Heart Flow

Welcome, everyone. So good to be together. We're going to focus on a lot of heart opening and back bending in this flow. So let's take the hands on the heart and then soften the gaze or close the eyes and let the head bow to the wisdom of the heart center. Begin to feel the rise and fall of your breath under your hands. And let your awareness start to move into the body as much as possible, letting the rest fade for now.

Dropping in, dropping down. And then a gentle Aum together through the nose inhale. Aum. If an intention resonates, distill it down, root it in the heart center. And as you're ready, let the eyes open. We'll take a big inhale, reach the arms out and up and then interlace the fingers and exhale, press the palms to the sky. Keep the shoulders soft, keep the neck relaxed, draw a deep belly in and up and then start to welcome just the beginnings of a back bend here.

So the heart goes to the sky, the gaze lifts, the arms ease back. Just a little bit of opening through the chest and the front of the shoulders. And stay for a really big inhale. And as you exhale, release the clasp, rock the body forward, rise to your hands and your knees, press the hands deep into the earth. Inhale, lift your tailbone, lift your heart, shoulders down the back.

Exhale, round, release the head, belly to spine. Then again, big inhale, lifting, tailbone, heart, gaze. Exhale to round. Just once again, warm the spine. Inhale and exhale. Then inhale, we're going to come to neutral, keep your hips essentially where they are.

And as you exhale, walk your arms out for anahatasana. You can release down either under your forehead or your chin. Keep the arms kind of active and really feel that sweet spot right between the shoulder blades dissolving down to the earth. Couple more breaths here. And then as you're ready, inhale, slide the hands back in under the shoulders, exhale to ground.

And then big inhale, tuck the toes, exhale, go up and back, downward facing down. Take a few breaths here, puddle the feet, gaze the hips side to side. Check out what's going on in the backs of the legs and the whole back body. One more breath. Then steady yourself, stillness in your down dog.

And with your next inhale, roll forward, plank pose. With your exhale, lower the knees, ease all the way down to the earth. And then with your inhale, come up into cobra, hands forward a little bit for more stability. And we're going to pause here. So low, medium or high, no strain, you're still warming the body.

Just find your own sweet spot and then really breathe into it. Imagine the back of the heart moving through the chest, reaching straight out. Shoulders melt down, feel strength of center, legs pressing into earth, and really contact what it is to move into the back bend. What does it feel like? What's there? Yeah, with your next exhale, melt all the way back to the earth, hands outside of rib cage, inhale, press to hands and knees, exhale, downward facing dog.

One breath, back to center. Yeah, then with your next inhale, reach right leg to sky. With your exhale, open the hip, bend the knee, one breath. Inhale to float it up. And then with your exhale, step your right foot forward, spin that back heel down to the earth, inhale, left arm opens you, warrior two, Virabhadrasana.

Grounding in it, few breaths, steady and strong. Yeah, and then with your next inhale, reverse, left hand slides down the left leg, right arm reaches up and over, breathing space into that side body. Keep the bend in the front knee strong, three, two. Then with the inhale, come back into your warrior two, and with your exhale, come into side angle, forearm resting to thigh or hand to earth, left arm up and over, roll torso open, maybe lift the gaze up and under that arm. Feel the expanse of the left side body, three, two.

Yeah, a little flow here. As you inhale, return to warrior two. And as you exhale, reverse, but slide the left arm in front of the belly and reach the right arm back. Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, side angle variation, right arm in front of the belly, left arm up and over.

Inhale, rise. Exhale, reverse. So the arms are circling the torso, circling the heart. Another breath, inhale. Exhale, reverse.

Once again, inhale. Exhale, side angle. This time, inhale, warrior two. Exhale, lengthen right leg. Spin feet to parallel, hands to hips.

Dropping the tailbone, inhale, lift up through your front body, and exhale into your fold. Prasrita, padottanasana A. Inhale, halfway. Exhale, just fold, release the neck for three. Just grounding it at establishing foundation two.

Inhale, halfway. See the left foot, exhale, pivot to the back of the mat. Step into plank, big inhale. Exhale, lower knees are chaturanga. Inhale, cobra, up dog, feel the back bend.

And exhale, downward facing dog. Good, let's take it full circle. Inhale, right leg to sky. Exhale to open. Inhale to reach.

Exhale, step it forward, ground, back heel. Left arm opens you, inhale, warrior two. Exhale, just ground. Touching in on the side, inhale, reverse. Exhale, side angle.

Back into that flow. And then inhale, warrior two. Exhale, lengthen right leg, spin feet to parallel, hands to hips again. Drop the tailbone, inhale, rise. Exhale to fold, hands to earth.

