Move In to Expand Out

Namaste and welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining wherever you are. It's such an honor to be here with you today. I'm excited to get started as we move into another episode of Soulful Flow on Yoga Anytime. I'm Sarah. If it's your first time practicing, welcome. If you're coming back, welcome back. So today in our practice, we're going to play with this method and theory of opposites. So we'll move inward to start to open up through the back body, and then we'll expand outward as we begin to open up through the front body and the heart space. So kind of playing with those two opposites as we move through a fluid grounding and energetic practice today. So thank you again for joining me, and let's go ahead and get started. So whenever you're ready, we'll come on to our backs. So go ahead and take your time, roll on back. And as you come onto your back, step your feet as wide as your yoga mat, and then let your knees knock in to touch. So we call this constructive rest and you can let your hands fall somewhere on your body. And then if it feels safe for you to close your eyes, go ahead and let the eyes soften and close right away, just turning that gaze to the internal space. And as you start to tune in, just start to scan your body, noticing how you're feeling this morning, this afternoon, this evening, whenever you're practicing. So how are you feeling on a physical level? And as you scan through the body from the tips of the toes, all the way up through the crown of the head, just taking a moment to notice any areas of obvious tension that you might be holding onto. And start to notice the natural rhythm of your breath, the rise of the inhale, the fall of the exhale, that letting go. And notice as you begin to bring your awareness to the breath, if it naturally begins to deepen. And then just checking in with anything you'd like to call in as an intention for your practice today, or maybe there's something that you'd like to let go of as we begin here, allowing your practice to have deeper meaning, the purpose, moving with that intention. Then let's go ahead and deepen the breath together. So as you're ready, we'll inhale for the count of four, take a brief pause at the top of the breath, and then we'll exhale for that same count. So inhaling for one, two, three, four, brief pause. And then maybe sigh it out your mouth this first time, four, three, two, one, pausing at the bottom of the exhale. This time inhale through the nose for one, two, three, four, brief pause. And then if you can, exhale out the nose for three, two, and one. Beautiful. And then either coming back to just the natural rhythm of your breath, or if you're working with Ujjayi Pranayama, start to tune into that yogic breathing in and out through your nose. And then as you're ready, reach your arms up over your head, take a nice stretch, drop your knees to the right side, take a nice easy spinal twist here. Good. And then as you inhale, draw the knees back through center. And as you exhale, drop the knees to the left side. Beautiful. And then just start to windshield wiper your knees from side to side. So as a way to wake up the body, to warm your spine, to feel into the glutes and the hips. How does that feel today? Just meeting yourself wherever you are in this moment starting from that place. Take one more right and left, finishing up on the left side just to balance it out. Beautiful. And then as you come back through center, let's take eagle legs. So cross your right leg on top of your left, like you're sitting in a chair and you can just float the right foot open, or you might wrap your right foot around your left calf for eagle legs. And then reach your arms up, wrap your right arm under your left arm, either bringing the backs of your hands together or the palms together. So you have kind of this eagle pose on your back. And as you inhale, start to draw the arms away from you. So lift the elbows up. And then as you exhale, draw the knees in towards you. Draw the elbows in towards your knees and just kind of hug everything into a tight little ball. So you feel the opening in the back body here. Good. And then as you inhale, draw that all away. And then we'll do that a couple of times. So exhale, elbows to knees, knees to elbows, hug everything in. Inhale, draw everything away. Open up. Go one more time. Elbows to knees, exhale, hug everything in. Beautiful. And then let that go. Unravel.

Press up into an easy bridge pose, soles of the feet to the earth. Press through the palms of your hands as you lift the hips up and just take about 50% of your effort here. So just feel that gentle opening across the front of the body to counterbalance that. Nice. And then lower your hips down to the earth. Take a moment. Feel the spine land on the earth. Nice. And then we'll just take that all to the other side. So crossing your left leg on top of the right, like you're sitting in a chair, maybe hook the foot behind your calf, reach your arms up, left arm under the right, wrap it up, eagle arms. Start to draw the elbows away from you. Find some length here. Big full breath in. As you exhale, elbows to knees, hug everything in. Tight little ball. Good. Two more like that with the breath. Inhale as you draw everything away. Exhale, hover and draw everything in. One more. Inhale, draw it away. And exhale. Hug it in. Beautiful. Let that go. Soles of the feet to the earth. Press through the soles of the feet. Press through your hands. Lift your hips up. Again, just feel that nice opening in the front body. Expanding open. And then slowly lower down one vertebra at a time, letting the hips come down to the earth. Nice. And then hug your knees into your chest. Give them a squeeze. Rock around a little bit and massaging through the lower back. Notice how that area of the body feels for you today. And then hands behind your knees. Take this rock up and down along the length of the spine. And you might take that a couple times as you build momentum and we'll meet seated at the front of your mat. So take your time to land in your seat. And then rest your hands on your knees. So bringing the palms of the hands onto your knees. And then moving into some cat cows from here. So as you inhale, just start to tilt forward. Reach the heart forward, arching through the spine. And then as you exhale, navel to spine. Round through the shoulders, tilting the weight back. So we're playing with this opening in the front body as you come forward. As you inhale, draw the shoulders back. Reach the heart forward. And then as you exhale, opening up through the back body, round the shoulders, navel to spine. Good. And just do that a couple times at your own pace. And if there's any other movement here that would feel good as we start to warm the body, feel free to honor that. So you might start to take this into some circles, some Sufi rolls, moving around here. And really just moving in a way that it feels good to move today. Move like you. Good. And just taking a few more breaths wherever you are. And then start to come back toward neutral, toward your center. Find that place between the opening of the front body and the back body. Take a moment to check in. Breathe. Beautiful. And then moving from that space.

