Fluid Spine

Good morning or good day. In this practice we will explore a fluid spine through some mindful and graceful back bending and chest opening. For this practice you'll really want two blocks. We're gonna explore rolling from down dog into up dog later on in the practice. For now we're gonna start in one of my favorite go-to's impressing the heart working with two blocks. So you'll start with one block under your head and you might have it at the second height and then block underneath your shoulder blades at that lowest setting. So find your way onto your blocks and take your time as you lower down and it does actually matter where the blocks are so you want them just right. So the block that's beneath your shoulder blades it's not a back bend it's more of a chest opener so you want to make sure it's directly underneath your shoulder blades and if you're not quite sure just take a look right and then the block that's under your head it's a little higher up so that the neck can lengthen right. So the block is supporting like the back part of your skull top part of your skull and once you sort of arrive and settle in draw your shoulder blades down your back so you feel the neck lengthening and usually starting with the knees bent just gives the lower back a little bit of time to settle and release here with this chest opening. Nice. Taking a few moments here to tune towards your breath. Obviously the breath is gonna feel a little different being up on the blocks. Just notice the quality of your breathing and then allow for a full generous exhale softening the mouth the eyes and allow each exhale to really invite and allow the back of the body to soften and settle towards the support. So in this practice the blocks are designed to literally hold and support the body. Now you might keep your knees bent depending on how your lower back feels or you might choose to stretch your legs out on the floor. Nice. Now your arms might stay where they are or you might reach the arms up towards the sky and then stretch the arms overheads. You're really going after that extension through your spine. It might feel good to kind of lean and lengthen and lean and lengthen get long through the side body. And in this full extension over the blocks allow for a big full exhale. Feel how the front ribs can settle a bit. Nice. And then from here let your arms open out to the sides into a cactus shape cactus variation nice and wide across the collarbones the shoulders. Again if you feel any tenderness on your lower back you might just bend your knees right bringing the soles of the feet to the floor. A few more moments here with the arms and cactus. You might stay here you might let your head gently roll to one side and then back up through the center and then over to the other side nice and easy through the face feeling this opening through the shoulders and this ease up through the cervical spine. Nice. Such a wonderful counter pose to the forward rounding of the shoulders right over the computer or driving nice. And then when you're ready when the head comes back into the center let's all just bend our knees bring the feet a little wider than the hips and let the knees rest together in more of a constructive rest shape. And then from here we're gonna give ourselves a hug. So we're gonna reach the right arm over the left and kind of just use your fingers just kind of crawling onto the back body towards the shoulder blades and then just begin to let the elbows release down towards the chest and spacious through the neck here. Can you feel the back of the lungs? Can you feel the sense of the breath in the back of your body? Nice. When you're ready inhale open the arms again like cactus and with the exhale give yourself a hug opposite arm maybe it's that left arm on top and then just kind of walking the fingertips towards the back of the body softening the elbows down a little bit towards the chest and just easy out through the neck soft through the eyes. Get aware of the relationship at the back of your body and the blocks and aware of the quality of the breath here. Perhaps feeling this nice stretch and release through the shoulders. I'm amazed how one shoulder feels so much different than the other. If you find that when you're ready just inhale open the arms. We're gonna transition onto our side so when you feel ready just roll on to your side it's always awkward. Good. We're just gonna press up and we're gonna bring our blocks off to the side and we're gonna come on to our back for a few moments and just stretch stretch out. Find your way onto your back and just stretch everything out. Let yourself take up space arms and legs out wide like a cosmic starfish on the beach. Wow and maybe feel sense notice the relationship with the back of your body now in the floor. You might even feel like you're sinking below the floor or below the sand. I want to sing that impression or void for the blocks for supporting you. Take a big full breath in. Exhale everything. You feel ready, hug your knees into your chest. Rock yourself side to side. Making any sounds. Good. Sweet down, windshield wipers. Sweet nice and wide again stretch the arms out to your sides. Few rounds here. I say a few but there'll be more than a few. So just cruising on to the edges of the feet and just inviting the breath in. Receiving the breath. Nice and wide and full through the lungs, the intercostals, the side body. And now a few more rounds side to side with the knees. Let the head move away from the knees or with the knees. Whatever feels good here. Alright so your practice is stretching, lengthening, creating space. Really creating room for yourself, right? Okay when you're ready to draw the knees and rock yourself and then chin to the chest curl up into a ball. Slow release down. You might rock and roll up or reach one arm overhead and roll to your side.

