Embracing the Source

Howdy-yum, howdy-yum everyone and welcome. Today we're going to be embracing the source. So I wanted to start out with a beautiful mantra that really embraces the sources, embracing the creator, that which sustains us and that which transforms us and really acknowledging the guru, the teachers that have come and gone, the teacher that sits beside us, the teachers that have yet to come. So I wanted to start us out with this beautiful mantra. I'm just going to chant for you and to you. So you're welcome to just close your eyes here for a few moments and just let your palms rest on your knees and soften the elbows and let your spine lengthen here. And then please just soften the eyes close and just allow yourself to be receptive. So much of our time is spent with energy moving out so allow yourself to receive here. We can chant three om's together. So take a nice big breath in. Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om And just sitting for a few more moments. Embracing the breath. Embracing this time together. And then please bring your palms together at the center of the chest. Take a couple more moments here. Just relax the shoulders. And setting the intention. Embracing the source.

Keeping the practice very grounded today. Moving gently and mindfully and staying very connected to the earth. And when you're ready you can very gently and slowly begin to open up your eyes. Alright I'm gonna rest our hands on the knees and then we're gonna prepare for some pranayama. So we're gonna work on noti shadana first. So alternate nostril breathing. Very grounding breath that begins to regulate both right and left hemispheres of the brain. So we're gonna start with the right hand. Take your thumb out and your index and middle finger in. And we're gonna work with the ring fingers. So we're gonna take the right thumb and just gently press it inside the right nostril there. And you're gonna take a nice big breath in to the left side. Top of the breath in, close and then with the ring finger exhale out to the right. Breathe in to the right side. Close off the right side with the thumb and exhale left side. Take a nice breath in to the left side and close and exhale right side. Please feel free to close your eyes. Nice breath in to the right side. Closing right side, exhale left. Breathing in left side. Closing off, exhale right. One more round. Breath in to the right side. And exhale left. Breathing in left side. And exhale right. And release the hand down and just a little pause here. Alright. If your eyes are closed you can begin to open them. And just notice how you feel here. It's a very grounding breath. From here we're just gonna keep the hands right on the knees. And then we're gonna do some Sufi circles. I'm gonna move the harmonium. And from here we're gonna take our chest forward on the breath in and then as you exhale, turn over to the right side. Draw the belly in and then a nice breath in to come forward again. And then a little exhale and breath in to come forward. And exhale. Again, you're welcome to close your eyes here if you'd like.

And just, it's like a churning here from the inside out. Using your arms, relaxing your shoulders. A couple more. Breathing in and breathing out. And then you'll come to pause in the center for a moment. Sitting up tall. We're gonna take a counterclockwise here. So a nice breath in. Empty out. And then here we go. Other side. So breath in, chest comes forward. Let the head go around. Breathing in and breathing out. And we're opening up the hips a little bit. Even the shoulders. And most importantly, connecting with our breath. And then we'll meet sitting up nice and tall. Take a little breath in and exhale. Alright everyone, let's take the right hand over to the right side. And you're gonna lengthen and lift the left arm up and over. And we're gonna stretch up and over towards the right. And take a little breath in to the left side of your waist. I always think of gills of a fish here. Really allowing them to breathe and expand. And then I'm taking my gaze up. Take a nice inhale here. You can soften the right elbow if you'd like. And then take a little deeper side bend. So if you can take the eyes up or just soften the chin in towards your throat a little bit. Let the shoulders soften back. Soften the ribs into the body.

