Mood Booster

Welcome. Glad you're here. As a mom, it's common to feel postpartum blues mixed with so many emotions, anxiety, exhaustion, right? So this practice is designed to hopefully help boost your spirit a little bit and help you feel a bit more supported and connected. Join me. It might be nice to have two blocks, a blanket, and a bolster.

And we're going to start with kind of a floor groovy practice to open the hips, and we'll eventually make our way up to standing and see how that feels and then ease our way back down. So just find a comfortable seat, and you might have support underneath you. Bring one hand to your belly, one hand to your heart, taking a few moments here, connecting with the breath. Notice how you feel in this moment. It changes moment to moment, day to day.

Malao for an inhale. Nice, generous exhale out of the mouth. So you're ready, we'll ease into a butterfly shape, Baddha Konasana, kind of yin style. So bringing the soles of the feet together, knees wide, bringing your feet a little further away from your pelvis might feel nice. And bringing your hands forward and just allow yourself to rock a little bit from side to side, easing into your hips and exploring the whole landscape of sensation through the pelvis, the low back, the hips.

You might pause right at your edge. You might begin to surrender and release the upper body, releasing the weight of the head or supporting the weight of the head. And we'll offer ourself to the shape for a minute or so, feeling that dull, achy, familiar stretch in the back body, down the length of the spine through the lower back and sacrum and hips. You might explore breathing into the back body, nourishing the kidneys and lower back. Exhale, softening the belly, feel the weight of the bones dropping.

Easy in the jaw and the face. A few more moments here, just allowing yourself to arrive and land in your practice and in your body. When you feel ready, just slowly round and roll your way back up. Take a moment to pause. Bringing the sole of the right foot in, stretch your left leg out long.

And as you're ready, reach the left arm down and the right arm up towards the sky and feel how you can just reach and lengthen and create a little bit more space and room for yourself in the side body. It might feel nice to stretch your top arm up, out and over, enjoying this nice stretchy sensation through the body. So many aches and pains in the body as a long, carrying, lifting, being in weird, funky positions. Another breath here. Find a place where your neck feels good.

And then slow on the inhale, rise back up. Bring the left hand to the right knee, right fingers behind you. Inhale, lengthen, exhale, gentle twist to the right. Feel some energy in that left leg as you inhale again, exhale, twist. Stay in the twist, slowly rotate the head forward and maybe stretch the head over the left shoulder as you breathe in.

Exhale to unwind. Ground through the right fingers, inhale the left arm up, let the hips lift, see how that feels to flow. And then extend for your right leg, draw the sole of the left foot in. Take a moment to settle. Right hand on the leg, inhale, the left arm reaches up and feel you can lengthen and reach and breathe.

You might stay here, it might feel good to stretch the top arm up, out and over. You might round the body a little bit down, maybe spiral the heart open. Breathing. Take your time as you're ready. Inhale, let the top arm release.

Bring the right hand to the left knee, left fingertips behind you. Feel some energy in the right leg as you inhale, lengthen, exhale, gentle twist to the left. Feeling the lungs spiral to the left. Inhale to lengthen a bit more, exhale, gentle twist. Notice if there's any hardening in the low back and see if you can find a little fullness through the kidneys, through the mid-back.

Stay in the twist and slowly rotate the head forward and maybe stretching it towards the right shoulder, inhale. Exhale to unwind. If you'd like, round through the right fingers, inhale the left arm up, lift the hips, and then lower back down. Nice. And from here, let's transition.

So you might bring the blanket off to the side. We'll come onto our side, so onto the right hip. And as you stack your knees, you might stay up onto your hand, you might lower onto your forearm, whatever feels best for your body. And bring your top left hand under your bottom ribs and feel you can dip the ribs down and lift them up and dip and lift and dip and lift. And then inhale the top arm up and just feel how you can create a little bit more space and room, stretching through the shoulder, opening up, circling the wrist, getting into the joints.

And then with the top arm lifted, we'll thread. So inhale, open, exhale, thread the left arm through. Inhale, up, exhale, thread. Inhale, up, exhale, thread. Let's do two more.

Inhale, open, and thread. Last one, inhale, open, exhale, thread. Inhale, reach up. Let's bring the hand behind the head. You might lower onto the forearm for this.

