Practice with Ease & Focus

Hi, welcome to our yoga practice. In today's practice, we're going to move towards a couple of peak poses. One is side plank, vashisthasana, and also a few balancing poses, and I guess that would be a surprise. But let's get started. Please come to the top of your mat. We're going to start in tadasana. Bring your hands together in front of your chest and feel free to close your eyes here initially just so that you can turn your attention inside and become aware of your breath. Spread your toes as much as you can and press the tops of your thighs back until you have slightly more weight in your heels. And then lengthen the buttocks to your heels, draw your lower belly in and up, broaden across your collarbones, and just take a couple of deeper breaths, deepening your inhalations and lengthening your exhalations. Relax, practicing with ujjayi breathing. Next time you exhale, lower your arms, allow your eyes to open. And then as you inhale, circle your arms overhead. And as you exhale, hinging from your hips, go ahead and fold, uttanasana. Inhale, open your chest, feel free to bend your knees. Exhale, fold. Inhale, spread your arms out to the side, leading with your chest. Rise all the way up and exhale, hands to your heart. Inhale, circle your arms overhead, pausing at the top of the inhale. You can seal your hands. Exhale, hinging from your hips, fold all the way forward. Inhale, reach your sternum away from your navel, and exhale, bow. Inhale, spread your arms out to the side, rise all the way up, and exhale, hands to your heart. One more. Inhale, circle your arms overhead, and exhale, fold. Inhale, open your chest, shifting the weight slightly to the front of the heels in uttanasana. Exhale, bow. Inhale, press your feet into the floor, rise all the way up, and exhale, hands to your heart. Now go ahead and insulate your fingers and press the palms of your hands towards the wall in front of you, and then reach your arms overhead. The same thing as before, press the tops of your thighs back until you have more weight in your heels. Draw the lower belly in and up as if you had a string from the pubic bone to your navel. Gently draw your belly lower ribs in. Take one more deep fold by then press out through the heels of your hands, and then as you exhale, lower your arms. Intilate your fingers behind your back, lift and open your chest. You can always use a strap between your hands, and then next time you exhale, go ahead and bend your knees and fold all the way forward. Just a couple of breaths here. Relax, release your neck. Bend your knees generously, and then leading with your chest, inhale, rise all the way up, and exhale, bring your hands together in front of your chest in Anjali Mudra. Inhale, circle your arms overhead, and exhale, fold, Uttanasana. Inhale, open your chest, Ardha Uttanasana, and as you exhale, step your right foot back into a high lunge. Let's just be here for a couple of breaths. Be up onto your fingertips, and strongly press your right thigh bone up. Maybe squeeze your hips down just a little bit more. Take one more deep fold by then, and then as you exhale, step into Plank Pose, top of a pushup. We'll be here just for about five breaths. So as you press your heels back, can you reach out through the crown of your head? Firm your belly, front ribs up towards your back body, and just like you did in Tadasana on Mountain Pose, see if you can find that same lift to your lower belly, lengthen the buttocks to your heels. On your next exhalation, come forward with your chest, slowly, lower all the way down.