And then just use your arms to press on up. We'll transition into tabletop for cat cows. So just set your mat up the way you like it. Maybe a blanket under your knees or even your wrists today. Let's tuck our toes under and with an exhale round and stretch our back. Yeah chin to the chest and then with your inhale moving into your extension lead with the heart. Nice and wide through collar bones, sitting bones. Feel how you can really drop the shoulder blades into your back. And then exhale, press the floor away, round and stretch the back. And you might draw your hips back towards your heels and pause in like an active child's pose and take a nice full breath into that mid-low back area. It's kind of enjoying that traction. And then as you're ready, float your shoulders over your wrists, moving into your extension and exhale, curl and round. A few more rounds at your own pace. Cat cow, inhale to lengthen you and then exhale, just curl and round. You might stay with a cat cow if there's any movements that would feel nice for your body. Side to side, forward and back, getting into the hips, the ribs, the shoulder blades up through your neck. So just finding this fluid movement through the spine, which we know is very hydrating on the tissues, the joints, the muscles, the bones. Nice and then just coming into a neutral position. We're just going to lower down onto our belly for Sphinx pose. Find your way there, stretch your arms forward and then rise up onto your forearms for Sphinx. So the elbows are just in front of the shoulders, just a little bit. And then take a few moments here to begin to like just drag your heart forward with your arms. Feel this on attraction through the mid thoracic part of your spine, relaxing the face, shoulder blades releasing down the back, easy out through the neck. You can just lengthen out of the lower back. And it's common in a back bend like this to feel kind of a dull pooling of pressure around the low back, around the sacrum area. Beautiful. One more inhale. And if you're ready, exhale, just let the elbows go wide. Let the forehead rest on the top of the hands. You might shim your hips a little bit side to side. Nice and then take your time. Slide your palms under your shoulders, tuck your elbows in, tuck your toes under, press your way up onto your knees, and then just round back into a child's pose for a few moments here, releasing the back after that back bend. Nice full breath into that mid low back area. Okay, stretching the arms forward, inhale, round your way back up into tabletop, shifting gears for plank pose, spread the fingers wide, draw the shoulder blades down the back, draw the navel to spine, tuck the toes under, plank. Alright, reach back through the heels, forward through the heart, draw the deep low belly up into the spine, easy through the neck, inhale, and then downward facing dog, exhale. Nice and this downward facing dog, come high up onto the balls of the feet, really stretching the toes and then bend the knees as you draw the heels towards the floor, knees bent, reaching up through the sitting bones. I like to dance around in this one, just kind of wiggle and lengthen, easy through your neck, let that release and just take your time nice and slow, walk the feet up towards the hands, moving towards your standing forward fold, bend the knees, feet about hips width apart, hands find the elbows, and just let yourself sway a little bit from side to side. So when you've already released the hand, soft bend through the knees, we'll roll it through our spine, bend the knees, chin into the chest, curl the tailbone under nice and slow, take your time stacking the bones, just feeling the heart, feeling the shoulders and feeling the head, let the arms release, let the palms open, just a few moments letting the energy, letting the blood settle back down into the feet, find some ease out through your neck, nice, find a few shoulder opening patterns here, so just start by drawing your shoulders up around your ears, exhale, drop them down, now roll the shoulders back and up, exhale, drop them, one more, draw the shoulders up, exhale, drop them, and then roll the shoulders back one at a time, getting into the ribs, getting into the shoulder girdle area, nice fluid movement, some mornings it feels like I'm moving cement in here and then other days it feels a bit more fluid, and then reverse, back up and forward, getting into the shoulder blades as you lift the elbows, nice, good, and then release, go ahead and