Cultivating Discernment

Welcome to practice today. I'm Brianna. Today's practice is cultivating non judgment and resilience. If you'd like to have a bolster nearby for your practice, bring it on in settle into a comfortable seat. It's the only requisite for this moment, finding yourself in a comfortable place with the palms turning up towards the sky.

As we merge into our practice today, we'll start to deepen the breath. And notice notice how you feel is a longstanding practice in yoga of non judgment. The human mind has the nature to label things to connect things to make stories from experiences and even in our inner world. And as we practice this practice of discernment, we move away from labeling and judging into a place of discernment and being able to make good decisions and good decisions about our inner world without having to label. So as you deepen your breath and you move into where your meditation, feeling the ground beneath you and the sky above you, if it feels alright for you to close your eyes, you're welcome to do so.

And if you'd prefer to take a soft gaze in front of you, go ahead and do that instead. Good. You'll deepen your breath. And the question here is can you allow yourself to meet this moment without labeling what it is? As you continue to deepen your breath, you'll notice that it requires that you let go of everything that has happened before this moment.

And everything that may or may not happen in the future. This allows you to land your attention right here in this moment. A full freer breath in. And a complete breath out. Good. Notice how it feels to be here.

Bring your hands to your heart and prayer. And from this space, from the mark of the beginning of this practice together, you can set an intention for your practice today. Take a deep breath in and bow into the heart. Release your hands, lift your head, allow your eyes to blink open, you can release your legs out in front of you for a moment and then bring the soles of the feet together and the knees wide. It's a nice wide diamond shape, Tarasana.

If you prefer to have your legs crossed, you're welcome to do that. But if it feels alright to you, in the Tarasana shape, you can place your hands on your feet or your ankles and start to fold in and allow the head to completely release and let go. The head can hang, and you could even move a little side to side. You can think about it like this, that when you let the head go, it's like surrendering the head into the body or the mind, into the heart, so that letting go of the head is also letting go of the thoughts and the judgments and the labeling for the container of this practice. Good.

Another few breaths here. And slowly rise on up. Placing the left hand down next to you, extend the right fingertips upwards towards the sky. This is a breath in. And as you exhale, reach the right arm up and overhead.

Good. You might take one more like that reaching up towards the sky for the breath in, and then reaching up and overhead as you breathe out. Good. Inhale to lift up And as you exhale, the right hand slices across the body and comes to the left knee, the left fingertips walk behind you so you're in a gentle twist. Breathe in to allow the crown of the head to lift up quite tall.

And as you exhale twist, good, gentle gaze, back behind you, breath, breathing. Good. Releasing the left hand sweep it all the way out in front of you, and reach for the right knee. So it's possible the knees come together for just a moment and you'll take a deep breath in. And as you exhale fold forward, allow the arms to reach out to the side, the shoulder blades to spread, take a couple breaths here.

And you can allow the head to hang here, or you can make a little cat cow motion if it doesn't feel so good to be in stillness here. Good. And then release through both hands, kinda birth all the way up, hands come down by your sides, the right hand stays and the left fingertips reach up to the sky for the breath in. And up and overhead as you breathe out. Good. You could stay there or take one more like that. Reaching up as you inhale.

Left hand comes to the right knee as you exhale and your fingertips come back behind you. So you are in the twist. Breathing in and rising upwards, tall through the crown of the head, and breathing out to twist. Good. In this practice, we'll be turning around and twisting as a practice of getting out of our head and into the body, a fail proof practice in letting go of judgment. When you're ready, right arm sweeps forward and grabs onto the left knee, knees can come a little bit closer as you lift up tall for the breath in.

And then rounding, allow their shoulder blades to spread as you breathe out. Good. You could let the head move a little side to side. And if it made more sense for you to take a little lift and rounding in that cat cow position, you're welcome to do that. Just a couple more breaths here. And when you're ready to come up, bring your knees with you.

Bring your knees all the way towards one another. Close them like you're closing a book. Take your feet a little bit wider than your hips. Or sorry, a little bit wider than they were. So about hip distance apart, hands come behind you fingertips Turpin towards your seat. Bend through both elbows and let your heart lift upwards towards the sky.

