Steady Simmer and Flow

Hello, welcome to your practice and this practice will find a steady simmer and flow. So let's begin on all fours. You'll bring your hands underneath your shoulders, knees under hips if you like tucking your toes. And from here we're going to walk it out to puppy dog pose. You might take your knees a little bit wider and keep those toes tucked and you can begin with the forearms down in a baby puppy.

And if he feels great, maybe walking those hands forward and you'll melt the chest towards the floor on a Hatha Asana puppy dog pose, exploring with the breath. And so the breath is going to be our guide into the practice today. So really staying connected to that inner pulse of your breath. A couple more inhales here, a couple more exhales. And then when you're ready, begin to slowly come up, walk your hands in and you'll come to all fours.

You can reset your knees and tuck your toes. Let's three cat cows together. Inhale, drop your belly, lift your heart. Exhale, scuba tailbone, chin to throat. One more inhale, collarbones are wide.

Exhale, drop the tailbone rounding the upper back. Last one, belly drops, inhale, heart lifts. Find the rhythm of your breath. Exhale ground through the arms and the toes as you tuck the tailbone under. Now inhale, find neutral.

The right knee stays steady and you'll keep those right toes tucked. Inhale, extend the left leg back. Knee to chest, exhale, hug the knee in. That same Halloween cat shape. Two more, inhale, exhale, last one, inhale, exhale knee to chest.

Inhale extend the leg out. Now place your left foot on the mat, you'll ground the foot completely, we'll shift into the right hand and the right knee. You're going to kickstand these right toes off your mat, really steady in that right arm. The left leg is nice and strong and you can bring the left arm up. Now as you next take a breath in, you're going to hover the left leg, deep breath, exhale, it's elbow to knee, side core.

Again inhale, reach, exhale, elbow to knee. That's two, so let's do three more. Inhale, we're finding that steady simmer. Inhale, so you're really using the breath to create the space and that little bit of heat. Exhale, one more, inhale, exhale, nice.

Now as you next inhale, reach, exhale, foot down, hand down, you can come on to your knees downward facing dog. Right leg sweeps to the sky with your breath in. Keep the flow going, exhale, step your foot between your hands, low lunge, back knee down, you can keep the toes tucked, arms reach to the sky, inhale, peak of the inhale is the peak of the reach. Exhale, taking the hands to the mat, left hand stays down, tuck left toes, lift left knee, inhale, right arm peels to the sky. Feeling the power of the legs, deep breath in, maybe gaze to your upper thumb.

Exhale, hands to the floor, lift your hips quite a bit, ground your heel, down dog lunge so the legs are like warrior one, the arms reach over towards the left side of your mat, you're here for one. Upper body's like down dog, lower body's like warrior one, two. Stay committed to your breath for three and then inhale walking in. So you're gonna continue to turn these toes and you're gonna side lunge to the right. Side lunge to the left, skandhasana, nice and long through the spine, stay low, side lunge back to the right, beautiful, you'll turn your feet, lift the back heel, downward facing dog, beautiful, knees to the mat.

Three cat-cows once again, hands on your shoulders, inhale, keep the breath going, that's our steady simmer as we exhale, scoop the tailbone, drop in. So see if you can really root into the arms and the legs in these cat-cows. One more, inhale, exhale, beautiful. Inhale to neutral, so the left knee might step slightly in, you can tuck those toes. As you inhale, you'll extend through the right leg, get long, knee to chest, exhale.

So core activation, two more, inhale, reach, exhale, curl. Stay with the flow of your breath, inhale, exhale. Now as you inhale, you'll reach that right leg back and then ground the foot to the floor, adjust your left arm and hand if you need to, seal the right foot, and you can kick stand your left foot off-road, off your mat, and then the right arm reaches up for this variation of side plank. If you feel steady here, you'll extend that right leg off the mat, take an inhale, exhale, elbow and knee tap, again, inhale, reach, exhale, tap, that's two. Inhale, expand it, exhale, bring it together.

