Calm and Centered

Welcome back. Nice to be together. In this calming and centering practice we're actually going to be developing in the beginning some core strength with ease and play. So we'll start on our back just rolling around a bit. You'll want a strap and a block and then we'll make our way up to standing, explore a few standing shapes and come back down. So join me on your back. You might want to blanket underneath your spine. I find this feels pretty cozy and comfortable under the spine. So roll on down and just start by bringing your feet to the floor. Spreading your toes. Feet are about hips distance apart. We're going to start with pelvic tilt. So it's a bit like cat-cow on the spine. Your hips are going to stay on the ground and with an exhale you're just going to draw your tailbone under. Feel that your lower back can connect down to the floor. That's it. So you're in like a pelvic tilt. Again as you inhale, relax the belly. Roll your pelvis forward. Arch your back up off the floor. Keep the hips on the ground as you feel that laying through the front of your body and then exhale. Curl the tailbone under. Press the lower back down and then inhale. Roll the pelvis forward. Fill the belly up with air and arch in a couple times like this. Keeping the hips on the ground and just feeling and sensing the movement through the spine all the way up through your neck and let your head move along for the ride. So you're really initiating or driving the movement with your tailbone.

Letting the head follow. Relaxing through the face, the jaw. That's it. Nice. And then just relaxing the effort. We're going to stretch our arms up towards the sky. You're going to keep your head. Keep your head on the ground and then just lift your shoulder blades up off the floor. The head stays down. Lift your shoulder blades up and then just release the shoulder blades back down to the floor. And then again we're just going to lift the shoulder blades up as if you had a friend just kind of tugging on your wrists and then just slow lower it down. We're going to do this about four or five more times. Just beginning to feel this movement, this mobility through the upper back. That's right. Head stays down. You might find the head drops back as the throat opens. Shoulders release down. Let's do two more together. Reaching the arms up, lifting the shoulder blades.

Also known as the scapula up off the floor and then lower it down. Last one. Reaching up and then releasing down. Nice. Just relax the arms. And then we're going to nod the head down. So just draw the chin down towards the chest and let the head rock up. And head draws down, chin towards the chest, and then head rocks up. And then we're going to roll the head and neck to the right. Right ear towards the floor and back up. And then just slowly over the left. Left ear towards the floor and back up. Let's do one or two more. Head rolling to the right, back up, and gently over to the left. You might feel sensation through the opposite arm. And just noticing as the head stays heavy, noticing how it feels. So the contact with the back of your head and the floor. Like this massage around the skull. Yeah. Good. And then just let the head come back into the center. Nice. And we'll draw the knees into the chest and rock a little bit from side to side. Nice. Let's come into windshield wipers. Feet down nice and wide. Arms might be overhead or out to your sides. And just let the knees go side to side with the breath. Inhale, knees up, exhale to a side. Inhale, up, exhale over to the other side. Your head might want to rock away from your knees. Remember that feeling, that massaging around the back of the head, base of the skull is relaxed. And what would a day without windshield wipers feel like? Right? A few more rounds. Just fluid movement, stretching and opening the side body. Ooh. Noticing if there's any areas that feel a little sticky or tight. Or maybe there's some areas that feel awesome in your body today. Good. And let the knees come back up. Hug your knees into your chest, rock yourself. And we're gonna look for our strap. And this is a fun one. We're gonna bring our strap, we're gonna open it up wide. And we're gonna bring our strap around the bottom of both of our feet. So just find a way to do that. And then from here we're gonna let the feet go nice and wide-ish. So we're more in like a straddle shape.

