Slowga

(waves gently washing over the beach) Welcome, I'm back. And this session, is called Sloga. Find a comfortable seat, cross-legged or whatever resonates with you, and close your eyes. Lengthen up through the spine. Right into the collarbones, and settle in.

(breathes in and out) So feel for the siphons being earthed, and the breath creating a current, that allows you to be rooted deeply. Soften the root of the tongue, and the base of your eyes, in an effort to find that space where effortlessness resides. (breathes in and out) And then just observe everything that's showing up in the mind, watch it. Watch the flow of the breath. Even the softening of the places that you normally hold.

(breathes in and out) And then notice, if your thoughts are beginning to slow down, and, bring more breath in, in a way that supports you in the shape, and also in letting go. (breathes in and out) So you sit, and you watch, and you see that something, nothing, and everything, can happen simultaneously, without response, without reaction. (breathes in and out) Take your time as you call on the deeper breaths to bring the hands to the heart center, anjali mudra. Picking that intention, motivation, dedication, or mantra for the practice. Tune to the chest, heart rises.

And then slowly open your eyes. Take your time and come on all fours. As you come on to all fours, see about turning the hands in and rounding, and arching and then turning the hands towards you, rounding, and arching. And then just getting a little bit creative in your movements so any way the hands wanna go, a little swivel, all the nooks, all the crannies, getting into those spaces with your breath so you're, rhythmically breathing and finding that place, where you can be in your body right now. Right and you can feel the tops of the feet hitting the mat, the palms of the hands connecting with the mat, and all of that, giving you the space to just unravel the rushing.

(breathes in and out) Downward facing dog so the hands spread, look at the fingers as you spread them, they're like starfish and then you just let them saturate in with the mat, and come into down dog. (breathes in and out) So at any time in the practice, you can make your way to child's pose, if it serves you. Or any time you feel like you hear that inner voice say child's pose, just go there. And if it doesn't happen that's fine. (breathes in and out) Walk your hands, your feet to your hands.

And grab for an opposite elbow. Breath here in the forward fold. (breathes in and out) Switch the forearm that's in front, and then fold once again. (breathes in and out) Let the hands come to the floor and then to your shins, and bend your knees and roll up super slowly, bringing the hands to the heart center in prayer. (breathes in and out) Inhale, arms up, look to your thumbs.

Exhale, fold forward and down. See the practice as an offering and take reverence in it. Inhale, lift the chest. Take the right leg back, pause, and then the left leg back. Knees, bend and lower to the mat, and then elbows bend and you exhale all the way down.

Inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, slowly release. Push back through child's pose, or reverse the plank, downward facing dog. So you have a quiet sense in the movement. (breathes in and out) On your inhalation, rise the right leg, step the right foot forward, gaze forward.

Left foot forward. Hands on your shins, inhale lifting, exhale fold. Inhale, come all the way up. Add a tiny back bend if it feels right for you, and then exhale fold forward and down. Inhale, lift the chest.

Exhale, left leg back. Inhale, right leg back. Knees to the floor, slowly lower all the way down. Thigh bones roll in, tops of the feet on the mat, widen the hands for a moment, and then shrug shoulders up, lower the shoulders down, snuggle shoulder blades and then inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, release.

Press back through the plank, downward facing dog. (breathes in and out) Inhale, lift the left leg. Exhale, step the left foot forward. Inhale. Exhale, right foot forward.

Hands on the shins, inhale. Exhale, fold. Inhale from the ground, rise up. Tiny back bend. Exhale, fold forward and down.

Inhale, lift. Exhale, right leg back. Inhale, lengthen, look forward. Exhale, left leg back. Inhale, plank.

Exhale through chaturanga, roll over the toes, inhale, up dog, low cobra is totally fine, too. And then downward facing dog. (breathes in and out) Lift the right leg, inhale. Step the right foot forward, exhale. Inhale, exhale the left foot forward.

Inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, fold. Inhale, come all the way up. Exhale, hands to the heart center in prayer. Bend your knees for utkatasana.

