Joy and Self-Trust

We are going to start standing today, so you can start to make your way towards that. And the only thing you really need is something to sit on later for meditation. I'm just going to put this over in this corner instead. About 1029, we're on our way soon. It's just on our way, I just, the most important thing I need to do is just say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who's here who's allowing this to be possible, the team who's here allowing this to be possible, Nicole, Julie, Elizabeth, Alana, and then of course all of you that are dropping in today. Without people coming together, not much happens. I think that's why we're all feeling so starved. I have to admit that I did something kind of dangerous yesterday. A friend came over and we hugged and I really felt the immensity of how much I miss that physical contact.

So we're at about 1030. We are going to start standing. I'm going to rely on my team to let me know that everything's going okay. And we're going to start like we started the last time we were together, which is the hokey pokey, which I just love because it really feels like summer yet. So we'll start with one of your hands, just start to shake one of your hands.

And as you start to shake one of your hands, like just really let that wrist kind of flop around. Okay. It's like, let your wrist flop around, feel that loose, and then start to let it come up into your whole arm. Like really let your whole arms start to jiggle. And you know, there's this thing of, especially, you know, there's this thing that this feeling of like, oh, that part shouldn't jiggle, that part shouldn't jiggle, but jiggling feels so good.

Like let the whole chicken wing, okay, nice. Oh, other side, let's start to flop the wrist, flop, flop, floppy, floppity, floppity. And as you start to flop the wrist, let that start to come up into the whole arm. Like I kind of find that I have to lean over a little bit to really let that go. Like it's funny, I'm noticing today that my left arm is like, there's this whole part of my left arm that's like, nope, not going to do it.

So notice what that is for you. Oh, okay, sweet. All right, now, pick up one of your feet. If you're not sure about your balance, if this is a little bit of a big ass, find something to put your hand on. Maybe it's a wall or a furniture or a small child next to you and just start to let that ankle and that foot flop out, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop.

And then as you start to want to bring that up into your leg, I find that I need to kind of lean to a side and kind of like shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shaky, shaky, shaky. Like let that come up into the whole thigh and your booty. Nice. Okay, find that foot. And before you go to that last leg, like feel how good all the limbs feel that you've just shook out.

Yeah. Okay. Last leg. Other side. Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, like, just sort of like really, like let it flip and flop, lean to a side so you can get each to your balance.

Yeah. Perfect. Perfect. Okay. Put that foot back down on the floor and then this is the fun part.

Now start to let the whole thing shake. So as you let the whole thing shake, you got to really like, let your legs, like it's a quick bend to the knees, like as if you just got a new career to shake your rump, you got to like, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, like really let your booty like shake and then as you start to do that start to shake your upper body like and then if you start to make sound it'll really feel good now go for it like like really like like if somebody saw you doing this they might worry like a little bit more if you're over 40 enough kids sorry that's just gonna happen and then stop and pause big delivered inhale and exhale let it happen do that again inhale and exhale super nice interlace your fingers palms face towards you turn your palms forward and go up lean a little bit to one side lean a little bit to the other just kind of feel how you can get that sideways long gorgeous okay as you're ready release your arms to the side roll your shoulders forward find the hands interlace wiggle your shoulders back and down inhale here exhale bend the knees chest makes your way towards the thighs let your head drop let your arms start to reach up out and over uh-huh maybe letting one leg draw a little straighter maybe letting the other leg draw a little straighter both knees bent hands come back to the hips release your hands bend your knees a lot like you're sitting in a chair let a little bit of a hop and sink down curl your sit bones under reach your arms forward relax the shoulders and the elbows soft in the hands keep it low in the legs inhale reach your arms up inhale here as you exhale pressing your feet come all the way back up nice big delivered inhale exhale let it happen gorgeous interlace your fingers with the weird knuckle on top so it'll feel like if someone else's hands turn the palms forward and go up we're gonna repeat that same thing let one knee bend as you kind of lean away from that bent knee let the other knee bend and lean do that a few more times just kind of getting into that sideways a little bit our play today we're gonna be playing with kind of essentially naughty superpower naughty being that word n-a-d-i naughty being that word for these channels of prana that run through us release your hands wide roll your shoulders forward but the key of the superpower interlace your fingers very subtle changes make a big difference bend the knees chest comes down to the thighs head drops arms reach up out and over nice and you might it might feel better for you to bend your knees and then press into your feet and let your hips lift a little bit