Ahimsa: Non-Harming

Welcome to your practice. So this practice is all about strength and stability and you'll also get to practice some sun salutes. Let's get started with some core work. So go ahead and lie down on your back and bring your knees into your chest. Just take a couple of centering breaths here, taking a moment to arrive onto your mat, transitioning from the outside to the inside, focusing your attention on your breath. Now next time you exhale, go ahead and straighten your left leg forward as you hug your right knee into your chest and hover the left foot at least a foot off the floor, pressing your lower back into the floor. Next time you exhale, switch sides. So as you inhale, you take a moment, bring both knees into your chest, exhale, switch sides. So you're gonna continue this on your own, really working on synchronizing movement with breath. Each time you hug that opposite knee into your chest, you do that as you exhale and the whole time pressing your lower back into the floor, just moving at a pace that feels right for you and as much as you can breathing in and out through your nose. However, sometimes it's actually helpful to breathe through your mouth if you can think as if you're blowing out a candle with your breath so that you're slowly exhaling, going all the way to the end of the exhale, hugging your navel towards your spine. So it's also a way to actually prepare for Ujjayi breathing if you like to practice that kind of breath. So we're going to start to change it up a little bit. So you're going to continue this work but now lift your head and shoulders and support the back of your head in the palms of your hands. So as you're lifting up, you're gonna feel the core work a little bit more. Make sure that you're not aggressively pulling your head. Think more that you're supporting the back of your head with your hands, so lightly pressing the back of your head against your hands. So maybe pausing at the end of each exhale as you are firming your belly towards your back body. So just a few more rounds here. Maybe you can already feel your abdominal muscles engaging and working. And I'm smiling as I'm saying that. It actually helps, right? So maybe just one more round here and then we'll start to add on, getting more into the obliques. So as you bring the right knee to your chest, you're gonna twist to your right, looking towards the right elbow and then inhale back to center, exhale and you switch left knee to your chest, twisting to your left and then as you exhale right away, first side. Inhale through center, exhale second side. So slowly alternating, maybe pausing at the end of the exhale. So it's like with abdominal work, it may not feel so great while you're doing it but I know afterwards I definitely appreciate it, especially the next day when I feel a little bit of soreness. And this is all so good for stability for your lower back. So just a few more rounds here. Again you can go as, you know, slow as you like. Sometimes that actually is a bit harder but you also tend to get more out of it. And then just simply hug your knees into your chest. Thank yourself for working, doing this core work. You're gonna stretch your legs out onto the floor, onto your mat, flex your ankles, bring your legs to neutral so the toes are pointing straight up and then inhalate your fingers and press the palms of your hands up towards the ceiling. Inhale, stretch your arms behind your head. So just a couple of deeper breaths here. Gently firm your belly, lower ribs towards your back body. Relax your throat, pressing out through the heels of your feet and pressing out through the heels of your hands. Just a nice full body stretch. And then bring your arms back up. Relax your arms onto your mat for a moment. Bend your knees and roll over onto your right side. I'd like to support my head in the palm of my right hand and I keep my right knee in front and then straighten the left leg towards the front end of your mat. So if you can have your body kind of a parallel with the side edge of your mat, gently firm your belly, lower ribs in. Flex your left foot and I'm placing my left hand to the front here. It just is more stable. And then slowly as you reach out through that left heel, you're going to lift your left leg up not too high and then lower it a bit and then lifting. And as you're working on lifting the leg and lowering the leg, try to keep the rest of your body completely still. So you are working on core stabilization, stabilizing your trunk, trunk stabilization as you're moving that left leg. And I'm sure maybe, or I hope, you're starting to feel the outer left hip working. So it's especially the gluteus medius that you're working, gluteus minimus. So just another five rounds here. And as you're lifting the leg, also try to lengthen through that left heel. Now you're going to move the left leg forward until your thighs are parallel. You can imagine holding a block between your thighs and then slowly bringing the leg a little bit behind that straight line that your body formed before. Slowly moving the leg forward so that's hip flexion and then bringing the leg back, that's