Finding Focus

Hi, and welcome to finding focus. First, I'm gonna ask you to find a bolster. A strap, and 2 blocks. And once you have those goodies, let's lie down. Have your blocks in reaching distance.

Bend your knees. Place your feet on the ground. And then take the soles of your feet together, and open your knees to the sides. And I'm gonna invite you to observe what happens to your lower back as you need an edge of resistance to your inner thighs. So for many of us, The lower back starts to compensate for the restriction that's happening through the inner thighs.

So take a moment to scoop your abdomen in. We're not worrying about pressing the back into the mat. We're just trying to come back to its natural curve. And as you do so, you may feel a little more length, a little bit more of a focused stretch through your inner thighs. To give ourselves some support, Take your blocks now and set them at any height underneath your outer thighs. That allows you to find that opening and maintain the length in your low back.

Rest your hands wherever you feel the greatest ease. And instead of closing the eyes as we start today, Consider finding a point to softly focus on something on the ceiling. And soften your gaze on that spot. So we call finding a point of focus like this in our practice, finding a dristy Even out your breath. And consider taking a moment to set an intention for your practice today.

What brought you here? What something maybe you're hoping to gain or even let go of through the course of our time together? Once you have that gathered, if you'd like, you can join me in an opening home. Nice full breath in. Remove the block from underneath your thighs.

Set them off to the side once again. And now take your hands to your outer thighs. Support your legs as you draw your knees toward each other. Separate your feet about the distance of your front hip points. Draw your front body down and in. Try to keep that as sweep your arms up and overhead stretch to the wall behind you, exhale, hug your left knee into your chest.

And they'll circle your left knee around one direction, getting into your hip socket. These circles can be as large or as small as feels right in your body. Circle back the opposite way, and then settle yourself back center. Hug the left knee in nice and close, and then grab hold. Actually, leave your shot where it is for now. Instead, straighten your right leg out long on the mat, and flex through your foot. And if this is pulling on your lower back or through your hamstrings, please feel free to rebend the right knee.

The right foot can stay on the ground the whole time. If you've taken the right leg long, lift your head, lift your shoulders gaze down the length of your body. If you see your right toes wandering off to the right, spin your inner right side down till your toes point straight up. Set your head and shoulders back on the mat. Take your right hand and place it on your right front hip point as a reminder to keep your right hip grounded.

In how open left leg to the left, only as far as you can go, keeping your right hip grounded. So front hip points are parallel to the ceiling. X. I'll bring your knee back up. Do that again. Inhale. Open to the side.

And exhale back up. One more time in how open to the side pause here. Give a little scoop of your abdomen in. Try to lengthen your low back just like we did with our knees both open to the side at the top of class. And then exhale bring your knee back up.

Rebing your right knee. Put the base of your foot on the ground once again. And now this time, really, and truthfully, grab your strap. Take your strap around the ball of your foot Stretch your foot up to the sky and reach the ball of your big toe up into the strap. Use the strap to try to steer the pinky edge of your foot towards your outer hip and then reach up and out through your heel.

For many of us, this is more than enough Again, if you can do so without straining your back or hamstring, straighten your right leg long on the mat. Without looking at it, this time, spin your inner thigh down until it feels like your knee and your toes are pointing straight up. Place both sides of the strap into your right hand, and now hook your left thumb to your left hip crease. Try to steer your left hip down and away from the waist until your hips feel level and the sides of your waist even in length. And now let's go a hair further with that.

Rotate your left leg until your left toes angle slightly off to the left. Keep that rotation and now put both sides of the strap back into your left hand. Place your right hand on your right front hip point as a reminder to anchor. And now inhale Slowly open your left leg to the left only as far as you can go, keeping your right hip grounded. Everything is gonna wanna tip that way, but we're really gonna anchor through the right side, which means the leg may not open very far, and that's okay.

As you meet your truthful edge here, give a little scoop of your abdomen in. Connect to your core and support. The natural curve of your lower back. X. How bring your left leg back up?