Inhale. Settle into the seat, lift as if there's an eye at the center of the chest right at the sternum, let it gaze softly toward the horizon, and then sit into the seat a bit deeper. Release anything in the shoulders and the neck, just holding. And then fold forward and down, exhale. Inhale, lengthen.

Left leg and then right leg back, plank pose. Move through the vinyasa, or find your way very slowly into downward facing dog. Exhaling, inhaling. Exhaling. Right foot steps, left heel in, virabhadrasana I.

Three rounds of breath here. (breathes in and out) Hands to the foor, exhale. Back leg back, inhale. Cycle through or exhale, simply downward facing dog. Left foot steps, right heel in, inhaling the arms up.

(breathes in and out) Exhale, hands to the floor. Left leg back, inhale. Exhale, downward facing dog. Bend the knees when you exhale, you can step or you can hop, feet to hands, inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, fold.

Deep bend in the knees, inhaling utkatasana. Exhale, fold uttanasana. Inhale, lift the chest. Step to the plank. Move through the vinyasa, or skip it, and go right into child, or downward facing dog.

Right foot, steps. Left heel in, inhale the arms up. (breathes in and out) Exhale, hands down. Inhale, exhale leg back, plank hold. down dog.

Left foot steps, right heel in. Inhale the arms up. (breathes in and out) Exhale, hands down. Pause for the inhale. Leg back, exhale.

Hold for the inhale, down dog. Bend the knees when you exhale, you can step or you can hop the feet to the hands. Inhaling, lift the chest, hands on shins, if you like. Exhale, fold. Deep bend in the knees, inhaling utkatasana.

Exhale, fold forward and down. Inhale, lengthen. You can step or hop back, into the push-up, totally up to you. (breathes in and out) Find your way to down dog. Right foot steps, left heel in.

Inhale, the arms come up, so as you take this shape, in the last warrior, here on the right side, hear the breath and see if you can feel the back leg, and the front leg working equally. (breathes in and out) Exhale, the hands down, this time, right leg back, inhale plank, downward facing dog. (breathes in and out) Left foot steps. Arms come up. And again, that even action through the legs.

(breathes in and out) Hands down, exhale. Left leg back, inhale. Cycle through the vinyasa, where you immediately find your way into child's or down dog. (breathes in and out) Step the right foot forward, left foot forward, inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, fold.

Utkatasana, inhale. Seat back. And come to stand. Close your eyes. Feel the breath.

(breathes in and out) Vrikshasana tree pose, ground down through the left hip, knee and ankle. Your right heel can go on your left ankle, below the left knee or all the way up into the inner thigh. And you press the left inner thigh, and the right foot together, if that's where it's landing. And maybe, if it's not, you lower the foot down. If balance is an issue for you today, like it seems to be for me, you can lower the foot.

Hands come to the heart center in prayer and you breathe. (breathes in and out) The knee will come forward. As the knee comes forward, the hands stay at the heart center. I prefer to bend my left knee, when I transition here into airplane. So as you come into airplane, and you reach the back leg back, you can keep the hands at the heart, extend the arms, have natural up dog little curve in the spine, and then breathe.

If you wanna lower the torso, you can do that. (breathes in and out) And then slowly release, knee to chest, and down. Shake off the legs in between sides, no expectations with what will happen on this right side. Ground down through the right, take the left heel to the right ankle, below the knee or above all the way up on the right inner thigh. Hands together in prayer.

Smooth the breath out, see if you can note the way the right hip turns to go right and bring it a little more toward the mid-line. Steady the gaze. And then slowly bring the left knee forward, I needed to touch the ground. Bend the right knee, take the left leg back, and then the hands can stay at the heart center, or the arms can go back. You may choose to straighten the right leg more or not.

If you notice that one hip is really hiking, and you wanna work on that, you can support yourself in that. Breathe. Knee to the chest, and then the left leg comes down and you shake it out. Breathing here, hands come to the heart center. Inhale, your arms up.

Little back bend, exhale, fold forward and down. Inhale, lift the chest. Step back into the plank. Slowly lower for chaturanga. Low cobra or upward facing dog as you inhale, and then exhale, downward facing dog.

