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Chapter 1
Welcome, everyone. We wanted to take a moment to look at the overview of what we're approaching with this sequence. As we discussed in Principles of Inyasa Sequencing, there are many different ways to look at sequencing a class, and this is one specific approach. Tends to be my go-to, my sweet spot. So let's take a little bit of a look at it. We're calling this an overall flow or a balanced flow, integrated flow. They're not super fancy names, but they speak to what we're actually doing. We're looking to warm and open, to stretch and to strengthen really the whole body, the legs, the core, the back, the arms and the shoulders, covering the whole spectrum. So rather than choosing one really specific, intense posture to build an entire sequence around the peak pose approach, this is more an overall flow that gently but comprehensively looks to cover everything. To help us better understand, let's look at the four sections that we'll break this sequence down into. The first starts with really simple grounding seat. This is an opportunity to transition from whatever came before the practice and drop in. And then a moment or two to find the breath and settle in to that deep, full, steady ujjayi breath. Maybe set an intention, maybe open with an om, if that resonates for you. And then let's move into some really simple, warming, opening exercises. Cat-Cow is a beautiful go-to, maybe even a release into child's pose to open through the low back, sort of a gentle transition back into a downward dog. And then rather than really intense vinyasas right off the back, kind of staggering, a slow progression of vinyasas, working with knees first, working with cobra, maybe even kind of rolling around within cobra, so that you're warming the body gradually and mindfully. And I've found over the years that not only does this help physically, of course, but it helps the mind kind of ease into the practice, helps to shed those initial layers of distraction or frustration or whatever's going on. From there, we move into the middle of the practice, which for these purposes, we're breaking up into two segments. The first middle, sun salutes, basic standing poses, right? This is where we start to build the heat in the body. We start to build the pace really intentionally and mindfully. And I really love the repetition of the sun salutes, whichever you choose to do, because it offers like a meditation for the mind. It's this repetition. You don't have to think too hard. You can kind of let that part of the brain go and just let yourself sink into the rhythm of the body, the repetition of the flow, and the deepening of the breath. And then of course, you can take it into a lot of different directions with the standing poses, right? For our purposes, we're working with from really simple warrior reverse warrior triangle, which keeps the hips open through that whole standing sequence. You could take it in a lot of different directions. This is essentially part of the practice where we're working with sun salutes and basic standing postures. From there, we move into kind of the second of the middle, more standing postures. However, this is where you might take a class into deeper, more challenging postures. So for our purposes, in this sequence, we're moving into some standing twists. You need the heat, the warmth, the focus, the breath that you've built in the first two sections to really move into these postures safely, intelligently, and to really reap the most benefits from them. Again, this could move in a lot of different directions. For our purposes, we're working with twisting side angle and twisting triangle after the stability and the balancing of the high lunge, but you're free to play. For the close, I think it's really, really important to bring people down to the earth and give space and time for seated postures. In this practice, we're working with dandasana, forward fold, baddha khanasana for our hip opener. Again, it can be a great permutation of postures. The point is, after all of that warming and vigorous movement and standing and strengthening and heat building, we want time in a practice to slow things down, to begin to kind of calm the nervous system, to integrate what's come before, to use all that heat and energy for slower, deeper stretches. Again, over the years, I've found this is not just about the physical body, but the energetic body needs time to integrate the practice. One interesting point here that we'll also speak to in principles of vinyasa is where backbends are placed in the practice. There are different schools of thought here. I personally love to put them towards the end, speaks to my ashtanga background, but also from an energetic perspective, after deep backbending, after being down on the earth, after a pretty full practice, it doesn't feel quite right to me to come back up and move back into a flow, even if it's a simple down dog to pigeon. I like to keep the energy rooted still close to the earth. After backbending counter poses, we're doing a twist. You could also just gently roll up and take a forward fold, and then into any closing postures that work for your sequence. The essence of that closing part of the practice is about grounding and integrating and settling. So hopefully, a deeper look at each of those four sections helps us to get a better sense of the overview. Warm the body, move into sun salutes, take it into some standing postures, then there's some room to play more challenging standing postures or maybe some balancing postures, and then down to the earth, slow it down, let it settle, maybe hold poses for a little longer. As a teacher, maybe you slow your voice down, give them some calming energy. And then, of course, lots of space and time for shavasana. Super important to have that time to integrate physically and energetically. And then a simple close. If you like to work with meditation or pranayama, that's a really sweet spot, right? Everybody's warm and supple and receptive. The mind has chilled out a little bit and the transition out of the practice. Overall, you're looking for integration, balance throughout the whole body, grounding, comprehensive approach, and a sort of arc to slow warming, build pace, build heat, build energy, and then calming it down. Play with this. I hope it helps. Namaste. Welcome, everyone. I'd love to introduce you to my yogi friends beforeChapter 2
we begin. This is Kelly and this is Lori. Thank you both so much for joining us and thank all of you for being with us. We are really blessed to have no injuries in the group today. However, if you're working with anything at home, please take care of your bodies, modify as needed. I also wanted to speak to the use of props a little bit. Kelly has two blocks with her today and will be demonstrating the use of blocks in a fair number of poses. You can see how that works. Lori has two blankets next to her mat. When we move into shoulder stand at the end, we'll look a little more closely at different setups for really safe shoulder stand and Lori will be demonstrating one on blankets. All right. I think we're ready to dive in. Thanks so much for being with us. Let's begin. In theChapter 3