And then from there you're gonna rise up. And then other side. Left hand down, right arm reaches up. And then exhale, exhale. Reach up and over. Allowing the right hip to drop down. Again taking the gaze up. And a couple breaths here. Relax the shoulders. Full breath in. And full breath out. Alright and then we're gonna rise up. And the hands can touch the earth here for a moment. Let's take the right leg out to the side. Take a little breath in and lift the arms. And then from here as you exhale it's a little twist to the left side. So open up the chest, spine nice and long. Breath in. And extend out through the right heel. You can point your toes up there. And you're gonna take the left hand behind you. And then from here sweep the right arm up and arch back. Little stargazer pose. Whole body stretching. And then release down. Take a little breath in here. And then you're gonna switch legs. Take a breath in. Reach the arms up. And then from here twist over to the other side. Good. Flex out through the left heel. Nice breath in. Spine long. And then exhale, exhale. Take a breath in and breath out. Good. Lift up through the arm and press down to lift up and arch back. And then release down. Okay. Bring the legs in for a moment. And a little pause. Alright. From here everyone we're gonna come onto the hands and knees. So we can lift up. Put our blankets to the side. And come on forward. Facing the front of your mat. You can spread your fingers nice and wide here. And the knees are right underneath the hips. And then let the belly drop a little bit. And just lift through the gaze. And then as you exhale draw the belly in and up for a few moments here. And then take a little breath in. Tuck your toes under. And then as you exhale lift your knees, hips, and drop the heels back and down. Downward facing dog. Okay everybody. Press your palms down. Spread your fingers wide. Bring a little bit more attention to the thumb and the index finger. And as you draw the heels and the hand down into the earth, lift the shoulders away from the ears. A little micro bend in the elbows is really nice. And then a little bend in your knees. You can lift the tail. Create a little space there. And then as you exhale reach the heels back and down. Let the backs of the knees open up. A little head can shake yes and no. Even a flutter out through the lips. A couple moments here. And again if you're feeling really tight in the hamstrings, please bend your knees a little bit. Release out of the low back and any of the stress there in the backs of the legs. If you find yourself hypermobile, if you have a natural deep arch in your spine, soften the front ribs into the body a little bit. A couple of breathing here. Feel the sense of groundedness through the hands and the heels reaching down into the earth. And the sweetness of the head bowing in towards the heart. A couple of breaths. And then as you breathe in, come forward and drop your knees. And a little child's pose from there. Sift the hips back. Let the head soften down. A little micro bend in the elbows. From here we're going to come up onto the hands and knees. And we're going to take the right arm up and then exhale to thread the needle. Bring your right shoulder to the floor. And you can stack the palms up on top of one another. If you'd like, you're also welcome to take the left arm forward, press the heel of the hand down, forward and down, and then soften the left hip back a little bit. A couple of breathing here. And then crawl your left hand back. And then from there, you're going to lengthen through the back leg, foot to the floor, and reach your right arm up. And as you exhale, take the right arm towards the front of your mat, soften the ribs into the body. A little breath in here. And then on the exhale, take your right hand down.

Bring the knees together. Round through the spine. Inhale, lift the left arm up. And then as you exhale, threading the needle. Left shoulder to the floor. Right arm forward or palms together. A couple breaths here. Softening the hip back. From there, crawl your right hand back. Spiral the left arm up and lengthen through the left leg. Reach up. And then as you exhale, take the arm up and over. And then soften the ribs into the body. Take the gaze up. And then as you exhale, the left hand comes down. And then from there, tuck your toes under. Full breath in to look up. And then downward facing dog. Heels of the hand, press down, lift your knees. You can pedal out through your feet a little bit. And then from here, family, we're going to press into the palms, lift the right leg high. You can go through your toes. And then as you exhale, you're going to slide the right foot to the outside of your right hand. Take a little breath in here. Drop the left knee and then open up the leg a little bit. You can gently with your hand, just rest here. Now you're welcome to grab a block. This is very helpful too. And press down into the block with your left hand and then let the shoulders open. You're welcome to lengthen through the back leg, opening up through the chest. Knee drops down, hands come down, downward facing dog. Left leg lifts on the breath in. On the exhale, step the leg forward to the outside of your left foot. Drop your right knee down. You can nab the block, right hand supported, and then opening up the left knee a little bit. Let the chest open here. Again, with the toes tucked under there, you're welcome on the exhale to lift through the back leg and then take it a little bit deeper here. A nice gaze up, take a breath in, let the hips sink a little bit. And then as you exhale, we're going to bring the hands down. And then I'm going to step my back foot forward for malasana, dropping the hips. The palms are going to come together here at the center of the chest. Now you're more than welcome to grab your block and have a seat. Bring the elbows inside of the knees, at the same time lengthening the spine. Couple breaths here. Inhale and exhale. Relax the shoulders. Soft gaze forward or you're welcome to close the eyes. Again, receiving here. Feeling the nourishment from the earth below the feet. The hips sinking down or the hips rested on the block. From here we're going to take the hands forward, press the palms down and then widen your heels a little bit as you lengthen the legs into uttanasana. Let the crown of the head release to the floor. A little sway. And then from here crawl the feet in a little bit. Lift up a little bit halfway actually. Let the crown of the head reach forward and then a little softening forward and down. Soften the knees and then slowly stacking the bones. Really coming up. Standing tall for mountain pose, tadasana. Really spread your toes nice and wide. Little softening through the knees and at the same time soften your tail towards your heels so you can feel a little lift in your low belly and the front of the body is bright. Shoulders relax down the back of the body. Soften the chin in towards the throat. A little softening of the corners of your mouth. And then breathe your arms above the head and as you exhale slide the palms to the center of your chest. Okay. So from here we're going to practice a couple rounds of Surya Namaskar sun salutations. We can use the blocks for the first round and then we'll take it from there. So standing at the top of your mat and once again bring the palms together just reconnecting to the source. Whatever that is for you. That allows you to feel stable, secure, grounded. And remembering that these are like body prayers. So as we move we move with this sweet intention. It's almost like saying thank you with every gesture. So please allow the arms to lengthen alongside the body and then from there a big breath in. Rising up, reaching up and looking up.

