Aligned and Neutral Flow

Thank you for joining me for this aligned and neutral flow. So in this practice, we will look at neutralizing the spine. It's an energizing and strengthening flow practice with the invitation to tune into your internal alignment and really feel from the inside out. So let's begin on our backs. We'll roll back as you're ready and then take your feet as wide as your yoga mat. Let your knees knock into touch and we'll start in constructive rest and I should say before we begin, if you have a strap, please grab a strap. If not, no worries. I can cue without that as well. So we will start here. Take a moment to settle in. Maybe close your eyes and let your hands rest on the belly and then start to feel your breath beneath your hands. So allowing a big full breath in through your nose and then as you exhale, maybe open up your mouth inside out, let it go. Relaxing into the support beneath you. One more big full breath in like that through the nose, filling up. Good. And then exhale, release, let go. Let go. Good. And just take a moment if there's an intention that you'd like to set for your practice today, maybe calling that in. Anything you'd like to cultivate or let go of as you shift your awareness to the internal space. Beautiful. And just staying connected with your breath, with this internal space as we begin to move into our practice. So grab your strap if you have it and we'll bring the strap to the sole of the right foot so you can unravel your strap. Bring it to the sole of your right foot and then strap into either hand. You can keep the left foot on the earth or maybe straighten that left leg out if that feels better for you. And then just start to breathe into the back of your right leg. So let your shoulders soften. You can keep as much of a bend in that right knee as needed. So we're just feeling into the sensation in the right hamstring, finding your edge and just softening into your edge, allowing a few full deep breaths here. And as much as you can, let your shoulders relax.

And if it would feel good to close your eyes, maybe shift that gaze again to the internal space. Breathing in and breathing out. Beautiful. Now take the strap into your right hand and reach your left arm out to the left. You can bring the palm to face down and then start to angle your toes toward the left a little bit and just draw your right leg across the midline just a couple inches. So it shouldn't take much to start to feel into the outer leg line on the right side, feeling into your IT band. Good. And let that right shoulder soften a couple of breaths here. Just feeling that sensation. It feels a little intense for me. Breathing to create a little space, a little ease. Beautiful. And then go ahead and release that. Take a moment to release your straps, straighten out both of your legs and then just notice your right side versus your left side. So maybe the right side feels a couple inches longer. Just observing. Good. And then bend both knees and we'll just take that to the other side. So bring the strap to the sole of your left foot. Take the strap into either hand. Let your shoulders soften. Maybe straighten your right leg out on your mat, keeping that leg engaged if you do that. And just start to breathe into the back of your left leg. And again, feel free to bend and straighten a few times or keep as much of a bend in that left knee as needed. And can you be at a place where the shoulders are relaxed, softening your gaze. Again, just feeling into the sensations. Beautiful. And then take your strap into your right hand this time. We'll reach the left arm out to the left. Start to angle your toes to the right and then draw that left leg across the body. Just a couple inches. Feel into the outer leg line on the left side. Noticing the IT band. Beautiful. And then slowly come back through center. Go ahead and release your strap. You can take it out to the side of your mat and then straighten both legs for a moment. Maybe bring your palms to face up and just notice the right side versus the left. Hopefully you feel a little more even now. Good. And then gather your knees into your chest. Hug your forearms around your shins and just start to rock a little side to side. Massage through the lower back. Beautiful. And then take your hands to the back of your knees and start to rock up and down along the length of your spine. You might do that a few times as you build momentum to come up to all fours. And we'll meet in tabletop position. So as you come to your tabletop, let your shoulders come over the wrist. Let your hips come over your knees. And then we'll start to move into cat cow. So as you inhale, drop the belly, lift the heart and the gaze, arching through the spine. Good. As you exhale, to spine, press the floor away, tucking your chin and just feel that opening in the back body. Good. And then the inhale brings you forward, starting to link our breath to the movement. And the exhale brings us back. Press the floor away, tuck your chin and round. Beautiful. One more time. As you inhale, come forward, arching through the spine. As you exhale, press the floor away and round, tucking the chin. Nice. And then find a neutral spine. So find that place between cat and cow. Start to bring the knees together at the back of the mat and then let your hips sink back towards your heels, coming into child's pose. Good. So reaching the arms forward actively, start to send the breath into the low back, the back ribs. Feel that grounded energy as you feel the earth beneath you. And just take a moment to notice. Notice how you feel. Nice. And then on your next breath in, we'll round back to all fours, tuck your toes and then just hover your knees up off the earth a couple inches. So pressing firmly into your hands, into the inner and the outer hand, hovering up off the earth, allowing a big full breath in here. And then as you exhale, start to lift your hips all the way up and back, coming into your first down dog. And then as you come into downward facing dog, you can start to pedal it out. Again, feeling into the back of your legs, bending one knee and straightening the other leg, noticing the hamstrings again. And then as we neutralize the spine, allow the spine to be nice and long. So let your sitting bones reach up toward the ceiling, toward the sky. And that might mean putting a soft bend in your knees as you do that, pressing your torso back to the top of your thighs. Nice. And then from here, let's reach the right leg up and back. Try to keep your hips level. So flex through the right foot, pressing it toward the wall behind you. Press into your hands. Allow a big full breath in here. And then as you exhale, draw the knee to the nose and hover top of a pushup. So pressing the floor away and rounding through the spine. Beautiful. And then inhale, three leg dog. Try to keep the hips level as you reach your right leg back. And then exhale, knee to nose. Beautiful. One more like that.

