Sensing the Subtler Channels

Be sure to grab yourself anything you might need, again, having a cushion to sit on, maybe you're going to need a strap. I love having two blocks, and I always just like having a blanket. Somebody asked in the chat if my cat Miyu will be joining us today, and if we're lucky, he will. All right, let's start supine. Grab your strap.

Oh, as I lay down, I can see this beautiful red tail hawk over me. I wish all of you could see that right now. So you've laid down, you have your strap near you, your feet are about a hip distance apart, and let's bring the right knee in and hold where it's comfortable for you. So if it's comfortable to hold on top of the shin, great. If that puts too much compression in your knee, just hold under.

For me, holding under the knee is a lot better these days, and we'll do a little Apanasana. So inhale, let the knee move away from you, and as you exhale, let the knee come in, and as you inhale, move the knee away from you, and as you exhale, move the knee in. A couple more times like that, just inhale, let the knee move away, exhale, move it in, one more time, inhale, let the knee move away, exhale, draw the knee in, and as you draw the knee in, can you become aware of the hip region, particularly the region of the hip joint, and let a bit of a happen, and just see how you can relax that area. You can just make a decision, like open the mouth a little bit, tongue sticks out a little bit, and let that hip relax a little bit. If it makes sense to relax the pelvic floor, do that a little bit, if that instruction doesn't have a connection, no big deal.

Okay, super nice. Now slowly let this leg extend towards the sky, release the grip, keep the knee a little bit soft so your hamstrings aren't so charged, and how soft you want to keep that knee so the hamstrings aren't so charged is really up to your body. Keep the left knee bent for now, and let's just begin to tune into the rotational ability of the hip. So inhale here, and as you exhale, gently externally rotate your hip, which means you're going to roll your hip open so that the toes are turning out, so you have kind of a duckfoot sort of situation, and as you inhale, internally rotate your hip so you have more of what might be called the pigeon-toe situation, and just as you exhale, just gently let your hip externally rotate, and as you inhale, let it internally rotate, and just do this a couple times, just be interested in your own range, be just kind of interested in noticing that you have agency. You know, in this time, feeling like we have so little agency over these giant forces at play around us, it can really help to kind of bring our attention back into, well, where do I have some options and choices here?

Okay, next time you come into external rotation of the hip so that the toes are turning out and the knee is following, and the hip is doing the rotation, hold the position, big deliberate inhale, and as you exhale, let it happen, like let an exhale happen, and notice how you can kind of rotate a little bit more, and really see if you can get the action from the hip. It's tempting to move from the smaller joints, you know, it's tempting to move from the knee and the foot. They're following the hip, do that again, inhale, and as you exhale, let it happen and let it rotate a little bit more. Beautiful, gorgeous, okay, relax, shake it out a little bit, a couple ankle circles, one direction, and the other direction, and then let the knee bend, let the sole of the right foot come back down to the earth, big deliberate inhale, and exhale, let it happen and be aware of the quality of your right hip, and it, the mind is a natural, it loves to compare, so if it helps you, just like let yourself compare the quality of the right hip to the left hip, and just be aware of the feeling tone, and notice if your efforts have made a difference, notice if your efforts have resulted in a little bit more space. Okay, super nice, let the left knee come in, and hold where it's convenient and good for you, so maybe that's on top of the shin, maybe that's under the knee, a little art of Apanasana, inhale the knee moves away, exhale the knee moves in, inhale the knee moves away, exhale the knee moves in.

