Light and Free Flow

Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Monday morning, afternoon, evening, wherever you are. I'm so happy to be practicing together live today with you all. I saw some of you in the chat, so thanks for reaching out and saying hi. So today, as we move into our practice, you've been practicing in this series, we've kind of been working up through the chakras. And today we're landing in the heart space. And so we'll move through a practice that's pretty fluid. But we're going to move into some big heart openers, back bending postures also get into the hips a little bit. And the element of this chakra is air. So we're going to kind of move with this airy fluid quality. And when I think about air, especially being here in Joshua Tree, in the desert, it can mean so many different things that can be, you know, a warm breeze in the evening. Or we also have these like big dust devils that come through everything's like whipping around and just passing through. So it kind of like reminded me of our thoughts a little bit, we can be fluid with our thoughts can be like a warm breeze, we can allow them, or we can kind of get wrapped up in our thoughts and be in this kind of dust devil swirling energy of thinking. So I'd love to invite you today to start to move beyond the thoughts to move into the body. And we'll drop into that together. So thank you again for joining me. And let's get started. So we'll start on our backs. So go ahead and roll on back as you're ready. Bring the soles of your feet through the earth and you can set your feet hips distance to begin and we'll start with some movement. So start to walk your heels in towards you. And you can kind of brush the backs of your heels with your fingertips just so you can land the ankles right under your knees. And then we'll set up to begin with some rolling bridge poses. So press the palms of the hands on either side of your body. And on an inhale, reach your arms up over your head. And as you do that, press through the soles of the feet and just start to lift your hips up any amount, maybe like 50% of your effort here. Good. And then as you exhale, slowly lower the hips down to the earth and the arms down on either side of your body. And then let's just start to move with the breath. So we'll move into rolling bridges. Inhale as the arms lift up, press through the soles of the feet, lift the hips up and then lower everything down on the exhale. Let's try that one more time. Inhale, arms lift, hips lift, pressing up, let the chest reach up toward the chin. And then this time keep your arms up over your head and just slowly lower one vertebra at a time. Let the hips land all the way down on the earth and then step your feet about as wide as your mat so you have a wider stance with your legs. And then just drop your knees over to the right side. So take a nice easy spinal twist. And if it feels okay in the neck, you might gaze over your left shoulder. And just kind of send the breath all the way through the left side body. And then as you inhale, draw the knees back through center. On your exhale, let the knees drop to the left this time. Easy twist. You're taking a gaze over your right shoulder and then just kind of notice how the right side feels as well. And then just start to windshield wiper your knees from side to side. So just as a nice way, just start to warm your spine, warm your hips, wake up the body. And if it feels good to linger on either side, feel free to do that. And then just finishing up with the knees dropping to the left to balance it out and we'll come back through center. So soles of the feet back on the earth. Let's take a nice hip stretch here. So we'll take thread the eye of the needle, cross your right ankle on top of your left knee. So you're flexing your right foot and then just start to draw that shape in towards you any amount. You might interlace behind your left thigh or on top of that left shin, soften your shoulders down on the earth and then just start to breathe into that right hip. If it would feel good to rock a little bit from side to side, go for it. Noticing how that feels, where you might be holding on to anything. And just coming into the body, coming into the sensations. Good. And then let that go and we'll just come to the other side. So soles of the feet find the earth, cross your left ankle on top of your right knee, find that figure four shape with the legs and then just start to draw the legs in towards you. Relax your shoulders, softening the gaze, breathing into your left hip or anywhere else you feel this kind of noticing if this side feels any different. Certainly feels a little tighter to me. Good. And then just release, hug both knees into your chest. Give it a rock a little bit from side to side. Notice how your lower back is feeling this morning. And then maybe take your knees in circles in one direction and then the other direction. Nice. Giving the low back a bit of a massage and then start to take this rock up and down along the length of the spine, letting this be a massage for the spine. If it doesn't feel good to rock on your spine, you can just simply sit up and we'll build momentum to come to a tabletop position. So making your way to all fours, take your time to arrive there, letting the shoulders land right over your wrists, hips over knees, and we'll set up for some pat pow. So as you're ready, just letting the belly drop, arching the spine, lift the heart, lift the gaze. Good. And then navel to spine, press the floor away and just start to round it. You might even shift the weight back a little bit as you round back. Good. And try that again as you inhale, arching through the spine, reach the heart forward. As you exhale, draw the navel in, maybe press the weight back a little bit. One more like that. Inhale brings you forward, arching. Exhale brings you back, navel to spine, pressing the floor away. Beautiful. And then coming back to that neutral spine. So find that place between your cat and cow. And then let's reach your left leg back. So tuck your left toes underneath and start to press into the back of your left leg. So you might shift the weight forward and back a few times, feeling into that left calf muscle. Beautiful. And then let the shoulders land right over your wrists. We'll come into art of ashi stasana. So roll to your left heel, bring the weight into your right hand and sweep your left arm up. Good.

