Full Body Flow

Welcome back. So in this flow, we're going to move through just a full body flow that promotes circulation, movement, flexibility, and strength in the entire body. And hopefully it will lead to a calmer and stiller mind. So let's begin at the front of the mat. We're going to begin in standing. So if you'll meet me and standing at the front, and then you can just take your feet hips distance, soften through your knees, let the tailbone melt down and just stand up nice and tall. So lengthen up through the spine, through the crown of your head. And then if maybe you'd like to close the eyes for just a couple of breaths to just check in, maybe setting an intention for your practice. We'll allow a big full breath in through the nose. And then as you're ready, just open your mouth and sigh it out, let it go. One more like that cleansing breath, big breath in. And then soften the shoulders, sigh it out, let it go. Good. And then let's sweep your arms all the way up over your head. Take a big full breath in. Take hold of your left wrist with your right hand and then start to get heavy in your left foot. Reach up and over toward the right so you're lengthening out through the left side body. And then allow yourself to come all the way over to the right so that you're folding over your knees and you can bend your knees as you come into Uttanasana. And then as you get into that fold, bring your right hand right under your nose, flatten out the palm, put a bend in your right knee, straighten out through the left leg, and then sweep the left arm up so that there's this twist happening up and open to the left side. And then just take a couple breaths here. So you might feel this in the outside of the left leg. Good. And then fold back over your legs as you're ready, just letting the spine melt down, let the head and neck relax. And then soften the knees so you can bend the knees deeply if you'd like. Tuck your chin and just slowly roll up one vertebra at a time. Good. And as you get to the top, we'll stand back up, circle the arms all the way out and up. Take a big full breath in. Good. This time hold on to the right wrist. Get heavy in your right foot, reach up and over to the left side. And then again we'll come all the way over to the left, soften the knees as you fold all the way down over your legs. This time left hand right under the nose, straighten through your right leg, put a bend in your left knee, and then reach your right arm up so that you're twisting up and open to the right side. And you can gaze up at your fingertips if you'd like. That doesn't feel good in the neck. Just find your gaze on any point that feels okay. Just come back to your breath. Take one more big breath in. And as you exhale, let everything melt down over your legs. Again, bend the knees, roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time. As you get to the top, we'll bring the shoulders up toward the ears and then draw them down the back. Good. And let's slowly build into our sun salutation. So bringing your hands to your heart, bring the big toes together, slight separation between your heels. You're welcome to keep the feet hip distance if there's anything going on in your lower back. Otherwise we'll begin from here. Good. So as you're ready, inhale, sweep the arms all the way up, lengthen through the spine. As you exhale, soften the knees and fold over your legs.

Uttanasana. Good. Inhale, come halfway up. Maybe walk your hands up onto your shins as you lengthen through the spine, reach the heart forward. And then as you exhale, hands down, step back, top of a pushup, plank pose, and we'll meet there. And then just take a moment to land in your plank. So we'll find our alignment, shoulders over wrists, hips in line with shoulder blades. And then you're active through the legs. Draw the low belly in and up and then reach through the crown of the head. Puff up the upper back just a bit. Good. And then take three more breaths here. So just finding that strength in the core as you're holding your plank pose. Nice and strong in the legs. Good. And then as you're ready, we'll lower all the way down to the earth. You're welcome to lower your knees down as you hug your elbows in. And then cobra pose, draw the shoulders away from the ears as you peel up, lift the chest, lift the heart. Good. And then coming back to your downward facing dog, I'm going to press up to hands and knees first, tuck the toes, lift your hips up and back. And just in this first downward facing dog, any movement at all, you can pedal it out, sway your hips side to side. So with the intention of feeling into the back body, the backs of your legs, start to draw the navel in and up so there's length in the spine. And then see if you can invite in a little bit more relaxation through the head and the neck and your shoulders. