand to the floor three-legged dog inhale reach exhale step through right foot through back knee down low lunge inhale arms reach up big breath exhale both hands are gonna find their way inside your right foot tuck your back toes lift your back knee you're gonna turn your feet side lunge to the left keep the foot sealed side lunge to the right beautiful lizard pose go ahead come to the top of your mat both hands inside the foot rock it out for just a moment keep your hands high now as we head towards our prasarita padottanasana the way I like to enter is to really lift the hips quite a bit so I'll lift my sacrum lift my hips and then all my toes are gonna turn to face the left edge of the mat so all your toes should face your left edge and try to have them in the same line if you can inhale half way lift exhale fold maybe hands find behind the heels breathe on your next inhale lengthen you'll walk towards your right ankle and just a simple little twist here maybe left hand to right ankle right hand to top of hip or sacrum you can hold in your left thigh if you like folding twist breathing so as I twist here I'm still twisting around the central channel so you can imagine yourself like a double helix twisting around that core central channel let's go through center inhale halfway lift walk towards your left ankle right hand find somewhere to hold the left hand can come to the top of the hip or again find your inner right thigh inhale to lengthen exhale to fold and thinking of this spinal helix and twist then releasing inhale halfway lift walk to the top of your mat exhale so this is the version of lizard you can stay in this sounds really appealing or this is called flying ganache you'll lift your hips quite a bit see if you can dip your right shoulder inside that knee and then from here you might reach your arms out a little bit and I'm moving my shoulder into my calf flying ganache and then from here hands plant let's step it back to plank pose inhale chaturanga upward facing downward facing dog inhale take your left leg to the sky exhale bend your knees stack your hips so again remember to breathe inhale left leg high exhale tap like a ninja like a ganache ninja left knee to right elbow now I'm going to ground that right foot shift into this left hand inhale hover the knee exhale hand to the mat three-legged dog inhale exhale step through low lunge you got it back knee down arms reach up inhale big breath in exhale both hands inside the foot now for this version of lizard both hands will be here and you'll tuck your toes in this transition again to the procerita it comes from the sacrum so we're here for a moment to give ourselves that awakening on your next inhale lift your sacrum or lie and then turn all your toes to face the right edge of your mat again check your alignment central channel the body is our anchor or energetic anchor inhale to lengthen in this version today we'll exhale to fold you maybe grab behind your heels or hands can rest gently on the mat oojai feel like you're zipping up your legs breathing and then on the next inhale see if you can activate again from the center so we inhale we have we lift and head back to the top of your mat left toes out right heel lifts now we're heading towards flying Ganesh so maybe you widen your stance just a little bit you can stay here or I'm gonna dip my left shoulder see if I can create that little tuck and maybe I tent the finger pads I'm moving my left shoulder into the calf I'm craying some length oojai breath and then hands plant we simply step back plank chaturanga exhale upward facing dog downward facing dog breathe and then from here go ahead come onto your knees for a moment so I want you to have your block handy on the right side of your mat so you're gonna have that handy and then we'll head back into our downward facing dog inhale take your right leg to the sky exhale again bend your knees stack your hip create space that space Ganesh I love so much inhale straighten your leg now as you exhale again you'll tap your right knee towards your left elbow but what we're gonna do here today is actually extend the left leg out or the right leg out towards the side you'll grab your block so you're welcome to come down here take your block underneath your right hip this leg is dorsiflex or really dorsiflex the back toes can stay tucked you can stay high here if that's your edge or you can make your way low option is to remove the block so if you're feeling like a little bit in the juicy space here you can be here breathe create some space then on our next inhale we slowly come up tuck your back toes lift your back knee three-legged dog inhale set your block to the side as you exhale we'll step our foot through low lunge back knee down again if you need to set your block out go ahead inhale arms reach up big breath in exhale go ahead tuck your back toes inhale lift your back knee big crescent lunge take an inhale exhale warrior to find your breath right arm spins to the sky arm to ear hand to wrist John Amudra reverse it on your inhale and then exhale again either elbow to thigh or I'm going to use my block for a side angle pose so if that felt good to you before you can also lower it one level right hand on the block and again we're gonna take the variation today with your left hand up wu jai breath for two three now from here both hands are gonna make their way inside the right foot and you're gonna walk your hands over towards the left this is like a down dog upper body lower bodies in warrior one this is nice and juicy in the hips breathe align with your breath align with your midline now as we walk back in one option is to set your hand inside the ankle or outside with the block just like we did before so this can be your juicy place to stay okay otherwise this is like a little arm balance prep so I'm gonna plant my hand outside the right foot line my right elbow bends to the side and I sit on my tricep and they pause here and breathe enjoy the ride exhale hand down step it back if you like just go straight to down dog or take a vinyasa inhale up dog exhale downward facing dog now take my knees down I'm just gonna move my block just the left side of my mat so I have it ready if you like to move your block go ahead you