bend your knees press into your feet let your hips lift a little bit let the hands come back to the hips down towards the floor now keep the knees bent curl the sit bones under reach your arms forward soften the shoulders elbows easy let a bit of a happen super nice keep it low in the legs reach your arms up utkatasana style here exhale press into the feet come all the way up gorgeous big deliberate inhale exhale everything nice we'll move into our palm prana press so feet about hip distance apart big deliberate inhale exhale let a bit of a happen soften the knees and ground this is something we've been playing with a lot lately as you do that again inhale and exhale happen and the key here is you relax your belly and you soften the knees the key here is can you trust that the ground has you like allow yourself to feel supported yeah now reach your arms out let the elbows bend soften the shoulders back and down and as you root through the feet begin to reach out through the fingertips now really start to tune this here because this is going to be a theme start to feel out how you can reach more through the pinky finger that ring finger the middle finger index finger thumb like feel I can really reach out through each of those fingers now of course that instruction assumes that you have all of your fingers so not meaning to intend that you should have all your fingers there but just being in general length okay now keep that reach and now flex your hands so you're turning your fingertips up towards the sky now this will start to stretch through your wrist and how much you really want to stretch through your wrist just depends on the wrist you're working with today so I like to bend my elbows a little bit soften the shoulders back and down and then I like to kind of re-extend through there and really again feel the pinky that ring that middle that index that bomb like feel all those fingers yeah now turn your fingertips so they turn back behind you and then keep kind of like having a sense of bending the knees and re-reaching yes now turn the fingertips so they turn down towards the earth yes and then again like continue to kind of re-reach a couple more moments here if it gets too tense in the neck let the elbows bend again drop the shoulders yes we're we're intentionally trying to wake up these these rivers so it's it's spring summer right the water is starting to flow like nice now begin to turn the fingertips back up towards the sky let your elbows bend a little bit shoulders roll back and down last few moments reach nice and now here let the elbows bend let the palms face towards each other now soften the knees soften the jaw soften your eyes let them fall to a spot in front of you or close and begin to tune your attention towards the feeling tone between your hands let your hands feel more sensitive softer fluffy yeah and as the hands start to come closer towards each other what can feel really good is like sometimes it can feel like you can fluff this sense of the prana your life force feel how you can kind of touch touch something that isn't quite visible to the eye but is really tactile and obvious this is a key skill of the yogi the key skill of being able to tune ourselves to be more sensitive to subtler forces a couple more moments here like if and if if what I'm suggesting might be showing up isn't quite showing up then become aware of your breath that's one of the more that's kind of a gateway into the subtle realm yeah beautiful gorgeous hands might come towards each other you might not quite want to touch them it might just feel good to kind of hold them close maybe fingertips are barely touching and then slowly start to make your way towards the top of your mat and so the play here now is we'll move through a simple ish sequence of lunge standing ish postures we'll do that to help open up more of the channel so that when we move to our meditation we're really juiced yeah okay as you're ready here eventually let an inhale circle your arms up over the top of your head let an exhale carry you forward gorgeous let an inhale create a half arch and as you exhale step I'm gonna say your right foot but whatever foot you step back is great let your left knee bend wiggle on back through there now feel into rooting down through the ball that big front left toe draw that left hip back a little bit and feel how you can reach back through the right heel easier in the eyes easier in the jaw and we'll start to say hi to that front left hamstring so route through the ball that big left toe start to play with letting that left leg draw a little straighter and then let the knee bend yeah let the left knee draw a little bit straighter and then let the left knee bend do that a couple times just to be like hey what's up how's it going and the next time you bend that left knee shorten your stance a little bit step the back right foot forward turning her at about 45 degrees and then play with letting the left leg draw a little bit straighter and then let the left knee bend just a few more moments like this let the left leg draw a little bit straighter and then let her bend and then on this last one let the left leg draw a little bit straighter softer in the eyes and the tongue and the jaw just kind of be like oh hey what's up nice let the left knee bend spin up onto the ball the back right foot wiggle her back a little bit we're gonna rock and roll back our way towards Uttanasana route through the left foot step the right foot forward inhale half arch exhale fingertips plant step the left foot back or just the opposite foot and the right knee and then same idea let the right leg draw a little bit straighter and then let the right knee feel how you can draw the right leg a little bit straighter and then let the right knee bend just do that a couple