See if you can land in one piece. Reach your fingertips towards the wall behind you. Imagine you're holding a block between your hands, and then inhale, lift your chest, lift your feet and legs up off the floor, spin the inner thighs up towards the ceiling. Tuck your chin in a little bit. Two more breaths. One more breath. Place your hands by your lower ribs, lower your feet. Keep lengthening the buttocks to your heels. So you can either stay here in low cobra or lift up into a high cobra, or a bridge-facing dog, Udva Mukha Svanasana. And then exhale, Udva Mukha Svanasana, downward-facing dog. Then from your down dog, inhale, raise your right leg behind you, leading with the inseam of that leg, and step your right foot up between your hands. Be up onto your fingertips. Press your left thigh up towards the ceiling. Maybe squeeze your hips down just a little bit more. Take one more deep full breath in, and as you exhale, step your left foot forward, feet hips width. Inhale, Ardha Utanasana. Exhale, bow. Inhale, spread your arms out to the side, and rise up. And exhale, hands to your heart. Now, insulate your fingers the non-habitual way. Press the palms of your hands forward. Inhale, raise your arms overhead. Gently hug your belly, lower ribs in. Press out through the heels of your hands. Take one more deep full breath in, and as you exhale, lower your arms. And then same thing behind your back. Intillate your fingers the non-habitual way. Roll your shoulders back. Lift and open your chest. And as you exhale, once again, bend your knees generously, and fold forward. Just a couple of breaths here, stretching from your shoulders to your wrists. Let your head dangle. And then inhale, rise all the way up, and Tadasana. Inhale, circle your arms overhead. And as you exhale, fold, Utanasana. Inhale, open your chest. And as you exhale, step into Plank Pose. Now, you can either, as you come forward with your chest, lower all the way down, or Chaturanga Dandasana.

And then inhale, Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale, Down Dog. Three full breaths. If your hamstrings are tight, please bend your knees so that instead of rounding your back, you can more easily lengthen your spine. Bottom of your next exhalation, either step or lightly hop your feet up to your hands, or a combination of those two. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, bow. And feel free to have your feet all the way together if that works for your body. Inhale, arms out to the side, and rise up. And exhale, hands to your heart. Inhale, circle your arms overhead. Pausing at the top of the inhale, exhale, fold. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, step back. Slowly lower. You can always set your knees down first. Inhale, Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale, Down Dog. So about three full breaths here. Shift a little bit more weight into your fingers. And especially press through the index finger, thumbs out of each hand as you firm the triceps in. Bottom of your next exhalation, step or lightly hop. Inhale, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, bow. Inhale, rise up. And exhale, hands to your heart. One more. Inhale, circle your arms overhead. And exhale, fold. Inhale, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, step back, lower. Inhale, Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale, Down Dog. So as you shift the weight into your fingers, align your ears with the inner upper arms. Kind of sensing a line of energy from the crown of your head moving up and out through your tailbone. Gently hug your belly and lower ribs in. Bottom of your next exhalation, step or lightly hop. Inhale, open your chest and exhale, fold. Inhale, arms out to the side. Rise up and exhale, hands to your heart. Now we're going to come into tree pose, also called Rishasana. So of course it's a balancing pose. So finding a steady point that you can softly gaze at will help you out. Take a moment and spread your toes as much as you can. Shift the weight into your left foot. Come onto the ball of the right foot. Pin the outer left hip in and from deep within the hip socket, turn your right leg and right foot out. Either stay here or place the foot to the inner ankle, inner shin or maybe take the heel towards the root of the standing leg. You can start with your hands on your hips and press the foot against the inner leg and the inner leg against the foot. Draw the right sitting bone down. Firm your belly and lower ribs in and you can either keep your hands on your hips or hands together in Andralimudra or arms overhead. Now focus on the standing leg. Do the best you can to keep the standing leg in Tarasana. So pressing the top of the left thigh bone back and draw the lower belly in and up. Two more breaths. One more breath and then come back to standing on both feet. So some days that pose is easier than other days. I could feel a little bit wobbly today. You may have felt the same. Come onto the ball of the left foot. Pin the outer right hip in and from deep within the hip socket, turn your left foot and left leg out. And then either stay here or put the foot to the inner ankle, inner shin or maybe you take the heel up towards the root of the standing leg thigh. Hands can stay on your hips as a little easier to balance or you can bring your hands together in Andralimudra or arms overhead. So press the foot against the inner leg and the inner leg against the foot and gently draw the left sitting bone down. I am swaying today. Maybe it's all the trees behind me. They're my buddies. It's contagious, the wind and the swaying.