Re binge your right knee if you've straightened it. Remove the strap from around your foot. Rebend your left knee and place the foot down. And as we start the second side, let her strap off to the side. Again, draw your abdomen and front ribs in as you sweep your arms up and overhead. Exhile hug your right knee into your chest this time and make circles with your right leg. Again, these can be as large or as small as feels right in your body.

Circle back the opposite way. My hip has things to say about this. Talk sometimes. Bring your right knee into your chest. Hold the leg with both hands, and then explore straightening for your left leg.

And if you get there and it's pulling on your back or your hamstrings, feel free to rebend the left knee at any point in time. If you have the leg stretched out long, breathe out your head, lift your shoulders, gaze down the length of your body. If your left toes have wandered, spin your inner left thigh down until your toes point straight up. And then put your head and your shoulders back on the mat. Leave your right hand on your knee.

Place your left hand on your left front hip point Again, this is a reminder to anchor the left hip as you inhale open right leg to the side, and exhale back up. Do that again, inhale, open to the side, and exhale up. One more time. Hold here. Give a little scoop of your abdomen in. And then exhale, bring the leg back up.

Keep your right knee drawn in. Bend your left knee, putting the base of your left foot on the ground. Grab your strap once again. And take your strap around the ball of your foot. Stretch your foot straight up to the sky.

Press the ball of your big toe up into the strap, steer the pinky edge of your foot down toward your outer hip and then reach through your heel, finding length through your calves, through your hamstrings, Again, if your low back says, okay, straighten the left leg. If it says horrible plan, Ashley, rebend it. Okay. From here, place both sides of the strap into your left hand, hook your right thumb to right hip crease, and steer your right hip down and away from your waist until the sides of your waist feel even in length. From deep within your right hip socket, rotate your right leg now so that your right toes angle a little off to the right. Hold on to that rotation.

Put both sides of the strap into your right hand. Place your left hand once again on your left front point as a reminder to anchor. Keep the rotation as you slowly open your right leg to the right. And I invite you to do this slowly just so you notice a point when the cheek, your left one starts to come away from the mat. Anch or down. Like, someone came in place a sandbag on your hip. And, again, that may mean the leg doesn't open quite as far, and that's okay.

Breathe down your body to the root of your pelvis and exhale as though you could through your inner thighs. Take one more breath here and soup the padangustasana 2, extended hand to big toe pose, and then help bring your leg back up. Read your left knee if you haven't already. Pick up your left foot and place both feet inside of your strap. Bend your knees just shy of 90 degrees.

And pull down against your feet, broaden your chest. From here, slowly try to rock up. Know that it might take a couple of rocks. This is a variation of boat pose, so I feel like rocking is appropriate. Pull back against your feet and see if you can bring your shoulder blades against your back.

Lift your heart and invite your gaze up the wall in front of you. Enough to bring your head in line with the rest of your spine, and then set your heels down. Remove your strap and set it off to the side. Wait for it. Wait for it. Voila. Okay.

Make your way to your hands and your knees. Walk your hands a good 3 inches ahead of your shoulders and parallel the creases of your wrists to top of your mat. Spread your fingers evenly wide. And as you inhale glide forward, lift your heart. Exhale tuck your toes, lift your knees.

Take your hips up and back. Peddle your heels up and down a few times here. Stretching your calves, continuing to lengthen your hamstrings, and then reach back and down through both heels. Walk your hands all the way back to meet your feet. Once you're there, slide fingertips either in line with your toes, or if you feel stuck through your fine or back of your legs, walk your hands lightly to your shins, reach your chest forward.

Acts how folding you're well to bend the knees any amount you need to relieve strain, and then root down. Reach your heart forward as you inhale rise up. Reach up. Pause at the top. Shift forward onto your tip be toes, hug your outer ankles in and try to press down through the ball of your big toe. And if you're dancing a little bit, go with it.

Smooth your bum down, lift your heart, and try to find something to focus on. So we're really strengthening our ankles here, our calves. And then set your heels down and lower your arms down. Come meet me in the center of your mat turn to face one of the long edges, and then place your hands on your hips. Shift your weight onto your left foot, That's my left foot.

