Change It up Flow

Welcome back. We're going to move through a fun sequence today and then we're going to land in some more grounded softer poses towards the end. So let's go ahead and meet in Downward Facing Dog. Let's find the feet hip distance apart, hands shoulder distance apart. Feel free to kind of bend one knee and bend the opposite, just settling into your pose. And then either choosing stillness or a little sway for another four breaths. Even if we're finding stillness we're still growing our pose by pressing through the arms, lengthening through the spine, lengthening the legs, discovering a bit of brightness. And then very slowly on an inhale just ripple the spine forward to a plank pose, just like a wave coming in. And then a soft wave going back, starting with the crown, chin, wave the spine all the way back. Good. Inhale, ripple again forward and you can even create that little bend to the knees to get access more to the hips. And then exhale, round it on back. And one more in, wave and exhale back. Let's come down to the knees. Good. Bring shoulders right over the wrists. We're going to take the right leg back, curl the toes under, and then lift the right heel. From here, slide forward choosing your depth of chaturanga. So the heel's going to go up, the shoulders dip down, maybe even, maybe a little lower than the elbows, and then press up. Good. Two more like that, slow lower, finding that pause, that moment in the pose, and then come on back up. Go one more. Exhale. Good. Inhale to come up, right leg down, change it up, left leg long. Lift the left heel, even with the left sit bone. And you can find that shift forward so when you bend the elbows, elbows are over the wrists. And then slowly come up. Exhale, slowly come down. Good. Come on up. One more. Exhale. Good. Come on up, left knee meets right, and just move through a few kakas. So in your inhale, let the belly drop, chest lift, tail lift, lift the chin. Exhale, round the back. Inhale, belly comes down, Y through the collarbones. Exhale, round. Okay, one more. Tail lifts, heart shines. Exhale, belly button to spine as you draw it up. And start to find neutral again with the spine. On an inhale, take the right leg back, and then slowly lift the right heel up, even with the right sit bone. Curl the left toes. And when you're ready, inhale, lift up into a three-legged dog. So as we move through our flow, the option will be to come forward and feel free to join me here. Plank with the right leg lifted. Option to come into chaturanga or the floor with the leg lifted or to the floor. Inhale, slide forward, both feet to the floor, toes soft, upward facing dog. And then exhale back, downward facing dog. Good. Inhale, lift to the balls of the feet. Come down to the knees, left leg back behind you. Inhale, lift the left heel. Curl the right toes under. If they're not already, lift the hips. Take it into three-legged dog. Slide forward, plank. Chaturanga, nice and tight, elbows and shoulders in a line. Inhale, both feet to the floor is an option. Exhale, back, downward facing. Good. Take two more breaths here. See if you can lift the hips a little bit higher, feel the low spine come inward. And then inhale, lift to the balls of the feet. Come down to the knees. So that's our play in between. So we're adding on right leg lifts. Heel in line with the sit-bong. Curl the left toes under. Lift up, three-legged dog. On an exhale, bring the knee in towards the nose or the heart and just round in. Place the foot softly down, rise up, high crescent lunge. So take the feet like hip distance apart so you have a strong stance. Good. On an exhale, bend the back knee to hover, cactus the arms, maybe a little bit of a back bend. Inhale, arms long, leg long. Swoop the arms back, pause here. If the low back feels okay, take the arms up to frame the ears. Hold here like a long thunderbolt. Soft through the eyes, strong through the legs, right hips drawing back. Good. On an exhale, bring the right hands or the hands down, take the right leg up and back, three-legged dog. Here's where the transition comes in. Plank pose with the right leg lifted. Option chaturanga. Both feet down. Inhale, long spine. Exhale, back. Downward facing dog. On an inhale, come up to the balls of the feet, lower to the knees on an exhale. Left leg back. Inhale, left heel lifts. Come on up, three-legged dog. Exhale, knee to heart, round tuck, draw it in. Place the foot down, high crescent lunge. Again, a nice wide stance. Exhale, bend the back knee to hover, cactus the arms and maybe explode a little bit of a back bend. Inhale, the arms up. Exhale, take the wings back, crown forward. Good. Option to stay right here, take the arms forward to frame the ears. Again, a strong long line all the way from the back heel to the fingertips. Exhale, bring the hands down. Take the left leg up and back, three-legged dog.