So just a few more breaths here. Be as steady as you can be and okay with a little bit of swaying and maybe you fall out of the pose. At least you're very close to the ground and bring your hands back to your heart, hands to your hips. Back to standing on both feet. That feels good right now. Okay, step to the top of your mat. Standing in Tarasana. So finding that even steady and comfortable place. And we'd like to hopefully move that into a sense of calm as far as our mind is concerned. So steady even pose, steady even mind. Hands to your heart. Take a deep full breath in and as you exhale, lower your arms. Inhale, circle your arms overhead and exhale, fold Uttanasana. Inhale, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, step back, slowly lower. Perhaps Chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. So an up dog, the knees and thighs and hips are off the floor. Exhale, down dog. Inhale, raise your right leg behind you. Exhale, step the right foot up between your hands. Now place your block by the outer right ankle. Set the back foot flat. Make sure you turn the back foot in slightly and pin the outer right hip in. Inhale, windmill the left arm overhead coming into warrior two. So just like you do in Tarasana, you press the top of the left thigh bone back as you firm the right hip in. So the back leg you can think of it as the Tarasana leg. Simply draw your lower belly in and up. And then turn the palms of your hands to face the ceiling. Inhale, stretch your arms overhead. Use your arms to find more length and then slowly start to straighten your right leg. Keep your right arm up, take the left hand to the left hip and then think up and over as you move into triangle pose. And if you like this is where you can use your block underneath your hand. Roll your left shoulder back and extend your left arm up. Press a bit more strongly through the man of the right big toe as you firm the outer right hip in. Maybe turn your gaze up. It's a Trikonasana triangle pose. Now bring your left hand to your left hip, bend your right knee, step the back foot in a little closer. Reach your right hand forward, maybe take the block with you and come into half moon. Roll your left shoulder back and reach your left arm up. So as far as my balance here, it's easy if I continue looking down. For some of you, you may find it a challenge and you want that challenge to turn your gaze towards the top hand. But see if you can find an even steady place that you are challenged but you can find a little bit of a comfortable position where you're not overwhelmed. So whenever you feel overwhelmed in a pose, maybe step out of the pose, modify it, take another variation of the pose. Can you find even steady breath? Even steady gaze. And then bring your left hand to your left hip, do look down. Now we're going to transition into Parsvakonasana extended side angle pose. Bend your right knee, reach your left foot way, way back. I'm going to take my block with me, place it by the outer right ankle. If you're not using a block at least come up onto your fingertips. Check that the right knee's above your right ankle and then reach your left arm up, externally rotate the left arm and then reach the arm over your cheek. If this is a bit too much, you can take the right form on top of the right thigh and work with this variation. Take one more deep full breath in, squeeze the right knee against the right arm. And then as you exhale, find your way back into the high lunge. Step into Down Dog. You can stay right here or very slowly come forward into Plank Pose, lower, maybe all the way down. Inhale Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale Down Dog. Inhale, raise your left leg behind you. Exhale, step the foot up between your hands. Make sure you took a big enough step so that your knee's above the ankle and then place the block by the outer left ankle, set the back foot flat. Again, do make sure you turn the back foot in a little bit. Pin the outer left hip in and then strongly press through that left heel. Inhale, Warrior II. So as you press the right thigh bone back until you have more weight in that right heel, firm the outer left hip in. We're not trying to square the pelvis. So the frontal pelvic bones are pointing a little bit more to the left.