And then from here let's bring the prayer to the third eye, the heart and then down to the blocks here. Soft legs there. Look up, slide the right leg back as you breathe in and then downward facing dog as you breathe out. From here it's plank pose. Reach the heels back, shoulders over the wrists. Little breath in, drop your knees and then exhale, exhale, hips back. Breath in onto the hands and knees, lift your chest and then downward facing dog as you breathe out. We're just going to step the right foot forward right away. Big breath in, drop your left knee, take your arms up and then from here exhale the hands down, back foot forward. Nice breath in to rise all the way up and bring the prayer to the center. Exhale. And again, breath in, grounding down as you reach up. Prayer to the third eye, the heart and then to the blocks there. Connecting. Inhale, left leg back. Lift the eyes of the heart, shoulders back and down. Downward facing dog as you breathe out. Heels sinking down. Plank pose on the breath in, reach the heels back. Little lift in the belly and then drop your knees. Exhale, child's pose, hips back. Breath in onto the hands and knees, looking up, downward facing dog as you breathe out. Inhale, left leg high and then exhale, step it forward. Drop your right knee, inhale to lift up and then exhale the hands down, back foot forward. Full breath out. And rising all the way up. Prayer to the center. I'm going to take the arms up as you breathe in and then as you exhale, let the hips sink back and down and a very easeful Utkatasan. So the arms are just going to reach forward here for a moment. Relax the shoulders back. Full breath in and then bring the hands down and straighten through the legs as you breathe out. Slide the right leg back, left leg back, downward facing dog. And coming through center again. Breath in, dropping the knees and exhale. Breathing in and breathing out, downward facing. Left leg comes forward this time. Full breath in, drop the knee down, lift the arms, look up and then exhale the hands down, back foot forward. And Utkatasan as you breathe in, come all the way up. Urbha Hastasana arching back as you straighten through the legs and then the palms meet at the center. Exhale. Last round like that, reach the arms up, bend the knees, exhale and take the arms forward and down. Halfway. Full breath in and then exhale, lengthen the legs, folding forward. Left leg back, look up, downward facing dog as you breathe out. Plank pose, breath in, soften the knees to the earth, child's pose. Exhale. Breath in onto the hands and knees and downward facing dog from there. Left leg lifts, step it forward as you breathe out. Arms lift on the inhale and exhale the hands down and last one, stepping forward. And rising up, Utkatasan, lifting up and arching back and the palms meet at the center. Exhale. Just taking a little pause here. You can feel the beat of your heart right in the tips of your own fingers here. Alright, let's sweep the arms above the head, take a big breath in and then exhale to fold forward and down. Bend your knees a little bit and slide the left leg back. Bring the left foot to the floor and you're going to rise up right into warrior one. So sweep your arms above you. From here, catch your hands behind you. Let the arm bones sink back and down and then let the chest open up. And then from here, exhale forward. Let the arm bones move back as the head moves forward and down. And then you can rise back up on the inhale. From here, Virabhadrasana two. So open up to the arms, chest and pelvis. We have a tendency to move forward or back. See if you can find that space where the shoulders and hips find some alignment. Take a little gaze forward and then from there, lengthen through the right leg. Press into both feet and then drawing the right hip back, you can reach forward and then triangle pose. Right hand comes down, left arm lifts. You're more than welcome to grab your block here, place it inside the foot and then have that support. And again, you want it to receive here and allow for support at all times as much as you need. A couple of breathing, pressing into the back foot. Begin to rise up on the inhale and then from here, exhale and bend. Take another little breath in and from here, you're going to bring the right hand down and lengthen the left arm up and over for extended side angle. See if you can align the knee and your ankle. And as you reach forward with the left arm, soften the left shoulder down the back. And a real key here is to drop the hips a little bit and let the chest revolve open. A couple of breathing, full inhale and then as you exhale, let the hands come down. You can use your block and step it into downward facing dog for a moment. From here, we're going to walk forward. Take a little breath in halfway and then exhale, exhale, release and then rise up on the breath in and palms at the center. Reaching up and exhale, folding forward and down. This time, right leg back, rising on up, warrior one. Let the hips sink a little bit here. Catch your hands behind you, lifting up through the chest, arching back and then exhale, folding forward and down. Again, reaching the arm bones back, enjoy the space between the ears and the shoulders and then pressing down to rise back up. Inhale and then exhale warrior two. So arms, chest and pelvis open, lining the shoulders and hips and then we'll lengthen through the left leg, tuck the left hip back and then reach forward and down for Trikonasana. Again, taking your gaze up. See if you can find that balance between the front body and the back body and the pressing down and the engaging and lifting through the legs as well. And then you're going to rise up on the inhale, then bend your left knee as you exhale. Take a breath in and on the exhale, reaching forward and down for your block here, reach the right arm up and over, sinking the hips a little bit and again taking the gaze up towards the sky. Use your arm to gently press into the leg, allow that support there.