So you might stay right here. Maybe the top arm reaches over your ear. Or if you want to come into the heart space a little bit more, float your left leg up, put a bend in your left knee. And then if it's accessible, reach back, hold the top of your foot or your ankle and just start to kick the foot into your hand. Let the chest expand open toward the sidewall. Might even gaze up toward the ceiling. If that doesn't feel good in your neck, skip it. And then we'll just come back right to where we were. So left hand down, left toes tucked, left leg long behind you. And from here, we're going to press into the hands so much and you start to lift your right knee up toward your nose. So you're hovering in the top of a push-up. Beautiful. And then sweep that right leg all the way up and back. Three leg dog, bend your knee, open up the hip and just breathe into that right hip couple whole deep breaths here. And if there's any movement that feels good, feel free to roll out the foot or that right knee a few times. Nice. And then straighten out the right leg any amount. And we're stepping the right foot through all the way between the hands. Good. And come on to your fingertips for a moment. Lower your back knee down. Come into unjaniasana, sweeping the arms forward and up as you land in your low lunge. And just take a moment to arrive there. Put the shoulders soft and down the back. Beautiful. And then if it feels okay, put a bend in your elbows so that you're expanding across the chest and you're practicing your arms, learning to lift up the gaze a little bit. Good. And then if you want to get into the shoulders a little bit, hands come behind the low back. Interlace the fingers, start to draw the shoulders down your back. Keep the core engaged to protect your spine. Good. Big, full, expansive breath in here. And then as you exhale, just release your hands down. Frame your front foot. And then hamstring stretch, artahana manasana. Shift the weight back, lifting up the right toes. Half split. So you're drawing that right hip back a little bit, breathing into the back of your right leg. And feel free to keep a soft bend in that right knee, especially if your hamstring's feeling a little tight today, like mine. Good. And then we'll re-bend through the front knee. Let's step back to down dog. So plant your palms, step your right foot back to meet the left and start to pedal it out. So feel into your legs. Notice how this feels. Maybe shake your head yes and no. Sway the hips side to side. Letting the heels get heavy. Start to open up through the backs of the legs. So nice. And then glide forward into plank pose. So come to the top of a pushup for a moment. Let your shoulders land over the wrist, hips in line with shoulder blades.

And then welcome to lower your knees down to the earth. Otherwise we're hugging the elbows in and just take a slow lower all the way down to your belly. Oh, nice. Untuck your toes. Press through the tops of the feet. Start to peel the chest up, coming into just a low bhujangasana cobra pose. Keep the back of the neck long, thinking about length here rather than height. And then as you exhale, release that all down to the earth. Good. We'll do that two more times. Inhale, draw the shoulders away from the ears, peel the chest up, bhujangasana. And exhale, release. Beautiful. One more. Hugging the elbows in, peel the chest up, lengthen through the spine. Nice. And then as you lower down, let's press the hips back into child's pose. So letting your hips sink back to your heels, reach your arms forward actively. And then maybe let your forehead rest down on the earth and start to send the breath through the back body. So you're feeling into the back of the heart, the back of the rib cage. Feeling the expansion with the inhale, letting go and a grounding quality with the exhale. And know that as we start to flow through this heart-opening practice today, that you can come here at any time as we move. Nice place to just come back to the breath to check in. Beautiful. And then meet me back in all fours and we'll just take that all to the other side. We'll start with just a couple cat cows. Let that side go. As you inhale, arch the spine, reach the heart forward, lift the gaze. As you exhale, navel to the spine, press the floor away. Good. One more inhale, coming forward, arching into cow pose. Exhale, press the floor away and round. Beautiful. And then find that place in between. So neutralize through the spine, reach your right leg back this time, tuck the right toes. And then again, just start to shift the weight, forward and back, forward and back a few times. Feel into the back of your right leg. Nice. And then shoulders right over the wrists. We'll spin onto the right heel, Ardha Vasustasana. Weight into your left hand, sweep your right arm up. And then again, some variations here. You might take that right arm over your ear, or maybe you're floating the right leg up, putting a bend in the right knee, reaching for the foot of your ankle, and start to kick the foot into your hands. Feel the expansion, cross the energetic heart space, Anahata. And you can soften that left elbow a little bit, so you're not locking out through your joints. Good. And then we're coming back. So bringing the right hand down, tuck the right toes down this time, press through the hands, draw your left knee in toward your nose, rounding through the upper back. So nice. And then sweep the left leg up and back, put a bend in your left knee, open up the hip. And then same thing here. You might roll it out, take some circles, whatever feels good, just feeling into the left side. Keep your shoulders level. So you're pressing through both hands just to protect the shoulders. Good. And then straighten through the left leg any amount. Start to draw your knee in toward your nose, looking forward, flip your foot through between your hands. Good. Lower your right knee down to the earth, sweeping the arms forward and up on Jnayasana. And you might just stay right here. This might feel nice for you. Softening the shoulders, relaxing the gaze, or you're bending the elbows, lifting the chest. Maybe even lift the gaze up, cactus arms. And then maybe releasing hands behind the low back, interlace, maybe take the opposite thumb on top. So the one that doesn't feel as natural to you. And then just start to draw the shoulders down the back, maybe sink a little bit deeper into that lunge. Breathe. And a big full breath in. Exhale, release your hands, frame your front foot, start to shift your weight back. Half split, Ardahana Manasana. Lifting left toes up, draw the left hip back, and send the breath into the back of your left leg. And