Choose Love

Welcome back. This next sequence is all about choosing love. So we have so much love at our fingertips, infinite resource. So how we give love and how we receive love. So in this practice, we'll incorporate an outward expression of grabbing, gathering up as much love as we can, drawing it inward, and then sharing it outward.

So we'll incorporate this through our sequence. So let's dive in and meet at the top of the mats. Find your stance. Feet can be together or hip distance apart. Stand up nice and tall, feeling the rooting through your feet, a little sweetness through the knees.

And then on your next inhale, take the arms up overhead. So here we go on an exhale, like you're drawing down as much love as you can, draw it in towards your heart and then spinning out, throwing it out to the world. Inhale coming halfway up. Exhale folding in. Inhale to rise.

We'll play with this half sun salutation a few more times through again. Gather up as much love as you can, metaphorically drawing it in, and then taking it out to share with the world. Inhale halfway rise. Exhale fold. Inhale arms overhead, Urdhva Hastasana, again gathering into your heart.

If you think too much about it, you can spin it out any way you'd like. Inhale halfway, keep the legs engaged. Exhale fold. Inhale rise up. Gather up the love, draw it in towards your heart.

Share it out with the world. Inhale halfway. Exhale. Get two more times through, inhale all the way up, gather up the love, draw it into the heart, share it out. Inhale halfway, exhale.

Inhale strong legs come all the way up, draw in the love to the heart, share it out to the world. Inhale halfway, this time place the palms, step on back, downward facing dog. Feel free to walk it out here a little bit. Then inhale rise to the balls of the feet, let's bend the knees deeply, take your bum high in there and just let your heels drop off to one side. So you're going to get a big stretch through the left side body, so keeping the heels right, hips up to the right.

Come back to center, heels high and then let the heels drop off to the left, bend the knees. The heels don't have to be touching the ground, my left one doesn't touch. Hips lift up to the left and press deep through the palms so you get a big stretch to the right side body. Inhale come back up, heels high. Inhale let the heels dip down, downward facing dog.

Just taking a few breaths here, feel the press through the palms, arms activated and engaged. Hips high, thighs pressing back and then inhale slide forward or ripple forward into a plank pose and pause. And then exhale wave it on back, start with the crown, tail lifts up last. Inhale wave it forward and then exhale wave it back. So choice, stay right here or add on with me, inhale come forward to plank and as you continue lower the knees, thighs, let the tops of the feet come down, supported upward dog.

If this is too much in the low back at first, just stay with that first part into plank. Good, from here you're going to press back on the knees, round the spine, curl the toes under, lift the hips, ripple forward again to plank, knees come down, thighs shine the heart forward and then exhale round, knees stay down, spine comes high, curl the toes under, press back downward facing. Good, two more, wave it forward, either pause here in plank, knees down, thighs down, big heart. Good, wave it back, tuck the chin, curl the toes under, lift the hips. Last one, wave it forward, plank, pause or continue knees down, thighs down, tops of the feet down, slide the shoulders back, round it in, curl the toes under, lift the hips.

Good, to bring feet to hands first time through, we'll just crisscross real slow, take a little micro pause in between, taking opposite foot over cross, just investigating, noticing what it feels like to move forward a little differently. You can swivel the hips, you can press the hips back in between, just a little time to investigate and notice and then allow the feet to come to hands and fold it in. On your inhale take the arms up overhead, exhale draw in that love to the heart, share it out to the world, inhale come halfway up, exhale bring the palms down, step on back plank pose. From here we're going to lower all the way to the floor so option of knees are lower all the way down. Either three low cobras with me or explore this option, on an inhale bend the right knee, lift the heart, exhale fold in, inhale bend the left knee, heart lift, exhale fold in, tend to bend both knees, heart lift, we're not going feet to head right now, we're just getting a little bit longer in the low back, opening up, shining through the heart and exhale fold in.