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, we'll rise up onto the toes, big bend in your knees. Look forward for this first one. Let's just step to the front of the mat, coming back into your forward fold. And then on an inhale, we'll lift halfway up, lengthen through the spine, offer the heart. Exhale, fold back in and then root down through the feet, rise all the way up to stand, circle the arms out and up. Hands to heart, exhale. Good. Another round together. Inhale, arms lift, adding on just a bit. Exhale, fold over your legs. Inhale, halfway up, lengthen through the spine. Again, step back to plank pose and we'll pause and plank. This time, maybe the knees stay lifted, start to shift the weight forward a little bit and then hug the elbows in as you slowly lower all the way down to the belly. Untuck the toes, draw the shoulders away from the ears, lift up and lengthen cobra pose. In breath and then exhale, we'll bring you all the way back to downward facing dog. Again, we'll meet in down dog, holding here for three or four breaths and maybe you start to find stillness in your down dog so that the toes are spread, the fingers are spread, hands are shoulder width apart, maybe the feet are hips distance and then find that one point to focus your gaze and come back to your breath. Beautiful. And then inhale to rise up onto the toes, bend knees, look forward, step or maybe lightly hop to your hands, come to the front of the mat. On an inhale, lift halfway up, exhale, fold over your legs, inhale, root down, rise up to stand and then draw your hands to your heart, exhale. Good. Again, let's add on just a bit, inhale, arms lift, exhale, fold over your legs, inhale, halfway up, exhale. Again, step back to plank pose, I'll meet you there, top of a push up. This time, start to shift the weight forward, you're welcome to lower the knees, maybe we'll come through chaturanga, come halfway down as you hug the elbows in, shoulders lower toward the height of the elbows and then maybe roll over the toes coming to up dog, straightening out the legs, lifting the heart, lifting the gaze. Good. And then we'll roll over the toes, lift the hips up and back, downward facing dog. And again, hold here, taking three or four breaths. One more big breath in, long breath out. And again, rise up onto the toes, bend your knees, look forward, step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, lift halfway up, exhale, bow forward, root down, rise up to stand, inhaling, hands to heart, exhale. We're going to take two more rounds, starting to flow with the breath, if you want to jump back through chaturanga, you're welcome to do that or take any modifications that you'd like. So again, surya namaskara A with the breath, inhale, arms lift, exhale, fold, inhale halfway, exhale, vinyasa, step or lightly float back, inhale, cobra or up dog, exhale, downward facing dog, breathe.

Any point you want to lower the knees, you can take cat cow, child's pose. Let this be your own practice. Meet yourself wherever you are. Good, inhale, rise up onto the toes, bend knees, look forward, step or lightly float to your hands. Inhale, lift halfway up, exhale, fold, root down, rise up, inhaling, hands to heart. Any variation you want, last round, surya A, inhale, arms lift, exhale, fold, inhale halfway, exhale, vinyasa, inhale, lift the heart, cobra or up dog, exhale, downward facing dog, beautiful holding, just a couple breaths, maybe sigh it out, let something go. Good, and then let's lower the knees down, take a child's pose, your choice, you can have knees together or wide, big toes together, reach the arms forward, let the head and neck relax, maybe the third eye rests on the earth, maybe rocking your head from side to side a couple times, massaging out the forehead, finding that seat of your intuition and just checking in. Good, and then from your child's pose, reach your arms forward so much that the elbows lift up if they're not already lifted and then start to walk your hands over to the right side, so we're going to find a side body stretch, maybe placing your left hand on top of the right, letting a little bit of weight shift off toward that left hip and then breathe all the way through the side waist, any sensations that you feel here, send the breath there, good, and then just take it to the other side, so you're walking through center, taking your hands up and over to the other side, letting a little weight shift off toward the right, maybe placing your right hand on top of the left, breathing, more than anything, the breath, beautiful, and then come back through center, come up onto all fours, find your tabletop and then tent your fingertips here on all fours, keep your hips right over your knees and then we're going to walk the hands forward, keeping the hips lifted, start to let the chest melt down for anahatasana, now you're welcome to bring the forehead down or maybe the chin finds the earth as you melt down here, couple breaths, good, and then walking your hands back in, coming back up to all fours, and then from here, let's lower the forearms down to the earth, so the shoulders land right over the elbows and then just a little core work, stretch the legs back, tuck your toes and