again, you can soften that left knee any amount, or just finding that sensation, creating a little space. Beautiful. And then rebend through your front knee as you're ready. We'll come back to down dog, plant the palms, step your left foot back to meet the right. Oh, nice. And then coming forward to plank pose this time. You're welcome to lower the knees, or if you want to keep the knees lifted, hug the elbows in, lower all the way down to the belly. One cobra pose, press through the tops of the feet, engage the legs, peel the chest up, maybe coming up a little bit higher this time. Beautiful. And then again, right back into child's pose. Let your hips sink back to the heel, just a couple breaths here, maybe wiggle a little bit from side to side. Just notice the lower back. How does that feel? Expanding with the inhale, softening and releasing with your exhale. Beautiful. And then meet me back in downward facing dog as you're ready. So coming up through hands and knees, tuck the toes, lift your hips up and back, and then walk your hands back to your feet. So we'll find a forward fold at the back of the mat. You can bend your knees any amount here, maybe hold opposite elbows, and maybe start to just sway a little side to side, or shake your head yes and no a few times. The intention of starting to release a little tension in the head, the neck, the shoulders, the lower back. And if you're crossing at the elbows, perhaps take the opposite arm on top for a few more breaths. Letting go a little more, every exhale. Beautiful. And then release the hands down toward the earth. Start to curl your hands up onto your shins. Coming halfway up, Arda Uttanasana, draw the shoulders back, lengthening and reaching forward with your heart space. And then as you exhale, soften and release Uttanasana. Let's do that two more times. So inhale brings you halfway up, either hands up onto your shins or fingertips might stay on the earth this time. And then exhale, soften and release. One more inhale, halfway up, lengthening, offering the heart forward. And exhale, sweet release down over the legs. Beautiful. And then walk your hands slowly back to downward facing dog. Take your time to arrive there. We'll meet there. Good. Let the heels get heavy. And then rise up onto the balls of your feet. Put a big bend in your knees, look forward, step or you can lightly float your hands to the front of the mat this time, coming into a forward fold.

Beautiful. And then this time, bend the knees deeply, let your head be nice and heavy. Roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time, letting your head be the last thing to arrive and then bring your shoulders up towards your ears. And this will roll them down the back, taking a moment to find Tadasana. So bringing the palms of your hands to face forward. Do you feel safe or comfortable to close your eyes? Can you softly close your eyes or just find one point to focus your gaze? And then as we land here for a moment to pause between the movements, let's check in with that heart space again. How is your heart today? Right now in this moment, depending on what comes up for you, be setting an intention, allowing it all. Come back into the body, into the breath and start to move into Surya Namaskar A. So let's move into our sun salutation, moving meditation with your breath. So bringing your hands together at a heart center. And then on an inhale, sweep the arms all the way out and up. Take a big full breath in, lengthen through the spine, feel the lift in the upper back. Beautiful. And then dive forward, leading with the heart, forward fold. On an inhale, lift halfway up, lengthening Arda Uttanasana. Exhale, plant your palms for this first one. Let's just step it back to plank pose. Take a moment to land and you can do the same thing that we did before. It's lowering all the way down. Maybe the knees lower, or maybe you're coming into Chaturanga this time, shifting the weight forward, then the elbows come halfway down. Good. Cobra, maybe upward facing dog. If you feel ready for that, straightening out the arms, forming the thighs up off the earth. And then we'll roll over the toes into our down dog and holding here for three full deep breaths. Feel free to sigh something out, let it go. And also lower the knees, take Cat-Cow. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, let's inhale to rise up onto the toes. Big bend in the knees, look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, front of your mat. And again, inhale halfway up, offer the heart forward. Exhale, soften and release, Uttanasana. Good. Root down through the feet, rise up to stand, arms sweep out and up. And then gathering your hands together in front of your heart center. Take a beat here to notice, feel your heartbeat. Good. And let's take just a couple more rounds. Moving meditation with the breath, simplify the cues a little bit so you can get out of your head into the body. Inhale, arms sweep up. Exhale, fold. Inhale halfway up. Exhale, plant your palms, step or if you'd like lightly float back, Chaturanga, your vinyasa. Inhale, lift the heart, cobra or up dog. Exhale, downward facing dog, couple full deep breaths here. Maybe start to find some stillness, find one point to focus your gaze, your drishti. Big breath in, long breath out. Inhale to rise up onto the toes, bend the knees, look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, lift halfway. Exhale, fold back in, root down through the feet, rise up to stand, arms sweep out and up. Hands to heart center, samasthiti. One more round, here we go. Inhale, arms sweep up. Lengthening, lift the heart, exhale, forward fold, soften the knees. Inhale, halfway up. Plant the palms, step or lightly float back, Chaturanga, your vinyasa or you're skipping it and just stepping right back to down dog. We'll meet there. Good. Taking a few full deep breaths, feel free to drop the knees down, sitting back on your heels if you'd like or child's pose. Otherwise, can you allow your down dog to be a resting pose, a place to come home to the breath? Good. And then on your next breath in, we'll rise up onto toes, big bend in knees, look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, release and fold, root down through the feet, rise up. Inhale, arms sweep out and up, hands to heart. Good. And again, just brief pause, perhaps bringing one hand to your heart, one hand to your low belly. We just take these moments between the movement to come back home, to come back home to the heart, to check in, to notice, to breathe. Good. So let's start to move into our standing sequence and we'll kind of work with that expansive heart opening as we move through.