rub the hands together, getting a little internal heat, warmth, and then press and reach on out, taking up space, and then draw the fingers under, stretch the top of the hands and the wrists here, and one more time, press and reach on out, draw the fingers down towards the floor, so you're reaching out through the heels of the palms, and then draw the fingers in, so you're just stretching through the top of the wrists with the arms straight, good, and then we're going to bring the hands onto the elbows, and we're going to make some circles, back and up, forward, back, couple like this, you might find a little cat cow through the spine, you might notice one shoulder feels a little bit more cranky or crunchy than the other, and then let's try the reverse, nice, good, and then just shake it out, nice, let's find our way towards the top of our mat, feet about hips width apart, and from here let's inhale, sweep the arms up towards the sky, press down through the feet, reach all the way up through the spine, feel that length, and then interlace the fingers, bring the hands behind the head, thumbs towards the occiput, press through the feet, and then lift and open the chest, right, so letting the upper body move towards the shape of a back bend, chest opener, but keep the navel and drawing a little bit towards the spine, tailbone draws under, nice and neutral through the pelvis, chest is open, inhale, and then slow, come on up, reach the arms up, palms turn away, interlace the fingers, inhale, lift up through the heart, exhale, bend the knees, hinge at the hips, forward fold, stretching through the shoulders, release the head, arms stretch up out and over, and shoulders lift away from the ears, maybe you're rolling some weight forward towards the balls of the feet, when you're ready to release, bend the knees, just release the hands down by the sacrum, release them down to the floor, hang out for a moment, ragdoll soft through the neck, and we're rolling up again through the spine, bend the knees a lot, chin into the chest, take your time rounding up, tap into the strength of your legs, hollowing the belly, and round up, feeling the heart, shoulders, head, nice full exhale, letting the palms open, feeling your energy settle, nice, from here, let's go ahead and grab our blocks, we're going to use them for Surya Namaskar B, our sun salutation, and that play of rolling into up dog, which I love with the blocks, so go ahead and step between your blocks, make sure your blocks are on your mat, and take a few moments here, spread the toes, opening the palms, nice and wide across the chest, nice, making our way towards chair pose, Utkatasana, as you're ready, go ahead and bend your knees, sweep the arms up and forward, shift the weight back towards the heels a little bit, draw the navel towards the spine, you're feeling the outer glutes, nice full breath into the back body, inhale, exhale, forward fold, releasing the hands to the blocks, go ahead and release the head, inhale, half arch, let your spine lengthen, lift up, and as you exhale, go ahead and bend your knees, step your right foot back and step your left foot back, come into a plank pose and pause here and plank, hands on the blocks, so in plank, reaching back through the heels, forward through the heart, and then exhale, downward facing dog, keeping the hands on the block, nice, from here, the option as we roll forward into an upward dog, you might just inhale back into plank pose, shoulders over the wrists, or you might walk your feet back a little bit, and then slow round the spine, so round, round, round, round, round, keep rounding the spine, chin into the chest, dropping the hips, and then maybe you're rolling onto the fronts of the feet, as you lift up, draw the heart through, wide through the collarbones, really lift the thighs up, feel how the pelvic floor can support this, lift, and then exhale, downward facing dog, nice, how did that feel? From down dog, as you're ready, inhale, lift your right leg up towards the sky, and then exhale, knee to nose, curl and round, shoulders over the wrist, draw the knee in, stay for the inhale, stay for the exhale, and then inhale, stretch the right leg up to the sky, and then exhale, knee to nose, step it through, moving towards a high crescent lunge, so as you're ready, you might stay low, or you might inhale, rise up, nice, draw the tailbone under, feel how you can lift and lengthen out of the ribs, beautiful, reaching the fingers towards the sky, inhale, and then exhale, release the hands, we're going to lower that back left knee down to the floor, and then inhale, draw the hips back, extend through your right leg, come on to that right heel, half split, exhale, bend the right knee lunge, two more times, inhale, draw the hips back, and then exhale, lunge forward, one more time, inhale, draw the hips back, exhale, lunge, you might stay low, you might rise up, inhale, reach the arms up towards the sky, stay here, maybe you're interlacing the fingers again, bringing the hands behind the head, opening the chest, nice full breath into the upper chest, tailbone draws under, beautiful, release the arms, roll the shoulders forward, interlace the