Sweet and Low Flow

Welcome back to your practice and today's practice will be staying low to the ground in our hips and really feeling the sweetness of being present. So let's get started in child's pose. So begin on your knees and your shins and you can have your knees together or your knees wide and whatever feels best for you. And we'll curl into child's pose, dropping into your breath, breathing into the back of the heart and really getting present for your inhale and your exhale, settling in, feeling the breath and then on your next inhale, let's bring our hands to the mat and you'll come on to all fours. So hands are on your shoulders, knees are under hips, this is called thread the needle.

You'll keep your left toes tucked under but you'll extend your right leg to the floor, to the side of your mat. If you can, you'll seal the foot completely. The right hand will stay down and as you inhale, the left arm will reach. As you exhale, you'll weave the left arm down towards the floor and if you can, you'll take your side of the head to the mat, left ear towards the floor, you can extend the right arm forward. A couple of breaths, dropping into your inhale and your exhale, feeling the sweetness of the moment even here.

Then on your next breath in, pulling that right hand closer to your face, inhale, rising up, left arm reaches, exhale, take your left hand to the floor. So get really strong in your arms, keep those left toes tucked. So what we're going to do here is flex the right ankle and as you inhale, you'll lift the right leg and as you exhale, you'll tap it to the floor. We'll do two more, inhale, exhale, inhale, lift the leg, exhale, tap the floor, inhale, push your leg and as you exhale, you'll draw the knee into the chest, almost like the cat tilt here and you'll hold the knee in, left toes are tucked. Keeping those left toes tucked, as you inhale, it's a three-legged dog, right leg reaches high.

Now as you exhale, step your right foot between your hands and take your back knee to the mat, you can untuck your toes, inhale, low lunge, sinking the hips, arms can sweep up towards the sky. Take a big breath here, as you exhale, we're going to widen the arms, so lifting up through the heart, take an inhale, hands to the mat, exhale. Tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, plank pose, inhale, knees, chest, chin, exhale, down to the belly, untuck toes, baby cobra, inhale, lifting through the heart to your degree, exhale, releasing down, if you like, use your knees, tuck the toes, use your knees, downward facing dog, couple of breaths, feeling your way into the arms, and then knees land on the mat. Set up for a second side, so hands are on your shoulders, knees are on your hips, toes are tucked, this time you'll extend the left leg towards the mat, keeping the arch lifted. On the inhale, right arm reaches, exhale, taking your right shoulder, your right cheek, your right ear towards the mat.