This time we're going to add the twist. Ground the right hand basically under the heart. And then inhale, reach left arm to sky. Totally okay to let that right hip drop a little. Open through the chest, open through that left shoulder.

Another breath. Stay for the inhale. Exhale, release left hand to the earth. And then inhale, reach right arm to the sky. Yeah, wide open.

Three. Two. Stay for your inhale. With the exhale, release. Inhale just halfway up.

See the left foot, exhale, pivot front of mat, step into plank, pause. Strong through center, big inhale. Exhale, lower as you choose, knees or chaturanga. Inhale, cobra up dog. And exhale, take it back, downward facing dog.

Give yourself a breath or two here. And then as you're ready, inhale, left leg to sky. Exhale, open the hip. Inhale, reach. Exhale, left foot forward, root back, heel, right arm opens you.

Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, sit down into it nice and strong. Three. Yeah, steady foundation. Two.

Then inhaling to reverse, reach it back, spacious through side body. Lift that gaze. Inhale, warrior two. And then exhale, side angle. And again, forearm to thigh or hand to earth or block, always up to you.

Anchor that right heel, reach through right fingertips, roll torso open. Breathe into it. Inhale, rise, warrior two. Let's find this dance again. Exhale, reverse, right arm in front of the body, left arm reaching back.

Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, side angle, left arm in front of the body, right arm over. Inhale, reach, warrior two. Exhale, reverse. Inhale, warrior two.

Exhale, side angle. Yeah, inhale to rise. Exhale, just pause, ground. Good. Then inhale, lengthen left leg.

Exhale, spin feet parallel, hands to the hips, ground. This time with the inhale, reach arms out and up. And with the exhale, reach back, interlace the fingers. Then inhale, open across the chest through front of shoulders. And exhale, take that into the fold, arms go up and over.

Deep breath through the chest and the shoulders, opening it all up. Three. Two. Just stay in the fold with your exhale, release the hands to the earth. Inhale halfway.

Exhale, see that right foot, pivot to the back of the mat. Pause, big inhale. Exhale, knees are chaturanga. Inhale, cobra up dog. Exhale, take it back downward facing dog.

Completing the circle, inhale, left leg up. Exhale to open. Inhale to reach. Step left foot forward, exhale, root back heel. Inhale, left arm opens you, warrior two.

Exhale, ground. Good, big inhale here. Exhale, reverse, right arm in front of the belly. Inhale, rise. Exhale, side angle, left arm in front of belly.

Inhale, back to warrior two. Exhale, lengthen left leg, spin feet to parallel, hands to hips. Once again, inhale, reach. Exhale, reach it back, take your other thumb on top. Inhale, heart open.

And exhale, fold. More opening for the shoulders and preparation for back bending. A couple more breaths. Yeah. And then just stay in the fold and with the exhale, release hands to earth.

Inhale, halfway. See that right foot, exhale, pivot to the front of the mat. Step into your plank, pause. Inhale. Exhale, knees are chaturanga.

Cobra up dog, inhale. Exhale, take it all the way back. Downward facing dog. Pausing here. Come back to your breath, come back to your center and your intention.

One more breath. So, from here, with your inhale, come forward into your plank pose. And then with your exhale, just release the knees down to the earth for a moment. And then release forearms and elbows down to the earth. Quick alignment check.

Take the hands to outer edges of the elbows. We don't want them any wider than that. So once that's in place, root them down and then just release forearms and elbows. Forearms and palms out again. Then extend the legs back, tuck the toes.

Here we are, forearm plank. Hug it in towards the center. Super strong and engaged, just for five. Heart shines out for her. Belly in and up, three, two.

Then with your exhale, release, come all the way down onto the belly. You can stack the hands, rest the forehead, turn either cheek, whatever feels best. Take a breath. And then draw the arms alongside the body. Gently rest the chin on the earth.

And with your inhale, rise. Simple shalabhasana, strong through the back body, reach through the fingertips, and hold steady, three, and two. Exhale, release. And again, you can rest, stack hands, rest forehead, turn either cheek, or let's come on back, forearm plank. Grounding down, remember the alignment, tuck toes, and lift it up.

Strong and engaged, hold steady for five. Breathe through it, three, two, and then exhale, release. If you're up, give yourself just a breath here. Mm-hmm. This time, let's interlace the hands behind the back, and with the inhale, lift the chest, lift the legs, lift the arms, and again, reach out through the heart. Remember that sensation in the opening cobra of the back of the heart reaching through.

Feel into that again, three, two, and then exhale, release. Again, simply rest, or last forearm plank. Grounding down, elbows under shoulders, tuck toes, pick it up, five. Mm-hmm, cultivate that strength, four, three, two, with your exhale, release if you're up. One last back bend here on the belly.

