Soft and Centered

Again, welcome to Yoga Anytime Live, so delighted you're here. We're going to start our practice seated, so you might sit up on a blanket, and we'll come into a Sukhasana cross-leg position. We'll start our practice with some breath awareness, just beginning to soften the sensory awareness inward to tune into what is arising within, touching on the breath. We'll find some kind of slow, gentle, floor-opening shapes to find a bit more room through the body, move through some slow, kind of standing sun salutations and shapes, and then make our way back down in preparation for a seated meditation together. Okay, so make sure you're comfy and cozy, and getting the alignment of your body just right for you.

You might take a few moments to just rock a little bit forward and back on your sitting bones. Just beginning to soften the gaze inward a bit, letting the eyes soften, and then softening down through the jaw and the shoulders, and then inviting a quality of lift and length up through your spine, and finding the placement of your head and skull, where it's gently floating back and up, so the chin softens down a little bit, creating a bit more space through the back of the neck, base of your skull, and taking a few moments here to tether the attention towards the breath. And most likely the mind is quite active, I know for me my mind is kind of swirling around right now, super active and busy, so let's see if we can just begin to tether our attention towards the breath for a few moments. Just beginning to notice the sensation of the breath through the body, and the areas you can soften, just allowing for this settling, like mixing water and sand, and the sand is kind of settling down. And then from here, let's explore three part breath, so just begin to bring your hands around your upper chest area, kind of around the collar bones, and just so gently begin to just feel the breath in the upper chest, and then exhale, and keep it soft through the throat, the neck and the shoulders.

I know for me lately I find myself feeling a little panicky, right, a little bit of anxiety, so a lot of the breath is kind of from the shoulders, chest up, so just noticing. Then we're going to move down into the rib cage, so you might bring your hands here on the side ribs, or you might cross your arms and kind of wiggle your fingers around your rib cage, and with your hands here, can you begin to get a feeling and a sense of drawing the breath, and it down and wide into the ribs, and keeping it soft and relaxed through the throat, the neck, the shoulders. You might even imagine the lungs gently stretching and expanding into the ribs, into the intercostals, aware of the back of your lungs, more moments here, beginning to awaken the diaphragm, intercostals, the deeper abdominal muscles, those primary muscles of breathing and respiration, and then relaxing the effort here, drawing your awareness, your attention down into your lower belly area, and bringing your hands here, begin to get a sense and a feeling of the breath in this area, and without forcing or pushing the breath, just noticing how the breath responds with some attention, more moments, and this belly breath has saved me over the last month, really kind of quieting the mind, calming the nervous system a little bit, that panicky feeling, just a few more moments here, and then just gradually begin to relax the effort of your attention and your arms, and let's just take a few shoulder rolls, rolling the shoulders up, back, and down a few times, nice, and then from here we'll ease into a forward fold, so flexing the ankles a little bit, and then from here begin to walk the hands forward, and just allow yourself to rock a little bit from side to side, feeling all the sensations through the hips, and it might feel nice to come up onto your fingertips, and as you inhale, kind of drag and draw your chest forward, so feeling this nice traction through the spine, exhale, let the sitting bones get heavy, softening the shoulders down the back long through the neck, you might stay here in this extension, you might exhale and just let your back round and stretch here, that feeling that kind of wide, dull, warm, achy feeling through the whole back body, yeah, I know I feel it from the tailbone all the way up through the skull, when you feel ready just slowly roll and round your way up, we'll come into a side stretch here, so as you're ready reach your right arm out, inhale, stretch your left arm up, and just find that good stretchy feeling and a grounding down through that left sitting bone, reach and open through that left arm and let yourself kind of roll forward and back a few times, nice, oh, feels so good, you might stay with this, you might walk your right fingertips out, soft bend through the elbow and stretch up out and over to your right, you might stay with this, it might even feel good to come onto your forearm and reach through the fingers and then let that left on a hip and sitting bone get heavy towards the floor, a couple more breaths here you might explore and kind of revolve the torso down and then revolve the torso up, might even feel nice to bend your top elbow, cactus opening through the shoulder, finding a place where your neck feels good, breathing wide into the side