fingers behind the back, inhale, lift up, exhale, release the hands, draw the hips back, again, extend through that right leg, a little half split action, and then bend that right knee, tuck the back toes under, twisting lunge, left hand on the block, inhale, sweep that right arm up, lift the back left leg, just opening up, kind of ringing it out, maybe you're circling out that top wrist, inhale, exhale, release that right hand, step back, downward dog, again, in your down dog, you might inhale to plank, exhale to dog, or join me in rolling to up dog, walking the feet back just enough, and then draw the tailbone under, round, round the upper back a lot, keep rounding, tune to the chest, dropping the hips, and then drawing the heart through, lifting up through the chest, the thighs, beautiful, inhale, exhale, navel to spine, downward dog, as you feel ready, inhale, lift the left leg up to the sky, exhale, knee to nose, curl and round, stay for the inhale, stay for the exhale, inhale, sweep the left leg up to the sky, exhale, step it through for high crescent lunge, get your feet just right, and then just slow, so you feel and find your foundation, front left leg is bent, back leg is strong, sweep the arms up, curl the tailbone under, lift the ribcage away from the pelvis, feel some enthusiasm through the fingers, back of the heart lifting, breathing, inhale, exhale, slow release the hands, lower that back right knee down for a lunge, and draw the hips back, extend through your left leg, that feels good after the high lunge, and then exhale, bend, feeling the back thigh, wake up, inhale, draw the hips back, half split, exhale, find your lunge, one more, inhale, draw the hips back, exhale, lunge, stay low here, or inhale, reach the arms up, low crescent lunge, and you might stay with this, or interlace the fingers, opening the chest, hands behind the head, breathing, nice, come all the way back up, reach the arms up, and then palms turn away, bring the opposite knuckle on top, inhale, lift up through the chest, exhale, release the hands, draw the hips back, extend through that left leg, half split, and then bend that left knee, right hand to the block, twisting lunge, tuck the back, right toes under, lift the leg, stretch that left arm up, and then maybe you're circling out through the wrist, inhale, exhale, release the left hand, step the left foot back, downward facing dog, again you might stay here, move back and forward into plank, or round and up dog, come onto the balls of the feet, and then slow, slow round the back with control, maybe you're onto the tops of the feet, drawing the chest forward, lifting up, feeling that space through the collarbones, that support through your pelvic floor, inhale, exhale, down dog, nice, from down dog you might walk, or you might play with hopping the feet towards the hands, inhale, half arch to lengthen, exhale, forward fold, chair pose, utkatasana, spread the toes, bend the knees with an inhale, sweep the arms forward, draw the navel towards the spine, sink back into the heels, inhale, exhale, press your feet into the floor, reach the arms up, reach beyond the fingers, and exhale, arms out wide, and hands together at the heart, taking a few moments here. As you're ready, second round, Vasurya Namaskar B variation, bend the knees, chair pose, reach the arms forward, nice and wide through the back body, inhale, exhale, hands towards the blocks, releasing the head forward fold, inhale, half arch to lengthen, and exhale, step the left foot back, right foot back, plank pose, pause and plank for a moment, and exhale, downward facing dog, and you might stay here, ripple back into plank, or round your way, rolling into up dog, come up onto the balls of the feet, and then just slow with control, drawing the navel towards the spine, roll onto the tops of the feet, draw the chest, the heart through, lifting up, and exhale, navel to spine, downward dog, from here inhale, lift the right leg up to the sky, exhale, knee to nose, step it through, warrior one, pivot onto the outer edge of the back foot, inhale, reach the arms up, nice, drawing the right hip and long back, left forward, healing that space, laying through the spine, and then palms turn away, interlace the fingers, inhale, lift up through the chest, exhale, dive forward, devotional warrior, humble warrior, bringing that right shoulder on the inside of that right leg, feel like you can hug the right hip in a little bit as you release through the head, beautiful, strong through the back leg, as you're ready, inhale, sweep the arms up to the sky, we're going to open up for warrior two, right, that right knee is bent, reorganize your feet for a moment, and then reverse, slide the back hand down the back leg, inhale, reach that top right arm up, and then press into the ball, that right foot, right leg straightens, stay with this, moving towards triangle pose, you might toe heel that back left foot in, lengthen the underside, hand might find the shin, the block, the ankle, top arm reaches towards the sky, you might stay with this, so roll the shoulder forward, bend the elbow, bring the back of the hand to maybe your sacrum, or maybe you're wrapping