Slide forward, plank pose with the left leg lifted or bring it to the floor. Chaturanga. Inhale, upward or low cobra. Exhale, back, bottom. Two more full breaths. Inhale, lift to the balls of the feet, come back down to the knees, setting up for the next round. Right leg back, curl the toes under and inhale, lift the right heel up. Inhale, lift up and back, three-legged dog. From here, take the right hip a little higher, bend the knee, take the knee towards the ceiling, right heel to the bum, press through the palms. A little bit of a hip opener. Okay, option to stay right here or slowly shift forward towards plank pose. Let yourself roll left heel over. We're going to come into a wild thing with the right arm lifting up towards the ceiling at first. And then if you'd like, take it up overhead, maybe towards the side of the room or maybe towards the floor. Okay, as we come back over into three-legged dog, right leg lifts high. On an exhale, bring the right knee across to opposite elbow, squeeze it in. As you kick the right leg out as a kickstand, drop the back left heel down, left arm comes up, fallen triangle. See if you can stack the shoulders at first. A little slide of the right foot forward away from you to lift the pubic bone. If it feels okay, take the left arm to frame the left ear where you spin the pinky down thumb up to scoop out the armpit. Good. On the exhale, let the left hand come all the way down, knee into nose, transition right leg high, slide all the way forward plank pose, to chaturanga. Inhale, upward or low cobra. Exhale, back. Inhale, lift to the balls of the feet. Exhale, come down onto the knees, left side, left leg reaches back, curl the toes under, lift the left heel. Inhale, rise up, three-legged dog. Take left hip, stack it on right, so reach the leg up as high as you can and then bend the knee. Squeeze the heel in towards the bum, lift the knee higher. So the tendency is this left shoulder wants to lift. See if you can drop it down to be evenish with the right shoulder. An option to stay right here or as we move into wild things, slide forward through plank first and then as you start to drop the right heel, the back foot can come behind you, press away from the floor, reach straight up first and then if you'd like, take the hand away towards the sidewall or maybe towards the floor. Take the left arm straight up, bring it back around, three-legged dog. Then the knee comes across to the right elbow, draw it in, squeeze, kickstand the left foot out to the right, start to drop the right heel down to the left as you lift the right arm up, fall in triangle. Right, slide the left foot just a little bit away from you, lift the pubic bone, lift the heart and then if you'd like, take the right arm to frame the right ear. Slide the shoulder blades down the back. Exhale at the right hand, come to the floor, knee into the nose and take it back three-legged dog. Inhale, slide forward, plank pose with left leg lifted, chaturanga, both feet to the floor, toes soft, heart wide open, take an extra beat here, see if you can spread a little bit wider through the upper spine. Exhale back, downward facing. Inhale come to the balls of the feet, come down to the knees, right leg back, curl the toes under, lift the right heel and then come on up, three-legged dog. Take the right hip a little higher, bend the knee, set up for this open hip, soften the right shoulder down, slide forward to plank and then wild thing, heart lifts, pubic bone lifts. You can broaden through the collar bones, soften through the eyes. As you come back around, right arm lifts up, right leg lifts, three-legged dog. Exhale, bring the right knee across to the left elbow, then kickstand the right foot out to the left, drop the left heel to the right, fall in triangle.