Take one more deep full breath in here and then slowly reach your arms overhead, straighten your left leg, lift up and out of the pelvis. So use your arms here to find more height. And then as you exhale, right hand to the right hip, think up and over as you move into Triangle Pose. Again, I'm choosing to use the block. I just slide it back a little bit so my hand is underneath the shoulder. So press a bit more strongly through the ball of the left big toe as you turn the left leg out from deep within the hip socket. Now roll the right shoulder back and extend the right arm up and maybe turn your gaze towards the top hand. I like to think of a line of energy from my tailbone up through the crown of my head and from my bottom hand up and out through the top hand. Now we're going to transition into Ardha Chandrasana Half Moon. You're also welcome to stay right here. Right hand to your right hip, bend your left knee, step the back foot in just a little bit closer and then reach your left hand forward at about a foot, more in line with the outer edges of the foot and then transition into Half Moon, Ardha Chandrasana. So again, see what works for you as far as your Drishti, as far as your gaze. If you feel super steady here, maybe turn your gaze up. So reach your right arm up, reach up and up beyond the fingertips. And I'm going to continue looking down. For me that's a bit more stable right now. So about another three, four breaths here. Keep firming the outer left hip in, flexing your right foot, spreading your toes and that line of energy from the bottom hand reaching up and out through the top hand, tailbone to the crown of your head. And then hand goes back to your hip, slow motion, bend your left knee, reach your right foot way, way back. And I place my hand by the outer ankle and I use my block. Some of you maybe just simply come on to your fingertips and reach your right arm up, externally rotate the top arm, reach the arm over your cheek and you can take the variation with the form on top of the thigh that works better for you. So the point is to find stability and steadiness in each pose. Yes, we can be challenged, but not overwhelmed where we can't really focus on our breath and we're just thinking about ending the practice because it's too much.

So you do a variation that works for you. Just take one more deep full breath in. Exhale, come back to the high lunge, step into down dog, stretch it out and then inhale plank pose. Exhale, slowly lower, broaden across your collarbones. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. So three breaths here. So if your hamstrings are tight and your back is rounded, the weight will be in your arms and hands. You get tired. So again, just bend your knees in order to lengthen your spine in order to shift the weight into your legs. And then at the bottom of your next exhalation, step or lightly hop. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, bow. Inhale, arms out to the side. Rise up and exhale, hands to your hearts. Now please step to the side. Half your feet parallel about three and a half, four feet apart. Have all 10 toes pointing straight ahead. And if your hamstrings are tight, you may want a block or two in front of you. So you can place them in front of you if need be. Hands to your hips. Roll your shoulders back. Inhale, lift and open your chest. Tuck your chin in. Maybe look up. And as you exhale, hinging from your hips, you can bend your knees. Place your hands on the floor. Maybe on blocks. I like to come up onto my fingertips.

To lengthen your spine. So kind of connecting with that plumb line from your tailbone out through the crown of your head. Strongly rooting through the four corners of each foot and lifting the arches of your feet. Now you're welcome to stay right here or you can walk your hands back between your feet and draw the crown of your head towards the floor. It's not important for the crown of your head to touch the floor. And indeed, maybe one day it does, your life is not going to change, right? Your head is just touching the floor. So we'll be here just for a few more breaths. Some of you maybe place a block underneath the crown of your head if you like to have that support underneath your head. There's something very calming if the crown of the head can touch some kind of surface. Now when you're ready, inhale, walk your hands forward, lengthen your spine. Exhale, hands to your hips. You can bend your knees a little bit. Firm your belly in. Inhale, rise up. Sometimes I see people bring their feet way too wide apart just so the crown of the head is on the floor. I don't recommend that. It creates a little bit of instability as well. Now insulate your fingers behind your back. Lift and open your chest and you know you can always use a strap between your hands if your pec muscles are tight. Take a deep full breath in. Maybe look up. Exhale, fold once again. You're welcome to bend your knees. And if your head is not touching the floor and sometimes actually like to shorten my stance a little bit so my head can hang freely, that gives your neck a little bit of traction so you may like that. So just another two breaths here. Notice how the weight typically sits in the heel so when we're in this forward fold, have the weight slightly to the front of the heels. And then leading with your chest, inhale, rise up, hands to your hips and then turn to the front of the mat and step your right foot forward. Standing with your feet together or hips width so I actually recommend hips width if you just simply balance better with the feet apart. A lot of people balance better with the feet apart but also if your hamstrings are a bit tight. Take a deep full breath in. Exhale, lower your arms. Inhale, utkatasana, chair pose. Gently draw the lower belly in and up, reduce the arch in the low back, move the lower ribs in. Take one more deep full breath in and then with your knees bent, exhale, you bring your hands down and then as if you're pulling up long socks, start to straighten your legs any amount. Let your head dangle. Inhale, open your chest. Again notice that the weight sits in the heels of your feet, shift the weight slightly to the front of the heels, stack your hips above your ankles. Then exhale, step back, plank. If you've had enough of these vinyasa, simply move into down dog or slowly lower. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Inhale, raise your right leg behind you. Exhale, step the right foot up to your right thumb. Pivot the back heel down. Inhale, warrior one. Exhale, hands come back down. Step into plank pose or skip the vinyasa. Slowly lower. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Inhale, raise your left leg behind you. Exhale, step the left foot forward. Inhale, warrior one. So back foot is down and you turn the back foot in generously. Step into plank pose. Again you can lower all the way down or chaturanga.

