Marma Points and Easy Yoga

Okay, so this is my home yoga studio. This used to be a chicken coop. Now it's my studio. And this is where we practice. I'm gonna wait to start on time, you know, because it's hard to get the things on time. It's 10 29. But we're gonna just start seated. So you might as well make yourself into something like an easy we call this Sukhasana, which somehow is a little bit misnomed as easy seat, it may or may not be easy. Put the necessary padding you need underneath you and your hips or your knees. And I'm so glad it's 1030 now. So we're kind of quote unquote, officially beginning Karen Kelly made it so glad you're here, Karen. We're kind of officially beginning together. We're going to start easy, get in the mood, move into a meditation, and then move a little bit. So just wobble in and make sure you feel comfortable. And then as you're ready, big deliberate inhale, exhale, let happen and soften, drop your belly and do that again, inhale. And exhale, like a really let your belly drop, let your jaw drop. Soften the eyes. Yeah. Gorgeous. Okay, then just start to lean in. And as you lean in, hey, Sudoti, lean in, let the elbows come down onto the knees. And as you let the elbows come down onto the knees, let another exhale audible happen like I've become what 11 calls a mouth breather these days just seems to help me kind of drop back in. Now, for some of you, this is deep enough. And the quality with which we lean in is as if we're leaning in towards a dear friend listening. And so as you lean in towards a dear friend to listen, relax what you might have to say, slack jaw. And then maybe only if your body wants to only if it would feel good. Some of you might drop down onto your elbows. Okay, some of you might walk your hands a little bit more forward. And the key here, especially I think, you know, some of you said you're a little newer to yoga, the absolute key. Hey, Nicole. Hey, Jodie. All the way from New Zealand, Jodie Watten. Absolutely key is that you pay attention to what feels good and right for you. When we force it feels like force. Nice. Okay, start to make your way over to the right.

Just start to kind of walk your hands over to the right. As you do that, let that right form come down to the floor and tip over like let your left hip come up off the floor. As you let your left hip come up off the floor, circle your top arm up out and over the top of your head. Let that elbow bend. And then slowly to make this super easy, the play here is bring your knee to your elbow. So kind of get round, left knee to right elbow, and then reach the two away. And then do that again. Bring the knee towards the elbow and then reach the two away. Yeah, do that a couple more times. So you kind of get round and little and then you expand into the stretch. And then you get round and you back off a little bit. And then you expand into the stretch. And the next time you're in the stretch, maybe like be there a little bit and kind of roll the heart open a little bit. Reach away a little bit. See if you can find that extension. Yeah, super nice. Take a look down at the earth and let an inhale bring you all the way back up and pause. And it should feel quite nice. There should be this kind of like, oh, almost there's a sense of taking a hit off the results. Nice. Switching the cross of your legs. Now as you switch the cross of your legs, big deliberate inhale, exhale, let it happen. And then start to let your elbows come into your onto your knees, lean. Okay, so you're leaning in like you're having a conversation with a dear friend. So there's a softness in the jaw, a kindness in the eyes and let the ears open and wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for the internal green light that that indicates that you should extend. And then only if it feels right, you start to let your hands come a little bit more out in front of you. You start to let the elbows maybe bend for some of you. And you want to feel the stretch. You want to feel that opportunity. Those tight spots are where there's opportunity of opening. My teacher Jatsumna and the teachings of the Bodhisattva, there's a suggestion that one prays for difficult people and difficult circumstances in order to find out who we really are. One of the troubles with always being with people that adore you in situations that are easy is we can become quite disillusioned that we're really relatively good people and relaxed. Okay, slow, lift up just a little bit and I'll start to make your way over to the left. Now you'll start to feel that more in that right hip. And as you come over to the left now, you're going to let that forearm come down to the floor. You're going to let that right hip come up off the floor and then circle that top arm about and over and let that elbow bend. So you come out of the intensity a little bit and then play with letting that knee and that elbow come towards each other and then let them move away and play with letting that knee and that elbow come towards each other and then let them move away and do that a couple more times. You're kind of backing out of a little bit and then