So, you're more than welcome to repeat that last variation of shalabhasana, or if you'd like, bend the knees, reach back for the ankles or the sides of the feet. For bow or dhanurasana, inhale, rise, lift through the heart, really fire up the legs to help open, feel that expanse across the chest through the heart, front of shoulders, breathing three, maybe let it rock a little. Two, stay for the inhale, and exhale, release. Let's all stack the hands, rest the forehead, and then just a little windshield wiper with the feet, release that low back a bit. Mm-hmm.

And then feet to neutral, let them fall to the earth, hands outside a rib cage, inhale, press to hands and knees, tucking the toes, exhale, downward facing dog, really strong, take a breath or two here, home to center, over and over and over. The bottom of your exhale, take a soft bend in your knees, we're going to come all the way through to sit, and then gently roll all the way down onto your back. As you land, draw the knees in towards the chest, wrap arms around legs, let yourself rock a little. Yeah, and then just a little bit more strengthening for the core before the second round of backbends. So draw the knees just straight up from the hips, calves parallel to the earth, press the hands against the thighs and press the thighs back against the hands, let the tailbone curl up a bit, feel the belly draw in and up, and just pause here, you can press gently or intensely, you decide, as is or lift, head and shoulder, just one cycle, five, belly in and up, four, really strong center, three, yeah, two, let it tremble a little, last one, and exhale, release, feet to the earth, arms alongside the body, take a big inhale into the belly, open the mouth, exhale, let it go, grounding through the feet, scoop the tailbone, lift the hips, simple bridge pose, stay right there or maybe interlace the hands, crawl shoulders in and under, and rise a little higher, breathe into the whole front body, three, two, if hands are clasped, release them, walk the shoulders out a little, melt top to bottom of spine back to the earth, take a breath or two, two more back bends, totally up to you, stay with that bridge variation, you might even want to block under your sacrum, or maybe hands press under the shoulders, ground the feet, scoop that tailbone, lift the hips, and with your inhale, rise, full Urdhva Dhanurasana, breathe into the heart, five, four, three, two, if you're on the block, stay there as long as you'd like, otherwise gently chin to chest, release the back of the head, the shoulders, and all the way down, settle for a breath or two, and your last back bend, any variation, choose your favorite back bend, ground it, feel strength of foundation and center first, and then rise as you're ready, Urdhva Dhanurasana and there's space, you walk the hands closer to the feet, or feet closer to hands, reach, reach, reach through the heart, wide open, and breathe into it, three, two, yeah, one more big inhale, making your way back to the earth, release, Supta Baddha Konasana, take the soles of the feet together, let the knees fall open, rest one hand on your heart, one hand on your belly, you can soften the gaze or close the eyes, and let that settle, yeah, it takes a lot of strength, a lot of steadiness, a lot of courage to open the heart, so give yourself some space to let that integrate, ground, and come back to center, a few more breaths, feel the rise and fall of the breath under the hands, yeah, and then drawing the knees together, hug them back in towards the chest, rock a little, and then we're going to twist to the left first, legs as is, or you might wrap right leg on top, and then just let them fall left and reach right arm right, if you have a different twist you prefer, go for it, breathing down into the lower back, yeah, clearing it all out, ringing it all out, three, two, let your inhale draw the legs back to center, unwind, move the hips to the left a little bit, then wrap left leg around or your preferred twist and let the legs fall to the right, reaching left arm out to the left, heavy through that left shoulder, breathing down into low back and sacrum, a couple more breaths, let your inhale draw you back to center, and then with your exhale again knees draw in towards the chest, wrap the arms around the legs gently rocking, a little more release for the low back, and then draw it all into this tiny little ball of energy, so knees together into chest, arms around legs, then draw the forehead towards the knees, knees to forehead, gather all that energy in, feel your strength, feel your center, big inhale, and exhale, release, legs extend and roll open, arms rest, palms to sky, take anything else the body needs before this final rest, and just melt into the earth in your own time, and when you do find it, really give over, a lot of expansive heart opening, it's really powerful stuff, so give yourself this space to settle and to release, just rest, inhale, exhale, exhale, deepening the breath, bring some movement into the body, make your way to a comfortable seat in any way that feels fast, settle in, and then again, let's rest hands on the heart, let the head bow a little, feel all the energy that may have been stirred or awakened there, give it space, be curious, compassionate, listen inward, and we'll close with a gentle Aum, feeling the vibration in the body with hands resting on heart, through the nose, inhale, gently inhaling, soft bow forward with the exhale, namaste.

Thank you all so, so much, really strong, deep work, be well, namaste.