body, creating space, beautiful, when you feel ready inhale, let that top arm carry you all the way up, take a moment pause, notice how you feel, maybe a few shoulder rolls would feel nice, clearing breath, nice and then let's go ahead and lean back and just switch the cross of the legs to bring the opposite shin in front and kind of wobble into the sitting bones again, flexing the ankles, easing our way into our second forward fold, yeah, side to side, feeling into the hips, the side body, you might again come up onto your fingertips and inhale, kind of drag and draw your heart forward, feeling this nice extension, long through the back of the neck and with an exhale again soften, release, be surrendering into the shape of the forward fold, letting your breath move into where you feel the sensation, just allow for a generous exhale, more moments here, notice the quality through the hands, maybe palms down, feels like grounding and settling, palms up, you feel a little bit more vulnerable and receptive, then take your time from here, as you're ready just slowly begin to roll and round your spine, nice side bending over to the other side, reach the left arm out, as you're ready inhale stretch the right arm up and just allow yourself to kind of lean a little bit forward and back, finding space and room through that right side body, breathing wide into the lungs or into the intercostals, nice, you might stay with this, you might walk the fingertips out, bend the elbow and then just stretch your top arm up out and over to the left, you might stay with this, you might move around in there rounding downward and maybe spiraling up, feeling the bottom lung, reach up, times like this, you might notice the side feels totally different, and you might stay with this, you might come onto the forearm if that would feel good, stretching and then letting that kind of right knee hip release downward, and it might feel nice to bend the top elbow, kind of cactus open up through the shoulder and then re-reach a few more moments here, take your time as you're ready inhale reach up with that top arm, exhale release, your shoulder rolls, you might feel good to inhale through the nose and exhale out of the mouth and then we'll free the legs, bring the opposition on top again, kind of settle in, flexing the ankles, moving into a spinal twist, as you're ready inhale stretch the arms up towards the sky and find that length evenly through both sides and with your exhale let's twist to the right, left hand finds the outer right knee, right fingertips might reach down towards the floor or it might feel good to bend the elbow and just wrap the top of that right hand around the low back and as you inhale feel how you can draw your spine into your back lifting and with the exhale gently twist to the right, new breaths here, you find a sense of fullness in your back ribs, easy through the face and then as you're ready stay on the twist and just allow your head to rotate forward, maybe continue stretching over that front left shoulder with an inhale and then just exhale let the body unwind. Last time we'll just switch the cross of the legs if that would feel good, settling in, as you're ready inhale stretch the arms up towards the sky, exhale twist to the left, right hand finds the outer left leg, left fingertips might reach towards the floor or again you might bend the elbow and just wrap the top of the hand around the lower back, inhale invites length, exhale deepens you into the twist, just noticing if you can soften any kind of gripping through that right hip flexor, now I feel some gripping there, you feel a fullness of breath in the back ribs without hardening the back or spine and wringing it out, and then as you're ready stay on the twist and slowly rotate your head forward, it might feel good to continue rotating over that front right shoulder with an inhale and then exhale just slow unwind, a few shoulder rolls up back and down, nice from here let's switch the right arm out and just roll the shoulder forward bend the elbow and bring the back of the hand to around the sacrum or for some of you you're bringing it up between your shoulder blades, just going to soften the chin downward towards the chest and then gently roll the left ear towards the left shoulder, so we're rolling the head away from that right elbow and you might stay with this, you might nod your head downward a little bit, maybe nodding the head upward, opening up through that right shoulder, times like this super gentle breathing into where you feel it, you might prefer this kind of up and down slow movement you might find a spot where you want to kind of pause and linger for a few moments, you feel ready to release take your time roll the chin back to the chest free that right arm and then just slowly let the head lift up again, a few shoulder rolls, like inside reaching the left arm out internally rotate the shoulder bend the elbow bring the back of the hand around the sacrum area or maybe between your shoulder blades softening the chin down rolling the right ear towards the right shoulder away from the elbow, you might stay right where you are you might gently nod the head down gently nod the head up finding what feels good looking for that kind of good curious worn achy stretch