touching the extension and you're backing out of it and you're touching the extension. And when we do that, we let the nervous system know that there's an exit route. And when we know there's an exit route, when there's a sense of sort of quote unquote end date and moment, things can relax. Yeah. And then once you come into the extension, you might round it a little bit to get more into the back body. You might roll your heart open to get more into the front body. Yeah. So beautiful. Okay. Take a look down towards the hand on the earth. Let it inhale, bring you all the way back up. Super nice. And take a moment to just soak in that result. Let the jaw slack easy in the eyes. Nice. Now we're going to move into what we call a Marma Point meditation practice. And so make sure you're quite comfortable, like get yourself in a comfortable seat. And if it would be more comfortable for you to sit in a chair for this, this will be about a 10 minute practice. Then feel free to sit up in a chair. Marma translates as vulnerable and the Marma points are these points along the naughty, the system that moves the prana and the subtle anatomy maps. Come up to the whichever arm you start with is fine. You're going to come up to the shoulder area and there's this little triangular spot. Those of you that know acupuncture, it's gallbladder 21, but that doesn't matter so much, but you're just going to find that little tender spot right in there's a little triangle at the top of the shoulder. And you're going to know you found it cause it's going to have a feeling like it's been waiting for you. I'm going to bring your, your two fingers on that point and you don't need to dig into it. Just press a little bit and feel the inhale rise to meet the point. And as you exhale, let the hands sink in. It's like receive your touch. Yeah. As you inhale, let your awareness and your breath rise to where your fingers are. And as you exhale, receive your touch. We'll do that one more time. Just kind of, it'll just feel like it's been waiting for you. There's a quality of longing and gently like press enough so that your attention is held there. Let an inhale move towards the area and let an exhale soften you. Let an inhale move towards the area of your touch and let an exhale soften.

Beautiful. Now you're going to move your fingers towards technically what's called the acronium process. It's the, you have this little bone on the outer edge of your shoulder and it's, if you were wearing shoulder pads, it's, it's where the extension would be. And you just go underneath there, hold the touch there, inhale and exhale, let your hands soften and do that again. Inhale. Oh, Trudy's here. Hey, Trudy. Exhale, soften. Megan's here. Trudy. Slide the hand down. Now you're going into where we call, it's sort of where the deltoid becomes its tendon. Again, I'm giving technical points, but not because it's a technical experience. I'm just trying to help the map. You're going to nuzzle into there and you're going to inhale towards your touch and you're going to exhale, soften. We're using this practice as a pratahara to draw us inward. Okay. Now, as we move towards the bicep, I like to use my thumb. I like to place my thumb right in the middle of the bicep and press and then inhale towards the thumb. And as you exhale, let it soften. Inhale towards the thumb and exhale, let it soften. Nice. Now slide the hand down. You've got your elbow. You're going to go just past your elbow to the forearm muscle, the top of the forearm muscle. Again, you'll find it. If you find a spot that's tender, you've found a marma point. Gently hold the thumb there. Inhale towards it. Exhale, soften. Again, marma. Marma means vulnerable. It is only where we are vulnerable that there is an opportunity for change. Vulnerability is a key aspect of transformation. Okay. Slide the hand down. Now you're going to find the wrist. You've got your wrist bone. You're going to go, because I'm thinking of the fingers at the top. If that's confusing, I'm sorry. You've got the wrist bones. Just go towards the fingers so you're squeezing on either side of the wrist. And then gently inhale and exhale, let it happen. Do that again. Inhale. Exhale, let it happen. Nice. Now gently slide your thumb to the pinky side of the pad of the hand and gently press. And it's like move your awareness towards your hand. Like meet your touch. The practice of yoga and meditation is a meeting of self. Okay. Slide the hand, the thumb now to the thumb pad of the palm and gently hold your thumb there and inhale towards your touch. Exhale, press. Inhale towards your touch and exhale, press. And then the middle of the hand. Gently nuzzle the thumb into the middle of the hand. Oh, could you try again? That was Siri. Maybe that's how some of you are feeling too. Sorry. Okay. Now pinky pad. So you're going to go to the pinky nail just where the nail and the finger meet. And you're going to gently squeeze. So I'm squeezing with my thumb and my index finger on either side. And you're just going to squeeze. And again, as you inhale and then you exhale, you receive. Moving to the ring finger, squeeze.

