Liquid Flow

Welcome, everyone. It is such a joy and an honor to be here with all of you. Thanks for joining me and a special shout out to my mama. So today, those of you who are with me live in this moment, today is a new moon in cancer. And I mentioned that because traditionally in the Ashtanga roots, which is where Vinyasa comes from, yogis don't practice on new moons. They're a kind of time of turning inward and slowing down, and maybe a little less energy or vitality. Obviously, we are going to practice this morning, this afternoon, this evening wherever you are in this great big beautiful world. However, I wanted to just kind of presence that so that we move a little more gently, right, a little more intuitively. And cancer specifically is all about water and the moon. So this is going to be a really kind of fluid watery flow. As always, just keep checking in listening to your own bodies doing what feels good modifying as needed. Okay. All right, let's dive in. Comfortable seat, prop up the sit bones if you'd like and just rest the hands wherever they're most comfortable. You can take a soft gaze or you can close the eyes. And then just a few moments of stillness here, kind of finding your breath, feeling into your breath. Sometimes when we just bring our awareness to the breath, it naturally starts to deepen and expand. It doesn't take any added effort at all. So explore that. And then as you're ready, take your hands to prayer at your heart center and let's open together with a gentle own exhale, empty all the breath out. And then together through the nose, let's take a big inhale. And now vibration for a moment and consider your intention for the practice. New wounds are a very auspicious time to set intention, bringing in a new energy in this new cycle. Whatever resonates, offer it up, welcome it in. And then as you're ready, let the eyes open, take a big inhale and let's reach the arms out and up. And then with your exhale, you're going to interlace your fingers behind your head and just kind of cradle your head in your hands, palms open and start to ease the head back as the heart reaches up. Slide engagement through the core to support that back bend through the upper torso. Just enjoy this for a moment or two. Opening through the chest, opening a little through the shoulders, lifting the gaze, lifting the energy. One more breath. And then with your next inhale, reach the arms straight up long through the spine. And then with the exhale, simply let the arms float down, hands resting on the knees wherever they're comfortable. We're going to start to circle through the torso, kind of spiraling the spine. So ease the rib cage over to the right and then sink back a little belly to spine, ease the rib cage over to the left and then forward. Yeah, you get the idea. Few more circles here, big spirals through the spine, finding the round at the back, a little bit of an arch at the front, whatever feels good. And then as you're ready, you're just gently pausing and then switching directions. Swim it around the other way, circling the left, back, right, front. Take a few more circles in this direction at your own pace and just kind of see how it feels.

Does the head follow? Does the neck relax? Do you find a sticky spot and pause and breathe into it? You just make it yours. And then when you're ready, coming back to a neutral spine, root through the sit bones, big inhale, reach the arms up. And then with your exhale, let's rock forward. Come on up to the hands and the knees unwinding the legs, rooting down through base of thumb and first finger. Let's take a classic cat cow here together with your inhale, lift the tailbone, the heart is. And then with your exhale, rounding the back, draw the belly to the spine, release the weight of the head. Okay. And then stay with that. Rising, rounding, arching, falling, rising, rounding, arching, falling with the inhales and the exhales. And then just in your own time, start to add a gentle circle of the head, maybe a gentle circle of the hips kind of spiraling through the spine. Lots of circles throughout the whole body, creating that really fluid, watery sensation. Yeah. You can take it in any direction and any pace. Invite the release of rigidity, of contraction, force of any kind and release into a more gentle fluid nature. When you're ready, come to a neutral spine and then kind of keeping that line of energy through the spine intact. We actually circle through the whole torso. So hips go right, sit bones go back, and then hips go left. Yeah. A couple more in that direction. Big circles through the whole torso. Literally like you're swimming in a big, beautiful body of water. When you're ready starting to shift directions, move it left, back, right, front, and take a couple more in this direction. Swaying, circling, finding it in your own rhythm. And then as you're ready, just come on back to a neutral spine. Then stay here, tuck the toes and just start to sink the hips back into child's, but it's going to be a kind of active child. So reach the arms out, tent the fingertips, and ease back, feeling into the length of the spine, vitality through the arms and the upper body, stretching a little through the soles of the feet. Yeah. A couple more breaths here. All right. And then as you're ready, inhale, let's come back to the hands and the knees. Keep those toes tucked and exhale. Simply press it up and back, downward facing dog. Adho mukha svanasana. Give yourself three, four, five breaths here, continuing to ease in to open through the backs of the legs.