rather than anything that might feel sharp or painful or nervy, you might prefer a little movement and oscillation you might find a spot where you want to pause and hang out breathing into it, for me the side feels totally different a couple more moments you know rush when you feel ready to release just slow roll the chin back down free your left arm and just slowly let the head lift a few shoulder rolls back and down when you're ready lean back and just free your legs shake your legs out it might feel nice to bring your hands behind you and find a little side to side shimmy oh that was a lot of kind of work through the hips freeing up the spine I love this one nice okay before we transition into cat cow bring the soles of the feet together and knees wide so coming into our bodhikonasana here hands might find the shin or the ankles inhale find some length up through the spine nice and broad through the collarbones with an exhale soften the face the jaw let the knees get heavy down towards the floor you might prefer to stay here you might prefer to bring your hands behind you kind of roll the shoulders down the back and then with an inhale kind of draw the chest forward broad through the chest and the collarbones depending on your neck you might keep your chin into your chest or if it's appropriate you might slowly be into length on the front of the neck opening up through the throat maybe sending your gaze up find I'm kind of leaning a little bit from side to side and then as you feel ready lead with the heart and just slow and gently walk yourself up nice bring the hands underneath the knees draw the legs together stretch the legs out one more time like this bring the hands behind you go side to side shimmy kind of like our windshield wipers nice and then from here as you're ready we'll transition into our tabletop so as you transition you might have a blanket underneath your knees for extra padding and support I'm here on a carpet so I have plenty of padding spreading your fingers wide once you arrive it might feel nice to tuck your toes under just to kind of get in and stretch the bottoms of the feet here we're going to move around for a bit so as you inhale begin to find that length arch your back and with your exhale begin to draw your navel up into your spine round and stretch your back oh this feels really nice releasing the head and then with your inhale lead with the heart finding your extension nice and broad through your collarbones your sitting bones and we're looking to feel that length in the neck without looking up so much that we're pinching and then exhale round and stretch your back you might play in this rounded shape with drawing your hips back towards your heels and feeling that kind of achy stretch through the mid-low back down into the tailbone it's kind of endless and then continue moving at your own pace with your breath the inhale brings you into your extension arching exhale round and stretch on full arounds here finding your own pace you might soften your gaze inward you might stay with the cat cow movement you might begin to circle out through your hips a little bit here getting into the outer hip area you might circle through your rib cage sometimes we call this barrel rolls getting into those nooks and crannies through the ribs back of the diaphragm the shoulder blades moving in the other direction no more moments here nice take your time with this eventually coming back into neutral and from here let's go ahead and extend back through our right leg and just tuck your toes under and then draw your heel back and then press through the ball the foot so we're just stretching out the whole back leg line there getting into the toes and the heel hamstrings love this one there's so much sensation right and then as you're ready switch extend back through the other leg for me it's the left leg tucking the toes and then just waking up the back leg line getting into the toes the heel calf muscle hamstrings back of the knee joint nice and then bring it back in moving into a side plank variation so as you spread your fingers wide extend back through your right leg we're going to transfer our weight into that left arm put it onto the outer edge of the right foot and then lift the right arm up towards the sky and feel how you can really draw that left shoulder blade into your back and then reaching out through the arm spread the fingers wide you might stay here it might feel nice to sweep the top arm down in front of the face overhead and find a few circles here kind of opening out through the rib cage in the shoulder few rounds here down rooting reaching and lengthening if you want or two more nice next time you reach and lengthen overhead inhale exhale sweep the arm down slowly spin onto the ball of your back foot draw that right knee back in and let's move that through the spine with some cat cow before we transition to the other side so inhale to arch exhale to round inhale moving into your extension exhale round a couple more in this kind of freedom through the spine like taking your time as you're ready shoulders over the wrist spread the fingers wide let's extend back through our left leg side plank variation transfer the weight into your right shoulder nice and strong for the root through the outer edge