opening section of the sequence, we're looking to transition from whatever came before, kind of settle in, find our seat, establish our breath, maybe set an intention for the practice.And then as we begin to move, we're intentionally building a little bit of warmth, a little bit of heat to open the body, to warm us up for some deeper poses and to synchronize the breath and the body. Here we go. Let's begin by finding a comfortable seat. As you can
Chapter 4
see, we have two different options demonstrated here. Please take what feels best for you and then let your hands rest wherever they're most comfortable and just find a soft gaze or close the eyes. And we'll begin by moving our awareness down into our seat, all points of contact with the earth, feeling into that steady foundation and moving the awareness from the fluctuation of the mind down into root and body and breath, noticing your natural flow of breath and then kind of gradually welcoming in a deeper, slower, steadier breath, meaning to hear the sound of each inhale and each exhale, drawing you deeper into the body and deeper into the moment. And let's take five intentional Ujjayi breaths together. For now, exhale, just empty all the air out and then through the nose, a big inhale, through the nose, exhale, four more like that together, inhaling, exhaling and again, inhale and exhale. Take these next two breaths, just washing away the thoughts, any distractions or concerns and as much as possible, letting yourself just land in your body for your practice. The bottom of that exhale, drawing the hands to prayer at the heart center and we'll open together with a gentle Aum. So just clearing any breath out and together through the nose, inhaling, Aum. And then one more moment of stillness here. If it resonates for you, setting an intention for your practice, anything at all you'd like to clear out or welcome in. And as you're ready, let the eyes open and begin to transition up onto your hands and your knees. You have any tenderness in your knees, you're welcome to take a blanket underneath knees and shins, just supporting yourself in whatever way you feel for. And then moving into a few cycles of kakau, so rooting through the hands with the inhale, lifting the tailbone, the heart, the gaze, shoulder blades sliding down the back and with the exhale, letting the back round and drawing the belly up towards the spine. Beautiful. Yeah. And then again together, inhaling, lifting, tailbone, heart, gaze and with the exhale, rounding and then three more cycles at your own pace and feel free to bring any movement into it that resonates for you. Maybe circle the head, neck, shoulders, spiraling through the spine a little bit, maybe circling through the whole torso, just kind of easing into the muscles of the back and the length of the spine. Yes. One or two more breaths. And as you feel ready, drawing the body into a neutral spine, grounding down through the hands, especially base of thumb and first finger, take a big inhale, tucking the toes. And as you exhale, lift up and back into downward facing dog. And then a good five, 10 breaths here to start to ease into the backs of the legs. So you might pedal the feet, bending one knee and then the other, shifting the hips a little side to side, whatever feels best, just warming into it, continuing to lengthen the spine and open the back muscles. And as you start to bring movement into the body, just kind of noticing where's the breath flowing freely? Where does it meet with a little bit of stickiness, soreness, tenderness? Two or three more breaths here. Yeah, beautiful.And as you're ready, steady the body in your down dog. We're going to take a few rolls between plank and down dog, following the breath. So as you're ready on your inhale, just rippling forward, coming into plank pose. And then from the center, exhale, draw it up and back into down dog. Good. Two more like that. Inhale, rolling forward, synchronizing the breath and the body and exhale, draw it up and back. Once again, inhale to roll forward and exhale to flow back. Beautiful. Yeah. Moving on, inhale, take it forward into your plank pose. And this time with your exhale, lower the knees to the earth and then come all the way down, really modified vinyasa. With your inhale, come to a low cobra, lifting the heart, shoulders down the back, just to your own edge. And as you exhale, ease all the way back into your downward facing dog. We'll take two more with variations. Inhale, ripple forward into plank. This time, exhale, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, stay with cobra or upward facing dog and exhale all the way back, downward facing dog. And taking this last cycle on your own, any variations, just really following the rhythm of your own breath. Nice. Beautiful. Good. Rooting down through the hands. With the next inhale, let's sweep the right leg straight up and back, fairly neutral through the hips for now. And with the exhale, simply step the right foot forward. We're moving into a high lunge or crescent pose. So rooting through the feet, inhale, taking it straight up, lift the arms to the sky. Beautiful. And let's hold this for three, descending through the tailbone, lifting the deep belly too. And with your exhale, simply release hands to the earth, stepping directly back into downward facing dog. Keep it simple for now. Inhale, left leg goes to the sky. And with the exhale, step it forward, rooting through the feet. Feel that connection to the earth. Inhale, high lunge, second side. And again, a full three breaths here, descending through tailbone, drawing that deep belly in, beautiful soft shoulders. And we'll stay for the inhale. With the exhale, simply release the hands to the earth, step directly back into your downward facing dog and take a couple breaths here just to kind of settle ground. In a moment, we're going to repeat that, building the pace, intentionally beginning to build the heat and the energy a little bit. All right, here we go. Inhale, right leg to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, root through the feet. Inhale directly up into your high lunge. Exhale, release the hands to the earth, step directly back into downward facing dog. Good. Inhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, root the feet. Inhale, rise, high lunge. Exhale, release hands to the earth, step back into down dog. Two more cycles. Inhale, right leg to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, grounding the feet. Inhale to rise, high lunge. Exhale, release hands to the earth, downward facing dog. Inhaling, left leg. Exhale, step it forward, strong foundation. Inhale, rise. Exhale, release hands down, step back, down dog. Last cycle. Inhale, right leg up. Exhale, step it forward, rooting through the feet. Inhale to high lunge. Exhale, release the hands to the earth, pausing here. We're going to lower the back knee down. You can pat it if you'd like, and then draw the hip straight back for Ardha Hanamanasana. And Kelly's going