Full breath in, full breath out. One more and then on the exhale, hands come down onto the blocks, downward facing dog, left leg reaches back. Going to take a little breath in here. Okay, this time we're going to walk, we're going to step actually that left foot forward and the right foot forward and then you're going to come into Malasana. So once again you can use your block here and let your palms soften. Hands can come down to the floor or even use your block and then from there lengthen your legs and exhale for a moment. Take one more bend, this time you're going to remove the block, let your hips come all the way down for Navasana. So you can start up in Ardha Navasana, half boat pose here by letting the back ribs really support the front, draw the shoulders back, reach the arms forward and as you exhale, flirt with lengthening the legs a little bit more. Full breath in, full breath out. Take a breath in, feet come down as you breathe out, lift the chest on the inhale and exhale. And now we're going to play with one of my favorite poses, Heron Pose. So this particular bird is well known for its stillness and tranquility and yet determination. So I'm going to invite you today to lift your hips and use your blocks. Some of you, we'll start with one, some of you are welcome to sit and sit inside of your left heel. Otherwise we're sitting on blocks and bending the right knee, right foot is on the floor. So this takes a lot of pressure off the left knee. If you have knee stuff, stack yourself up another one and just feel nice and tall here. Again, a lot of less pressure on the knee. I'm going to start down here. I'm going to hold the hands, interlace the fingers around the front leg and just take a moment here, relax the shoulders and feel the grounding of the right foot down and feel the grounding of the left shin moving down. So there's all this downward movement and yet my spine is lengthening. So this has a real nice quality of grounding. Take a couple moments here. So from here, you may grab a strap and we're going to lasso the strap around the front of the foot and then lean back a little bit and then play with lengthening the right leg. So notice of the tendency is to kind of round the back of the body. See if you can sit forward a little bit and then draw the shoulders back. And again, you can create a nice loose grip there on the leg with the strap. A couple of breathing here, spine is long, shoulders back, press into the left shin. From here, we can take it into a little twist, right? With your left hand, grip onto the strap and then the right arm can reach back. Spine is long, come a little forward onto the sitting bones and maybe the gaze is back. And then bring the arm forward again, take a little breath in and then exhale and release out of the pose. Okay, and then we switch sides. So bring the left foot forward, bring the right shin down and then interlace the hands out in front, spine nice and long. And then from here, let's take the strap around the front of the foot, prepare here, big breath in, press the top of the right shin down and then as you exhale, lengthen the left leg, shoulders back. Again, creating as much space as you need to, right? So you can enjoy the stretch. Full breath in and then maybe switch hands there and then on your exhale, reach the left arm back. Nice and open through the chest and then coming forward, full breath in and then exhale and release. From here, I'm going to take both of my feet to the floor for a moment. Just sit up nice and tall. Okay, from here everybody, let's lift the hips and remove the blocks from underneath, place them to the side and then come on to your back. So crawl your heels as close as you can to your bum and then palms press down alongside the body. As you breathe in, press down into the feet and lift through the hips. Take a couple of breaths here. It's nice to interlace the hands, the fingers and then reach the shoulders underneath the arm bones, really crawl underneath the back of the body there and then press down to lift up. So as I'm pressing my feet down, my shins are lifting and the tops of the thighs are moving towards my belly and the belly softens in towards my heart. Couple of breathing here, chin softens in towards the throat a little bit so the back of the neck is long. And one more breath in and then as you exhale, release the arms and let the back soften onto the earth. Slide your tailbone towards your heels a little bit and then you can let the knees soften in like a little kiss and you can take your right hand to your heart, left hand to your belly for a moment. So from here, we're going to take a nice grounded inversion, a supported shoulder stand. So I'm going to press down into my feet, lift the hips, grab my block and place it underneath the sacrum. And then from here, draw the knees into the chest. You can interlace the fingers if you can around the block and then from here, lengthen through the legs on the exhale. You can flint your toes, it's a little point and flex at the same time. Couple of breathing, pressing the shoulders into the earth, let the chest expand here, legs are engaged. Full breath in and full breath out. Inhale and exhale. Last one, breathing in and then draw the knees into your chest as you exhale. Take a little breath in and then on the exhale, bring both legs down at the same time, lift the hips on the inhale, remove your block from underneath and then from here, bring the knees in towards each other and into the chest. We're going to rock up to sit and come to face the center, cross the legs, spine is long, take a breath in and out. A little twisting here, arms lift, look up and then exhale, twist to the right side. Full breath in, hand behind you is like a little kickstand to help support the front of the body. Full breath in and exhale. Arms lift as you breathe in, take it to the other side as you breathe out. And a breath in to lift up and exhale, arms out to the side. So feet together, you can slide the heels in. It's really wonderful actually to sit on a blanket here, to lift the hips a little bit. It feels really nice for baddha konasana. Just sitting right on the edge and then bring the soles of the feet together. You're also welcome to bring blocks to the outer edges of your thighs too for a little support. Soles of the feet together, take the first two fingers around your big toes and lengthen your spine. I like to think of the movement coming from the hips. So I'm coming as far forward as I can and then when I come as far as I can, without rounding to the upper back, then I just let the head soften. Take a few breaths here. See if you can be a little aware of the pinky toe side of your feet, pressing in towards each other. And then a little breath will lift you up. And we'll bring the knees in towards each other. You can lengthen your legs. Continuing to sit on the bolster here is nice or you're welcome to take your blanket underneath your knees too. So you've got a couple options there. And the legs a little further apart creates a little bit more ease in this pose. And generally this is what this practice is a little bit more about today.