And then we'll do elbow to elbow. And up, elbow to elbow, and up. Two more, elbow to elbow, up. Last one, and up. Nice.

Support with the top hand. Come on up and we'll just switch sides. And you might stay up onto the hand or lower onto the forearm. And as you're ready, bring the top hand under the bottom ribs and begin to dip and lift. Dip and lift.

Dip and lift. Let's do one more. Dip and lift. Inhale the top arm up. Begin to explore and make some circles.

Notice how it feels through your shoulder. It might open. And it might feel nice to circle out through the top wrist. Playing with the gaze. Inhale, reach, exhale, thread the right arm underneath.

Inhale, up, exhale, thread. Let's do three more. Inhale, exhale, reach. Inhale, exhale, reach. Last one, inhale, exhale, reach.

Inhale the arm up. We'll lower onto the forearm. Bring the hand behind the head. Inhale, exhale, elbow to elbow. And up, elbow to elbow, open.

And elbow to elbow, open. Let's do two more for fun because we're here. Elbow to elbow, open. Last one, and open. And as you're ready, we'll transition using your hands to support you into a tabletop position.

You might bring a blanket under your knees for support and have your blocks nearby. Spread the fingers wide. So a little bit of cat cow movement to wake up the spine. Inhale to arch and lengthen, create space. Exhale, curl around, stretch your back.

Inhale to lengthen, exhale to round. You might lean a little bit from side to side, forward and back. Notice how it feels through your hips, your ribs, your shoulders, up through your neck. Nice. Let's take a moment to settle into child's pose, bringing the knees wide, settling the hips towards the heels, resting the forehead towards the earth.

Allow for a sigh here, really centering, grounding. And then slowly we'll rise back up. You might work with two blocks as we move into some lunging. And as you're ready, bring your right knee, your right foot forward between the blocks or wide, whatever feels right for you. Inhale, draw your hips back, extend through your right leg.

Exhale, lunge. Inhale, draw the hips back, extend. Exhale, lunge. Let's do one more. Find the hamstrings.

Exhale, lunge. You might stay low in your lunge. You might climb up onto the leg. If it feels good, you might explore crescent lunge as you inhale the arms up towards the sky. And then bending the elbows, opening the chest for cactus.

Inhale the arms up, exhale cactus. One more. Inhale, arms up, exhale cactus. We'll inhale the arms up, release the hands down, and then draw the hips back. Nice.

Bend the knee. You can bring the hands on the blocks on the inside, toe, heel, that front right foot nice and wide as you turn the foot out. Little lizard play, feeling into your hips. You might lower onto your forearms, bring them onto the blocks or onto the mat or carpet. Taking a breath here.

Exhale, softening the jaw. When you feel ready, slowly climb your way up and out, draw the hips back. We're going to reorganize your blocks and we'll draw the right knee back and draw the left foot forward. Bending the knee as you lunge, inhale, draw the hips back. Exhale, lunge.

Inhale, draw the hips back, extend through your front left leg. Exhale, lunge. Let's do one more. Inhale, draw the hips back, extend. Exhale, lunge.

Again, as you listen to your body, you might stay low here. You might climb up onto the front leg. You might inhale, reach the arms up towards the sky, feeling the essence of support from within, through the pelvic floor to the spine. Turn the palms forward, inhale. Exhale, bend the elbows, cactus the arms.

Inhale, arms up. Exhale, cactus and open. Inhale, up. Exhale, cactus. Inhale, reach the arms up.

Exhale, let the arms release. Draw the hips back. A little relief there as you stretch the front leg. Bend the front knee, bring the hands on the blocks on the inside if they were wide. Toe heel, the front left foot a little wider.

You might turn the foot out as you explore that lizard shape, leaning from side to side. And you might lower onto your forearms. Breathing, maybe even exploring a little bit of twist on one side. Each side feels a bit different or a lot different in the body. And when you feel ready, climbing your way out, toe heel that front foot a little closer in, and we'll transition back into tabletop and bring your blocks off to the side and ease your way up into a downward dog, tucking the toes under, spread the fingers wide, lifting up, bend the knees, lift up through the sitting bones, feel the back of the neck releasing here.