times it's really just the polite thing to do so we talk about this a lot essentially like when the when the physical body perceives that something is changing like when it perceives that you're stretching its first response is to stop that because change rarely feels safe biologically but if you can sort of move in and out of something a little bit then it helps the body know that there's a responsible adult involved there's an exit route and it's not forever let the right knee bend now step the left foot a little bit more forward turn angle that foot out and now start to play with letting that right leg draw straight and then let the right knee bend play with drawing that right leg draw straight ish is a better word and then let the right knee bend just do that a couple times yeah okay then eventually you're gonna find a spot where it feels pretty good to allow the right leg to hold for a few beats letting her draw a little straighter softer in the eyes and the jaw easier in the back of the neck really nice okay let that right knee bend spin up onto the ball the left back left foot wiggle it back rock and roll step the left foot forward inhale half arch exhale forward fold feet might be together now as you bend the knees a lot sit down in your chair let a bit of a happen curl the sit bones under reach the arms forward let yourself sink in so again like soften the jaw a little bit soften the belly can you feel how the earth has you and with your hands extended can you let your hands feel set more tender more sensitive do you remember that feeling of being able to touch the prana between your hands yeah maintain that as you reach your arms up reach through the pinky ring middle index thumb inhale here exhale press into the feet come all the way up hands might find each other at the heart like enjoy the results be delivered inhale exhale everything yeah as you can imagine we're going to add on to that sequence so as you're ready let an inhale circle your arms up let an exhale carry you forward let an inhale create a half arch and as you exhale now step your left foot back let your right knee bend so you're in the shape of the lunge to begin with spin on to this back left outer edge of this left foot and then again check him with that front right hamstring like let the right leg draw straighter and then let the right knee bend let the right leg draw straighter and then let the right knee bend yeah maybe just do that one or two more times and if as we kind of offer new shapes if they're not appropriate or don't feel good today just keep playing here but if it would feel good let the right knee bend bring the left hand to the left waist and now find this right elbow up onto this right thigh shoulders soften back and down easy in the eyes and then again remember how to inhale and exhale and like let the earth have you nice okay so slowly you're going to start to let this right leg draw straight this right hand is going to find her way onto the right leg you're making your way towards your shape for triangle so if shortening this stance would work better draw that left leg in a little bit from here now as it feels good maybe look down towards the earth circle the left arm in front of the face and up over the top of your head now you're in this beautiful sideways stretch press through that back foot as you wiggle and feel how if you reach through the pinky the ring the middle the index the thumb it changes it like feel you've got these different digits to reach through like we all know it's very different if somebody is giving us a thumbs up versus pointing out it versus the middle finger like these have different energies nice inhale here exhale windmill back to the shape of the lunge both hands on either side of the right foot spin up onto the ball the left foot curl the sit bone under let this left knee find the earth now here it's my bad I forgot to warn you that you might want to have something to put underneath that knee so if it would feel better to have some padding maybe a towel or a blanket back off a little bit and sink in back off a little bit and sink in nice do that couple more times back off a little bit and sink in let a bit of a happen maybe roll it a little bit one direction to get one side of that thigh maybe roll it a little bit another direction really nice last few moments here we're just we're gonna start to open up through the front of the thighs here because after our standing postures we'll be doing just a few little baby back pins and for the last few moments can you remind yourself that the earth has you so I it helps me to sigh it's an inhale and it's an exhale like huh it's a it's a quality of trust as we've been talking about the very first suggestion from mr. Patanjali on how we might experience yoga yoga chita vritti niro daha sweetheart try trusting a little bit more each father perneton okey-dokey to get out of here you're gonna tuck those back toes under you're gonna lift up through the back left leg I'm gonna rock and roll it a little bit and again we're stepping forward step that left foot forward to meet the right inhale half arch and as you exhale the hands plant and now step your right foot back let your left knee bend okay so same idea on the other side so start by letting that hamstring know what's up left leg draws straight left knee bends left leg draws straight and left knee bends just do that a couple times and really you know it you might just stay here it feels really good mm-hmm if the pressure of the posture creates tension ditch it okay eventually that left knee is gonna bend spin on to the back right outer edge of that right foot right hand is gonna find the waist and as you're ready left forearms gonna find her way to that left thigh and just like we've been practicing let a bit of a happen