The translation of the Apanasana is usually the wind releasing pose, yes, inhale knee moves away, exhale knee moves in, I had a friend that used to say that he refused to go to yoga class because he was afraid of farting in front of all the pretty ladies, oh thank goodness for home practice, okay next time the knee moves in, hold the knee in, big deliberate inhale, and exhale let it happen, do that again, inhale, exhale let it happen, and see if you can get a sense of relaxing the outside of the left hip joint, like is there a sense of letting that drop away a little bit, softening some of its tension, beautiful, really nice, okay last few beats here, easier in the jaw, and then slow let that leg release up towards the sky, soften your grip, let the ankle be easy and the knee be easy, so we're really trying to find the movement from the hip, so inhale here and as you exhale externally rotate, letting that hip open so that the knee and the foot follow, so let the knee and the foot be like the indicators of what's going on in the depth, as you inhale internally rotate, as you exhale externally rotate, and like being aware that you can't see your hip joint right, like you, I mean maybe some of you can, but you hopefully you can't actually see it, that would be a problem, but you can't see it but you can feel it, inhale internally rotate, continue, this is one of the the yogi realizations that like part of seeing more clearly, the first step to seeing more clearly is admitting that we can't see everything, we're not aware of the whole picture, and so even just that honesty and that consideration helps to loosen up areas where we are concretized and fixated, okay next time you come into external rotation, hip is turning out, big deliberate inhale, exhale let it happen and allow that exhale will allow the hip to naturally roll open a little bit more, because the anatomy of the exhale encourages that external rotation of the hip, inhale and as you exhale let it happen, yes, soften the grip and the ankle and the knee, one more time, inhale, exhale let it happen, okay beautiful, shake that out a little bit, couple ankle circles, nice, okay bend the knee, let the foot come back down to the floor, widen the feet a little bit, big deliberate inhale, exhale everything and just see if that was worth it, like feel down into the regions of the hip, feel down into the pelvis, like you might sort of like, sort of shimmy it a little bit, nice, okay we're gonna add on, again I like to have a strap it's really helpful but if a strap isn't helpful for you, not needed, so let the right leg extend, hold on to where you like to hold on to or wrap your strap around that, you know the ball with the foot is a nice spot, if you have a different idea please feel welcome, soften the knee again, so now what we're doing is we're starting to add the hamstring into the equation, so keeping the knee somewhat soft, just again explore how you can rotate the hip out and you can rotate the hip in, rotating the hip out and rotating the hip in and then come into center and start to extend up through the heel, kind of allowing a little bit of flex to happen to start to invite the twang in the back of the leg, keep this left knee bent, sole the foot on the floor or let a bit of a happen and extend the leg and then slowly begin to play with the hip a little bit, I'm gonna hold the strap in just my right hand and place my left hand on my left hip and just start to play with that exploration of the hip, so now as your as your hamstring is in the stretch and you start to play with externally the hip and interrelating the hip, you're gonna start to floss the hamstrings, you know we call these the hamstrings, it's not just the hamstrings, you're gonna find the outer hamstring, the inner hamstring, uh-huh, yes, nice, okay come into the center, wiggle the leg a little bit closer, notice that grip that starts to happen on the outside, big deliberate inhale, let a bit of a happen, soften some of that grip just like you did earlier in the Apanasana and then hold the strap in just the right hand and start to let the leg open out to the right, soften the knee a little bit, as you soften the knee a little bit, okay you'll be able to get more rotation in the hip, so take the hamstrings out of the equation just a little bit and then continue, so rotating your hips so your toes point more towards the floor and then rotate your hips so your heel points more towards the floor and just like like you're exploring, you're kind of flossing, so the notion that there would be one fixed ideal moment that you like would hit, that there would be a perfect note of a pose that would be absolute and we're all trying to hit it, is of course ridiculous because there are no less than seven billion plus ways to do the human life, there can be no less than seven billion ways to explore your hamstrings, so the the opportunity here though is to kind of like dial into the agency you have in your hip to kind of find different things and if you if it's gotten too much in that left leg you just bend the knee and bring the foot back to the floor, okay couple more moments here on this side now find the direction that's a little weirder so either toes towards the earth or heel towards the earth is a little weirder a little less usual and then slowly begin to extend through that heel let that leg draw a little bit straighter for you, yes relax the mouth a little bit the eyes, awesome inhale bring that leg back to center now Alana at the beginning of our technical call asked me if I was going to add a abdominal and I said no but I lied because as you extend through that left heel again hold on to the strap and let a little bit of a happen as you curl the chin into the chest draw the leg in and just kind of wobble it yes beautiful okay let the head come back down to the floor let the legs stay extended as you remove the strap