Soft through the neck. Okay. And then steady yourself in your down dog. Let's lift up onto the balls of the feet. Take a nice deep bend in the knees and kind of spin the hips over to the right and sink them back and down towards the back right edge of the mat. Breathing into the left side body. Keep the upper body, the arms really long and engaged just like you were in that active child. One more breath. And then inhale, come back to center, still up on the balls of the feet. And as you exhale, sinking hips back and down to the left back corner of the mat. Breathe into the right side body. Play with it. Nice. And then inhale, drop back to center and just pause. Okay. With your next inhale, lead with the heart, rolling forward into plank pose. From your center, exhale, float it back, downward facing dog. A few more like that, really fluid through the spine. Inhale to come forward, let it move like a wave. And lifting from the center, exhale, floating it back. Yeah, a couple more. Rolling, roll forward. From your center, exhale, float back. Last one. Inhale, roll forward. And exhale, ripple back. Good. Okay. Let's stay here nice and grounded. Fire up the legs, keep them strong. Keep rooting down through that left hand. And then very slowly, kind of playing with the balance here. Start to walk the right hand back, maybe about halfway. And if you feel stable, a little bit farther back. And maybe that right hand finds the left thigh, the left half muscle or outer left ankle. And we allow a little twist here, letting the right shoulder ease to the earth. One more breath. And then exhale, let it go and root down through the right hand. Start walking the left hand back, maybe just about halfway, maybe a little farther. Maybe you find right eye, right calf, or right ankle. Allow the twist, left shoulder falling to the earth, breathing into it. Good. And then really extend that left arm out again. Root down. All right. From your down dog, slowly on the inhale, walking the feet forward to the front of the mat. Uttanasana, standing forward fold when you arrive. Gentle bend in the knees, and then take hold of opposite elbows. And just let the body sway from side to side. The head is heavy, the neck is relaxed, the jaw, the eyes, the brow are relaxed. One more breath. And then just sway the center and let the hands go, releasing to the earth. Keep the bend in the knees very slowly with your inhale, rolling all the way up to stand. And when you arrive, exhale, roll the shoulders down the back. From here, grounding through the feet, inhale, reach the arms out and up.

Keep this soft, gentle bend in the knees as you trace the midline ripple all the way down into your fold. Then inhaling, rolling all the way back to stand. And as you arrive, exhale, roll the shoulders down the back. Inhale again, reach arms up, tracing the midline, bending at the knees. Exhale, rolling all the way back to the earth. Slowly inhale, roll it up. And exhale, shoulders soft down the back. One more cycle. Inhale to reach, lengthening the knees, trace the midline, exhale all the way down to the earth. Keep the head heavy, last one. Inhale slowly, rolling all the way back to stand. And exhale at the shoulders, just release down the back. Good. Feet together, hands to prayer, heart center, almost to the heat. Pausing here, just one big inhale. One steady exhale. My Surya Namaskar egg. Inhale to reach, out and up. And exhale, bow out and down. With your inhale, come halfway. And then root the hands, hop or step into your plank pose. And with your exhale, lower knees or chaturanga dandasana, whatever you feel for. Inhale to cobra or upward facing dog. And then with the exhale, take it all the way back, downward facing dog. The full five breaths here. Continuing to warm through the back body. Continuing to arrive in the body for the practice. Letting the rest fall away as much as possible. And at the bottom of your exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. As you arrive, inhale to lengthen the halfway. Exhale, release into the fold. Strong through your center, flat back. Inhale, rise all the way up. Tracing the midline, exhale, hands to the heart. Two more like that. Inhale, out and up, heart rising. Exhaling, bow out and then down. With the inhale, come halfway, root the hands, hop or step back, and exhale, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. And exhale, all the way back, downward facing dog. Breathing five, four, three, just body and breath. Two, three, two, three, two, one. Bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of your mat. As you arrive, inhale, lengthen halfway. Exhale, deepen into the fold. Strong through your center. Inhale, come all the way up. Exhaling, hands to prayer at the heart. Last one. Inhale, reaching out and up. Exhaling, bow out and down. Halfway, inhale, root the hands, hop or step it back. Exhale to lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing. And exhale, all the way back. Good, downward facing. Breathing here. All right, give this one more breath, nice and long through the spine. Shoulders rolling away from the ears. And then keep grounding through your hands. With your inhale, reach the right leg of the sky. And with your exhale, open the hip by bending the knee. Now, give this another breath or two, right into the outer right hip, on the back of the left leg. And then inhale, reach that leg of the sky. And with your exhale, take the right knee to your left elbow and then kind of swim it over to the right elbow and inhale, reach it back to the sky. Let's do two more like that. Exhale, need a left elbow, swim it right. Inhale, reach. Exhale, big circle under the body, fluid through the hips. Inhale, reach. Then with your exhale, simply step right foot forward between the hems. Lower the back knee, super strong through the legs. With your inhale, rising up into your low lunge. With your exhale, deepen the bend in the front knee, ease the hips forward, opening left hip flexors. Yeah. All right, we're going to play with this a little bit. Stay for a big inhale. And then as you exhale, draw the elbows out to the sides, cactus arms as the heart lifts up. Inhale, reach and lengthen.