So we're slowly building our way up. We'll come to all fours. Find your way to a tabletop position. And then as you come to your tabletop, let the shoulders come over the wrists, hips over knees. Cross your right knee behind your left knee. So you're crossing in the legs here, kind of like we did when we were laying on our back. And then let's move into a wrist stretch. So start to turn your right fingers either to the right side of your mat, or if it feels okay in your wrist, you can turn the fingers toward you and really stretch into that right wrist. And then just start to take some circles with your spine here, moving around either clockwise or counterclockwise, feeling into the sensations as you wake up the body. Good. And noticing how that feels. Just doing that check in. Where am I right now in this moment? How's my breath? How's the body feel? Good. And then come back through center. Turn your right hand to face the front of the mat and then start to float your right leg back. So as you float your right leg back, you can flex that right foot. And you can stay right here if this feels more grounding for you with both hands down or play with balance a little bit by reaching your right arm forward. So you're reaching forward through your left fingertips, back through your right heel, and then the core is engaged to protect your spine. Good. And let's take a couple of rounds here as you inhale, lengthening. As you exhale, that same idea, draw everything into center, rounding through the spine, just like we did on our back. And then two more. As you inhale, lengthen. As you exhale, draw everything in. Elbow to knee, knee to nose. One more like that. Inhale, lengthen forward and back. Exhale, draw everything in. Elbow to knee, knee to nose. Good. And then lengthen it out. Place your left hand down, place your right knee down, and let the hips sink back toward a nice child's pose here. And you can squeeze the knees together or take them wide, letting the head, neck, and shoulders relax as you reach your arms forward. And then start to send the breath to the back body. So feel that opening through the back body, through the rib cage, expanding on the inhale, softening and grounding on your exhale. Beautiful. And then as you inhale, round it back up to all fours, come to your tabletop. And we'll just take this all to the other side. So letting your left knee cross behind your right knee. And then start to turn your left fingertips either to the left side of your mat or face them towards you, getting into that left wrist, and then just start to move around. So clockwise, counterclockwise, feeling into the left wrist, the hips, wherever else you feel this. Good. A couple more full deep breaths, opening up. Beautiful. And then take your time, come back to center, reach your left hand forward or fingertips face the front of the mat, float your left leg up, flex your left foot. And then again, you can keep both hands down on the earth if that feels better for you. Or wait into your left hand, reach your right arm forward. Good. Engaging through the core to protect the spine. Find some stability there. Big, full breath in, lengthening. Exhale, draw everything in. Feel the opening in the back body. Good. As you inhale, reaching out. Exhale, draw it in. One more. Inhale, reaching forward and back with the same amount of energy. And then exhale, draw everything in. Beautiful. Inhale as you lengthen, right hand down, left knee down, and then coming back into your child's pose. So letting your hips sink back to your heels. Reaching forward and back.

