Liquid Flow

So let's get set up for our Thursday flow live from Casa Wade here in Chicago. Thank you for joining me again. If you're returning first timers, get ready for a fun fluid flow today. Make your drama mean because we're going to do everything. We are going to start today in child's pose.

So get yourself ready in child's pose. You don't need any props. All you need to do is bring your attention to your breath and your heart to get started. So go ahead and swing those legs around. Take your knees a little bit wider than your hips.

Bring your big toes together and slowly back up the seat. As you settle into your child's pose, you can bring the forehead to the floor. You'll feel the breath in the front and side body, especially the side body. It's a nice experience to feel the breath expand with the inhalations. Enjoy a little hold before you exhale and take your time connecting with the rise and fall of your breath.

The breath will be our guide today. All of these shapes that we create are just a form of the breath. Set the breath all the way down to the belly so you feel the belly rising with the inhales. Hold the breath a little longer than you normally would and then take the time with the exhale. You feel a sense of softening and a deeper relaxation with each breath.

Let's take our palms over to the left in our child's pose. Take a little walk over to the left with your palms. Really reach out with the right fingertips and settle in to the right side body. If it feels okay, you can bring the right ear towards the floor. If you want to feel more, you can slide your left palm towards the left knee and press slightly down.

You'll get a little bit of rotation with a side flexion and let the breath be slower and fuller, deeper on the right side body. Enjoy the resistance there as you try to breathe more fully into it. Fantastic. Then we'll walk the hand slowly back to center and all the way over to the right this time. You're really reaching across the body with your left arm feeling that side stretch through the left lats in your cuscles.

If you want, you can press the floor away softly with your right hand so you're lifting the right ribcage lower in the left, inviting the breath to be slower, fuller and deeper. Two more rounds, great. And then as you come up, walk your hands back, you can take a moment just sitting on your heels, bring your palms to the chest and give yourself a moment to connect right here. Close the eyes, we'll lead from the heart today, we'll flow with the breath. If I could be a superhero during these times, I would be very fluid, whatever that means, being able to flow through, under, over these obstacles that were experienced like water.

So we're going to channel that water energy, that flowing energy as we move today. So feel free to improvise just a little bit as we explore. Let's come over to our table pose, palms under the shoulders, knees under the hips. Take one cow and cat tilt, guide the heart, chin and chest forward, inhale, exhale, push down into the palms, round the spine, tuck the chin to the chest. And this time as you inhale, let your seat swing over to the left a little bit and look over your left shoulder.

And then as you exhale, press back to your cat tilt, rounding the spine, inhale to your cow tilt, the neutral spine, tilt your hips to the right, look over your right shoulder and then go back into the flow, cow and cat tilt, following the rise and fall of your breath. Just adding this little wag of the tail to feel the side flexion, the movement of the spine, laterally, as you move back into the cow and cat tilt, take a pause and then slide your hips over to the right, look over to your right, good, give it one more round. Finish off that last side, looking over to the left and we'll come on back to center. Walk your hands and palm print forward, tuck your toes under, send it back to that first down dog, push actively forward into both hands and allow yourself to pedal the legs one at a time, bending one leg at a time, straightening the other, pushing actively forward with both palms. Let the breath flow evenly and smoothly, longer pauses after the inhales, short pause after the exhale.

