Wholehearted Flow

So, our practice today is designed to help kind of open and mobilize the hips. So we'll start with some floor work to find a bit more movement and lubrication through the hip joints and ease our way towards standing, some lunge salutations, some standing shapes, gaining a little bit more space through the shoulders, the neck, and then ease our way down in preparation for a loving kindness meditation at the end of our practice. So let's take just a few moments to sit together, just coming into a comfortable seat and just beginning to arrive in the space, arrive in your practice and your body. You might just allow for a gentle rock a little bit forward and back, just allowing your sitting bones to map the support beneath you and then from there, invite a quality of lift and length through your spine, also referred to as the central channel, finding the placement of your skull where it feels really sweet and balanced over your spine, allowing the base of the skull to gently float back and up as the chin softens down, taking a few moments here to just let the mind begin to settle a bit, just allow for an exhale, the grounding exhale down into the belly and the pelvis. Let's bring our hands together at the heart. As we ease into our practice, the invitation, you might set an intention for your practice of aligning your energy or maybe there's a dedication for your practice. Maybe there's someone or something in your heart, taking a few moments to listen inwardly, just for whatever bubbles up within. Breathing this in. Soft bow forward on the exhale. Take your time when you feel ready. We'll meet on our backs. Just find your way there. Whatever support you like underneath you, maybe a blanket under your spine or under your head. Let's start with cat-cout. This is one of my favorite ways to just begin to warm up. Grounding the soles of the feet, open the arms up in the shape of cactus. As you're ready, begin to arch your back. Roll, tilt the pubic bone downward forward, arch your back soft in the chin downward. Exhale, keep your pelvis on the earth, curl your tail bone under. Be able to spine action, head rocks up. And then inhale, arch your back, lift the lumbar spine, soften the chin downward. With your exhale, scoop the tail bone under. Keep your pelvis grounded, navel to spine. And then continue a few rounds. So finding your own rhythm, your own pace.

Let the eyes soften, let the jaw relax. You might spread your awareness between the movement of your pelvis and the movement of your skull. Nice, sweet movement here. Very fluid. A few more rounds. Inhale to arch your back, lift the lumbar spine. Exhale, draw the back towards the floor, scoop the tail bone under. Okay, so then just take a moment to pause and relax the effort. So let's draw the knees into the chest. Your arms might stretch out to your sides. And as you rock your knees into your chest, let's take a circle with the knees in one direction. And a feeling into the lower back and the sacrum area. You kind of bony or sticky areas. And notice as the knees rock away, the back arches naturally. And as you draw the knees and the tail bone curls under. Let's take that circle in the other direction. Just easing in. Just exploring the range of movement that feels good. Without any force or pushing. Nice. And then as you're ready, just go ahead and ground the soles of your feet again. Keep your left foot on the floor. We're just going to draw our right knee up, lift the foot, and then find a circle with the knee. Uh-huh. And so initiating the movement from your right hip joint. Moving in one direction. And if you feel or sense any kind of popping or clicking or sounds in there, try a smaller circle. Maybe a slower, smaller circle. And finding some stability through your pelvis. All right, through your lower back. Without letting your back arch and your pelvis move around. And let's find a circle in the other direction. So initiating the movement from the hip joint. Nice, fluid, watery-like movement. And I hear a little popping in my hips. So I'm going to kind of slow it down. Let me find a smaller circle. You might feel the core involved here. Softening the face. Good. And when you're ready, just go ahead and ground the foot. Take a clearing breath. Inhale. And exhale everything. Yeah. Keep that right foot on the floor and draw the left knee up and just find a circle with the left knee. Again, we're initiating the movement from the left hip joint. Nice and fluid. Finding some stability through the pelvis. Through the lower back. Again, any popping or sounds or irritation. Just backing it off a little bit. Smaller circles. Slower circles. Good. And then moving in the opposite direction.