Exhale that opening and expansion through the back body, through the back ribs. Knowing that you can come here at any time as we start to build some heat and start to move into our flow practice. Good. As you inhale, come on up to all fours. Walk your hands in front of your shoulders just a bit. And then tuck your toes, lift the hips up and back, coming into our first downward facing dog. Good. And as you come to this first dog, start to pedal it out. Maybe sway your hips from side to side, just feeling into the back of the legs. Let your spine be nice and long. Let your sitting bones reach up toward the ceiling. And if that means softening the knees a little bit, if your hamstrings are tight, go for it. You might step your feet a little wider, just slowly feeling into the body, waking up in a way that it feels good. Good. And then as you're ready, hands are about shoulder width, feet can be about hips width or a little wider. Again, if the hamstrings are tight, feel free to step the feet a little wider. On an inhale, start to round forward into plank pose. So you're almost in this cat-like movement as you're coming into your plank pose. And then as you get to the top of a push up, soften your knees. So bending the knees a little bit and then press it back as you come into down dog, start to straighten out the legs any amount, press your chest back toward the tops of your thighs. And then we'll just move with that a few times. So as you inhale, rounding forward into plank pose, soften the knees as you get there, lift your hips up and back, press it back, downward facing dog, heels heavy. A couple more inhale as you glide forward, exhale, bend the knees, lift the hips up and back, pressing the chest back toward the tops of the thighs. One more inhale, gliding forward, rounding as you come forward, bend the knees, lift your hips up and back. Good. And then start to walk your hands back to your feet, come to a forward fold at the back of your mat. And as you come back there again, you can soften the knees any amount. Just let everything melt down. Maybe swaying a little bit from side to side. I'm bringing the backs of the hands to the earth to stretch my wrists a little bit, but you might be holding opposite elbows or interlacing. What's calling you right now in your practice in this moment, tune into that. Good. And then as you're ready, let your hands come down toward the earth and then walk them up onto your shins, lengthen through your spine, just coming halfway up here, draw the shoulders back. Good. And then as you exhale, soften and release back into your fold, Uttanasana. We'll do that a couple of times. So as you inhale, either hands up onto your shins or you can keep hands down on the earth, come halfway up. Exhale, release. One more inhale, Ardha Uttanasana, halfway up, lengthening through the spine. Tilt a little bit more weight toward the balls of your feet and then exhale, soften and release. Good. Now hands find the earth, take your time, slowly walk your way back to your downward facing dog. We'll take our time to get there. And then as you arrive, pressing through both hands, let's float the right leg up. Take a moment, bend the knee, open up through that right hip. And then if there's any movement that wants to happen in that right foot or you can take some circles with that right knee, just feeling into the right side for a moment. Beautiful. And then start to straighten that right leg any amount, square off the hips, gaze between your hands. And then let's go ahead and step the right foot all the way through between your hands. Good. Take a moment to land in your lunge. We'll lower the left knee down to the earth. So stacking that right knee right over the right ankle, start to walk your hands up onto your right thigh for a moment. Take a moment to find your stability, whatever that means for you. And then you can keep your hands here or start to reach your hands forward. We'll take Eagle arms, bring the palms to face up and then let your left arm come under your right arm as you wrap up through the arms. So you can bring the backs of the hands together or the palms together. If that's just too much, feel free to hold opposite shoulders and find that opening. And then as you find your arms, start to draw the elbows away from you. Maybe sink down a little deeper into that front knee and just feel that opening. Maybe taking the gaze up a little bit. Good. Allowing a big full breath in here. Nice. And then as you unravel the arms, bring them down to the earth. Ardha Hanamanasana, half split will come into our hamstring stretch, lifting the right toes up off the earth. Beautiful. Drawing that right hip back and you can keep a bend in that right knee or just breathing into the back of the right leg. Couple breaths. Maybe spread your toes. Good. And then re-bend. Come back to a lunge. Step it back to downward facing dog. Let's meet there. Right foot steps back to meet the left. Good. And then round it forward into your plank pose again. And then as you exhale, soften the knees, lift your hips up and back into your down dog and let's do that a couple of times. So inhale brings you forward. Exhale brings you back down dog. Go one more. Inhale, gliding forward. Exhale, bring it back. Nice. And then moving to the left side as you're ready, floating the left leg up. Bend the knee, open up the hip couple breaths here. Maybe roll out that left foot. Take some circles with that left knee. Feeling into the left side, pressing through both hands. Good. And then straightening the left leg any amount. Gaze between your hands. Step your left foot through. Good.

Come into your lunge and then let the right knee lower down to the earth. So pressing into that right shin. Left knee right over the left ankle. Find your stability. Walking your hands up onto that left thigh. Sink it in. And then keep your core engaged to protect your spine. And then we'll move into the arms. So reaching the arms forward. Bring the palms to face up. Right arm under the left. This time just to get into the opposite shoulder. And then as you find eagle arms or hug the shoulders, start to draw the elbows away from you. Sink down a little deeper. Maybe lift the heart, lift the gaze. Feel the opening in the back body. Big full breath in. Good. Exhale. Releasing your hands. Framing the front foot. Shift your weight back. Half split. Arda Hanamanasana. Drawing that left hip back. Breathe into the back of your left leg. Maybe spread your toes. Good. And then as you're ready, re-bend through the left knee. Step it back. Downward facing dog. We'll take three more of that moving from plank to down dog with that rounded quality. So as you inhale, round it forward. As you exhale, bend the knees. Press it back. Lengthening through the spine. Good. Inhale. Opening the back body as you come forward. Exhale. Bend the knees. Press the chest back toward the tops of the thighs. One more. Inhale as you round forward. Plank. Exhale. Bring it up and back. Downward facing dog. Beautiful. Nice work. Walk your feet to your hands. Come to the front of your yoga mat. And as you get to the front of your mat, soften your knees. Let everything melt down. And just take a moment to roll up. Slowly, one vertebra at a time. As you get to the top, fix your yoga costume and find your way there. And bring your hands to your heart center. Take a moment to just check in and breathe. Feel the earth beneath your feet. Maybe close the eyes. Feel your heartbeat. Back to that intention. Why are you here? Why do you practice? What's moving you today? And let's move into some sun salutations. Building some heat and warmth in the body as we move through Surya Namaskara A. So as you're ready, inhale, sweep the arms out and up. Feel the lift through the back of the heart. Good. And then as you exhale, soften the knees, fold in, Uttanasana, forward fold. Then as you inhale, come halfway up. Either fingertips on the earth or hands up onto your shins. Lengthen through the spine.