it on top of that right thigh, and then you're rolling the chest open, rooting through the outer edge of that left foot, lengthening the spine, maybe you're dropping the right ear towards the right shoulder, stretching the neck a little bit, and breathing, beautiful, slow, unwrap the left arm, reach it up to the sky, open the chest, and then sweep the arm down by the back foot, we're gonna spin onto the ball the back foot, turn the hips downward, and then toe heel that front foot, just a little wider nice long pyramid stretch here, right leg towards straight, left leg is back, the transition is through downward dog, stepping the right foot back to meet the left, reorganized, and you might stay here, or round round round towards upward dog, chest through, thighs lifting, breathing, lifting the heart, exhale, navel to spine, downward dog, as you're ready, inhale, lift the left leg up, exhale, knee to nose, step it through, warrior two, pivot onto the outer edge of that back foot, inhale, sweep the arms up, again, that front left knee is bent, you're drawing the left lung and the hip back, feeling that length and space through your spine, and then palms turn away, interlace the finger, maybe the funny knuckle on top, inhale, lift up through the chest, exhale, dive forward, rooting through that back edge, left shoulder on the inside of the left thigh, kind of hugging that left hip, and knee in, releasing the head, stretching the arms up out and over, devotional, humble, warrior, strong through the back leg, inhale, sweep the arms back up to the sky, open up for warrior two, nice, and then sweep the back arm down the back leg, reverse warrior, left knee is bent, feel that length and space, burning through the thigh, and then press into the ball, that left foot, left leg straightens, keep that length as you move towards triangle pose, maybe your toe healing that back right foot in, reach, reach, reach, left hand finds the shin, the block, ankle, top right arm reaches towards the sky, nice, feel the underside of the body lengthen, and you might stay with this or roll that right shoulder forward, internally rotating, bending the elbow, wrapping the top of the hand towards the sacrum, or maybe around that bottom left thigh, feel how you can roll and open the chest, always finding a place where your neck feels comfortable, maybe you're stretching the left ear towards the left shoulder, and breathing, nice, when you're ready to release, unwrap the arm, reach that right arm up, opening the chest, and then sweep the arm down to the floor, spin onto the ball of your back right foot, you might toe heal that left foot a little wider, nice long pyramid stretch here, left leg towards straight, and then step back, downward dog, one last vinyasa, you might stay here, you might round your way, round, round, round, through to upward dog, come on to the tops of the feet, and then lift yourself up, wide across the chest, easy up through the neck, the legs are active, and then exhale, navel to spine, downward facing dog, digging a moment to pause here, we'll lower our knees, keep the hands on the blocks as you come into child's pose, we're just stretching our shoulders, forehead on the floor, and then just pressing the palms, the hands into the blocks a little bit, feel the upper back, nice and full, under the outer lats stretching, shoulder blades awake, and then from child's pose, as you're ready, bring your hands underneath your shoulders, chin into your chest, and just gently roll yourself up to the drossenal for a moment, sitting on the knees, leaning on the heels, and settling. From here, we'll transition onto our back for a bit more back bending, so you can bring your blocks off to the side, and we'll set up for a bridge, and maybe a wheel, so come on to your back, first thing let's do is draw the knees in, and we're going to bring the hands onto the knees, so actually float your knees out so they're right in line with your hips like you're sitting in a chair, we'll do a little bit of abdominal press here, so press the hands into the thighs, feel you can draw the front ribs down, tailbone draws under, so the lower back is really connected down to the floor, feel the abdominal muscles turning on, arms straight, we're going to press the palms into the thighs, and then draw your thighs into your hands, so you're feeling that contraction there in the deep low belly, press, press, press, hands into the thighs, thighs into the hands, stay here, curl up, chin to the chest, press, you might feel like a quivering here as you press, nice, and then slow, release down, draw the knees in, nice full breath into the back, release the feet down to the floor for bridge, spread the toes, palms alongside the body, we'll inhale, exhale, curl the tailbone, press through the feet, lift the pelvis up, coming into your bridge, these palms might press into the floor, you might prefer rolling the shoulders under the back, finding that interlace around your sacrum, again if your legs are splaying out, see if you can find that internal rotation in the thighs, beautiful, spreading the weight, the effort evenly through your body, soften a little bit through and around the