hip extension. And as slowly as you can without moving your trunk. So still stabilizing your trunk here. I'm feeling it right here. I hope you are too, the outer left hip. So just a couple more rounds. And having strong hips, strong glutes is really stabilizing on your lower back. And then go ahead and just stack your knees for a moment. Now let's switch to the second side. So coming over onto your left side. And same thing, keep the left knee in front, straighten your right leg out, keep your trunk stable, firming your belly, lower ribs in. And then you lengthen out through that right heel, slowly lift the leg higher but not too high. And then slowly lower, not all the way down, maybe like hip height. So slowly go up and down with that leg. Again not too fast. Again working on strengthening the muscles in the outer right hip, flexing your right foot. And again I'd like to keep my right hand in the front here for better stability. It's about another four or five rounds here. So once in a while I do a practice like this, actually on a more regular basis, just for me to have stability as I'm teaching also in life in general. So now you're going to start to move the right leg forward until your thighs are parallel, and then bring the leg a little bit behind that straight line of side Tadasana. So slowly moving forward still with a lot of control, firming your belly, lower ribs in. So as you bring your leg forward, that's hip flexion. As you bring the leg back, it's hip extension. You'll feel the glutes working as you bring the leg back. Okay so just another four rounds here. Sometimes it's not as, it's not really about how many you do, but it's how well you do them. And then eventually just go ahead and stack your knees. Okay so now you're going to come on to your belly. Take your thumbs, the tops of your buttocks, and then use your thumbs to lengthen the buttocks to your heels. Draw your lower belly in and up, and then lift your chest. Lift your shoulders, and then reach your fingertips straight back. Imagine you're holding a block between your hands. And then leading with the inseams of your legs, start to lift your feet and legs off the floor. Now I'm keeping my feet hips width. You're welcome to bring your legs all the way together, sides of the big toes touching, inner heels slightly apart. Tuck your chin in a little bit. So just a few more breaths here. Attempt to make your legs a little bit longer. Now stretch your arms out to the side like a T, and then turn your thumbs to point straight up so the palms of your hands are facing straight ahead. You can fold the other fingers but your thumbs and kind of point your thumbs up a little higher for three more breaths. So now you're working on strengthening the whole back of your body. Just one more breath maybe. Lift your thumbs up a little higher, and then slowly lower down. Place your hands by your chest and move into child's pose. And have your knees about hips width. You can fold your hands underneath your forehead for a couple of breaths, breathing into your lower back.

And then find your way onto your hands and knees. So forming a tabletop, but choose to be up onto your fingertips. And then as you inhale, open up your chest, lift your tailbone, and as you exhale, curl your tailbone under, round your back. So cat and cow. So inhale, open up your chest, lift your tailbone, and as you exhale, round your back. So continue this on your own, synchronizing movement with breath. So I do this quite a lot being up onto my fingertips because that actually helps to strengthen the undersides of my forms and activating the arches in my hands so that it prepares me for more weight-bearing positions. So again, about stability for your wrists. And eventually placing your hands flat and then turning your hands out, and then make circles up on the ceiling with your shoulders. So this is about stretching your wrists. If you don't feel this a whole lot, you can turn your fingers to point straight back. You can also eventually go in the opposite direction. So just a couple more rounds here. So it's equally important, you know, to create that strength but also flexibility. And then eventually pointing your fingers forward and find your way into Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana. So maybe the first Down Dog here, you can pedal your feet. Just notice what's going on in the back of your legs. Shifting a little bit more weight into your fingers because that will engage the undersides of the forms, pressing especially through the index finger thumb side and firm your triceps in. So just a couple more breaths here. And then please walk your hands back to your feet. Bring your hands to your hips. Spread your toes as much as you can. Kind of attempt to make the toe part the widest part of each foot. And then bring your hands to your hips. Inhale, Chara Pose, shifting more weight into your heels, tracking your knees in line with your toes. And then take your hands to the sides of the knees and then press your hands against your knees and knees against your hands without moving your knees. So it's helpful to press a little bit more strongly