Great, lengthen forward to your plank pose, lower the knees to the floor, keep the knees hip distance, keep the toes tucked under, back up your seat, almost like you're going to go back to child's pose, pause, inhale, knee variation of plank, bend the elbows a little chaturanga and then press back to your child's pose, we've got a couple of these. How deeply you bend the elbows is up to you, please don't let the shoulders drop below the height of the elbows as you engage the core, pulse with two more rounds, enjoy this energy flowing forward and backward, engaging the quads, inner thighs, pushing strongly into the fingertips, last one, warming up the body, good, the next time you come forward, lower all the way down, bend into your elbows, slide all the way down, untuck your toes, bring your forearms forward to replace your palms, sphinx pose, press to the tops of the feet, guide the ribcage forward, invite the shoulder blades down, have a moment to connect with your breath, let the left ear drop towards the left shoulder, trapezius stretch, bringing it back to center, let the right ear drop to the right shoulder, trapezius stretch for the left, one more on each side, keep moving the heart forward, lifting the sternum and chest, trying to bring that fluidity that flow all the way up into little tight areas in the upper back and shoulders, good, and then we'll replace the palms once again, where our elbows are, we'll press up to that knee plank variation, back up your seat just a little bit, so the hips are over the knees, and then from here, walk your hands back, hug your elbows in, bring the chest and chin to the floor, looking forward, inviting a little bit more depth into your back bend, real soft, this is going to set us up for a nice flow from child's pose to up dog a little bit later, guide the chest and chin forward, press into your palms, press to the taps of the feet, lift with the inhale, low cobra, lower with the exhale, press to the tops of the feet, heart forward, push into the fingertips, lift with the inhale, you got it, two more, lower with the exhale, little inner thighs squeeze, lift with the inhale, move the ribs towards your thumbs, exhale, lower it down, last one, press up to the knee plank pose, tuck your toes under, back to your down dog, press the palms actively forward, cross your left leg in front of the right a little IT band stretch, good, step the left foot outside of the left hand, push back into your right heel, imagine from the seat to the crown of the head, you're lengthening the spine, you got it, inhale the left leg to the sky, exhale the left leg to the floor, shift your weight to your left leg, bend your right, slide the right foot across the mat, little stretch for that left hamstring, right IT band, exhale, step the right foot outside of the right hand, press back into the left heel so you feel the calf muscle lengthen the spine, crown of the head forward, looking straight down, you got it, inhale the right leg to the sky, chest pushes towards the thigh, right heel nice and high, good, lower the right heel to the floor, down dog, shift your weight to the right leg, step your left foot outside of the left hand, good, step it back, down dog, inhale, step the right foot outside of the right hand, remember this little sequence, this last part because we'll be having options later, step back to your down dog one more time, left foot forward, low lunge, step back to your down dog, right foot forward, low lunge, stay here, step your left foot to the outside of your left hand, good, take a little bend in the knees, coming into a nice wide legged squat, I'm going to turn this way so you guys can see me, bring the palms on top of your thighs, cow and cat tilt the spine, round with the exhale, straighten the legs just a little bit, toes are turned out, bend with the inhale, look forward, lift the heart chin and chest, round with the exhale, you got it, look forward with the inhale, pause right here, bring the right forearm on top of your right thigh, inhale the left arm over the head, side stretch to the left, sink a little deeper into that left knee, see if you can drop the seat just a little bit more, you're there. One more big inhale, exhale, left palm on top of the left thigh, right hand on top of the right, round the spine with your exhale, lift the seat away from the floor, mid spine to the sky, drop the seat, look forward, cow tilt the spine, wide leg stance, left forearm on top of the left thigh, lean into that left thigh, right arm over the ear, draw the right inner thigh away from the left so that you feel a little bit of resistance, you're almost there, you should feel your legs right now, right forearm on top of the right thigh, bring your hands to your quads, turn the toes forward, round the spine, roll all the way up, perfect, inhale the palms to the sky, you can keep your nice wide-legged stance, take your wrists over to the right, keeping with this little side stretch and flow, bring your right hand to the right IT band and really reach with the left fingertips, shift more weight to your right leg and see if you can lift your left heel off the floor, staying right here or establishing a focal electricity point, see if you can lift that left leg off the floor for a nice balancing variation of half moon pulse, great. When you lower the left leg, touch it down, bring both hands back to the hips, step your left foot next to the right, slide your left foot behind the right, toes facing forward, right leg bent, left leg straight, same side stretch, make your depth on that left side, you'll feel it all the way up through the hip, all the way up through the lats, the inner pastels, if you want to take the right arm up to join it, feel free, give yourself a little bit more resistance, awesome. Hands back to the hips, shift your weight to the right leg, step your left leg back, nice wide-legged stance, bend your right leg, bow on top of and inside of the right thigh, torso circles, bend your left leg straight in the right, slowly rise up, feeling that connection with the upper body, lower body where they meet, keep circling counterclockwise, flow with your breath, actually this is clockwise.

We forget how the clock works now that everything's digital. If you want to invite the arms to move with you, you can release the arms, get into the upper back and the shoulders. Last two rounds, enjoy the upper back and shoulders moving, flowing a little bit more fluidly. Then the next time you rise all the way up, go ahead and pause, bring your hands back to the hips, side stretching over to your left, left hand, left eye, T-bend, right hand to the sky, breathe into the right side body, maybe come up to the right toes for a deeper side stretch. If you're playing with a balance, establish the Drishji, you might have to step that right foot in a little bit to get it off, focus on your focal point, play with a side stretch.