Let's bend the right knee and stretch the left calf and heel to the floor. Bend the left knee and stretch the right calf and heel to the floor. And maybe a few times, pedaling the feet, stretching the back of the legs. And then nice, slow transition to the back of the mat as you're ready, begin to just walk the hands back towards the feet. Bend the knees for a forward fold, release the weight of the head, release the arms, and dangle here for a moment.

As you're ready, with a soft bend into the knees, chin into the chest, just slowly begin to roll your way back up. Stacking the bones, feeling the heart, feeling the shoulders, feeling the head, and take a moment to pause, feeling your feet on the floor. And then walking towards the top of your mat. And once you get there, spread the toes, interlace the fingers, stretch the arms up towards the sky, feel a soft bend in the elbows as you begin to stretch over to the right, grounding through your left foot. Inhale back up and over to the left, ground through your right foot.

One more time, inhale up and over to the right, lengthening. Inhale back up and over to the left. Inhale back up, exhale, release. Let's roll the shoulders up, back, and down, up, back, and down a few times. Nice.

And then joining the hands together at the heart for a few half sun salutations. With the hands at the heart, inhale. And as you exhale, empty the lungs, press the hands to the earth. As you inhale, circle the arms up. As you exhale, soft bend through your knees, forward fold, releasing the head and the arms.

As you inhale, draw the hands up the shins, half arch, lengthen your spine. Exhale, bend your knees, forward fold, release the head. Strong through the legs, inhale, sweep your arms up towards the sky, lengthen. And exhale, draw the hands together at the heart, taking a moment to pause here. Breathing in, exhale, press the hands down to the earth.

Inhale, reach the arms up. Exhale, forward fold, soft bend in your knees, release the head. Inhale, half arch to lengthen. Exhale, bend the knees, forward fold. Strong through the legs, bend the knees, inhale, sweep your arms up, gather the energy.

Exhale, draw the hands together at the heart. Again, taking a moment to pause. Again, adding on together. As you're ready, we'll inhale, exhale, press. Inhale, circle the arms up. Exhale, forward fold, releasing the head and the arms.

Inhale, half arch, lengthen the spine. Exhale, bend the knees, ground the hands, and this time ease your way back into a downward dog. Nice and easy here. Take your time, spread the fingers, bend the knees, reach up through your sitting bones. Let's lower the knees down and play with a little plank pose.

So drawing your shoulders over your wrists, keep your knees on the floor this first round, or two or three. And I feel how you can lift the bottom ribs up and in and lengthen the tailbone. Feeling the strength that's required here in the upper body. Stabilizing the core, the hips, nice. And then back into downward dog.

As you're ready, walk the feet forward nice and easy. Inhale, half arch, lift and lengthen your spine. Exhale, bend your knees, forward fold. Bend the knees, inhale, sweep your arms up to the sky, lengthen. And exhale, hands together at the heart.

Again, taking a moment to pause and notice how you feel. Maybe there's a bit more energy, a bit more flow and circulation. Together, inhale, exhale, press empty, hands to earth. Inhale, circle the arms up. Exhale, forward fold, releasing the head and the arms.

Inhale, half arch, lift and lengthen. Exhale, bend the knees, ground the hands, step back into your downward dog. Again, nice and easy, moving at your own pace. Lower the knees, inhale to plank. Shoulders over the wrists, feeling that sense of lifting and support from within.

You might keep your knees on the floor in this moment today. You might play with lifting one knee, maybe the other knee. Find what feels right for you, easing your way back into downward facing dog. A few breaths here. And slow, walking the feet back towards the top of the mat.

Once you arrive, inhale, half arch, find some length. Exhale, bend your knees, release the head. Bend the knees, inhale, sweep your arms up, lengthen. And exhale, draw the hands together at the heart. And notice how you feel here.

Last round, inhale. Exhale, press the hands to the earth. Inhale, sweep your arms up. Exhale, forward fold. Release the head and the arms. Inhale, half arch, lengthen. Exhale, bend your knees, walking back into downward dog. Nice and easy here.

From downward dog, lower the knees. Find your plank pose, shoulders over the wrists. Knees might stay on the floor. Again, feeling how you can lift and draw the pelvic floor muscles up and in gently. If you want to play with some strengthening here in plank, you might lift the knees.

