Day 2: Play Time!

Welcome to day two. We're going to have a little fun today. Let's start in a really comfortable seat for a moment or two of some Kapalabhati breaths. If this is new to you, hands at rest, thumb and first finger draw to touch. We'll want to close the eyes and draw the gaze internally up towards the third eye and then really emphasize the exhale and let the inhale happen organically. All right, here we go. Exhale all the breath out. Sip a little air in and begin. Exhale all the breath out. Big inhale through the nose, slight pause. Open the mouth, exhale, let it all out. One more round. Sip a little air in and begin. Exhale empty. Big inhale through the nose, fill it all the way up. Hold the breath in and open the mouth. Exhale. Clear it all out. Just a moment of stillness. Notice how you feel. Hands to prayer, heart center, inhale together. Dropping right back into your intention for this practice or for the entire journey. And then as you're ready, let the eyes open and let's come on up to the hands and the knees facing the front of your mat. All right, with the next inhale, lift the tailbone, lift the heart and the gaze. And then with your exhale, round the back belly to spine. We're going to stay with this Kapalabhati, start to play with it a little bit. So spiral the spine by circling the head, the neck, the hips, maybe circle through the whole torso. Just kind of wiggle, spiral, circle, play with it. There's a sense of fluidity and aliveness in the spine. A couple more breaths. Let yourself land and drop in and connect to your center and connect to this sense of creativity and play. All right, neutral spine, back to hands and knees. And then take a big inhale, tuck the toes and exhale, lift up and back into downward facing dog. Just a few breaths here, pedal the feet, take whatever you need. And then slowly on the inhale, walk the feet forward to the front of the mat. Take an easy fold, feet hips distance, head heavy, relax the neck, hands fall or hold elbows. Three breaths. And then if you have the bind, let it go. Keep head heavy, slow roll on the inhale all the way to stand. And as you arrive, exhale, really shoulders roll down the back. Let's meet in samastitihi. Take a big inhale and let it go on the exhale. Clear it out. Surinamaskar A, inhale, reach arms out and up. Exhale, bow out and down. With the inhale, lengthen halfway, then root the hands, hop or step into your plank pose. And with your exhale, lower the knees to the earth, come all the way down. Slide hands out, 10 fingertips. Inhale, just a gentle roll up into cobra. And exhale, melt it back to the earth. Hands outside of ribcage.

Inhale, press to hands and knees. Tuck the toes. Exhale, downward facing dog. Deep breath for three. Two. Bottom of your exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step front of the mat. Inhaling halfway, exhaling to fold. From center, inhale all the way up. Exhale, hands home to the heart. And again, inhale, we rise. Exhale, bow out and down. Inhaling halfway. Exhale, hop or step it back and lower all the way to the earth, knees or chaturanga style this time. Slide the hands out. Inhale, rise into cobra, just as high as you feel for. Exhale, melt back to the earth. Hands outside of ribcage. Inhale, hands and knees. Tuck toes and exhale, down dog. Three breaths. Let these opening sun salutes drop you into the body. Soften fluctuation of thought. Connect you to center. Bottom of exhale, soft bend in knees, hop or step front of your mat. Inhale, lengthen halfway. Exhale, return to the fold. From center, inhale all the way up. And exhale, hands to heart center. Once again, inhale, we rise. Exhale, bow out and down. Inhale, halfway. And then root the hands, hop or step back. Exhale, lower knees or chaturanga halfway, all the way. Inhale, cobra or up dog. And exhale, we meet downward facing dog. Take a few breaths. In a moment, we start to play, bringing the flow full circle, facing all directions of the mat. Invite yourself to just kind of surrender, give over to it, play with it. Let thinking mind soften. With your next inhale, right leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale, reach. With your exhale, take right knee outside, right elbow. And then inhale, go back to the sky. Then with the exhale, float right foot forward, spin back, heel down to the earth. Left arm opens you, inhaling warrior two. And exhale, ground in it. Steady gaze, steady breath for three and two. Good. Let's dance a little. With the inhale, lengthen that right leg, reach the arms up. With the exhale, bend the knee, reach arms wide. A couple more. Inhale, rise. Exhale, open. Inhale, rise. Exhale, open. Then with the inhale, rise. And with your exhale, spin the feet to parallel and release all the way out and down for Prasarita Padottanasana A. With your inhale, just lengthen it halfway, reach through heart. And then exhale, deepen. Maybe fingertips line up with the toes, maybe not. Really doesn't matter. Give up the weight of the head. Breathe into the whole back body. Three, two. Inhaling just halfway. And then with your exhale, turn the toes out, heels in, and let's start to bend that left knee, easing into Skandhasana. Go just as far as feels good for the knee joint. Maybe right toes, flex up. Take a couple breaths here. Breathe into right hamstring muscles, inner thigh muscles, opening. Good. With the next inhale, back to center, and then exhale slowly to the right. Be kind to that right knee, and just go as far as serve.