I usually find one direction feels easier, more natural than the other. Notice what feels true for you in your body. And it varies day to day. Maybe there's one or two more. Nice. And then when you're ready, just go ahead and release that foot down. Take a moment to pause. Allow for an inhale. And exhale, stretch your legs out. This might feel really nice. And if it feels good, stretch your arms overhead. Let's come into a full body stretch here. It feels so nice. And then go ahead and draw your toes towards your face. Extending out through your heels a bit. Arms might stay overhead or you might bring the hands around the elbows. And just finding that full body stretch. Lengthening through one side and lengthening through the other. Spacious through your throat. And take your time. Release your arms. Bend your knees. Feet maybe as wide as your mat for windshield wipers. Just begin to cruise on to the inner outer edges of the feet. A nice fluid and a spiral-like movement through the body. Yeah. Lending that ease up through the neck and the head. Couple more rounds here. Next time your knees fall over to the right, take a few breaths. Reach and lengthen up through your left arm. Finding a bit more space through the left side of your body. Down into the psoas. The diaphragm. Nice. And then just let the knees come back up through center over to the left. Reach up through your right arm. Find a little bit more length there through the right side. Nice full breath here. Opening and creating space. Soft eyes. Ready and let the knees come back up and just hug your knees back into your chest. Rock a little. From here we'll transition up towards the seat. You might rock and roll up on your spine or you might roll to your side and use your arms, however you'd like to get here. And we'll just start with a simple sukhasanas. You might sit up on your blanket. Wobble a little bit side to side. Bring the hands onto the knees or the shins. And let's just start with some circles. So continuing with this kind of spiral-like movement. Nice fluid movement through the hips. And bringing it up into your ribcage. And up into the heart and the shoulders. Exploring the range of movement. Getting into the shoulder blades as you lean back. And let's take that in the other direction. Notice the quality of your breathing. Really the quality of your inner experience. A couple more rounds here. Nice. And then just find your way back into center. Let's interlace our fingers and stretch the arms up towards the sky. And feel how you can ground a little bit through your sitting bones and lift a little bit through the back of your heart. Up through your hands. Let's inhale here and then exhale. Let your back round. Curl. Enable the spine. Stretching the back of the heart.

Shoulder blades. Chin softens down. And then with the inhale begin to lengthen again. Lift from the back of the heart. And then exhale. Curl the tailbone under. Find your cat pose in the back. And then roll the pelvis forward. Lift up and lengthen. And with the exhale let's just release the arms down. Draw the shoulders up. And exhale. Drop them down. Nice. From here begin to hinge forward at your hips. And just walk your arms forward. Lean a little bit from side to side. Feel how you can lengthen. Come up onto your fingertips. And with your inhale begin to lift the heart and draw the chest forward. You can use those fingertips to help find a bit of traction as the shoulder blades draw down. Allow for an exhale through the belly, the sitting bones. You might stay with this. You might begin to just let your back round. Maybe let your palms turn up. Feeling into the back of your body. And I know for me first thing it tends to feel a bit sticky and achy and kind of this dull wide warm stretch through the back of the body. Down through the lower back. The sacrum and the hips. Fast few moments here. Let the belly soften again. Easy in the jaw. Releasing the head. Take your time. Rolling up. Chin into the chest. And just slowly find your way up. Take a moment. Pause. Let's find a side stretch. Reaching your right arm out. And now left arm reaches up. Go down through your left sitting bone. Find a bit more space through the left side body. So you can soften that right shoulder blade into the back. You might stay right here. You might walk your fingertips out and just begin to reach up out and over. Enjoy the stretch. You might stay with this. You might let your back round a little bit. Explore the shape. Get curious. And then spiraling up through the spine, the heart. A few more moments here. Breathing into where you feel it. And then take your time. Inhale. Reach with your top arm. Let it carry you up. Exhale. Release. And let's just lean back and switch the cross of our legs. Wobbling in. And then as you're ready, reach the left arm out. Inhale. The right arm reaches up. And just start by mapping the feeling through the right side. As you ground through the right hip, find a bit more laying through the right side, through the ribs, opening up through the intercostals. Let the left shoulder blade soften. You might walk the fingertips out and stretch your right arm up out and over. And you might stay here. You might round a bit. You might spiral up a bit. Bottom, long, heart, gaze. Two more moments here. Creating space with the inhale. And softening and releasing, letting go with the exhale. Take your time on the inhale. Reach up. And exhale. Release. Let the shoulders come up. And exhale. Release them down. Let's transition into tabletop.