And then spreading the toes wide. Now if you find your feet are way too far apart, just draw a little closer in. And then root through the outer edges of your feet. That's it. Spread the toes. And then soften through the hands so your shoulder blades can really kind of cozy down towards the floor. That's it. And then we're gonna rock. Ooh. Side to side. I love this one. So you're just gonna let your head move along. And notice if there's a tendency to tip over. And so there's some core work involved here. You find there's some stability needs to happen nice. And just enjoying this feeling through the back of the body. This kind of massage of the muscles, the low back, the sacrum. So oftentimes this rocking movement or motion helps to really kind of stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system that emanates out of our sacrum and moves up our spine to our brain. Helping us feel more at ease and safe and calm in our being. Ooh. A few more like this. Yeah. Now where to go? Nothing to do but just rocking yourself. Most likely you're feeling a stretch and opening through the back of the legs, right? For the hamstrings and the knees. If it feels too much you can always bend the knees here. That's it. Good. Okay. When you feel ready just rocking it back through center and then just drawing the legs towards each other. We'll pause here for a few breaths. So have your feet just in line with your hips, ish. Soft bend through the knees, drawing the toes towards the face. That's right. And then just shoulders relaxing down long through the neck. Feeling the low back connected. Mm-hmm. Nice. Enjoying this inversion. Nice. Inhale. When you're ready, exhale. Go ahead and bend your knees and we'll just bring our strap off to the side. Nice. Now from here we're gonna find our block and this is where the core strengthening and warming happens a bit more. So bring the block between the knees or the thighs wherever it feels right and you're gonna lift your knees up in line with your hips, your feet up in line with your knees like you're sitting in a chair. You can flex your feet a little bit there, your ankles. Bring your hands onto your belly and feel exhale. Feel how your lower back can connect down to the floor, the tailbone draws under, which tends to kind of awaken the lower abdominal muscles. And then we're gonna stretch our arms out to our side. So the hands are right out in line from the shoulders, palms pressing down towards the floor. Feel that lower back connecting down, easy in the neck. We'll inhale together and then exhale, knees over to the right, any amount. So you're hovering towards that right shoulder. And then with an inhale back up through center and exhale over to your left towards that left shoulder. Now back up through center, exhale to the right. This time turn the head towards the left. Inhale through center and exhale, knees to the left, turn the head to the right. Inhale back and then exhale, knees to the right, head to the left. Can you feel like you're drawing your navel, your belly towards the left. Inhale up, exhale, knees to the left, head to the right, navel to the right. One more round. Inhale up, exhale to the right, head to the left. Inhale up, exhale, knees to the left, gaze to the right. Beautiful. Inhale back up through center and then go ahead and grab the block. Just take a moment to pause here. Nice. Let the feet come down to the floor or it might feel nice to stretch the legs out for a moment. We're going to take one more round. Oh and maybe add on. Okay so as you're ready go ahead and bend the knees again. Set your block up the way you like it between the knees or the thighs. Lift the feet up in line with the knees. Feel the connection down. Now you might do the first round we just did, that previous round. You might add the arms this time. So again we're reaching the arms up. We'll inhale, exhale, knees to the right, arms to the left, the head stays down on the floor. Inhale, knees up and then exhale, knees to the left, arms to the right. Beautiful. Inhale, knees up, exhale, knees to the right, arms to the left. Reaching that right arm across the body. Inhale up, exhale, knees to the left, arms to the right, lift that left shoulder blade up and across. One more on each side. Knees to the right, arms to the left. Inhale up and then knees to the left, arms to the right. Beautiful work and back up. Grab your block. Nice job. Clearing breath. Inhale. Nice full exhale.

Nice. We're going to use our block again. We're going to press down through our feet like we're coming into a bridge pose. Go ahead and bring your block right underneath your pelvis, under the sacrum, at the lowest setting. Take a few moments to settle in, finding that sweet spot of support around the lower two thirds of the sacrum. So it shouldn't feel like it's jamming into your back. It should actually feel like it's supporting your pelvis, your legs, and your hip flexors can relax a little bit after all that engagement and work. Nice. And then from here we'll draw our left knee into our chest. Now you might stay here today. You might choose to stretch out through your right heel and your leg. So the shape we're moving into is like a reclining lunge but we're on our back, opening that front right thigh and hip flexor and psoas muscle. It's more of a kind of a passive stretch to get into the front thigh area. Nice. Letting the shoulders release down the back, keeping the eyes soft. You might keep your left knee into the chest right where it is. You might let the left knee go out to the left. So you're supporting the knee with your hand. Just a gentle opening here. Right, it doesn't have to be dramatic to really work. And then drawing it back up. Let's take two more full breaths here. And then just slow bend that right knee, bring the foot on the floor, and then release the left knee. Kind of reorganize your pelvis and we'll find the other side drawing the right knee in and stretching that left leg long on the floor if it feels right today. Let's finding that length, snuggling the shoulders down the back, easy through the back of the eyes, the jaw, the lips. Breathing into where you feel the sensation. If you're finding that you you need and want to feel more of a stretch in sensation, you can certainly bring the block up a little bit higher. All right. And you might keep the right knee right into the chest or you might let it open out to the right. Right, supporting it with your right hand and finding some stability through that left hip, through the side of the pelvis there.

