Venus: Creative Energy

Namaste and welcome. This will be our Venus class. The energy of Venus is a creative energy. So anytime that you're feeling a little stuck, a little uninspired, this would be a practice to just bring back some of that flow into your life, some of that Shakti into your life. Let's get started.

Rub your palms together. Take your hands into Venus Mudra, which means interlace your fingers and press the index fingers together and cross your thumbs. And then you can reach the arms up over your head and extend up through the index fingers. The mantra for Venus is Om Shum Shukraya Namaha. So take a breath in, look up and see your hands and then bring them right back in front of your chest.

Twelve times. Breathing in. Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om Shum Shukraya Namaha Om sham shukraya namaha. Om. Calling in the flow of creativity.

Full breath in. Breathe it away. And then we're going to come up to stand so you can release your mudra, give your legs a little bit of a shake out, and come to stand at the top of your space and separate your feet about shoulder width apart, so maybe three fists distance or so. Once again, rub your palms together and interlace your fingers in front of your chest, invert your palms forward and stretch the arms forward. And right here, plug the shoulder blades back onto the spine and feel the lengthening down of the tailbone, the lifting up through the crown of the head.

Lift the arms up just as you've had them. And tip the pinky fingers back a little so you feel the forearms turn on. And once the arms come up, you'll find maybe that the chest pops out, so draw the ribs back, anchor the tailbone down through the heels. Big backstroke of the arms here, circle the arms behind you and either interlace your fingers or you can wing the arms back if that feels like too much on your shoulders. Press down into the feet, lift the head and the chest, lean back, breath in.

Soften the knees and keeping the hands interlaced, fold yourself forward. And you can bend the knees as much as you need to here, dropping the head towards the feet, reaching up through the fist of the hands. And then release your fingers down. Bend the fingertips underneath the shoulders, bend your left knee and open up your right arm and you're in a twist. You can take the gaze up towards the right hand, sending the pelvis back, reach the crown of the head forward.

Let's take that right over to the other side, right hand down, left arm up, taking the gaze up towards the left hand this time and bending the right knee. Fold the left hand behind your back. Look down at the ground, reach your right arm forward, come all the way up to stand. That's your breath in. Fold the right hand behind your head, Gomukhasana in your arms now, you might grab your fingertips or your shirt there and then press the back of the skull into the forearm.

Once again, feet stay energized here, tailbone anchors, lift up through the side waist and then take a side bend over towards the left and you can press the back of the head into the forearm here and you might turn the head so that the gaze looks up past the right elbow. Breathe into the whole right side and then allow your left hand to fall out of your bind down the left side, reach your right arm over, go deeper into your side bend. Breath in, full breath out. Inhale both arms up, high prayer above the head, look up, take your hands to your heart. Let's try the other side, change the interlacing of your fingers and press your hands forward.

Next breath in, inhale, reach the arms up, plug the shoulders back and down, tip the pinky fingers back a little further. Once again, arms come back behind you, change the interlacing of your fingers, lift up through your head and your chest, lean back, breath in. Bend your knees a bunch and fold forward, dropping the head down. And see if you can make these different shapes kind of melt together, release the hands down. Come up onto the tips of the fingers, hands under the shoulders, bend your right knee, open up your left arm and twist.

Right over to the other side, soften the knees through the middle, open up through the right arm, twisting. Take your right arm back behind you, look down at the ground, reach your left arm forward, come on up to stand, go mukhasana in your arms again, fingertips are short here, pressing the back of the head into the left forearm, side bending over towards the right. And then maybe turning the chin towards the left elbow, just getting a slightly different stretch in the neck and across the ribs. Full breathing here. Release your right hand down your right leg, reach your left arm over, go deeper into your side bend.

And then inhale, high prayer above the head, look up. Take your hands to your heart. We're gonna repeat and build on that. Interlace your fingers, press your hands forward, this time let your knees soften and your spine round almost like a standing cat pose there, tucking the tailbone underneath you. Push down through the feet and come on back up, reaching the arms overhead, this time steady your gaze and lift your heels up and get even more extension through the side waist.

Soften the heels back down to the ground and take your arms back behind you, interlace your fingers, lift up, lean back, breath in, bend your knees and fold forward with your breath out. Right away release the hands down, left hand down, right arm up, bend the left knee and twist open to the right. Right hand down, left arm up, twist it over to the other side. Left arm behind the back, reach your right arm forward, come on up to stand. Go Mukhasana in your arms, side bend over towards your left.

Slip your left hand down your left side and reach your right arm over, go deeper into your side bend. Different this time, swing the arm in front of your face and fold yourself forward, bow down over your legs. From here send your left leg back into a lunge, look forward and then step your left foot right back where you had it, towards the front of your mat. Stay with soft knees, step your right leg back, come into a lunge, look forward and then step your right foot right back where you had it, front of your mat, knees stay bent. One more time, step your left leg back.