will meet back and downward facing dog inhale your left leg sweeps exhale bend the knee stack it beautiful inhale leg straightens exhale knee taps towards right elbow extend the leg grab your block set it up so you can slide the foot out a little bit and you can rest your left hip on your block you can stay high here this might be enough or make your way in so in this twist again we're aligning with this central channel of the body so creating that sense of alignment in the inner body in the outer body again it's a feeling of like revolving around the spine itself breathe and then slowly walk up when you're ready set your block to the side three-legged dog inhale reach it up like just your stance low lunge step through your back knee lands keep the toes tucked inhale on janiasana tuck the back toes inhale hover the knee you've got it big breath here inhale warrior to exhale open now I'll spin the left arm open arm to ear hand to wrist inhale reverse the warrior and find that sense of space and then exhale again either elbow to thigh or using your block inside the foot or outside the foot and again today your right arm goes straight up and breathe wrap that left hip back if you like gaze to the thumb and then slowly release we find the down dog upper body keep the warrior one lower body shape warrior to shape and breathe for two three create some space you've got it now walking in either hand finds its way back in here or again I'm going to step my left hand slightly to the left take your left elbow to the side you're gonna sit on that tricep like it's an offering of an inhale take your right arm up beautiful exhale hand down step it back to plank guess what we're gonna go to our belly exhale come all the way down make a pillow forehead down rock your hips side to side breathe and then we'll find our way onto our forms for a version of sinks pose so in this variation we're going to take a shoulder stretch so turn your right palm up you know take your right hand behind your left elbow and then from here you walk your right arm to the right you start to sink down maybe extend the left arm forward or here now you get to control this by moving your feet so you can tuck your toes and you can shift your weight around so you can make this what it feels good to you today a couple more breaths and slowly walk out push into the left hand back to Sphinx palm up hand behind reach it out fold it in take a moment to fully just access all the places that need some a little bit of healing a little bit of opening allow the healing action of the breath to find its way in then pushing into your right hand coming up we'll make our way to seated so from here and shake out your legs if you like bend your left knee Artematsi andrasana half floor of the fishes the right foot will cross take your right hand behind you inhale sweep your left arm up twisting toward your bent knee again that idea of aligning around the central channel twisting to create alignment right we ring it out to line it up inhale exhale here inhale to unravel so as we reach the right leg out you'll draw your left knee out to the side this is called stargazer the left hand will find the floor and from here I'm gonna inhale lift my hips and the bottom foot is gonna find its way to the mat so big stretch to the side then exhale coming down and keep your wide stance with your left knee inhale take your left arm up exhale leech reach to the right if you like you can grab the foot or you can be here if you need the support of your hand for your head you can find that arm to the sky inhale exhale so they come up turn to face the top edge of your mat square pose so feet and knees are in the same line and then we fold in I like to push my hands into my feet my feet into my hands create that activation of energy that letting go so I'm again aligning the crooked within right so creating that that sense of alignment so the prana can flow so prana likes to flow where there's no barrier and then slowly coming up shake out your legs we'll do second side so from here left knee bending left foot to right hip and then your right foot will cross over take your right hand behind you inhale take your left arm up exhale twist towards your knee breathe lengthening and twisting and on your next inhale come to center take your leg out to the side widen your stance so stargazer your left hand will be your anchor your right foot will pull in you'll find you the bottom of your left shin inhale sweep it up big expansive breath exhale release keep the right leg active flex the ankle and foot inhale left arm up exhale reaching towards the right breathe beautiful your next inhale arm goes to the sky exhale come on up and then from here the right shin will find its way in front of the left knee find your square pose hands and feet fold breathe and slowly making your way up shake out your legs Pashimo tenasana it's gonna be really simple and sweet you can fold in to your degree take another breath here in Pashimo tenasana and your next inhale slowly come up and let's set up for shavasana align your back arms are wide legs are wide go ahead close your eyes come back to your intention your song kalpa that deeper meaning for your practice right so how can I live more in alignment with my intention how can I allow my inner life my outer life to harmonize to resonate together they feel more congruent right so that's all the gift of Ganesha that that Vakra tundra energy is straightening out that which is in disharmony take a breath with me inhale exhale big ah staying here for your Shavasana you're welcome to stay here or join me in a seat as I grab my harmonium welcome to join in whenever you're ready Oh I'm gonna put a hand in my heart Oh I'm gonna put a hand in my heart Oh I'm gonna put a hand in my heart Oh I'm gonna put a hand in my heart you're still near Shavasana you're welcome to meet your arms over your head and roll on to one side as you find your way to your seat your hands can return in front of your heart and you might even dedicate your practice here now offer it up in some way we'll close with an own together as like an offering our own practices to the heart of the universe deep breath and how home thank you so much for showing your practice I'm gonna stay