and trust trust that the earth has you you'll know that you're trusting if it feels a little gooey or in the back of the neck kinder in the eyes slowly eventually this left leg is gonna draw straight you're gonna find this left hand to the left leg where it's appropriate maybe it's up on the shin or the thigh some of you it maybe it's towards the ankle circle that right arm in front of the face up out and over and now really feel you can make this beautiful line from that back right outer edge out through the fingertips and feel that it makes a difference if you reach more through the pinky the ring the middle the index the palm like again like what you're intending where your attention is going is is wondrous and magnificent in its effect yes gorgeous couple more beats so nice inhale here exhale windmill back down to the shape of the lunge spin up onto the back of the right foot drop the right knee down and now again just kind of introduce yourself inhale draw back exhale sink in inhale draw back exhale sink in let this happen a couple times yeah now eventually you're gonna sink in and you're gonna let a bit of a happen and again let the earth have you and you let the earth have you through the process of surrender letting go disentanglement trust these are all very subtle versions of the same thing roll a little bit to the outside of that leg to get into the outside of that hip and thigh roll a little bit to the inside and you know none of us none of us are really like the mechanism in us that refuses to trust is a very useful mechanism she's here to help us out she's here to make sure that we get what we want she's here to make sure that you know we will move towards that which will bring us happiness and move away from that which will bring us suffering let a bit of a happen so she's willing to trust as long as we assume that it's gonna work out for us that's that's kind of how she's like yeah I'm gonna trust as long as it's gonna go my way lift up through the back of the right leg rock and roll a little bit and then eventually you're gonna step that right foot forward inhale half arch exhale forward fold soften the knees let the head drop toe heel the feet next to each other bend the knees let a little bit of a happen again like let the earth have you it will make it easier girl the zip bones under let the arms reach out in front of you let the hands feel fluffy sensitive trust that the earth has you hands are fluffy reach the arms up reach through the pinky the ring the middle the index the bone inhale here exhale pressing the feet come all the way back up hands find each other at the center of the heart big deliberate inhale exhale let a happen do that again inhale exhale really nice we're gonna make our way through one more round of standing asanas and then we're making our way towards our belly let's just do this to prepare because tadasana mountain pose is such a great way to prepare for meditation so separate your feet about hip distance deliberate inhale and exhale and let another happen and soften the knees I'm like really as much as possible and this is sounds so much easier than it really is can you find out how to soften some of the grip through the front of the thighs can you soften in the low belly can you let the job jog of slack line and as you do that can you kind of tune into the alignment of your skull so that she feels more balanced yeah and like feel the vibration of you you know so you've been moving with your breath and your body you've been sort of like aligning some of these rivers the play right like just as we seek ease with an effort we want to find that that awe and that movement within ease yeah okay nice as you're ready let an inhale circle your arms up and as you exhale swan dive forward and as you inhale half arch let yourself get long and as you exhale let the fingertips plant step your left foot back let your right knee bend spin onto that back left outer edge and just maybe again like like the right leg draw straight and then let her bend and I'm hoping that that feels a little easier now that there's a sense of okay it was worth it to do that a few times let the left hand find the waist let the right hand find your right thigh and trust that the earth has you're soft in the belly easy in the jaw maintain that as you let the right leg draw straight find the hand to the right leg and then as you're ready circle the left arm in front of the face about all over the top of your head and reach and feel how you can reach more through a different finger to find a different line yeah beautiful now keep that beautiful long line and if it would feel good bend the right knee start to make your way into Parsha Konasana side angle pose that right elbow might find her way back to that thigh some of you that ham might be on the earth length gorgeous inhale here exhale windmill back to the shape of the lunge spin up onto the ball of that back left foot sink in bring this right thumb into the right hip crease pull the right hip back length and start to spiral that might feel perfect some of you might reach the right arm up reach back through that left heel inhale here exhale windmill that right hand back down to the earth let that left knee find the earth again let a bit of a hop and for many of you this might be the perfect spot just kind of sinking in here letting this have you some of you might want to offer a little bit more opportunity by bringing the hands up onto this front right knee and sinking and this might be the perfect spot as you balance step one is trust if it's okay and you feel balanced interlace the fingers turn the palms in front of you and go up letting that front thigh sink as you kind of wiggle up on out of there letting a bit of a gorgeous inhale here exhale windmill hands back down around