shake it out a little bit and then slow sometimes it feels nice to flex the foot and let the leg lower all the way back down to the floor and then once the leg lands relax both the legs maybe wobble them a little bit big deliberate inhale exhale everything and just like really tune your awareness into the feeling tone of the right hip down through the leg down through the knee the foot if it's hard to assess how the right leg is feeling compare it to the left and just like this is you're aware of the right leg and you're aware of how the right leg is feeling like is there a word or an image you might use to describe it like just allow yourself to name that feeling that's so nice really nice let's do the other side bend the knees soles of the feet on the floor let the left leg extend up towards the sky wrap the strap if you're using the strap if not just grab on where it's convenient bend the knee a little bit okay like keep the knee a little bit soft and just explore again first with the hamstrings not totally involve external rotation and internal rotation and external rotation and internal rotation yes and then come back into neutral to central begin to extend the heel just enough just enough it doesn't take much to start to feel the twang in the back of the leg let a little bit of a half in the outside of the hip and with the hamstrings involved now begin to add the flossing so the play here is to just like really see if you can start to explore like what happens if you externally rotate what happens when you internally rotate what happens when you consider this point of view or that point of view what happens when you've listened here what happens when you listen here and and be more interested the more interested we are the more the mystery reveals itself I think you know rarely do we reveal ourselves to those who are not interested or at least not for very long you know it's not safe to do so so if you're interested in what's happening you'll understand more come into something you know come into the center we go that foot in just a little bit more and see how it tightens around the outside of that hip and just like we did earlier let a bit of a hop and so it have trusts you let it relax a little bit keep this right knee bent or slowly let it draw straight yes nice okay now hold on to that strap and just the left hand right hand on the right hip let the legs start to open out to the side and if you bend the knee a little bit you'll get more room okay with that knee a little bent start to explore the rotation of the hip turning the toes towards the earth turning the heel more towards the earth like be interested in this again think of it as like hip flossing yes beautiful and then find which one of those directions is weirder like one of those directions is just be less familiar from what you're normally used to doing choose that one and then begin to extend through that heel a little bit and if it's too much like through the inner groin area or the outside of the right hip and the right knee and sometimes it can even feel good to kind of like let that open a little bit yes beautiful really nicely done okay slowly as you're ready let that leg come all the way back up on an inhale extend that right leg reach up through that heel a little bit through the left and then let a little bit of a happen as you curl up navel back to the spine beautiful let the head come back down to the floor free the strap we're not gonna I don't think we'll be needing the strap again so you can kind of put it to the side shake it out a little bit couple ankle circles yes okay flex the foot let the leg lower all the way back down nice once the legs are landed flop them a little bit big deliberate inhale exhale and just be be aware of how it feels down through the legs down through the hips see if that was worth it like was the attention that you just paid worth it and it can help record a memory even though it separates us from the experience a little bit it can help record the memory so just like name the feeling tone that you might now have in the left leg words like bubbly spacious longer effervescent just call out the name I yeah okay really nice beautiful all right hug the knees into the chest and wobble all right we're gonna make our way up to a seat we'll do a little bit of seated stretches and then we will make our way to standing cross the ankles inhale roll back exhale roll up make your way into your version of sukhasana okay and we do this pattern a lot this is one of our favorites word to Papa Shiffman we wish you would come out of retirement we miss you okay start to lean in let the elbows find the knees and let a bit of a hop from here as it feels good start to walk your hands forward for most of you this might feel good let the elbows bend a little bit let the head drop and you'll know you're not listening if your jaw is clenching so soften in the jaw soften in the eyes drop the head this words fadiah which you know sometimes you read in the text that it translates as you know book study but most most people translate it these days as self study self investigation which of course is different than self obsession and it can look like that a little bit especially that maybe some of your friends let a bit of a but this willingness to study how we work this willingness to really start to understand the machinations of this mechanism and as most of you have discovered by now the self that you become aware of is always the one that you might have had in mind that's the fun part okay come up just enough so you can walk your hands to a side if you're mirroring me you're walking your hands over to the left let that forearm drop down to the floor let that opposite hip pick up off the floor circle the top arm up out and over your face and let the elbow bend now you've got that hip to play with again so you can bring that hip and that elbow a little closer