Moving to the middle finger, squeeze. And as you come to the index finger, it's not the middle of the index finger. It's just slightly to the right. So closer to the thumbs, it's just off to the side. Right is relative depending on which hand you're using. Sorry. So just to the inside of the index finger pad. Yes. And then the thumb, squeeze. Okay. Now gently release both arms down on your legs and just pause. Big, deliberate inhale. Exhale, let it happen. And then really notice the quality of yourself from the result of your touch, your attention, your drawing yourself inward. Whatever we give attention to requires us and steals from us, takes from us, reduces our prana. And so when we can draw our attention inward, it becomes a closed loop. It becomes self nourishing. Can you feel that? Okay. Other side, whichever other side is for you, index finger and middle finger, let that find that top shoulder spot. And while you do that, inhale up into there, exhale, let it just going to enhance the light of this situation. So I'm still here with you. Inhale. And as you exhale, let it happen. That work. That didn't quite work. And then move your hand down to the pectoral muscle, the outside of the pack. Inhale. And as you exhale, let it happen.

And do that again. Inhale. And let an exhale happen. Sorry about that, Nicole. And then slowly from here, move that hand to the acronium process just outside that shoulder blade. So it's like, I'm sorry, shoulder blade isn't the right. You've got this, this nice long bone that, you know, in the eighties held your shoulder pads and I think holds it again. And you just kind of tuck under there. It's like you find the bone and you kind of tuck under there. And again, you're not trying to give yourself a massage. You're using your hand as the focus. Yeah. Gorgeous. Okay. Release that. And now find your thumb in the middle of your bicep. So you're going to find the middle of your bicep and you're going to kind of press your thumb into the middle of the bicep and you're going to inhale. You're going to move your awareness towards here and exhale, let it happen. And do that again. Inhale. And exhale. Gorgeous. Slide that thumb down now to the forearm. So you go below the elbow, that upper forearm. And again, tenderness is not a problem. Tenderness is an indication that we have an opportunity. Move your awareness to your touch and exhale, let it soften. Move your awareness to your touch and let it soften. The breath is kind of the more obvious layer of the prana. Slide the hand down to the wrist area. So you're just going to go towards the finger side of those little wrist bones and with your thumb and your middle finger or your thumb and your index finger, just gently squeeze. And so the breath, we allow the breath to help tether us inward. But at a certain point, the breath itself might even be distracting. There's this deeper layer of the breath that starts to capture us. Okay, super nice. Turn the palm up and on the pinky side of the pad, gently nuzzle your thumb into that pad and inhale up towards the thumb. And as you exhale, let it happen. Inhale up in towards the thumb.

This is where it's touching. Exhale. Nice. Now you're going to find the thumb pad side and you can kind of feel there's this little triangular spot that you can kind of dip down into. Yes. Beautiful. And now right in the center of the hand, and I don't know about you, but touch is something I really miss right now. That physical like, hmm. And I realize how much I rely on touch to communicate that I care. So it's good to find other ways. Okay, so turn your hand over and now you're going to find that the pad, the fingernail of your pinky, you're just going to squeeze at the base of the fingernail and the finger just gently squeeze. Now do the same on what gets called the ring finger around to your squeeze. Middle finger and squeeze. And as you come to the index finger, the pointer finger, it's not in the center. You just go slightly to the side. The thumb is on squeeze and then the thumb. Yeah. And then gently release that and let's sit together for maybe let's say like two-ish minutes, two to three minutes or so big deliberate inhale, exhale let it happen and just soften the low belly. Eyes are closed or softly focused. Just like really be aware of the results of paying attention inward. And something one of my new teachers John Dunn says, which I really love is trust that the body knows how to sit. Like trust that the ground has you. It helps to let a little bit of a happen. Let the back of the heart widen. So there's this natural generosity of the heart. Let the back of the heart ease. And as you find the alignment of your skull, you're kind of looking for the, you're sensing where the skull finds its placement where neck tension is not so necessary. Yeah. Gorgeous. I got the base of the skull widen. Upper palate domes. Yes. Let's be like this for about another minute. Trusting that the ground has you. Receptive in the heart. Wide up through the skull. Expansive. Yeah. Beautiful. So nice. If you would like to just continue sitting, if movement doesn't feel like what your body craves, just continue sitting. Otherwise, if it would feel good to move a little bit, the invitation now is to gently release your legs, shake them out a little bit, move whatever you've been using for support out of the way. I like to like, I find that lately giving my knees a little bit of a, Hey, thanks. Thanks for still. Thanks for still working often feels good. And then make your way onto all fours. If it would feel good to have some padding underneath your knees, go ahead and put some padding underneath your knees. Spread your fingers wide. Let the heels of the palms be right underneath the shoulders, the knees underneath the hips. As you inhale, allow your body to arch. And as you exhale, allow your body to round. And as you inhale, allow your body to arch. And as you exhale, allow your body to round. Do this a handful more times so that it feels good for you. Wiggle and open. And isn't it so great? Like we're here together.

