Core of Clarity

Hi, I am really glad that you're here. This next practice is a super subtle spacious exploration of the core and when we work with the core in this way we have an opportunity to do a couple of things. The first is to befriend boredom which sounds I know right now you're like I'm not gonna watch this one but stay with me. Befriending boredom allows us to go into these deeper more subtle layers of practice. When the practice isn't flashy and sexy and obvious to the eye there's an opportunity for us to practice concentration, to be in our practice of darana. So there's that befriending boredom and working with the core in this way also gives us an opportunity to stay curious even when our mind wants to judge and so what I mean is for lots of us and whenever I say lots of us I'm mostly just talking about my own experience. For lots of us when things start to become challenging and the core we feel something a thought replays itself like oh if only I did things differently then I wouldn't feel anything here that's just one example and then a number of other judging thoughts tend to cycle through and this is normal this is mind doing what mind does assessing the situation regurgitating an old thought totally normal but so in that moment we have an opportunity to instead choose to be curious like where there's sensation instead of going to the judging thought to go instead to a question what am I feeling here and it doesn't have to be you know a physiological or anatomical description what comes to you might be a word like fluffy or petunia or rainbow whatever it doesn't have to make any sense to anyone but you in this moment as long as you stay curious so befriending boredom staying curious core glad you're here it may be useful to have a block for this practice begin by coming down onto the floor all the way down onto the floor onto your back and settle in like really sort of settle into the earth plant your heels into the floor with just enough softness there so that you can breathe in and point your toes to the bottom of the mat and breathe out and flex the feet and we'll do that a handful of times just pointing and then flexing giving yourself space for the process to happen to like give your body the opportunity to figure out how to do it and then to notice what you're feeling ah I'm feeling interesting sensation in my sacrum and in the back of my skull interesting sensation in the backs of the knees and so from here we'll come back to neutral we'll come back to ease and at the pace of your own breath we'll turn the toes to point in internal rotation of the hips point the toes down start to turn the toes out external rotation and then pull the tops of the feet up so that we start to make circles with the feet and you might be breathing in as you push down and breathing out as you draw up or vice versa let the rhythm reveal itself to you notice again what you're feeling and when the time is right we'll switch directions so where you were once moving counterclockwise you're now moving clockwise and vice versa feet moving in opposite directions and with your next breath in come back to neutral come back to ease and notice what you feel we'll turn the palms of the hands to face the sky and on a breath in start to drag the heels toward your backside and set the feet down in a shape of constructive rest organizing the heels so that they're about as wide as the sitting bones knees in line with the ankles and as you breathe in press the feet into the floor press the small of the back into the floor and as you breathe out come back to neutral and we'll do that a handful of times and really and truly there's no right or way to do this than how you're doing it right now no one has to see anything happening follow whatever is interesting to you like follow that the next time that you breathe in and press the feet into the floor and you press the small of the back into the floor it will stay in that shape for a couple of breaths and we'll notice what's happening what parts of your body are actively engaging what parts of your body are actively releasing maybe the shoulders you feel releasing toward the floor might feel a softness right at the center of the chest the center of the heart and engagement from the solar plexus down to the tops of the legs into the feet and then relax the effort and so from here we'll start to hug the knees into the chest and we'll extend the arms out to T you might like your block I'm going to change positions so it's easier to see you can stay where you are so knees are drawn into the chest and for some of us it will make sense for maintaining stability through the pelvis to place a block between the thighs arms out to T maybe the hands just a little bit lower than the shoulders and we have lots of room here to sort of play with different variables one of the variables being the distance between your tush your backside your booty and your heels the heels could be heavy and resting pretty close to the backside or you might start to lift them away from your backside you might also play around with the the angle of the quads the tops of the thighs and the torso moving them closer to your torso or away from your torso another place where you can play is with the engagement of the feet maybe they're soft and easy maybe you start to invite a little bit of vibrancy there and so through this work you might work to maintain the space that's happening right now between the feet between the knees between the thighs we'll breathe in here at the center and as you breathe out start to lower the low body toward the right as you look to the left breathing in coming back to the center and breathing out lowering the low body to the left as you look to the right your shoulder might start to move away from the floor and