So join me there. Set your mat up. Maybe with a blanket under your knees. Whatever you like. Spread the fingers wide. Tuck your toes under. We'll continue with cat, cow, and table. Dropping the belly, lifting the heart. Exhale. Let your back round and stretch. And then this first one, draw your hips back towards your heels. Tuck your toes under. Enjoy that nice traction through the mid-back, down into the kidneys, and sacrum. And then float the shoulders over the wrist. Drop the belly with the heart, arching, and exhale. Curl and round. And inhale. Drop the belly. Lift the heart nice and wide through the collar bones, sitting bones. Exhale. Let your back round and stretch. The next time you bring your spine into a neutral position, let's find some circles with the hips. So you might untuck your toes. Just find a circle in one direction. Notice how it feels today through your wrists and your hands. And if there's any sensitivity, you might bring a blanket or even come onto the forearms and explore this. Feeling into the outer hips. And then we'll circle in the other direction. Notice the quality of your breathing as you shift your weight. A couple more moments here.

Just find a neutral shape again. Let's extend back through our right leg. Tuck your toes under and just wake up the back of that leg line. So the foot rocking forward and back. Nice and even and neutral through your pelvis. We're going to lift our right leg up. Inhale here. As you arch and then exhale, let's draw the knee in towards the nose. Let your back round. Pull it up. Inhale. Extend and reach. Exhale. Curl. Three more. Inhale. Extend. Exhale. Round. Curl. Inhale. Extend. Exhale. Curl. One more. Inhale. Extend. And exhale. Curl. Release. Take a moment to pause. Exhale. Release through that left leg. Tuck the toes and just start by rocking forward and back. Waking up the bottom of the foot. Back of the leg. And then as you're ready, lift the left leg on an inhale. Exhale. Draw the knee into the nose. Curl and round. Come into your cat. Inhale. Extend. Exhale. Curl and round. Inhale. Extend.

Exhale. Curl. Three more. Inhale. Extend. Exhale. Curl. Inhale. Extend. Exhale. Curl. Last one. Inhale. Extend. And exhale. Curl. And then release. Let's draw the hips back towards the heels. Find a child. Suppose for a few breaths. Softening the forehead towards the earth. And softening the hips towards the heels. Giving the wrists a break here. Take your time. You might stay here a bit longer when you're ready. Inhale. Rise back up into tabletop and let's explore down dog. Tuck the toes under and lift up. Let's start by walking it off. So you might bend the knees a lot. Bending that right knee and just stretch the left calf and heel down towards the floor. Release the back of your neck. Bend your left knee and stretch the right calf and heel down. Maybe there's a few more like this. Waking up the hamstrings. You might stay here. You might inhale. Join me in a plank. Shoulders over the wrist. You can always lower your knees for this. As you draw the deep low belly into your spine. Feel the energy through your legs. Let's lower the knees and lower onto our belly. Let your elbows go wide and let your forehead rest on the top of your hands. We're going to explore a new variation of cobra. So as you're ready, stay with your head lower down. Tuck your toes under. I'm really enjoying this variation lately. Tuck the toes under and then energize your legs. Yeah. Do you feel your knee caps lifting? Your thigh muscles engaging? Good. Keep your hands where they are. Elbows wide and just press into the hands and lift your chest a little bit. You can look down so your neck can lengthen here. Really using our back body here. Using the back muscles. And then feel how you can just begin to draw the navel forward towards your hands a little bit. Yeah. Finding some traction through the back. Keeping the legs awake and active. And with your exhale, release forehead to the hands. Untuck your toes. Nice little exhale. You might even shim your hips a little. Nice. Let's explore that one more time. Tuck your toes under. Active through your legs. You might even stay right here. You might begin to lift up. Pressing into the hands, the forearms. And then feel internally how you can find a little bit more length in your spine by drawing the navel forward and opening up, broadening through the collar bones. And as always with any pose, you're finding that appropriate edge of sensation.