If you like extending that left arm forward, couple of breaths, breathing in and out through the nose, feeling spaciousness around the back of the heart, and getting present for your breath, and then when you're ready, slowly draw the left hand in, inhale, reach the right arm out, exhale, place your right hand down, keep those right toes tucked, and again we'll flex the left ankle, strong on the arms, you can even wrap those elbows back, low belly hugs in, inhale, lift the left leg, exhale, top the foot down, two more, inhale, exhale, again inhale, exhale, inhale, you'll lift the leg, exhale, knee to chest, you can point that foot, right toes are tucked, when you're ready, three-legged dog, inhale, left leg high, exhale, step your foot between your hands, take your back knee down, untuck your back toes, drop into the pose, low lunge, inhale, on jani asana, arms reach to the sky, on the exhale, the arms are going to go wide, opening up through the heart, and slowly releasing the hands to the floor, tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, inhale, plank pose, knees chest, chin exhale, onto the belly, baby cobra, untuck your toes, inhale, lift through the heart, exhale, waving down, push to your knees, tuck your toes, downward facing dog, couple of breaths, really finding your way into your dog, and then from here, we're going to step our feet wide on the mat, and you're going to walk back towards your feet for ragdoll, so as I walk back, I'm going to bend my knees a lot, grab my elbows with my hands, and just rock it out, ragdoll, breathing, feeling the sweetness of your breath, now releasing your hands to the mat, halfway lift on your inhale, so this is called malasana, yogic squat, you'll turn your heels in, your toes will turn out, you'll bend your knees, you're welcome to use a blanket under your heels if you like here, otherwise we just sit down into our malasana, feeling the sweetness of the breath, growing your connection to the earth, so really feeling the roots of your feet driving down into the earth, hearts lifted, two more breaths here, so staying connected to your inhale and your exhale, and then as you release your hands down, we're going to fold into our forward folds, I'll lift my hips, you can join me as you turn the toes forward, bend your knees and bring your feet about two fists width apart, you're welcome to measure with your hands, padagusthasana, peace fingers, grab big toes, inhale to lift and lengthen, exhale to fold, you can keep your knees bent if you like, you can also play straightening the legs, couple of breaths, grow your connection to your breath here, you can play with shifting your weight into the balls of the feet, and then on your inhale, halfway lift, we'll walk it back to downward facing dog, so walking your way forward, downward facing dog, inhale right leg reaches high, exhale step your right foot between your hands, your back knee releases to the mat, inhale arms reach up to the sky, back to low lunge, exhale arms go wide, lifting up through the heart, feel the sweetness of your breath, slowly releasing the hands down, this time both hands inside your right foot, toe heel your right foot a bit wider, plant the hands firmly, tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, this is lizard pulse, so you're going to pulse like a lizard in the sun, feeling this nice length in your spine, option here is to reach the right arm forward, palm faces the midline of your body, you'll pulse it out here, couple of breaths, feeling the sweetness of the legs, and then gently release the hand, lift your hips quite a bit and toe heel your right foot to the center of your mat, you're going to pull your right foot back a little bit, this is called a jump switch, this is going to be a really sweet transition for us, really allowing us to feel the power of the legs, so you'll take three of these, so we'll inhale, when you're ready you'll lift your hips, jump switch, jump switch, left foot forward this time, jump switch, beautiful, knee to the floor, untucked toes, inhale arms to the sky, exhale, open it up, arms are wide, hands released to the mat, back to our lizard pulse, both hands inside, toe heel your left foot wider, hands firm to the mat, tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, little lizard pulse, if you like, again add that left arm reaching forward, stay connected to your breath, getting present for what's happening now, then hand releases down, lift the hips quite a bit, toe heel left foot towards the middle, pull the left foot back, we're going to take our jump switches once again, so when you're ready, inhale, lift your hips, jump switch, jump switch, right foot forward, jump switch, knee to the floor, untucked toes, inhale, arms reach to the sky, so we're adding on now, exhale, opening wide through the heart, hands release, frame your right foot, inhale, lift and lengthen, half Hanuman, so for this we'll come onto the back knee, tuck those toes, straighten your right leg, really flex the ankle, three pulses, inhale, exhale, you're welcome to grab a couple of blocks for the hands if you like, two more, inhale, exhale, one more inhale, exhale, beautiful, inhale, walk it forward, both hands inside the right foot, tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, turn all toes to face the left edge of your mat, Prasarita Padottanasana, so you might want to check your feet, make sure the toes are in one line, inhale to lift and lengthen, exhale to fold, hands