For this first one, plant your palms. Step back, plank pose. Top of a pushup. Take a moment to pause in your plank. Feel that strength in your core. And then shift your weight forward. Facing the elbows. Come halfway or all the way down, Chaturanga. Good. Inhale, Cobra. If you feel ready for upward facing dog right away, you can straighten the arms from the thighs up off the earth. Lifting up through the heart or you're staying a little lower today. Good. And then we'll all meet in downward facing dog. Rolling over the toes. Lift the hips up and back and breathe. Maybe start to find stillness here. Find your Drishti, at one point to focus your gaze. Where the attention goes, the energy flows. Breathe with this. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, rising up onto toes, big bend in the knees. Step or you can lightly float your feet to your hands. Come to the front of your mat. Good. As you inhale, lift halfway up, lengthen through your spine. As you exhale, Uttanasana.

Forward fold. Root down through the feet to rise. Inhale, arms sweep out and up. Gather your intention at your heart. Exhale. Let's take two more rounds. Start to flow with the breath. Maybe close your eyes. This be a moving meditation. Inhale as the arms sweep up. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, halfway up, lengthen. Good. Exhale, step or you can lightly float it back through Chaturanga. I'm stepping back to plank, moving halfway. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Opening the front body. Exhale, open the back body as you round back into your downward facing dog. Couple full deep breaths. Again, find that Drishti, that place to focus the gaze, your energy. Then go a little more with every exhale. Good. Then as you inhale, rising up onto toes, big bend in the knees. Step or lightly float your feet to your hands, front of the mat. Inhale, halfway, lengthen through the spine. Exhale, soften and release. Good. Root down through the feet to rise. Inhale, arms sweep out and up. Exhale, hands to heart. Go one more round, Surya A. Inhale, arms lift, lengthening. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, halfway, lengthen through the spine, offer the heart. Plant your palms step or lightly float back, Chaturanga. Good. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. And meet me in downward facing dog. Exhale, breathe. Couple full deep breaths. Letting go a little more with every exhale. Focusing the gaze, focusing your energy. Good. And then as you're ready, rising up onto toes, bend the knees, look forward. Step or lightly float to your hands, come to the front of your mat. Inhale, halfway, lengthen. Exhale, release and fold. Good. Root down through the feet, arms sweep out and up. And then gather your hands together at your heart center. Take a moment to land, to pause, to breathe, to feel the energy that's circulating. Checking it with your heartbeat. Good. And then let's move into chair pose as you're ready, coming into Utkatasana. Bring the weight into the heels as you sweep the arms forward and up. You're going to draw your shin bones back a little bit. Feel the length through the spine as you do that. Allowing a big full breath in here as you exhale, soften and release, forward fold. Good. Come halfway up. Inhale, lengthen. Move through your vinyasa. You're welcome to step it right back to down dog. Otherwise, inhale, cobra or upward facing, bring the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Beautiful. So let's start with the right leg as we move into our standing sequence. Inhale, sweep the right leg up. Exhale, step your foot through between your hands and then set it up for crescent pose. So you might step your left foot to the left a little bit. Find your stability and then as you're ready, sweep the arms up, coming into crescent. Good. And as you come into crescent, soften your back knee a little bit. Let the tailbone melt down. That front knee is coming toward 90 degrees and then let the shoulders soften and release a little. Energize up through your fingertips. Find your drishti. Good. And then let's take eagle arms in our crescent. So left arm comes underneath the right. Wrap it up. We've been here before and then start to draw the elbows away from you a little bit. So feel that opening. And then as you exhale, a little bit of a balance, draw the elbows in toward you as you hover. Find your drishti. So you're coming into this hovering crescent pose, humble crescent. Nice. And then as you come up, inhale, release the arms. Come into warrior one with the legs. So spin the back heel down to the earth. Take your hands behind your back. Find an interlace. Start to draw the shoulders down on an inhale.