Curl the toes under, lift the hips either straight to plank or with the knees up and then exhale back downward facing. Time coming forward we're going to go right foot halfway then left, lift to the balls of the feet, maybe to the tip tip toes and you can either step step hop or slide, exhale fold in, inhale rise all the way up, grab that giant ball of love, draw it into your heart, share it out to the world. Now halfway, place the palms step back, plank pose and then we're going to go right to downward facing dog. On an inhale take the right leg up and back, spin the right inner thigh high, bring the heel up as high as you can, right, so the hips are evenish, exhale knee to heart, round in, draw it in, place the foot softly down warrior two, front heel in line with back inner arch and you can bring the gaze either chin in line with sternum or you can go gaze right over that middle right finger. Okay so on an inhale draw in a big bunch of love, draw it into the heart and then exhale open it up almost like you got glitter fingers, it's my superhuman power, inhale draw it into the heart and exhale open.

One more in, exhale open, settle in a bit, take the right palm up, reach the palm up and then go back, stay light through the left hand and see if you can create just as much space through the left side body as you have on the right, almost like you feel a magnet from your right sit bone drifting down to the right heel. Bring the right inner thigh, spin to the ceiling, right outer thigh down, okay so we windmill the hands down to frame the front foot, lift the back heel, step back plank pose and then lower all the way to the floor. Your option of three low cobras are inhale lift the right knee or the right foot, lift up, exhale soften. The left foot lifts, heart lifts, low cobra with a little flare, exhale, inhale heart lifts both feet bend, any mischief in the low back skip this, exhale release. For transition press back, child's pose just for a beat for a little counter, slide forward on to all fours, curl the toes under, lift the hips, come into downward facing.