come to forearm plank, so just like we did in plank pose on our hands, see if you can let your hips be in line with the shoulder blades and then you're reaching through the crown of the head, the same time you're reaching back through the heels and then just fire it up, embrace any shaking that might be happening through your center, good, and then start to walk the feet in towards you, lift the hips up coming into dolphin pose, just a couple breaths here, really nice and strengthening for your shoulders and you're welcome to bend the knees any amount here, you just want to get the sitting bones lifting up, beautiful, and then lower your knees down and we'll come back to downward facing dog, nice and then from your downward facing dog, let's reach the right leg all the way up and back and then look forward, step your foot all the way through between your hands, come up to warrior two, so spin the back heel down, circle the arms open and just take a moment to arrive in Virabhadrasana two, good, so coming toward 90 degrees in that front leg, seal the outer edge of the back foot down and don't be afraid to sink a little bit deeper into that front leg, good, and then from here flip your front palm, keep the legs how they are and just tilt up and back to reverse your warrior, feel that length through the right side body, light on your left fingertips and then we'll come into your extended side angle from here, so elbow to the top of the front thigh, bring that left arm up and over your ear and breathe here, just a couple full deep breaths, good, and then from extended side angle, keep the legs how they are, root down to rise all the way up and back, reverse warrior, straighten through that front leg, get out of that hip, beautiful and then maybe shorten your stance just a little bit as you hinge forward into triangle pose, so the right hand will come down toward your shin and then reaching your left arm up, good, maybe gaze up toward your fingertips and just breathe and let's take a half wrap from triangle, so taking the left hand behind the back either to the low back or maybe the top of your right thigh and then allow the left shoulder to draw back as you lengthen through the crown of the head, lengthen through the right side body and then maybe keep your wrap as you bend through the front knee, gaze down and we'll come into half moon from here, so finding your balance, right fingertips down as you lift up through the left leg, good, and then stacking hips and shoulders, maybe start to open up the chest toward the left and you can keep that wrap if it feels better to release the left arm back up to the sky, go for it, good, and try to be light on your right fingertips, beautiful, and then softly we'll step back to warrior two, so meeting me there, good, and then straighten through your front leg, parallel the feet and we'll bring the hands to the hips, draw the elbows back, lift up through the heart and then hinging forward at the hips into prosaureta, forward fold, maybe the hands find the earth and let the crown of the head melt down and then whatever feels good with your arms here, so you can hold onto your ankles, you might let the peace fingers come to the big toes, the fingertips are down, just allow this to be a nice opening through the backs of the legs but at the same time keep the legs engaged, so you're lifting up on your kneecaps, good, and then walk your hands forward, come halfway up, lengthen through the spine and then come back to your runner's lunge, so facing the front of your mat, ball of the back toe, good, back foot, excuse me, and then lower the back knee down, and then let's reach your arms forward and up, inhale on janiasana, good, and then exhale, lower your hands all the way down, we'll straighten any amount through that front leg, so coming into half split, aradhana manasana, and then drawing the right hip back as you inhale, find more length in the spine, and then exhale, just fold back over your leg, couple breaths, breathing into the back of the right leg, nice, and then as we come out of there we'll re-bend through the front leg, tuck your back toes, lift the back knee up, let's find a twist here, so left hand down, sweep the right arm up as you twist, and just a couple breaths, twisting from the navel up, beautiful, maybe the top arm comes over your ear for a breath, lower your right hand down, step back plank pose, and then your vinyasa, whatever variation you'd like, maybe halfway chaturanga, cobra or up dog, inhale, and then downward facing dog, exhale, and just take a few breaths, let that side go, maybe taking a big full breath in, and then you might open the mouth, side out, good, and then as you're ready, left leg lifts, inhale, step through between your hands, warrior two, spin the back heel down, circle the arms open, and just arrive here, relax the shoulders, take the gaze right over your middle finger, finding one point to focus the gaze in front of you, and then again, flip your front palm, reach back, reverse warrior, keep the legs