this front right foot walk your hands back flex that right leg dig that heel in a little bit rolling the heart forward yeah beautiful okay let that front right knee bend hands come alongside the toes lift up through the back of the left leg rock and roll a little bit step the left foot forward let an inhale create a half arch and as you exhale fingers plant step the right foot back last set of standing us and is letting that left knee bend spin onto that back right outer edge and then check in with that left leg like hey what's up draw the left leg straight let the knee bend hopefully maybe that's more accommodating it's very hard to get better not better but to get more used to doing something without doing it right hand up onto the right waist left form up onto that left thigh trust truly if there's one thing to get better at lately it's trust okay from here let this left leg start to extend towards straight let this left hand find her way towards the leg somewhere on the leg that feels good as you're ready circle the right arm in front of the face now feel like you can reach back through that right foot and feel like you can lengthen and feel that it really does matter if you're reaching more through the pinky or the ring or the middle or the index everything you pay attention to will start to matter mom materialize yes yeah now keep that beautiful long line start to let this left knee bend maybe the form comes back to the five for some of you some of you the ham might be on the earth and feel how you can reach few more beats beautiful gorgeous inhale here exhale windmill back down to the shape of the lunge spin up onto the ball the right foot let the right knee drop down introduce yourself again inhale draw back exhale sink in inhale draw back exhale sink in and then let it have you like trust and again if it's better for you to stay low stay low if it would feel good to bring your hands up onto that front knee try that if you did that and you wish you hadn't put the hands back on the earth let a bit of a happen if it feels steady enough and interesting interlace your hands with the weird knuckle on top turn your palms forward and go up sink in and read wiggle beautiful gorgeous inhale here exhale release your hands back down to that front left foot walk your hands back flex your foot dig the heel in a little bit let a bit of a happen roll the pelvis forward and feel your heart blossom so nice beautiful beautiful now our transition is a little bit different so as you bend your left knee and you bring your hands back alongside the foot and you lift up through the back of the right leg the suggestion is that you make your way back towards downward facing dog step that left foot back and get long maybe one knee bends maybe the other knee bends let it feel good for you yeah and then eventually let an inhale bring you forward towards plank pose shoulders right over the wrist and for a few moments here can you find out how to trust and that trust that will relax some of the grip that's trying to make sure things go well for you and the play is to start to realize that things are going well for you okay bend the knees let them come on down to the earth lower on down and let's start with the sphinx pose so that your palms your forearms come out in front of you spread the fingers wide let your shoulders kind of roll back and then and then see how it feels to drag the arms back towards you like just this little bit of traction as you kind of look forward and let a bit of a see how that feels in your back just kind of dragging these a little bit as you as you just kind of wiggle a little bit forward what I like to do in sphinx I like to kind of reach through my left jawline and kind of stretch through that jawline and then you might let that relax and then kind of stretch forward with your right jawline shoulders roll back and down couple more moments nice and then release let the elbows bend let the head find its way onto the hands and just bend the knees and wobble the legs a little side to side just depending on your back today like if sphinx pose is where it's at it's such a great posture thank you sphinx pose if it's appropriate to work on a little low back strength we're gonna make our way towards a few locusts the back strength is helpful when developing a meditation practice a seated meditation practice particularly but not required okay let the legs come back behind you let the hands come underneath your shoulders let your face come down to the floor squeeze your shoulders up around the ears roll them back and down and same idea as the sphinx you're just gonna kind of drag the hands back as you let for a little bit of traction let a bit of a bend the knees lift the thighs up off the floor and then begin to slowly stretch back through the legs yeah beautiful so kind of feel how you can reach back through the toes as you drag your heart forward now let your hands get lighter lighter and if it would feel good reach your fingertips back towards your toes and notice if you reach through the pinky ring middle index thumb it changes it inhale here exhale lower land let one of your ears come down to the floor and as one of the ears comes down to the floor bend your knees wobble your legs a little bit side to side yeah really good let's repeat that same thing let the legs come back down to the floor face on the floor hands underneath your shoulders roll your shoulders up around the ears and back looking down begin to drag the hands back as you let your heart come forward let a little bit of a happen here and practice trusting again just like start to get good at the feeling of trusting bend the knees lift the thighs up off the legs and begin to extend back through the toes yes let the hands become lighter softer in the jaw and now try