This time spin your left heel down, let's come up into warrior two, circle the left arm forward and up. Landing in your warrior two, make any adjustments of the feet that you need to to give yourself enough space between the legs and maybe float the arms up a little bit higher today to give some more breath into the chest, turn the right palm up, lean back for peaceful warrior. Exited side angle with your breath out and that could be forearm to thigh or right hand down to the ground and reach your left arm over your head. And then almost like those Gomukhasana arms, fold the left hand behind your head, hold the base of your neck and press the back of the head into the elbow and get a nice opening through the tricep and down through the ribs, keeping the legs strong. Turn the underside of the chest up and keep guiding the right thigh bone out towards the pinky side of the right foot.

Stretch your left arm back out nice and long, wide straddle forward bend, all ten toes face the side. And then we're going to move into some Skandasana lunges so you can turn out the toes slightly, bend the left knee, flex the right foot and sit towards the left heel. And then change sides and this can be with hands down on the ground or if you feel like floating the arms up and taking them into a prayer, you can also do that. And just going back and forth in a way that feels good for you. And then last time, bending the left knee, walk the hands towards the front of your mat and come back into a lunge and step your left foot forward a little wide of your right, bow into the legs.

Rising all the way back up, reach the arms up high prayer above the head, exhale hands to heart. Left side interlace the fingers, press the hands forward, let the spine round, chin drops towards the chest. Pressing down into the feet, lift the arms up, pressing down into the feet again, lift the heels up and reach through the side waist. Even take the heels of the hands up a little higher, release the heels down, interlace the fingers behind the back, lift up through your head and your chest, lean back, bend your knees and fold forward. In shape to the next, releasing the hands down, tent your right fingertips, open up your left arm and twist.

And take it over to the other side. Let your breath guide the momentum here. Right arm behind the back, stretch your left arm forward, come on up to stand. Go Mukhasana in the arms and side bend over to your right. Slide your right hand down your right leg, reach your left arm over, go deeper in.

Bend the knees and swing the arm in front of your face, folding forward, standing forward bent. Step your right foot back into a lunge, look forward. Bring it right back where you found it. Step your left foot back, look forward. See if you can articulate through the feet, strong flex in the left foot as you pull the left foot forward.

One more time. Right leg back, spin the back heel down, circle the arms up and around, warrior two. Turn the left palm up, peaceful warrior, big reach back, uttita parsvakanasana, extended side angle, forearm to thigh or any variation that you took on the other side. And then you can fold the right hand behind your head, catch the nape of your neck and once again press the back of the head into the forearm and you might even try to bring the forearm and the bicep a little closer together, sharpening the angle of the elbow. Come back to your breath, always coming back to your breath.

Take the right arm over your ear, reach a little further, wide straddle, forward bend, all ten toes face the side of your mat, moving into your skandhasana lunges. Just a little bit back and forth, bend the right knee, you can time it with your breath, exhale over to the other side, inhale there and exhale, bending the right knee and over to the left. Last time, bend the right knee, working into the hips, walk yourself towards the front of your mat, come back into a lunge and step the right foot a little wide of the left, fold forward into your legs. Push into the feet and come on up, reach the arms up and take your hands to your heart. Last time with this, let's move it through a flow, interlace the fingers, press the palms forward, let the spine round.

Rising all the way back up, anchor the tailbone down and lift the heels. Use the breath in to expand even more, on the exhale soften the heels, back down, take your arms behind you, interlace your fingers, lean back, lift up, breath in, bend your knees and fold forward with the breath out. Right away, releasing the hands down, left fingertips down, right arm up and you'll twist. Almost feel like you're swimming through the air here, right hand down, left arm up, twisted over to the other side, taking the left arm behind the back, stretch the right arm forward, come on up, go mukhasana in the arms and side bend over towards the left. One shape to the next, left hand down, reach the right arm over, swing that around in front of you and fold yourself forward, bowing over your legs.

Extend your left leg back into a lunge and then you've got options here, either you stay with the stepping or if you want it fingertips down, hop and switch your feet. And hop and switch your feet. And hop and switch your feet, this could also be a step. And hop and switch your feet. Two more, left foot forward and right foot forward.

Spin the left heel down, warrior two. Come on up, let yourself land there, turn the right palm up, lean back, peaceful warrior. Extended side angle with your breath out, taking the left arm overhead and then fold the left hand behind the head, catch the nape of the neck and press the head back, bringing the tailbone underneath you, spin the right waist up, stretching out through the left arm, wide straddle forward bend, right into skandhasana, bend the left knee, flex the right foot and switch and switch and switch and switch and one more time, switch. Lunge to the front of your mat, down dog split, right leg up, bend the knee, open up your hip and flip yourself inside out, rock star, pressing up through the hips, lean the head back, reaching back through the right arm. Come all the way back around, down dog split, bring your knee towards your nose, pigeon, bring in the right shin forward, walk your hands back and you can widen the angle of the shin here and just one time pull in and pull up, that's your breath in and then on the exhale folding forward and we're not going to be here too long, just give yourself a moment to feel around in the hips and then use your next breath in to roll yourself back up.