And you can be doing whatever you want, right? These are the kind of relationships we seek. Really safe and absolutely free. Okay. Let it come back into neutral and let's make our way into a little bit of an easy side plank. So that right knee, I'm going to put my right knee right underneath my hip and put my right hand underneath my face. Extend back through your back leg. But for me, that's the left spin onto the outer edge of that foot and then circle that top arm about and let that top elbow bend a little bit back out slightly. And then very similar to what we were doing when we were in the Sukhasana side bend. Let the back knee bend a little bit. Let that elbow come towards the back knee and then re-extend root through the back foot and reach through the fingertips. And then do that again. Bring it in. Yes. And then reach. Yeah. Really nice. Do that a few more times. Bring it in. And reach. Yeah. Beautiful. On this, maybe it's the last one, maybe it's just the next one for you. Reach and allow your heart to maybe turn up just a little bit more. So pretty.

Lay it all the way back onto all fours. Let an inhale happen. Let an exhale happen. Nice. Let yourself come back to neutral other sides. And for me, that's the left hand underneath the face, knee underneath the hip. Extend back through that back foot, right? And circle that top arm about and over the top of your head. Let the elbow bend. And then just like we did on the other side, let the back knee bend and bring the elbow towards the knee a little bit. And then reach through the back foot and extend. Yeah. Really nice. And then do that again. Bring it in and then extend. Beautiful. Continue like that. And so when you bring it in, you're kind of giving yourself room to then be able to re-extend and you might round it a little bit. Yes. To get more into the back body. And you might arch open a little bit to get more into the front body. Eventually you're going to come into an extension that feels good to hold for a little bit. Hold that for a little bit and wiggle it a little bit longer. Yeah. So beautiful. And then slow circle yourself back down on to all fours. Let an inhale arch the body. Let an exhale round the body. And from the rounding, draw yourself back towards child's pose. Hips back towards the heels. Some of you know, I got a brand new shiny titanium knee last year. And so while I'm so happy with my new product, like best knee I've ever had, my flexibility game was definitely sacrificed and child's pose has become a goal pose. Okay. Slow. Let an inhale bring you back onto all fours. Let's make our way into a little bit of a plank. So spread the fingers wide. Tuck the toes under, lift up through the backs of the legs. Now wiggle on back a little bit and feel a little bit of a hub breath to help your navel draw back to your spine. Feel that length back through the heels. And as it would feel good, let yourself make your way back into heel downward facing dog. Get long back through there. Wobble a little bit. I like to bend one knee, let the other leg draw straight. Bend the other knee, let the opposite leg straight. Do that a handful of times so it feels good for you. Wiggle and lengthen. Yes. Gorgeous. Okay. The idea here is that we'll find a lunge. So as you take a look forward between your hands, the goal here is to bring your right foot between your hands, which might take two steps. For some of you, you're going to bring your right foot a little bit forward, catch around behind that foot and help it along. Wiggle back through the back left leg and let that knee find its way towards the earth. Make sure it's adequately padded for you. You're going to inhale, drop back a little bit, and you're going to exhale and sink in. And you're going to inhale and drop back a little bit and exhale and sink it in. And again, this is the same idea as before. Just letting the body know that you're coming in towards a stretch is the polite thing to do. We've discussed this a lot in the past. In the actual physical body, which I don't know what that is, but I'm going to say that anyway, when it perceives that you're stretching, the natural appropriate nervous system response is to suggest to stop that because the stretching indicates that there's change, which never feels safe for the nervous system. So eventually you're going to find a spot that feels pretty good to sink into. And as you sink in, you're going to let that left hip get heavy, let a bit of a hop and open your jaw and your mouth. It just helps. Sighing helps so much.