Inhale, reach your right leg all the way back. Press through your right heel. Draw the right knee towards your nose, gaze between your hands, and then we'll take a big step through between the hands. Beautiful. Come onto your fingertips and let your left knee come down to the earth. You might take a couple blocks under your hands here. Otherwise, keeping the fingertips on the earth, start to lift up through the heart and the gaze. Big breath in. And then as you exhale, shift your weight back coming into another hamster and stretch, Arda Hanumanasana. And again, we're just feeling into our edge, feeling into the sensations and softening into that space. Beautiful. Now welcome to stay here or maybe move in and out of these two shapes as we start to open up. So as you inhale, re-bend through your right knee, lift the heart and the gaze. And as you exhale, shift your weight back, Arda Hanumanasana. Beautiful. One more like that. Inhale brings us forward. And the exhale brings us back. Half split, hamstring stretch. Nice. And then re-bend through your right knee. Plant your palms. Step back. We'll meet in downward facing dog. Beautiful. Come forward to plank pose for a moment. Top of a push-up. We'll pause there. Let your shoulders come over your wrists, hips in line with your shoulder blades. So find that neutral spine nice and long as you reach through the crown of the head and back through your heels, allowing a big full breath in here. Good. And then exhale, lifting your hips all the way up and back, downward facing dog. Good. And then we'll move it to the other side. So inhale, left leg sweeps up and back. Try to keep the hips level as you press through your left heel, activating. Big full breath in here. And then as you exhale, knee to nose, press the floor away and round. Good. Two more like that. Inhale, sweep your left leg up and back. Exhale, draw it in, knee to nose. Go one more. Inhale, sweep it up and back. Exhale, knee to nose, gaze between your hands and then take that big step through. Come on to the fingertips. Let your right knee lower down. You can untuck your toes, maybe hands on blocks to bring the floor up a little bit. Otherwise, fingertips stay grounded. And then lift up through the heart space, through the gaze, big breath in. As you exhale, shift your way back, Arda Hanamanasana. Lift the toes up off the earth. Breathe into the back of your left leg. Good. And then you're welcome to stay here and hold this stretch. Otherwise, we'll move in and out with the breath a few times. So let your inhale bring you forward, baby bend, heart lifts. Good. Exhale, shift back, half split. Go one more. Inhale, brings you forward. Exhale, shift back, Arda Hanamanasana. Good. Noticing this side might feel a little or a lot different than the first side. And then we'll press our palms to the earth as we step back, the downward facing dog. Let your left foot meet the right. One more time, come forward to plank pose and we'll pause there. So strengthening through the entire body. Spine is nice and long. Find those opposing energies as you reach forward and back. Good. Big full breath in. Exhale, lift your hips up and back, coming into downward facing dog. From here, start to walk your feet to the front of your mat. Feet to hands will come into just an easy forward fold. Soften your knees any amount. Let your torso drape down. Maybe hold opposite elbows. Gently tucking the chin in toward the chest. Letting a little weight shift toward the balls of your feet. Good. And then maybe take the opposite arm on top for a couple breaths. Tuning into that internal alignment. Feeling into the internal space. Beautiful. And then let your hands come down toward the earth. Soften your knees.

Slowly roll up. One vertebra at a time. Good. Taking a moment to come to stand. We'll bring the palms to face forward. Mountain pose, tadasana. Maybe close your eyes for a moment. Feel the earth beneath you and then let your spine lengthen and neutralize as you let your shoulders soften down your back. Nice. And then draw your hands to your heart space. Take a big full breath in. As you lengthen, reach your arms all the way up. Maybe gaze up. Good. Exhale. Forward fold. Soften your knees. Keep the length in the spine as you fold into uttanasana. Good. As you inhale, lift halfway. Either keeping fingertips on the earth or maybe walk them up onto your shins. Good. Plant your palms. Step back. Plank pose. Pausing there in your plank. And then lift your hips up and back into downward facing dog. Beautiful. From here, reach your right leg up and back. Keep the hips level as you flex through that right foot. Draw the knee in toward your nose. And then take a big step through between your hands. Come onto your fingertips. Keep the back knee lifted. And then we'll set up for hovering crescent pose. So maybe step your left foot to the left a little bit to widen your stance. And then reach your arms back as you let your torso lift up off of that right thigh. So gently draw the navel in toward the spine.