Exhale, bending at the elbows, deepening, opening the heart. A couple more. Inhale, rise. Exhale, wide open. Inhale, rise. Exhale, wide open. Good. Keep the foundation. Inhale, just reach the arms to the sky. With your exhale, release hands to the earth and draw the hips back, lengthening that right leg, Ardha Hanh. Inhale, heart extends. And then exhale, just deepen into it. Let yourself bow for one. And then an option this morning, you can stay where you are or you can explore a little by lifting the torso a bit. And exhale, walk the arms over to the right. Yeah. So continuing to open through the back of the leg, of course, but also moving it up into the side body. Give it a couple more breaths. Yeah. Okay. If you've taken that side stretch, just walk the hands back to neutral. And then with your next inhale, come forward, bending the front knee. With your exhale, tuck the back toes, lift the back knee. Stay with me here. On the inhale, you're going to step the left foot forward to meet the right at the front of the mat. Yeah. Let it go. Then bending the knees, inhale, Udha Katasana. Sitting down into it, letting the arms rise, lifting from that deep belly, just keeping some heat and warmth in the body, facilitating the opening, breathing into it. Be really kind to your knees. We're going to start to sit a little closer to the earth, but only go as far as is wise in your body. Breathing through it. Five. Good. Four. Legs are strong. Glute muscles are strong. Deep belly is rising. Three shoulders are soft. Two. Good. Press through the feet. Inhale, rise. And then with the exhale, let's just bow and fold right down towards the earth. Inhale, lengthen it halfway up, root the hands, hopper, step it back with your exhale, lower knees, or chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing up. Exhale, all the way back, downward facing down, grounding through the hands. With your next inhale, reach the left leg to the sky. And with your exhale, open the hip, bend the knee. Give it a moment here. Breathe into it. Good. And then inhale, reach it up. And with your exhale, take that left knee to the right elbow. Swim it over to the left. And inhale, go back to the sky. Two more. Exhale, big circle under the body. Inhale, reach. Exhale, circle in. Inhale, reach. Nice. Exhale, step. Left foot forward, lower the back knee. Simple low lunge. Legs strong. Lift from your center. As you're ready, inhale, take the arms all the way up. And as you exhale, deepen into it. Guide the hips to the front of the mat. Stay for a big inhale. And as you exhale, draw the elbows out to the sides. Lift the heart. Good. Inhale, reach. Exhale, wide open. A couple more. Inhale, reach. Exhale, lift from back of heart up and through. Inhale, up. Exhale, arms open. Good. Inhale, reach up, center line. And then with your exhale, release hands to the earth, pull the hips back harder. Inhale, heart extends. Exhale, deepen into the fold. Breathe into the back of that left leg. And again, it's your choice. Maybe you stay here. Maybe you lift a little and then walk the upper body over to the left. Keep sinking the hips back.