And then it might feel good to roll a little bit to one side, get into the outer hip. You might roll a little bit to the other side, kind of get into the inner hip. Yeah. Sinking. Back of the neck is long. A couple more beats here. You're just kind of letting that front I know like, Hey, yeah. Okay. Now walk your hands back, extend the right leg forward a little bit. Now only as much as feels good. So for most of you, that leg will still be bent as the hamstring starts to go, what? For some of you, as you kind of like dig that heel in and you allow that right hip to draw back, you're just a little bit, not too much, just enough so that you you're paying attention. And then that same cat cow, as you exhale, you're going to round. As you inhale, you're going to arch. As you exhale, you're going to round, get more into the back body. And as you inhale, you're going to roll the pelvis forward, get more into the front body. Sorry, the hamstring. Yeah. One more time like that. And arch so that you're more into the hamstring, gooey in the jaw, the eyes. Remember that feeling post Marma Point meditation, let a little bit of a happen. Yeah. Okay. Slow. Let that right knee bend. And we're going to make our way into Le Pigeon. Do heel that right foot over. Okay. You're going to come down onto that right leg. Now this back leg can do a lot of different things. Maybe it's straight, but for some of you it might bend and just kind of open out to the side. It's okay. Okay. And for stem review, staying upright is really the way to go. And for some of you walking your hands a little bit forward and just kind of finding a little bit more opportunity through that hip, which means finding a little bit more opportunity through you. If you're all the way down on the forearms, big, deliberate inhale, exhale, let a happen. And most of you out there have been practicing yoga long enough to know that there is no magical moment where suddenly you have accomplished the pose and then you can move on. These again, these are relationships. These postures give us opportunities to be in relationship with different parts of ourselves. And I have yet to meet a part of myself that likes to be abused and beaten and forced into something. Okay. Slow. Let yourself come all the way back up. And now this might feel a little fancy. We're going to turn towards that back foot. So we're going to turn towards the back foot. So for me, that's the left leg is extending out. And then this right foot is coming to the inside of that left leg. Okay. Now I'm not mirroring you anymore, so I hope it's not too confusing. You're going to extend your hand down the extended leg and you're going to circle that top arm up towards the sky. You should recognize the shape by now. Let that type of top elbow bend. And as that top elbow bends a little bit, feel how you can kind of roll that, that bent knee hip. For me, that's the right leg. You're going to roll that hip towards the floor. Now, as you then start to reach out over the leg, let the bottom elbow bend and it might feel good to round a little bit and kind of reach forward. For some of you, it might feel good to let the elbow bend and open up through the heart. Just kind of be here a little bit casual. Again, you might kind of round the spine and reach. You might let the elbow bend and open. Hamful more moments. Just kind of wiggle out there a little bit.