Draw the shoulders back. Reach through the crown of your head. Beautiful. Big breath in here. As you exhale, let your hands come back down to the earth. Step back. Plank pose. This time we'll shift the weight forward and hug the elbows in as we lower all the way down to the belly. Good. Cobra pose. Untuck your toes. Peel the chest up. Bhujangasana. Good. And then as you exhale, press back to down dog, either coming through hands and knees or plank. Tuck the toes. Lift your hips all the way up and back. Beautiful. Second side. Inhale, left leg lifts. Exhale, step through between your hands. Stay on the ball of your back foot. Come onto your fingertips. Maybe widen your stance a little bit. And then once you have that solid foundation, reach your arms back and hover up off that front leg. So you're coming toward 90 degrees in your front thigh. Draw the shoulders back. Reach through the crown of your head. Good. Big, full breath in. As you exhale, let your hands find the earth. Plank pose. Shift your weight forward. Come all the way down to the belly. Hug the elbows in. Cobra pose. Untuck the toes. Peel the chest up. Good. Exhale back. Downward facing dog. Good. Let's take a big, full breath in here. And then let something go on your exhale. Maybe side out. Nice. And so we're just going to start to add onto this a bit. Reach your right leg up and back. Keep the hips level. And then step through. So same beginning. Stay on the ball of your back foot. Hover and crescent pose. Reach your arms back. Lift the torso up off the front thigh. And then from here, playing with balance a little bit, keep reaching the arms back actively. We'll come into warrior three.

So start to step up onto that right foot. Reach your left leg up. Flex through that left foot. And again, can you keep the spine neutral in your hips level? Good. Gently step back. Crescent pose. We'll sweep the arms all the way up. Big breath in. And then exhale. Hands to the earth. Step back. Plank pose. Maybe halfway down this time. Chaturanga or all the way down. If you feel ready for up dog, we'll straighten out the arms. Farthen the thighs up off the earth. Inhale. Exhale. Meeting back. And downward facing dog. Beautiful. Inhale left leg sweeps up. Exhale. Step through. Set up for hovering crescent to start. Maybe widen your stance a little. Reach your arms back. Beautiful. And then leading with the crown of your head, we'll find that stability playing with balance as we lift up onto the left leg. Reach your right leg back actively. Warrior three. You can always take a couple blocks under your hands to help with balance. Good. And then gently soften your left knee. As slowly as you can, step back. Crescent pose. Arms sweep up. Big breath in. And then exhale. Hands to the earth. Step back. Plank pose. Move through your vinyasa. Chaturanga. Inhale cobra or up dog. Exhale. Meeting back. And down dog. Crack, crack, crack. Maybe your joints are cracking too. Take one more round with this. We'll add on just a bit. Coming back to the right side. Inhale right leg lifts. Exhale. Step through. Same beginning. Find your foundation. Reach your arms back. Hovering crescent. Gently press it into warrior three.

Reach your left leg back. Flex your left foot like you're stepping on the wall behind you. And then start to draw your left knee into your chest. Stand up nice and tall on that right leg. Let your shoulders soften. Gently engage your core. Now you can stay right here. Or like we did on our back, we'll take a bit of a hamstring stretch. Bring your right hand to your hip. Maybe bring your peace fingers, your first two fingers and your thumbs on your left hand to your left big toe. And then any amount, start to straighten your left leg out in front of you. Good. Maybe reach your right arm up to help with balance. Beautiful. And then rebend through your left knee. Now step your left foot behind your right foot so your feet are crossed. Take a big full breath in here. Lengthen through the spine. And then soften through your right knee as you dive forward. Coming into a forward fold.