Energetically extending upper body out. Breathing into side body. Three. Two. Okay, if you've taken the variation, inhale, just rise a little. And then exhale, draw it back to neutral. With the inhale, guide the hips forward, bending the front knee. Exhale, tuck the back toes, lift the back knee. From here, on your inhale, right foot steps forward to meet the left lengthen. Exhale, just release, deep fold. Here we go again. Deep bend in the knees. Inhale, Udkatasana. Again, keeping the warmth, the heat in the body to support that fluid opening. Sitting down into it, strong foundation, soft shoulders. And just take it as far as you feel for breathing. Five. Four. Three. Two. And then pressing through the feet. Inhale, come all the way up, long spine. Exhale, bow like you're diving into that beautiful body of water. Inhale, halfway. And hop or step it back. Exhale to lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra Up Dog. Exhale, all the way home, Down Dog. Keep grounding through the hands. Inhale, right leg back to the sky. Exhale, open the hip, bend the knee. Inhale, let it reach. One circle under the body. Exhale, need a left elbow. Swim it right. Inhale to the sky. With your exhale, step right foot forward between the hands. Spin the back heel of the earth. And then inhale, wide open. Warrior II, Virabhadrasana. Beat. Settle in for a moment. Yeah. Just feel into your stability. Strong through the legs. Steady game. And we're going to dance a little. Ground through that right foot. Inhale, reach the arms up as the legs lengthen. And exhale, sink a little deeper. Again, inhale, rise. Exhale, settle. Inhale, reach. Exhale, deepen. Let's do two more. Get lost in the rhythm. Inhale up. Exhale, deepen. Inhale, rise. Exhale, fall. Pause in your warrior II. With your next inhale, reverse it, reaching back, opening through that side body, extending out for your fingertips.

Yeah. Few breaths here. Okay. Keep all this just very slowly. Inhale, lengthen the right leg. Actively reach back through right fingertips so you keep that expanse through the whole side body, rooting through the foot. Another breath or two. All right. Keep your core strong. Inhale, float the torso up. And then exhale, hinge at the hips and reach out and down. Trikonasana. Make any subtle adjustments you need. And then just settle in. Legs strong. Up on reaching down towards that back heel as the belly draws up towards the heart. And let the left ribcage soften a little. Good. A few more breaths. All right. We're going to float a little here. Foundation stays strong so the upper body can just play. From your center. Inhale, rise up. With your exhale, reverse your triangle. Inhale, rise up. Exhale, extend. Triangle, pull. Move in between these. Inhale, rise. Exhale, reverse. Inhale, rise. Exhale, triangle. Do one more. Inhale, rise. Exhale, reverse. And then inhale to rise.

And exhale, just bend that right knee, returning to your warrior to settle here. Feel the strength of the foundation. Steady the gaze again. Take a big inhale. With your exhale, hands to the earth, either side or front foot. With your inhale, take the right leg up and back again. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale, let it reach. One circle under the body. Exhale, knee to left, elbows. Inhale, rise. Okay. From here, with your exhale, step the right foot forward between the hands. Pause. Then step the back foot in, two, three, four feet. Pretty short stance. Just kind of depends on the length of your legs. Right foot is right of center, left is left of center. Hands on the earth or blocks or the front shin, whatever you've got. Inhale, lengthen. And exhale, just fold for now. Feeling into that. Give it one more breath. All right. From here, inhale halfway. Strong through the core. Exhale, belly to spine as you take the hands to the hips. Then press through the feet and inhale. Come all the way up. Exhale, just grounding. All right. We're going to take a little rise and fall here. Keep the hands on the hips. Keep legs and core strong. Inhale, lifting. Belly and heart rise. Exhale, extend. Out and down. Inhale to roll it all the way up. Heart rising at the top. Exhale, extend. Out and down. Again. Inhale and rise. Lift the heart at the top. Exhale, extend. Out and down. This time inhale, rise all the way up and exhale, just pause. Inhale, arms reach to the sky. Exhale, take it back. You can hold your wrists or your elbows or you can draw your hands to reverse prayer behind the heart or even at the low back, wherever you can access. Then ground through a base of right big toe. Inhale. Again, lift that heart to the sky, just as we did at the very opening.