Take the arm up overhead, scoop out the armpit, bring the pinky dumb thumb down. From here let the left hand just drop down to the floor, come on to the ball of the back foot. So we're going to slide into an IT stretch, IT band. So the right leg slides out further to the left, trying to come down onto the outer edge of the right hip, maybe staying on the palms or coming down onto the forearms. The left hip is going to scoot down. So for me, I have to keep my back toes active and curled under to draw this down. Okay, it's trying to soften the left rib cage down. If you don't feel this, you can do a little scoot of the right hip back, continue to draw the left hip down. The next place to go would be bringing the chest to the floor and you can take the arms long. And if you'd like, you can take the gaze in the opposite direction. But for me today, this feels lovely. Keep that left leg active, tuning in that the right foot is flexed. And a few more beats. Okay, if your chest is on the ground or your forearms are on the ground, start to come up onto the palms. As you start to lift the torso up, you're going to roll onto your outer edge or the inner edge of your left foot, bring the right knee of the chest. So from here, you can either set up modified Vashisthasana or roll it into knee to chest, left arm up a little variation. You can also add in thumb down, pinky side of the foot, a kick out. Right. So as you kick the heel away from you, draw the outer pinky side of the foot back towards you. And if you're feeling a little flexy, bendy, or you want to move in the direction, you can take the foot upwards for Visvamitrasana variation, which may be another lifetime. I'll get that one. Good. Draw the knee back in, place the left hand down, take it into three-legged dog. On an exhale, bring the knee back into the chest. We're going to step the foot down, moving through that first sequence of high crescent lunge. Exhale, bend the knee, cactus the arms. Inhale, take the arms up, swoop them back. Hands to the floor, three-legged dog, right leg up. Inhale, slide forward, plank with right leg lifted. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, upward slide the shoulders back, beam the heart forward. Exhale, back, downward facing dog. Inhale, lift to the balls of the feet, come down to the knees. Left leg comes back. Curl the toes under. Inhale, lift the heel and then come all the way up, three-legged dog. Lift the left hip on right, bend the knee, open up the hip here. Soften the left shoulder down. Start to slide forward towards the plank, let the top foot come down, wild thing. Press through the right bottom of the foot, lift onto the ball of the left foot. And then option, take the arm up overhead. Keep lifting up through the heart, keep pressing through the feet. As you come around, take the left leg high. Bring it knee across to right elbow. Kickstand the leg around to the side. Right arm up, drop the back heel, fall in triangle. Take the right arm to frame the right ear. Right hand comes to the floor. Here's where we slide the left leg away from us towards the right. Come down to the outer edge of the left hip. Scoot the right hip down like you're closing a book lightly and the right heel lifts. Come on down onto the forearms if that's an option. And then the option also is if you would like to come down onto the chest. You can take your gaze in the opposite direction, hook onto the foot. This is my happy place. This is a lovely stretch for runners, bikers, folks that are on your feet all day. And if you're down on your chest or on your forearms, start to come back to the palms.

As you press through the palms, lift the knee back into the chest. Roll your right heel to the left. Left knee comes into the chest. Take the right arm up. Remember you can always bring the shin down for a modified variation. Option to stay here where you can take thumb down on the pinky side of the foot. Kick it out off in the left hip down. Draw the shoulders back and option to stay here or start to take the right elbow over the head, lengthening through the left leg. Bring the knee back into the chest. Palm down. Take it back. Three leg a dog. Knee back into the chest and we're going to step down. High crescent lunge. Let the arms swoop up. Exhale. Soften the knee. Cactus the arms. Inhale the arms up. Sweep the arms back. Hands to the floor. Three leg a dog. Left leg up and back. Option to move it through with the left leg lifted. Slide forward. Plank shoulders over wrists. Chaturanga. Inhale both feet to the floor. Take that extra beat here. Exhale back. Downward facing dog. It's on an inhale. Come up to the balls of the feet. Lower to the knees. Neutral spine. We're going to slide the right knee back so the left leg can come up and over and then snuggle your right knee behind your left and then come on back. See if you can sit between your heels for Gomukhasana legs. You might just slide the calf down a little bit. Just a gentle press. Let yourself settle in there. Sitting up nice and tall. We're going to take the opposite arm overhead. So see if you can take your right hand out to the side and then spin the thumb down. So thumb down. Reach up behind you like you're trying to get a little itch. I need to assist myself there. And then this elbow, bend the left elbow high. Reach down like you're trying to scratch an itch behind you. From here, lift up. If this is too much, please feel free just to hold the elbow right here. Take a moment. Sit up nice and tall. Flex through the feet and then inhale. Lift up even taller and then start to come forward on an exhale. See if you can still feel your sit bones on the earth. If you have the bind still, go ahead and release and then tend your fingertips. Walk them out as far as you can. Still encouraging the heart to come forward. Gently walk the torso up.