of that left foot and sweep the left arm up to the sky until you as you spread the fingers you can lift out of that bottom wrist you might stay here sweep your top left arm down in front of the face overhead root reach lengthen and then maybe a few circles with that top arm down over the head and open I mean that kind of freedom through the rib cage through the shoulder one or two more like this oh that feels really nice this morning and then as you're ready lengthening the arm overhead inhale reach take your time exhale slow release that top arm down spin onto the ball of the back foot draw the knee and cat cow through the spine any movements any wiggles or wobbles circling just find what feels good and then from here setting up for plank pose spread the fingers wide apart now you might just extend back through the legs if you want to build a little strength and heat this morning reach both feet back and feel how you can reach back through your heels as you lengthen forward draw the deep low belly up into your spine inhale here exhale let's bring it back and up into our downward facing dog and in this first downward dog spread the fingers spread the toes it might feel nice to come up high under the balls of the feet and then from here bend the knees and begin to reach and extend your sitting bones up towards the sky long through the back of the neck and the spine and let's pedal the feet so bend the right knee a lot and just stretch that left calf and heel downward taking a breath and then bend the left knee and stretch that right calf and heel down maybe a few more times like this pedaling out the feet in your down dog of course at any moment lowering the knees child's pose just really tuning into what your body needs yeah and you might lower the knees you might inhale and join me back in a plank nice and strong here as you reach back and lengthen forward we're gonna lower the knees and come onto our belly so keeping the elbows in nice and slow lower onto the belly setting up for a few rounds of cobra so drawing the elbows in rolling the shoulders up back and down press through the palms inhale rise up baby cobra dealing with space through the collarbones exhale slow lower down let's find two more press through the palms inhale rise up cobra exhale lower down last one press through the palms inhale rise up cobra exhale slow lower down elbows into the ribs tuck your toes under press yourself up onto your knees and back towards the child's pose let the knees go wide big toes touch again for any reason if child's pose isn't the right medicine for your knees you might continue you cat cow or down dog find what feels good few moments here finding that fullness around the kidneys to low back down into your sacrum you're welcome to stay here for the remainder of class and you so ready to transition we'll rise back up in the tabletop we'll find a little shoulder opening here so as you're ready spread the fingers ground for the right hand let's inhale sweep the left arm up and then we're gonna exhale we're gonna thread that left arm through underneath the right hand coming on to the left side of the head then you might press through the right palm a little bit to help you kind of turn and revolve the rib cage so we're in the shape of a spinal twist here lots of different directions to go you might stay right here for some of you you might extend that right leg straight out from the hip a little tripod I like this version and then you might walk or tiptoe that right arm overhead and I use the fingers to help revolve the rib cage and let it open wow breathing here and nice and long through the neck yeah fill the inhale invite some length and then the exhale can kind of deepen you as you turn and feel the rib cage revolve nice work you feel ready to find your way out of this situation carefully bring that right palm underneath your shoulder draw that right knee back in use that right hand press into the floor keep the head heavy as you unwind back into tabletop and maybe if you rounds a cat cow would feel good right now just to be like oh is everything okay inhale the arch exhale to round like this before we move to the other side okay when you feel ready ground through the left hand inhale reach the right arm up exhale thread it all the way through underneath that left arm coming on to the right side of the head and you might press through that left palm a little bit just to help turn the rib cage and you might stay right here working with the breath you might extend out for your left legs that left leg extends right up from the hip like a tripod notice what you prefer to do with your bottom left hand you might keep it where it is you might tiptoe it out find that length I'm gonna use those left fingertips to help turn you if you need to feel more you can press the top of that right hand into the floor can activate the shoulder blade and we're breathing the feeling the belly turn more moments here soft in the neck when you feel ready to release tiptoe the left fingertips right underneath the shoulder draw that left knee back in head stays heavy use that left hand press it into the floor last round a cat cow here arching exhale rounding inhale to arch and exhale to round you might take a few more of these nice from you're setting up