And then exhale. Extend out and down. You can work with a straight spine, gazing at the right big toe, or you can let your back round and gaze up towards the navel. Your choice. Three. And two. Yeah, stay in your fold. And as you exhale, simply release, hands come back to the earth. Let yourself melt here. And then just as we did in Arghana Manasana, you can stay where you are or you can start to walk the upper body over to the right a little bit. Deepening. Adding the side body opening and intensifying the stretch through back of right leg for three. And two. Nice. Good. Inhale. Come on back to neutral. Exhale, just root hands either side of front foot. Then for the transition, just start to bend the right knee, step the left foot way back. Nice long lunge. With your inhale, sweep the right leg all the way back to the sky and just kind of shake it out a little bit here. It's worked hard for you. Let it release. And then find your downward facing dog. Stay right where you are or inhale, ripple forward to plank. Exhale, lower chaturanga. Inhale, upward facing. Exhale, downward facing. Take a couple of breaths. Keep coming home to your own center and your own intention. We'll take that same adventure on the second side. Here we go. Inhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip, bend the knee. Inhale, reach. Exhale, knee to right elbow and then swim it left. Inhale, reach it up and exhale, step left foot forward. Spin the back heel down. Right arm opens you. Inhaling, warrior two, Virabhadrasana B. Again, just take a moment to kind of settle in. Feel your foundation. Feel your gaze. And then into the dance. As you inhale, lengthen the leg, reach the arms up. As you exhale, extend and deepen. Yeah, inhale, reach. Exhale, deepen the knee, arms go wide. Inhale up. Exhale, open. Couple more. Inhale, rise. Exhale, fall. Inhale up. Exhale, returning warrior two, steady yourself here. With your next inhale, reverse, reaching it back. Breathe into that left side body, extending out through the fingertips through. And then slowly inhale, lengthen the left leg. Keep grounding through the foot. Use your quad muscles so you don't lock out into that left knee. Extend back through the left fingertips. Feel that incredible expanse you're creating. Lengthening and opening the body physically and energetically. Keep that length as you inhale, float it up. And as you exhale, extend out and down, triangle pose, second side. Find it in your body. Make those subtle adjustments.

Bring ribcage and heart open. Reaching tailbone to back heel. Sliding shoulder blades down the back. Three. Two. Yeah, legs and core stay strong. As you're ready, inhale, float reverse your triangle, float it back. Inhale, rise. Exhale, return to triangle. Inhale, rise. Exhale, reach it back. Inhale, rise. Exhale, triangle. And of course, always take this at your own pace. Once again, inhale up. Exhale, reaching it back. Inhale up. Exhale, triangle pose. Then inhale up. Exhale, reaching it back. With your inhale, rise. And with your exhale, bend that left knee, settle into warrior two. Re-connect. Stay for a nice big inhale. With your exhale, hands to the earth. Inhale, left leg back to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee just for a moment. Inhale, let it reach. Exhale, knee to right elbow. Swim it over to the left and inhale back to the sky. Then with the exhale, simply step left foot forward, pause, and then step the back foot in. Two, three, four feet between the feet, left, left of center, right, right of center. Inhale to lengthen and exhale to fold. And of course, take the hands on blocks or books or the front shin. Modify as you need to. And now just let yourself release for a couple of breaths. And then finding center, inhale just halfway. With your exhale, really lift the belly to the spine, support the lower back and take hands to hips. Press through the feet, inhale, come all the way up. And with your exhale, simply grounding down into the earth. All right. Finding that flow, hands to hips, legs and core strong. Inhale, heart reaches. Exhale, extend out and down. Inhale, roll it all the way back up, heart reaches at the top. Exhale, extend out and down. Inhale, roll it up, let the heart rise. Exhale, out and down. And this time, inhale, roll it all the way up. And exhale, just ground. Then inhale, take the arms to the sky. And with your exhale, reach back behind you again. Maybe you're holding your wrists, your elbows, or reverse prayer, hands to the back of the heart, or maybe around the lower back, whatever's accessible. Ground that left big toe, inhale, heart rising, rising, rising. And exhale, extend out. And again, your choice, straight spine, gaze at the big toe, or let the back round, gaze at the navel, few breaths. Just explore lifting the elbows a little bit. See if that deepens the stretch. Three, two, stay in the fold. Exhale, just let the arms release, hands either side of the front foot. Inhale, lengthen it a little, and exhale, deepen it. Your choice. Stay where you are, or inhale, lift a bit. And exhale, walk it over to the left. Deepening the stretch to the back of that left leg. Really pull back through both sit bones, and energetically extend through right side body, right arm. Yeah, give it another breath. Right, if you've taken that variation, inhale, lift it a little, and then exhale, just walk it back to neutral, hands either side of the front foot. Then inhale about halfway, let the left knee bend. And as you exhale, step the right foot way back again, nice long lunge. From your center, inhale, reach left leg to the sky. Exhale, opening the hip, bending the knee, shake it out a little, circle it, whatever you need. We meet in downward facing dog. Let's clear it away. Inhale, forward into play. Exhale, lower chaturanga. Inhale, heart up. And exhale, downward facing dog. Excellent work. Stay here, take a big inhale, and exhale, release. Knees to the earth, hips to the heels, child's pull. Lay it all down. Good. Breathing down the length of the spine into your lower back and your sacrum.

