Get Your Spirit Moving

(waves crashing) Welcome, I'm Bex, and this is a quicky, shine and glow sequence. So come to a comfortable seated position on your mat and settle in, close your eyes. When you close your eyes, you open the inner gaze. Everything is happening there anyway. So you seal that sense of vision and it heightens what you hear, what you smell, taste, and even the feeling of your clothing touching your skin.

(deep breathing) So the heart of the practice is happening right now. You pay attention with each breath. (deep breathing) So it is a short sit, a very sweet one. And my hope is always the same, that it leaves you kind of craving more, so that you find time for brief sits until you make time for longer ones. So bring your hands to your heart center in prayer and pick that intention, dedication, mantra, or motivation for this practice, and then rise to the center of the chest and allow the chin to fall.

Slowly open your eyes, and you'll take the next 15 breaths to begin in your favorite shape. So whatever that is that you know you're ready for. I'm gonna take child's pose. So you come into that shape that inspires you to practice and just taking your time to breathe there. If you feel like you're not certain what your shape is, and you want instruction, come into child's pose.

Breathe here, let your forehead rest. And then move your left hand just outside the left side of your mat and stack your right palm on top. (deep breathing) If you're not in child's pose with a gentle side bend, you're doing whatever it is you love to do. If you're doing something that's two-sided, take your time, finish that cycle of breath, and switch to the other side. So now, right hand outside the right side of the mat, left palm on top, forehead rest, gentle side bend, breathe.

(deep breathing) Wherever you are, take the next two rounds to complete that pose that you take so much joy in. And then make your way forward onto your forearms. So elbows below the shoulders, forearms on the mat, right leg back, left leg back, forearm plank. So here you are, you settle in and breathe. Bend the knees and then straighten them.

Bend and then straight. Exhale one more time, bend. Inhale, straight. Then lower the knees to the floor, and lower the pelvis to the floor and come into just a very gentle, very sweet cobra. Sphinx pose.

So you hold the sphinx and breathe. You can even nod the chin to the chest and let there be a uniform length of the back bend. Slowly, slowly, gently release. Put the hands under the shoulders. Press back through child's pose if you like, and then downward facing dog.

You know that at any time in the practice you can take child's pose, it's there for you. So you just take your time, pedaling into your feet. Moving around, letting your head turn to the left and the right, letting everything that needs to wriggle out, wriggle out. And then very slowly walk your hands back to your feet, so you journey to the back of the mat. You grab for an opposite elbow and you allow the torso to swing side to side.

(deep breathing) Take the hands back to the floor. Walk back to downward facing dog. Inhale, plank pose. Exhale, dog. Inhale, right leg lifts.

Step the right foot forward. Shin bones vertical, thigh bone horizontal. Hands to the hips. Inhale, torso upright. Exhale, stay.

And then inhale, straight in the front leg. And exhale, bend. Inhale, straight. Exhale, bend. Inhale.

And exhale. Hands to the floor, right leg back. Lower all the way down to the mat. Use the support of the knees if you need it. Roll the thigh bones in.

Shrug shoulders up to the ears, and then roll them down. Elbows toward the side body, inhale, lift. Exhale, release. Find your way back to downward facing dog. Feet come together.

On your inhalation, rise the left leg. Knee to the nose. Lift. Knee across. Lift.

And then same knee, same elbow. Step the left foot forward. Hands on the hips. Find that length through the back leg. So you reduce the bend in the knee, and then there's ears sliding back.

Inhale, straight. Exhale, bend. And bend. Last time. And bend.

Both hands to the floor. Step the back foot forward. Inhale, lift chest. Exhale, fold. Inhale, come all the way up.

Grab hold of your elbows with your opposite hands. Slide the ears back and the arms back. Inhale here. Exhale, lean over to your right side. As you go to the right, feel how the right shoulder gently comes forward and so does the left hip, and there's a natural curve through the spine.

And you just breathe. Legs are working. Side bending. (deep breathing) And then inhale, come up. Root through the feet and exhale over.

So as the right shoulder kind of disappears back, the right hip presents more forward, as does the left shoulder, it comes forward. So feels like you're gently twisting, bringing yourself back into balance. Ears back, head back. Buoyancy through the center of the chest. And then inhale, come up.

Hands to the heart center in prayer, breathe. Remember that intention, dedication, motivation, or mantra. And then inhale, your arms up. Exhale, fold forward and down. Inhale, lift the chest.

Exhale, the right leg back. Then the left leg, inhaling. And then slowly take Chaturanga. You can take low cobra or upward facing dog. Downward facing dog.

Lift the right leg, inhale. Bring the right knee to the nose, exhale. And then inhale. Exhale, knee to the nose. Inhale.