through the inner edges of the feet and this way you're engaging the muscles in the outer hips. Okay, now a little bit more weight in the heels. Curl your tailbone under and reach your sternum away from your navel. Two more breaths here. I don't know about you but I am feeling my outer hips. Now see if you can keep that muscular engagement. Inhale, raise your arms overhead for two more breaths. Gently firm your belly, front ribs in. Then pressing through your heels, straighten your legs and exhale. Lower your arms, interlace your fingers behind your back, roll your shoulders back, lift and open your chest and then go ahead and release. Now have a block. Place the block between your thighs. Squeeze the block. So you're working the inner thighs, the outer hips and then as you inhale, circle your arms overhead and as you exhale, hinging from your hips, fold. Uttanasana. Walking your hands forward into downward facing dog. Now as you inhale, come forward into plank pose and a whole plank pose for about five to eight breaths. Check that your wrists are beneath your shoulders. Pressing more firmly through the inner palms, almost gripping the floor with your fingertips and you can likely feel the arches waking up in your hands and the undersides of your forearms firming. Firm the triceps in. Couple more breaths. Firm your belly, front ribs up towards your back body. Take one more deep full breath in and as you exhale, back to downward facing dog and then take small steps.

Always kind of awkward. Walk your feet up to your hands. Squeeze the block. Spread your toes. Inhale, chair pose. Uttanasana. So the tendency is to stick your tailbone back. See if you can curl it under. Firm your belly, lower ribs into you stabilize your trunk and then pressing through the heels to rise up. Interlace your fingers. Press the palms of your hands up towards the ceiling. Just take a deep full breath in and as you exhale, lateral stretch to your right. Pressing the left inner thigh more firmly against the block. Inhale, back to center. Exhale, lateral stretch to your left. Pressing the right inner thigh more firmly against the block. Inhale, back to center and exhale, lower your arms. Move the block out of the way. Feet together. Bring your hands together. Take a deep full breath in here and as you exhale, lower your arms. Inhale, circle your arms overhead and as you exhale, fold. Uttanasana. Inhale, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, step into plank pose. Lower all the way down. Point your toes. Interlace your fingers the non-habitual way behind your back. Lifting up. Variation of Salabhasana Locust. Keeping your chest well lifted, place your hands by your lower ribs. Either stay here or deep in the Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale, Down Dog. Inhale, raise your right leg behind you and as you exhale, step your right foot up between your hands. Make sure you're not on a tightrope. Now staying up onto the ball, the back foot, take your hands off the ground. Bring your arms out to the side like a T. Turn the palms of your hands to face straight ahead and you can fold your fingers but your thumbs. Firm your belly, front ribs up towards your back body. One more breath here. Hug the outer right hip in and then when you're ready, start to bend your left knee and lift your torso to more vertical position. Firm your belly, lower ribs in. Lift your hip points. Turn the palms of your hands to face the ceiling. Inhale, raise your arms. Maybe bending the back knee a little bit more, hugging your belly, lower ribs in for two more breaths.

If you're not feeling a hip flexor stretch, maybe start to straighten the back leg but keep hugging your lower belly in and up. You're also welcome to look up to seal your hands and then exhale back to Downward Facing Dog. Take a breath. Inhale, raise your left leg. Exhale, step it through. Make sure you're not on a tightrope. Press through that left heel. Bring your arms out to the side. Turn the palms of your hands to face the ceiling. Fold your fingers but your thumbs. Firm your belly, lower ribs up towards your back body. Keep hugging the outer left hip in. One more breath and then start to bend your right knee. Raise your torso to a more vertical position. Firm your belly, front ribs in. Turn the palms of your hands to face the ceiling. Raise your arms overhead. So you stabilize your trunk, firming your belly, lower ribs in. Two more breaths. You can bend the right knee a little bit more. Maybe start to slowly straighten the back leg. This is a little bit of my tighter side so for me to keep my hip points lifted I keep the back knee bent a little bit. Take one more deep full breath in. You can look up, maybe seal your hands and then exhale back to Plank Pose this time and slowly either lower all the way down or Chaturanga. Inhale Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale Down Dog. So a couple more breaths here. Breathing smoothly in and out through your nose. Bottom of your next exhalation, step or lightly hop. Inhale, open your chest and exhale, fold. Bend your knees, inhale, Chair Pose. Maybe sit a little deeper this time.