how they are, and then extended side angle, maybe elbow to the top of the thigh, top arm over the ear, and breathe, so just be with your nice strong legs, feel that length through the side body, and breathe, so there's this grounded energy in the low body, this lightness and ease in the upper body, good, and then root down, rise up, come on out of that hip, straighten through your front leg, reverse triangle, and then triangle pose, you might shorten the stance a little bit, hinge forward at the hips, reaching your right arm up to the sky, maybe lift your gaze, and then like we did on the first side, we'll take that half wrap, so reaching the arm behind the back, low back, or top of your left thigh, and then draw the right shoulder back, maybe lift the gaze up, if that doesn't feel good up in the neck, maybe look straight forward or even down, just find a place where you can be without tension, good, and then half moon, gaze down, bend through your front leg, we'll make that transition into your balance, embracing the wobbles along the way, flexing through the back foot like you're stepping on the wall behind you, and again, you can keep the wrap, or you might bring that right arm straight up toward the ceiling, really nice, and then softly, we'll step the right foot back warrior too, and then straighten through the front leg, parallel the feet, maybe interlace fingers behind the low back this time, or not, whatever feels best for you, we'll come back into that wide leg fold, so inhale to lift up, exhale, fold over the legs, and breathe a couple breaths, if the arms or fingers are interlaced, notice the shoulders, and then where can you release just a little bit more, good, and then if the hands are interlaced, bring them back down to the earth, we'll come halfway up on the inhale, walking your hands back toward the front of the mat, come to your runner's lunge, lower the back knee down, and then again, reach the arms forward and up, unjaniasana, soften the shoulders as you lift up, just feel that lift through the upper back, maybe lifting the gaze, one breath in, as you exhale, lower your hands down, start to straighten through your front leg, aradhana man, so you can draw the left hip back, lengthening through the spine, inhaling, exhaling, maybe fold in just a little bit more, and then just notice the back of that left leg, you can bend your knee any amount here, just seeking that sensation without going too far, good, and then re-bend through your front knee, tuck your back toes, lift the back knee up, and we'll take a twist here, so right hand plants, reach the left arm up, find that lunge twist, be deliberate with your gaze, and then you might take the top arm over your ear for a breath or two, good, and then lower the left hand down, plank pose, vinyasa, or you can always come right to down dog, inhale as you lift the heart, cobra or up dog, exhale, downward facing dog, good, take a big breath in, and on your exhale let something go, walk or hop to the front of the mat, we'll meet there, come halfway up, inhale, fold in, exhale, and then root down, rise all the way up to stand, inhaling, and draw your hands to your heart, and just take a moment, maybe close your eyes, check in, feel the heartbeat, all that movement, all that energy you've already circulated and created, and then we'll play with balance a little bit here, so as you're ready, now take the weight into the left foot, and then hug your right knee into your chest, and then from here bring your right hand to your right ankle, we're going to take tree pose, so left hand comes to the hip, you can bring the foot to the inner upper leg, it might come to the calf, or you might kickstand the toes down to the earth, any of those variations are great, you just want to find your tree just playing with your balance a little bit to bring you to the present moment, hug everything into center, once you have your balance you might bring hands to heart, or maybe the arms reach all the way up toward the ceiling, find one point to focus your gaze and breathe, and then as we come out of here, you're going to cross your right ankle on top of your left knee for a figure four shape with the legs, bring your hands to your heart, start to shift your hips back as you come into temple dancer, and again find one point to focus your gaze and breathe, so opening up through that right hip, good, you're welcome to bring fingertips down to the earth if you want to come a little bit deeper, or maybe they come to a couple blocks, yeah, and then to come out of there we'll lift up, straighten through your left leg, lift the torso, step your right foot down and then bring your feet as wide as your mat, toes out, heels in, sweep the arms all the way up and then malasana, yogi squat hands through center as you come down into your squat, and then just take a moment in malasana, maybe close your eyes, lengthen through the spine, good, and you can stay right here if you'd like, if you want to play with the arm balance we'll come toward crow pose, so