Let that elbow bend. Take a look down at the extended leg, let an inhale bring you all the way back up and pause. Coming out of a side bend has such a nice hit. It's like, enjoy that. Pay attention to that. Super nice. So our transition, we're going to make our way back through the shape of pigeon. So you're going to roll back towards that bent right knee. You're going to extend back through that left foot. You're going to tuck the back toes under and then feel your way back into downward facing dog. And as you come back into downward facing dog, let one knee bend, let the other knee bend. Let that feel good. Yes. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. I need to put apology out to Nicole. Nicole, I'm sorry I wore a hoodie that that might be hitting the microphone. My bad. I didn't have, I didn't have wardrobe at my home today. Okay. Slow. Finding that left foot between the hands now for the lunge on the opposite side, drop the right knee down. Okay. Make your way into that, you know, help it along. And then same idea. We're going to introduce ourselves, back it up a little bit and sink it in and back it up a little bit and sink it in and continue what you're doing when you come out of it. Again, just to repeat, when you, when you, when you give yourself room and you let your nervous system know there's an exit route, then it's more willing to play along with what's happening. Let it happen. Yes. Gorgeous. Okay. Eventually you'll be invited to sink in. And as you sink in, you let that right buttocks or the back buttocks get heavy. Let that right sit bone draw under a little bit. That erjago slack and allow the moment of the opportunity of the opening, like allow it to receive you. Just like when we were in the Marma Point meditation and there was a sense of receiving the pressure of your hands, not forcing them in. Yeah. Yeah. Softer in the eyes, kinder in the jaw. Yes. Really nice. Beautiful. You might roll it a little bit to the outside of that hip. You might roll it a little bit to the inside of that hip. A couple more times. There's a whole landscape of a front thigh there. And if you're like me and you now spend all day long on zoom, it's tight in there. Okay. Nice. Slow them. We're going to make our way into the hamstring stretch on the other side. You're going to walk your hands back slowly, extend that front leg forward only as much as your particular anatomy allows. So a lot of how these shapes look as we talk about often, they're a combination of how you came out of the womb and your day job. Plus now I know and surgery. So dig the head heel in a little bit. And as you exhale, let your body round slightly so you can get into the back body. And as you inhale, let your body arch so you can get more into the hamstring.

Yes. And just like play with this for you. Let an exhale round the body a little bit and let your body arch. Yeah. Okay. And a little more like this. You know, a lot of us have been talking like, we're just amazed at just how much being, you know, in our daily life moving about keeps us more mobile. And suddenly this sort of stay at home thing, how easy it is to get stiff and sort of rigid just because the environment's not changing. Julie specifically, Julie, this is a shout out to you that, you know, you didn't notice how much walking up and down those giant stairs at El Camp was working. Okay. Next time you come into the hamstring stretch, so your pelvis is rolling forward a little bit and your heart is lengthening. Let a bit of a happen. Nice. Gooey in the back of the neck. Okay. Super great. Slow. You're going to let that, that front knee bend again, and we're going to make our way into pigeon on the other side. I don't know why I always like to call it the pigeon. There's just something I, when I think of pigeons, like to me it's, I associate them with France. Sorry, France. Okay. Sink in. Adjust this how it is. Maybe there's some padding underneath you. Maybe the back knee is bent. You can't do it wrong. The only thing that would make it wrong is if you were forcing yourself to do something that felt bad. So let a happen. So as long as you feel that kind of dull, achy, like, Oh, I haven't stretched that in a really long time. You're on the right track. Maybe coming forward a little bit down onto the forearms. And, and even if you are forcing, like this is part of the beauty of these practices. They meet us where we are. So even if you are forcing, then it's just that awareness of, huh, check me out. I'm forcing. And then there's been an exposure. There's been a witnessing and now it can reduce its grip. Yeah. Gorgeous. Kind in the eyes. Easy in the jaw. Really nice. Beautiful. Okay. Same idea as on the other side, you're going to slowly start to come up and you're going to turn towards that back leg. So you're going to turn towards that back leg. So that foot is on the inside of that right leg. I'm going to turn around so that I'm still seeing you. And then you're going to bring your, that arm that's in line with the extended leg down towards that leg. Circle that top arm up out and over. Let the left, that top elbow bend. So for me, it's my right leg extended in my left elbow bending for you. It might be different and then slow. Feel how you can roll that hip or the bent knee towards the earth and feel how you can reach that top arm away and kind of way. You can roll it forward a little bit to get into the back body and you can roll it open to get a little bit into the front body. Every time it would feel good. You might bend that top elbow again to back off and then re extend. Feel that like full in that top lung. Beautiful. So nice. Such a good job showing up today. Yeah. As our teacher Eric says, if you've shown up, that's the hard part. And then just be casual about what happens next. Okay. Take a look down at that foot that's extended and slowly roll back up and pause and just pause and like maybe even let your eyes close, like let the jaw go slack. Just like feel the result of that side bend. It's so nice. Yeah. Gorgeous.