Draw the tailbone towards the heels. Lower the knees, and let's lower all the way down this time. Walking the arms forward for sphinx pose. Taking a few moments to settle here. And from sphinx, feel how you can draw the floor towards you as you broaden through the collarbones, finding some traction and length here.

If it feels nice, you might soften the chin towards the chest and roll the right ear towards the right shoulder. Rolling the chin back down and the left ear towards the left shoulder. Back down, right ear, right shoulder. Breathing into the left side of the neck. Rolling the chin back down, left ear, left shoulder.

Back down. And slowly releasing. Bring the fingers nice and wide and we'll rise up for a little cobra action here and play with dipping the right shoulder as you twist to the left. Lift up and dipping the left shoulder as you twist to the right. And you might even come up onto the fingertips.

Bring them nice and wide, dipping to the right and back up and dipping to the left and back up. Really listening to your body and what feels good. Dipping the left shoulder, back up. Right shoulder, back up. And one more.

And back up. And then from here, slide the palms underneath the shoulders, tuck the toes under. And we're going to lift up and press back into a Child's Pose, Balasana, softening the hips towards the heels. Forehead kind of melts towards the floor. Maybe a little watery Child's Pose from side to side.

And as you're ready, we'll roll up and find our way onto the back for some more bridge work. It's great for the pelvic floor. As you're ready, spread the toes, bring the heels in line with your sitting bones. Feet about hips width, arms stretched down alongside the body. Feel the essence of the cat-cow in your pelvis, arching and curling.

Inhale and as you exhale, curl the tailbone under, press through the feet, lift up into your bridge and lengthen. And feel the muscles of the legs hugging into the bones as you press through the heels. Really broad across the chest. Nice. And then slowly roll the spine back down, upper back, mid-back, low back. Let's take two more. Inhale, arching.

Exhale, curl the tailbone, press and lift. Feel how you can lengthen. Arms might reach towards the fingers. You might roll and tuck the shoulders under, maybe finding the interlace or maybe even bringing the hands right underneath your pelvis. Release the hands, slowly roll the spine back down, upper back, mid-back, low back.

In this last round, we'll work with a block if you'd like to. So pressing through the feet, lifting up into your bridge. And bring the block right underneath your sacrum area. Settling in. This feels like amazing support.

You might stay here. Depending on how it feels in your body today, you might experiment with lifting a leg, both legs and maybe stretching up towards the sky. Make sure that block is supporting you, right under the sacrum, the pelvis. Little juice through the soles of the feet. Nice.

Super rejuvenating, energizing shape, letting the blood and the energy flow from the feet down into the pelvis and nourishing the heart. Really soft in the throat and the face. You might stay here a bit longer. You might slowly ground the feet, find the shape of bridge. When you're ready, press, lift, remove the block.

Just slowly roll back down. Stretch your arms overhead, toe heel the feet nice and wide for windshield wipers. Feeling that space through the hips and the whole body. Cruising onto the inner outer edges of the feet. Lengthening.

Breathing. Nice. Hug the knees into the chest. We're going to roll to our side, press up for one moment and set up for a really sweet final relaxation. If you have a bolster or blanket, you might bring it behind you.

Might feel nice to have a blanket under the head. And with two blocks or pillows, you can bring them under the knees. Bring the soles of the feet together, knees wide. You can bring your support underneath the knees. And then slowly releasing down.

I shimmy the hips down the back. You might lift the pelvis up a little bit, lengthen the tailbone, draw the tailbone under, reset. And then let the arms open. Allow for an inhale, nice generous exhale out of the mouth. Allowing yourself to rest and receive here.

You might keep the arms where they are. You might even stretch your arms overhead. Bring the fingertips around the elbows. Perhaps feeling the movement of the breath in the belly as circulating through the pelvis and the pelvic floor. Inhale and exhale.

You are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like and are able to. When you feel ready to transition, supporting your knees with your hands, stretch your legs out. You might stretch your arms overhead, kind of circle the ankles and the wrists here. Bend your knees, roll to your side, pause. Use your arms to slowly press yourself up.

Taking a moment to sit together. You might have support underneath you. Centering, allow for an inhale. Thank you for being here.