On an inhale take the left leg up and back, exhale, knee to heart, draw it in, round it in, little pause, place the foot down, warrior two, rise up as you drop down the outer edge of the back foot, reach the fingertips away and then on inhale like you're scooping in a whole bunch of love, draw the hands into the heart and the exhale the share, inhale draw it in, exhale to open, inhale, big exhale, you arrive, left palm lifts up, go up, reach back and again find the left sit bone staying down low so you stay in your lunge, stay light through the right hand, long line of energy from the left fingertips all the way down to the left sit bone, exhale, windmill the hands down to frame the front foot, step on back plank pose, lower all the way to the floor, option knees down or straight down, inhale right leg, heart forward, exhale, inhale left knee bends, heart forward, find a little traction in the palms to draw the shoulders back, exhale, inhale both knees bend bring the heart shine it and then exhale soften it, press back child's pose for transition, dip in the sit bones and then inhale come forward curl the toes under downward facing dog, left foot steps halfway forward, right foot comes parallel, press through the palms lift through the hips maybe on the balls of the feet maybe on the tip tip toes so feeling the weight in your hands, hop slide or step step, exhale fold it in, inhale rise up, scoop up as much love as you can, draw it into the heart, share it out with the world, inhale halfway, place the palms this one we step back plank and we go right to downward facing dog, on an inhale take the right leg up and back, knee into the nose draw it down, place the foot down high crescent lunge let the arms come up to frame the ears, exhale come halfway reach the hands as much forward as you can, scoop up again as much love as you can and then exhale back behind you, so all over inhale reach forward, exhale back, one more in, leg strong, exhale slowly let the left knee come down to the floor and as you do lift the torso take the arms up take the top of the foot to the floor and again see if you can lift the hips so the whole upper body is long and strong and tall, now exhale again we're gonna do that same action of drawing love down into the heart and just the arms scooping out and wings back, so inhale let them come up, scoop up some love draw it into the heart and just the arms back, one more in to the heart and arms back, take a moment right here readjust hips lift heart light, think about not just the upper body getting broad but also the whole back body, exhale let the hands come down to frame the front foot, take it back into plank pose, lowering down either knees or straight down, inhale right knee bends, heart lifts, remember the other option is to stay with the cobra, exhale soften, inhale left knee bends, heart lifts, exhale, inhale come forward with the heart both knee is option to bend, exhale release as we press back in transition child's pose big, big, big reach the bones back hands forward and then come forward onto all fours, curl the toes under take it into downward facing dog, left side inhale left leg up and back left inner thigh reaches high, knee in towards the heart, place the foot softly down high crescent, arms sweep up, bring the torso forward, arms forward, as if you could feel the love then swoop it back behind you, inhale gathering it up, exhale share, what if we could really see what love looked like, what if it was real, I mean it is real but imagine if you could physically see it floating around like molecules, good and inhale lift up the chest, exhale soften the knee down, so now we're in low lunge take the top of the foot down reach the heart up, draw the hands into the heart, fill yourself up and then taking it back inhale arms, exhale draw in towards the heart, share it out, one more in, big reach hands towards the heart, exhale back, get a few beats here see if you can take the thumbs out palms open, almost like you're bringing the shoulder blades inward a bit like they're creating little cushion support behind the heart, eyes soft, jaw soft, good, exhale hands come down to frame the front foot, take it back into plank pose, lowering down, knees are straight down, inhale right knee bends, heart forward, exhale release, inhale left knee bends, heart forward, exhale, last one a little traction through the palms, lift up through the heart, bhujangasana with the variation of the legs lifted, exhale release, transition back through child's pose, then come forward into downward facing dog, right foot steps about halfway, left foot parallel, lift onto the balls of the feet as an option, turn onto the tip tip toes, hop slide or step step or 20 steps, exhale fold in, inhale let the arms come up to frame the ears, scoop up that love jawline into the heart, share it out with the world, inhale halfway, place the palms step back plank all the way back downward facing, on inhale take the right leg up and back, lift the right heel but keep the right inner thigh spinning up keeping the hips even ish, exhale knee in towards the heart round, place the foot down lower the back knee and shin rise up on jneyasana, heart lifting right hip drawing back, so that same action we're going to scoop in all this love because love is infinite, draw it in towards the heart, share it out and as you do lengthen the front leg aradhana manasana, option take the kickstand or swoop the wings back to add the balance, inhale come forward, draw in that love, head into your heart because you deserve it, option wings back are the kickstand, inhale to come forward, we're going to go three more getting a little bit into the rhythm and repetition, swoop the arms back, two more in, exhale to the heart, swoop them back, one more inhale low lunge arms up, scoop up the love, draw it in, take the wings back toes high and then bring the hands down as kickstand, so choice, stay right here in aradhana manasana, dig the heel in, draw the hip back, bring the heart in the direction of the toes, keep a little micro bend in the right knee or if you'd like and it's available you can sit back on the heel, only if this feels okay on the knee, start to slide forward again, the direction of the fold is lifting the hips and taking the heart forward, just taking a few beats