to demonstrate the use of the blocks here. If you're really tight through the hamstring muscles, this is an incredible source of support. A full five breaths just to ease into it, forming and opening through the hamstring muscles. About three more breaths. Good. Then just slowly, as you feel ready, with the inhale, start to guide the hips forward, bending the front knee. And then exhale, tuck the back toes, lift that back knee, step directly back into your downward facing dog. Good. As you're ready, inhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, step it forward. Inhale to rise, high lunge. And with the exhale, release hands to the earth. Again, we'll pause here, lowering the back knee. Again, pat it a little if you'd like. And then start to draw the hips back, lengthening that left leg, Ardha Hanamanasana. Again, always taking the variation that feels best in your body, supporting it. And just easing down into it, lengthening the spine as you fold and breathing into the back of that left leg. Another breath or two. And as you're ready, inhale, guiding the hips forward, bending the front knee. And exhale, tuck the back toes, lift the back knee, step directly back, downward facing dog. Good. Big inhale together through the nose. And just kind of clearing it out. Exhale out the mouth. Release. Inhale, roll forward into plank pose, washing that away. Exhale, lower as you choose. Good. Inhale, lifting the heart up. And exhale all the way back, downward facing dog. Nice. From here, really slowly with the inhale, we'll just start to walk the feet forward to the front of the mat. And as you arrive, the feet are about hips distance, easy forward fold, Uttanasana.
You can drop the hands to the earth. You can take hold of opposite elbows. You might even let the upper body sway a little side to side. Three, four, five breaths here, continuing to ease into it, to release the back body, to shed those kind of initial layers, distraction, tension, fatigue, whatever's going on in the body. Good. Another breath here. And whatever bind you have, gently release it, let it go. Keep a really soft bend in the knees. Keep the head heavy in the neck relaxed. And then slowly with the inhale, begin to roll the body all the way up to stand. The head is the very last to arrive. And when you do arrive, let the shoulders roll down the back. All right. Gently heal, toe the feet together and draw the hands to prayer at the heart center for Tadasana.
Chapter 5
In the opening sequence you just saw we were working on warming and opening the body, centering and grounding, and then intentionally kind of building the pace and the intensity with the repetition and also synchronizing the breath and the body with a repetition. We were also able to see different stages of the vinyasa, the knees variation versus full chaturanga, as well as the use of blocks for Ardha Hanamanasana. Hope that was helpful. Here we go for the middle of the practice. For this sequence, we're looking at the middleChapter 6
of the practice as two separate parts. So for this first middle section, we're working on continuing to warm the body, starting to really build the pace, moving into sun salutes and standing poses. We'll also look at a couple hands on adjustments, one in Downward Dog and one in Triangle. Let's go for it. Feeling down through the feet, nice and tall throughChapter 7
the spine. With your next inhale, reaching the arms out and up and then interlacing the fingers and exhale, press the palms to the sky. Keep the tailbone descending, draw the deep belly in and up. Beautiful. And if you feel for it, you can welcome a little bit of a backbend through the mid and upper back. Another breath or two here, rising through the heart. And then inhale, we'll just draw it back to neutral and exhale, start to ease to the right. You can keep the hands clasped where you can hold opposite wrist as Lori is demonstrating, whatever feels better. Breathing into that left side body, starting to open and lengthen through the waist and rib cage. Let the inhale draw you back up to center and exhale, simply shift to the other side. Keep grounding down through the right foot, rising through the whole right side body. Another breath or two here. And then inhale back to center. And with the exhale, simply release the arms, shake it out a little bit, roll the shoulders if that feels good. And then again, home to Tadasana, drawing the hands to prayer at heart center for Samastitihi variation. Pausing here together through the nose, take a big inhale, grounding through the feet, exhale. And then inhale, reach the arms out and up and exhale, bow out and down, moving into surinamaskara A. Inhale to lengthen halfway. And with the exhale, hop or step back and lower knees or chaturanga dandasana. Exhale, cobra, up dog, and exhale all the way back, downward facing dog. For this first cycle of full five breaths, really give yourself time to sink into it, to settle and to continue opening through the whole back body. For three, two. And at the bottom of your exhale, just a soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. As you arrive, inhale, lengthen halfway. Exhale, deepening into the fold. With the inhale, rise all the way up, reaching it out. And with the exhale, just tracing the midline hands to prayer, heart center. Two more like that. Inhale to reach out and up. Exhaling, bow out and down. Inhale, halfway lengthen. And with the exhale, root the hands, hop or step back and lower as you choose.With the inhale, let the heart rise, shoulders way down the back. And with the exhale, returning to downward facing dog. With this cycle, three breaths, grounding through base of thumb and first finger, rolling the shoulders away from the ears, lengthening up through the sit bones as you send the heels towards the earth. One more breath. And at the bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale to lengthen halfway. And exhale, bow and fold. Strong center. Inhale, rise all the way up, reaching it out. And with the exhale, hands home to the heart. Good. Once again, inhale to reach. Exhaling, bow. Halfway hands on earth or shins lengthen, rooting the hands, hop or step back. Exhale as you choose, maybe even skipping a vinyasa. Inhale, lift the heart and exhale all the way back. Three breaths, long spine. Feeling the energy begin to rise, feeling the warmth start to move through the body, opening it all up. And at the bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale to lengthen just halfway. And exhale, bow and fold. Strong center, flat back. Inhale, rise all the way up. And with the exhale, hands to prayer, heart center. Good. Directly into Surya B. Bending the knees, inhale, Utkatasana. Exhaling, bow and fold. Inhale, halfway. Root the hands, hop or step back. Exhale to lower as you choose. Inhale, lifting the heart. And exhale all the way back. Inhale, take the right leg to the sky. With the exhale, step that right foot forward. Root the back heel down to the earth. Rise on the inhale, warrior one, Virabhadrasana A. Palms open or press. And always feeling free to gaze wherever your neck feels happy.