can stay under the shoulders or option, grab behind the heels, lengthening and low in the breath, strong in the legs, lengthening the shoulders, feeling the presence of the breath, and then hands release to the mat, inhale, halfway lift, and then gazing towards your right foot, riding back to lizards, you'll turn your feet, lift your back heel, hands inside of right foot, widen your right foot, lizard pulse, again perhaps adding in that right arm, couple of breaths, nice and long through the spine, and then we're going to go back to our jump switch, so hand releases down, toe heel your right foot in, pull the right foot back, arms are strong, so three of them, so when you're ready on your inhale, jump switch, jump switch, jump switch, left foot forward, back knee down, beautiful, untucked toes, inhale, lifting up through the heart, arms reach, exhale, opening it up wide, nice space through the front of the heart, and the hands simply release, framing your left foot, half Hanuman, on your inhale to lengthen, tuck the back toes, and on your exhale, you'll fold over the left leg, and again you can scoot this front heel forward if you need to, three pulses, halfway lift inhale, exhale fold, so feeling the connection to the breath, they say the breath is a connection between the mind and the heart and the body, the spirit, one more, and then on the inhale, half lift position, and we'll walk forward to lunge, tuck your back toes, lift your back knee, and you'll turn all toes to face the right edge of your mat, inhale, lift and lengthen, exhale fold, we're twisting towards the right leg, so you're going to walk your way over, left hand to right ankle, right hand can be on top of that left hand, twisting and folding towards the right leg, just really sweet, stay connected to the feet and the legs, draw the energy up from the earth, and then walking through center, nice and slow, right hand to left ankle, left hand on top, inhale, lengthen, exhale fold, again feeling the power of the legs, and then when you're ready you can lift your chin, look towards the left edge of your mat, the top edge of your mat, you'll turn all your feet back to lizard pose, so back heel lifts, widen your left leg if you need it, take that foot wider, little lizard pulse, stay nice and long, again you can add in the left arm, and then from here we'll take our hand down, this time it's a vinyasa, so you'll step your left foot back, plank pose, inhale, knees, chest, chin, exhale, onto your belly, inhale, cobra, feel like a little bit bigger in the heart here, so we're starting to really find that space around the heart, exhale, release down, come onto your knees, child's pose, so hips to heels, knees can be wide, this version arms can reach forward, forehead to the mat, long through the spine, and tapping into the sweetness of your breath, feeling the power of the legs and the heart, and then slowly walking your hands in and pushing your way to sit onto your shins, so we'll find our way into vadrasana, we're sitting on our shins, and you're welcome to grab a block here for between your ankles if you need that extra support, shins are down, heart is spacious, so just like in the low lunge we're going to be playing with the arms wide in this baby camel, as you inhale you'll reach your arms up, and as you exhale you'll take the arms wide, you'll lift up through the heart on your inhale, and as you exhale curling back, steady in the breath, feeling just spaciousness in the heart, and that freedom that comes with the breath, and then slowly you can release the arms as you lift the heart and pause with the hands on your thighs, you can stay here, this next stage will come onto the shins, and so same same maybe widening the shins just a little bit, tops of the feet are down if you like you can tuck your toes, as you inhale you'll bring your arms up, as you exhale you'll drop back through the heart, tops of shins are down, heart is spacious, just feeling the connection of the shins rooting into the earth, and the energy moving up into the heart from there, so curling back to your degree, and slowly coming up, you'll sit onto your shins and pause, and then you'll sit to the right, and we'll sit on our hips, we'll bend our right knee and bring our right foot towards our left hip, and then the left foot will cross over, so we can start here interlacing the hands behind the left shin, when you're ready the right hand can connect to that shin to lift up through the heart, you'll take your left hand behind you, inhale reaching the right arm up, exhale twist towards your bent knee, nice and spacious, you're welcome to gaze towards that left foot, or if it feels good you can look past your left shoulder, and inhale through center, hands can come behind you, let's switch sides, so left foot to right hip, right foot crosses over, interlacing hands around the shin, lifting up through the heart, nice and long and tall, and you'll take the right hand behind you, keep that sense of space, inhale taking the left arm up, and then as you exhale, twisting it out, soft eyes, soft jaw, feel the sweetness of your heart through the breath, you know as you inhale through center, you can lean back, and this is a great place to grab your blanket for Baddha Konasana, I'm going to grab my blanket, fold it in half, it's going to sit on the edge of my blanket and bring my feet together and my knees apart, so Baddha Konasana is a really sweet pose to really feel that sense of spaciousness in the