I like to bring my left hand to the IT-bend and then press slightly toward the midline so I can keep the balance, good. Bring the right hand to the hip, step the right leg back, slide your right foot next to the left, take a behind and across the left leg, lining up the toes, bending your left leg and then following that line of the right ankle all the way up and over to your left, increasing the side flexion, maybe that left arm reaches up for the wrist. Slow and lengthen the breath down. Last round, you're almost there, good. Bring your hands to the hips once again, step the right foot back where you started, good, and go right into bending that left leg, torso circle the opposite way, bow forward, bend into your right leg, rise up, feeling this fluidity, this connection between the lower body and the upper body, the hips, the lower back, the glutes, trying to bring a little bit more ease into this area.

Feel free to release the arms as you explore, really feels nice in the upper back and shoulders. Last two rounds. Last one, rising up, arms out to the side like wings, this is my favorite part, bend the knees, float the feet, hip distance, it's like we finished this gymnastic routine that was amazing. Okay, feet hip distance, bring your palms right into the heart center for a moment, reconnect with your breath. Here's an offering or a dedication that you have, something that takes you outside of yourself and your story and send some of this energy to something bigger than self, set it right now, such a great part of the practice, offering it up, wonderful.

As you open the eyes, we'll be at the front of the mat, feet will still be hip distance, you can bring your palms right into prayer. Take a moment to connect to the rise and fall of your breath. Inhaling the palms to the sky, exhale, hinge at the hips, flat back, forward folding, nice and slow, engaging the core muscles, palms to the shins, lengthen the spine, flat back, bring forward just a little bit so the muscles in your feet are really active. Exhale bend both knees, fingertips to the floor, step your left leg all the way back, lower the left knee to the floor, bring the right hand on top of the right thigh, left hand to your sacrum, little pulse for the psoas, lengthen the tailbone down, lift the ribcage up and give yourself a little happy opening right here at the front of your hip. We contract these muscles so much when we sit, when we run, when we jog, when we bike that we really need to keep moving into the space here, finding more ease here.