Spine as tall, lifting through center, another breath or two. Then we inhale, come back to center, neutral, parallel through the feet, grounding here. With the next inhale, rise halfway up, lift belly to spine, exhale, strong center, hands to hips. Inhale, come all the way up, exhale, ground. And here we go to the back of the mat. Inhale, open into warrior two to the left, ground, stabilize, steady the gaze. Good. Then with the inhale, lengthen left leg, and with the exhale, reach out and down. Trikonasana. Any placement of the left hand, right arm rising to the sky, reach through those fingertips, roll the torso open, and feel the expanse through the entire body. Yeah, about five more breaths. One more breath here. Ground the feet, lift from the center, inhale, return to warrior two, back of mat, exhale, stabilize. Then take a big inhale here, and with your exhale, hands down either side of the left foot, step back into plank pose, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, cobra, up dog. And exhale, take it back, downward facing dog, facing the back of the mat. Yeah, take a breath or two here, come back to your center and your intention. Right, bring in the whole thing, full circle leading with the right leg again. Inhale, reach right leg to sky, exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale to rise and exhale, right knee outside, right elbow. Inhale, take it back up, exhale, float right foot forward, spin the back heel down, left arm opens you, inhaling warrior two, exhale, ground in it. We're dancing again. Inhale, lengthen right leg, reach the arms up, exhale, open warrior two, two more. Inhale, rise, exhale, deepen. Inhale, rise, exhale to deepen. Yeah, inhale, rise.

Then again, exhale, spin feet to parallel, fold forward, prasarita padasana, A, grounding here for a moment. And then we'll play with skandhasana, toes out, heels in, start to bend that left knee, deep and as far as serves. Inhale, back to center, exhale to the right. And this time, it's totally up to you. If one side is tighter, stay with it. Otherwise, just follow the breath side to side. Feel into your own edges. Let the repetition deepen the opening. Take your time with it. As you're ready, just come back to center, feet parallel, hands to the earth, basically under the shoulders. Inhaling halfway, strong through center. Exhale, hands to hips. Inhale, we rise all the way up. Exhale, just ground. And then inhale, open to warrior two, to the front of the mat. Here we are again, ground in it. Then inhale, lengthen left leg and exhale, return to triangle. Find the classic shape first, and then feel free to move into any variations. Maybe you want the half bind, release the head, stretch the neck. Maybe both arms extend, working strength of center. Maybe you even rise into half moon. Just a few more breaths, take it anywhere the body wants to go. Three, two, unravel from whatever variation you've chosen. And then as you're ready, inhale, return to your warrior two. Exhale to settle. Take a big inhale and exhale, hands to the earth, step back into plank, lower knees or chaturanga dandasana. Inhale into cobra, up dog. And exhale, take it back downward, facing dog. Nice work. Maybe you're facing the front of the mat. If not, it's all good.

Just keep playing with it. Give over to it. Another breath. And then we're going to make a full circle leading with the left leg. As you're ready, inhale, left leg rising. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale, go back up. Exhale, knee outside, left elbow. Inhale to rise again. Exhale, float left foot forward, spin the back heel down to the earth. Right arm opens you, inhaling warrior two, ground in it. Feel the strength of your foundation. Steady the gaze and the breath. Steady the body and the mind. And then we flow into the dance. Inhale, lengthen left leg, reach arms up. Exhale, open it. Inhale to rise. Exhale to deepen. Inhale, rise. Exhale, deepen. Then inhale, rise. Exhale, spin the feet to parallel. And this time, interlace the hands behind the back for prasarita c. Drop the tailbone, lift the belly. Inhale, lift the heart. And exhale into the fold. Take the arms up and over. Relax the neck, the jaw, the eyes, the brow. For three, with that heat you're generating into your shoulders. Two, stay in the fold. With your exhale, release the hands to the earth. With the inhale, lengthen. And then exhale, energetically, hips go back, arms go out for that hammock variation. Heart dissolving to the earth. Yeah, head and neck soft. Just a couple breaths. Let the whole body release here. And then we draw the hands back under the shoulders. Just ground for a moment. Inhale, halfway up. Strong through center, belly to spine. Exhale, hands to hips. Press the feet into the earth. Inhale, rise all the way up. Exhale, ground. Find the back of the mat. Inhale, open to warrior two. Right knees bent, arms are wide. Gaze is steady. Good. Stabilize, ground and root. Then inhale, lengthen that right leg. Exhale, reach out and down. Trikonasana, triangle pose. Any placement of the right hand, reach through the left arm. The classic shape for now. Rolling torso open. And feel that expanse. Breathe out into all expressions of the pose. Three. Two. Breathe out beyond the physical body. One more breath. Ground through feet, lift through center. Inhale, rise, warrior two. Exhale, steady. Take a big inhale here. And then with the exhale, hands come down either side of the right foot to the back of the mat. Step into plank, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Good. Give yourself a moment here. Reconnect. Facing the back of the mat, home to center and intention, over and over and over again. And then we come full circle. Inhale, left leg up. Exhale, open the hip. Inhale, rise. Exhale, left knee outside, left elbow. Inhale, back up. Exhale, step left foot forward. Spin the back heel down. Right arm opens you. Inhale, warrior two to the back of the mat, ground here. And let's dance. Inhale, arms up, lengthen the leg. Exhale, deepen warrior two. Good. Inhale, up. Exhale, open. Inhale. Exhale. Then inhale, rise. With the exhale, spin the feet to parallel again and fold out and down, returning to that foundation of prasarita. This time, it's totally up to you. Any variations. You can repeat anything we've done. You can root one hand, lift the other arm, finding a twist. Let's give it about five to six breaths. I'll let the wisdom of the body guide you here. Playing with it, exploring within it. Another breath or two. Just gradually finding neutral as you're ready. And then we inhale, come halfway up. Exhale, just to ground. Belly to spine, hands to hips. Then inhale, rise all the way up. Exhale, root down through the feet. Good. Inhale to the front of the mat, warrior two, arms wide, heart open. Inhale, lengthen the right leg again. Exhale, returning to triangle pose. Again, find the classic shape first and then move it into any variations. Again, maybe the half bind, release the head to stretch the neck. Maybe both arms extend, work strength of center. Maybe half moon, totally up to you. A few more breaths, exploring, playing within it. Unravel as you're ready. Let's return to warrior two. Ground in it, steady gaze, steady breath. Take a big inhale. And with the exhale, hands to the earth, step back into your plank pose, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, let the heart rise.