reaching back through their hands really nice so beautiful now feel how you can reach more through the pinky index the middle not the index well whatever thumb go for it yes inhale there exhale land opposite ear down to the floor now bend the knees wobble the legs a little side to side so nice let the hands come underneath your shoulders now I'm pressed back to your version of child's pose letting the knees bend as much as they will letting the hits come back towards the heels as I've shared I I was lucky enough to be able to get a new knee but I sacrifice some of my flexion for that stability so you gotta like find out how to let your back around yeah gorgeous so beautiful okay slow make your way back forward onto your belly and now roll onto your back and we'll release the back a little bit and get some action in the hips so bring the knees into your chest and yeah so pretty so our play now is to release some of that tension in the back and give a little bit more opportunity in the hips so we're ready for a seated meditation bring your right ankle up on top of your left thigh roll your right hip and knee away and as the left thigh draws in just start wobbling a little bit and this might be deep enough for you if more opportunity is useful thread this right hand through the triangle of your leg catch around the back of the left thigh and let a bit of a soft in the jaw and kind in the eyes and just wobble really nice beautiful beautiful and release some of the grip around that left thigh wrap your right leg over your left thigh hook the right foot behind the left calf bring everything over to the left so the knees come to the left that right palm comes on top of the left palm and then you circle the right arm back about and over let the elbow bend a little bit and let a bit of a just kind of let the knees move as appropriate like for most of us they'll kind of come up off the floor little bit you know just play with it you can kind of like let the knees even come up off the floor and then sink them back down and and again like you'll you'll you'll start to get tuned to when the body responds when the sympathetic nervous system is like which is the opposite of trust but an appropriate friend to have as you can get more as you become more sensitive to her it's like oh yeah hey what's up yeah we're not trying to get rid of the mechanism that doesn't trust she's such a good friend and it's actually impossible so don't even try as our teacher Ravi says but we're trying to find her appropriate place okay so keep the knees to the left unhook the top right leg let the right leg just rest on the left like mm-hmm and then lead with the top right leg let her come back yeah gorgeous in fact we we seek opportunities to see her more clearly so left ankle up on top of the right thigh this might be feel deep enough this side for eye of the needle wobbling it only if you need or require more catch around the back of the right thigh and bring her in a little closer so we we seek opportunities of exposure as most of you know I'm hanging out now within a the Tibetan Buddhism strand of the Mahayana path that might have sounded like whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa but kind of the main practices let a little bit of a main practices of loving kindness and compassion meditation it's not to imagine that we are loving kind or compassionate that will get you into huge trouble but it's to expose and see and help loosen the grip with the part of us there's totally the opposite now slide this left leg over catch around the back of that thigh bring everything over to the right organized bring that left hand on top of that right palm and then circle that on back let an elbow bend let a little bit of a yeah kind in the eyes easy in the jaw the purpose of practices like yoga and meditation the purpose of these practices is help us to see more clearly to help us see the reality of what is not do in advance artificially imagine that we are something else because through seeing the reality through exposing that it frees us all of us know that the most difficult thing in a relationship is that which is not being spoken of so within ourselves that which is causing us the most mischief is that which we are not yet seen okay so keep the knees to the right free that top left leg pause and then as you're ready to lead with the top left leg let yourself unwind and come back super nice hug the knees and if it would feel good curl the head up and then let the feet come back down and just kind of pause widen the feet let the knees drop together big deliberate inhale exhale let a happen do that again inhale exhaling and I'm going to suggest now that we roll up for a seated meditation but if you're kind of like no thanks I'll take Shavasana instead you could slide one leg out slide the other leg out let your palms open and you can even kind of participate in the meditation from Shavasana the key is that your palms are up your shoulders are under and that you're slightly available okay otherwise if you feel like coming up for the seated meditation draw your knees in wobble a little bit and then you might roll to one side to come up or you might rock and roll to come up that's up to you so I'm going to suggest that you find what you like to sit on okay once you've found what you like to sit on get yourself comfy so you can see I've chosen a or maybe you can see I have chosen a very simple Sukhasana seat okay so so prop yourself up do what you need to do maybe you're in a chair maybe you're leaned up against something and then the steps here are the same as we've already been practicing step one is trusting that your body knows how to sit so big deliberate inhale exhale let us do that again inhale exhale let us hop and soften the belly and just go slack in the jaw and