Should be straight ahead to the horizon or up past the thumbs. Whatever you feel for. This first cycle is intentionally slow. Another three breaths here. Just easing into it. Right ribcage back, left forward, tailbone descending, belly rising. Beautiful, really strong. Let's stay for the inhale. And with the exhale, release the hands to the earth. Step directly into plank. Take the Vinyasa or press directly back into downward facing dog. Left leg, inhale to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, grounding down through the back heel. Inhale, warrior one, second side. And again, just breathing into it, being with it. Notice what's present in your body in this moment. Making those subtle adjustments, deepening into the alignment. Yes, good. Another breath or two. And we'll stay for the inhale. With the exhale, release hands to the earth. Step straight back into plank pose, lower knees or Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. And exhale all the way back. Downward facing dog. Taking just a couple breaths here, kind of settling in, reconnecting with your center, with your intention, and then intentionally building the pace. Feel free to slow it down. Feel free to skip Vinyasa's. Always what works in your body. Here we go. As you're ready, inhale, right leg to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, root the back heel. One inhale to rise, warrior one. One exhale, hands to the earth, step back and lower. Inhale, cobra, up dog. Exhale all the way back, down dog. Inhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, root the back heel. Rise on the inhale. Release. Exhale, hands to the earth, step back and lower. Inhale, scoop the heart up and exhale all the way back, down dog. Again, inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it forward, ground the back heel. Rise on the inhale and release. Exhale, step back and lower. Inhale to lift the heart and exhale all the way back. Left leg, inhale, reach. Exhale, step it forward, root back heel, warrior one. Inhale and release. Exhale, step back and lower. Inhale to the back bend. Exhale all the way back. One last cycle or feel free to rest. Right leg, inhale up. Exhale, step it forward, root the back heel. Inhale, warrior one. Exhale, hands to the earth, step it back, wash it all the way with the vinyasa.
Meeting in down dog, last one. Inhale, left leg. Exhale, step it forward, root the back heel, warrior one on the inhale and exhale, release, hands to the earth, step it back, vinyasa of your choice. And then meeting in downward facing dog. And we'll pause here for a full five breaths. If for any reason you'd like to release down into child's pose, always feel free. A couple more breaths. Again and again, coming home to center, reconnecting with your breath, with your intention. And in a moment, moving into our first standing sequence, we'll lead with the right leg on the inhale, take it up and back, pausing this time with the exhale, go ahead and let the hip open, bending the knee, sending left heel towards the earth. Beautiful. Breathing into that outer right hip, breathing into the back of the left leg. Enjoy that. And then inhale, reach it straight up. And with the exhale, simply step the right foot forward, spin the back heel down, warrior two, inhale, left arm forward, open and back. Virabhadrasana B. Nice. Full five breaths here, just sitting down into it, melting from shoulders to tailbone and lifting from the belly up through the heart. Steady gaze, steady mind. Nice. And then big inhale, reverse your warrior, reach it back and just go as far as feels good. Left hand to left leg above or below the knee or left arm crossing in front of the body. As Lori is demonstrating, always a variation that serves a couple more breaths. Yeah. And then with the inhale, draw it back into your warrior two. And with the exhale, begin to lengthen that right leg, reaching out and down into Trikonasana. And feel free to inch the back foot forward or the front foot back if you need to adjust the stance, rooting the right hand on the earth or the ankle or as Kelly is demonstrating, it's always super sweet to find a block here. Variation that feels good. All right. Moving into an adjustment, sending tailbone to heel, opening heart to sky and also extending the heart out. Beautiful. Another breath. And then we'll keep this foundation take a big inhale and with the exhale, wrap the left arm behind the back. You might find the hip crease. You might rest your hand on your low back or your left hip and then begin to turn the gaze down to the earth, inching the back foot forward, transitioning towards artichandrasana or half moon that right hand on the earth or on the block. Once you feel really steady and strong, the left arm can stay where it is or you can reach the left arm straight up to the sky. Yes. And then if you feel really steady and grounded here, Lori's going to transition into Chupasana, left hand holding left foot if you feel for it. Let's give this three, four, even five breaths, just kind of settling in as Kelly is demonstrating that back leg and the full extension is really strong, awake, active, pressing out through the heel. The whole torso is rolling open. Heart is reaching to the sky. Yes. Another breath. And as you're ready on an exhale with a strong center, transitioning all the way back into your warrior to take your time, reconnecting down through the feet, just feeling into that foundation. Arms extending wide, heart wide open. Beautiful. Just one inhale to reverse, reaching it back. And with the exhale hands to the earth, step back into plank pose. Optional Vinyasa will meet in downward facing down. Give the body a moment again and again, gathering the energy, coming back to your breath. And as you're ready, inhale, take the left leg to the sky with the exhale, opening the hip, bending the