Curl your tailbone under, press through the heels to rise and hands to your heart. Smooth out your breath. So practicing today so that we can practice tomorrow and the day after so forth. So really helpful to practice with that in mind. Lower your arms, inhale, Chair Pose. Exhale, fold, Uttanasana. Inhale, open your chest. Exhale, step back, Plank Pose. Welcome to skip the vinyasa and simply move into Down Dog. Otherwise you lower broadening across your collarbones. Inhale, Cobra or Up Dog. Exhale, Down Dog. Inhale, raise your right leg behind you. Exhale, step it through. Inhale, this time Warrior One. So just a couple of breaths here. See if you can draw your lower belly in and up. Drive the left hip forward a bit more. You can look up, you can seal your hands, but if your shoulders are tight give yourself more room. And then when you're ready either Plank Pose and then Down Dog or slowly go through the vinyasa. Chaturanga, that's in your practice. Up Dog, that's in your practice. And we meet in Down Dog. Inhale, raise your left leg behind you. Exhale, step the foot through. Inhale, Warrior One. So take a moment here. Drive the right hip forward. Draw your lower belly in and up the best you can. Take one more deep full breath in and then exhale, Plank Pose. You can go through the vinyasa or skip it. See what works best for you. When you're in Down Dog, smooth out your breath. So important in our practice, every time we practice, to tune into what works for me at this moment. Do I have any injuries? Am I fatigued? Do I need to skip a pose? So again, it's ultimately your practice. Now please go ahead and come onto your hands and knees. Come into Child's Pose. Folding your hands underneath your forehead and just take a couple of breaths here. And then please go ahead and leading with your chest, sitting up, moving your hips to one side and stretch your legs out in front of you. Maybe shake them up out a little bit and then bend your knees and you can kind of lean back a little bit. Bring your feet as wide apart as the width of your mat and then just let your knees tip over to your right. Let your chest go a little bit as well to the right. Then inhale back to center and tipping the knees to your left.

Slowly kind of going back and forth. You're unwinding before you pause in Shavasana. So as we practice working on Ahimsa, which is non-harming, but which can also really mean that you're accepting yourself in this moment exactly as you are. So again, it's about what's going on in your body, what you need to do, not do. Now next time your knees are to your right, lean over that right leg. Maybe you'll feel a gentle stretch in the right hip, right glutes. Just a couple of breaths here and then go ahead and change sides. So let your knees move to your left, kind of moving forward a little bit, stretching over the left leg. Sometimes I give this pose to people where single pigeon is too much. This just gives the knee a little bit more space and you can still feel it in your hips. And then come back to center. Take your hands to the back of your thighs and then make a C curve with your back and just very slowly lie down. Bring your knees into your chest, cross your ankles, and just take a moment to maybe do a happy baby pose. What sometimes I like to do is upside-down frog and then I straighten one leg out at a time and that may just feel kind of good. You work the inner thighs. So now stretching them out a little bit. Of course you can straighten both. Maybe for some of you grabbing your big toes, not important, but maybe for some of you that feels good. And then eventually hugging your knees into your chest and then let's take Shavasana. And for some of you, you know, maybe you're in the mood and you have time. You can be here for five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes. So take a moment to allow your body to rest. It's equally important to not do than to do to simply practicing being in this moment exactly as you are. Allow your eyes, even though your eyelids are closed, to be completely still with more of a downward inner gaze as if you can look down into your chest cavity, finding that special moment of deep interconnection, a moment to pause, to simply be. So again you can stay in Shavasana much longer. If you're ready to sit up, just take a couple of deeper breaths and eventually bending your knees and rolling over onto either side. Find your way back up to a comfortable seat. Thank you so much for practicing with me. Namaste.