So if it feels like too much, it is. You want to lower down or back off a little bit. If you need to feel more sensation, you can lift up. Keep engaging. And then exhale. Just melt your forehead to hands. Untuck your toes, shimmy, your hips a little. Beautiful work. When you're ready, let's slide our hands underneath our shoulders. Draw the elbows into the ribs. Tuck the toes under. Press up and round our way back slowly into a child's pose for a few breaths again. Just releasing the back, opening up the sacrum, the hips. You might stay here when you're ready. Bring the shoulders over the wrist, setting up for a wide downward dog. Fan the fingers up a little wider. Finding that external rotation. Tuck your toes under and lift up into your down dog. Walk your feet as wide as your mat. Bend your knees. And feel as you bend your knees, you can wiggle and find a little bit more length and buoyancy through your sitting bones. Spine lengthens. Again, head is releasing here. You might look up for a moment. Check your hands. Reground and connect through the hands, through the fingers. Feel the thigh bones can draw back and away. A few more breaths here in this inversion with the head below the heart. From here, we'll walk our hands towards our feet. Nice and easy. Draw the heels in, toes out, bend the knees, sink down into a squat-like shape. You're just finding your squat, your melasana. Hands might rest at the heart, on the floor, wherever feels best. Softening the jaw. Feeling this downward flow of energy.

Right stay here. You might ground the left hand and reach the right arm up for a twist, opening up through the right hip and knee. I like to circle out through the wrist. You might look down or up. Inhale. And then exhale. Release the right hand. You might pin the knee with that right elbow as you stretch the left arm up. Open up through your left at the knee and circle it out through the wrist if that feels good. Notice what you prefer to do with your head. Beautiful. And then releasing, uttanasana forward fold. Toe heel the feet a little closer. Soft bend through your knees. We'll roll up together slowly, stretching the back. Bend the knees. Head last. Tune into the chest. Curl the tailbone under. And roll up slowly, stacking the bones. Feeling the heart. Feeling the shoulders. And feeling the head. And as always, when you come up from a forward bend, take a moment to pause. And let the blood and the energy settle. Find that ease out through the base of your skull. We'll start with one of my favorite shoulder neck routines. Start by drawing the shoulders up, squeezing, exhale, dropping. Inhale, roll the shoulders back up. Find a squeeze. Exhale, drop. One more time. Draw the shoulders up. Exhale, drop. And let's roll the shoulders back one at a time. Finding room and space through the side body. Shoulders. And let's reverse. Back up and forward. Into the shoulder blades, the back of the heart. Nice. And then let's rub the hands together. Feeling this warmth and energy. And then reach out. Extend heart to hands. Right. So the hands being the motor organ of the heart. Stretch and expand. And find the internal rotation. Floss the shoulders. Roll the shoulders forward. Press through the feet and open. External rotation. Again, roll the shoulders forward. Press through the feet and open. Let's do one more. Press through the feet and open. Come back to center. Press and reach out again. So stretching through the heels of your hands. Draw the fingers towards the face. Nice and easy out through your neck. And then draw the fingers under. Stretching the top of your wrists and forearms. Maybe softening the chin towards the chest as you breathe in. And exhale. Release. Roll the shoulders up. And exhale. Release them down. Stretch the right arm out. Roll the shoulder forward. Internally rotate. Bend the elbow. Bring the back of the hand to your sacrum or maybe between your shoulder blades. Moving into the neck. Soften the chin down towards the chest. Then gently roll the left ear towards your left shoulder. So away from the arm that's pinned. You might stay right where you are. You might slowly begin to bring the head and the gaze downward towards your left foot. And breathing gently into where you feel it. Soft face and jaw. You might slowly begin to bring the head and gaze up towards the left. So you get into that right shoulder, neck, throat. Maybe gently nodding the head down and up. And you might find a place where you want to pause and linger for a few breaths. Just exploring the landscape of sensation. Nice. You are welcome to stay here a bit longer when you feel ready to release. Just slow roll the chin back towards the chest.

