Hips, Core, and Glutes

Welcome back. So this is a 20-minute practice that's a full body energizing flow and we're going to focus a little bit on core glutes and the hips. So we'll start on our backs. So if you want to roll back and meet me there, we're going to start in constructive rest. So bring the soles of the feet as wide as your yoga mat and then let your knees knock in to touch and then maybe rest your hands on your low belly and just take a moment to close your eyes, shift your gaze inward and begin to notice your breath. And just taking this moment to arrive here noticing how you're feeling and anything you'd like to call into your practice today. Maybe tuning into Ujjayi breath, allowing the breath to move in and out slowly, evenly through the nose. So from here, cross your right ankle on top of your left knee. Let the right knee open up like a figure four shape and then draw your left leg all the way down toward the earth so you're tractioning with the right foot and opening through the left hip. And then you can reach your arms out on either side of the shoulders, maybe bringing the palms to face up and just take a moment to feel that opening through your left hip. A couple breaths into wherever you feel this. Beautiful. And then come back through center. So step the left foot back down to the earth, keep that figure four shape with your legs and then start to draw the legs in towards you. So flexing through both feet and then interlace your fingers behind the back of the neck. Let your elbows go wide and then we're going to do a little core work here. So as you inhale, lift the head, neck and shoulders up and start to draw the legs in towards you, any amount. Good. And then as you exhale, lower the head, neck and shoulders, let the legs draw away from you. And then we'll do that a few more times. So as you inhale, legs in towards you, lift up, exhale, draw the legs away, rest down. And then taking that a few more times on your own with your breath, you can keep the arms how they are. If you want to add a little bit more, reach your arms straight up toward the ceiling, palms pressing toward the ceiling. And then as you exhale again, lowering down. Take two more. So inhale as you lift up, exhale as you lower. One more. Inhale, lift up and exhale, lower down. Really nice. Bring the palms of the hands down and then press through the left foot. So the legs stay the same. We're coming into a bridge pose with that figure four shape. So let the right knee draw away from you and press into the sole of your left foot, engaging through the back body, drawing your chest up toward your chin. Nice. Take one more big breath in and then as you exhale, lower the hips down, release both feet to the earth, step your feet as wide as your mat and then constructive rest again. Just let the knees draw in. Take a moment to gather. Maybe hands come back to the belly and just check in. Notice how that feels and where that lands. Nice. And then we'll take that all to side two. So crossing left ankle on top of the right knee, start to drop the knees to the left side, reach your arms out on either side of the shoulders and then just feel that opening through the right hip. Notice how that feels, allowing a few full deep breaths right here. And if it feels okay in the neck, you can always look over the right shoulder. Nice. And then we'll come back through center. So step the sole of the right foot down, keep the legs how they are and then interlace fingers behind the back of the neck to begin. Start to draw the legs in towards you and then on an inhale, lift the head, neck, shoulders up, draw the legs in, find that core action and then exhale, release it down. Do two more like that. Inhale as you lift up, exhale as you lower, inhale as you lift up, keeping the elbows wide, exhale lower and then if you want to reach the arms straight up toward the ceiling, let the palms press toward the ceiling. As you inhale, draw everything in. Exhale, lower. One more. Inhale, lift up and exhale, lower down. Let that palms of the hands press into the earth, press through the right foot and come into that bridge pose with the figure four shape. Let the left knee draw away and this is harder than it looks. I'm taking a few full deep breaths. Beautiful. And then last breath in and then let the exhale drop you all the way back down. Bring both soles of the feet to the earth, hug your knees in and just start to rock up and down along the length of your spine and we'll rock all the way up into yogi squat melasana. So if you have to use your hands to get there, no worries. Feet almost as wide as the mat, toes out, heels in, hands to heart. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, let's come into a forward fold. So bring the hands down, parallel the feet, start to straighten the legs any amount, soften the knees if you'd like, let the torso drape down. And then from here, knees soft, roll up one vertebra at a time. Let the head be heavy, let the head be the last thing to arrive. Bring your shoulders up towards your ears, roll them down the back and then meet me at the front of the mat. So again, we're going to come into melasana. So toes out, heels in. As you inhale, sweep the arms all the way up and then squat back down into melasana, drawing the prayer down in front of you toward the heart center. Good. And then back to your forward fold, hands down, parallel the feet, fold over your legs. And then from here, let's step back right to our first downward facing dog. So flattening out the palms, step the feet back, find any movement in the legs. Feel free to soften the knees. Feel the length in your spine and then let's come forward to plank pose, top of a push-up. Pause in your plank. So find your alignment here with the shoulders over the wrists and then let your hips be in line with shoulder blades. Reach through the crown of the head, reach back through your heels and then you're welcome to lower the knees down. We're going to take five counts to get down to our belly. So as you're ready, hug the elbows in for five, four, three, two, and one. Untuck your toes, scoot the hands back a little bit so that your elbows are on top of your wrists and then just come through cobra pose. So as you inhale, press through the tops of the feet, lift up through the heart and then exhale, lower down. Let's do that two more times, rolling cobra. Inhale, lift up, exhale, lower, inhale, lift up, cobra pose, exhale, lower down, and then meet me back in downward facing dog. Good, and from your down dog, reach your right leg up and back, bend your knee, open up the hip and take some big circles with that right leg. So start to draw the knee in and up and around and then you can take it in the other direction. Feel that opening through your right hip and then straighten through the right leg. Draw your right knee to your right tricep, hover. We're going to take that figure four in our downward facing dog. So cross your right ankle on top of your left knee and you can soften the knee any amount. Feel the opening in the right hip and then gaze in front of you. Step your right foot all the way through between your hands. Beautiful, and then we'll set up for warrior two. So spin the back heel down, let the left arm bring you all the way up into Virabhadrasana two. And just take a moment to settle, feel this strong base, soften the shoulders a little bit. Good, and then flip your front palm, tilt back, just take one breath and reverse warrior. So maybe sink down a little deeper into that front leg and then straighten through your front leg so you're in reverse triangle pose. And then from here let the left hip shift back, we're going to come into triangle pose. So right hand falls below the knee, left arm lifts straight up, stacking shoulders maybe gaze up toward your fingertips. Good, and then soften a bit through your right knee and then we'll make a transition into half moon. So left hand to your hip, gaze down, put a bend through your right knee, gaze forward, and then reaching forward about a foot with your right fingertips. Lift up through the left leg, stacking hips and shoulders, maybe reaching your left arm up to the sky. Flex through your left foot and then you might play with taking your gaze either to the sidewall or up toward your fingertips. Good, and then the exit, you're gonna step your left foot to meet the right at the front of the mat coming into chair pose, just briefly Utkatasana, arms lift, and then transfer the weight into your left foot. Come back to figure four, crossing right ankle on top of your left knee. Let the hips shift back, draw your hands to your heart for a temple dancer. And then just holding here for a few breaths. If you know you want to go a little deeper, you're welcome to bring fingertips toward the earth or a block. There's the arm balance here if you want to play with that. Beautiful, and then right back into chair pose. So stepping the right foot to meet the left, arms sweep up and then go ahead and fold right over your legs, Utkatasana. Halfway up on your inhale, step back through plank pose, lowering through a vinyasa if you'd like. Feel free to lower the knees, come halfway or all the way down, chaturanga, cobra or upward facing dog, and then exhale into your downward facing dog. Holding here for just a couple breaths, allowing a big full breath in. And then exhale, side out. Good. Inhale your left leg up, bend the knee, open the hip, and then take that big circle with the left leg. So drawing the knee in, up and around, and then take it the opposite direction. So really feel that opening through the left hip, and then take a big breath in. As you exhale, left knee, left tricep, hover, and then figure four shape on the way back, crossing left ankle on top of the right knee. Nice. And then look forward, step your left foot all the way through, and then we'll set up for warrior two. Spin the back heel down, circle the arms open, and really just arrive here. Feel that strong base. Beautiful. Hold for a breath.

