Effort and Ease

Good morning. Good day. Nice to be together. In our practice today, we're going to find a balance of effort and ease, strength and suppleness as we explore some spinal twists, some balancing and some side body opening, hip opening. So we'll start on the floor on our back. It'll be handy to have a strap and a block nearby. Just find your way onto your back, lower down, easing into our practice with windshield wipers, my favorite. Stretching the arms overhead, feet nice and wide, maybe as wide as your mat. Inhale, exhale, let your knees fall over to the right. Inhale, knees up and exhale over to the left. Inhale up, big exhale over to the right. Inhale up and exhale over to the left. And continue about a handful of rounds or so, just finding your rhythm and syncing up with the breath and just letting your head rock away from the knees if that feels good. Reaching up through the arms, finding a bit more length through the side body, drawing your awareness into your lungs, just noticing how the breath responds with your attention here. A couple more rounds, just feeling into the hips this morning, the spine, the shoulders. Nice. And then just drawing the knees into your chest and rocking a little bit from side to side. Nice. So we'll keep the right knee into the chest. Let's go ahead and grab our strap and bring our strap around the bottom of our foot. And then stretching your right leg up towards the sky and let it bend and extend a couple times. So we're just easing into our hamstrings nice and easy through your knee joint and then extending out through your right leg. Go ahead and wake up your toes, flex your foot. If it feels okay on your back, you might stretch out through your left leg, bring some energy into it, flexing the foot. Nice. Through the mouth and the shoulders, let the shoulders release. Nice. We'll bring the strap into our right hand, ground for our left hip and open out to the right for a few breaths, moving in the direction of that right shoulder rather than just plopping it out on the floor. So creating a little bit of resistance. Nice. And then grounding through that left hip, draw the leg back up towards the center and bring it across the body. Maybe it's just enough on this first round to feel that stretch, that big stretch through the outer hip area and IT band. We'll take a big breath, lengthening that right side and inhale back up to center. Bring the strap in the right hand and then grounding through that left hip. Let it open out to the right. A few full breaths here. Noticing where you can soften and relax any effort in the face, the fingers. Grounding through that left hip, inhale, draw your right leg back towards the sky, switch, bring the strap in the left hand and then slow, begin to bring that leg across the body, lengthening through the right side. And you might stay right here. It might feel good for your body to move towards the shape of a spinal twist where your right leg is moving towards your left shoulder. You're stretching the right arm out. Inhale, lengthening through that right side, kind of rolling that right hip away. And then exhale, really relaxing through the belly. Relaxing the guts and feeling that right shoulder releasing towards the floor, easy through the neck. A few breaths here. You feel and sense the breath moving down the length of the spine into the low back area. Nice. When you're ready, just slow, bring that right leg back up towards the sky, re-organize. And on an exhale, draw the chin to the chest, curl yourself up, lift up, lock the hands up this strap, bringing your forehead towards your right chin. You might lift up through that left leg, curl up, curl, curl, curl. Feel your abdominal muscles waking up and then just slow, lower down. Nice. Take a moment to pause here, soft through the shoulders. We're going to open up through our right hip a little bit more and then bend the knee, coming into like a half, happy baby shape. So the bottom of the right foot is parallel with the ceiling and that right hip is opening. Can you feel it? I can. You might stay here. You might lift your left leg up off the floor and then stretch the left leg up towards the sky. Good. And then just slowly with the heel, lower down. You might stay here. You might draw your chin to your chest and lift up for a moment, reaching up towards your left toes there, curling up. That right leg is in your half, happy baby. And then just slow, lower down. Nice. Extend that right leg back up towards the sky and then release the strap.