So we're starting our simmer here, inhale, exhale. One more, inhale, reach, exhale, tap it in. Inhale, extend, exhale, look down, take your hands down, take your knees down. When you're ready, inhale, lifting the heart, downward facing dog, exhale. Inhale, left leg sweeps to the sky, exhale, step through, low lunge, back knee to the mat, toes can stay tucked, you got it, inhale, lifting up through the heart, hanjana asana, big breath in, exhale, hands release down, right hand connects to the earth, tuck right toes, lift right knee, hug the midline with the inner thighs, inhale, reaching that left arm up for two, strong lower arm, on three, big breath here, inhale, exhale, take your hand down, now lift your hips quite a bit, both hands are inside the foot, ground your right foot completely, warrior one feet, and then you'll walk your hands towards the upper right corner of your mat or off onto the floor, so upper body's like down dog, lower body warrior one, couple of breaths, stay steady, right, so we're in the simmer in the legs, right, staying with the flow of your breath, and you'll walk the hands in, you'll continue to turn this left foot, so you'll bend your left knee, side lunge left, stay low, side lunge right, stay low, side lunge left, and then you'll turn back to the top of your mat, step it back, downward facing dog, knees to the mat, three cat cows together, inhale lift the heart, exhale scoop the tailbone, so a little cat cow vinyasa to use the breath and this vinyasa to move the energy through, sort of groove it out if you need to, inhale, exhale, find neutral, downward facing dog, just keep the breath going with that steady simmer of the breath, inhaling, right leg sweeps to the sky, exhale step it through, so repeating the same sequence, back knee down, inhale, arms reach up on jhaniasana, expand, exhale, take your hands to the floor, left hand stays down, tuck left toes, inhale reach the right arm up, maybe gaze to your upper thumb, exhale take the hands down, inside the right foot, ground the back foot completely, down dog lunge, lower body warrior one, arms reaching out for two, stay strong in the legs for three, spacious heart, walking your hands in, turn your toes, so side lunge to the right, bend right knee, if you'd like gaze towards your left ankle, and then stay low through the center, side lunge to the left, look towards your right, low through the center, side lunge to the right, maybe gaze towards left, and then you'll turn your toes, turn to the top of your mat, step it back, downward facing dog, inhale left leg reaches, so keep the breath going, exhale step it through, low lunge, back knee connects, you can keep those toes tucked, inhale, arms reach up to the sky, big breath in, exhale take your hands to the mat, keeping the right hand down, tuck right toes, lift the right knee, inner thighs again, inhale taking your left arm up, again you can gaze towards the thumb, tacking that left hip back, deep inhale, exhale releasing the hand inside left foot, lift the hips quite a bit, ground the heel, down dog lunge, walking hands towards the right couple of breaths for two, create some length and space for three, and then we'll walk the hands in, turn your toes, side lunge left, and again you can look towards your right, stay low, simmer it out, side lunge right, maybe look to the left, again stay low, side lunge to the left, look towards your right, and then looking towards the top of your mat, turn the toes, step it back, downward facing dog, and then keep the breath going, but we're going to take the knees down, knees can go wide, feet together, child's pose, reaching the arms out in front of you, forehead down, and then gently beginning to walk your hands in, and you'll push your way to sit on your shins, and then we're going to grab our block, so go ahead find your block, you'll set your block the highest setting towards the right edge of your mat, so you can have it right on the edge there at the highest setting, and then we'll head together into downward facing dog, so plant your hands, walk your toes, lift your hips, downward facing dog, inhale, you'll step your right foot between your hands, so just a big lunging step forward with your right hand, and you'll take the right hand inside the right foot, and you'll toe heel that foot wider, lizard pose, couple moments here, if you like you can just pulse front to back, and then when you're ready lift your hips quite a bit, and ground your heel down like we did for warrior one down dog lunge, but this time what we're going to do is take this block outside the ankle or shin there, you'll take your right hand to the block, and then you'll bring that right hand onto the block, the right arm straightens, and this leg starts to bend into a side angle pose position, and we're going to take the left arm up for two, now if this feels great you can stay here, we're going to begin to extend into that front leg for a wide triangle variation, you're here for one and two, beautiful, and you can gaze down if that's helpful, bend the front knee, release the arm, set your block down, downward facing