so you're kind of internally rotating the hip and bringing it closer to the elbow and then externally rotate that hip as you roll it down and reach away yeah do that again bring it in and reach away and bring it in and reach away this time as you've reached away rolling that hip away and lengthen and let's start to tune a little bit more to the breath so as you're feeling into this spot start to become aware of the breath in this top lung and start to feel how you can really open yeah beautiful and then tune a little bit of your awareness into the bottom lung like feel how you can move your attention into the bottom lung to create a little bit more space and lift and some of you might be rolling that heart open a little bit more and some of you might be rounding a little bit more you got to kind of like move so that it feels good yes couple more moments feel you can roll that left hip away or that sorry that right hip away reach through that top arm nice take a look down at the forearm on the earth and inhale bring it all the way back up and pause big deliberate inhale exhale everything and allow yourself to sit in the sauce of this okay okay lean back switch the cross of the legs okay other side making your way forward now I'm gonna put a knee and a block under my knee so feel welcome to salt a taste for you walk your hands forward let a bit of a happen and so again like the step one of of self-investigation is to actually truly be curious to who or what you might be to resist the continual temptation to already know in advance now we all suffer from this because the the first product okay of avidya not seen clearly the first product is as meet that which is attachment to the small the concrete ization of self let a bit of a yeah which is essential for your survival but how we work is not bad you know take a look up excel stock to rock your hands over to a side how we work isn't a problem the mechanisms of how we're designed is not a problem tip over onto that forum circle that top arm up let that knee come into the elbow let that knee and elbow reach away from each let that knee and elbow come close let them move away from each other this one more time and now feel how you can externally rotate that hip just like we were doing in the hamstring stretch externally rotate that hip reach that top arm and start to tune your attention more to the breath notice how you can vocalize it more in this top lung notice how you can use your attention to direct your awareness towards this movement of the breath yes okay be aware of how you can be more attuned to the bottom lung and the breath in the bottom lung to kind of lengthen and offer support and then like feel awareness that you can wiggle you can roll the heart more open you can roll it more down yeah a couple more beats here like let it feel good gorgeous yes so nice okay take a look down at the earth and inhale bring you all the way back up and pause just let it feel good let a bit of a ha ha so again the mechanisms of how we work are not a problem what becomes mischievous is when we're not aware of the mechanism mechanisms and we become convinced of the story they're weaving okay we're going to make our way up to standing I'm going to suggest that you make your way into a standing forward fold uttanasana so do that in your own way in your own method and that's where we'll meet feet are a little bit wider than the hips maybe bend the knees let the chest and knees find each other let the head draw and what can feel good is letting one leg draw a little straighter as the other knee bends more and then letting the other knee draw straight bend as the other leg draws straighter do that a couple times like letting your soul go from side to side and so once we've concretized once we have a concrete separate sense of self which is pretty much all the time like don't be under the illusion that it's not how we operate most of the time then the second thing that happens raga and devesha are the sanskrit but essentially the desire to be happy and avoid suffering the attachment to our pleasures and you can say the attachment to our sufferings but the attempt to avoid them yes okay slow bend the knees chin into the chest slowly let yourself roll all the way back up feel the belly open feel the heart open feel the throat and the face these are detailed out in patanjali's yoga sutra is um 2.3 as the cliches the colorings of the mind okay so feet are about hit distance apart spread the toes big deliberate inhale and exhale let it happen and soften the knees and let a bit of a do that again inhale and exhale let a so the knees are soft and we've been playing with this for weeks now this sort of softening in the belly and this willingness to trust that the earth has this willingness to trust the heart is bright shoulders back and down and be attentive to the alignment of your skull so that the neck tension is not so necessary yes upper palate doming and we're going to use our tadasana as our our blueprint okay we're going to use this tadasana as the blueprint to start to tune to some subtler forces that will bring into a few standing asanas and then back down towards our seated practice so here now just in a somewhat neutral position draw your attention to the way the breath is moving in and out of your nostrils so let your mouth be closed so that you are actually breathing in and out of your nostrils now the suggestion is not to start to breathe in and out of your nostrils like to force it but to be aware of its movement and as we find this next experiment this may or may not be obvious to you but the suggestion here now is maybe even turn the toes in a little bit and and roll the weight to the insides of your feet so almost as if you have a bit about what might be called like a knock need position and as you tune into the breath in your nostrils are you aware of how the breath may have moved more to