Really nice just place to stay, especially if your wrists are tender. And if you would prefer to lift up towards alterpose or reverse tabletop, you can lift your hips as well. So hips lift wherever you are, the chest is opening and the breath is breathing a nice spaciousness through the throat. So you're probably looking upwards. A couple more breaths here.

Really good. And slowly lower your seat down to the ground. Rise all the way up to your hands and your knees to the tabletop position with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips, making adjustments or modifications to that if it's needed. And feeling once again the ground underneath you, a little pressure in through each fingertip, breathe in and bring your heart forward, look up, allow your Turpin bones to lift and round your back as you exhale. Inhale. Chest moving forward, breath breathing in, back muscles engaging And rounding as you exhale rising in and up through the belly. Good. A few more just like this, noticing what you notice, Accepting the moment as it is. Again and again, like we're building new neuro pathways in non judgment and acceptance because we are You build that emotional resilience by accepting, accepting what is good.

If you wanna move in any other spinal direction, you can. This is your time and your practice to do so. And, you know, when our negative emotions are not in control of us, we can make better decisions and ones that are more aligned with our highest values. Good. So here we are. Back to the breath. Coming to the hands and the knees, once again, in a neutral position.

Let your left hand stay where it is, but reach your right arm upwards towards the sky or out to the side that that feels better for your shoulder. This is an inhale. And as you exhale, dive the right arm underneath you, reaching underneath the left side of the body. 2 more like that, inhale reach the arm up towards the sky. And exhale thread it through hovering. Inhale, reach it upwards towards the sky.

This time, same deal. You thread it through, but this time, you allow the shoulder to drop all the way down to the ground. Let the head release and allow the breath to breathe here. So you're in a twisting motion with that right arm on the ground and expanding into the breath, you can lean a little bit further back with your upper back so that the shoulder blades stretch. And exhale. One last round of breath.

On your next breath in gently unwind, you can reach it up to the sky, and then bring the hand right back down to the ground. The other side, the left arm will rise up, breath in, and thread it through as you breathe out, reaching over underneath the right side of the body to the right. Inhale reach, extend, lengthen, dive it on through. Inhale reach and extend this time, you'll dive it through and hold. So reach, reach, reach, the left arm through, and allow the left shoulder Turpin the left side of the head to come down to the ground.

The right hand is here for your support. Breath breathes into the back body and the twist that you're in. Last breath. Good. Reach all the way up towards the ceiling. Unwinding and releasing the hand back down to the earth, a round of cat cow to ring it all out. The next time you breathe in and bring the heart forward, curl your toes under and start to shift up and back towards downward facing dog.

Handspread, hips lift, heels lower down, and you can take a few breaths to pedal through the feet and to arrive in your down dog in any way that you'd like. Dipping your toes in, dipping them breath in. Take a little bend through both knees and reach your sit bones up. Allow the head to release once again the head letting go, the mind letting go, the judgment letting go, and allow the heels to reach downwards towards the floor. So good.

Breathe in, come forward into plank posts. And as you lower, you can drop your knees or you can lower the whole body down to the earth. Cobra pose for the breath in, the heart peels forward and up, shoulders go back and down. And as you exhale, the forehead comes down and you can press up the hands and knees or plank pose and then downward facing dog. Your deepest fullest breath in with your arms lifted like this, breathing all the way into the upper part of the lungs, and as you exhale walk on up to a standing forward fold, to uttanasana.

Your feet are about hip distance apart as you let the head go here and move it a little side to side. Yeah. Allow your knees to bend and slowly roll and rise up to stand. One vertebra at a time, huddle if lost, breathe in, and allow the shoulders to lift towards your ears, and exhale, let them go back and down palm, Turpin forward. Good. Sweep your arms out and up as you inhale.

Settle the hands to the heart as you exhale, regrounding through both feet, lifting up tall through the crown of the head. Inhale, allow your arms to stretch and reach skyward into Orvahastasana. Fold forward hinging at the hips, letting the heart lead the way if you'd like as you fold forward into uttanasana. You breathe in. It's the half lift to link them Fold all the way in. The hands plan to step yourself back to plank pose where your hips will be in line with the shoulders and the heels. You breathe in lower to the ground as you breathe out.