You're welcome to stay right here, or inhale, lift the torso, the arms just a little bit, and exhale, walk them over to the right. When you're at your edge, plant the right hand, take the left hand on top. And as the arms reach to the right, the left hip sinks to the left. More love for the side body. Three, two. All right, inhale, rise a little, and then exhale, walk it all the way over to the left. Just go as far as feels accessible. Root the left hand, let your edge take your right hand on top, and then sink the hips back towards the right as you reach arms out to the left. Breathe. Two. Inhale the center, and exhale, walk it back to the midline, just sinking down, letting it go. And one more breath.

And then with the inhale, lift up onto the hands and the knees, and with your exhale, tuck the toes, go back to down dog just for a moment. And then inhaling, reach right leg to the sky, and exhale, draw the knee to shin forward for pigeon. And of course, support that right hip glute area if you'd like. And then just settle down into your foundation. Before you fold forward, just pause here for a moment. We're going to attempt the fingertips, and then press those fingertips deep into the earth. Inhale, lift up, belly and heart to the sky. Bending at the elbows, exhale, ripple out and down. Again, inhale, roll it up, and exhale, extend out and down, fluid through the spine. Inhale, rise. And this time with your exhale, go ahead and walk it all the way out, and breathe into right hip and glute muscles, inner thighs, lower back, anywhere you feel it. Mm-hmm, about five more breaths. And two.

Very slowly inhale, walk it all the way up. Then keep the weight over on that right hip. As you exhale, swing the left leg around. We're going to move towards Gomukhasana, which is stacking the left knee on top of the right. So you might want to bring that right knee closer to the midline, and then just ease into this. Please, of course, if the knees aren't happy here, modify. You can just keep the right knee a little bit wider, and let the left knee rise. Go in at the stack, right? See what's available. And then just as we did in Pigeon, really settle into foundation. If there's a lot of sensation here, and you're working with enough, then just stay there, okay? No more is necessary. If you'd like to, just rest hands on top knee, inhale, lengthen, and exhale. Ripple it out and down, letting the back round, letting the arms walk out a little, and letting the head fall. Moving it more into outer hip IT band area, which we've been accessing in those side stretches throughout the flow. Three, two. If you are in the fold, inhale, walk it all the way back up, and then just exhale, gently unravel, planting the feet, gentle new moon style Navasana. So not super intense and fiery, just a little passage for a moment here, making our way through. Arms can extend or not strong through the center. You can lengthen the legs if you feel for it. Just one more breath, and then cross the ankles, plant the hands, step back into downward facing dog, root through the hands, inhale, reach left leg of the style, and exhale Pigeon, second side, support left hip boot area as needed, and then really kind of nest down into it. Yeah, steady foundation, tent the fingertips tall through the spine, inhale, rise up, and exhale, ripple out and down, letting the elbows bend. Inhale, float up, exhale, out and down. Last one, inhale, the rise, and then exhale, walk it out and release to the earth. Take your breath wherever you need it. Four, three, two. As you're ready, inhale, walk the upper body back in and up, keep the weight on that left leg, exhale, swing the right leg around, moving towards Vumukhasana, stacking right knee on top of left, or just kind of working your way towards that and pausing at your own edge. Never, ever, ever any pain. Okay, once you're rooted, hands at rest, this is enough, beautiful, let it be enough.