The next time you melt into your foundation, pause right there, hug the knees to the midline, bring your fingertips up to the shoulders and one at a time, draw the elbows forward and up, roll it back, draw the other elbow forward and up, roll it back, a little backstroke through the air, exploring your range of motion through the shoulders. The next time you lift the right elbow up, keep it up, left elbow joins, lift the heart, chin and chest, take the drishti forward or up, extend your palms to the sky, melt into that front right quad, nice big inhale, you got it, exhale your palms to the floor, straighten the right leg, pull the toes back on the right foot, a little wiggle from side to side as you straighten the leg, remember you can bring your hands back to the hips or farther back towards that left knee, wherever you're feeling your resistance and that wiggle from side to side will help you feel inner and outer hamstring, flexing the foot will help you feel the calf muscle, great, bend your right leg, left palm presses into the floor, left toes tuck under, lift the left knee off the floor, send the right leg to the sky, right arm to the sky, it would be hard to do the right leg to the sky, two more rounds of breath, sink back a little deeper into your left heel, forward with the right knee, hug to the midline, one more round of breath, this part's fun, bring the right hand down inside of the right leg so you might have to walk the foot off, we did this before, step your left foot forward outside of the hand, step your right foot back, try to do it a little faster, right foot forward, left foot back or play with a hop switch, a little hop forward outside of the hands, hop to the right, hop to the left, remember you can do this, slowly walking or you can pick up the pace a little bit and hop, last one, hop the right foot forward, that's the leg that we started on, heel, that left quad, lifting away from the floor, send the right leg to the sky, one legged dog, push actively forward with both hands, draw the navel up and back, lift the right heel a little higher, toes pointing down, press the chest towards the thighs, deepening that one legged dog, deepening that hamstring stretch, move to your plank pose, lower the knees, we've been here before, let's see how it feels, back up the seat just halfway like you're going to go into child's pose, pause there and then lean forward, chest and chin, bend the elbows, drop the chest right in front, right next to the thumbs, slide forward to low cobra, exhale back to your child's pose, just don't think all the way back, take an inhale, bend the elbows, lower down as you exhale, inhale cobra or maybe even up dog, hopefully you're feeling a little bit more ease, a little bit more fluidity as you move between these two, back up the seat, lean forward, shoulders just over the wrist, bend the elbows, chest and chin, slide forward, cobra up dog, I'll meet you in down dog, pedal the legs out, push actively forward with the hands, it's almost like you're trying to stretch your mat away from your toes, draw the navel up to the spine, ears are by the biceps, good, inhale the left leg to the sky, exhale step the left foot between the hands, lower the right knee to the floor, good, left hand on top of the left thigh, right hand to the sacrum, a little pulse into the psoas, slow the breath down, melt into it, the next time you bend into the left thigh, pause right here, feel the tailbone lengthening down, the heart lifting up, the last time we did our bent elbows, this time we're doing straight arms, so reach the right palm to the sky, a little backstroke as you reach back, lift the left palm to the sky, a little backstroke, flow with your breath, yeah, imagine you're swimming in their favorite body of water, the next time you reach your right hand up, turn the palm towards the midline, inhale the left palm up, lift the heart, chin and chest, melt into that front right hip, beautiful, exhale the palms to the floor, straighten your left leg, pull the toes back, a little squeeze to the midline as you move your hips from side to side, pull the left toes back so you feel that calf hamstring connection, remember you can always back up your hands or bring your hands to the hips, blocks can be your best friends if you have a pair, great, and then re-bend your left leg, right hand to the floor, left palm to the sky, tuck your right toes under, release the right knee, draw the left inner thigh to the midline, lengthen the spine and rotate, push down strongly into your right hand, two more rounds of breath, press back into your right heel, one more, great, left hand inside of the left leg, heel toe to the left foot to the edge of your mat, you'll remember this quickly, step your right foot outside of the right hand, step your left leg back, step your left foot outside of the left hand, step the right leg back, you got three more if you want to hop switch it hop away, finish with your left leg forward, I hope you're having fun with us, we're supposed to have fun with us, send your left leg to the sky, one legged dog, relax the muscles of the face, relax the jaw, toes are pointing down, heels lifting up, chest is pressing towards the thighs, lengthen forward to your plank pose, knees first, back up your seat, halfway to child's pose, nice big inhale, pause, exhale bend the elbows, hug them to the midline, slide forward, cobra or up dog, press right back to that half child's pose, we're not leaning all the way back, inhale, exhale bend the elbows, slide forward, two more, try to make it feel so much more at ease, more fluid, see where you're holding, where you're gripping, where you can bring softness, maybe it's in the upper back, maybe it's in the shoulders, maybe it's the breath, great, press back to your down dog, we'll meet at the front of the mat, bend the knees, walk or float your feet forward, lengthen the spine, flat back, lean forward so you feel the toes active, so you feel them working, draw the navel up and back and then forward fold of the choice, feel free to bend the knees if you need to, grab the elbows, give yourself a little sway from side to side, press the muscles of the face, relax the jaw, slow the breath down, wonderful, with your knees bent, your head coming up last, engage your core, roll up, inhale your palms to the sky, exhale them right into prayer, close the eyes, connect with the rise and follow the breath, let's let something go through that next exhale, so inhale through the nose, open the mouth, let it go, if you feel like sharing your own with me will be all the way down to the shins or the floor, inhale the palms to the sky, lift the heart, chin and chest, engine at the hips, palms to the shins, lengthen the spine, flat back, exhale, bend both knees, fingertips or palms to the floor, step your left leg back, squeeze the hips to the midline, keep the right leg bent, bring your hands to the hips, high lunge, straighten the right leg, inhale your palms to the sky, exhale, bend the right leg, cactus, feel, go the arms, melt deeper into your foundation, elbows about the height of your shoulders, inhale straighten the right leg, straighten the arms, reach them to the sky, drishti forward, bend the right leg, cactus, feel, go the arms, one more big inhale, straightening the arms, this time keep your arms straight, keep them lifting up and just bend into your right leg slowly, melt into it and feel that left heel pushing back, so you feel a little bit of resistance, perfect, left hand to the floor, right hand on top of the right side, lengthen the spine, reach for the back of your space with the right hand, so you're looking over your right shoulder, your right hand the height of your shoulder and you're reaching back in space, as you exhale, slowly straighten your right leg, send your right palm to the sky, slowly up and over the right ear, remember the right leg doesn't have to straighten all the way, be kind to your hamstring, a little torso, turn to the right, exhale, bend the right leg, send it back, look over your right thumb and then straighten the leg, arm up and over the ear, last two, waking up the hamstring and enjoying that little twist, last one, good, the next time you reach back, lower the left knee to the floor, bring the right hand to the sacrum, inhale the left palm to the sky, hook the left elbow outside of the right knee, bring your palms into prayer, lengthen the spine, soft twist to the right side, keep squeezing your legs to the midline for helping that balance, lengthen and twist, one more round, twist it out, perfect, bring your hands inside of the right leg, heel to your right foot to the edge of the mat, one hop switch or step the left foot outside of the left hand, hop it if you want to, walk your left foot back onto the mat, feet or hip distance, look forward, bring your hands to the hips, rise up, straighten the left leg, feet or hip distance, squeeze to the midline, inhale your palms to the sky, exhale, bend the left leg, practice field goal of the arms, lift the sternum, lift the chest, inhale straighten the left leg, send your palms back up to the sky, exhale, bend, heart tune and chest lifts, look up maybe, inhale straighten, last one, last practice field goal, push back into the right heel, keep this right here, just reach the palms to the sky and extend the arms, invite the shoulders to soften, you don't feel any tension around the ears, one more round of breath, great, left hand left thigh, right hand to the floor, lengthen the spine, reach the left hand back in space, palm facing up, look over your left shoulder, slowly straighten the left leg, squeeze to the midline like you're scissoring the legs, send the left arm to the sky, up and over the ear, remember that left leg doesn't have to be all the way, look back over your shoulder towards your thumb, thumb is the height of your shoulder, press back into your right heel, squeeze to the midline, straighten the left leg again, two more pulses just like that, put forward downward pressure into your right hand so you're not feeling your right wrist, last one, the next time you bend your left leg, pause, lower the right knee to the floor, bring the left hand to your sacrum, inhale the right palm to the sky, big lift of the sternum, lift of the chest, hook the right elbow outside of the left knee, left palm joins in prayer, before you twist, lengthen and rotate, lengthen and rotate, enjoy the twist, one more round with breath, wonderful, palms on either side of the left foot, tuck the right toes under, release the right knee, left leg to the sky, one-legged dog, move forward to plank pose, lower the knees to the floor, back up your seat just a little bit, then the elbows, chest and chin lower, pause right here, you can keep the chin and chest off the floor or you can start to settle a little bit deeper in, slow the breath down, enjoy the back bend, your version of the back bend, slide forward to cobra pose or your version of up dog, your version of sphinx pose, give yourself a little sway from side to side, a little bit of freedom, a little bit of movement and let's take a little breather in child's pose as option one, if you want to keep the energy up, go into dolphin pose, down dog with your forearms on the floor, five breaths here, reconnecting with your breath, clearing and purifying your mind with the inhales, taking your time, holding the breath, exhale nice and slow, lengthen out the breath in whatever pose you're choosing, child's dolphin, last round of breath, if you're not in child's pose, lower down and we'll meet there, last time to sneak on forward the cobra or up dog, little bend of the elbows out to 10 and 2 o'clock, squeeze the elbows to the midline, press down into your palms, guide yourself into your back bend, a little inner spiral to the thighs, shoulder blades moving down, away from the ears, heart moving forward, press back to your down dog. Happy Thursday or whatever day it is that you're watching this, inhale the right leg to the sky, bend the knee, open the hip, press the chest back towards the left thigh, step your right foot right to the front of the mat, right between the hands, pivot your left heel to the floor, your heels will be lining up, bring the right hand inside of the right leg, take a little quarter turn of your hands, your torso to the left and feel that little side stretch through the right side body, good, we're going to keep walking the hands to the left, so turn the right foot to meet the left, turn it forward, walk your hands over to the left and now turn your left foot to the left, left heel lines up with the right leg, and we'll walk our hands about a quarter turn away from the left thigh. So this is what the feet are going to do in our standing flow here, let's try one more time, pivot your left foot to the right, walk your hands to the right, pivot your right foot to the right. So we'll feel this flow with our legs, pivot back to your left, now let's see what it feels like for the standing variation, toes turning to your left, bring the left form on top of the left thigh, inhale the right palm to the sky, right arm right over the ear for easy side angle, we got the support of our left forearm, rise up to warrior two, reach back with the right fingertips, shoulders right over the hips, straighten the left leg, peaceful warrior, right hand, right IT bend, some people call it reverse warrior, reach the left arm up and over the ear, keeping that side stretching theme here, and then exhale back to your warrior two, good, left forearm back onto the thigh, right arm up and over the ear, bring both hands inside, sweep to your right, turn your feet to the right, right forearm on top of your right thigh, side angle over to the right, rise up to your warrior two, peaceful warrior, straighten your right leg, left hand, left IT bend, back to your warrior two, right forearm on top of the right thigh, left arm up and over the ear, sweep to the back, sweep to the left.