knee, pressing the hands deep into the earth. So the upper body is really strong and supported breathing into that outer left hip as well as the back of the right leg. One more breath here. And then inhale, sweep it straight up. And with the exhale, step the left foot forward, spin the back heel down to the earth, warrior two second side, wide open. Take your time in it, just sinking down into the pose, building the strength and the legs, building the heat in the body. Yeah. Shoulder soft, gaze steady. And with your next inhale, reverse, reaching it back. And again, remember the variations. Hand can be on the leg above or below the knee. No pressure on the knee joint itself or the arm crossing in front of the body. One more breath here. And then inhale to rise, returning to warrior two. And with the exhale, lengthen that left leg, reaching out and down. Trikonasana, triangle pose, adjusting the feet as needed. You want a really stable foundation here. Hand to earth, ankle, shin, or again, please feel free to use that block. The legs are strong. The heart is rolling open and reaching out. And that whole circle of the rib cage rolling up towards the sky. One more breath. And then we keep this foundation really big. Inhale with the exhale, wrap the right arm behind the back, finding the hip crease, the sacrum, or the hip, and then turning the gaze down to the earth. Begin to shift that back foot forward. Take the gaze forward and as you're ready, artichandrasana. Hand on the earth or the block, keeping that arm bound or hand to the hip or arm to the sky. Yeah. If you feel steady and grounded here, moving into chapasana, second side, taking hold of that foot. And then again, if the leg is extended, feel that strong line of energy pressing all the way out through the heel. It will help your balance. Another breath or two. Re-engaging through the center to support the transition. As you're ready, exhale, float it back into warrior two and just take your time. Feel the feet reconnect down into the earth. Really steady here. Good. With the next inhale reverse, reaching back and with the exhale, hands to the earth, step back into plank pose, knees or chaturanga, cobra or up dog. And exhale all the way back, downward facing dog. Beautiful. Either through the nose, take a big inhale and release out the mouth. Exhale. For this
Chapter 8
first middle section in this sequence, we're looking at sun salutes to begin building the heat and then moving into our first section of standing poses. The sun salutes are intentionally repeated to build the heat in the body, to synchronize the breath in the body and to offer kind of a meditation for the mind. So we can just drop the thinking pattern mind and ease into that flow of breath and body. You'll also notice that that first standing sequence was all structured around hips open, one pose kind of building on the next, which we talked about in the principles of sequencing. For the second section in the middle sequence,Chapter 9
we're starting to move into some deeper, more challenging postures. We've built the warmth in the body. We started to open throughout the back body through the hips. So we can take all of that into more challenging postures. You'll see some more intense twists and other variations and we'll be sure to offer some modifications. You'll see Kelly using the blocks for some support and different expressions of each pose so that you can play with it at home. With the next inhale, taking the right leg straight up and back, fairly neutralChapter 10
through the hips. With the exhale, step the right foot forward between the hands and coming up on the inhale to a high lunge. Strong through the legs for now any variation with the arms and the hands. Just establishing that steady balance and then keep this for your inhale and with the exhale, draw the arms out to the side in cactus. Feeling a sense of lifting from the back of the heart up and through, supporting that with a really strong center. Nice. Give this a couple more breaths, just easing into it. And then foundation stays steady with the inhale, reach the arms straight up and with your exhale, just take the hands to prayer at your heart center. Good. Another lift, inhale from the belly up through the heart. Exhale into your twist, taking the elbow outside of the knee, keeping the back leg strong. And here's where you can start to play with different variations. You might stay exactly where you are, hands in prayer, moving into the twist. Or as Lori's going to begin demonstrating, you can ease that left hand down to the earth, outside of the right foot and reach right arm to sky. Beautiful. Let's keep this for a few breaths. If at home you want to take it even deeper, you might move into the full or half bind. One more breath. Foundation stays strong with the inhale, take it back up into your high lunge so you're unwinding from the twist directly back up to center line. And then with the exhale, simply release the hands down either side of the front foot. We'll pause here and step the back foot in quite a bit in preparation for pyramid. Pretty short stance. And then right foot is barely right of center, left is barely left of center. Give your hips some breathing room. Hands on the earth or blocks as Kelly is demonstrating, hips neutral. Let's inhale, lengthen out through the heart. And then with the exhale, just deepening down into the fold. Yeah. Gazing at the base of that right big toe or up towards the navel, whatever feels better for your neck. Breathing into the back of that right leg and continuing to lengthen the spine. One more breath. And then start to move this into twisting triangle.The left hand can be inner or outer edge of the front foot on the earth or on a block. The right hand can come to the right hip and just for a moment, draw that hip back as the heart extends out. Feel