Come to the toes of your right. We gotta talk through these things sometimes. Rotate your leg forward and back a few times just like we did lying down. Pos with the knee forward and now look down your body this time. Open your right leg only as far as you can go, keeping your hips parallel to the wall in front of you. You can stay right here toes on the ground. You might slide your foot to your inner calf or if you feel steady doing so, place your foot against your upper inner thigh, just making sure it's above or below the knee, never on it. Right? Gonna split the difference today.

Press your foot into your leg. Press your leg into your foot until you maybe feel your outer hips hug in and your inner thigh lift and engage a bit. Smooth your bum down as you join your hands at your heart center, and now find a point to softly focus on. Again, looking for a drishti, Once you have that point, explore growing your branches, reach your arm long in line with your ears. If you feel like your shoulders are sneaking up to the ears, maybe take a little more space, let the branches widen, and release the area where your neck and your shoulders meet. And then bring your hands back to your heart.

Draw your knee forward. Set your foot down. My favorite part of this. Give a little shift side to side. Settle back center, this time root down through your right foot and come to the toes of your left.

Place your hands on your hips, and rotate the leg forward and back a couple times. The next time your knee is forward, pause there, Look down your body this time as you open your hip, and notice if the right hip starts to follow. Draw your hip back, You can hold here toes on the ground the whole time for added stability. You might slide foot to your inner calf, already here, my tree is dancing, or perhaps you bring your foot to upper inner thigh. What works for you today.

Also, know that if today the balance is just not being on your side, you can always rest your hand on chair or move yourself to a wall for a little bit more stability. Press your foot into your leg. Press your leg into your foot. And try to draw the top of your bum down, creating some length in your lower back. Join your hands at your heart, and find your point of focus.

If and when you're ready, reach your arms in line with your ears. Take the space you need in order to maintain length and ease through your neck here. Rick Shahina Tripos. Bring your hands right back to your heart. Draw your knee forward and set your foot down, and give that little shift side to side.

Okay. Grab your two blocks and set your blocks down wide behind you like so. Bring your feet together, bring your fingertips together, and give a little bend to your knees. You can stack or mindfully pump your feet out, make adjustments as needed so that your ankles are aligned roughly under your wrist. As best you can see.

Once you have your distance set, relax your arms down. Angle your right toes slightly in. And from your left hip socket, rotate your whole left leg open. Draw a line from your front heel all the way to the center of your back arc. And then take your arms open to the sides.

Pour your weight a little heavier to the ball of your left foot as you shift your hips back and reach out over your front leg. When you can't shift or reach anymore, lower your hand to the earth or a prop. Choose the height underneath your hand that you need in order to create even length through both sides of your torso. Draw your front ribs in, and then turn open through your chest, reach your top hand up to the sky. Mount shoulders away from your ears, firm them against your back. If it feels alright in your neck looks skyward, If it's kinder, look forward.

If you're looking for added stability, sometimes it grounds us to look down. Utitatrikonasana extended triangle pose. Press down. Stand yourself back up. Relax your arms and parallel your feet. Second side, angle your left toes slightly in.

This time from your right hip socket, rotate your whole right leg open, and align your front heel with the center of your back arch. Open your arms out to the sides. Poor weight heavier to the ball of your front foot as you shift your hips back. When you can't shift or reach, anymore, take your right hand to the earth or the prop at the pinky side of your leg. If even the height of your block feels a little far away, know that you can always do this with a hand on a chair, or you can even rest your hand higher on your leg.

Turn open through your chest. Take your top pan to the sky. My bindy friends, if you feel yourself starting to move into this rainbow shape, lovely, but a little hard on the back. Bring your ribs in and stretch long through your spine. Choose your point of focus up forward or down.

What feels most steady and what is kindest on your neck. Press down in house, stand yourself back up, relax your arms, and parallel your feet. He'll toe your feet in 1 or 2 heel toes, and then step your feet back together. Grab your strap. We're gonna play with a little bit of added support as we come into one more balancing posture here.

So we're moving towards ardichandrosana half moon pose. Take your strap around your right foot. Step a little bit narrower than we were for our triangle pose here. We'll call it abbreviated triangle stance. Just making stuff up.

