Taking Flight

Welcome to taking flight. I'm so happy you've joined me to practice today. We're gonna start in a nice comfortable seat with your favorite shin in front. Let your palms rest on your lap or on your knees. If it feels comfortable, just close your eyes.

And let's take a nice big breath in through the nose. And sigh it out through the mouth. One more time. Inhale. And exhale. Take a moment in your seat with your eyes closed to begin to drop into the body.

Feeling the heaviness, the weight of the sit bones into the earth, start to lift the upper body off of the pelvis so that we feel as the sits bones ground down into the earth, that the crown of the head is reaching up towards the sky. Relax your shoulders. Relax your jaw and feel any tension that may be present in your face, in your fingertips, in your toes, Feel it start to go away, soften through the low belly, And then allow your awareness to just simply drop into the breath. See, for a moment, you can simply witness and watch every inhale. And every exhale as they are naturally happening.

Noticing if there are any other parts of the body that feel tense. That feel tight. And with your awareness, just allowing that awareness to begin to create space. To begin to create freedom in the body so that the body can start to take flight. Start to gently deepen your breath as you are ready, breathing in through the nose, draw the breath low into the belly so that the belly expands, the ribs expand, and the chest fills.

And as you exhale, feel the breath leaving from the chest, from the ribs, from the belly. Inhaling belly, ribs, and heart, exhaling from the heart, from the ribs and from the belly. 2 more rounds. Big inhale. Bottom all the way to the top. Exhale from the top, out the bottom.

And last one, full inhale, belly, ribs, hearts, out from the heart, the ribs. And the belly. And then just allow your breath to return to its natural, steady rhythm. Take a moment to feel any shifts in the body. Any shifts to the mind. You can keep your eyes closed or you can open your eyes, but we'll inhale.

Just arch the back. Send the heart forward, pull the shoulders back, and then exhale. Tuck the tail, curl and round. Really attracting through the shoulder blades. And moving forward and back quite simply, quite slowly to begin arching and opening.

Axhelling rounding. Let's do that a few more times. Spas and linger anywhere that feels stuck, anywhere that feels tight. It needs a little love, a little attention. And last time, lift, open, broaden across the chest.

And exhale round. Create that space through the low back and then come back to center. Release your legs. We'll begin to make our way onto our hands and our knees in a tabletop position. So find your hands right under your shoulders, your knees right under your hips, toes spread nice and wide, especially the pinky toes really plugging down into the mat. So we start to open up the low back and open up the sacrum.

Inhaling arching the back, dropping the belly, sending the heart forward, and then exhale tuck the tail, curl and round. Few more times just like that, inhaling arching and opening. Exhale. Round and coil. Last time, inhale arch and open.

And exhale round. And coil. And from here, as you find a nice neutral spine, flat back, tuck your toes, lift your knees, send your hips up and back for a first downward facing dog. Go ahead and pedal out through the feet. Move the head. Yes.

That had no. Go from hand to hand to foot to foot, noticing what's going on in the hands and in the shoulders and If our shoulders are feeling heavy, there's a lot of weight, see if you can bend your knees and shift a little bit more weight back into the legs. Maybe pull the pinky fingers in slightly closer to the other fingers. Let's take a nice big breath in. Big breath out.

One more time. Inhale. And exhale. Slow journey to the top of the mat, perhaps tinting your fingertips to give yourself space to take those little teeny tiny steps to get there. Once you're there, start to slowly roll up the spine one vertebra at a time. Head comes up last.

Shoulders are gonna roll at the very top. Take a moment and pause here with the arms down by the sides. A slight bend to the knees. Close your eyes and just come back to your breath. Feel yourself rooted down through the feet. Feel the upper body lifting up and off of the pelvis.

So we're rooting down We're rising up. We're preparing the body to take that flight in how the arms, high to the sky. And exhale. Bend your knees. Come on down into your forward bend. Step it back downward facing dog.

Come forward into a high plank. From your high plank, we're gonna lower the knees. Keep the butt up nice and high. Lower the chest and the chin between the arms and then glide forward onto your belly pressing into the tops of the feet baby cobra, hard and lungs forged shoulders back, and elbows hit. Forehead comes down.

Again, press the feet. Energize the legs. Lift through the chest. 4 head comes down. Tuck your toes, press up into plank, downward facing dog.

Take a big breath in. Take a big breath out. One more time. Inhale. And exhale. Slow walk again.