that's okay let it moving at the pace of your own breath allowing for that space for the brain of your body to figure out how to do this how to make the movements happen then moving into that space of what am I feeling and where do I feel it and so the next time or two that you're lowering the knees and the rest of your legs to the left will stay there and we'll let things become heavy and you might move the block out of the way if you've been working with it and just let things yield to gravity your right shoulder might really be coming away from the floor and that's just fine the idea here is to invite softness spaciousness heaviness into the low body into the belly into the center of the heart notice those places where you happen to be holding or gripping protecting and invite spaciousness a recognition of the space that's already happening there and in time we'll take the right leg the top leg and extend it almost as though you were trying to kick over your block or kick a soccer ball and we'll flex the right foot and as you do that notice how far up the leg you feel it will increase the space between the legs and as you do that can you invite this sense of blooming or opening in the right hip no one has to see anything with a breath in will sweep that right leg up toward the sky rolling onto the back extending the left leg as well and as you breathe out will start to roll to the right bending the right knee bending the left knee looking to the left and letting everything get heavy and soft and spacious there's nowhere you need to get to the idea is to be here where you are completely we'll extend the left leg as though you were just kicking a soccer ball flexing the foot noticing oh zing I feel that up there it's interesting some space between the knees and inviting a bloom to happen in the hip and yeah like no one will see anything probably unless they are looking at you extremely closely and in my experience like that's where lots of yoga is happening where it looks like nothing is happening and as you breathe in start to sweep the left leg toward the sky coming on to the back extend the right leg and we'll keep that movement up at the pace of the breath so as you breathe out bend the left knee bend the right knee look to the right extend the right leg sweep it toward the sky left leg exhale bend right bend left look left and because this is probably really different from any other yoga shapes that you've made you might require lots of space for the body to figure it out let yourself be in the seat of the beginner let your body have that space to figure it out and maybe today maybe sometime in the future you'll be invited into that that space of exploring what you feel from there the next time you're breathing in and coming back to the center legs extended toward the sky will pause there and we'll move the legs a bit closer again maybe stacking the heels over the sitting bones tuning into the aliveness in the soles of the feet while letting the feet the legs be heavy in the hips and letting the hips settle into the earth will extend the arms the same way reaching fingers toward the sky but letting the shoulders sink into the earth go to the center of sensation and notice what you feel see how far out from that epicenter you feel the sensation and can you allow for ease even though it's not easy I'm my legs are shaking and with a breath out hug the knees to the chest sway sway from side to side and so from here bring the hands to the tops of the knees and start to push the knees away from the torso until gravity pulls the feet to the floor with a satisfying thud you can do that again it feels really good I'm going to reorient myself so I'm easier to see you'll stay on the floor and now that the feet are back on the floor will scooch the feet together and invite the hips to externally rotate as the knees move in the general direction of the floor now if this causes difficulty challenges swear words to arise elevate or support the outer legs with blocks and from here as you breathe in will press the soles of the feet together with purpose and as you breathe out let it go breathing in pressing the soles of the feet together and breathe out let it go a little bit more and we'll keep that up maybe two more times and if you're feeling like singing let it go you can do that everyone's doing it and this next time make it count let go even more we'll have to have a real sing-along here bring the hands to the back of the head let the weight of your head settle into your hands let your shoulders settle into the floor and just by like a millimeter pull the hands away from the tops of the shoulders so you have the slightest little tuck of the chin I'm hesitant to even call it a tuck just a lengthening through the back of the neck and then invite the shoulders to move away from the ears and we'll breathe in here and as you breathe out we'll just sort of turn the eyeballs of your face and your elbows to look at the left knee inhale back to the center and as you breathe out look at your right knee with your eyes and with your elbows and we'll come back to the center and we'll do that maybe two more times at most on each side breathing in back to the center letting the head become really heavy as you gently set the head back down on the floor releasing the clasp of the hands helping the knees back together and just notice what you feel invite the belly to move a millimeter closer to the spine just an engagement not a sucking in from there press the feet into the floor lift the hips just enough to slide your block underneath your sacrum and hold on for stability if that's what's required but from here can you invite the eyes of the sitting bones again to start to gaze in the general direction of the back of the knees can you invite the belly to