Nice. And then flip the front palm, tilt back, reverse warrior. Hold here for a breath, maybe sink it down a little deeper into your front leg. Straighten through your front leg, hinge forward into triangle pose. So left hand comes down, right arm lifts straight up, stacking shoulders, softening through your left knee just a bit. Try not to lock out in this pose. Good. And then right hand to hip, gaze down, we'll transition to half moon. Bend through the left knee, reach forward, letting the fingertips fall right under your left shoulder, and then lift up through the right leg, flex the right foot, maybe float the right hand back up to the ceiling, play with your balance. A couple breaths here. Nice. And then we'll take chair pose at the front of the mat, step your right foot to meet the left, sink down into chair, Utkatasana arms sweep up. Nice. And then this time shift the weight into the right foot, cross your left ankle on top of the right, and then come into temple dance there. Good. Draw your hands to your heart, find one point to focus the gaze, and again if you'd like to bring fingertips down toward the earth, go for it. Just taking a few more breaths right here. Nice. And then we'll come back to chair, step the left foot down, inhale, the arms sweep up, exhale, fold over your legs. Good. Come halfway up, inhale, and then your vinyasa step, maybe float it back through Chaturanga. Cobra or up dog, inhale, downward facing dog, exhale. And let's lower the knees down, take the knees nice and wide, and come into child's pose. So letting the torso drape down between your legs. Let the head and neck relax. Just breathe for a couple breaths, notice how you feel. So come up to all fours as you're ready, find your tabletop, and then bring the forearms down to the earth. Let your shoulders land right over your elbows, and we'll set up for forearm plank. So stretching the legs back, tuck your toes, and same as plank, you want the shoulder blades in line with your hips, reach through the crown of the head, gaze between your thumbs, holding for five, four, feel a little shaking in the core, three, two, beautiful. And then one, lower the hips all the way down to the earth for Sphinx pose, and walk your hands forward a little bit, draw the mat back as you reach through the heart. Beautiful. And then from here, lower all the way down. I'm gonna roll over onto our back, so I'll meet you on your back. So as you come to your back, let's step the soles of the feet in towards you. We'll set up for bridge pose, brush the backs of the heels with your fingertips, and then on an inhale lift the hips. You might roll the shoulder blades underneath you, maybe interlacing fingers, draw your chest up towards your chin, and breathe. Let the inner thighs roll down. Nice. And then release the interlace, if you have that. Slowly lower down one vertebra at a time, and let's take one last hip opener here. So crossing right ankle on top of the left knee, coming right back to that figure four shape one last time, and then draw the legs in, maybe interlacing this time. So you can take the hands on top of the shin, you can come behind that left thigh, and just relax the shoulders, soften through the lower back, soften the jaw, the eyes, a couple breaths, and then switching sides, crossing left ankle on top of the right, behind that figure four shape, thread the eye of the needle, draw the legs in, interlacing if that feels good, flexing through both feet, and then again, if you can soften the shoulders down, and where can you invite in just a little bit more ease. A few breaths, beautiful, and then let that go. Let's hug both knees into the chest. So let's set up for a happy baby. So bringing the hands to the outsides of the feet, knees wide, feel free to hold on to the big toes, or you can take hold of the shins, whatever feels best for you, and then as you draw the knees in, let the low back relax, let the shoulders relax, and if there's any movement here that needs to happen, feel free to rock a little bit from side to side. You can straighten out one leg and then the other, or straighten out both legs. So honor what you need as this last bit of movement in our practice. Beautiful, allowing just two more full deep breaths, and then gathering the knees back in towards your chest. Let's hug the arms around your knees. As you inhale, lift your nose up toward your knees, allow a big full breath in, and then hold the breath at the top, hugging everything in. Sip in a little bit more air through your mouth, and then exhale, sigh it out. Let everything release into your shavasana. So let the legs go long, the feet relax, bring the palms to face up, relaxing shoulders, and maybe close your eyes and just rest. Begin to deepen your breath, allowing your next inhale to be a little bit longer than the last, a little deeper, and then start to move the fingers and the toes, the ankles, the wrists, reaching your arms all the way up over your head. Take a big full breath in, and as you exhale, let something go, sigh it out, and then meet me in a comfortable cross-leg seated position. As you're ready, just pressing your way up, maybe the eyes stay closed, let the gaze rest on the internal, and just take a moment to notice how you feel. Just acknowledging yourself for showing up for you today, and blinking the eyes open. Thank you so much for sharing your practice. Namaste.