that length in the spine. Then with the inhale, begin to reach right arm to the sky. Keep the back leg really strong, heel anchoring towards the earth. And as the heart reaches open and up, it also reaches out. A few more breaths. I will keep this for the inhale. And with the exhale, simply release hands to the earth, either side of the front foot. And let's give the body a breath with a neutral spine. And the nice and easy inhale, just about halfway up, bending the front knee. Exhale, simply step the left foot to the back of the mat again in preparation for lizard. We're coming down towards the earth. So the back knee lowers. And then we start to walk the hands down inside of the front foot. Lots of variations in this pose. Go mindfully. If that right knee is really happy, really healthy, it can open out to the right a little as Lori is demonstrating. There's nothing tenderness, funkiness, and the knee. You can keep it hugging in towards the body. And then with the upper body releasing down to forearms and elbows on the earth or on the blocks. And maybe if you want to take it a step deeper, the left forearm or the left hand can stay down and the right hand can reach all the way back for the left foot, which Lori is moving into now. If you want to add that deep stretch through the left quad muscles, you're meeting your pose at your own edge. Beautiful and perfect just as it is. A few more breaths here. Being with it, letting it gradually shift. If you do have the back foot, let it go really gently. Yeah. And then from your fold, inhale, start to walk the upper body back in and up. With your exhale, take the hands either side of the front foot, tuck the back toes, lift the back knee nice and strong through your center. With your inhale, you're going to take your right leg back to the sky. Good. And then exhale, just kind of shake it out. Let it go. Let that hip release returning to down dog as you're ready. Pausing here if you'd like or clearing it out with a vinyasa. Inhale to plank. Exhale, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale to cobra up dog and exhale all the way back. Downward facing dog. Second side, inhale, left leg directly up and back. Exhale, step it forward. Feel the earth, strong legs. Inhale, rise, high lunge. Just establishing the posture, the balance, the focus, any variation with the arms. Good. And then keep this for the inhale. And with the exhale, draw the arms out to the side, bending at the elbows for cactus shape. Beautiful. And maybe there's that slight lift from the back of the heart up and through. Nice. As you're ready, inhale, just lift the arms. With your exhale, take the hands to prayer at the heart center. A little more lift. Inhale, rise from belly to heart. And then exhale twist, hooking the elbow outside of the knee. And again, lots of variations. Maybe you stay right where you are, just feeling into that. Maybe the right hand starts to release down outside of the left foot and the left arm reaches to the sky. Yeah. And of course, if you want to play with the fuller of the half bind, feel free. Give this just another breath or two, really wringing things out internally, lengthening and stimulating the spine. We'll stay for the inhale. Just ground on the exhale.
And then with the next inhale, unwinding coming all the way back up into your high lunge. Beautiful. With the exhale, release the hands down either side of the front foot. And then just step the back foot in quite a bit, shortening the stance for pyramid. Give hip space, sprout through the feet, hands on the earth or the blocks. And then again, once you're rooted, exhale to lengthen the spine and exhale deepening into the fold, gazing at the base of the big toe or up towards the navel, breathing into the back of that left leg. Ah, the hips are neutral here. Slight drop of outer right hip, slight lift of outer left hip. One more breath. Then moving slowly into twisting triangle, right hand, the inner or outer edge of that front foot on the earth or on the block at any height. And then we'll take that left hand to the left hip, hooking the thumb into the hip crease, drawing it back as the heart goes out and then taking the twist all the way up through mid and upper back, left arm to the sky. The back leg is strong. The heel is rooted supporting the opening of the upper body. Couple more breaths. And we keep this for the inhale. Exhale, just gently release both hands down either side of the front foot and give the spine a moment. Just neutral for a breath. Good. As you're ready, inhale, lengthen a little, beginning to bend the front knee and exhale, step the back foot towards the back of the mat in preparation for lizard, releasing the back knee down and then moving into it, hands inside of the front foot. This is a whole new knee. So really mindful if there are any different issues on this side, knee hugging in or opening out, stay up on the blocks or release down to the earth. If that's enough, let it be enough. If you'd like, left hand comes all the way back for that right foot to add the quad stretch. And then again, we just be with it. Breathe into it. Feel what's there. Give it your awareness. Give it your breath. Three, two. If you have the back foot, very gently let it go. And then from the fold, inhale, walking the upper body back in and up, exhale, hands either side of the front foot, tucking the back toes, lift the back knee strong through your center with your inhale, take your left leg back to the sky and then just kind of shake it out. Let it go. Release a bit. We'll meet in downward facing dog as you're ready. Again, feel free to just pause here or inhale forward to plank using the vinyasa to clear it out. Exhale to lower. Inhale, cobra up dog and exhale all the way back, downward facing dog. Let's pause, take a big inhale through the nose and let it go out the mouth.