Knee to the nose. This time keep the knee and the nose, and then step the right foot forward. Sometimes you need the hand behind the calf. You're in that lunge here. Elbows to your sides like you're serving two trays.

We're adding on. You're inhaling, straightening the leg, the arms are coming out to the side. Exhale, bend. Inhale, straighten. Exhale, bend.

Final one, inhale, arms straight and legs straight. And then exhale, fold forward and down. Flex the front foot for more of a length and cohesive sensation through the back of the right leg, or have a little bend in the foot down folding. (deep breathing) Bend the right knee, take the right leg back. Plank pose, either immediately into child's pose, down dog, or you're cycling through whatever adds that sweetness to your movement.

Lift the left leg, three times knee to the nose. Exhale. Inhale. Exhaling, rounded. Inhale.

On this final one, bring the knee to the nose, hold it, and then step the left foot forward. You can use the assist of the hand behind the calf, if that supports you. And then very, very slowly, find your way where your elbows are to your side. Inhale, straighten the left leg as the arms reach out. Exhale, bend.

Inhale, straightening. And bend, it's like you're just flossing through. Inhale, both straight, and then hinge forward, little bend in the knee, if you need it, and then fold. Add a flex of the foot, if that supports you, and then as you feel the breath pouring through the body, release somewhere where you're really holding on. So you're just breathing and enjoying the sensations, and then simply bend the left knee.

Hands down, plank. This time come onto the forearms. Take the right hand close to the left, so when you look down the right elbow, the wrist is at a diagonal, and come into the form Vasisthasana. This happens to be my favorite, because as you lift, the form gives you that lift, and you can get a sense of the side body, and there's no rushing. You just kind of ease your way into the shape and breathe.

And then gracefully come down and you go to the other side. So you pivot on the elbow, roll onto the left foot or the outer blade. Lift up, ears back. So there's a tendency to swim with the arms or the head forward, so kind of ride them back in that place where you feel like you're in that long line of energy, and then come back down onto the right forearm, lower the knees, the thighs, pubic bone, and then just kind of lift into sphinx again. Slowly release, hands slide under.

You can take child's pose or make your way through a reverse of the plank, downward facing dog. Step the right foot forward, left heel in, come into warrior two. So ground through the feet, allow the shoulders to stack over the pelvis and the knee to track over the ankle. Extend the arms. I always check out my back arm just to make sure it's really working at the same rate as my right one.

And then gently lower the left arm, reach the right arm up. Sitting deeply into the reverse. (deep breathing) Inhale, up through warrior two. Place the forearm to the thigh. Utthita Parsvakonasana.

Coming into that long side angle. If you prefer, you can take the left hand behind you and grab for the right thigh, and then sit a little deeper. (deep breathing) Adding on here, place the right hand just outside the right foot. You may want to release the left arm, left hand to hip, shimmy the foot, and then slide into Ardha Chandrasana. So you come into Ardha Chandrasana.

If you feel like you need a little more support, keep the hand on the floor, tented. If you need less, come onto the palm. It'll make you require more balance. And then you can extend through the arm in the air, the left arm, reaching. So five long lines of energy.

If you know you can grab the foot, Ardha Chandrasana Chapasana. You can go for the sugar cane pose. If that doesn't excite you, it's not worth it. Then very slowly step that left leg way back. Bend the right leg back.

Plank pose, breathe here. Three rounds of breath. If you'd like to cycle through Chaturanga to low cobra or up dog, now would be the time. Otherwise, simply steady yourself here. Downward facing dog.

Step the left foot forward. As the left foot steps forward, come into warrior two. On this side, settle in, find your breath, and then use the alignment, right, to inspire you to be still. Not to be so rigid that you can't shimmy or feel freedom in the shape. Reach the left arm up, right arm down.

You can either look up, to the side, or you can look towards your back foot. (deep breathing) Inhale, up. Transition through to the long side angle. When the right arm reaches over and the right ribs slightly go back, you have the option to heave the right hand over, bicep grazing the ear, or the right hand grabbing the left thigh, breathing. (deep breathing) Right hand returns to right hip.

Left hand reaches outside and slightly in front of the left baby toe, and then you slide into you Ardha Chandrasana. So again, you have all the options to be on the tented fingertips of the left hand, the palm, right hand on the hip, reaching up, or to grab for the foot. Breathing. (deep breathing) Slowly, gently making your way out. Right leg back, left leg back, plank pose once again.

You can stay in the plank or move through. (deep breathing) Step the right foot forward, come into warrior two. Inhaling. Exhale, stay. Inhale, straighten the right leg.