So as you're ready, we'll inhale back to Utkatasana, chair pose, weight into the heels, arms sweep up. Good. And then just draw the shin bones back a little bit so you're gazing down at your toes. Actually, first time we've been here. Good. And then take a big, giant breath in as you exhale, fold into Utkatasana. Good. Inhale, halfway up, lengthening, plant your palms, your vinyasa or skip it and step back, down dog if you're flowing through. Inhale, pull out or up dog. Exhale, downward facing dog. Let's float the right leg up to the sky, full breath in. Draw your knee into your nose and then step your right foot through between your hands. So set it up for warrior one. Spin your back heel down, reach your arms forward and up and let's just set it up a little bit in this first round. So building from the ground up, we're coming toward 90 degrees in that front leg. The hips, that right hip is drawing back, left hip rolls forward and then draw the ribcage in, engage the core just to protect your spine. Soften your shoulders, energize up through your fingertips. Beautiful. And then if it feels okay, we'll take hands behind the low back, either holding opposite elbows or take that interlace again, like how we started, and then just start to draw the shoulders back. Lift the heart, take a big, full breath in. Humble warrior, fold down over that front leg, keeping the warrior one legs as you come forward. Beautiful. And then rooting down through the feet, rise back up, warrior one, reaching your arms back up toward the sky. Maybe press the palms together above your head. Good. And then lower your hands down. Step back, plank pose, your vinyasa. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, hips up and back, down dog. Nice work. Let's take a couple cleansing breaths here. Big, full breath in. Open the mouth side out. Let it go. Good. Again, inhaling. Let something go. Exhale. Beautiful. Left side. Inhale, left leg lifts. You have to draw the left knee in toward your nose, stepping all the way through between your hands. It can be one step, a bunch of steps. It doesn't matter. And then setting up our warrior one base. Bend the back heel down. You might step the right foot to the right a little bit for a wider stance. Reach your arms up. In this land, bear of a dress and a one, make your adjustments. But I find this pose pretty challenging. So you can notice if that's true for you. And if it's just too much in the back leg, you can always pop up onto your back toes. Good. And then soften the shoulders, relax the gains. And we'll release the hands behind the low back. Maybe take the opposite thumb on top. There to draw the shoulders away from the ears. Big breath in, lift the heart. Exhale, humble warrior, pull down over that front leg, reaching the arms up. Good. And then breathe. Just a couple full deep breaths right here. Beautiful. And then root down through the feet, strong in the legs, lead with the heart, come all the way back up. Maybe press the palms together above your head. And then hands find the earth, step back through your flow or skip it and come to down dog. If you're moving through, down dog. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, lift the hips up and back. Downward facing dog. Let's take a moment, lower your knees. If it feels okay to sit back on your heels for a moment, then just sit back on your heels. And just to feel the opening and expansion cross your chest and you can just let your hands rest on your thighs. Take a few full deep breaths to check in. Again, just finding that space between the movement. And then we start to find the space between the inhale and at the bottom of the exhale. And then we start to find some space between the mind, between the thoughts. Good. Welcome to stay here as long as you like or let's move on. So we're just going to add on to the pattern that we've already created. So coming back to down dog as you're ready, lifting the hips all the way up and back. Let's take one cleansing breath, big full breath in. Long breath out, let it go. Beautiful. Coming back to the right side, inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it all the way through. Set up for warrior one and let's start to move with the breath. So the inhale brings you up and the exhale brings the hands behind the back, interlacing.