into a down dog we're gonna find a wide downward dog and for this let's go ahead and turn the palms out so rather than your down dog like this return the fingers out creating that natural external rotation in the shoulders tuck the toes under and lift up into your down dog for this let's take a nice wide downward dog so bring your feet as wide as your mat almost like a hammock shape the palms are kind of fingers are fanned out you can bend your knees here kind of wiggle and lengthen up through your sitting bones feel that beautiful extension in your spine letting the back of the neck release we're in this inversion right we've got the head below the heart and a nice to help circulate the blood and the energy especially if you're feeling a little kind of lethargic tired depressed oh few more moments here of course if and as you want to feel more in the hamstrings you can play with extending your legs a little bit more towards straight keeping that length in your spine when you're ready we're gonna walk or draw the heels in moving towards the shape of molasses in a squat pose so you might bring the the toes out heels in removing in that direction right so you're listening to what feels right for your knees and we're sinking in and you can always bring a blanket or support underneath your heels palms might even come towards the heart here nice full exhale softening through the face the jaw feeling the shoulders release down the back you might stay with this you might bring the left hand down and inhale sweep the right arm up let that right hip open circle out through the wrist usually I like to kind of look down and look up a little bit yeah nice and another side grounding through the right hand and I use that arm to kind of pin the right knee as you sweep the left arm up let that left hip open maybe you're circling out through the wrist yeah and you might look down you might look up circling beautiful take your time release we'll meet in a standing forward fold uttanasana so toe heel your feet a little closer together soft bend in the back of the knees and let yourself hang here for a few moments hands might find the elbows back of the neck soft and you might just sway a little bit like a tree in the wind letting the weight of the head the weight of the mind the weight of the upper body release nice I know it's easier said than done but you can make an effort nice okay when you're ready we'll roll up together so super soft bend through the back of your knees chin into your chest take your time to unfurl the head comes up last slowly stacking the bones and as you press through the feet feeling the spine the heart the shoulders roll up back and down and take a few moments here before we start to move again just letting letting the blood and the energy kind of settle back down into the feet practice feeling grounded spreading the toes yeah take a few shoulder rolls again drawing the shoulders up exhale drop in and then how roll the shoulders back and up exhale drop and one more and exhale drop let's interlace our fingers and with your inhale stretch your arms up then feel how you can wiggle and lengthen again finding that space through the spine through the side body lifting up through the heart well inhale here exhale side bend to the right pressing through that left foot notice what you prefer to do with your head and your gaze inhale brings you up and exhale over to the other side lengthening let's do one more in each direction inhale up exhale over to the right pressing a little bit through that left foot inhale up and over to the left opening up through the side body beautiful inhale up exhale release the arms roll the shoulders forward here's where you might interlace the fingers behind the back or take a moment to find a strap or a belt interlacing the fingers or using the prop you might stay right here in this opening you might bring it into a forward fold as you bend the knees hinge at your hips forward fold bringing your chest towards your thighs letting your head release letting your arms begin to stretch up out and over teasing it perhaps into your hamstrings as you shift some weight forward and can you feel your hands reach up towards the ceiling as you find a little bit more space through your shoulders and the neck and deepening that fold as you draw the belly up and in good take your time slow bend your knees release your hands forward fold and let's roll up slowly bend the knees chin into the chest and stacking the bones one at a time head last keeping that chin in feeling the heart feeling the shoulders and then feeling the head get nice full exhalation down into your feet make sure your feet are right underneath your hips let's inhale sweep the arms up to the sky take a few moments ground down through the feet feel that lift and length through you feel that stretch of the deep low belly as the ribs draw in well inhale here exhale bend the elbows cactus opening the chest press through the feet inhale stretch the arms up again exhale cactus opening one more press through the feet inhale arms sweep up exhale and cactus press through the feet inhale sweep the arms up turn the palms away and again we'll bring the hands behind us you might grab a hold of your strap or bring the opposite thumb on top finger on top lifting