Very deliberate here, tempting fingertips, perhaps, coming to the top of the mat. Once we're there half lift, hands to shin's heart forward shoulders back, exhale fold. Again, half lift, Arda, Utanasana, hard forward, but back, exhale fold. Circle the arms out and up as you rise up and reach up arms high. Exhale. Bring the palms together at the heart.

Inhale, reach up, rise up, exhale, bend the knees, slowly come down into your fold, step back high plank. Lower the knees. Shoot the butt up to the sky. Keep the butt high as you lower the chest and the chin down. Slide forward and up.

Baby cobra, heart reaching forward. Forehead comes down. Again, press the feet lift through the chest. Forehead comes down. Tuck the toes, press up into plank, downward facing dog.

5 breaths here. So reestablishing that contact with the breath to the belly, to the ribs, to the heart, And as we exhale and empty, perhaps the chest can move back a little bit more towards the knees and the thighs. One more big inhale. Big accel. Last time we slowly walk forward to the top of the mat, half lift art at Utsanasana, heart 4, exhale fold.

Again, halfway up, hard forward, butt back, shoulders back. And exhale fold. Press into the feet to rise up, reach up arms high, and exhale palms to the heart. Inhale rise, exhale fold down, step back to your plank, From your plank, lower the knees, butts high, lower chest, lower chin, slide forward and up, baby cobra, 4 head comes down. Again, press the feet.

Lift the chest. 4 ahead comes down, tuck your toes, press to plank, downward facing dog. Take a nice big inhale. Big exhale. One more time. Inhale.

And exhale. Inhale the left leg, high to the sky, circle out that left foot a few times one way, few times the other way really finding the right foot grounding down, and then take the left knee towards the nose. Look forward. Gently step the left foot forward between the hands. Reach the arms high, high crescent lunge, Astrachandrasana.

To make sure that we're spinning our left hip back, our right hip forward, Make sure the left knee is moving forward. So left knee is right on top of the ankle, slight tucking to the tail so we can lift up through the navel and through the sternum. Take a nice big inhale. Take a big exhale. Inhale fill up, exhale start to shift forward with the palms to the heart, warrior 3.

So shifting the weight forward into the left leg. Let the right leg lift up find a solid flex to the right foot. Press back through that right heel so the front of the body can take flight forward. Let the thumbs really connect into the heart and lift the back of the heart for 3. For 2, we're going into warrior 1 from here.

Right foot's gonna land near the back of the mat 45 degrees. Arms reach up to the sky. So again, finding that nice generous bend to the left knee, guide the left hip back, and the right hip forward. Anchor into the outer edge of the back foot. So we feel the back thigh really engaging.

And again, lower ribs here start to draw in so we can lift up and get even taller. Take a big breath in, Excel, reach your arms back for a variation of devotional warrior, starting to surrender the left shoulder towards the left knee, towards the left thigh. Find your big toes to your outer heels. Find your pinky toes to your inner heels and lift through the arches and let that energize a slight lift through the torso. 2 more breaths.

And then we're gonna come back up warrior 1. Open it up warrior 2. So adjust your feet so that left heel is lining up with the arch or the heel of the back foot. Left knee on top of the ankle. Shoulders relax.

Arms extend out nice and wide. Gaze is over the middle finger of that left palm. Flip the left palm up. Keep the left shin reaching forward. Peaceful. Left palm flips up, reach up and back.

Float your hands down, downward facing dog. From our down dog, come forward into your plank, lower the knees, lower the chest and the chin, slide forward and up, baby cobra. Forehead comes down one more time. Press the feet. Lift the chest.

Fore ahead comes down, tuck the toes. Use your strength. Press up to plank. Downward facing dog. Take a nice, big breath in, exhale release, One more time. Big inhale.

Big exhale. Send your right leg high to the sky this time. Circle through the right foot a few times one way, a few times the other way, really feeling yourself ground down through the ball of that left foot And then draw the right knee to the nose. Look forward between the hands. Step the right foot forward between the hands coming up into your high crescent lunge.

Ashtna Chandra. And again, same thing here. The right hip spins back. Left hip spins forward. Lower ribs drawing in, tailbone slightly tuck.

So there's this really lovely containment which allows us to lift up and to start to let the upper body take that flight. Find the right big toe plug into it. And then bring your palms to your heart. Big breath in, exhale shift forward warrior 3. Slowly tipping into the right leg.

Let the left leg lift up. Lift the heart into the thumbs. So that we're lifting softly through the back of the heart, press back through that left heel. And as you press back, think that the front of the body is just flying, flying forward for 3. For 2, Warrior 1 for 1, left foot lands, arms reach up.