Inhale cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. So it's always fine to skip the chaturanga. I think sometimes we do a few too many and just doing them a little bit more sparingly so that we can focus on good alignment. Once we get tired, we tend to compromise the integrity of alignment. On your next exhalation, step or lightly hop. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, up dog. Inhale, utkatasana. Exhale, samastitihi. Tarasana. So sometimes we say samastitihi. And sama means even, stitihi means steady. So it's implying an even steady position balance and even steady mind, even steady breath. So pausing here for a moment. Connecting with your breath, even and steady. Connecting with your gaze, even steady. Feel the balance across the soles of your feet. Even steady. When you're ready, lower your arms. Inhale, utkatasana. Chair pose. Exhale, uttanasana. Forward fold. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, step back. Lower down on that exhalation. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Take your time. Exhale, down dog.

Inhale, raise your right leg behind you. Exhale, step it through. Inhale, warrior one. Exhale, back through the vinyasa or, of course, you're more than welcome to skip the vinyasa. And we meet in down dog. Inhale, raise your left leg behind you. Exhale, step it through. Inhale, warrior one. Exhale, plank pose. Lower down, chaturanga. Inhale, cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. Sometimes coming into child's pose is a really good choice. Pausing, connecting with your breath, I think it's a very mature choice. Couple more breaths, whether you're in down dog or child's pose. Bottom of your next exhalation, lightly hop or step your feet up to your hands. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, bow. Inhale, utkatasana. Exhale, samasthiti. So as we move into the next pose, I'd like for you to step your feet about hips-width apart. You may want blocks on either side of your feet, especially if you've tight hamstrings. Now with your hands on your hips, bend your knees a little bit and step your left foot back. So the reason I have your feet hips-width apart initially is that when you step the foot back, you don't find yourself on a tight rope. Straighten your right leg. So the stance is a little bit shorter than for a pose like triangle pose. It's about three and a half feet. And you turn the back foot in just like you did in warrior one. So the back foot is turned in generously. Now press more strongly through the ball of the front foot. It's a way to prevent you sinking into the back of the knee. Now see if you can drive the left hip forward, pull the right hip back. So there's kind of a scissoring action squaring the pelvis straight ahead. Now as far as the arm position here, you can keep your hands on your hips, but roll your shoulders, elbows back. You can also bring the knuckles together onto your back, but roll your shoulders back. I have a little bit of a shoulder thing, so I'm not going to do reverse namaste, but if that is in your practice, by all means do. But the emphasis is on taking the head of the shoulders back. I'm going to take my hands to my hips today, but roll your shoulders, elbows back. Inhale, lift and open your chest, tuck your chin and maybe look up. And as you exhale, start to come forward, forming a tabletop position. Now if your hamstrings are really tight, you're not alone. Put a slight bend in that knee, continue squaring off the pelvis, firming the sides of the hips in. Find that plumb line again, tailbone out through the crown of your head. Press a bit more firmly through the ball of the right big toe as you draw the right thigh bone back. Now for some of you, very flexible, you fold over your right leg, keep reaching your sternum forward. For some of you, tighter hamstrings, hands may be on blocks and work with your back in more of a neutral position. You can always lower the blocks. I'm going to hold this for about another three, four breaths. So this is Parsvottanasana.