Slow flex the foot, lead with the heel, lower it all the way down to the floor. And then just relax the effort through the body, the attention and notice how you feel. Beautiful inhale and exhale. Nice. To reset, bend the knees, draw them into your chest, rock from side to side. Easy up for the neck. Then we'll wrap our strap on the bottom of our left foot and stretching it up towards the sky. Let it bend and extend a couple of times. Easing into this side, this knee. We know the bending and extending just helps to communicate with our nervous system. There's a way out of the stretch. It's not forever. Then we're just moving and extending that left leg towards the sky. You can keep a soft micro bend in the back of the knee. Wake up the toes. It feels good on your back. Extend out through your right leg. Bring some energy into it. Nice, full breath in. With an exhale, softening through the hands, the shoulders. And bring the strap in your left hand, ground through your right hand. You might hip, you might bring your hand there. And then from your left hip joint, just begin to slowly let it open out to the left, any amount. Moving in the direction of the left shoulder rather than, again, falling straight out from you, from the hip. Few breaths here. Grounding through that right hip. Inhale, draw the left leg back up towards the sky. Bring the strap in the right hand. Stretch out through that left arm and bring it across the body. So that left leg is moving towards the right shoulder. Again, pause when you feel it. I know I feel a big, like, hot, warm, stretchy feeling down the side of the leg. And then inhale, draw the leg back up. One more time out to the left. Bring the strap in the left hand. Let it open up. Just feeling into the hamstrings, the hip, the groin. Breathing easy through the back of the eyes. Ground through the right hip. Inhale, draw the left leg back up. Last time, bring the strap in the right hand and then slow bring the leg across. And you might pause when you first feel it. You might be inspired to move in the direction of the spinal twist. Stretching that left leg across. Reaching that left arm out from the heart. Inhale to lengthen. You're rolling that left hip away. And exhale, you're softening the belly. Leave finding a place for your neck. It's comfortable. This is a big, beautiful, dynamic stretch here. Can you feel it? Nice. Okay, when you're ready, just slowly on the inhale, rise back up. Bring that left leg towards the sky. And on an exhale, curl up. Draw the chin towards the chest. Lift up, bringing your forehead towards that left shin bone. Reaching up with enthusiasm through your left leg. Lifting the heel up off the floor. Curl. And then just slow lowering down. Moving towards that half happy baby on the left side. So you're bringing the strap back into that left hand. Bending your left knee. Letting that hip open. And that top of the sole of that left foot is parallel with the ceiling-ish. And you might stay here and lift your right leg up off the floor. Maybe you're stretching that right leg up to the sky. And then extend. Lower down. Let it hover. Stay here. Or chin to the chest. Curl up and lift up. Nice. And then just slow lower down. Pressing through that left leg. Breathing it. And then just slow. Remove the strap. Flex the foot. Lead with your heel. Lower down. Pulling into the abdominal muscles. Nice. Slow. And then relaxing the effort through the legs. Take a moment. Notice how you feel. You might shake the legs out a little bit.

From your eyes, you're ready. Draw your knees into your chest. Rock a little bit from side to side. Massaging out the low back. We'll make our way up to tabletop. So however you'd like to get there, you might roll to your side or rock. Roll your way up and we'll come on to our hands and our knees. Spread the fingers wide. And you might tuck your toes under. Stretching your back in that cat shape. And then inhale into your cow, your extension. Exhale. Curl and round. Stretch the back. And you might draw the hips towards the heels. Breathing into that low back area. And then inhale. Leading with the heart arching. Couple more rounds. Softening the gaze inward. Feeling into your body. Any side to side movement that would feel good for your hips, your ribs, your shoulder blades up through your neck. Just let it feel good. More rounds here. Inhale to arch and lengthen. Exhale. Curl and round. And then bringing the spine into a neutral position. We'll come into a shoulder thread.