Cobrepose or upward facing dog, if you're ready, and downward facing dog. Reach and extend your right leg upwards to the sky. Inhale. As you exhale step the foot up and in between the hands as you exhale, let the back knee come down to the ground and stretch your arms upwards. Anjana.

Allow yourself to land with a heart lifting up, breathing in. And take your right hand, reach for the left wrist. The left palm could spin upwards to the sky, breathe in, and tip over to the right as you breathe out so that you reveal and stretched through the entire left side of the body and left hip flexor. Inhale to reach and extend upwards, hands come back down to the ground Left hand will stay, as you curl your back toes under, lift your back knee up, and extend your right arm up to the sky, another version, yet another version of the twist. Taking your gaze upward if you'd like, continue to lift through your left thigh bone even as you bend through the right knee.

Mhmm. It says if your heart is peeking up and over that right thigh. Breathe in and out. And in. And the right hand comes down to the ground as you breathe out. A plank pose for the inhale, lower as you exhale.

COBRA or upward facing dog and downward facing dog. Allow the left leg to reach upwards, inhale to the sky, three legged dog. And as you exhale step the left foot up and in between the hands, back knee lowers onto the earth, arms sweep up. From this low lunge reach the left hand to your right wrist, the right hand can reach to the sky and tip over to the left as you exhale. Breathe deeply into the right side of the body, right hip, and right hip flexor too.

Breathe in, reach up. And as you Brianna out, hands come down, the right hand stays, toes curl under and the right knee lifts, left arm reaches to the sky. Strong right arm presses and helps turn the chest open. Mhmm. Nice loving gaze towards the top fingers or over towards the left side of the mat or wall, the lift through the right thigh, the bend through the left knee, breathe in, breathe out. Full inhale here. Left hand comes down to the ground.

It's plank pose. Lower on an exhale. COBRA or upward facing dog. And downward facing dog. Your deepest breath in here, lift your heels, bend your knees.

You can hop or walk to the hands, the forward fold. Half lift, breathing in, fold in, breathe out. Bend your knees, reach your arms forward and up, chair pose. Rise all the way up to stand, breathe in, enhanced to the heart as you breathe out. A full breath in.

Breathe in a little more. Out the mouth, let it go. Very good. Chair pose inhale. Seeing your chair pose for a moment, left hand will stay, and right arm will sweep out to the side, twisting to the right.

Breathe in and come right back up to center. And as you breathe out, send your left arm back behind you, twisting the heart to the left. One more time through on each side. Twisting to the right on an exhale. Inhaling to chair, and exhaling, twisting.

Chair as you breathe in, forward fold as you breathe out. Half lift to lengthen look forward. Step back to plank. You can rest in down dog or child's pose, or you can move through the flow through Taturanga, upward facing dog. And downward facing dog.

From your downward facing dog, allow your right leg to lift high in the three legged dog. You take a deep breath in. And as you exhale, step the right foot up and in between the hands. Left hand stays as your right arm reaches upwards to the sky, keep lifting through that left thigh, bending through the right knee. The belly twist, the heart twist, take a deep breath in. And as you exhale start to walk your right foot out to the right, keep walking, keep walking, roll onto the outer edge of your left foot, and allow your left hip to come downwards towards the ground.

The left hand can walk a little bit further forward, and you're in this nice side body twist where you can allow that left side body to reach forward. Take a couple of breaths here. Right foot starts to walk back a little bit further, and you end up turning towards the back of your mat. Both sit bones are on the ground and you are lifting up tall. The right knee is turned upwards to the sky, and you can reach this left arm up and either hook the elbow to the outside of the right knee or wrap the arm up around the knee so that you can find your way into the spinal twist.

A flex to left foot helps you lift up a little bit taller and move the energy into the twist as you breathe out. The gentle fingertip press behind you as another way is another tool of helping you twist into this posture. Use your next exhale to draw your belly inwards and upwards and see if you can take the gaze a little bit further behind you. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Inhale and come back to center as you exhale. The counter twist comes next right elbow to the inside of the right knee twisting or both hands could come to the ground if you prefer. Good. Now Turpin yourself back to the back of your mat. You'll bend your left knee.

Right ankle stays on top of that left knee coming into the fire log pose. It's a nice big hip stretch, stacking right ankle on left thigh. And if you take a look down at your left ankle, it's beneath the right knee. Fit any point, it does it feels like a little too much. You can extend your left leg forward and come to a more similar pose that we were in before.