Right foot steps, left heel in, warrior two. Virabhadrasana II. So you widen the stance, roughly wrists above ankles, and then you gauge the arms, breathe. (breathes in and out) Place the right forearm on the thigh, left arm can come over, bicep grazes ear, or if you prefer, the left arm can go straight up. And then have softness in the toes, breathing here.

Typical (mumbles) toward the ceiling. Smooth the breath out, (breathes in and out) Inhale, come up through warrior two, and then straighten the legs, turn the feet parallel. Prasarita padottanasana, so separate legs stretching, inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, fold forward and down, hands to the floor, underneath you. Inhale, lengthen.

Exhale, fold. Shoulders rise up. If you're keen to get the head closer to the mat, you can take a wider stance with the feet. Remember that it doesn't matter, if your head touches the floor or not. It just feels like your head touching the floor if it does.

(breathes in and out) Inhale, lift the chest. Exhale, hands to hips, inhale, come up. Pivot on the left foot, come into a warrior two, bend and breathe. Ground yourself, steady and ease. (breathes in and out) Left forearm to thigh, right arm reaches up, if you like that variation or over.

(breathes in and out) Inhale, come up. Straighten the left leg, and then shorten the stance. Just a round of powerful goddess swift side bending. So sit, I like to always, when I come into a goddess, not always but most of the time, turn the palms up, like I'm receiving the information. And then placing the hands behind the head, sit deeply into the pelvis, just when you find that yummy place.

Right elbow toward the right thigh, exhale. Inhale, come up. Exhale, left elbow towards the left thigh. Inhale, up. And then sit deeper.

Exhale, right. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Last one, exhale.

In, sit, exhale. Inhale. Both legs straight. Parallel the feet and then fold forward and down, piece fingers will grab the big toes. Inhale, lift the chest, and exhale, fold.

(breathes in and out) Inhale, lift your chest, so you'll gracefully, mindfully come to a seated, wide-leg position. Sometimes it's nice to slide the legs wide, bend the knees, take one hand behind you and sit. Upavisthakonasana. If you need to elevate your pelvis, blanket's always helpful. Bolster, Pranayama cushion.

The eyes of the kneecaps looking up, feet are flexed. Inhale, sit up tall. If you have no sensations, you can start to bring the arms forward. If you have a lot of sensations, stay where you are. As you begin to fold, if you fold, just breathe.

And so, wherever you are, you just breathe. (breathes in and out) Inhale, come up. Take the right hand on the left thigh, reach the left arm up, and just side bend over. So, not side bending with the goal to grab the toes, just side bending to roll the left ribs back, to feel as if there's that grounded sense, from the left hipbone, and the reach that breathes you in, so that the experience of the left lung, even hear us to just breathe and soften. (breathes in and out) And then inhale, come up.

And exhale, switch over so, left hand, right thigh. Reach over and side bend, make it feel luxurious. Note the way here as you breathe and roll just gently, you dial the right ribs back, and you feel it's happening in that right lung. Breath amplified just enough to keep you concentrated. Not so loud it distracts you.

(breathes in and out) Inhale, come up. Slide your legs together, shake 'em out. And then just gently just fold forward, not even an effort for paschimottanasana, just sit enough for it to let the head bow to the heart. To let that inner operating system know that slowness, has benefits. (breathes in and out) Then inhale, sit up.

Set yourself up for shavasana. Go ahead and lie down. If you find that when you lie down, there's something that needs to be wriggled out, like you wanna hug the knees in, or shimmy, do that. Take a deep breath, and just let everything be. (breathes in and out) You can stay here, as always, as long as you like.

Otherwise, wriggle the fingers and the toes, wriggle the wrists and the ankles, without rushing. (breathes in and out) Then reach, stretch. Knees in, roll to the right side. Take a moment here, to just celebrate how patient you were with yourself. Then gently, slowly come up to seated.

Eyes can remain closed. Hands at the heart center in prayer. Inhale. (releases an om chant) May we benefit from slowing down. Namaste.