As you're ready, inhale. Reach your right arm up towards the sky. Let it open. Exhale. Just thread that right arm all the way through. Coming onto the side of the head here. Good. Press through the top of that right hand. Opening through the shoulders. Left hand might press down. You might stay here. Find a variation with the legs. Maybe you're extending that left leg, that foot right out from the hip. And maybe you're stretching the left arm overhead towards the front of your mat. And maybe you're rolling forward and down. So you're stretching the top of that right shoulder. Breathing. Or you might prefer to stretch your top left arm up to the sky. Open the chest. Internally rotate your shoulder and wrap the hand around that right thigh. Opening. Nice. Okay. Slowly, gently release your left hand from the bind if it's there. Plant your hand on the floor. Keep your head heavy. Press through that left hand and just slow. Come on up. And draw that left knee in. A couple rounds of Cat-Cow. Inhale. Arch. Exhale. Curl and round. And inhale. Arch. Lengthen. Exhale. Curl and round. Let's do one more. Inhale. Extend. Exhale. Round. As you're ready. Second side. Spread through the fingers. Inhale. Reach the left arm up to the sky. And then exhale. Thread it through. All the way through. And pressing through the top of that left hand. Pressing through the right hand. You might stay here. Extend out through your right leg. So right foot right out in line from the hip. Right hand might stay where it is. Or you might walk the fingers forward towards the top of the mat. Either rolling the chest open or rolling the chest down. You'll feel different nooks and crannies in different areas depending on how you're moving. Nice. You might stay where you are. You might prefer to reach your top right arm up to the sky. Roll the shoulder forward. If you're bending the L1, wrapping the hand around that left thigh. Letting the chest open here in the spinal twist. And letting the neck be soft. Relaxed. Breathing. Slow. When you're ready to release, stretch that right arm back up to the sky. If it's in a bind, bring the hand to the floor. Head stays heavy. Use the hand to press yourself up. And then draw that right foot in. Draw the knee in. Inhale to arch. Exhale, curl and round. One more time. Inhale, arching. Exhale, curl and round. Let's tuck the toes under. Come into downward facing dog. Nice. In your first downward dog, go ahead and bend your right knee a lot and just stretch that left calf and heel down to the floor. Bend that left knee and stretch the right calf and heel down to the floor. Walk it off a few times. Stretching out through the legs. We're just going to walk our feet towards our hands. Coming into standing forward fold. Soft bend through the knees. Let the head release. Hands might find the elbows and you might sway here a little side to side. Letting the spine release. Hang it out here in this inversion for a moment.

When you feel ready, release the hands. Soft bend through the knees. Let's roll up through our spine nice and slowly. Mindfully rolling up. Linger. Pressing through the feet. Feel the shoulders roll up, back and down. Let the palms open. Just take a moment. Let the energy settle. Find that ease through the neck and the base of the skull. Beautiful. Making our way into some sun salutations. You might have a block nearby. I know I'm planning to use it, so you might have one. And let's bring the hands together at the heart. Drawing our attention inward towards the breath. Letting the breath inspire movement as we move into Surya Namaskara A. As you're ready, let the inhale reach the arms up. Feel that lengthened space through your spine. Exhale. We're going to dive forward and in. Releasing the head and the hands. Inhale. Half arch. Let your spine lengthen. Exhale. Bend your knees. Let's step back into plank. Pause and plank. Dial that in. Reaching back through your heels. Forward through your heart. Nice. Tuning the low belly. Lower the knees and come all the way down. Lowering to cobra. Inhale. Rising up cobra. Lifting up through the chest. Drawing the elbows in. Spacious through the chest. Exhale. Lead with the heart. Lower down. Tuck the toes under. Press up and back. Downward facing dog. Three full breaths here. Downward dog. Bend the knees. Take a look forward. Walk the feet towards the hands. Once you arrive, inhale. Half arch. Exhale. Forward fold. Soft bend through the knees. Inhale. Sweep the arms up to the sky. Find all that length again. Exhale. Let's draw the hands together at the heart. Second round. Inhale. Arms sweep on up. Exhale. Navel to spine. Hinge forward. Releasing. Inhale. Half arch to lengthen. Exhale. Exhale. Step back into our plank and pause and plank again. Lowering the knees. Slowly lower onto the belly. Let the inhale bring you into your cobra. Rising up. Waking up the spine. Lifting up. Beautiful exhale. Lead with the heart. Lower down. Tuck the toes under. Press up and back. Downward facing dog. Three full breaths here. Allowing yourself to kind of wiggle around. Move. Lengthen. Breathe. Once you're ready, bend the knees. Look forward and walk the feet towards the hands. Once you arrive, inhale. Half arch. Exhale. Forward fold. Soft bend through the knees. Inhale. Let's sweep the arms up to the sky. Lengthen.