Lift up through the heart. And then as you exhale, bending through that front knee toward 90 degrees, reach the arms up and over your head for humble warrior. Good. And then leading with the heart as you inhale, come on back up, warrior one, arms sweep up. Beautiful. And then hands to the earth, step back, plank pose, your vinyasa. Feel free to skip it all together and step back to your downward facing dog. So this will be our starting point and we'll move from there. So coming to the left side as you're ready, inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Set up that base for crescent pose. So I like to step the right foot to the right a little bit, letting the feet be about hips distance. As you find your stable legs, reach your arms up, take a moment to land. So maybe soften that right knee a little bit. The tailbone melts down, coming toward 90 degrees in that left leg. And then again, where can you soften a little bit? So let the shoulders relax, energize up through the fingertips and then eagle arms. This time the right arm will come under the left, wrap it up. Or again, you can always hold your shoulders here if that feels better. My hands are cold. And then start to draw your elbows away, sink down a little deeper, big full breath and maybe lift the gaze a little bit. And then humble eagle crescent, draw the elbows in, feel that rounding in the back body, that opening through the back body. Good. And then the transition to warrior one as you come up. So the back heel spins down, the arms sweep back behind you, find that interlace behind the back, maybe the opposite thumb on top, start to draw the shoulders back, big full breath in. And then bending a little deeper into that front knee as you come into humble warrior, reach the arms up over your head, sealing the feet down to the earth, letting the crown of the head melt down. Beautiful. And then lead with the heart, bring it back up, Virabhadrasana one, warrior one, maybe pressing palms together above your head. Good. Let the exhale, bring my hands down, set the left foot back, Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or upward facing dog. Nice work. Meet me in downward facing dog. Beautiful. Big full breath in, let's breathe together. Open the mouth, lie it out, release. Good. Inhale. Let something go on your exhale. Good. And then let's start to add on from there. So we'll flow with what we've already created and then add on. Inhale, right leg lifts, exhale, step it through. As you come up to crescent, we'll come into eagle arms, left arm under the right. Inhale, as you come up, draw the elbows away, feel the lift in the heart space. Exhale, draw the elbows in and round crescent with eagle arms. Good. As you inhale, come up to warrior one, sweep the arms behind you, find that interlace behind the back. Inhale, draw the shoulders back, lift the heart. Exhale, humble warrior, reach the arms up, holding down, let the crown of the head melt down. This time as you come up, inhale, open it up to warrior two, let the left arm guide you up and open, take a moment to land in your warrior two. So you might need to adjust your stance a little bit, finding your own alignment, letting the front heel come toward the center of the back arch. Then let the shoulders soften and release. Energize through the fingertips. Good. And then on an inhale, come through center, flying warrior. Parallel the feet, reach both arms up, maybe take your gaze up toward the ceiling. And then warrior two to the back of the mat, turn your left toes out. And then bending through that left knee, opening the arms up, soften the shoulders. Good. And then back through center. Inhale, parallel the feet, arms sweep up, warrior two to the front of the mat, right toes turn out, right knee bends, soften the shoulders. Beautiful. And then from here, we'll flip the front palm.

Tilt back, reverse warrior, maybe bend a little deeper into that front knee as you reach back. Good. And then circle your hands down to the earth, step back. Plank pose. Exhale, chaturanga. Exhale, cobra or up dog to lift the heart. Exhale, reach it up and back, downward facing dog. Beautiful, big full breath in. Long breath out, release. Good. Left side as you're ready. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Crescent pose, right arm underneath, eagle arms as you come up. Inhale, draw the elbows away. Good. Playing with balance a little bit, draw the elbows in, round through the spine, humble, crescent. Good. As you come up, warrior one, spin the back heel down, sweep the arms behind you. Interlace the fingers, draw the shoulders back, sink down into that front knee, big full breath in. Yeah. Exhale, closing in, humble warrior. So this time with the right arm, guided open, warrior two. Take a moment to land. Find your alignment, sink down toward 90 degrees in that front leg. And then once you kind of find your stability, focus your gaze, focus your energy. And then where can you soften? Just a little bit. Good. And then let's move with the breath as you inhale, parallel the feet, come through center, sweep both arms up. Maybe reach the arms up.

Right toes turn out, warrior two, back of your mat. Good. And then with the breath, inhale back through center. Exhale, warrior two to the front. Bend your left knee, soften the shoulders. Good. Flipping that front palm, tilt it back, reverse warrior. And bending a little deeper into that left knee, feel that stretch in the left side body. Nice everyone. Circle down, step it back, plank pose, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra, or upward facing dog. Exhale, meet me in down dog. Let's hang here for a few breaths. Welcome to lower your knees down, either taking child's pose, or if you'd like, take a moment, sit back on your heels. Then just taking these brief pauses between the movement, notice to check in, see where the energy lands, where it's circulating, coming back to the breath, your intention. Good. And then we'll keep it fluid. So we'll take this one more time to the side, and then we'll move into some balancing postures. So as you're ready, meet me back, in downward facing dog. Good. And then coming back to the right side. So same beginning, inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Crescent pose, eagle arms, left arm under the right. Inhale, draw the elbows away. Exhale, humble crescent rounding, draw the elbows in. You can always have that back knee lowered if the balance is a little bit off. Good. As you inhale, warrior one, spin the back heel down, sweep the arms back behind you, find that interlace. Inhale, draw shoulders back. Exhale, humble warrior, reach the arms up over your head, open it back up to warrior two, left arm guides you open to the side of your mat. Let's flow with this.