dog, and take a moment here, maybe simmer it out, walk it out, and then taking your knees to the mat and just set your block to the left edge of your mat, and go the highway, and then we'll plant the hands, and we'll tuck the toes, downward facing dog, next breath in, step your left foot between your hands, and then you'll bring the left hand inside the left foot, and you'll stay high in lizard, couple of moments, maybe pulse it out, groove it out, and then lift your hips quite a bit, ground the right foot completely, and this front knee stays bent, again we'll grab that block, you'll set it maybe around the ankle, left hand on top, fingertips point forward, and then you push into the arm to straighten the arm, you start to come into the side angle pose, nice and strong through the legs, legs start to open through the heart, and then when you're ready the right arm reaches up for two, and if it feels good, if you feel steady in the simmer, begin to extend into that left leg, simmer it out, strong legs, big breath in, and then gazing down, bend the front knee, releasing, set your block to the side, downward facing dog, and then walk it out, simmer it out, pedal out the feet, downward facing dog, and then take your knees to the mat, come on to your shins, you'll set your block to the side, we're gonna grab our strap, so go ahead, locate your strap, we're gonna come to lie down on our backs, and on your next breath in, draw your right knee into your chest, give it a nice hug, have happy baby pose, so keep the right knee bent, and you'll shine the sole of the foot to the sky, and so you can hold the outer foot, you can also hold the inner foot, or behind the thigh, whatever feels best for you here, couple of moments, stay with that simmering breath, and then gently hug that shin back into your chest, and go ahead, locate your strap, so you'll find your strap, we're gonna take the strap around the ball of the foot, and so you'll use your right ball of the foot for the strap, so not the arch but the ball, and then a nice steady length with your strap, and then we'll hold the strap with the right hand, left leg is nice and long, you can bend this knee if you need to, not a problem, but otherwise we're extending along through the leg, left hand is on the left side to help it root down, couple of breaths, on your inhale create some space, on the exhale draw your navel back towards your spine, next breath in widen your right leg towards the right to your degree, and so this might be your edge here, you're gonna explore with your breath where your edge happens to be, so couple of breaths here, lengthening through that left leg continuously, as you exhale draw the belly back, and then inhale bring your leg up, let's bend the knee and you'll set your strap to the side, you can set it to the left edge of your mat, continue to draw that right knee into your chest however, bend your left knee, and you'll take the right ankle to the left knee, so this might be the edge for you today, or you'll lift the left foot and shin, hug the whole thing in, we'll tailor stretch, couple of breaths, dorsiflex this right ankle, stay long through the spine, keep the simmer going with your breath, and then gently release the grip of the hands, plant the left foot, tee out your arms, cross the right knee over the left knee like a half eagle wrap, and then the knees tilt towards the left, you can walk your toes and feet towards the right edge of your mat to go a little deeper here, simple twist, then you're welcome to gaze towards your right hand, again if you need to go deeper you can continue to walk the feet towards the right, and then gently neck and head to center, lifting the knees, you can shake out your legs, and then we'll draw that left knee into the chest, so left knee gets a nice hug, half happy baby pose, so sole foot shines, again holding inner foot or outer foot, and sometimes it's nice to explore like what feels great today, what do you need today, and then the right hand can stay on that right leg, and you're dropping through the tailbone, stay connected to your breath, and then as you bend this knee again and hug it in, you'll locate your shop once again, so let's grab the strap, take your strap around the ball of the left foot, and you'll hold the strap with just the left hand if you can, again the bent and the knee is totally okay here because it helps create space for you, so you're welcome to do that, or you can straighten the leg and just hold the strap with the left hand, and then your right hand will find its way to the right side, couple the breaths, so finding the expansion in length through the spine on the inhale and exhale, and expanding into the spaciousness that you might be finding, now in the next breath in, you'll take the leg towards the left, and then maybe gaze towards the right, and I like to again keep that hand to the thigh as that reminder, so really use your right arm to remind the right thigh, bone, and femur to root back and down, now as you exhale you can draw the belly back, and then inhale bring the leg up, bend the left knee, go ahead remove the strap