heart, and so you're welcome to keep the knees slightly higher or really explore pushing the feet together and getting long through the heart, as you inhale take a deep breath, as you exhale you'll fold, using your elbows to create space, staying long through the spine and the heart, couple more breaths here, what I like to do here sometimes is to back out part way and re-engage the legs, so get strong in the legs, feel that sweetness of the breath as I inhale, and as I exhale fold back in and see if I can create more presence, being present for what's happening now, and then as you exhale you'll tone your belly, and then inhale come up, keeping your left knee bent we're going to extend the right leg out to the sides, you're welcome to use your hand for that, you can pull the left foot in slightly, you're welcome to continue to sit on your blanket, and we're going to fold forward here, so as you inhale you'll create space and as you exhale you'll fold into your degree, and so this is a beautiful expression of finding your way into the hip and this inner hip, and so really finding that spaciousness with your breath, long spine, if you feel like you're straining in your neck you're welcome to back off a bit and just create that inner space, and then as you next inhale you'll walk up, you can lean back on your hands and switch sides, so left leg extends, right knee bends, adjusting that left leg, and then the heel is right in front of the pelvis, inhale to create space, exhale to walk in, and so growing our connection to every cell with the breath, you're welcome to fold in and create again length in the neck, space in the back of the heart, and see if you can bring the breath to those places that feel like they need it the most, and then gently on your next breath in, slowly coming up, you'll lean back, you'll take your right leg wide, so we're in Upavista, again you can stay on the blanket if you like, that little lift, the blanket, you're welcome to come off your blanket, and there's a sense of space again through the ribs and through the heart, we're going to fold towards our right leg, so you'll turn and frame towards your right leg, inhale, create some space, exhale, folding in, you can walk the hands forward, you know just gently having the hands on the mat is great, long through the spine, knee cap is pointing up, and then finding that space in the back of the neck, imagining a long line from the spine through the crown, as you exhale the belly draws back, inhale, slowly rise, walking your way to look towards your left foot, inhale, feel the breath, exhale, folding in, don't forget about your right leg, and once you find the connection again lengthening through the back of the neck, folding in, spacious heart, allow the breath to guide you in, as you exhale draw your belly back, inhale, slowly walk up, beautiful, then from here I like to use my knees, you can try that and bring your legs together, we're going to lie down on our back, and so for this pose for shoulder stand, you might use your blanket, so you're going to take your blanket and have it nice and flat with the fold up towards the top edge of your mat, leaving space for your head, and then we'll turn, we'll get ready to lie down, and you'll lie down on your back with your head off the blanket, and space between your shoulders and your head, so your neck feels free, and then from here you can draw your knees into your chest, and then when you're ready the legs can come up and over, you can take your hands to your hips, this is like a half shoulder stand, arda shoulder stand, right, half, and so you can walk the elbows in if that helps you feel connected, you're here for a couple of breaths, if you have a full shoulder standing practice you're welcome to go there, couple of deep breaths here, allowing the beauty of the inversion to restore you, to exit shoulder stand you'll bend your knees, bring your knees towards your ears, karnapandhasana, and then slowly begin to roll your way down, almost like you're going through a forward fold, nice and slow, you can bend your knees if you need to, the legs will release down towards the floor, and then we'll take our counter pose, you'll come onto your forearms, lift your chest, this is really sweet, forearms are down, heart lifts, if you like take the throat back, stay spacious in the front of the throat, and then from here lifting your head and your chin, we'll push into the hands to sit up, let's sit our blanket aside for shavasana, unless you prefer a blanket for shavasana, you'll lie down on your back, ankles are wide, arms are wide, maybe lift the chest shrug the shoulders under the back of the heart, then take the chest back to the floor, feeling the sweetness of the earth beneath you, take one last deep inhale, and then exhale, letting it all go, eyes are closed, shavasana. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. On your next couple of breaths, beginning to feel into your fingers and your toes. You might take your ankles, little mini-circles. Hands can reach out. Now on your next breath in, maybe you extend the arms out and stretch the legs out.

Full body stretch. Bending your knees, pulling the feet and then rolling to one side as you push your way to a seat. Taking your time. You can join me in your seat when you're ready. Hands can find their way back in front of the heart and just taking a moment to reconnect to the sweetness of your breath.

Thank you so much for showing your practice today. Namaste.