Inhale, come through center, parallel the feet, flying warrior. Exhale, warrior two to the back. Left toes, turn out, sink it down. Good. This time, inhale, come through center, parallel the feet, and come it back to your warrior two. We'll flip the front palm tilt back, reverse, and then extended side angle, either elbow to the top of the right thigh. You could take fingertips to the inside of your front foot, and that left arm can reach straight up, or maybe it comes up and over your ear. Good. Breathe into this. Feel the spaciousness, strong lower body lightness and ease in the upper body. Good. Bring it up and back, straighten through your front leg. Feel that length through the right side of your body. Nice work. Circle it down, vinyasa, or right to downward facing dog, moving through. Inhale, cobra, or upward facing. Exhale, downward facing, big breath in. Long breath out, release. One more together. Inhale, maybe sticking the tongue out for lion's breath. Exhale. Beautiful. Left side as you're ready. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Crescent pose, right arm under the left. Draw the elbows away. Lift up, lengthen, and then opening the back body, draw the elbows in, humble crescent. Good. Come back up into warrior one. Sweep the arms behind you, find that interlace. Draw the shoulders back, lift the heart, lift the gaze. Exhale, humble warrior. Good. Open it up, lead with the right arm, warrior two, and then we're just flowing with this. Inhale, center, plying warrior. Exhale, warrior two to the back of the mat. Back through center, inhale. Warrior two to the front of the mat.

This time, flip your front palm, tilt back, and then we'll hold the legs how they are for extended side angle, either elbow to thigh, fingertips to the earth. That right arm can reach straight up, or if it feels okay in the shoulder, taking the right arm up and over your ear. Draw the right shoulder back, feel strong in the legs, the lightness and ease in the upper body, sealing the feet down to the earth. Beautiful. And then bring it up and back. Reverse, maybe straighten that front leg for a moment. Circle it down and through your vinyasa or right to downward facing dog. Nice job. And then playing with our balancing pose, where we've been leading up to last time with this. Inhale, right leg lifts. Exhale, step it through. Now stay in that crescent pose. So ball of the back foot. Change your eagle arms. Left arm under the right. Draw the elbows away. Good. And then just keep the arms, come halfway down, halfway forward, leading with the crown of the head. Now we're coming all the way up into eagle pose from here. So you can keep the arms if you need to unravel. That's totally fine. Otherwise, start to draw your left knee in toward your chest as you stand up on your right leg, and then cross your left leg on top of the right for eagle pose. You can kickstand the toes down, float the foot up, or wrap it behind your right calf. And then sink it down as you draw the elbows away. Find your drishti. Squeeze the inner thighs together. Nice work. And then let that go. Unravel the arms. Draw the left knee in toward your chest. Slowly step back. Warrior one. So let the heel come down to the earth. And then hands behind the back. Humble warrior. Draw the shoulders back. Big breath in. And then let's take a nice hold here. Reach the arms up over your head. You can let your torso rest on that right thigh, or maybe the torso starts to come to the inside of the right leg, letting the crown of the head melt down toward the earth. Beautiful. And then let your hands find the earth. Come on to the ball of your back foot so you're in a nice lunge here for a moment. And then heel toe your right foot to the right a little bit. Take your hands on the inside of your front foot. And let's set up for a nice lizard pose here. Maybe that left knee lowers down to the earth. You can stay right here. Good. Or maybe your forearms start to lower. Maybe there's a block under your forearms. You might come down to the earth. Lots of variations here. You might turn your right toes toward the right side of the mat and start to roll to the outer edge of your right foot. Opening up through the hip. Maybe right hand to the inner right thigh. Wherever you're at, be there fully. Find your breath. Feel free to sigh it out on the exhale. Nice work. Good. And then as you come back, bring hands down to the earth. Start to heel toe that right foot toward the center of your mat. Good. Find your low lunge. As you inhale, reach the arms forward and up. Interlace everything but the index fingers.