And exhale, downward facing dog, Adho Mukha, Svanasana. Yeah, really strong work, beautiful play around the mat. Maybe we're facing forward, maybe we're not. Let yourself be wherever you are. Take a really big inhale through the nose. Open the mouth, exhale, clear it all out. And then just release, knees to the earth, hips to the heels, child's paws. And as you land in child's pose, let the whole body sink into the earth. Move some breath into low back. Let everything soften and settle for a moment. A few more breaths here.

And as always, remain in child's as long as you'd like. As you're ready, inhale, lift the hands and knees, tuck toes and exhale back into down dog. Just a breath here to transition. And then gently hop or step through to sit and let's lie down onto the back. As you land, draw knees into chest, wrap arms around legs and rock yourself a little. And just one gentle bridge today, ground the feet, rest the arms alongside the body, root down through all four corners of the feet, then kind of scoop the tailbone and lift the hips, rising, rising, rising. The arms can remain as is, or you can interlace the fingers and crawl shoulders in and under. Feel the opening through the whole front body. And let's breathe here for five, four, three, two. If the hands are clasped, gently release them, melt from the top to the bottom of the spine, back down to the earth. Let the whole body ground for a breath. Then again, let's draw knees into chest, rock a little side to side. And then you're going to keep the right knee hugging in, just extend the left leg out, coming into a half happy baby. Take hold of the outer edge of the foot or the ankle. Left hand can rest on the left hip or arm alongside the body. You can rock a little. You can play with extending the leg a little. We're going to take this into a twist. So just draw right knee into chest and let that knee fall across the body to the left, reaching right arm to the right, bringing it all out, clearing anything that may have been stirred up, loosened up, liberated through the flow of the practice and using these final twists to wring it out. One more breath. And then draw this back to center. Keep your right knee hugging in, add the left knee, and then keep left knee in and extend the right leg. Half happy baby holding outer edge of the foot or ankle, right hand to right hip or to the earth. Yeah. Neutral or maybe extend the leg. Let's play with it. Whatever feels good to you.

And then we move it into the twist. Draw knee to center and then let it fall across the body to the right, reaching left arm out to the left and follow left fingertips with a soft gaze. A few breaths to clear, to cleanse, to wring it out. And then gently inhale, come on back to center. Keep left knee in, draw right knee in as well. Give yourself one last wrap and hug. Big inhale. And exhale, let it all go. Extend the legs. Let them just naturally roll open from the hips. Arms rest alongside the body.

And we sink into the receptive earth. Relaxing the body, the softening mind and heart, letting the subtle body, the nervous system settle, rest, absorbing the benefits of your practice. And if you feel for remaining here, please do so. As you're ready, bring a little movement into hands and feet. Inhale, reach the arms up. Exhale, bend the knees. You can rock to either side or rock directly up. Find a comfortable seat. Rest the hands, soften the gaze or close the eyes.

Just a moment of stillness to transition. And then draw hands to prayer at heart center and take a soft bow forward. Namaste. Thank you so much for playing with me. We're off to a very strong start. I look forward to seeing you on day three. Namaste.