Chapter 11
In that second part of the middle sequence, we started to see that deeper movement, more challenging poses and using the heat and the energy we generated from the first two sections to move into those really deep intense twists. We also saw variations of the poses, ways to support the body if you're not feeling for the full expression of the pose, always meeting it right where you want to be, letting it evolve in time. In the closing section,Chapter 12
we start to bring things down to the earth, moving through a few really soothing, grounding, seated postures, also a sweet hip opener with baddha khanasana and we'll show variations for that. Then we come all the way down onto the back, just to kind of re-engage the core before a few backbendings with variations. Then we'll move into shoulder stand and we'll look at the use of blankets to really keep the neck safe, as well as a block under the sacrum for a modified shoulder stand. Really important to keep this pose safe and sound. And then of course, wrapping it all up with a really sweet, deep shavasana and mindful clothes.
Chapter 13
Giving the body just another breath or two here. And as you're ready at the bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, you can hop or simply step through to sit for dandasana, seated staff. The legs extending straight out, hands rooting just outside of the hips, or if the arms are longer than torso, you can always walk your arms back, press through the hands there so the shoulders don't press up into the ears. Nice. Also, if the back body is tight, you can prop up on a blanket. Spine is tall, legs are awake, shoulders releasing down the back, gazing at the tip of the nose, the top of the thighs, or you might just close the eyes as we find the earth and reconnect. The whole body engaged. And then as you're ready with the inhale, lift the arms up alongside the ears. And with the exhale folding forward into Paschimottanasana, seated forward fold. Many variations here. You're welcome to hold the big toes or the feet as Lori is demonstrating, or you can always take a soft bend in the knees and take hold of the shins. If there's any tenderness in the low back, really tight hamstrings, bow five breaths here. Kneezing into it, letting each breath deepen the pose. And we'll give this one more breath. And then keeping whatever grip you have with the inhale, just lengthen halfway up. Then with the exhale, release the grip and we'll shift into Paschimottanasana, drawing the legs in, taking the soles of the feet together. Thumbs in or arch of the feet, fingers wrapping around, kind of rooting down, nestling into the foundation. We'll take a big inhale to lengthen. And with the exhale, fold forward. All right, to let the back round and the head fall. If you have a block handy, resting the forehead on the block can be extremely releasing, relaxing for the neck. And then if you are in that rounded fold, lengthen as much as possible from the low back up and out of the pelvis, let the rounding come from the mid and the upper back. The legs, the hips have worked hard for you in this practice, giving them a moment here to kind of release and open. A few more breaths. Yeah, and then nice and easy as you're ready with your inhale, rising all the way back up. And then exhale, you can draw the hands outside of the legs and take the knees together. And then just gently transitioning all the way down onto the back. And as you land, hug the knees in towards the chest, wrap your arms around your legs, give yourself a little hug, rocking side to side, releasing the low back a little. Just going to reengage through the core, contact those abdominal muscles, make sure they're engaged before we transition into back bending, the legs stay lifted kind of into a chair shape. And then we press the hands into the thighs, the thighs back into the hands, you can make this as intense as you choose, as is or lifting just slightly through the tailbone, drawing the deep belly in and out, maybe even lifting the head and the shoulders and we'll hold for three, engaging through the center to and exhale, release feet to the earth, arms rest alongside the body, take a big inhale into the belly and exhale, let it go. Take our first backbend together, very simple, gentle bridge. So grounding through all four corners of the feet, scoop the tailbone, lift the hips, the arms can stay at rest or the hands can are laced under the body. And if you'd like a block under your sacrum for a really restorative bridge, always feel free to take it. And one breathe here, opening through the heart, the solar plexus, the belly, the hip flexors, even down into the quad muscles for three, two. If you are content here, especially if you're on a block, please stay here. Maybe a more restorative nourishing backbend is what you need in this practice. Otherwise, gently remove the block and release all the way back to the earth. Take a breath here. And then we'll rise again into bridge, pressing through the feet, scoop the tailbone, inhale, lifting through the hips. Again, arms at rest or hands clasp, kind of crawling those shoulders in and under, maybe for this second expression of backbending, getting a little deeper, letting the hips rise a little more, really strong through the legs, more opening through the whole front body for three, two. If the hands are clasped, release the arms out to the side, melt from the top to the bottom of the spine, back down to the earth. And again, take a breath, let the body settle. Stay with your bridge with or without the block or setting up for full or bedanya asana. Hands come under the shoulders, pressing down through the feet, really strong through all points of contact with the earth. And as you're ready, inhale to rise. Yes, beautiful. Bring some awareness into your feet, if possible, opening out through the heels, toes in a bit, legs really strong, heart wide open, breathing into it, three, two, coming down whenever you need to. And with the exhale, just release. When you do land, take the soles of the feet together, let the knees ease out to the side. Take the right hand of the heart and the left hand to the belly, really soft gaze or close the eyes and feel that sweet rise and fall of the breath. Beginning to slow the practice down, beginning to integrate and settle. Feel all the energy you've generated through the flow, through the deep back bending, and let it move through the whole body. One more breath. And then gently, we'll draw the knees together, hug the legs in towards the chest, rocking yourself a little side to side. And then to counter that deep back bending, we're moving into a twist. You might keep the legs as is, as Kelly will demonstrate, you might wrap the left leg over the right as Lori is demonstrating. And then with the exhale, just let the legs fall to the right, reach the left arm out to the left, let the left shoulder be heavy, countering the movement of the legs and the hips. And then the breath moves down the length of the spine, deep into the low back and the