Good. Inhale, draw the shoulders away, lift the chest. Exhale, humble warrior, fold over your front leg. Good. This time as you come up, we'll circle it open to warrior two. So lead with your left arm. You might straighten that front leg for a moment and just adjust your stance as you come into Virabhadrasana two. And as you find warrior two, soften the shoulders, relax the gaze. All right. And then let's move with our breath here. So drawing your hands to your heart center, straighten through your front leg for a moment and allow a big full breath in through the nose. And then as you exhale, just start to press back into warrior two. So we're just taking these fluid movements with the breath, the inhale gathers the energy, hands to heart, straighten the front leg. Exhale, press away, warrior two. One more inhale, draw everything in and exhale, press into warrior two. Good. And then from here, let's just flip the front palm, tilt back, reverse warrior for a moment. You can sink maybe a little deeper into that front knee. Good. And then circle your hands down to the earth, runner's lunge, step back, plank pose, more vinyasa, moving through. The inhale opens the heart, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhale, hips up and back, downward facing dog. Beautiful. Second side, inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through, same beginning. Start to flow with your breath at air equality. Inhale, warrior one. Exhale, hands behind the back, interlace. Inhale to lift the heart. Exhale, humble warrior, fold in. Good. Coming up to warrior two, lead with your right arm, circle it open, face the side of your mat, and just take a moment to land. So center, reaching from the heart center with the right arm and the left arm, you're reaching forward and back, the same amount of energy. Good. And then moving with the breath, inhale, hands to heart, straighten your front leg. As you exhale, press it away, maybe with a little tension as you come deeper into warrior two. Two more with your breath, maybe close your eyes. Inhale, try everything in. Exhale, press away. One more. Inhale, draw it in. Exhale, press it away. Warrior two, beautiful. Flip your front palm, keep the leg, tilt back, reverse warrior. And then coming back to go forward, circle the hands down, step back, left foot meets the right chaturanga, moving through. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Good. Forward facing dog. Lifting the hips all the way up and back. Again, let's lower the knees down for a moment. We'll set up for a nice shoulder stretch before we move on. So find a tabletop position at your shoulders. Just land right over your wrists. Good. And then inhale your right arm out to the right, open the heart to the right side, and then thread your right arm under your left arm. So come on to the right shoulder and the right side of your face. And then you might walk your left hand forward, or maybe you're taking that left arm behind the low back. And then just breathe here, breathe into the right side. If you want to add the left leg, reaching it back or to the side, go for it. I'm going to stay right here with the hips even. And just notice, start to tune inward. Notice the breath. Notice the heartbeat.

Maybe let it slow a little bit here. I'm sweating. And then come back up to your tabletop as you're ready. So you're pressing through the left hand, bringing the right hand down as well. And we'll just take it to the other side. So sweeping your left arm out to the left, opening the heart to the left side, thread your left arm under your right, come on to the left shoulder, the left side of your face. And then maybe walk your right hand forward, or take the right arm behind your low back. Find that wrap. Add the leg if you did on the first side. Otherwise, hips even, breath deep. Maybe notice if this side feels a little different, what arises when you come to this side. And then just take your time coming out the same way you came in, pressing back up to all fours. And we'll meet in downward facing dog, tucking the toes, lift the hips up and back, cleansing breath, big breath in. Maybe tongue out, lion's breath this time, let something go. Beautiful. Last round with this, let's add on a bit. Inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it all the way through between your hands. Set up for warrior one, spin the back heel down, arms sweep up. Good. And then hands behind the low back, find that interlace. Draw the shoulders back, press the heart, big full breath in. Exhale, humble warrior, fold in. The warrior two, lead with your left arm, circle it open and land. And then just one time with this, inhale, draw hands to heart, straighten through the front leg. Exhale, come back to warrior two. Good. Now flip the front palm, tilt back this time, straighten through your front leg for revolved triangle pose. And then you can feel that length through the right side body as you reach back. Beautiful. And then keeping that length, hinging forward into trikonasana. So right hand below the knee, left arm lifts, feel that expansion through the chest, maybe gaze up towards your fingertips. Couple full deep breaths here. Take up some space, expand. Beautiful. And then let's take this into half moon. So left hand to the hip, put a bend in your right knee and then we'll reach forward with the right fingertips, float your left leg up. And then maybe you're taking that chapasana variation by bending your left knee, reaching back for the foot, kick the foot into the hand. And you'll notice we're doing a lot of this kicking of the foot into the hand. So just see how that feels. If that's too much, you're just straightening the leg, reaching that left arm up. Either way is great.