Steeple mudra. Let this be a heart opener or back bend as you feel the lift in the upper back. Good. And then hands to the earth. Half split. Arda Hanamanasana. Breathe. If you want to slide that right leg forward coming into full Hanamanasana, you might do that or stay right here. Breathe into the sensations. Beautiful. And then as you're ready, take your time. Come back to your lunge. Let's step it back. Two downward facing dog. Right foot meets the left. Maybe pedal it out. Let that side go. Good. And then moving into the left side as you're ready. Inhale, left leg lifts. Good. Step it all the way through. Eagle crescent pose down the ball of the back foot. Right arm under the left. Draw the elbows away. Inhaling. And then coming halfway forward. So hovering up in that crescent pose. Draw the elbows away from you so that fingers are facing toward the wall in front of you. Welcome to unravel if you need to. Good. And then come on up. Stand on to that left foot. Draw your right knee into your chest. Eagle pose. Wrap the right leg around the left. You can float the foot open. You might kickstand it down to the earth if that helps with your balance. Or you might be wrapping around that left calf. Draw the elbows away. Squeeze the inner thighs together. Sink it back and breathe. Good. Couple breaths. Good. Get out of there. Unravel the arms. Stand up on the left leg. Draw your right knee into your chest. And then slowly step it all the way back to warrior one. So back heel finds the earth. Reaching the arms behind you. Find that interlace. Draw the shoulders back. Lift the heart. Coming back into humble warrior. We'll take a nice long hold here. This neutralizing through the hips, the spine. Feeling that release off the neck, the crown of your head. You might be bringing the torso to the inside of that left leg. Letting everything melt down. Good. And then release your hands to frame your front foot. Come on to the ball of your back foot. Start to heel toe the left foot to the left a few times. Setting up for a nice lizard pose and outer hip stretch. So if you want more active, you're staying upright. You might be threading your left arm underneath the left leg and holding there. You're looking for a little more stretchy today. You're with me lowering that right knee down. Maybe the forearms lower to a block or the earth. And then I like to kind of angle the left toes out to the left side of my mat or the left corner of my mat. And then come to the knife edge of the left foot. Gently pressing the left hand to the inner left thigh. Leaning back a little bit. Feeling into that left side, that left hip. And then just being there breathing. And as always, if you find that you've kind of come to a place that feels too far or that you don't want to be in today, honor that back out. And just be in a place where you can breathe deeply. Good. And then take your time. Climb on out of there. Heel toe the left foot back to the center of the mat. Right knee lowers if it's not already there. Anjali asana. Inhale, arms sweep up, interlace everything but the index fingers.

Feel the lift in the upper back. Let this be your heart opener. Good. And then opening through the back body, Ardha Hanamanasana. Fold over that front leg. So again, there's that opening in the front body that expanding in our heart openers, our back bending postures. And then that going inward, that bowing inward as we open through the back body. Calming the nervous system. Breathing. Good. Re-bend through that left knee. Come back to your lunge downward facing dog. Left foot steps back to meet the right. Nice work. Let's find a seat at the front of the mat, either hopping your feet forward or however you want to get there. You can lower the knees down. Shift the weight off to one side. I'm going to turn to face you as we set up for a hip opener here. So move us into double pigeon. If that's just too much today and that doesn't feel like the hip opener for you, you can always just take Sukhasana, bringing the right shin in front of the left shin and kind of moving into your forward fold from here. If you're coming into double pigeon, let's parallel the left shin toward the front of the mat. Flex your left foot a lot. And then take your right ankle, flex your right foot, and we'll rest the ankle just above the left knee. So there's kind of that cushiony spot, hooking the ankle there. And then ultimately the shins, the knees and the ankles stack. If there's a big space here, you're certainly not alone. You can take a block there or just let it hang as long as it feels okay in your knee. And then just take your time easing into this posture. You can stay upright, maybe close your eyes and just be right here. If there's the invitation to go a little deeper, maybe the hands find the earth. And maybe you start to wiggle forward a little bit as you come into any amount of folding inward. And then breathe into the sensations that arise. Notice this transition from a whole lot of movement and a whole lot of flowing to our stillness, to our held postures, and see if it can be an invitation to go inward. Go a little deeper with your breath. The subtle details within that movement, that stillness that's always there. Good. Take your time as you come out of this side and then sliding into Gomukhasana. So crossing at the knees, we kind of did this when we were in eagle pose and also in our tabletop position. And again, if this is too much, you're crossing right shin in front of the left and just moving forward from there. Otherwise, knees are on top of one another.