tailbone, feeling the outer hips, glutes, active, beautiful, release the hands up to the sky, lift the heels up, we're rounding our way down as usual, rolling through the spine, nice, and releasing the arms, and you might take a second round of bridge, you might join me in urdhva dhanurasana wheel pose, so if you're moving towards wheel, you'll bring your hands outside of your ears, and then really work to draw the elbows towards each other, and you're wrapping the outer arm bones, nice, single inhale here, if you're moving into wheel, exhale, curl the tailbone under, and then press up onto the top of your head, and then draw the elbows towards each other, feel that wrapping through the shoulders, you might stay right here, you might inhale, and on exhale, press up through the arms, feeling that opening through the chest, see if you can relax a little bit around the butt, feel the work of the legs, the support through your pelvic floor, nice, breathing, easy through the neck, inhale, if you're in wheel, when you're ready to come down, chin into the chest, chin into the chest, bend the elbows and just slowly lower yourself down, as you lower down, you might bring the soles of the feet together, knees wide, you're into a bit of a bada konasana, nice, full, settling breath, notice how you feel, nice, drawing the knees towards each other and knees into chest, rock ourselves up for a forward fold, stretching out through the legs, inhale to lengthen, and exhale slow, releasing into your forward fold, inhale to extend, and then exhale, it might feel good to round and stretch the back here, again you can bend the knees, you can let your back round and stretch, you're releasing the weight through the head, your hands might be anywhere up the legs, just letting the torso drape over the legs for a few more moments here, when you feel ready, chin into the chest, just slowly round your spine up, we're going to roll on to our back, little spinal twist to close, knees into chest, super simple, we're just going to roll over to our right side, stack the knees, stack the arms, move the top arm, move overhead, opening the shoulder, opening the shoulder in the chest, and then releasing towards the floor, allow for an inhale, exhale relaxing through the belly, feeling that left side body lengthen a bit, and again that ease through the neck, the face, just releasing the back, a few more breaths here, okay, you're ready, lead with the top leg, let the bottom leg follow, and then we're going to roll everything over to the left side, stack the arms on top of each other, and that top right arm might do a little circle overhead around the top of your mat, opening the chest, the shoulder, and releasing, feel how the lungs and the rib cage can turn, revolving towards the right, inhale, exhale, softening the belly, just breathing into where you feel the sensation, the stretch, maybe it's through your right shoulder, your ribs, your hip, and a few more breaths here, okay, we could obviously be here a lot longer when you feel ready, no rush, just lead with the top leg, let the bottom leg come on up, knees into chest, if a happy baby you would feel awesome, you might reach up for your feet, and just a little side to side rock, and just letting your head rock along, and massaging through the spine, down across the low back in the sacrum, you feel there's any strain in the neck, you might prop a blanket underneath your head, nice, and then just slow release your feet, and let's stretch out for her final relaxation, shavasana, really let yourself stretch out, take up space, bringing in any props, any support that would feel good for your body, take a big full breath in, hold the breath for a moment at the top of the inhale, and then exhale, letting it all go empty, so allowing yourself to yield towards earth, letting the muscles soften and relax around the bones, letting the bones get heavy, is consciously resting in the space you've created through your practice, perhaps being aware of the body being breathed on its own, the lungs just naturally receiving the air, and releasing the air, and if you have the time, you're welcome to stay here a bit longer, you feel ready to transition, bring the legs and the arms towards each other, and just stretch out for your spine, you might circle the ankles and the wrists, you might wobble your head a little bit, side to side, bending your knees, just roll to your side, curling up into a ball for a moment, head heavy, take your time, press your hands into the floor, and just come on up, and let's meet in a comfortable seat, you might sit up on your block, any position that would feel nice for your hips and your spine, just taking a few moments to let things settle, and feel how the inhale invites a quality of length through your body, through your being, that inspiration, and the exhale just allows for that settling, that softening, that grounding, nice and wide through the base of your skull, letting the head float back a little bit, and joining your hands together at your heart, we'll close our practice with the sound of alms, sweet full breath in, alm, namaste. Thank you for your practice, your presence, have a beautiful day.