So I'm going to invite you to keep the legs a little further apart. I'm going to take the arms up as you breathe in, lengthen through the waist with a little soft bend in the knees hinge from the hips. Once again, reaching forward and then release the hands down onto the ankles, shins or big toes, right? Take a little breath in and then reach forward out through the heels, crown the head and then release down. Breathe in to reach up and exhale the palms to the center. All right, I'm going to remove the little bolster here from behind. Take the hands and feet to the floor and a little breath in to lift up open to the chest and then exhale to release. And now for Shavasana. So again, you're welcome to make a little bolster with the blocks and then bring the blanket right on top so they're resting underneath the knees and let your heels make sure your heels on the floor and then arms out to the side. So nice and supported through the legs, arms out, palms facing open. Really let the legs widen a little bit more than usual. Let the pinky toe side of your feet to be heavy. Really relax the body and receive here. Allow yourself to feel like you're being held. Let the chin soften a little in towards the throat. Let the face soften. Taking a few more moments to let the body go and maybe more importantly to focus on receiving the medicine that the asanas provide. That conscious breathing provides. You can continue to remain on your back for Shavasana for a few more moments. I'm going to come up and prepare for a little chanting for you while you take your last few moments in Shavasana. I'm coming back to that source of that which illuminates the darkness. The not knowing.

A little bit. Please begin to deepen your breath. Explore a little movement out through the fingers and toes. Let your head soften a little from side to side. And then please begin to soften the knees into your chest.

And then rolling over to your right side. Just a little pause here. And then pressing your hands down so you can lift yourself up to sit. Find your cross legs. Please bring the palms to the center of your chest.

And we'll chant three om's together. Big breath here. We'll chant shanti three times. Shanti means peace. Namaste, family.