really like feel feel how held you really are and we're going to be practicing with a very subtle mudra practice mudra usually translates as seal and so just for a moment take a look at your right hand and find your index finger and your thumb and notice that the tip of your thumb can touch the tip of your index finger okay and so my my team says maybe it helps me to bring this mudra closer to the camera but maybe it helps you to see it against my dark gray unisuit but the tip of my index finger is touching the tip of the thumb we're going to call this position one okay position two it's not much different but the thumb is going to find its way to the inside nail near the inside nail bed of the index finger okay that's position two so it's either tip to tip tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger that's position one or position two thumb pad just to the inside of the nail of the index finger such a small detail wouldn't think it would matter okay flick your fingers a little bit let your palms turn on big deliberate inhale exhale and trust trust that your body knows how to sit eyes are closed or softly focused out in front of you let your hands just be open so we'll call that position zero ground zero and just remember how sensitive your hands are by letting them feel that sensitive again and just to help remember the power of your attention so let your attention really come into the left hand like tune all your attention into the left hand the center point and let your left hand feel receptive to your attention yes and now move your attention into your right hand and and allow your right hand to receive your attention uh-huh let her ease up where she might be resisting yeah okay let your attention be in both hands big deliberate inhale exhale let a hop and let the back of the heart feel more open and find the alignment of the skull so your head feels balanced and now with great care and attention and slowly here begin to allow your hands to find their way into position one the tip of the thumb slowly finds its way to the tip of the index finger and it would not be unusual to feel a bit of resistance there almost a magnetic kind of charge so don't please don't force it and as you have your awareness on the relationship between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the index finger maybe they're touching maybe they're not but can you now tune to the quality of your interior realm tune to how it feels in your heart your throat your throat okay so slowly relax the seal like let the seal relax let the hands move back to position zero and now so slowly begin to make your way towards position two so now the thumb is finding its way to the just the side the inside line of that index fingered nail bag and as your thumb finds this spot more tender in the fingers maybe it's touching maybe it's not quite soft in the belly and now notice the quality of your interior realm now usually just like at the eye doctor like this one this one a little back and forth can feel kind of like good so if you've suddenly have slipped into a situation where you're like no I'm good I'm not moving that's fine but if you're still curious like just so tenderly and with really keen awareness move back to position one tip of the finger to the tip of the thumb just see like maybe maybe there's no difference for you maybe it's crazy big difference and then maybe move back to position two and maybe one of those feels more energetically correct today like maybe one of those really is like yeah maybe position zero with the hands open feels good part of learning how to trust is also trusting in fact as our teacher Schiffman puts it trust is the self trust is the advanced practice trusting which one of these positions zero one or two is right today and in the next five minutes or so settle in big delivered inhale exhale let off belly is soft your body knows how to sit back of the heart is why and the skull is perfectly balanced and the energy of you the prana is alive and in support yeah and while I'm suggesting that we continue to sit together if it would feel more appropriate to you if you were getting the very clear guidance that you would rather lie back down for Shavasana of course by all means do so one of the beauties of practicing this way together is there's very little peer pressure happening at home to do something you don't want to do and if at any point in your seat or in your Shavasana the mudra wants to let go let the mudra go force in the subtle realm is so much more detrimental than force in what we refer to as the physical realm again trust that the earth has you trust that you know how to sit this will help relax some of the natural tension that creeps soft in the belly wide in the heart balanced in the skull If you chose Shavasana instead of seated meditation, you might now begin to make your way in your own method in time. You might just make your way from supine, eventually back up towards a seat. Those of you that are still in the seated meditation, sometimes it can feel good to inhale deeply again and exhale at a bit of a hop and letting yourself sink in one last time. If you're still holding the mudra now, you might let that relax, letting the palms feel that sweetness of receptive offering. Feeling the flow that we are in, we are continually being given this amazing gift of our life and we have this continual opportunity to show up and do our part. This is an amazing, wondrous, mysterious gift and the request of all the sages is that we don't waste it. Yeah, beautiful. Last few moments, let your hands find each other at the center of your heart, my baby. And just for the last few beats together, allow yourself to offer things in all the directions where it needs to go today. Beautiful. Namaste. Thank you for being here.