Exhale. Hands together at the heart. Taking a moment to pause here. Let's add on. Inhale. Reach the arms up. Exhale. Forward fold. Inhale. Half arch. Lengthen. Exhale. Back into plank. Pausing and plank. Lower the knees or through chaturanga. Lower yourself. Inhale to cobra or maybe it's an upward dog. Lifting and lengthening. Exhale. Back into downward facing dog. Rooting through the hands. Inhale. Reach the right leg up to the sky. Bend the knee. Let the hip open. Good. Stretch that right leg back up towards the sky. Inhale. And exhale. Right knee to right elbow. Hover shoulders over the wrists. Straw the deep low belly in. Inhale. Reach the right leg up to the sky. Exhale. Bring it across the body. Right knee towards the left elbow. Hover. Inhale. Reach the right leg up. Exhale. Knee to nose. Step it through. We're moving towards a warrior two shape. Reach that top left arm up. Here we are. Warrior two. A few moments here to settle. And then reach that back hand down the back leg. Inhale.

Reach the arm. Right arm up. We're in a familiar shape here. Inhale. And exhale. Press into the ball. That right foot moving towards our triangle pose. Extend and lengthen. Right hand might find the shin. The block. And left arm reaches up towards the sky. Beautiful. Nice few breaths here. Finding a place where the neck feels good. Feeling the rib cage revolve. Beautiful with an inhale. Reach with the top left arm. Let it carry you up. Bending the right knee. We're coming into extended side angle. Bringing the right form onto the right thigh. Or maybe here's where you grab a block outside of that right foot. Giving yourself a little bit more space and support as you find your extended side angle. Breathing. Breathing through the legs. Opening the chest. Nice. Playing towards the shape of artichandrasana half moon. Here's where the block is super useful. You're going to take a look down. Bring your left hand onto your hip. You might toe heal that back left foot in a little bit. We're going to bring the block out or the hand out. About a foot. Six inches to a foot.

Reach the top left leg up towards the sky. Nice. Opening. Steady the gaze. Strong through that standing right leg. And maybe you're reaching the top arm up towards the sky. Nice. Drawing the muscles into the bones of the legs. Inhale. Exhale. Gracefully, gracefully bend that standing leg. Find the shape of the lunge. Extended side angle. Nice. Good. Reach with that top arm. Let it carry you all the way back up into your warrior two shape. Pausing. And then cartwheel the hands down. Bring that block off to the side. Spin onto the ball of the back foot. Step back downward facing dog. Might feel nice to let that right leg open again. Stretch up. Let the hip open. Release it down. Inhale forward into your plank pose. Exhale, lower onto the knees or lower through your chaturanga. Inhale to cobra or upward dog. Exhale. Downward facing dog. Taking a moment to pause here. Breathing. Let's find the second side as you're ready. Inhale. Lift the left leg up to the sky. Bend the knee. Let the hip open. Inhale. Stretch that left leg back up toward the sky. Here we go. Exhale. Left knee to left elbow. Hover. Inhale. Left leg reaches. Exhale. Bring it across the body. Inhale. Reach the left leg back up. Last time, knee to nose. Step it through. Warrior two. Pivot onto the outer edge. Reach that top right arm up. Coming into your warrior two. Taking a few moments to settle in. And saying good morning to that left hip. And then we'll reverse. Slide the right hand down the back leg. Inhale that left arm up. Press into the ball. That left foot lengthen. Moving towards triangle pose. Hinging at the hip. Lengthening, lengthening through the underside. The left hand finds the shin, the ankle, the block. Right arm reaches up. Let's take three to five full breaths here in our triangle pose. Feeling how the lungs can turn and revolve towards the sky. Nice. From your triangle pose, inhale. Reach that top arm up. Come back into your warrior two. Moving towards our extended side angle. Left forearm finds the left thigh.