Good. Take two more breaths. Nice. And then as slowly as you can, soften your right knee and step it back for warrior two. Good. And then draw your hands to your hips, parallel the feet, setting up for a wide leg, forward fold, draw the elbows back, lift the heart. And then with the length in your spine, pressarita, folding in and just let your hands fall wherever they want to fall. So maybe it's right under your shoulders. Maybe you're finding your ankles. You want to interlace, that might feel nice. So letting the crown of the head melt down, breathing, sealing the outer edges of your feet down to the earth. Good. A couple more breaths. Nice everyone. And then let that go. You can walk your hands forward and then just come to the front of your mat, find your runner's lunge. Let's pause here for a moment. Bring your hands to the inside of your right foot, of your front foot. Heel toe your right foot to the right a few times. So you're setting up for lizard, you know, lower the back knee down, keep the palms of the hands pressing into the earth. And then maybe if you'd like to go a little deeper for a quad stretch, you're bending your left knee, press through your left hand, reach back with your right hand and find your foot. And again, there's that action again, kick your foot into your hand as you expand the chest open to the right. And if that's just too much, get out of there. Find your edge, be in a place where the breath can stay even deep. Good. Beautiful. And then go ahead and release that. And we'll just step it back to down dog. So tuck the back toes, lift the back knee, step your right foot back to meet the left, maybe pedal it out a few times. Beautiful breath in, long breath out. Beautiful. Second side, inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it all the way through setting up warrior one. Just let this be a dance with the breath that airy quality arms sweep up. Exhale, hand behind the low back interlace. Inhale, draw the shoulders back, lift the heart. Exhale, humble warrior fold in. So nice warrior to circle it open, stand with your right arm, take a moment to land. Find your alignment. Beautiful. And then just one round, draw the hands to the heart, straighten through the front leg. Big breath in. Exhale, deep in, Virabhadrasana two. Flip your front palm tilt back. Reverse, this time straighten through that front leg. Take a breath here. Feel that nice length in your left side. And then keep that length as you hinge forward into Trikonasana, triangle pose, left hand, below the knee, right arm lifts up. And then expand here, take up space, reaching in all directions. You can soften that left knee a little bit so you're not locking out through the joints, engaging your left quad. Beautiful. And then setting up for half moon, bring the right hand to the hip gaze down. Put a nice big bend in that left knee and then reach the left fingertips. So they land right under your left shoulder, float your right leg up. And then maybe right away you're bending the right knee, reaching back with your right hand, finding your foot or not, chapasana or half moon. Just playing with balance. If you fall out of it, come back in. Some days it's there, some days it's there. Good. And then as slowly as you can, we'll bend through that left knee and just softly step back for your two hands to hips, straighten your front leg parallel through the feet. I want to take the hands behind the back this time. Interlace, draw the shoulders back a little bit, lift up on the inhale. And as you exhale, let's bow forward, procerida, let the crown of the head melt down. I'm just going to spin around so I can see all. Good. And then you're sealing the outer edges of the feet down. The crown of the head be heavy.

Breathe. You have the interlace, take your time, let the hands come down to the earth. And then crawling your way back to your runner's lunge, facing the front of the mat with the left foot in front. Good. Bring your hands to the inside of your front foot, start to heel toe the left foot to the left a few times. Good. Lower your back knee down. And this might be where you're staying. This might feel really nice for you today. If you want to bend through that right knee and do that, you might stay here. Or you're reaching your left hand back, find the foot maybe, and then start to kick your foot into your hand, let the chest expand open. Breathe. Good. A couple more full deep breaths. So nice. And then let that go slowly so you're not slingshotting it back. And then just step it back to your downward facing dog, left foot meets the right. So beautiful. And it will rise up onto the toes, big bend in the knees, step or lightly float to your hands, come to the front of the mat. Good. Come halfway up. Inhale. Hold in one more chair pose just to bookend it. Weight into the heels, arms sweep up, sink it down. Good. And then straighten the legs as you do that. Feel a little lift in the heart, your sternum. Maybe look up. Good. And then draw your hands to your heart center. And then let's just take a moment of pause here, maybe one hand to heart, one hand to belly. Go inward. Notice your heart. A couple full deep breaths, feel the ground. Back to your intention, your sankalpa. Good. So we're going to move into just a couple of balancing poses at the front of the mat that incorporate both this heart opening and some hip opening. So let the right foot get nice and heavy. Really ground the right foot down. And then bend your left knee. You're going to reach back and find the foot again. We're kicking the foot into the hands. This might be where you stay. This might feel like more than enough. You're finding one point to focus the gaze, your drishti. And if you're wanting to move into dance or pose, reach your right arm up.