Free your right arm. Press through the feet and gently let your head lift right over your spine. Clearing breath. Inhale. Let it out with an exhale. Feel into the other side. Stretch the left arm out. Internally rotate your shoulder. Bend the elbow. Again, back of the hand might find your sacrum or maybe between your shoulder blades. Totally depends on this shoulder. Soften the chin downward. Roll your right ear towards your right shoulder. Each side feels totally different. You might pause when you feel it. Again, this might be enough on this side. You might slowly bring the head and the gaze downward. You might stay here slowly. Bring the head and the gaze upward. Allowing the inhale to invite some space and opening and the exhale to soften and release any tension, any stickiness or holding in the physical or the subtle body. You might stay where you are. You might invite some gentle movement up and down. A few more moments here. Take your time. When you're ready to release, just roll the chin back downward. Free your left arm. Press through your feet. Lift your spine, your heart and let the head and gaze lift. Clearing breath. Inhale. Generous exhale. Nice. Walk your feet a little closer towards each other. Interlace your fingers. Bend the knees. Stretch the arms up again. And feel your ability to lengthen again. Feeling that lift from the inner arches up through the inner lines of your legs. Through the pelvic floor to the heart. Inhale. Lengthen. Exhale. Side bend over to one side. Opening. Inhale. Press through the feet. Come on up and exhale. Over to the other side. Taking a breath. Press through the feet. Inhale. Up and slow. Let the arms release. Roll the shoulders forward. Find the interlace behind the back. If you have a strap, you might use a strap or a belt. And as you lift the chest, open the shoulders. You might stay right here.

This feels pretty awesome. You might take it into a forward fold as you bend the knees. Injulate your hips. Strong legs. Releasing your head. And feel how you can begin to stretch your arms up out and over. Feeling the navel lift up towards the spine. And reaching the hands upwards towards the ceiling to take any pressure off the cervical spine. Tapping into your legs. One more. Inhale. Exhale. Slow. Release your hands or drop your strap. Nice forward bend here. Releasing, releasing. Soft bend in your knees. We're rolling up slowly and mindfully through our spine. Chin into the chest. Chin into the chest. Feeling the heart. Feeling the shoulders. And feeling the head. Let the palms open. Let's find our way towards the top of our mat for a few rounds of lunge salutations. Again, as always, moving at your own pace. Making it your own. Beginning to kind of build and generate some internal heat and warmth. Hands together at the heart. With an inhale, begin to stretch your arms up towards the sky. Press through the feet. Reach up. Exhale. Hinge at the hips. Forward fold. Maybe there's a soft bend in the knees as you release the head and the hands. With your inhale, slide your hands up your shins. Half arch. Extend and lengthen your spine. Exhale. Bend your knees. Step your right foot back into a lunge and let the left knee bend. Let's lower that right knee down to the mat. Stay lower. Inhale. Reach the arms up towards the sky. Nice. Feeling your ability to lift. Maybe soften the shoulders. Easy in the face.

Inhale here. Exhale. Release the hands. Tuck the back toes. Lift the back knee. Step back downward dog. Take a few moments to settle in your dog. Stay here. Inhale. Plank pose. Shift the weight. Shoulders over the wrists. Knees might be on the earth. Let's lower down for a traditional cobra. Tops of the feet on the floor. With an inhale, roll the shoulders that press through the palms. Baby cobra. Lifting the chest. Heart. Exhale. Gently lower. Tuck your toes. Press up. Let's meet in downward facing dog. Take a few moments in your down dog. Rooting through the hands on an inhale, stretch your right leg up towards the sky. With an exhale, knee to nose, hover. Shoulders over the wrist. And then step your right foot between your hands and just kind of help it along. It's not an easy move. Lower the back left knee down. Stay low. Or begin to rise up. Low crescent lunge. Feel your ability to lift. And open. Balancing the ease and the effort. Inhale. Exhale. Release. Tuck the back toes. Lift the back leg. This time we're going to rock and roll and step the left foot forward to meet the right. Inhale. Half arch to lengthen. Exhale. Forward fold to release. Bend the knees. Strong for the legs. Press through the feet. Reverse. Wanda. Reach the arms up. Gather. Exhale. Hands at the heart. Beautiful. Let's take a moment between sides. Pause. Notice how effective that is. Heart rate. Heat. Beautiful. Spreading the toes. As you're ready with an inhale, stretch the arms up. Exhale. Forward fold. Releasing. Inhale. Half arch. Length and hand slide up the shins. Exhale. Bend the knees.