and you can set that to the side, but then draw your left knee into the chest, so keep that left knee connected, and then as you bend your right knee we'll take the left ankle to the right knee, and again this can be your edge, dorsiflex ankle, or draw the whole thing in, interlacing hands around the shin, creating space, so using the breath to open up what we call akasha, right, that sense of spaciousness, keeping your breath going, and then gently release the grip on your shin, and you'll take the left knee all the way over the right, you can cactus your arms, knees tilted towards the right, again you can lift and shift the hips if that feels good, as you roll the knees towards the right, and maybe gaze towards the left palm, continue to walk the feet towards the left if that feels good, soften your eyes and your jaw, and then as we inhale we gently lift the knees, walk the feet in, unravel your legs, bring your knees into your chest, let's rock and roll our way up to seated, so rock and roll your way up to seated, you'll come to find your seat, you'll bend your right knee, your right foot towards your left hip, and then the left foot will cross over the right thigh and knee, this is Ardhamatsyandrasana, so you'll take the left hand behind you, as you inhale the right arm reaches up, as you exhale twist towards your bent left knee, continue to root the foot, spin through the heart, so allow the breath to continue to do its magic, inhaling, exhale, and as you inhale come to center, both hands to the right a little counter lean, and then inhale to rise, so from here we'll lean back and you'll draw your right knee back and you'll extend the left leg, so Janusasana, inhale reach the right arm up, exhale leaning towards your left leg, so hands can be on the sides of your leg as well, you're also welcome to use your strap around the ball of the foot if you choose to, a couple of breaths, long through the spine, you're welcome to hold the foot with the hands, how can I stay in the steady simmer even here, and then gently taking your time walking your way up, so this is called Stargazer, you'll plant your hand to the outside of your right thigh, and you'll pull this left foot in, simple stretch, you'll inhale, pull in, lift up through the heart, stretch it out, and then exhale, slowly release, nice work, and just lean back, and we'll switch sides, so left knee bends, left foot to right hip, right foot crosses over, and you'll take your right arm behind you, inhale, left arm reaches up and then twist towards your right knee as you exhale, soft eyes and soft jaw, see if you can grow on the inhale, and twist in deeper on the exhale, beautiful, inhale through center, a little counter bow, inhale, rise up, we'll widen the right leg, and you can square up quite a bit towards that right leg, and maybe even scoot this left heel in, again if you used your strap before, you're welcome to use your strap now, otherwise we'll inhale, lift the left arm, and then you'll reach up and over towards the right leg, hands can be on the mat, hands can hold foot or calf or shin, folding in, and covering that sweetness with the breath, long spine, how can I continue to use the breath to drop in to the depths of the practice, and then on your next inhale, slowly coming up, you'll plant your left hand behind you, a stargazer, when you're ready, inhale, sweeping up, maybe pull that right leg in, and you'll reach it out, and slowly releasing, come here to sit back on your hips, Paschimottanasana, both legs out in front of you, inhale, reach the arms up, exhale, fold in, again this can be a place where you grab your strap, soften your eyes and jaw, create some space, take a couple more breaths here, allow the length of the spine to guide you in as you inhale and exhale, and then gently walking your way up, bending your knees, we're going to lie on your backs for Shavasana, so as you lie down, you'll bring your legs nice and wide, bring your arms nice and wide, I like to have my ankles corner to corner on my mat, so you can explore that, and then taking the arms wide, palms are soft, try not to grip the hands but instead let the hands go, if you feel like you're gripping in your toes, let your toes relax down and back, out, closing your eyes, dropping in to your breath, letting everything else fade away.

Good. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Allow your next inhale to fill you completely. Next exhale, ground you back to the earth. So your next few breaths, feeling the expansion, the fullness of the inhale, and the emptiness and the grounding of the exhale. When you feel ready, bending the knees, planting the feet on the floor, and maybe from there reaching the arms out and up to stretch from the breath in. And then choosing the side that calls to you to roll to as you push your way to your seat, taking your time, you know, pushing your way up.

And once you find your seat, hands can find their way in front of the heart on jali mudra, maybe closing the eyes and returning to the breath to the heart of our practice together. Thank you so much for sharing your practice today. Namaste.