the central channels of your nostrils maybe maybe not but just attempt to like see if you can sense this okay and usually it helps to compare so turn your toes back forward and you could simply roll your weight to the outsides of your feet so just kind of roll your weight to the outsides of the pinky toes maybe even let the inside arches left and as you tune into the breath of your nostrils see if you may or may not have a sense of how the breath might feel like it's moved more to the outer channels of your nostrils like maybe maybe not if this is frustrating drop it like don't frustrate yourself this is just a suggestion of a way to start to tune in a little bit and then keep your awareness on the breath in your nostrils but start to go back and forth like just kind of roll like keep your feet where they are but kind of roll the weight to the inside like the balls of the feet you might even pick up the outsides of the feet see if you might have a sense of it moving more to the inner channels roll to the outsides of the feet see if you might have a sense again maybe maybe not yes couple more moments here just seeing if there's a connection between what your feet are doing and therefore what your hips are doing and therefore how the breath finds its way into the channels of the nostrils yes okay let it come back to neutral bend the knees hands slide down the legs let your head drop let a bit of a and so once we have these preferences you know what we seek for happiness what we avoid to avoid suffering then the the the fifth cliche abhinavisha roll on back out feel the belly the heart the throat and the face the desire to continue what is the attachment to the status quo let a bit of a okay so maybe that nostril work was available maybe not the play here now is so just continue to tune into this hip nostril alignment with just a few standing asanas we're just we're opening up some channels see if we can get some action to help us have an easier sit so making your way towards the top of the mat I'm gonna suggest that you have your two bricks there if you don't have blocks it's not necessary they just they make the floor taller and they can they can help give access to areas that are sometimes harder to reach when we're more compromised more at our edge so at the top of the mat let's start again in tadasana spread the toes wide be deliberate inhale exhale let a bit of a happen and again soften the knees and then give a little action through the balls of the feet like like be deliberate with the through the balls of the feet lift up a little bit through the inner arches and just kind of tune this this interior line like feel that on the inhale as it kind of comes up through the insides of the nostrils and as you exhale give a little bit more action through the outer pinky pads and heels and see if you can feel the the outer line kind of rooting down through the heels so so just your ear you're being exaggerating on what's already occurring this inhale up through the inner line see if you can sense that through the inner line of your nostrils and as you exhale root down through the outer line a little bit okay nice hands at the heart as you're ready inhale circle the arms up and as you exhale swan dive forward bend the knees hands find the bricks or floor or legs forward fall inhale hard lips lengthen and as you exhale step your left foot back let your right knee bend so we found the shape of the lunge to begin with wiggle into the ball of that back foot for me that's the left foot reach back through the heel press into the ball of that front foot roll that hip back and lengthen and now just feel like feel how you can kind of tune the inner nostrils a little bit like like emphasize the breath in the inner line and then emphasize the breath in the outer line gorgeous gorgeous spin onto that back left foot outer edge feel how you can reach through that outer line lift up through the inner line keep your right hand on the brick if it feels good as you bring your left hand up onto your waist if it would feel better to bring the forearm to the side go ahead and do that now feel that press lift up through the inner line and feel what you're doing in your that hip feel how you're probably choosing to kind of externally rotate it as you lift up through the heart root to the ball the big right toe draw the right hip back yes now maintain this left hand on this left waist as you start to draw the right leg towards it straight towards being the operative word so before you get all the way straight root through the ball the big right toe feel how you can externally rotate that hip a little bit and then start to draw it towards straight adjust the brick as feels good feel the heart bloom gorgeous last few moments circle this top arm in front of the face up out and over and feel how you can root through the back foot lengthen through those fingertips and just like we did when you were sitting notice how you can breathe a little bit more through the top lung notice how you can breathe a little bit more through the underside gorgeous last few beats inhale here exhale windmill back to the shape of the lunge you're going to let that front right knee bend hands back on the brick spin up onto the back foot rock and roll a little bit and step forward inhale half arch exhale other side right foot steps back or opposite depending on what you did before okay snuggle into the ball that front left big toe feel like you can kind of draw that hip back notice that tension that bunches there just like it did when we were on the ground let a little bit of a happen to just soften some of that nozzle into the ball the back right toe lengthen and then spin under that back right outer edge yes once you've spun under that back right outer edge feeling kind of like up through that inner line keep the left hand on the brick let the right hand find the waist and begin to spiral that