Step the left foot back again. Right knee bends. Lower the left knee down. Stay low. Or inhale. Rise up. This time you might hook the thumbs. As you weevil, lift. Pull the thumbs apart. Feel the shoulder blades draw down the back. Real spacious through the heart and the throat. And exhale. Release the hands. Tuck the back toes. Lift your back knee. Step back. Downward dog. You might stay in down dog. Or inhale. Plank pose again. Shift your weight. Shoulders over the wrist. Strong through your legs. Lower the knees. Lower down. Cobra. Shoulders roll up. Press through the palms and lift the heart. Beautiful. Slow lead with the heart. Lower. Tuck your toes. Press up and back. We'll meet in down dog. A few moments here. Rooting through the hands. Inhale. Lift the left leg up towards the sky. Exhale. Knead a nose. Draw it in. And then step it forward between the hands. Help it along. Wiggle back through the ball of your right foot. It's a challenging transition. Lower the right knee. Stay low. Inhale. Sweep your arms up. Hands might reach or you might hook the thumbs. Find a little length. Pull the thumbs apart and open. Beautiful. Breathing. Inhale. Here.

Exhale. Release the hands. Tuck the back toes. Lift the back knee. We're going to rock and roll. Step the right foot forward to meet the left. Once you arrive, inhale half arch. Exhale. Bend the knees. Forward fold. Bend the knees. Press through the feet. Reverse swan dive. Inhale. Arms reach up. Exhale. Hands together at the heart. Take a moment to center. Arrive. Settle. Yeah. Beautiful. From here let's go ahead and step our feet wide on our mat setting up for triangle pose. Trikonasana. So you might grab a block if that's helpful. Let's start on the right side. So internally rotate your left thigh and foot. Externally rotate your right thigh and foot. Check out so your right foot is parallel with your mat. Beheal the arch alignment. Let's start with the hands on the hips. Inhale and reach the right arm up. So this is the side we're lengthening. So take a moment to ground for your feet and really reach up through the fingers. Opening up through the ribs. And then from here we'll begin to extend and lengthen. Like you're reaching across the room reach, reach. As you find that length, the hand might find the shin. Block outside of your foot. If it feels good you might reach your top arm up towards the sky. Feeling your ability to lengthen and really expand here. Yeah. Feel the energy. Feel the energy in your top arm and fingers. Always a place where the neck feels good. Maybe looking down maybe straight ahead. How's the breath? Ground through your feet. On an inhale reach with your top arm. Let that lift you up so gracefully. Hands on the hips. Let's find the other side. Internally rotate your right thigh and foot. Externally rotate the left and you might resituate your block if you're using one. And let's just start by reaching that left arm up. So right hand can stay on the hip. And we're just exploring the length before we come into triangle pose. Length and lengthen. And then from here root through the outer edge of your back foot and continue reaching. Like you're reaching across the room enjoying this transition. Which is part of the journey. Yeah. Hand might find the shin. Your block. Maybe reaching the top arm up. Feel how the front of the body can begin to kind of revolve towards the sky.