out through the chest again with an inhale stay here exhale bend the knees forward fold hinging at the hips releasing the head stretching the arms up out and over again second round here deepening into the fold feeling the support of your legs if you take your time with this as you're ready releasing your hands your strap bend the knees chin into the chest we're rolling up again nice and slow and furling the spine mindfully feeling the heart the shoulders the head and then let's find our way towards the top of our mat here spreading the toes invite this quality of lift and length up through your spine and let's draw our hands together at the heart finding a half sun salutation to begin let's take a clearing breath inhale exhale empty the lungs moving with the breath as you're ready inhale sweep your arms up towards the sky feeling the length exhale hinge at your hips forward fold draw the navel towards the spine release the head you might bend your knees with your inhale slide your hands up your shins feel and find that length in your spine broad through your collarbones exhale bend your knees forward fold empty strong through your legs bend your knees inhale reverse swan dive sweep your arms up find that lift and length beautiful exhale hands together at the heart adding on into a lunge with your inhale arms sweep up exhale diving forward and in releasing your head and your hands let your inhale as you draw your hands up your shins lengthening this time exhale bend your knees bring your hands to the mat and step your right foot back let your left knee bend we're in the shape of the runner's lunge here you might have a blanket handy as we lower that right knee down we'll inhale draw our hips back and then exhale bend the front knee and find our lunge more times like this inhale draw the hips back flexing the toes exhale bend the front knee let's do one more drawing the hips back kneeling and finding the hamstrings exhale bend the front knee sink in moving into the shape moving into our lunge present lunge you might stay low you might bring the hands onto that front left thigh if and as it would feel good you might inhale sweep your arms up towards the sky all that length we've been doing through the side body you might stay right here you might exhale cactus the arms bend the elbows open the chest inhale reaching the arms up again exhale bend the elbows cactus maybe one more arms reach up and exhale cactus the arms open the chest from here let's bring the hands together at the heart centering and then twisting it out bring the right hand down to the mat you might toe heal your left foot a little bit wider tuck your back right toes under lift the back knee up and sweep that left arm up towards the sky twisting lunge now reach back through the ball of your right foot as you feel and find that laying through the heart the crown of your head you can draw that right hip up and in that thigh bone inhale exhale slow release down let's step back into our down dog spreading the fingers wide kind of pedaling out the feet back of the neck releasing and take your time with this we'll walk the feet towards the top of the mat once you arrive inhale lift up and lengthen hand slide up the shins exhale bend your knees forward fold bend the knees strong through the legs inhale sweep your arms up gather and reach exhale draw back to the heart you moments here pausing feeling the blood and the energy moving into our second side as you're ready inhale sweep the arms up exhale diving forward and in releasing your head and your hands inhale slide the hands up the shins lift up and lengthen exhale bend your knees step your left foot back let your right knee bend runner's lunge reach back through that left heel feel and find that length forward through the heart and you might have a blanket underneath that left knee as you lower it down let's inhale draw our hips back extend through the right leg feeling our hamstrings exhale bend that front knee feeling the lunge inhale drawing the hips back extending and exhale lunge you one or two more like this eventually as you bend that front knee and lunge you might stay low you might rise up hands on that front thigh and if it would feel good inhale sweep your arms up towards the sky find that length and space you might stay here or play with the cactus bending the elbows opening the chest inhale arms reach up exhale and cactus feel you can squeeze your shoulder blades towards each other inhale arms reach up and exhale cactus beautiful hands find the heart taking a moment to center and then moving into a twisting lunge left hand finds the floor toe heal your right foot a little wider and inhale sweep your right arm up back knee is lifted reach back through that heel length and forward finding a place where the neck feels good one more inhale beautiful exhale release we'll step back downward dog find your way there pedal your feet walk it off take your time walk your feet towards the top of the mat once you arrive inhale to lengthen lifting up exhale bend your knees forward fold spread your toes bend your knees inhale sweep the arms up reaching up exhale hands together at the heart taking a moment here to pause yeah nice little exhale from here let's go ahead and step our feet wide setting up for warrior two