Right knee bends, right hip back, left hip forward. Take a moment. Notice what's happening in the feet. In the foundation, find the big toes to the outer heels, find the pinky toes to the inner heels, lift the arches, and energize that lift through the upper body. Press into the back foot even more.

Activate that back thigh. And then reach the arms back as you come into this variation of devotional warrior, reaching back to find that, yes, even as we fold forward, the heart is yearning forward. That right shoulder is yearning down for the right knee for the right thigh and were anchored into the back foot. Anyhow, reach it up while you're one, axel, adjust your feet to open up nice and wide warrior 2. So same thing here.

That right heel lined up with either arch or heel of back foot. Shoulders relax, lower ribs draw in, right knee on top of the ankle. Flip the right palm up. Reach up, reach back. Peaceful warrior.

Move that right shin bone forward. Float your hands down, downward facing dog. Come forward into your plank, lower knees, lower chest and chin, slither it forward, baby cobra, really pressing the feet. 4 head comes down. Again, press the feet.

Lift the chest. Send the lungs forward. Forehead comes down, tuck your toes, back to plank, downward facing dog. Big breath in, sigh it out release. Inhale. And exhale.

Left leg high. Take the knee to the nose, the left foot forward, high crescent lunge, reach the arms up to the sky. Nice, big breath in, exhale, arms back this time shift forward into warrior 3. Pressing back through the right heel, lift the heart. And then warrior 1, right foot lands, arms reach up to the sky.

Arms fly back again, devotional warrior, crown of the head surrendering towards the earth, bring it back up warrior 1. Open it up warrior 2. This time flying warrior, you're gonna turn your left toes in feet are parallel to the sides of the mat. Reach the arms high. And then open it up to the back of your mat.

Warrior 2. Peaceful. Right. Palm flips up. Reach up. Reach back. From here, take flight, Artichendrosa half moon.

Tip into the right leg like you're going into warrior 3. Right fingertips to the earth to a block or maybe the right fingertips hover I love hovering the fingertips here so that the right side of the body doesn't feel so heavy. Find the right big toe out of right heel right pinky toe inner right heel, perhaps left arm scoops up to the sky, and maybe the gaze goes up to the sky. Breathing for 3. Press back through that foot for 2.

And for one wide legged forward fold. Take a moment here. Bend your knees and sway it outside to side. Shake your head. Yes. Sheek your head. No.

And then let's find a moment of stillness. So some of you are gonna enjoy the heels, the toes out, the heels in. Some of you are gonna enjoy the toes and heels out. See what feels best in your body. I like to come down into the hands.

Press down and forward into the earth to start to lift the buttock bones as high as I can up towards the sky, keeping at least a gentle, gentle bend to the knees. Take 3 more breaths here. Shake your head. Yes. Shake your head. No. And then let's spin back towards that right leg, right foot step the right leg back downward facing dog.

Come forward into your plank, lower knees, Chest and chin, glide forward and up, baby cobra, forehead comes down. One more time, press the feet, lift up. 4 head down. Tuck your toes. Press into plank and downward facing dog. Take a nice big inhale.

Great big exhale. One more time. It now. Big exhale. Send your right leg high. Take the knee to the nose.

Look forward. Right foot steps forward. High crescent lunge. Arms reach up to the sky. Find your stability in your balance and then reach the arms back as you shift forward warrior 3 pressing back through that left heal. Hard and lungs reach forward.

Warrior 1, left foot lands. Arms reach up to the sky. Arms back for a variation of devotional, right shoulder, dipping down towards the right knee towards the right thigh. In hell brings you back up warrior 1, exhale. We open it up warrior 2 adjusting your feet.

Peaceful. Right palm flips up. Reach up. Reach back. Warrior 2, turn your right toes in. Flying warrior.

Arms high to the sky. Expand upper body taking flight. Shift forward into warrior 2 facing the front of the mat. And then we're gonna start to tip forward into the left leg as if we're going into warrior 3, but we're going into Artichendrasana Half Moon. Perhaps the left fingertips to a block to the earth, maybe you're hovering the left hand on this side as well, but lift the right leg.

Press back through the right heel and let that energize the upper body flying forward. Stay with it and breathe. Perhaps right arm up for 3. 2. Wide legged forward fold one last time for 1.

Bend your knees and just sway it outside to side, release through the inner thighs. And then keeping these bent actually quite deeply so that we can really find the thighs moving back reach the heart forward so crawl your fingertips as far forward as you can. And feel as if you're resisting the heart reaching forward by pushing the hips back, breathing here, getting nice tractioning along the length of the spine for 3, for 2 and for 1. Call your hands back. Come back towards the top of the mat. Step the left leg back downward facing dog.