The left leg that's over top, bend the knee towards the ceiling, plant the left foot on the floor. Take the left arm up, swoop it back behind you. Tent the fingertips. Take the right arm up and then either twisting and hugging yourself in or using your elbow to kind of add a little traction. I like to find my left hand on my low back just to encourage a lift of my low back and then bring the hand down. See if you can keep chin and sternum in a line as you play with the twist. So instead of going like full force in, just a gentle move with each exhale. Inhale, sit up a little taller and we're going to turn center, turn to your right and let out an exhale and then inhale, sit up taller and open twist with the chest up. Let your hand come down to your foot, thumb down, big toe side. We're starting to kick the left leg out long and then bring the right arm around, thumb down, pinky side of the foot. So if the knee needs to be bent, that's fine. See if you can root both sit bones down. From here, now peel the left arm open so a big open twist. See if you can sit up nice and tall, open the arms. Maybe the gaze goes out to the left thumb. Bring the left hand back center, thumb down, big toe side. From here, inhale, lift. So see if you can take the leg up as high as you can, draw the torso in towards the thigh and then gently bring it down to the floor. Right foot's going to go inside the left thigh. John, use your Shasana or you can go Ardha Padmasana with the heel coming up towards the left hip. From here, use your hands, spin your torso over your left thigh, start to walk forward. Just use the hands, use your leg, use your foot wherever you'd like your hands to be. For some if you're in Ardha Padmasana and you'd like to put the half bind, bring the right hand around. You can hook on to the toe, you can hook on to the foot and just gently fold in. Inhale, lengthening through the spine. Exhale, a little release, a little softening. Inhale, lift the torso. Unwind the legs. We're going to come back into table. At this time, take the left knee back a little bit, bring the right over top, snuggle it in, sit on back, flex the feet. Left arm out to the side, spin the thumb down, bend the elbow, reach all the way up like you have an itch up your back, right hand comes up, again reaches down for the left fingertips. And with this knot in your pocket today, grab the right elbow with a gentle draw down. Sit up nice and tall and on an exhale come forward. You still have the bind, release the hands, tent the fingers, walk the hands out a little bit further, creating a little traction and lengthening through the spine. Walk the hands back, lift the torso. As you take the right knee up, root the left foot in the floor, windmill the right arm behind you and then take the left arm up, sit up nice and tall and either on an exhale, hug in, reuse the elbow as traction to add your twist. Again you can do that little adjustment of hand at the low back to kind of encourage the lift up. Inhale, bring the torso back center and continue to the left for an open twist. Let the hand drift down to the big toe side of the foot, thumb down. And then as you start to turn the torso back center, take the right leg long. So then take it back into an open twist. And again the right knee can be bent or if you can, lengthen it out. Bring the left hand across, thumb down, pinky side of the foot, lift up. As we trade out, hands, left hand stays, right arm peels back, almost like you're drawing an arrow back to open up. So you can sit up nice and tall, reach the arms away from each other and then if you'd like, add in the gaze over the right thumb. Right hand comes back, thumb down, big toe side, keep the heel up and draw the shin in, torso to thigh, and gently lower it down. You're choosing Jan Yushur Shasna or Ardha Padmasana. Left foot can come inside, right thigh or you can do that half lotus. Use the hands to sit up nice and tall and then exhale, come forward. If you have the half lotus, you can take the left hand behind to grab the big toe, reaching for the foot or shin or floor. This is a little twist here as you take the torso over the thigh. Take one more full breath and gently come on up. Join me in a seat and we'll wrap up our practice with time sitting together. So either hands on the thighs or hands at heart center, wherever you can ground in, center in and just notice. Please feel free to stay right here in a seat where you can start to open your eyes, bring your hands in towards yourself, towards the heart. Thank you for sharing your time, energy and practice with me. Big, big, beautiful love. Namaste.