So you can keep the left elbow on the thigh, or you can do the arms free variation like you're holding a basketball on your hands, warrior two, shoulders over the hips, peaceful warrior, straighten the left leg, back to your warrior two, and either lower the left forearm on top of the left thigh, or flip your left palm, right arm joins the left, back to your sweep to the right, pivot your feet like we've been doing, right forearm on top of the right thigh, or hold the basketball, good, warrior two, peaceful warrior will stay right here. Feel that extension, that lengthening on the right side body, that side flexion, and then start to bend into that right leg, so you feel a little bit more resistance. If you want to feel more, you can bring the left hand up to the wrist, give yourself a little pull, back to your warrior two, shoulders right over the hips, put a little bit more weight into your back, left leg, right knee tracking over second and third toe, finish with the right forearm on top of the right thigh, or slide the right hand down inside or outside of the leg, calf, ankle, or all the way to the floor, try not to collapse your left shoulder down, try to revolve, to turn the torso to your left, great everybody. Lower the left hand to the floor, lower the left knee to the floor, straighten the right leg, half split, pull the toes back, remember you can walk the hands back, for those of you that need to feel more, feel free to slide the heels forward, three quarter split, half split, arda hanuman, or full hanuman. One of our peak postures today, we need to have those hamstrings open, so a little foreshadowing here of where we're going, fantastic, internally rotate that left leg so the knees not turning out, you're pressing to the top of the left knee cap, whatever version you're doing, slide the right foot back onto your mat, good, rebend the right leg, bring the hands inside of the right leg, tuck the left toes under, pivot your left heel, turn the toes out, and we'll walk over to the left foot, straightening the right leg, skandhasana or crouching tiger, let the hips drop, shift your weight over to the right, walk your hands to the right, toes are turning out, then the right leg, straighten the left, you'll feel this opening in the ankle, the knee, be very kind to yourself, the more weight you have on your hands, softer the experience for your knees, so move slowly and mindfully between both.