Draw the heels in towards you. Take a moment to wiggle in, sit up tall on your sitting bones. And then again, you might just stay upright. You could use your thumbs to massage the bottoms of your feet, or if it feels okay, hands to the earth, press back a little bit so the sitting bones are rooting down. And then maybe walk your hands in front of you. Slide into wherever you feel this. A couple more full deep breaths. Coming the observer of what's occurring. Good. And then take your time. Come on out of there. Now you might take your legs out in front of you for a moment and just kind of shake them out. Let that side go. And then we'll move into the second side. So I'm paralleling the right shin toward the front of the mat, flex the right foot if you're coming toward double pigeon. And then left ankle in the cushiony spot above that right knee, stacking the shins, the ankles, the knees, or left shin in front of the right shin. And you can move from there. Or if there's any other hip opener that you're working with, of course, feel free to honor that, to take that. Otherwise, take a moment to observe this side. Notice if it feels a little different. Pull in. Maybe the eyes closed as an invitation to just check in with the internal space. What's going on in there besides everything? Come the observer, the witness. Not only of the physical, the subtle, the emotional, the energetic. A couple more breaths here. Good. And then slowly come on out of there and we'll cross that left knee on top of the right. Let the heels come in towards you, sit up nice and tall and your sitting bones wiggle in. Again, you might be taking Sukhasana with the left shin in front of the right shin.

And then as you find your Gomukhasana, maybe you're taking your thumbs to your feet, find that massaging of the feet. Good. Or rooting through the sitting bones, maybe the hands come forward. Breathing here. Couple breaths. Noticing again if this side feels a little bit different for you. Beautiful. And then take your time. Come back out of there. Let's reach both legs in front of us. Sit up nice and tall. Flex your feet. Reach your arms up. Big breath in, leading with the heart. Paschimottanasana, folding inward, balancing out the right and the left side. Letting your hands fall just wherever they fall. Good. And then as you inhale, come on up. Come on to your back. Take a moment, hug your knees into your chest. We're back. And then rock it a little side to side. Take one more big opening through the front body. So letting the soles of the feet find the earth. Now either pressing up into bridge pose, kind of where we started, if that feels appropriate for you. If you're feeling like you have a wheel or urdvadhanurasana in your practice, I'll bring us there. Otherwise, staying with bridge. You can bring hands next to your ears. Hug the elbows in, press through the soles of your feet. Lift your hips up. Good. Come up onto the crown of your head for a moment. Keeping the elbows hugged in, you can start to straighten the arms any amount. Feel that big expansive opening in the front body holding for five. Evenly distributing the weight for four, three, two. Beautiful. Come on out of there. Release. Reach your arms up over your head. Just again, windshield wipering your knees from side to side. Feel that opening through the spine, that gentle release in the lower back. Nice. And then as the knees come back through center, let's finish it up with a nice eagle twist. Cross your right leg on top of the left. Maybe hook that right foot behind your left calf. You can cactus the arms on either side of the body and just let your knees, ooh, nice crack there. Let your knees drop to the left. Let the right shoulder soften. Maybe take a gaze over your right shoulder, wringing it all out. Allowing a big full breath in here. As you exhale, release. Good. Unravel. Take your time. Come back through center. Step the soles of the feet to the earth. Neutralize your spine. And we'll take a twist to the right, crossing your left leg on top of the right. You can hook the foot behind the right calf or just let both knees drop to the right. Let the left shoulder soften. Maybe take your gaze over the left shoulder. Just breathing into that side. Couple full deep breaths. Detoxifying, wringing it out, letting it go. Good. And then slowly come on back. Soles of the feet to the earth. We'll hug the knees into the chest one more time. And maybe taking a happy baby here, holding onto the outsides of the feet, the shins. Let the knees go wide. The low back soften. Let the shoulders release. Maybe rock a little bit from side to side or if there's any last posture that the body is requesting, go ahead and honor that. Good. And then knees back through center. Hug your knees into your chest. Draw your nose up to your knees. Take a big full breath in, holding the breath at the top. Sip in a little bit more air. And then opening the mouth, sigh out relief. And just let everything go for Shavasana. Let the legs go long on your mat.

Bringing your palms to face up on either side of the body, letting the arms fall away from the body a little bit. The shoulders release. Feel the opening through the front of the body while the back body is relaxed and supported. And can you allow yourself to feel held here, to be here now? Just rest. Inhale. To rock your head from side to side. Breathing through the neck a little bit. Letting the breath begin to deepen.

And then inviting any movement back in. The fingers, the toes, the ankles, the wrists, as you're ready, reaching your arms up over your head. Take a nice full body stretch, maybe interlacing the fingers, pressing palms of the hands toward the wall behind you. Point your toes, inhale, big release, exhale, good, soles of the feet to the earth as you bend your knees. And gently roll over to either side, taking a moment to pause on your side, check in, notice how you feel here.

You're new now. And then with that ease of shavasana, we'll press our way to a comfortable cross legs seated position. Maybe the eyes stay closed, let the gaze rest on the internal space and we'll gather hands together in front of your heart and anjali mudra, mudra of gratitude, and gratitude for these practices, for showing up for you today where you are, exactly where you are, starting from that place. Thank you so much for sharing these practices with me, such an honor to be together. Namaste, everyone.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, and see you soon.