Right hand on the hip. You might grab your block and bring it outside of that left foot. Stretch that right arm overhead as you open the chest. Giving yourself a little bit more space here. Breathing. Nice. Moving towards half moon. Bringing the right hand onto the right hip. You might toe heel that back foot in a little bit. Looking down. And then as you're ready, press and shift the weight forward into that front leg. Bring the block about six inches to a foot out in front of you. Stretch that right leg up towards the sky. Kind of pulling into the abdominal muscles here. Strong through that steady leg. If you feel awesome and steady, you might reach that top arm up towards the sky. Energy through that back leg. Really drawing the muscles into the bones of the standing leg. Feeling that support. Opening through the chest. And as you're ready, gracefully bend that standing leg. Come back into your extended side angle shape. Stretch that right arm up to the sky. And let it carry you all the way back up into your warrior two blueprint. And as you're ready, cartwheel the hands down around that front foot. You'll just move the block off to the side. And then step back downward facing dog. It might feel nice to stretch that left leg back up to the sky again. Let the hip open. Shake it out. Back into your downward dog with an inhale forward into your plank. Strong through the legs. Exhale, lower down. Inhale to cobra or upward dog. Pausing. And exhale, back downward dog. Let's take three breaths here. From downward dog, walk or hop the feet towards the hands. Inhale, half arch to lengthen. Exhale, forward fold. Strong through the legs. Inhale, circle the arms up to the sky. Reaching up. Exhale, hands together at the heart. Taking a moment to pause. Feeling your breath, your heart beat. From here, finding one more twist. It might be useful to have your block. We're going to come into revolve triangle pose. So from here we're going to step our right foot back. The left foot is forward. Like you're coming into your pyramid stance. Toe heel the left foot just a little bit wider. Giving yourself some space through the pelvis. Your block might be on the inside of your left foot or the outside of the left foot. The block is just super useful to raise the floor. So just deciding what feels best for you height wise. And then from here, inhale, reach your right arm up towards the sky. Feel all that length and space as you draw the left hip back. And then exhale, draw the left hip back as you lengthen forward. Keep lengthening as you bring that right hand towards the block. And then reaching that left arm up maybe towards the sky. Coming into your revolve triangle pose. Left hip draws back. Always finding a place where the neck feels comfortable. And breathing here. Let's take three more full breaths in our revolve triangle. Nice. Strong through the legs. Left hand on the hip. Inhale, reach all the way up. Nice. Hands on the hips. We're just going to step that back foot forward to meet the left. How do you feel? Nice. We'll find the other side.

Step that left foot back, right foot forward. Setting up for revolve triangle pose. Then customize the block the way you like it on the inside or the outside of that right foot. Stretch the left arm up towards the sky. Feel that energy up the left side of the body. Draw the right hip back. Feel the lung draw back as you lengthen. Keep all that length as you release the left hand. Pulling that right hip back. Twisting, revolving. Keeping the right hand on the hip. We're stretching that right arm up towards the sky. If you can ground through the outer edge of that back foot. Let's take five breaths here. And ease through the neck. We're noticing how the twist and the sensation changes with a little bit of time here. And then slow. Bring the right hand to the hip. Turn the ribcage down strong through the legs. Inhale, reach that left arm up to the sky. And then hands on the hips. We're just going to walk that left foot forward to meet the right. Coming up to standing. A few moments here. Letting the energy settle. Feeling the strength through the legs. We'll make our way down to the floor with the sun salutation. Hands at the heart. Clearing breath. Inhale. Exhale. Let the inhale inspire the lift through the arms. Reach them up. Lengthen. Exhale. Forward fold. Releasing. Let the inhale create a half arch. Exhale. Step back into your plank. Pause. One last plank here. Lowering down. Knees are through chaturanga. Inhale to your cobra or upward dog. Exhale back into your downward facing dog. And then lowering the knees. Child's pose. Sinking the hips back towards the heels.