And the transition is back into that downward facing dog. So you're going to turn to face that front knee. So we're going through the shape of pigeon and then you're going to tuck the back toes under and you're going to extend back to downward facing dog. Yes. Beautiful. So nice. We're going to make our way towards our belly for a little low back work. So on an inhale, you're going to make your way to plank and on an exhale, you're going to drop your knees down, let your elbows bend and lower down. And we're going to start in sphinx pose. So let your forearms come forward. So I'm on my forearms. My elbows are pretty close into my body. And then what I like to do is sink first and really kind of snuggle down into the earth. My feet are about, you know, place your feet about hip distance apart if that feels okay. If there's tweakiness in the knee, if it doesn't feel good to have your knees resting, sometimes tucking your toes under can create the traction that your knees need. And then just so gently have this gentle sense of dragging your hands towards you a little bit so that you have this conveyor belt feeling in the arms as you kind of wiggle your shoulders back and down and just kind of feel how you can sort of gently pull, getting just a little bit of space and let a bit of a happen and allow the face to be bright. It's gentle. You're just sort of just dragging your hands towards you a little bit to get a little bit of lift up through the heart. Nice. Inhale here. Exhale, let your elbows go wide. Let your face rest on your hands. If it would feel good, bend the knees and wobble the legs a little bit side to side. Super nice. Okay. Let the legs come back behind you and let's do that again. Sphinx. Let your forearms come forward. Roll the shoulders back and down and then just the littlest bit of traction. Drag the hands towards you as you drag your heart forward. Let a little bit of a happen. So nice. If you'd like, you can give just a little bit more action down through the tops of the feet. You can engage the legs a little bit. For some of you, that's going to feel awesome. Nice. Inhale here. Exhale, let a happen. Elbows wide. Face rest on the hands. Bend the knees and wobble the legs a little side to side. So nice. Okay. Gently let yourself now roll onto your back. So make like a blueberry pancake and flip yourself over. Let your heels come in line with your sit bones and let your arms come down along your sides. Big deliberate inhale and exhale, let a happen. Our plan now is to find our way towards a bridge, a hip opener, a twist and shavasana. So as you are ready, allow for an inhale. And as you exhale, press into the heels, let the sit bones draw under towards the knees. Pause here, spread the toes a little bit and kind of snuggle the feet more into the floor. For some of you, this might be deep enough. Some of you wrote me this morning and said, you're really new at yoga. This might be where it's at. Soften through the throat, soften through the eyes.

This little mild inversion here. If it feels appropriate, start to wiggle your shoulders underneath you as you wiggle your shoulders underneath you. It can sometimes feel good to press your pinky side of your hand down into the earth. So the palms are facing towards each other. I'm just adjusting my microphone. I'm aware it's hitting my face. Sorry if that's giving you feedback. Yes. Now some of you know that your interlacers or waist supporters, go ahead and find your bridge, your version, softer in the throat, kinder in the eyes. Yeah. When you're ready to come out of it, come up onto the balls of the feet, release your arms up to the sky. And as you exhale, roll back down, upper back, mid back, low back, hips, land, heels, land, arms come down along your side and pause. Big delivered inhale and exhale everything. Really nice. Beautiful. Let's find one more bridge. If it would feel good for you, heels in line with your sit bones, nozzle your feet in, inhale here. And as you exhale, press into the feet, draw your sit bones under, lift your hips. Again, this might be the perfect spot. Stay here. If this is enough of an ask, if it would feel good, start to wiggle your shoulders underneath you. As you wiggle your shoulders underneath you, press into the pinky side, kind in the eyes, easy in the jaw. Notice if you're clenching your butt a lot, soften your buttocks just a little bit and see if you can find the action more from the sit bones drawing under a little softer in those inner groins. Yes. Some of you might be interlacing, that's fine. Gorgeous. When you're ready to come out, come up onto the balls of the feet, release your arms in the sky, get round in the upper back and roll back down, upper back, mid back, low back, hips and heels, land, arms come down along your side. Beautiful. Let the knees come into the chest and wobble. Hug your knees if that feels good or maybe one hand on each one. Making our way into what sometimes gets called a figure four, sometimes eye of the needle, right ankle up on top of left thigh, roll the right hip away, draw the left thigh in. And for some of you, this is already enough action. Okay. If it would feel good to get more action, slide the right hand through the triangle of the leg, catch around the back of the left thigh. For some of you, that's perfect. Couple of you who are, you know, do this all the time, maybe catch a hold on top of the shin. Yeah. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Okay. Making our way into a spinal twist. So release the grab from around the back of the thigh or shin. And if it would feel good, slide this top right leg over the left. Now, maybe this hook, this right foot hooks behind the left calf, perhaps rabbit. Maybe, maybe not. And then bring everything over to the left. So you're bringing the whole knee situation over to the left, right palm on top of the left palm. Organize yourself. And then once you're organized, circle this top arm all the way back over to the right. What I like to do is bend the elbow as I bend the elbow that my shoulder is not, it's not so demanding on the shoulder. Let a bit of a happen here. Yes. If it's too much strain, unwrap the legs and simply rest the right leg on top of the left leg. It can be a big ask if you're not used to it. Beautiful to get out of this. Take the knees over to the left as you unwrap. So I'm just resting the top right leg on top of the left. And then lead with the top right leg. Let yourself come on back. Really nice.

Other side eye of the needle. Let that left ankle find its way to the top of the right thigh. And for some of us, this is enough. For some of you to enhance it, you're going to find your way around the back of the right thigh or top of the right shin. Let a bit of a hop. And if you're doing the situation with your face, it's too much. Soften the jaw. Yes. Wabble. Beautiful. Really nice. And then make your way into the spinal twist. So release the grip. Wrap that top left leg around the right and then bring everything over to the right. Organize. Left palm on top of right palm. And then circle that left palm back out over the left again. I like to bend the elbow so it helps the shoulder blade draw under. Find out what feels really good for you. Yeah. Let a hop. There's as many ways to practice yoga as there are people practicing yoga. The key thing we're playing with here is what is the good and true alignment trying to come through you? This is the very first alignment principle in the Yoga Sutras, Ahimsa. Non-violation as in not violating you. Because I'm hanging out with the Buddhist, that meaning of you is getting more complex. It's another lesson for another day. Okay. Keep the legs over to the right. Unwrap. Okay. And now lead with the top left leg. Let the situation come back. Wabble. Hug the knees into the chest. It might feel good to curl up. Head towards your knees. Yes. And then let the feet come down to the floor. Knees are bent. Let the head come down to the floor and pause. Let a bit of a hop. Check your back. It might feel good to rest with widening your feet and letting your knees fall to each other. So for some of you, that's more comfortable on your back. But for some of you, it will feel good to let one leg extend and the other leg extend. Turn the palms open. Snuggle the shoulder blades under and let's be in Shavasana together for about two minutes. Big, deliberate inhale. Exhale, let all happen. And while you continue to rest there, I'm going to, I'm going to sit up only so that I'm attentive to time and don't drift off too far. And you, of course, are allowed there to stay there as long as you like, but soften the jaw. Let the mouth go slack. Let your eyes feel kinder, forehead more wondering, mind spacious. And to kind of repeat the suggestion from our teacher, John Dunn, trust that your body knows how to lie down. Trust that the earth has you. You You might just stay there. Just reach over and hit off on me. But if you'd like to stay together, you're gonna slowly let your head wobble a little bit from side to side. It might feel good to stretch your arms up over the top of your head, lengthening through the fingers and the toes. Let your knees come into your chest and wobble. And then the invitation, the eventual transition is back up towards the seat, but the invitation, some of you might roll to your side and press back up. Some of you might be inclined to rock and roll. And then as you make your way to a comfortable seat, big deliberate inhale, exhale everything trusting that the ground has you.