Slide into Utthita Trikonasana. So a little bend in the knee always helps the transition, and then the hand grabs for whatever's available, Outer thigh, outer knee, shin, reaching up. I find, for those of you who have a little lock in that knee, a little micro-bend in the hand on the shin, give that a feedback and you'll find those muscles, those quiet ones that don't always get to talk. They get to join in on the conversation here. So then you just breathe.

(deep breathing) Inhale, come up. Exhale, pivot. Take warrior two, leading with the left leg. Straighten and slide into triangle on this side. Little bend in the knee.

Same cue of finding that space. Inhaling. (deep breahting) Inhale, come all the way up. Turn your feet parallel. Hands on your hips.

Fold forward and down. (deep breathing) In separate leg stretching, here, if you need an extra breath, lean in, inhale, lift the chest, and then exhale, fold forward. (deep breathing) Left hand under the face, right hand to the hip. Easy twist, so the hand can stay there or you reach up. Exhale, release.

Switch sides. (deep breathing) Hand comes down, and now you'll simply walk toward the right foot, and come to seated. So you'll come to seated here. If you need something to prop underneath your sit bone to get your legs out in front, you'll take that now. With your legs out in front, you'll flex your feet.

Inhale, lift the chest, Dandasana. (deep breathing) Take your hands underneath your right knee. Slide your right knee in from our asana. So you'll hug it in. There's a little space in between the right foot and the left inner thigh.

Inhale, the arms up, come forward. You can stay in this variation, or you can take the right arm in front of the right shin, if the clasp if available, and fold. If it's not available, stay in any variation that works for you. So holding the foot is fine. The bicep in front of the shin is fine, clasping.

(deep breathing) Inhale, slowly come up. And then gently take the right hand behind you. Left elbow outside. Easy twist, Marichyasana three. Breathe.

(deep breathing) Come back through center. Slide both heels in, and then lift slowly into Ardha Navasana. Hold yourself steady here, breathe. We'll use this pose for clearing and cleansing. If you don't need the hands, don't use them.

If the legs are really shaking, have a bigger bend in the knees. If the legs aren't shaking at all, you can assist in straightening. And see about one and then the other. And then slowly lower the right leg, bend the left knee, inhale, reach up with the right and the left arm. Coming forward, grabbing hold of the foot.

Take it behind, forward fold. (deep breathing) Inhaling, sit up. Take the left hand behind you, right elbow outside. Breathe here. (deep breathing) Gently, slowly release.

Slide the leg out, and then slide both heels in and slide the hands behind you. Table top. So in the table top, you see about lifting the chest. If it's not comfortable for the fingertips to be forward, you can certainly point them back. And let the head go.

If that's not comfortable, gaze forward. Slowly come down. Gently cross the legs, pull the knees in. Come onto all fours now, and round your back. Arch your back.

And then slowly downward facing dog. Inhale to the plank. Lower all the way down, and flip over, just like a pancake, onto your back. As you slide onto your back, ease your way down, and then cross your right foot over your left thigh. Slide it in and thread the right arm through the little triangle, and then grab hold of the left shin if it's available.

If it's not available, you can hold onto the right thigh and the left thigh with your hands, or the right foot with your left hand just to give yourself that space. So anything that absorbs that sensation right in those rotators that gives you the feedback that you're not overdoing. So there's that ability to just receive here. Receive opening, receiving settling. Switch sides.

Left foot, right thigh. Again, any of those variations. You can hold the foot, shin, thigh, anything that inspires you to just sort of be with the breath and the shape. (deep breathing) Release, happy baby. Happy baby with a little bit of rock.

So happy baby, rock side to side. Happy baby, rock forward and back. And sometimes the happy baby tends to have a flat back, so see if you can unspool that little part of your lumbar, which is usually a point of confusion for many people, how to get the bottom to sort of blossom back. So see if that's possible for you. Just give a little more length through the lumbar and the spine.

This helps neutralize after those Marichyasana twists. Feet come together. Right hand on the heart, left hand on the belly, and you're in Supta Baddha Konasana. (deep breathing) You could choose to stay here for your Savasana, or you could extend the legs, turn the palms of the hands up. Breathe here.

(deep breathing) As always, you can stay in Savasana, or you can slowly begin to deepen the breath and wiggle the fingers and the toes and allow yourself to awaken with that kind, compassionate heart that you practiced with. And then you take your time and you roll over to the right. If when you're rolling over to the right, and your knees come into your chest, you're finding that you have more energy. When you come up to seated, you could decide to practice again. Pick another sequence and add on.

If not, bring the hands to the heart center in prayer. Inhale. Om. May all beings be happy and free of suffering. Namaste.