Look your chin so you'll probably feel that outer leg line on the left side. Again, the IT band. Nice. And then from here, step your left foot back for pyramid pose. So you want the feet to be about hips distance apart. Draw the right hip back as you let the left hip roll forward. And then either letting the torso just drape down over that front leg. Or maybe revolve pyramid, bringing the left hand to the inside or outside of your front foot, maybe a block. Right hand to hip. Neutralize and lengthen through your spine. And then keeping that length in the spine, start to peel your chest open toward the right side of the mat. Maybe reach your right arm up. Letting your shoulders stack. Good. Keep reaching through the crown of your head. Big breath in. And then as you exhale, release. Let that go. Good. And then just simply step it back to downward facing dog. Nice work. Breathing in. Stay for your exhale. And then we'll move to our last side. Inhale, left leg floats up. Exhale, step through. Stay on the ball of your back foot. Maybe widen the stance a little bit. And then float your arms back as you hover up off that front leg. Now engage the core as we move from our center. And then find your drishti, something on your floor that's not moving, preferably to help with balance. And then we come up into Virabhadrasana three. Wobble, wobble, wobble. Reach forward and back. Let your spine be long. Let your hips stay level. Good. And then soften your left knee a little bit as you come to stand and hug your right knee in to your chest. Beautiful. Now if you're near a wall, you might be holding on for dear life. Otherwise you're finding your balance. And if you fall out of it, no worries. Just come back in. We're practicing presence here. Good. And you can stay here. Stop anywhere along the way. Maybe left hand to left hip. Peace fingers to right big toe. And then any amount will extend that right leg forward. Good. Maybe reach your left arm up. That will help with balance. Good. And then rebend through that right knee. We will step the right foot behind the left as you cross at the ankles. Inhale as you lengthen up through the spine. Maybe gaze up and then dive forward. Coming into a stretch here. Maybe put a nice bend in that left knee as you start to feel the outside of that right leg, the IT band. Tuck your chin. Good. And then step your right foot into pyramid pose. So step it back about three feet or so. Let your hips be, or your feet be about hips level or hips distance so that you're not on a tight rope. Beautiful. And you can stay here. Or if you're moving into revolved triangle, bring the right hand to the inside or outside of your front foot, left hand to hip. And then keeping the spine neutral, lengthen, and start to peel the chest open this time to the left. Maybe reach your left arm up. Try to keep the hips level. And then breathe more than anything. Find your breath. Beautiful. Big breath in. Exhale. Let that go. Step back. Down we're facing dog. If you want to move through one more vinyasa, we'll come forward to plank pose on the inhale. Lower halfway or all the way down. Inhale cobra or upward facing dog. And exhale. Meeting back. In down dog. Good. Rise high up onto toes. Bend your knees and then hop your feet forward. We'll come to seated at the front of the mat. However you choose to arrive, bring the legs out in front of you. And then stretch your right leg long and bring your left foot to the inner upper right side. Good. So that right leg is extended right in front of you. On an inhale, reach your arms up. Feel the length in the spine.

And then moving into a fold. Let your hands fall wherever they fall. So we're drawing that right hip back. There's an opening through the left hip. And then the spine is neutral and long. So another hamstring stretch as you feel into your sensations. Hopefully you're feeling a little more open when we started. Let's take a moment to notice. Breathing in. Letting go on your exhale. Good. Inhale slowly. Come on up and we'll just switch sides. So reaching your left leg long. Bring your right foot to the inner upper left thigh. Inhale arms sweep up. Exhale fold over that front leg. Letting your hands fall wherever they fall. Breathing into the sensations. Softening. Just inviting a little ease here into the body. Into your day. Good. And slowly as you inhale, come on out of there. We'll stretch both legs long on your mat. Sit up high on your sitting bones. And then bringing your hands behind you. Let's find a heart opener. So let your fingers face toward you or out to the sides of your mat a bit. And then pressing through your hands, lift your hips. You can start to bring your toes down toward the earth. They definitely don't need to touch. Mine don't. And then start to lift up through the heart and your gaze. Big breath in. Maybe stick out your tongue, lion's breath. Good. And then let your hips lower. And just gently walk your hands forward. Coming into one more forward fold, Paschimottanasana, hamstring stretch. As you inhale, lengthen through your spine. And as you exhale, soften and fold. Allowing a few more breaths here. Letting the heart beat slow. And as you inhale, slowly make your way up and we come on to our back. Roll down. Maybe hug your knees in. Maybe rock it out side to side as you massage through the lower back. Notice how your spine feels. Good. And then gently draw your nose up to your knees. Hug everything in. Big, full breath in. Open the mouth. Side out. And just transition into your final resting pose. We'll take Shavasana. Let your legs go long. Bring your palms to face up on either side of your body. And then can you allow as much of your spine to feel supported by the earth as possible? So letting the body feel held. Just rest.

Allowing your breath to begin to deepen. Gently bringing the awareness back to the body. Inviting any gentle movements. Back in to the fingers, the toes, the ankles, the wrists. Reaching your arms all the way up over your ears. Point through your toes. Lengthen your spine. Full body stretch. Big breath in. Exhale. Let that go. Good. Let the soles of the feet find the earth. And then taking your time either gently rolling to one side and pressing your way up to seated or just simply sitting up. As we come to our seat, bringing the hands in gratitude and Anjali Mudra in front of the heart. Thank you so much for sharing this practice with me. Namaste.