We're going to turn and face the side so you're in a wide jhanushasana, right knee is bent, left leg is long, take the hands back behind you and switch your legs and switch your legs and switch your legs and switch your legs and then keeping the right knee bent, just walk the hands forward a little different today and you can come down onto the forearms, pulling the sideways forward out of the hips, one more breath in, breathe it away, walk your hands back up and then a little tricky transition here, take your left leg over your right like you're going to come into a half seated spinal twist, face the front of your mat, bring your hands down and step your right foot forward, you're coming to stand up and you're standing forward bend, feet are about three fists distance apart, you can catch your elbows and maybe give a sway there, change the crossing of the elbows, another little sway and then that bend of the knees, tuck the chin and roll your way up, reach the arms up and prayer to your heart, last time left side, interlace the fingers, here we go, press it forward, round the spine, rising back up, stretch up through the arms, lift the heels, drop the heels back down, you know where it's going, interlace your fingers behind your back, lift your head and your chest, set it up and then big bend of the knees to fold forward, release your hands down, tent your right fingertips, open up your left arm and twist, right over to the other side, left hand down, right arm up twisting, right arm behind the back, stretch your left arm forward, come on up, Gomukhasana in your arms, side bend over to the right, drop the right arm down, reach over with the left going deeper, squeeze the right side waist, bend the knees and fold yourself forward and then step your right foot back into a lunge, looking forward, here it is either hopping or stepping, go ahead, switch and switch and switch and switch, last two, switch and switch, spin your right heel down, lift up and open, you know it's good to surprise ourselves in our practice sometimes, right, like throw in something a little more dynamic into the fluidity or something a little more fluid into the dynamic, turn the left palm up, lean back, peaceful warrior, extended side angle with your breath out, sometimes the mind can get a little caught up in patterns, it's good to jolt ourselves out here and there, fold the right hand behind the head and press the back of the head back, now sometimes when we try things a little bit differently it sets a new course, that's creativity, reach the right arm long, wide straddle forward bend, right into skandhasana, bend the right knee, bend the left knee, switching and switching with your breath, and then the next time that you bend the right knee, walk to a lunge front of your mat, down dog split, left leg up, bend the knee, open up your hip and flip yourself inside out, rock star, reaching the left arm overhead, let's come back around down dog split, left leg up, bring the knee towards your nose and send the left shin down for a pigeon pose, set yourself up, walk the hands back, pull in and up and then coming forward and you can let the pelvis soften down, a few breaths into the outer left hip, let the head drop, and if the hips are feeling any tension you might give a little extra emphasis to the exhalation, just as a way of letting go, and then let's walk the hands back up and turn to face the side of your mat, left knee is bent, right leg is long, hands come back behind you, breath in on the breath out, switch your legs, and switch your legs, and switch your legs, I don't know what it is about this but it makes me giggle, other side, one more, other side and other side, I think we did an extra there but walk the hands forward and come into a gentle forward bend over your left leg, just let the inner thighs release a little bit, outer hips dropping down, and then walk your hands back up, once again right leg crosses over the left like you're coming into a seated spinal twist, little different this time, step your left foot back into a lunge, downward facing dog with your breath out, roll out right into upward facing dog from here, skip the chaturanga so let the spine ripple out, head can come out last, flipping the feet letting the hips drape forward, push down into your fingers, breath in, lie in, take your child's pose, and then you can come on to hands and knees, cross the left ankle behind the right and have a seat behind your feet, stretching your legs out long, dandasana, from here gather your feet in towards each other, setting up towards bodhikanaasana, take your fingers back behind you and move the hips in a little bit closer towards your heels, and then press your chest forward and see if just isometrically you can let the legs move away from each other and tip the pubic bone back and then try to stay that upright, widen the legs into upavishtakonasana and begin to walk the hands forward and go gentle into this one and then it's been a very flowy practice, let it turn into something a little bit more yin here, a little bit more static, and just allow the edges of the body, the periphery of the body to blur a little bit here, so you might start this shape off with a strong flex of the feet and a rolling back of the thighs, and see how it shifts if you allow the feet to soften, allow the knees to soften and just bow the head, sometimes we try to think of like achieving a pose, and we actually can uncover a lot more if we think about how do I remove what's blocking the shape from happening, do an internal scan, find out what's gripping, and then soft encouragement to let it go, last couple of breaths here, and then walk your hands back up, shake your legs in, and right away we're going to lower down onto our backs, taking your feet a little wider than your hips, let your knees hang in, coming into constructive rest, hands can rest on the very lowest part of your belly, take a few breaths and let the earth hold you, gently resting the hands over the area of the second chakra related to the element of water, our creativity, our sense of abundance. Next couple of breaths here, and then swing the knees a little bit from side to side, real gentle, rolling over onto your right side, you can press into the ground, coming up to sit, take your hands back into Venus Mudra, reach the arms up, and then let them slide down right by your heart, we'll close with three times, Om Shamsukraya Namaha, Om Shamsukraya Namaha, Om Shamsukraya Namaha, Om Shamsukraya Namaha, Om. Thank you for sharing your practice, namaste.