Next time you shift your weight and bend your right leg, use your hands to help you lower all the way down to your seat, that part's good, right, keep the right knee opening and turning out, use the right forearm to turn over the straight left leg, lengthen and rotate, if you want to feel more, take your right hand towards the left shin, ankle, big toe or pinky toe side of the foot, lift the sternum and softly rotate, lift and rotate, beautiful, two more rounds of breath, one more, and slowly slowly rise up, bring your left leg in, like you're going to come to a cross-legged seat, but just leave it there, we're going to set up for happy baby on the right leg, the seated version, so left palm to the floor, fingertips facing forward, grab the pinky toe side of your right foot, draw the right knee just outside of your right armpit and use the left hand to lift as tall as possible, really tall of the spine. So a nice preparation for compass pose is grabbing the arch of the right foot, drawing the right knee back and slowly extending the heel to the sky, don't worry about the toes moving through the sky, heel to the sky as you move the toes back in space, the left hand's keeping you up nice and tall, stay here for your five breaths or go back to the happy baby pose, grab onto the right foot with your left hand, slide your right shoulder underneath your right calf muscle, squeeze your right elbow to the midline, bend the right elbow, fingertips are facing forward, lengthen the spine, left hand on top of your right foot, it's a lot of right and left, bend your left elbow and slowly extend your right heel to the sky, lift the heel, start to turn the torso slightly to the left, use the right elbow to hug the right ear and thigh towards the midline for compass pose, enjoy the breath here, great, lower the right foot to the floor, bring the foot down, extend your left leg, use your hands to help you back up to your skandhasana, crouching tiger like it never even happened, shift your weight to your left leg, pull the toes of the right foot, shift your weight to the right leg, good, back to our sweeping flow, turn the toes forward, flat back, keep the right foot where it is, turn the left foot to the left, heels are lining up, walk the hands inside of the left thigh, left forearm on top of the left thigh, right arm swings up to the sky for side angle, rise up for warrior two, straighten the left leg for peaceful warrior, re-bend the left leg, warrior two and then choose whether that left forearm is coming over on top of that thigh, right arm over the ear or keep the torso turning to the right, extend the left arm, sweep the floor, pivot your feet to the right, right forearm on the thigh or hold the basketball side angle, warrior two, peaceful warrior, straightening the left leg, hope you took your drama meme today, we've got the full flow going today, warrior two, finishing on right forearm or basketball, keep it to the back, last time to your left, this is where we'll finish off, peaceful is our finishing pose, so work through your warrior two and then straighten the left leg, right hand right IT bend, lift through the right ribcage, nice side stretch and I'll start to bend into the left leg, stay right here or reach up with your right hand, pull the left wrist back, see if you can increase the volume of the breath in your left side body, remember the breath is our guide, we're creating shapes and form from the breath, shoulders right over the hips, warrior two, so check to make sure you're not leaning forward with the left arm, reach back with the right fingertips and if you're doing anything just sink a little bit forward into the left knee and resist with the right foot, left forearm on top of the left thigh, side angle, turn the torso to the right, right arm over the head, right bicep spiraling back behind you, left hand can stay, come to the calf, ankle or the floor, keep guiding your left ribcage forward and rolling the right shoulder back and put a little bit more weight into your right foot, nice big inhale, exhale turn, last time, lower the right hand, lower the left hand outside of the left foot, pivot your right foot, lower the right knee, straighten the left leg, when we work hard like we're doing, half split, it almost feels like the half splits a resting pose doesn't it, you can stay here or slide the heel forward three quarter split or fuller split, you decide either way this is setting us really up nicely for our compass pose, internally rotating the back leg pressing to the top of your right foot to keep that knee nice and safe, two more rounds of breath, relax the muscles of the face, relax the jaw, one more and then slowly slowly back up your left leg, bend it if it's not bent, bring the foot back on to your mat, hands inside of the left leg, tuck the right toes under, pivot the right heel to the floor, walking your hands over to the right as you bend the right leg, pull the toes of the left foot off the floor, sink back into your crouching tiger variation. So we've done this round once already, you might try the second round with less weight on the hands if this feels like your knees and ankles are supporting you very nicely and you've opened up through the front of the knee, if you feel like creating other shapes with your arms, that's where you can be a little bit more free to flow, feel the fluidity of this movement from side to side. Little Shaolin warrior, good, the next time you bend your left leg with or without the hands, lower all the way down, we made it, you can use your left elbow or forearm or palm to help you lift and guide your torso over to the right, flex the foot on the right, lift and turn, the left foot still turning out, stay right here or take a little bow forward, left hand maybe outside of the right shin or grab big toe or pinky toe side of the foot, lengthen the spine, use your right hand to help you lengthen and softly turn to your right. Such a great side body stretch, so nice to feel this lengthening and this freedom of movement through all of the movements of our spine, great, come on back to center, bend your right leg, pull the heel in, almost like you're going to sit in a nice comfortable cross legged seat, right hand, fingertips facing forward, elbow hugging in, happy baby with the left leg, instead of sinking into the sit bones, lift up and out of the sit bones, draw the knee outside of the left armpit and lift the sternum, lift the chest.