And your right toes slightly in once again. And from your left hip socket, rotate your left leg open. A line once more, heel to arch, and walk your hand down your strap as much as you can without pulling your body off the midline. So chest still aligned right over your hips. Give a little bin to your front knee, lean forward.

As you do so, you might need to give yourself a touch more slack, so that you can grab the block that's in your left hander to the left side here. Walk the block forward at an angle of your baby toe And now bring your back foot in a little bit more. Walk your hand down your strap a little more. Shift forward. Walk your block, hair more forward. Root down through your standing leg foot.

And then again, find as much slack as you need to straighten your arm and straighten your leg. Press your foot against the strap just like we did lying down at the top of class. Scoop your abdomen in, try to smooth your bum away from your waist as you turn open through the chest. You may stay right here with the support of your hand on the strap, or explore. Taking your hand off of the strap.

Reach your hand to the sky. Melt your shoulders away from your ears. Either keeping gaze with the earth for added stability and grounding. You can try slowly turning your gaze to the sidewall. And then a big, maybe, on our focus day in time, invite the gaze to follow Skyward.

Bring your top hand to your hip. Return your gaze to the ground. Bend your left knee deeply. And step way back with your right foot. As best, you can eyeball, set heel to arch alignment.

Bring your hand underneath your shoulders. Stretch your heart straightforward. Stand it up parallel your feet. If the ground felt very far away, even with the block there. Know that in place of a block, you can always use a chair, raise the ground higher to you.

Grab your strap. And take the strap around your left foot this time. Alright. Angle your left toes slightly in. And rotate your whole right leg open. A line heel to arch, and initially here, walk the hand down.

Feel what it is to have enough tension so that as you pull up against it, again, your chest stays aligned right over your hips. Bend your right knee just on top of the ankle. So not to a full right angle here, just the ankle. Right? Give yourself enough slack with the strap that you can get your right hand down to a block or your chair. Walk your block a little bit forward and then bring your foot in a few more inches. Walk your block even further forward And now shift on to your right foot, the ball of it a bit more.

Press into your strap as you lift your leg to create a bit more stability. If you feel yourself crunching in your low back, scoop your abdomen in, and think of lengthening your tailbone to your lifted leg heel, as you stretch out to the crown of your head. You can stay right here. You might let go of the strap. Try to take your top arm up, imagining you had one long line you were drawing from bottom hand to top hand.

Gaze can stay at the earth for added stability. Maybe you challenge the balance a little further, taking your gaze straightforward. Big, maybe. Gaze Skyward. Return top hand to your hip, gaze to the floor.

Bend your right knee deeply. Step back with your left foot. Look down. Bring your block back under your shoulder. Reach your heart forward.

Press down, stand yourself up, and parallel your feet. We did it. Sometimes there's a lot of stumbling that happens through this. And part of finding balance in our life finding focus is like living in that little teeter totter. So if you fell how fun that means you have something more to explore with it. If you didn't fall, don't get attached, you might fall tomorrow.

It's part of it. So set your strap to the side. And your blocks to the side. Keep your blocks in reaching distance of the top of your map and grab your bolster. Take your bolster.

Toward the middle of your mat, and then come lie on your front body. Place your forearms down. Elbows right underneath your shoulders. So replacing the bolster right underneath the abdomen to help us maintain some length in the lower back as we invite in a little bit of a back bending shape to counter all of that hip opening work we've been doing. These blocks here, We're gonna place them flat underneath the forearms to raise the ground a little bit closer to us and maybe help find a touch more of a lift through the heart.

Now, for many of us, this is more than enough. Smooth your bum away from your waist, lift through your heart, and open your chest. Per maybe, as a friend of mine likes to say, You bend your right knee. Big per maybe. Take the block that's underneath your left forearm.

Turn it horizontal, and then do the same thing with your left forearm. Bring it parallel to the top of your mat. The hand can rest on your other block. Reach back with your right hand. And if accessible without strain, grab the block, grab the block, grab your foot. I sometimes call them blocks.

We're gonna go with that. Kick your foot back against the hand, and notice how the resistance back hopefully invites a little bit more length through your low back as you lift and expand through your chest. Find a point on the earth way out in front of you to focus on. And then, Let the foot go. Take your forearms down.