And every pose in yoga has many different variations and you need to try to do the best you can not to fit into a pose, but let the pose fit you. Like a good pair of shoes. Now leading with your chest, inhale, come all the way up and exhale, step your left foot forward, feet hips width, hands to your heart. Side number two, hands to your hips, bend your knees, step your right foot back about three and a half feet. Turn that back foot in generously so you can drive the right hip forward, left hip back. Pick the arm variation that works best for you. Hands to the hips, roll your shoulders, elbows back to open your chest or knuckles or maybe reverse namaste. Take a deep full breath in so you back bending in the upper back and then exhale, start to come forward. So firm the sides of the hips in, press a bit more strongly through the man of the left big toe as you draw that thigh bone back and then lengthen, find that plum line from your tailbone out through the crown of your head. So again, some of you work right here. Some of your hands on blocks. If you're more flexible, you kind of fold over the left leg so the back moves into a little bit of flexion but keep reaching your sternum forward. Two more breaths. Any discomfort in the back of the left knee, you need to bend your left knee. Strongly press through the ball, the front foot, inhale, leading with your chest, lift up and as you exhale, step your right foot forward. You can move the blocks out of the way. Keeping your feet hips width, hands to your hips, roll your shoulders, elbows back, lift and open your chest, maybe look up and then exhale, hinging from your hips, come forward, take your middle finger, index finger, reach around your big toes, inhale, open your chest. So it's fine to bend your knees here so that you can lengthen your spine and then exhale, fold, splay the inner elbows apart and as you draw the crown of your head down, lift your shoulders. Padangustasana, padam means foot, agusa means big toe. One more breath and whenever you hear asana at the end, asana means posture, pose. Inhale, open your chest, exhale, hands to your hips, inhale, rise up. So now we're coming into another balancing pose. It's called uttita hasta padangustasana. It's a long word or a long sentence, right? A long description of a pose. Uttita means extended, hasta hand to big toe pose. If your hamstrings are tight, I think most people need a strap here so feel free to use a strap. So I'm going to grab a strap and show you how to use it in case you need it. We'll start by lifting the right foot in a moment. So bring your hands to your hips, spread your toes as much as you can because it's easier to balance. And then coming up onto the ball of your right foot, the left hip tends to jut out to the side to pin it in. These muscles have to work hard, it's a good thing. And then start to lift your right foot. As you lift your right foot, notice the tendency to push that left thigh forward. So press the top of the thigh bone back until you have more weight in the heel. So when we stand up tall, a little bit more weight in the heel. Maybe this is enough for today. Or you take your strap and you wrap the strap around your right foot and then you hold the strap with the arm to the inside of the knee, lift hands to your left hip, and then you slowly straighten the leg. Any amount, whether your leg is completely straight or not, is not important. Some of you are grabbing your big toe with your middle finger and index finger, just like you were doing in the prior pose, parangusthasana. So keep firming the outer left hip in as you draw the right hip down. Gently firm your belly and lower ribs in. It's helpful again to find a steady point that you can softly gaze at. One more breath. Now very slowly take the leg out to the side. If you feel wobbly, I'm with you. So this is a bit like tree pose, but the leg is straight. And then bring the leg back to center and take the strap off the foot. Come back to standing on both feet. Whew, back to feeling a bit more steady today. And let's do side number two. So go ahead and come onto the ball of the left foot. Pin the outer right hip in. Maybe this is enough right here, or you lift the left foot. Press the top of the right thigh bone back until you have more weight in that heel. Maybe this is enough. Or you wrap the strap around the foot, or with the middle finger index finger, you grab your big toe and you straighten the leg out in front of you, any amount. Keep firming the outer right hip in, drawing the left sitting bone down, and finding a steady point that you can softly gaze at. And then slowly bring the leg out to the side. A lot of people, this is not their favorite pose. I'm sweating. I'm going to blame it on the trees behind me. No, I feel a little bit less steady, but that's okay. And then bring the leg back to center. I think we're all kind of aiming for balance, but we're somewhere, you know, to the right or to the left, and then slowly lower the foot. Standing on both feet. It feels good. Okay. Come back to the top of your mat. Bring your hands to your heart. Take a deep, full breath in. And as you exhale, lower your arms. Inhale, circle your arms overhead. Exhale, fold. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, step into plank pose. Slowly lower all the way down and just look sure as Lee slowly transition into the backbend it works best for you. Exhale when you're ready. Down dog. Now we're going to transition into a pose I find that's rather difficult. So I'm going to give you guys options. Okay.