The farther you go back with the knee, the more you'll feel this posture, I'll bring my right heel in just a little bit so it helps me with my balance and then using that left hand, bring it to the arch of your left foot, push down into the right hand and as you lift the sternum and chest, extend the heel to the sky, pull the toes back, yeah, if the leg's not straight, that's okay, let it swing out to the left and pull the toes back as you lift your sternum and you lift your chest. Stay right here for your five breaths or if you're playing with compass pose, rebend the left leg, bring your right hand to the arch of the left foot, left shoulder underneath the left calf muscle, left elbow bent, hugging the elbow to the midline, so squeezing that elbow in towards your outer left IT bend, right hand on top of the left foot, bend your right elbow and as you lift the right elbow to the sky, peek under your arm to the left, push down into your left hand as you extend the left heel. Go back to your breath, the elbow's bent, helping us move and create a little space for that deeper side angle experience on the right side body while we're straightening the left leg. This is a big pose, so breathe into it, modify by keeping that left leg bent, all right, we made it, all right, so go ahead and release your left leg. We've sent both legs out already, so let's send both legs out together, take the left heel as wide across the mat as you can and the right heel.

If you're not able to keep a straight spine here, put a pillow or something underneath your seat or this is your version of Upavistha Konasana, tall, tall spine, use your hands behind you. If you're going deeper, move your little pillows out of the way, bring the palms in front of you, keep your feet engaged, lengthen the spine and then walk the hands forward. Maybe you're just going forward a quarter of an inch, a half an inch, doesn't matter. Each time you inhale, lengthen from the seat to the crown and then that will be your space for your forward fold. You don't have to go any deeper, listen to where you need to feel the posture, keep pulling the toes back as you guide the hands forward.

Relax the muscles of the face, relax the jaw. If you find a nice set point, a nice spot to settle into, see if you can lengthen the spine from there and feel a little bit more, pulling the toes back. Yay, we made it. Cool guys. Slowly walk the hands back.

All right, this is my favorite part. Slide your hands underneath the backs of the hamstrings, bend the knees and then just lift the chest. Oh, that feels so good. Okay, let's meet in table and we will start to wrap it up and slow it down. So swing those knees and feet around to your table pose.