triangle take a few moments bring your feet wide spread your toes we'll find warrior two on the right side so internally rotate your left thigh and foot externally rotate your right bend your right knee coming into our warrior two shape lengthening through that inner thigh on the right side as you sweep the arms nice settling in rooting through the outer edge palms open with an inhale press through the ball of your right foot arms reach with your exhale open up into your warrior two two inhale arms reach up exhale warrior two let's find three more with the breath inhale press through the ball of the right foot right leg straightens exhale right knee bends last one inhale arms reach exhale warrior two pause and then we'll reverse slide the left hand down the back leg inhale reach that right arm off go ahead and begin to press through the ball that right foot right leg straightens we're in reverse triangle and then begin to extend and reach that right arm lengthening the bottom ribs moving into your version of triangle bottom right hand finds the shin you might pull in a block top arm reaches you might stay here whereas we played with earlier sweeping the arm down and letting it open finding a few shoulder circles here sweeping it down overhead oh maybe one more nice and then reaching that top arm up towards the sky strong through the legs as you feel ready to lift up press through the feet reach with that top arm let it carry you up find the other side hands on the hips internally rotate your right thigh and foot externally rotate the left that left foot is parallel with your mat bend your knee and just kind of check things out nice sweeping the arms find that laying through the inner thigh palms up towards the sky take a moment to settle in find your stance here feeling the essence of mountain pose to the asana up through the spine central channel with an inhale press through the ball of your left foot left leg straightens arms reach exhale left knee bends warrior two and inhale press through the ball the left foot reach exhale warrior two let's do three more with the breath exhale inhale exhale warrior two last one inhale reach eventually as you come into your warrior two take a moment to pause feel the shoulders soften and that ease through the neck and we'll reverse right hand slides down the back right leg left arm reaches up feel all that length and space we've created and then press into the ball of your left foot let that left leg be strong lengthen and then we'll take it into our triangle keep that length for the bottom left lung reach reach reach hand might find the shin the ankle a block as you sweep the top right arm up you might stay right here reaching through those top fingers you might sweep that arm down overhead and open down overhead and open maybe there's a few more circles here through the shoulder healing that freedom through the rib cage and always finding a place where the neck feels good eventually reaching that top arm straight up to the sky let that energy begin to reach you up so strong through the legs as you're ready inhale we'll lift back up nice bring the hands onto the hips spin and turn that left foot in let's totally heal the feet just a little bit closer nice hands on the hips we'll inhale lift up exhale hinge at the hips wide forward fold i love this one hands releasing downward let's walk the hands out for hammock pose so walk the hands out in front of you soft bend through the knees as you wiggle your sitting bones back away from the hands with an exhale let your heart soften downwards back of the neck releasing beautiful moments here in this forward fold in this inversion again at any moment you can bend your knees a little bit just to take it out of the hamstrings you might stay here a bit longer you might begin to walk your hands back underneath your shoulders turn your toes out setting up first gandhasana and then bend that right knee and find that appropriate edge you might stay here you might lift those left toes up as you come onto the heel then maybe take it over to the other side bending the left knee hang on to your right heel lifting the toes up so really waking up the inner leg lines and your groin hamstrings maybe a few side to side at your own pace with your breath nice then take your time no rush as you come back to the center look towards the top of your mat so for me that's towards the left and we're going to walk the hands over and find the shape of the lunge kind of kind of reorganize your situation and then step back and we'll meet in downward dog beginning to make our way downwards towards the floor nice from your down dog inhale forward into a plank last plank reach back through the heels lengthen forward a little lower down onto the belly so you might lower the knees keeping the elbows in let's move in the direction of locus shalabhasana so we're going to reorganize your legs bring your legs towards each other finding that internal rotation sweep the fingers down towards the toes and with your inhale begin to lift up a little bit through the heart moving into the shape of the back bend here you might add your legs lift your arms and really draw the back body into the spine find that beautiful space through your collarbones the neck is long inhale feeling your strength