here, you know anytime you're in a forward fold if you like to hang on to the shin, the floor of the foot, your choice and flavor, sometimes it's nice for me to grab the outer edge of my foot just to draw it back a bit towards me, a gentle lift of the pelvic floor, continue to lift the heart forward, the crown forward, bring the gaze back to the front toe, use the hands to slide forward through your lunge, step back plank pose, always try to lift up nice and gentle, put your feet down quietly, lower down, knees are straight down, on an inhale low cobra with the right knee bent option, exhale release, inhale rise up left knee bends, heart comes forward, exhale, inhale both knees, toes towards the ceiling, exhale, press back child's pose, big toes touch, big stretch just for transition, come up to all fours, start to curl the toes under, inch the hands a little bit forward as you lift up, downward facing dog, last side, left leg up and back, exhale knee to heart, place the foot down as you do, lower the back knee and shin, lift the arms on Janayasana, heart high, reach up gather up love, draw it in towards your heart, share it out with the world as you lengthen the left leg option, the kickstander, wings back, inhale arms come up, big reach in the hips and the heart, draw it down towards your heart, share it out with the world, each time we fold forward see if you can draw the left hip back, draw into your heart, swoop the arms, lengthen the leg, dig the heel in, a little traction back, inhale, exhale to the heart, good I believe two more times through, big lift, hips, heart, long and broad through the back, draw it in, swoop the wings back, last one in, draw the love in, share it out wings back, bring the kickstand down, line up where you dig the heel in, Ardha Hanumanasana half split, left hip back, heart forward, see if you can keep the sit bones in line with the knee plane or the option to sit back on the right heel, do the readjustment of lifting the heart forward, lifting the hip bones and then if you like folding forward, and again your choice, hand position can be on the floor, the shin, or the feet, soften your eye gaze or close the eyes, those moments in our flow practice and our vinyasa really taking the opportunity to just observe and notice, not judging, one of my favorite quotes by Deepak Chopra is, my body is busy but my mind is still, so in those times when we have a lot going on in our lives can we still simply settle and be clear, calm and grounded, good, softly open the eyes if they're closed, slide forward, bring the palms down, step back plank pose, lower all the way down knees or straight, inhale rise up, right knee bends, exhale release, inhale left knee bends, rise up, exhale, option of both, press through the palms, and we'll transition back into child's pose, as you lift the hips come forward onto all fours, take the hands a little bit more forward curl the toes under, downward facing dog, inhale start to slide forward to plank pose, we're going to go through our little flow one more time, option of lowering down knees to the floor or straight down from plank, good, press through the palms, finger pads under the shoulders and inhale low cobra with the right knee bent, toes towards the ceiling, exhale release, inhale left knee bends, heart lift, so again finding spaciousness through the low back, exhale, okay last one inhale lift the chest option both feet, right and you can start to slide the hands back a little bit to lift up a little bit more but see if you can press the pubic bone into the floor, right for some you can start to slide feet towards head and I think maybe another lifetime two or three for me, but again we're creating spaciousness so not restriction in the low back, good, exhale release, let the forehead come to the floor moving into a lovely shoulder stretch, take the left hand out to the side, start to roll onto your left side body, let your left ear come to the floor and then start to take the right knee towards the ceiling right bottom of the foot comes to the floor, so this might simply be plenty, if you want a little bit more you can bend the left knee, take the left bottom of the foot to the floor, and if you want a little bit more you can take the right hand behind to meet the left right for me that's not feeling good today, so you can interlace keep the elbows a little bent if you're going there and we can see if you can just soften in to gravity. Okay, coming out the way we got in, take the left leg long if that's bent and the right leg long, roll on to your belly, let's set neutral by bringing the finger pads under the shoulders, rise up a little cobra, exhale soften in, right arm reaches out to the right, roll on to your right side, stack the hips and then bend the left knee towards the ceiling the right ear can soften to the floor, option to stay here or you can add the second knee your right knee to the ceiling, right foot to the floor and if you like you can add the arm reaching up and behind, so a nice big shoulder opener, a bit of a twist, you might use your left hand to add a little press to help you settle in, annoying if you came in and you went too far, come out, come back to the start, start to make our way back to our bellies, take the right leg long if the right knee is bent, left leg long, come back to center, fingertips down under the shoulder, palms down, add a little traction as you pull the heart forward, neutralize and then exhale fold in and just slowly begin to roll on to your back, we'll just set up for shavasana, let the palms face up, let the feet splay out, let your breath just find its natural rhythm, so the invitation would be to stay here in shavasana or to join me in a seat, slowly rolling on to your right side and pressing up to a comfortable seat, either keeping your eyes closed, bringing your hands to heart or slightly open, thank you for sharing your practice with me today and knowing that there's an infinite resource of love, just because we give a little bit of love here, a little bit of love there doesn't mean we can't pour our hearts in even more, it doesn't mean that we only get to receive a little bit of love, we get to receive as much love as we're willing to receive and we get to give as much as we're willing to give, with big, big love, namaste.