Good. And then just start to kick your foot into your hands. The same quality we've been working with. Keep the heart open, reaching forward, any amount, couple breaths. Beautiful. And then come on out of there for a moment, right back to where we were. Then we're going to cross your left ankle on top of the right knee, draw the hands to the heart, coming into temple dancer. So we're in that figure four shape with the legs again, just like we were when we started on our back. And then the hips shift back. The hands are to the heart space and you're breathing. And my right leg is screaming. So let's come out of there. Reach your arms up, draw your left knee into your chest, and then just step it down and let that go. Maybe shake out the right leg, shake out the arms, and then find your center. And that grounded quality in the feet, soften the knees. Good. And then start to bring your attention into the left foot, spread the toes. Nice everyone. And let's bend the right knee, reach back, find the right foot or your ankle. And again, maybe stay right here, draw the low belly in and up. Then find that point to focus your gaze. If you're moving on, sweep the left arm up. Maybe start to kick the foot into the hand. Coming into dancer pose. Keep expanding through the chest, through the heart space. Beautiful. And then come out the same way you came in. This time we'll cross the right ankle on top of the left knee, flex your right foot, figure four shape hands to heart shift your weight back. Temple dancer. Good. And again, if you fall out of it, it's part of it. Practice in presence. Nice. And then to come out of there, reach your arms up, draw your knee into your chest, step it down into malasana. So feet wide, toes out, heels in, sink the weight down. Here we are.

Hands to heart, low back releases, spine mom, reaching up through the crown of your head. And you might be sitting on a block here, but it'd be an opportunity to come into your hips a little bit deeper. But at the same time, you're lifting up through the crown of your head. Find is nice and long. Couple more breaths. So good for the low back. Actually, if you're sitting on zoom calls all day, notice how your hips are feeling here. And then let's come into a forward fold. So parallel the feet, let everything melt down. Maybe slide the palms of your hands underneath the soles of your feet, or you can take peace fingers to big toes, letting everything melt down. Just releasing any tension here. Couple breaths. Any forward fold is great. Bowing in towards yourself. Awesome. And then releasing your hands, bring them down to the earth. Let's just step back to downward facing dog, taking a moment to arrive there. Beautiful. And then lower your knees down to the earth. We're setting up for forearm plank. So let the forearms come down to the earth. Let your elbows hug right under your shoulders, press through the hands evenly. You can interlace if you'd like, and then stretch both legs back. So tucking the toes, curving into the thighs, letting your hips be aligned with your shoulder blades. And then reach forward with your heart. So the heart's reaching between your arms, won't be your lung, just noticing the core, noticing what's happening there. Good. And then dolphin pose, start to walk your feet in towards you. Let your sitting bones reach up toward the ceiling. Just take a couple breaths here. Again, just hugging the elbows in and breathing. Nice inversion. Good. And then walking your feet all the way back, forearm plank, just briefly passing through, lower your hips all the way down to the earth's twinks pose. Good. And then walk your hands forward a little bit. So let your elbows just come slightly in front of your shoulders and then use that to start to traction your mat back towards you as you reach the heart between your hands. Maybe feel that slight ache in the low back. Keep the legs engaged, core engaged, protect the spine. Beautiful. And then stack your hands, let your elbows splay out. Let your forehead rest on top of your hands and just release. Take a moment to breathe. You might wiggle your hips side to side and we'll set up for just a few more heart openers here while we're on our belly. So reaching the arms back, if it feels okay to interlace, if that's just like too cranky in the shoulders, just reach your arms back actively. That's beautiful. Good. And then bring your chin down to the earth, start to draw the shoulders away from your ears, activate the legs, and then peel up any amount. Shalavasana. So you're coming up toward that cobra action in the upper body. Maybe you're adding the legs, spreading the toes, letting the heels be close together. Take a big full breath in. As you exhale, bring one cheek down to the earth. Release the low back by swaying your hips from side to side and then just let that land. Beautiful. Let's try that again. So chin down to the earth, interlace or reach your arms back actively. Engage the legs, start to peel the chest up off the earth, shoulders away from ears. Think about lengthening up. So the chin is tucked slightly, let the back of the neck be nice and long. Good. Big full breath in. Exhale, release opposite cheek down to the earth. You sway a little bit from side to side. Good. So welcome to stay here. You can take one more round with Shalavasana, or maybe you're bending the knees, reaching back with your hands. And one last time we're finding the feet. Kicking the feet into the hands as you come up toward Dhanurasana. Bow pose. Taking a couple full deep breaths here. Feel that expansion across the heart space.