Okay, and now back up and we'll take two more full breaths here. Letting that whole right thigh release. This is a nice way to get the benefits of lunging without bearing any weight on the knees. I really like this variation. Good. And then just slow, bend that left knee, foot on the floor, right foot lowers down. You might pause here, right, with the feet on the floor and the supported bridge shape. You might choose to stretch your legs out. Now if you feel any strain or stress on your lower back here, go ahead and bend your knees. All right. Just feeling that stretch through front of the pelvis. Good. Bending the knees. If it would feel nice to bring the knees into the chest and both legs up towards the sky, you could do that for a few breaths. This is one of my very favorite inversions. Beautiful. Wherever you are, just letting the feet connect back down to the floor, bending the knees. And then if you're on a block, press through the feet, lift your pelvis up, and just slowly remove the block out from underneath you. Rolling down. Knees into chest will rock from side to side. Okay, and then from here we'll transition up to standing. Finding your way up in your own fashion, your own time. We'll meet standing. And just take a moment to tidy up your mat. So if you have a blanket there, you might just put it off to the side. And we'll make our way up to standing. Just taking a few moments to feel your feet. And we'll start with the side bend. So as you're ready, you're gonna inhale, stretch the arms up, clasp the right hand around the left wrist. Just take it up out and over to the right. Pressing through the left foot, lengthening through that left arm, letting the side body stretch. Inhale back up through center, clasping left hand around the right wrist, and then taking it up out and over to the left. Putting that right side open. Nice full breath here. And then exhale, slow release. We'll draw the shoulders up and then release them down. Nice. Let's bring the feet wide and we're gonna turn the toes out. So moving towards a bit of an external rotation. It doesn't have to be the full opening, but just enough where it feels right for you. And then you want your knees tracking over like your second, third toe. So if you find that as you open the legs, if this is happening, your knees are dropping in. Let's see if you can kind of press a little bit more through the outer edges of the feet and then letting the tailbone drop. And then just sliding your hands down your legs and catch yourself right about here. Yeah, feeling the strength of your legs. Tapping into the spine, feeling that length. Nice. And we'll stay here for just a moment, letting the face and the jaw relax. Good. And then just begin to turn your body towards the right. So as if you're dipping your left shoulder, finding a spinal twist, and then back up through center with the inhale, and then turning your chest and your ribcage to the left, dipping the right shoulder forward. Good. And then back up through center, and then over to the right, dipping the left shoulder forward, looking over the right shoulder, back up through center, and then over to the left, right shoulder dips forward. Good. Coming back up through center, and then press into the feet. Come on up, turn the feet in, heels wide, hands on the hips. We'll inhale, lengthen our spine, and then exhale, hinge at the hips, forward fold. And keep a soft bend through the knees, just releasing the hands wherever they want to go, and then just releasing the head. Coming into a forward fold with the legs nice and wide, and taking a few breaths here. Nice. When you're ready, soft bend through the knees. We'll roll up to stand. So rolling up through your spine, chin into the chest, press through the feet, and then just slowly rolling on up. You're feeling the heart, the shoulders, the head. We'll just heel toe our feet underneath us. Coming into Mountain Pose, Tadasana. One of my very favorite poses in the whole world. Spreading the toes, drawing your awareness down into the soles of the feet. Yeah, and beyond, right? And then from here, begin to awaken your inner arches. So you feel that lift and length from the inner arches up through the inner lines of your legs. Feeling that up through perhaps the pelvic floor, that lift and length up through your spine, and then drawing the head back.

Just enough to let the base of your skull feel nice and wide and spacious. We can spend so much time with the head forward, and we're living, going about our lives. Let's see if you can draw the head back. Feel it nice and wide, and let's open the palms, right? So anatomically, as we open the palms, it just helps to encourage that opening through the chest. Nice. Shoulder softening down the back. Just taking a few moments here, drawing your attention towards your breath. And as you do this, become more interested in the sensation of the breath for your nostrils. Heading your awareness rest right in the nostrils. Notice the quality of the inhale, and exhale. Drawing the attention more towards that central channel, right up and down through the spine. Nice. More inhale through the nose, and exhale out of the mouth. Nice. We'll bring the feet about hips-width apart, arms down alongside the body, and with an inhale, let's reach our arms up towards the sky. Press down through the feet as you reach up through the spine, and then draw your front ribs in. Lengthen through the lower back and the tailbone, and with an exhale, palms turn away. Nice and slow, release the arms, creating more space. And again, inhale, arms reaching up, press the feet into the floor, circle the arms, and then exhale, palms reach out. Three more with your breath on the inhale, and you feel the lungs stretching gently into the ribcage, and then exhale, empty the lungs nice and slow. Inhale, reaching up, and exhale, nice and slow. Last one, inhale, arms reach up, exhale, slow, release. Nice. Draw the shoulders up, and then just drop them down. From here, we'll move into tree pose. So you might stand near a wall, you might have a chair nearby, you might be perfectly comfortable where you are. Let's start by grounding through our left foot. So just spreading the toes and affirming that left hip, and we're going to open the right hip. So externally rotate the hip, and then pressing the heel towards the inner ankle. Right, you might stay right here, you might prefer the calf or the upper thigh. I'm going to stay right here today, and then finding a spot to focus on, finding your drishti, your focal point. Nice, and the play here in tree pose is to feel and find the essence of mountain pose. Right, your tadasana on one leg, all the way up through the spine, hands might find each other at the heart.