move just the teensiest weensiest bit closer to the spine and the heart to bloom and you might do that again like a lot just happened sitting moans look toward the back of the knees belly moves just the teeniest bit closer to the spine heart blooms my head didn't move and from there draw the right knee to the chest draw the left knee to the chest with a breath out extend the right leg toward the sky extend the left leg toward the sky and so a lot is a lot is happening here alignment wise engagement wise to support the shape to support the body in the shape can we leave a little room for ease maybe in the face possibly in the jaw in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet notice where you're working and notice what it feels like and with a breath out we'll let the heels become heavy will relax the effort and start to hug the knees in toward the chest and you might let a little sway happen from side to side and from here let a little external rotation happen in the hips so the knees start to point out keeping the knees bent but letting that bend be last let the soles of the feet be just drawn toward the sky more interested in the sky now the arms are up to you some people like to hold the backs of the thigh some people like to reach around to the instep of the big toe or the out step sometimes it's nice just to let the arms bend at the elbows having kind of like a cactus arm happen maybe let a little sway happen from side to side and we're gonna get super subtle here so can you bring your awareness to the tailbone where's your tailbone and can you notice the distance from the tailbone to the right sitting bone where is the right sitting bone where is that and you trace the path and can you locate the tailbone and trace the path from the tailbone to the left sitting bone come back to the tailbone can you notice the distance from the tailbone to the belly button and can you notice the distance from the belly button to the center of the heart and can you notice the distance from the center of the heart to the center of the throat just trace the path in internally walking the interior path and can you trace the path from the center of your throat to the space between the eyebrows let the heels become heavy invite the knees back together slowly release the right foot and the left foot back to the floor and you might just pause here for a moment press the feet into the floor lift the hips just enough to move that block out of the way and roll all the way down and with a breath in we'll hug the knees to the chest and we'll loosely organize a hug around the left knee just let the arms be heavy with a breath out extend the right leg toward the sky and we'll take in a full breath here and as you breathe out start to lower the right leg all the way down to the floor press the heel into the floor and start to notice this like shimmering length that is the right side of the body from the toenails across the top of the foot across the crease of the hip all the way up the right side of the body and with a breath out peel the back of the skull away from the floor just tucking the chin ever so slightly breathing in releasing the head back down breathing out relaxing the grasp on your left leg and just noticing again we'll drag the heels toward the backside hug the knees in organize a loose hug like a casual hug you know it's casual oh you know fast times Ridgemont as you exhale extend the left leg toward the sky taking a full breath here and as you exhale start to lower the left leg all the way down pressing the heel into the floor and being again with just the length of the body can you trace the path from the left foots toenails all the way up holding this right leg tenderly and as you breathe out peel the back of the head from the floor tuck the chin ever so slightly breathing in and release the head breathing out relax the grasp extend fully and just notice as you inhale reach the arms hands and fingers toward the sky and as you breathe out reach the arms hands and fingers up overhead and you might hook thumbs or clasp your fingers or make contact in some other way that makes sense for you and again we'll sort of get in touch with the length of the front of the body from the toenails across the front of the hips the abdomen the chest the underside of the arms and you might again sort of invite the sitting bones to look down toward the feet yeah inviting the body to become as long as possible maintaining that space for ease with a breath out press the middle of your back so the space like right along the center and just at the bottom of the bottom edge of the shoulder blades if you wear a bra it's sort of like bra strap height press that into the floor again leaving room for ease and with all of that still happening the length the gaze of the sitting bones the center of the back invite the belly button again to move like two centimeters one centimeter closer to the spine one centimeter and with your awareness there can you invite then the belly button to move a millimeter closer to the heart so we moved back and up and we'll take in a full breath here and as you exhale exhale everything really let it go and in this quiet space ask the body what it needs it doesn't have to look anything like yoga and we'll do that in preparation for our shape of rest and the shape of rest can be on the back the side the belly legs up the wall wherever you feel held supported restful settle into that stay here as long as you like when it's time to come back come back slowly beginning with a pulsation of movement that spreads across the body slowly make your way back to your vibrant luminous seat and invite the hands to make their way to your heart in a shape that feels natural and meaningful to you thank you so much for sharing this space stay curious