Come forward into your plank. One last time, knees. Chest chin. Glide it forward and up. Baby cobra.

Forehead down. Again, press the feet. Lift the chest. 4 head down. Tuck the toes. Press into plank.

Downward facing dog. So from our downward facing dog, take a look forward and you're gonna step or jump to the top, half lift lengthen, exhale fold. Let's stay in this forward bend for a moment. Bring your feet slightly wider than hip bone distance apart. Bend the knees. Let your right hand.

Get your left shin Let's your left arm cross over the right arm and the left hand gets the right shin. And then start to bend your knees quite deeply. And as you bend your knees, pull the shins in with the hands, And as you pull the shins in with the hands, move your heart forward, move your butt back, bend the knees a little bit more, inhale. Keep all that contact exhale. Send the butt up to the sky. Inhale, bend the knees, hard forward, butt back.

Exhale, lift the tail up. And just keep moving at your own pace for a moment. Notice when we lose the contact with the shins, Right? When we lose that intentionality, when we're guiding the shins in the heart forward, see if you can stay quite active. Breathing here for 5. Keep going for 4.

For 3, for 2, And for 1, release the shins, release the hands down. Take a moment. Shake your head. Yes. Take your head. No. And then step your left leg back. Lower your back knee down, untuck your toes, and let's take our right foot quite wide for variation here of lizard.

I like to stay down on my hands. You could tense your fingertips. Some of you will come down onto your forearms, but allow this right thigh if it wants to open up, just allow it to naturally be as open as it wants to be. Draw the shoulders back, press into the top of the back foot. And think that from pressing into the top of the back foot, the heart can spiral and take flight forward even more.

Just a couple of breaths right here. And then we're gonna take our right hand onto our right thigh. Start to peel the thigh and the foot open. From there, just begin to gently lean back. Open up the chest. Open up that right thigh bone.

Breathing. Few more breaths. Option to stay right here. This is great. Option to bend your back knee.

Point the toes towards the glutes. Reach back with the right hand, get the back foot, and then relax that left frontal hip point down. Let the heaviness and the weight of that left foot in the right hand, open up the right collarbone for 3. For 2, And for one, release through that back foot. Bring your right hand back down.

Tuck your back toes. Lift your back knee. Step forward. And fold. Half lift lengthen, exhale fold.

Step your right leg back. Walk your left foot a little bit wider as you lower your back knee down. Again, options here, maybe we stay on the hands, maybe run the fingertips, maybe you grab blocks for your forearms. But as we come onto the top of the back foot, think that as you press into the top of the back foot that gives the body and the torso the inspiration to really draw the heart in the lungs forward, and then let the left thigh, let the left foot just open up as much as it naturally wants to. Two more breaths.

Keep moving the heart. Keep moving the lungs forward. And then stay on your right hand or fingertips or forearm your left hand onto your left thigh. Peal the thigh and the foot open lean back. Keep surrendering that right front, so he'll hit point down.

Breathe. And you're welcome to stay right here or gently bend your back knee point the toes. Maybe reach back with that left hand. Get the foot. Tenancy is for us to pull aggressively.

And I want you to resist that and really invite the heaviness of the right foot to meet that left hand. So there's the right frontal hit point surrenders. Right? We get that opening quite naturally, not only in the thigh, but also in the left collarbone for 3. For 2, and for one. Carefully release that left foot.

Plant your left hand down. Walk that left foot back so you're on your hands and your knees and just take a moment and circle and stir through the hips. We'll shift over onto our buns, bringing our legs long in front of us and just take a moment to shake out your legs. Put a bend to your knees so press down into the center of the heels so that as we press down to the center of the heels, the chest can lift the pelvis can tip forward. Inhale reach the arms high.

Exhale fold forward any amount, perhaps getting big toes, perhaps getting the outer edges of the feet. Try to keep at least a soft bend to the knee so we're not hyper extending, but instead, we're keeping currency moving through the body. And then keep moving the chest forward. Push the butt back. Let that upper body take flight for 3 more breaths.

Big inhale. Big exhale. Release the feet or the toes. Find Sukhasana easy seat as you're ready. And place your left hand right on your heart.

Place your right hand on your belly. Move the heart forward into that left hand and then lift slightly up, feeling the weight, feeling the heaviness of the sits bones plugging down, crown of the head reaching up to the sky, close your eyes, and just drop into the body and notice what has shifted. Notice where there's more space, where there is more volume, and bow your head towards your heart. And just acknowledge your effort today and the space that you've created with gratitude. Namaste.