join me if you'd like, I'm going to bring the hands down, step the big toes and heels together, let the knees go wide, and then as I plant my hands down I'm going to bring the knees as high up on the triceps as I can, gaze forward, hug everything into center, maybe you're lifting up one foot today, maybe both feet start to lift, as you come into crow bring the heels in towards you, find a little rounding through the upper back, good, and then come on out of there, we'll all come into a forward fold, so feet hips distance, fold over your legs, let everything just melt down, and then slowly as you're ready soften the knees, and roll all the way back up to stand, good, and then we'll step to the front of the mat if you're not already there, and we'll come to the other side, good, so bringing the weight into the right foot this time, start by hugging your left knee into your chest, lengthen through the spine, draw the low belly in and up, and then tree pose any variation, hugging the foot into your leg, hug everything into the midline, and then whatever feels good with your arms, so maybe hands to heart, maybe the arms lift, if the arms are lifting make sure the shoulders don't come with you, soften the shoulders, soften your gaze, and breathe. Find your drishti, that one point to focus the gaze, and then the exit is crossing left ankle on top of the right knee, hips shift back, hands come toward the heart, you can also bring the arms out and kind of find the thumb and index finger together if that helps with balance, find that mudra, maybe hands come down toward the earth if you want to go a little deeper, good, and then to come out of there this time, we'll lift up the torso, straighten through that right leg, lift up, and then step your left foot down, feet hips distance, inhale, lift up, and then exhale, again draw hands to heart, and let's come into chair pose, utkatasana, so send the weight into the heels, bend the knees, and then we're going to come solo, lower, lower, lower, lower, you can use your hands to get there, but we'll bring the butt down and come into navasana, boat pose, so either straightening the legs, you can bend the knees, lengthen through the spine, reach the arms forward and let's just hold here for five breaths, so lifting up through the heart, maybe even close the eyes, and just breathe, and notice where you feel this in the body, so I can feel all this subtle movement around the core, the spine, shoulders, good, and then as you lower down, we're slowly straightening the legs as you come all the way down, good, and I'm just going to spin around so you can see me a little better, as you come onto your back, hug your knees into your chest, rock a little bit from side to side, just massage out the lower back, and then let's sit up for thread the eye of the needle, so just get into the hips a little while we're here, step the feet down to the earth, cross your right ankle on top of your left, find that figure four shape that we just did in our balancing pose, and then start to draw the legs in towards you, you might interlace on top of that left shin, or behind the left thigh, and just soften the shoulders, and breathe into the right hip, and a couple full deep breaths here, beautiful, and then as you're ready, we'll switch sides, so stepping the feet back down, cross the left ankle this time on top of the right knee, figure four, draw the legs in, interlace if you'd like, and then feel the left knee drawing away from you as the right knee draws in, and then as much as you can, relax your shoulders and breathe, breathe into the sensations, creating some space in that left hip, nice, and then as you're ready, release, we'll hug the knees into the chest, maybe hold on to the outsides of the feet, happy baby, and again, just soften the shoulders, relax the low back, couple full deep breaths here, if it feels good to rock from side to side, go for it, good, and then hug your knees back in, take a big breath in, nose up towards your knees, hug everything in, and then let everything go, and just find your final resting pose, whatever feels good for you, maybe stretching the legs out long, bringing the palms to face up on either side of the body, and then just let go of any effort in the breath, the body, and your mind, allowing that full integration of your practice, body-mind spirit, just rest. And as you're ready, inviting any movement in, begin to deepen your breath, maybe rolling out your ankles and your wrists, and then reaching your arms up over your head, stepping the soles of the feet down, just take a roll over to your right side, just taking a moment on your side to check in and notice how you feel, and then keeping the ease of your shavasana, I'm going to press our way up to a comfortable seat, and as you come to your seat, maybe the eyes stay closed, let the gaze rest on the internal, gathering hands in Anjali mudra in front of your heart, just bowing in towards your hands in gratitude, and thank you so much for sharing this practice with me, namaste.