Drawing the heart towards the thumb, softening the shoulders down the back, allowing for that swaying, that wobbling, that wiggling. You might stay with the hands at the heart, you might inhale, sweep the arms up towards the sky if that feels good, soft bend through the elbows. Yeah, feeling that support from the center, calm and centered. Right, ease and effort, hands back together at the heart, and then as you're ready just slow release and shake it on out. Nice, you'll feel our way into the other side. So grounding through your right foot, spread the toes, firming that hip, and then opening your left hip. So coming back into that external rotation, heel towards the inner ankle, the calf, the thigh, wherever you like it. Again, this is a different side, and then finding a spot to focus on. You might have one or both hands together at the heart, isn't strong through the standing leg and hip. Notice the quality of your breath and ultimately the quality of your experience. Right, it's common when we're concentrating and focusing for the breath to be a little held or short or shallow. This play of finding a smooth and comfortable breath, you might stay right where you are, if it would feel good, you might circle the arms up towards the sky, letting your trees sway in the wind. Right, so really allowing the energy to move through the body, feeling how your center moves, feeling that connection from the legs up through the core, the center, all the way up through the arms. Beautiful, nice. When you're ready, just slow hands back to the heart, inhale, and then gracefully fall out of your tree, release, relax the effort, shake it out. Nice, and just taking one more moment here in Mountain Pose Tadasana, appreciating both of our legs at the same time. Nice, inhale, and exhale. Beautiful, from here we'll transition onto the floor, so just find your way onto your back, and we'll have a, we'll work with a blanket, so have a blanket nearby, roll onto your back, hug your knees into your chest, and rock. And then just stretching your legs and your arms up towards the sky, we're just going to circle out the ankles, and circle out the wrists, and keep a soft bend through the knees, and then circle in the other direction. Nice, knees back into chest, and we're going to set up for a spinal twist. So with a folded blanket, I'm going to bring the blanket underneath our pelvis, just like we did with the block, so it's a little bit of an elevated bridge pose shape. You want to make sure it's nice and smooth and even, and then we're going to draw our knees into our chest, and find a spinal twist over to the right, so drawing the knees over towards the right, so it's an elevated spinal twist. That's right, you might just bring both arms over, and then let that top arm move across the chest, and release. Nice. And finding a place where the neck feels comfortable, and if you find in this shape with the support, if you're feeling any kind of strain, you might tuck an extra blanket between your knees and your ankles, or you might just remove the blanket out from underneath you. Feeling each exhale soften and release the belly, and then as you're ready, slowly with the top leg, let the bottom leg follow, then roll everything over to the left side. Stucking the arms and the knees, let the top right arm move across the chest, coming into this elevated spinal twist, and finding a place for your head and neck feel good, really customizing the shape for your bodies, so adding support, taking away support, so that it really feels good. Breathing into the shape, breathing into where you feel the sensation, which might be in the shoulder, the ribs, the hip, where you feel it might be perhaps a bit more subtle, maybe it's a feeling you're working with, or an energy, or a particular mood. Mmm, feeling the space between the eyebrows, forehead soft. When you're ready, release, lead with your top leg, let the bottom leg follow, coming back, and then just releasing the feet down. Bring the feet a little wider than the hips, let the knees rest together, so we're in this constructive rest pose, and you might still have that blanket underneath your pelvis, and for me I find this feels quite nice. Letting the bones settle, letting the nervous system settle. As we move towards Shavasana, our final relaxation, you might choose to stay right here. It might feel good to bring the blanket underneath the back of your knees for support, or bring the blanket on top of your bodies. Just take care of yourself, set yourself up for success in your Shavasana, and as you release and stretch out, allow yourself to take up space. Kneeling the weight of you, the weight of the body, releasing towards the earth. Aware of the body being breathed on its own, without any effort.

Kneeling the weight of you, the weight of your body, releasing towards the earth. Gradually draw your attention towards your breath. Perhaps notice how the breath changes the shape of the body, and you're always welcome to stay here longer. When you feel ready to transition, drawing the knees into your chest, and you might rock from side to side. Taking your time to roll to your side, and then use your arms to press yourself up. We'll take a few moments to sit together. Coming up can be a new experience. You're feeling a little disoriented. Just taking a few moments to rock into your sitting bones. That's it. And then settling into what feels like the center for you. Feeling this quality of ease and length up through your spine, all the way up through the neck. Allow for an inhale. Exhale. And join your hands together at your heart. Vowing the head towards the heart. Namaste. Thank you so much for your practice. Have a beautiful day.