here exhale lower and release forehead or one cheek and ear to the floor peaceful exhale for my heart beating on that one let's do one last round organizing through the legs you might find the previous variation or you might even interlace your fingers one last time behind the back as you inhale lifting the chest lifting the legs and really reaching and opening then you might look down to let the neck release maybe a little wobble as you open up through the chest and the shoulders the inhale brings you up and the exhale lowers you down forehead or opposite cheek and ear to the mat peaceful exhale beautiful our transition so some of you might roll onto your back and draw your knees into your chest for some of you it's going to feel nice to bring your hands underneath your shoulders press up and back into a child's pose so we're finding we have a counter pose to the back bend that would feel best for our knees our back back let's see their knees into chest or a child's pose take your time and whatever shape you're in we'll all meet onto our backs so finding your way there before we move into a round a round of bridge let's find a few more rounds of cat cow on the back so again open your arms up into cactus this has been a theme bending the knees soles of the feet on the floor keep your hips on the mat we'll just find that rocking for the pelvis so as you inhale arch your back arch lumbar spine and then exhale just go ahead and curl the tailbone under without lifting the hips lower back presses down and again inhale roll and rock the pelvis forward arching the back exhale curl the tailbone under a couple more like this exhale to curl inhale arch the back exhale curl you might stay with this you might add in the sit-up like movement interlacing the fingers behind the head take a moment let the elbows get heavy roll the pelvis forward arch the back arch lumbar spine and with an exhale keep your hips on the floor but manually lift your head up off the floor draw your elbows towards each other curl the tailbone under and then inhale slow lower down elbows wide lungs open roll the pelvis forward arch your back exhale lift up curl up kind of squeezing the internal organs elbows towards each other maybe one two three more like this inhale open the elbows arch the back exhale curl up lifting up inhale open wide roll the pelvis forward arch the back and exhale lift up curl up squeeze nice let's do one more inhale open wide roll the pelvis forward arch the back and exhale lift up curl up right take your time slow lower down now we'll set up for a round of bridge bringing the heels in line with the sitting bones feet parallel fingers might reach towards the heels as you inhale we'll roll the pelvis forward arch the back exhale curl the tailbone under press through the feet lift up into bridge nice feeling the thigh bones begin to lengthen you might stay here you might draw the shoulders under the back finding that interlace nice beautiful breathing here is soft for the throat and the eyes notice if you can relax any gripping around the glutes around the buttocks and then take your time just slow rolling the spine down feeling your upper back your mid back little back and sacrum pausing might feel nice from here to bring the soles of your feet together while the knees fall wide for a moment into a bodhic onasana yeah maybe a little wobbling from side to side you might stay here a bit longer you might draw the knees towards each other so heal the feet nice and wide on the mat and we'll windshield wiper side to side might stretch your arms out to your sides or might feel good to stretch your arms overhead you're just cruising on to the inner outer edges of the feet enjoying this validity through the hips side body opening and releasing the spine after forward bending and back bending and your head might rock away from the knees or with the knees see more rounds of windshield wipers you might stay with this a bit longer might draw your knees into your chest and just let yourself rock a little bit from side to side from here if there's anything that would feel nice on the body you might explore that feel a happy baby action you feel ready take your time just begin to stretch your legs out moving into the shape of shavasana and make sure you have warmth warmth weight on the body support make sure you're cozy and taking a few moments to just begin to let the bones get heavy softening around the muscles and the skin and relaxing any effort around the breath the attention and allowing yourself to take up space you know we've just arrived you are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like this is your practice eventually if it would feel nice to join me in a seat and close with another brief centering annotation and you might roll to your side use your arms to just slowly press up just continue lying in shavasana just a few moments here settling in okay any last adjustments you're seated and inviting a quality of length up through your spine exhale settling softening the mouth the belly might stay and linger here a bit longer join me in joining your hands together the heart and sharing the sound of all exhale empty breathing in thank you so much for your practice and your presence and showing up namaste thank you have a beautiful day