Big breath in. Let it go. Reverse windshield wiper. Your feet from side to side. Sweet release. Beautiful. And then when you're ready, take your time, just press it back to child's pose. And for me, that just feels like such a nice release in the low back after doing Dhanurasana. Couple full deep breaths here. Everyone. And then as you're ready, let's move into our hip opener. So coming up to all fours, meet me in down dog, tuck your toes, lift the hips up and back, take a moment to stretch through the backs of your legs. Good. And then float your right leg up. Big breath in. Draw your right knee in toward your nose, setting up for single pigeon. Start to parallel the shin toward the front of the mat. If there's another hip opener that you prefer, honor that. Otherwise, just take your time up at the top. You feel the heart open as you find your alignment. And then maybe there's the invitation to go a little deeper as you walk your hands into single pigeon. We'll be here for about five or six full deep breaths. Just getting into that airy quality that we were talking about when we started. You come to the warm breeze here rather than that dust devil that whips the thoughts around and takes us on a journey into the stories that our mind loves to create. In our practice, we start to notice the thoughts, from the observer, let them flow by like a warm breeze and then come back to your breath. Just a couple more full deep breaths here. And then take your time. No rush. Peel your way back up. We'll come back to downward facing dog and just shake it out. Maybe take that right leg up to the sky. Give it a shake. Pedal it out. If you want a vinyasa, that might feel nice just to clear the energy. I'll come forward to plank pose. Chaturanga, cobra or up dog, inhale. Downward facing dog, moving to the left side. Float your left leg up to the sky. Big breath in. Draw the knee in towards your nose and then start to parallel your shin toward the front of your mat. Nice everyone. And then just take your time. Wiggle in. You know, if your hip is lifted, if the left hip is pretty high up off the earth, you might take a blanket or a pillow under your left hip and just take a moment to feel that opening across the heart space. And then when there's the invitation to move a little deeper, move a little deeper. Find your edge. You'll need to force it. Easy quality here. Relax and observe. A couple more deep breaths. Good. And then take your time. Come on out of there. If you want to come back to down dog, feel free to do that. I'm just going to shift the weight off to my left hip, bring the legs out in front of me, setting up for a forward fold. So we'll meet seated at the front of the mat and just take a moment to wiggle in, flex your feet, sit up nice and tall. We're going to keep this active before we fold in. So to begin, reach the arms up, take a big full breath in and then just reach with the heart, come halfway forward. And then on an inhale, come all the way back up. Good. And then as you exhale, again, just come halfway forward, lead with the heart. On an inhale, come back up. So a little core work. As you inhale, lengthen. As you exhale, this time we'll find the feet, the shins, the earth, fold in. On an inhale, again, just come halfway up. And then exhale, release. Paschimottanasana, forward fold. Letting your hands fall wherever they fall. You might even lift up a little bit. So you're reaching the heart forward, drawing the feet back, breathing into the hamstrings, the backs of your legs. So nice. And then come up, reach the arms forward, roll onto your back. And as you come onto your back, hug your right knee, into your chest, give it a squeeze. And we'll draw, with the left hand, draw the right knee across your body, coming into a twist, reaching your right arm out to the right, maybe gazing over that right shoulder. And just allow this to be a ringing out. All that work you've done, all that you've built up. Letting it go here.

Every inhale, a little bit more length, with every exhale ease into the twist, just a little bit more. Beautiful. And then go ahead and unravel, let that side go. You can step the soles of the feet to the earth for a moment. Adjust the hips, sweep the hips to the left a little. And then right leg long, hug your left knee into your chest, give it a squeeze. Good. And then with your right hand, draw the left knee across the body, reach your left arm out to the left, engaging over your left shoulder, ring it out. Letting the left shoulder melt down. A couple full deep breaths here. Beautiful. And then unravel, come back to your center, step the soles of the feet to the earth, your knees into your chest one more time, give them a squeeze. And then maybe take a happy baby here, holding onto the outsides of the feet or your shins, letting the knees go wide. And then just letting the low back soften down, let the shoulders relax. Maybe swaying a little side to side if that feels good. And letting the chin tuck slightly so the back of the neck is nice and long. And any last movement that the body is asking for, feel free to move into that here, otherwise knees to chest. Draw your nose up towards your knees, allowing a big whole breath in here, holding the breath at the very top. Sip in just a little bit more air. And then open the mouth, sigh it out, Shavasana. Nice work. Let your legs just go long on your mat, letting your feet roll open like books, softening the low belly. And then just let the shoulders draw down the back so the heart lifts a little bit, bringing the palms to face up on either side of your body, closing your eyes, go inward. Feel that integration of the body, mind, spirit. Letting go, letting be. Bring your awareness, your attention back to the beating of your heart. Bring your awareness, your attention back to the beating of your heart. Deepening the breath. Maybe rock your head from side to side, massaging through the neck. Wiggle the fingers and the toes. And then interlace your hands, reach the palms of your hands toward the wall behind you, your toes. Take a big full breath in. Open the mouth, sigh it out. Let it go. Let the soles of the feet find the earth. Just take a moment to roll to either side and you can use your arm as a pillow, resting your ear on your arm. And then just notice, notice what you notice here. Couple breaths. Beautiful. And then take your time to press your way up to a comfortable cross-leg seated position, gathering hands together in the Anjali mudra in front of your heart, mudra of gratitude, checking in and acknowledging and thanking yourself for doing the work, for showing up to your practice, which can often be the hardest part. And then hands to third eye, the divine in me, greets and honors, the divine in each of you. Thank you so much for joining from wherever you are. I'm sending you love and peace from Joshua Tree, California. Namaste everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Have a beautiful rest of your day.