So coming into plank pose, if you have wrist issues, it is better that you do this on your form. So coming into plank pose on your forms and you'll transition onto your right form in a moment. If you're on your hands, strongly press through the inner palm from the right tricep in and then come over on the side edges of the right foot and then reach your left arm up. Externally rotate the right upper arm. Kind of grip the floor with your fingertips. Maybe this is enough or you can do the kickstand where you bring the left foot in front. Lift your hips. You can also do tree pose here. Place the left foot to the right inner thigh and that may be interesting. You can also do the more classical position where you grab the big toe and any amount straight in the leg. Definitely easy to look down. But feel free to try to look up and then come back to plank. It helps to smile. Okay. Go ahead and come over onto the side edges of the left foot. You're onto the left hand. Press through the inner palm. Firm the left tricep in and again you're welcome to stay right here or do the kickstand but lift your hips. You can also play with, play is a good word here. Play with tree pose or grab the big toe with the middle finger and index finger. So you're doing this for yourself, not for anyone else. So it has to feel good. Okay. And then come back to plank. And then lower all the way down. Intillate your fingers. The non habitual way behind your back. Inhale, lift up. Lift your chest. So just a couple of breaths here. You can sway a little bit from side to side. Lift one shoulder a little higher as you lean to the left. As you lean to the right, lift your left shoulder a little higher. And then find your way back into cobra or up dog. Exhale, down dog. And then walk your hands back to your feet. Slide your hands underneath the soles of your feet. Massage your wrists with your toes. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, fold. Pada Hastasana. Two more breaths. And then inhale, open your chest. Last down dog. Walk your hands forward. Downward-facing dog. And then from downward-facing dog, come onto your knees and come into child's pose. And you can just fold your hands underneath your forehead. We'll just be here for a couple of breaths. And then go ahead and sit up. We're going to come onto our back. Have a couple of blocks nearby. Coming into bridge pose. So have your feet about hips width, ankles below your knees, feet parallel. And do robot arms and press your elbows into the floor and lift your chest, wiggle the shoulders under. Lengthen your tailbone forward and up and lift your hips. Come up into bridge pose. You can interlace your fingers or grab hold of the sidelines of the mat if that's better for you. Press the arm bones into the floor and lift your chest. Press a bit more strongly through the inner edges of the feet.