Your bottom lung. Hop lung. Arms reaching. Expanding here. Taking up space. Feeling your strength. Such a classic yoga pose. So many ways to explore this shape. Last few breaths. Kind of place where your neck feels good. Breathing. And then ground through the feet. As you're ready to come up reach with your top arm. Let an inhale carry you up. Nice. And then from here internally rotate that left foot. Let's draw the heels and the toes out so nice and even through the feet and the knees coming into horse stance or goddess stance. Whatever you prefer to call it. Feeling that external rotation through the hips. So very strengthening here. Tailbone. Descending. Feeling Tadasana through your spine. At ease through the neck. Let's bring the hands together at the heart. Take a moment. Press through the feet. Straighten the legs. So this is a bit of a balancing pose. Good. And then the knees again. A few sun salutations here. Hands at the heart will inhale. Exhale we're just going to press the hands to the earth. Grounding here. Soften the jaw. With an inhale press through the feet. Straighten the legs. Reach the arms up. Maybe send the gaze up. Exhale bend the knees. Hands at the heart. Hands at the heart. Inhale. Exhale we're pressing down. Soften the jaw. With an inhale press through the feet. Straighten the legs. Reach the arms. Gather the energy up. The spine. Exhale hands together at the heart. Let's find one more together. Inhale. Exhale ground. Hands to earth. Press through the feet. Inhale reach the arms up. Balancing. Exhale draw the hands to the center of your heart. Let's bring the hands onto the legs. A little twist and dip. So we'll inhale. Exhale twist to the right. Dip the left shoulder forward. Press through the feet. Inhale and wind. Exhale to the left. Dip the right shoulder forward. One more in each direction. Press through the feet. Lift up a little. Exhale dip. Inhale up. Last one. Exhale and twist. Inhale up.

Press through the feet. And let's bring the feet parallel. So forward. Reach the arms out. Roll the shoulders forward. Interlace the fingers. Grab your strap. Inhale lift the heart. Enjoy the length. The opening for your chest. Exhale. Begin to hinge forward at the hips. Forward fold. Releasing the head strong through the legs. You can always bend the knees to take the stretch out of the hamstrings a little. Releasing the head. Breathing. Take your time gently releasing the hands down by the sacrum. You might crawl the hands out in front of you. A little hammock action here. This variation of down dog. Hands walk out. Shifting the hips back. Heart softens towards the earth. Beautiful. Might stay here a bit longer. Bring the hands underneath your shoulders. We're going to toe heal our feet closer. Close enough for a melasana squat pose again. Our second one. So heels and toes out. And you're finding your shape. As you sink down. Hands might rest towards each other. Running that ease in the neck. Nice variation is to sit up on a block or two. Bring a blanket under your heels. From here we're going to transition down to the floor. So find a safe way for your knees, your body. You might release your hands. Let's bring the soles of the feet together. Bring the knees wide into a baddha konasana shape. As you inhale, find some length. You might stay here enjoying this opening. Or you might ease forward. Running into a forward fold here. Rounding the back. Releasing the neck. Soft eyes. Just notice what you choose to do with your hands. Take your time. If you're in the forward fold, just slowly rolling up. You might bring your hands behind you. And just feel the chest open again. Feeling the space. Nice. Walking forward. Draw the hands underneath the legs. And then let's go ahead and stretch our legs out. And we're going to roll on to our back. A little bit of floor work before we come up again for our meditation. All right. Take a few moments. Feel in. We're going to find a little bit more core work to support us in bridge pose.

So from here, go ahead and bring the hands behind your head. And we're exploring that arching and curling like movement in the spine. So let your elbows go wide. So feel your elbows pressing down. Feel your back arch. And then with the exhale, we're lifting the head up. Bring the tailbone under. Scooping elbows towards each other. Slow lower down. Elbows open. Lungs open. Arch the back. Exhale. Curl up. Lift up. Gentle squeeze. One more like this. Arch the back. And exhale. Lift up. And lower down. We'll add on. So lift the right knee up. We're going to inhale and then exhale. Lift up and draw the left elbow towards the right knee. Good. Lower down. Lower the foot. Arch the back. And exhale. Lift up. Left knee. Right elbow. Cross the body. Slow lower the foot. Lower the head. Arch the back. And lift up. Right knee. Left elbow. Lower down. And arch. And exhale. Left knee. Right elbow. Squeeze. And lower. Let's find one more on each side. Arch the back on the inhale. Exhale. Curl up. Lift up. Left knee. Right elbow. Lower down. I'm feeling it. Arch the back. Open. Exhale.