heart open yes notice what you're probably doing with that right hip you're probably kind of externally rotating it so you can roll that heart open gorgeous slow slow slow start to draw the left leg a little straighter but before you get all the way straight do you remember how to externally rotate that hip a little bit yes letting it draw a little straighter gorgeous adjust the block as feels good for you feel how you can root through the back right foot feel how you can start to tune into the breath and then let's add the arm which helps circle the right arm in front of the face up out and over and feel you can intentionally bring that breath more into that right lung gorgeous feel how you can intentionally bring the breath more into the underside to create a lift yeah beautiful so nice nice inhale here exhale come back into the shape of the lunge the left knee bends right hand comes back down to the brick or floor if you're using the floor spin up onto the ball the back right foot rock and roll step that right foot forward inhale half arch exhale forward fold soften the knees let it inhale circle the arms all the way back up and reach exhale hands come back to the heart arms down along your side spread the toes wide big deliberate inhale exhale let it happen soft in the knees this has been the work for most of our season trust that the earth has you give just a little bit of root through the ball the big toe feel how you can draw like right on that inner line feel like you can draw through the inner nostrils slightly as you exhale feel that sort of cocooning in the outer nostrils as it runs beautiful second round of sending us in is just to kind of help stretch this through as you're ready hands at the heart inhale arms up exhale forward fold inhale half arch exhale keep the left foot where she is step the right foot back shape of the lunge wiggle on back through there now root through the ball the big left toe and feel how essentially the ask is an external rotation of that hip to kind of draw that hip back yeah spin onto the back right outer edge lengthen keep the left hand on the brick or place it where it's more appropriate right hand finds the right waist and slowly draw this left leg towards straight towards the tricono center and now feel here and just see like as opposed to so much gross action of hips and feet tune your awareness more to the inner channels of the nostrils like like just see if you can like be aware of the inner channels and can you find out how that aligns you slightly differently and now tune into the outer channels of the nostrils see if you can just move your awareness to the outer channels and see how that might give you different alignment cues uh-huh if what I'm suggesting makes no sense blow it off circle the right arm in front of the face up out and over now feel this beautiful long line you have in this side triangle now maintain this beautiful long line give a little bit more attention to this undercarriage this underside by tuning that left nostril and left lung a little bit maintain this as you make your way into side angle letting the left knee bend keep the reach and feel how you can be aware of the right side maybe it's the lung maybe it's the right nostril feel how you can be aware of the left side gorgeous oh my gosh so nice inhale here exhale windmill back down to the shape of the lunge spin up onto the ball the right foot rock and roll a little bit step the right foot forward inhale half arch exhale forward fold inhale half arch exhale other side last standing pattern right knee bend shape of the lunge wiggle spin onto that back left outer edge keep the hand on the brick if it feels good as you bring the left hand up onto the waist and again like to start to like feel into like find your alignment but can you find your alignment a little bit more from something quiet letting the right leg draw towards straight mm-hmm like find out like tune into the inner lot channel a little bit like feel I can can just choose to feel the breath at the inside of the nostrils notice how that encourages certain alignments feel the breath at the hour channels yes circle this left arm in front of the face about an over the top of your head yes like finding this extension gorgeous gorgeous again like see if you can like be aware of the left lung or left nostril mm-hmm then slow start to bend this right knee parshvakonasana side in extended side angle pose cheat that parshvakonasana beautiful gorgeous inhale here exhale circle back shape of the lunge rock and roll a little bit step the left foot forward inhale half arch exhale forward fold you might move the bricks off to the side a little bit hands on the legs for a moment and then inhale knees are soft circle the arms all the way back up reach exhale hands back to the heart this is our last adasana separate the feet about hip distance big deliberate inhale exhale let a happen and soften the knees trust soft in the low belly and when we really like when we start to draw more and more and more inward there's a natural quieting there's a there's just a natural like when we start to tune into subtler details of the self is it there's a softening just like when somebody really listens to you you relax and have less to say to be aware of the quality of the heart find the alignment of the skull where the tension is not necessary beautiful we're making our way towards the earth separate the feet a little bit wider slide the hands down the legs let's use my last another make our way there if that feels good toe heel the feet a little bit wider maybe turn them out it just makes it a little bit easier to get some external rotation to come towards that squat and the suggestion is to make your way to the earth from here be gentle on that one nice you might want to gather near you what you like to have for sitting but on our way there what we'll do is just a little bit of