One nice release for our shoulders, replace your palms with your elbows, interlace your hands, a nice shoulder opening dolphin pose. Lift your knees off the floor, pedal the heels out. And for this one, keep both knees bent and just draw the chest towards the thighs so that you feel that space in the upper back, the shoulders, the deltoids, the upper arms, pull the navel up and back. And if you want to start to straighten the legs, great, but try to feel this in the upper back and shoulders. We already did plenty of hamstring stuff.

I want you to feel the upper back and shoulders here. One more big inhale and exhale, go ahead and release it down. Perfect. Palms underneath the shoulders, table pose, lift your right knee off the floor. Keep the right leg bent, cow tilt the spine, shift your weight to the right hand, reach back with your left hand, grab the pinky toe side of the foot and lift the knee away from the floor.

Let the right ear drop towards your right shoulder. Great, a little quad stretch, draw your heel towards the seat. Good. And then we'll release the right knee to the floor. Shift your weight to your right leg, cow tilt the spine, guide the heart forward, shift your weight to your left hand, lift the left knee off the floor, keep the leg bent.

Reach back with the right hand. Even if you don't grab the foot, just reaching back and keeping that left knee off the floor, lifting it away from the floor, we'll open up the front of the hip. Good. Draw the heel in towards your seat and then go ahead and lower the left knee to the floor. Shift your hips to the right, slide your knees to the left.

Go ahead and lie on your back. Keep the knees bent as you lower down. Bridge pose, pressing the triceps, elbows into the floor, palms, shoulder distance. Push into the feet, lift the hips on your inhale and either support the lower back with your palms. Push down into the big toe sides of your feet so you don't roll to the pinky toes.

If you want to take the interlace, go ahead and interlace your palms and press the wrists to the floor. And then we'll slowly lower all the way down. Good. Let the knees drop out, bottoms of the feet together. Supta Baddha Konasana, a little rock from side to side, releasing the glutes.

Nice little massaging action here. Great. Keep your right knee dropping to the right, extend your left leg, reclining tree pose, sole of the right foot, presses to the inner left thigh or inner left calf. Arms over the head, flex your left foot. Take a little side stretch to your left, the side stretches should feel so good right now.

Right leg stays, release the arms back by the side. Left foot joins the right, Supta Baddha Konasana, a little rock from side to side. The next time the knees rock to the left, keep the left leg there, extend the right, flex the right foot like you're standing on the leg. Left foot is either above or below the knee, pressing the foot and the inner thigh or calf to the midline. Install the arms over the head and take a little side stretch to your right, right hand can grab the left wrist.

Lengthening the breath as we slow the practice down, enjoy extending the breath, lengthening it, taking your time with the pauses, taking your time with the exhales. Great. And then as you release the arms, right foot joins the left, Baddha Konasana, keep the bottoms of the feet together, draw the navel down to the spine so you feel the sacrum pressing to the floor. Lift the feet off of the floor, keep the bottoms of the feet together, reach for the pinky toe sides of your feet, draw the heels down to the seat, and relax the shoulders down and away, maybe one year away at a time. Stretching, nice little traction for the spine, and then we'll melt into Shavasana.

Extend the right leg, extend the left leg. Relax the muscles of your face, the jaw, palms flipping up. Other blades drawing towards the midline a little bit, toes turning out. Nice begin to go through the nose, exhale, let it go. Let go of the doing.

Experience the energy that you are, that expanding, flowing energy, expanding with the inhale, hugging back to south for the exhale. Let the mind be free from any working or any doing. Take your journey inward, be very present for yourself, back to the heart, back to loving kindness. Any patterns, any thought patterns that distract you from being present for yourself, let those patterns dissolve into peace with the next exhale. If you'd like to stay longer in your Shavasana, just tune me out.

Enjoy a long Shavasana on your own. If you're joining me, bring some life and energy back to your fingers and back to your toes. Any intuitive movements that feel right for you as you come back to your physical shape and form, give yourself a moment or two in fetal pose, rolling to the right. Taking some time to check in, receiving, appreciating all the effects of the practice. Helping yourself up to your seat.

Keeping the eyes closed for a moment, noticing the peace, the stillness, the ease that you're able to experience in your mind. How can you keep cultivating this for the rest of your day? How can you keep this union and this connection? That's the yoga. Keeping connected, keeping the union as we come back into our daily lives.

As you exhale, bring your palms into prayer, lokasamastasukinobhavantu, may all beings everywhere be peaceful, happy, and free from suffering. May we share the love and peace in our heart with everyone that we need. Thank you so much for sharing it with me today. Namaste. Have a great rest of the week and thank you for joining me and the Yoga Anytime crew.