Keeping your thighs parallel. Lengthening your tailbone forward and up. Now come up onto the ball of each foot. Lift your hips up a little bit higher. And then grab your blocks. If you just have one that works fine, and you can either stack one on top of the other or side by side, see what feels best for your back. So underneath the back of your pelvis, your sacrum, and then bring your heels down. So I'm going to give you options. Whichever option I give you, just keep pressing your arm bones and shoulders into the floor to keep a nice lift in your chest. Continue lengthening your tailbone forward and up. So you can stay in supported bridge pose. You could also choose to straighten your legs. Now when I do that, I actually like to lower my blocks to a medium height. You may want to lower the blocks too, maybe to the lowest height. And then one leg at a time, stretch your legs out, flex your ankles. And now the legs are straight. Half of your feet hips width, spin the inner thighs down towards the floor and continue lengthening the buttocks towards the heels. Continue flexing your ankles, spreading your toes, and keeping a nice lift in your chest. And if you started with the lowest height after a while, you may realize, oh, I can maybe deepen my hip flexor stretch and bend my knees again and elevate the height of the blocks. But there should be no pain and it should be comfortable and nice opening to the front of the pelvis. So just a few more breaths here. And one foot at a time, bend your knees again, one leg at a time, bend your knees, and then lift your hips, move the blocks out of the way. Now you could lower down right away, but I actually like to stay up. Oops, my blocks are moving. I like to come up onto the balls of my feet for a moment, lift my hips. And then I stretch my arms behind my head, palms of my hands facing the ceiling, and then just very slowly lower down one vertebra at a time. And then whenever you're back down, you may just want to rest here with your hands and your belly. So there is no rush. You may want to hug your knees into your chest right away. I like to cross my ankles and then I make circles up on the ceiling with my knees to massage the area around my sacrum. And then I go in the opposite direction and take a happy baby pose. Can rock a little bit from side-to-side. And then thread the needle, bring the outer right ankle on top of your left thigh. And you can hold around the left shin, but if your shoulders come off the floor, hold around the back of the left thigh, flex your right foot, press the back of your pelvis into the floor as you bring your left knee in closer. Perhaps choose to close your eyes and see if you can tune into where you feel sensations. And with each exhalation, can you soften into the stretch? Relax your facial muscles and relax your throat. And then please set your left foot down. You may want to straighten the right leg up in the air for a moment.

Bring the right foot down and then thread the needle on the second side or some teachers call this figure four. So bring the outer left ankle on top of the right thigh. Either hold around the back of the right thigh, around the right shin. And press the back of your pelvis into the floor as you bring the right knee to your chest. I never get tired of this pose. I think I do it almost every single day. So with each exhalation, can you soften into the stretch? Relax your shoulders, relax your face. Couple more breaths. And then release, reach your legs up in the air for a moment. And then bring your feet down. So for Shavasana, I like to suggest that you take a blanket or several pillows and place them on top of your thighs as a way of kind of releasing the lower back a little bit by making your thigh bones a bit heavier. Days where I feel a little restless or maybe a little anxious pillows or blanket across the abdomen can be so helpful. You can do both. Sometimes get four or five pillows, stack them on top of my thighs and my pelvis. So see what feels good for your body, for your mind. Bring the arms a bit away from your torso and turn the palms of your hands to face the ceiling. And allow your eyes to softly close. Allow your eyelids to release down towards your cheekbones. Separate the upper and lower teeth. Sense the air flowing in and out through your nose. Sense the rising and falling of your belly. Feel your whole body releasing and melting into the floor. Your arms a little heavier. Your legs a little heavier. Your whole body a bit heavier. And just notice your body breathing and realizing that you are ultimately not the one who is breathing. You are the one who is simply observing and witnessing your body breathing. Like you're witnessing sensations, sounds, thoughts. And as you're resting your mind's eye in the center of your chest, choose to go more deeply inside. Cultivating that more intimate, deeper relationship with your innermost self, with a place of stillness and calm balance. Just a few more breaths here. Watching your body breathing. Maybe getting so quiet that you can sense your heart beat. And then gradually start to deepen your breathing. Start to wiggle your fingers and your toes and maybe choose as if you're waking up in the morning. Stretch your arms behind you. Maybe interlace your thumbs. Stretching the right leg a bit longer and then the left leg a little bit longer. The right arm a little bit longer. The left arm a little bit longer. Almost like you're giving your body a nice deep yawn, a deep stretch. And then eventually bend your knees and just move the blanket to the side or your five pillows. And then slowly, if you're ready, roll over onto one side to find your way to comfortable seats. I hope you enjoyed today's practice and also had some fun. Found a sense of steadiness and sense of being comfortable, balance. Namaste. Have a beautiful day. Hope to see you soon.