wide barakanasana to settle so soles of the feet together about a foot away foot ish maybe 18 inches away from your groin and let yourself plunge over a little bit of a really nice so beautiful gorgeous okay then slow chin to your chest let yourself roll on back and so to set yourself up for success so I've got a zafu which I like you might have something else I'm going to support one of my knees and bring the other foot in this is sometimes one of my favorite kind of sitting positions I it to me it mimics green Tara who I love and she she sits with one foot on the ground and one foot drawn in so she's internally aligned but she's ready to get up and help at any moment the play here it is it's let's let's do this the suggestion is we'll sit for you know almost 10 minutes just maybe shy of that and then we'll lie down for shavasana hope that sounds good to you big deliberate inhale exhale let it happen and when you come to a sit with the vibrancy of just having done standing postures there can be an alertness that can be quite useful big deliberate inhale exhale let it happen and soften I just trust that your body knows how to sit eyes are either closed or so softly focused out in front of you more and more as I hang out with teachers in this Tibetan Buddhist tradition I find I'm liking it more and more that my eyes stay softly open soften the jaw yeah be attentive to how you like to have your hands giving just enough rooting so your heart feels generous shoulders can relax back and down as your elbows feel heavy and find the placement of your skull where the neck tension is not so necessary and we're using a pranayama to move in towards the seat so we'll keep it in this nostril situation like just so gently bring your attention to your left nostril and as you bring your attention to your left nostril you'll start to be aware of the movement of the breath in and out of your left nostril just we're not adding a count just kind of being aware of how something that's not even just under your nose but is your nose is happening all the time but rarely gets our attention relax the specificness of your focus sometimes it's nice to rest your awareness on this little divot spot between the lips and the nose and only as you're ready don't rush this because we so quickly become attached like as soon as we're in an experience that experience becomes the norm and we don't want to leave it so it can almost seem violent as the suggestion is to now bring your awareness over to the opposite nostril the right one and begin to notice how you as you bring your attention there you start to feel the breath moving in and out of there and because the mind is a measuring device it will compare it's okay this will either feel easier or harder or more blocked or less blocked it's also not really okay relax the specificness of the focus on the right nostril and let your awareness just rest right underneath the nostrils in this little divot spot between the lips and the nose I I'm not remembering the formal name let's just do that one more time just so gently yes it's so gentle like but but feel the magnitude of where your attention goes so as your attention moves over to your left nostril and you become aware of the movement of your breath there and so some of you might be so aware of your breath that some of you might have dropped just a little bit beneath the breath to the subtler layers of the breath which the yogis refer to as the prana so as you're aware of this left nostril you might be barely breathing okay relax like relax the whole rest your attention in the middle between the lips and the nose and then over to the other side the right side you just have to move your attention there and just observe what happened okay bring your awareness back to the center like this little sweet resting spot between the lips and the nose and so we've been doing with the yogis called the eda and the pingala these two named nadis of which there are rumored to be 360,000 of which somewhere along the way got boiled down to about 14 to 3 there's more of course but and now the play here is just as you're resting your attention in the center can you become more aware of what the yogis refer to as the shoshuna the central channel the gracious channel so without any more effort than just drawing your attention towards the center of you as you draw your attention towards the center of you in a curious open way this central alignment channel just might feel safe enough to reveal herself the subtle anatomy maps indicate that these three channels converge the shoshuna the eda and the pingala are suggested to converge in the region of the Ajna chakra this third eye so sometimes this area can feel quite potent with the eda and the pingala descending into its the nostrils and this shoshuna suggested that perhaps this channel moves up towards the crown chakra the top of your skull these are just mats they may or may not be useful for you just for a few more moments just by being being more sensitive to the central channel does the central channel reveal herself soft in the jaw kind in the eye yeah big delivery now exhale everything let a bit of a and then just start to make your way towards your version of supine move your tuffet out of the way well I'm back down what might feel good to hug the knees into the chest a little bit some of you it might feel nice to make your way into a lying spinal to be sensitive to not to disturb yourself too much so as you bring your feet back down to the floor and that one leg extend and let the other leg extend the protective maybe isn't quite the right word but be so I could treat that own subtle attunement with preciousness wobble the head a little bit back of the neck long big delivered inhale exhale let a bit of a resting you've had your attention so focused that the reward now this is slack the jaw but the forehead is let the mind feel blue sky okay