sacrum. And just savoring this. Engage the center a little bit with your inhale, draw the knees back towards the midline. Scooch the hips over to the right, just a little if you have a bind through the legs, take the other leg on top and then gently exhale, let them fall to the left, reaching out through the right arm, heavy through the right shoulder, and let the breath move down the spine, deep into low back and sacrum. Three more breaths, or if you can stay longer, enjoy this as long as you'd like. As you're ready, inhale, draw it back to center, the legs are crossed, let them unwind, and then exhale, hug the knees in towards the chest again, rock a little side to side, and then a slow mindful transition into shoulder stand. If this is not a part of your practice, you're welcome to just come to the wall, take the legs up the wall, otherwise we'll show you a couple variations. Kelly's going to use a block under the sacrum. And then once that's really steady and rooted, and this can be at any height, the legs just come directly up to the sky, right? So you're getting the benefits of the inversion with way less intensity. This is a beautiful option if there are any issues, tenderness in the neck, or if you just like something a little bit more subtle and restorative. Lori has set up with two blankets that stop right at the edge of her shoulders. So her arms, shoulders, very, very, very upper back are on the blankets, while her neck is clear. And you're able to see that allows for the natural curvature of the neck, keeps it healthy and happy for many, many years of practice. The legs reach from there, we're pressing through the balls of the feet, deep, full breath, enjoying the sweet benefits of inversions for five, four, three, two, depending on what variation of the pose you're in, easing out of it really slowly and mindfully. If it feels good, you might take halasana plow just for a breath or two to transition down. If you have the block under the sacrum, slowly release the feet and then lift the hips to remove the block before you come all the way to the earth. Take your time transitioning out of all inversions. And then gradually as you do release back to the earth, take a moment neutral spine, just kind of settle and reconnect. And we'll take happy baby has a final soothing release hugging knees into chest, taking hold of the feet or the ankles might keep this neutral, you might let the body rock a little side to side, you might even play with kind of lengthening one leg out and then the other. It's really all about what feels good here and whatever you intuitively need before your final rest, right? So if your body's calling out for something that I haven't offered, please listen to that. Take it, do what feels good. Another breath or two. And as you're ready with an exhale, releasing into shavasana. Legs extend and gently roll open from the hips, the arms rest alongside the body, palms roll open to the sky. If you prefer, if you have any tenderness in the low back, you might keep the knees bent feet wide on the earth and just let the knees drop in towards each other. Take the shavasana that's best for your body. And once you've made contact with the earth and surrendered all sense of effort, the physical body release, invite the mind and the heart and the subtle body to release. And just one last intentional breath together to facilitate one more layer of letting go. So gently through the nose, we'll take a big inhale. Just for a moment, holding that breath in and then opening the mouth, exhale, offering it all the way, letting yourself truly rest.Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Sustaining this sense of ease and surrender and softening. Gently drawing your awareness back, deepening your breath. For those of you practicing with us at home, if you have the time and space to stay in shavasana, always feel free to do so. When you are ready, bringing a little movement into the hands and the feet. And in your own time on an inhale, extending the arms up and over and reaching out through the fingers and the toes. And then with an exhale, bending the knees, feet to the earth, gently roll to the right. You might pause here. When you feel ready, slowly transitioning back to a comfortable seat. We'll sit together for just a moment or two. If you'd like any support under the sit bones, please feel free to take it. Let your hands rest wherever they're comfortable. Really soft gaze or let the eyes close. And giving yourself a moment to honor the practice and really to transition mindfully. So we're savoring the flow, savoring all that you currently feel in the body. Dropping into that sense of integration and full body practice. And to the extent that it's possible, letting that quality remain with you as you transition from the practice into the rest of your day or your evening. Just the breath and just the current present moment sensations in your body. And we'll gently take the hands to prayer at the heart center and close our practice together with a gentle ohm. Exhale emptying all the breath out. And then together through the nose a big inhale. Ohm. Gently inhaling and a soft bow forward with the exhale.
Namaste. Thank you all so much for practicing with us. Thank you, Kelly. And thank you, Lori. Namaste. In the closing section of the sequence, we're really aiming to start bringing
Chapter 14
everything down to the earth to start grounding and integrating the rest of the practice with seated postures, with longer holds, with some really grounded hip openers. And then of course moving through a few backbends with different variations for that final heart opening before the ultimate close and release. I also want to speak to the shoulder stand sequence. It's kind of a rich conversation in the vinyasa world right now. It's very important to set this pose up intelligently for the long term health of the neck and the whole body. So I highly encourage you to play with the use of the block and or supported blankets so that there's way less pressure, maybe no pressure at all on the neck. Right. And then we bring it down into shavasana and a closing sit. I feel that this is such a critical aspect of the practice. This is where everything physically and energetically begins to integrate. And if we don't take that time for the real nourishment of the whole body, mind, heart, then we leave the practice, you know, a little bit disjointed. So a nice deep long shavasana, a mindful, even if it's 30 seconds to a minute, sit to make the transition off of the mat mindfully.The Art of Vinyasa Sequencing
Mention
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Rosemary Garrison (Teacher) |
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Elise H |
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David G- |
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Kate M |
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Christel B |
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Carmen S. |
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