Turn the block that you turned horizontal back to vertical. And we pause here a moment, breathe into your back. Again, you can keep staying right here in your supported swinks pose the whole time. If you'd like to explore finding the left foot this time, take the block that's underneath your right forearm and turn it horizontal. Place your forearm on the block so that your forum is parallel to the top short end of your map.

Bend your left knee. You can pause in this place. Simply keeping left hand on the ground or resting on top of the other hand. If accessible without strain, reach back and grab hold of your left foot. Press down for the top of your right foot, smooth bum away from your waist, like you could point tailbone down between your legs and then kick your foot back against the hand as you lift and expand your heart.

Bring your gaze to the earth way out in front of you. And that slight look down is just there to help us keep a little bit of length through the back of the neck as we open the front body. This is a single leg version of Don Urasana Bow pose. And exhale, mindfully let your foot go. Take your forearms to your blocks.

Draw your chin slightly in. We take a breath here, and now remove your block. Set them off to the side. Hand drape yourself over your bolster. I like to make a little pillow with my hands here.

You can allow your forehead to rest on your hands, breathe into the resistance of the bolster to fill and expand your back. So finding a point of focus goes a bit hand in hand with our 6th limb of yoga. Dorana is often translated as concentration. Press yourself up to your hands and your knees. Turn your bolster, horizontal on your mat, and come take a seat on it.

Cross as close to the center of your shins as you can manage without strain, and then flex through your feet. Press into the Earth, and he'll reach to the sky. X, I'll twist to your right. If the hand or if you've raised yourself so much that the hand is drawing you back to put it down, put your hand on a block. Bring the ground to you, and help up the length of your body as you exhale, maybe revolve a little more to your right.

Keep the t shape of your twist. Turn your gaze forward. Cross. Your right arm over your left and give yourself a hug. Draw your chin slightly in, and I'll breathe into the fullness of your back. To exhale, let it go.

Switch the cross of your legs, creating balance for your hips, flex your feet, root down in. I'll rise up. Reach up. Acts. I'll twist to your left. Again, feel free to use a block to raise the ground a bit higher under your backhand. X. I'll look forward cross your left arm over your right.

Give yourself a hug. Full breath into your back. And exhale unwind your arms. Uncross your legs. Come off of your bolster, and now set your bolster.

Toward the bottom third of your mat. Move blocks out of the way. I'm gonna give a little support underneath the legs. As we set ourselves up for Shavasana. So bolster underneath the knees as you lie back, is a nice way to keep the lower back gently lengthen, it lessens the tendency for pulling through the hamstrings or the back.

Invite your arms to fall wherever you feel the greatest ease and either close your eyes. Or if you prefer, come back to a point to focus. If your head is falling uncomfortably far back, where you find your gaze drifting to the wall behind you, you can always place a towel or a blanket underneath your head. So the practice of Daurana or concentration is the work of binding your mind to one object, to one idea, It's a little bit like the anchor of a ship. And if we think of our mind as the ship itself, When untethered, it goes adrift.

That little chain between the boats and the anchor Is the practice of concentration itself? It's making that decision to look at the dot on the wall. It's making the decision to bind the mind to one place, to one object. But even when we've set that choice for ourselves, it is human that we get distracted by the senses. The boat drifts a little bit, but then we remember our object.

We remember our idea. And as the line grows taught, we come back to it. That anchor, that point of focus we've chosen, prevents us from drifting too far off. We may sway a little, and then we're brought back. And so whether it be stepping on to your mat, or sitting down to meditate.

Keep finding the things in your life that anchor you. That draw you back again and again to your place of focus. Of balance. If you're at ease here, please stay here as long as you'd like. Otherwise, welcome a little movement to your fingers, to your toes.

With an inhale, maybe sweep your arms up and overhead, stretch the length of your body. And as you exhale bend your knees, roll carefully onto your right side, make a little pillow with your arm and pause here for a few breaths. Give the earth any residual effort from your practice. And then press the floor away and bring yourself up to seated. Join your hands together at heart center.

Lift your chest. We bow our chins and gratitude. Namaste. Thanks for sharing your practice.