If you'd like, inhale, lengthen, and then exhale, add the fold, letting the background, and letting the head fall, a few breaths. Okay, slowly, if you are in the fold, inhale, walk it back in and up, and then exhale, just unravel the legs, plant the feet, and then scooch forward a little bit. Okay, in a moment here, we're going to roll all the way down onto the back and set up for a restorative posture. I'm going to show it to you here, and then you can settle in on your own. Okay, so if you have two blocks or a block and a stack of books, one goes right at the tip of the shoulder blades, so the shoulder blades will be off of the bottom block, the tip hitting the edge, and the back of the skull will be on this block or stack of books. If you don't have blocks, don't worry about it. Maybe get a thick blanket, roll it up, and put it here, and then you don't need the second support. All right, back to the seat. Blocks are basically in place, and then just start to ease back. You can adjust a little, you'll know when you've found the sweet spot, and once the back is well supported, you might even hold the head as you release it onto the other block, and of course adjust that a little bit if you'd like. If you don't want the back bend to be quite as deep, the block under the head can lift higher. If you're super back bendy, you can remove the block under the head altogether. So take your time. This is definitely a deep back bend, but it's supported. It's relatively passive in keeping with that new moon energy of surrendering, of less effort, but more kind of gentle watery flow. We're going to let ourselves restore here this morning. So I love cactus arms here. I think it facilitates more opening through the chest and the front of the shoulders, but if you feel for a different variation with the arms, feel free. I also love knees bent feet on the earth as it feels kind of the safest and the most grounded for the low back, but again, if you have another strong desire, legs extending, or supta baddha panasana style, trust that. Just really pay attention to how it feels and then adjust accordingly. And again, if you don't have blocks or thick books, a nice blanket rolled up under that mid back where this first block is and then no support under the head can be equally as wonderful. Right? We adapt. We do what we can with what we have. And then we just sink down.

Yeah. Letting the whole physical body relax. Letting the energetic body follow. Maybe imagining your body is safely, sweetly floating in a big body of water, the warm sun on your skin. The midsummer pose. Feel the buoyancy and the support of the water beneath you. Letting yourself be held. Letting yourself relax. We all need that so much these days. See no more breaths here. Always encourage you to stay in these restorative postures as long as you'd like. If you have the space and you so desire, when you are ready to emerge, you can kind of come out of it in whatever way feels intuitively best. If you're just on the blanket, kind of rolling to either side and then rocking up to sit is best. If you're on both blocks, I like to take the arms alongside the body and even hold the outer edge of the mat with the hems, press forearms and elbows into the mat and then use that to roll up. Remove the blocks. Remove the blanket, whatever you have.

Gently just roll all the way down again. When you do land, hug and ease into your chest and rock side to side. Legs as is or return to that Gomukhasana shape. Right knee over the left and then let the knees fall to the left, reaching right arm to the right. A gentle final twist to release from that supported backbend and just to unravel from the whole practice. Yeah, one more breath. Okay. With your inhale, draw back to center and with your exhale, unwind the legs if you're bound, move the hips to the left a little. Legs as is or left knee over the right. Let the knees fall to the right and reach left arm to the left. Breathing into it. Breathe. Slowly inhale, come on back to center and then exhaling, just draw the knees in towards the chest.

Once again, wrap the arms around the legs, rock yourself, gently side to side. And then in the center line, fill it up, take a big inhale. Exhale, Shavasana. Legs extend and roll open. Arms rest alongside the body, palms roll open. And letting the eyes close and letting the entire system, the body, the mind, the heart, the subtle energetic body, letting it all just relax and release.

Allowing for the integration of your practice. Just rest. Exhale. Stay here as long as you like when you're ready, gently deepening the breath, drawing awareness back. Take a big inhale and reach the arms up and over. Exhale, bending the knees, feet to the earth. You can roll to either side and then just gently transitioning all the way back up to a comfortable seat. When you find it, root again through the sit bones. Let the hands rest wherever they're most comfortable, soft gaze or close the eyes. We'll just take a moment to transition here from the practice into the rest of the day or the evening, depending on where you are and when this fine view. Noticing how you feel. Recalling your intention that still resonates, allow it to remain with you throughout the day, throughout the evening, or maybe even throughout this new cycle of knowing, of reassessing in the next 28, 29 days. See how it unfolds. Yeah, and then gently take the hands to prayer at your heart center. Together through the nose, take a nice big inhale.

Oh, okay. Gently inhaling and just a soft bow forward with your exhale. Namaste and thank you, thank you, thank you.