Left knee. Right elbow. Last one. Squeeze. And lower down. Arching. And then relax the effort. All right. I think we're ready for bridge. Bring the heels in line with the sitting bones. And find the arch again. And exhale. Curl the tailbone. Press through the feet. Lift your pelvis up. This feels nice. Kind of balancing the pelvis. Finding that internal rotation after all of our external rotation. Now your palms might press down into the mat. Might feel nice to roll and tuck your shoulders under in a bit of shoulder work today. Finding that interlace. Beautiful breathing up into the lungs and the heart. Really feel the support of your legs. Your feet. If you can relax some of the gripping. And the buttocks. Really spreading the energy. Spreading the effort evenly through the shape. Yeah. Nice. Take your time as you're ready. Releasing. And I like to stretch the arms up to the sky. Lift the heels up. Come high up onto the balls of the feet. And we're rolling our spine now. And upper back. Mid back. Feeling that sweet traction in the low back. Pelvis arms. Release. Take a moment to pause. You might stretch your legs out on the floor. It might feel good to stretch your legs up towards the sky. Circle out through the ankles and wrists.

After that stabilizing and strengthening. Nice. Knees into chest for a spinal twist. Knees our way to the right side. Any variation you like. Rolling onto your right side. Stacking the arms. Circling that top arm over the head and opening through the chest. Might even feel nice to ground the outer left knee with your right hand. Arriving with an inhale. And then you can soften, deepen and settle with the exhale. Like any relationship. Kind of arrive on the note of the inhale. And then really deepening, softening, getting comfortable and leaning in with the exhale. Find the space between your eyebrows. The base of your skull. Breathing into where you feel it. Again, that might be somewhere in the physical body like your shoulder, your ribs, your hip. Might be a subtle layer or aspect moving through you. Like a thought pattern or a feeling in the heart. Or more of an energetic sensation. As always, you're welcome to stay here a bit longer. You feel ready to unwind. Just lead with your top leg. And then take a moment, reorganize the spine. Draw the knees into the chest and your favorite spinal twist to the left. I like to swing the hips to the right a little bit. Bring everything over to the left, including the arms. Circle the top arm over the head. And open. Maybe grounding the outer right knee with the left hand. And the inhale we're finding laying. And the exhale we're softening. Restoking the fire of digestion.

Finding circulation of blood and lymphatic flow. You might explore drawing the breath down the length of the spine into the low back. You're welcome to stay here a bit longer when you feel ready to unwind. Let it happen. Reorganize. There might be one final knees and maybe a curl. Squeezing everything up. Lowering down. Any little movements that want to happen before you transition. The option here is to stretch out for a nice long shavasana. Before you feel inspired, join me in a seated meditation. You can also do the meditation on your back in shavasana. Again, taking care of yourself. Aligning with your energy, your mood. You're coming into a seat. Get comfy. A quality of length within. That ease through the base of your skull. You feel nice to bring one hand onto the belly and one hand around the heart. Receiving your own breath. Beautiful. From here, moving into a loving kindness meditation. We're going to start with ourselves. Tenderly draw your awareness towards your heart space. Start with the physical heart. Pumping, beating of the heart. Feel the resonance. The vibrations, the ripples. From the physical heart, gently draw your awareness towards what the yogis call the energetic heart or the anahata chakra. Anahata, which is translated as usually unbeaten, unbroken, unstruck sound. This mystery. Wherever it feels natural for you, let your awareness rest in this heart space. Notice the quality of your breath. From here, reduce the mantra. Loving kindness mantra, words. You might say these or feel or let these swirl around internally.

There might be other words that come to you that resonate. May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy. Feeling the breath and sensations in the heart. May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy. May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy. Allow for an inhale, pulling up the lungs and the heart. Generous exhale. Might stay with yourself. If there is someone or something that comes to you, that comes to heart, feels easy to love. Be someone you have great affection for. My sister and my newborn niece come right into my heart. The mantra. May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy. Whatever words resonate or come to you. May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy. May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy. Noticing the sensations through the body, heart. Might continue to repeat these words. I notice there are others knocking on the door of your heart. It tends to happen when the heart is very open and receptive. If you feel called, you might extend these words, loving kindness, words, your community, our nation, our world, all the living beings and creatures, feeling this boundless love flowing from the center of you outward. May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy. Gently joining the hands together at the heart. Allow for an inhale. A soft bow forward and in on the exhale. Thank you so much for your practice. Namaste.