Arms might rest out in front of you or release alongside the body. A few breaths here into the back body. Another breath or two in child's pose. Releasing. Oftentimes child's pose for me feels like just coming home. As long as it feels comfortable for the body. We're going to reach our arms forward. Rise up. And then we'll come on to our back for some rolling bridge. A little inversion with the block. Come on to your back. Bring the feet down. Heels in line with the sitting bones. Arms down alongside the body. Rolling bridge. So letting the breath inspire the movement. As you're ready, let the inhale curl the tailbone under. Press through the feet. Lift the pelvis up. It's time we're stretching the arms up over the top of the head. We're in the full expression of the bridge. And our thighs drawing towards each other. And exhale. We're rounding the upper back, the spine, the arms down to the floor. Releasing. Inhale. Curl the tailbone. Press through the feet. Rising up. Reaching the arms up. You're in the full expression of your bridge. Exhale. Slow round the spine down nice and slow. Rolling it down. One vertebra at a time. Feeling the arms. Let's take three more. Inhale. Reaching up. Lengthening in your bridge. Exhale. Round, round, round. Slowly down. Arms releasing. Do more. Inhale. Curling. Lifting up. Arms overhead. Exhale. Slow lower down. Arms. Pelvis. Last one. Inhale. Reach the arms up. And then exhale. Slow lower down. One vertebra at a time. Arms releasing. And pause. Great. We're going to find our block. And this time we're going to bring it underneath our sacrum. So pressing down through the feet. Grab your block. And bring it underneath the sacrum. Nice. It would probably feel good to draw the knees into the chest. And then stretch the legs up towards the sky. A little Viparita Karani action. And draw the shoulder blades under the back. Reach the hands towards the back of your mat. Feel that lift through the chest. A little juice through the toes and the legs. One of my favorite inversions here. Super nourishing and restorative. Nice. Now there are a few moments here. And softer the back of the eyes. Are you ready to do this? Ready to slow bend your knees. Bring your feet down to the floor. Find that blueprint of bridge. That foundation. And then press through the feet. Lift your pelvis up. Slide the block out from underneath you. And lower the spine down. Let's go ahead and bring the right ankle across that left thigh. Stretch the arms out. Just rock a little bit from side to side here. And then lifting that left foot up off the floor. Draw the knee in. You might stay with this. Or reach through that right arm. Weaves through the window there.

Finding the back of the left thigh or the shin. You might stay with this. Or you might curl up. A little abdominal workout. Slow lower down. Few breaths into where you feel it. You might even feel good to stretch that left leg up and kind of circle out the ankle. And then slow bend that left knee. Bring the foot down to the floor. Stretch the right leg up. And lower it down. Bring the left ankle across. Stretch the arms out. Little side to side. Rocking. Can feel nice. And stay with this or draw that right knee into your chest. You might weave your left arm through the window there. Finding the back of the thigh or the shin. You might stay here. Curl up for a moment. Flexing that left ankle. And then just slow lowering down. Maybe you're stretching that right leg up and circling out your ankle. Knee bends. A few more moments here. And just consider allowing the hip to release in its own way, its own timing, without trying to do anything. Without trying to stretch it or open it or letting it release. Inhale. When you're ready, exhale, release. The hands lower the right foot. Lower the left foot. Big clearing breath. Inhale. Exhale. It might feel nice to bring the soles of the feet together. Knees wide for a few moments. Arms might stretch overhead. It might feel nice to find the elbows with the hands. Feel the back body settle down towards the earth. Nice. You're welcome to stay here for your Shavasana. Stretch your legs out on the floor. It would feel good to come up to a seat. You might draw the knees into the chest and join me in a short seated meditation rolling to your side and coming on up. I'm going to sit on my block. You might do the same. Nice. Let yourself wobble. Making any adjustments and then settling. A few more moments here. Allowing yourself to consciously rest in the space you've created through your practice. Allowing yourself to be as relaxed as you can be here, physically as well as emotionally. Giving yourself permission here to linger before moving out into your day. Gently joining the hands together at the heart. Gently joining the hands. Feeling the heart. Closing with the sound of Aum breathing in. Aum. Allowing your presence to expand. Namaste.

Thank you.