See if you can even out some of the weight through both sit bones and lift up quite tall. It's a big stretch, but there's the ability to release and soften in the upper body. You can also make a choice if you'd like to fold forward over the shape and deepen the breath even more. Through the hips. There's an invitation to allow the eyes to close, and an invitation to watch the thoughts and stories and labeling, whether they be internally and around the structure or access of the body, or around anything else.

Listening to the messages that our body shares with us about poses that we're in can be really helpful in avoiding discomfort or pain. But not when they get real chatty and telling us stories about what may or may not be true. Another couple of breaths. Very nice. Slowly start to rise up and emerge from the pose. By extending that left leg forward and placing the right foot down where it came from.

You'll turn yourself back to the top of the mat, push down through the right foot to help you lift back up, curling the left toes under, and shift yourself back to downward facing dog. Might feel good to allow the right leg to move and to stretch out in some way. And it's possible you move through a flow to unwind from plank, lowering. Cobra or upward facing dog, and downward facing dog. Left leg lifts up and 3 legged dog Brianna in.

As you exhale step the foot up and in between the hands, right hand stays and left arm reaches upwards to the sky. As the left hand reaches, you twist, you twist towards that left thigh as the right thigh keeps lifting, breath in, and breath out. Breathe in. And as you breathe out, the left toes start walking to the left. They turn out to the left, and then you can allow yourself to lean onto the outer edge of the right foot and lower your right hip inside of the leg down to the ground with a flex right foot.

Take a moment to allow yourself to stretch through the right side body. Breath in. And out, something about this sequence is we've we can see in all directions. It's taken us to each and every side of the mat. Start to shift yourself to the back of the mat now walking the left foot so that it ends up to the outside of the right knee, the knee the leg is crossing over the right, and you lift up quite tall.

Elbow will come right elbow will come to the outside of the left knee, or you'll wrap the knee up, if you prefer that style of twist. The fingertips come behind you and you lift up quite tall, and you twist as you breathe out. Good. Noticing what you notice. Enlivening what needs to be enlivened, a flexed right foot, a lifted crown of the head, and a twisted spine.

Try the exhale and then twist a little deeper. Then slowly unwind and unravel and take yourself into the counter twist. So the right hand moves to the right, the left hand might come down, or the elbow can stay on the knee. UN twisting, see what you see, feel what you feel, and let the breath flow. Turn yourself back to center, allowing the left ankle to stack above the knee on the right thigh and bring or swing in the right foot so that you are stacking once again in the fire log pose, left ankle over the right thigh, over the right knee, and then the left knee over the right ankle.

It helps protect the ankles if you flex through both feet. And remember, you can always send that right leg forward to ease out of it just a bit. Sit up quite tall, lifting through the crown of the head. Settling through both sitch bones and allowing the eyes to close. Lowing the breath to take you here.

You might notice resisting resistance rise and fall as a sensation. There's an invitation to fold forward, and there's an invitation to stay as you are. Slowly rising up as you're ready. When it's time to lean back and extend that right leg forward do so, the left foot comes down onto the ground, and you turn back towards the top of the mat. Use the left foot to press in a lot lifting the hips taking yourself back to the top of the mat, lifting the right heel and finding your way into plank pose once again, and lowering down. COBRA or upward facing dog.

And downward facing dog. And your downward facing dog allow the heels to reach downwards, let the head go, and I'll tell you you have a choice to remain in downward facing dog or to drop your knees and reach your hips towards your heels in child's pose instead. You'll be here for about 6 more breaths. If you're in downward facing dot, can lower the knees down. If you're in child's pose, rise up to your hands and your knees.

Turn yourself so that you come back onto your seats. You come onto your seat and locate your bolster. Can take your bolster towards the back of your yoga mat in the long way and line it up so that you're still seated on the ground, but the bolster is right behind you or within a few inches of behind your back. And you can sit up quite tall, take a deep breath in, and the breath out, realigning to a new orientation on the mat, And have your feet be about hip distance apart if you'd like, maybe a little bit wider and stretch your arms up to the sky. Breathe in.

Bring yourself into a forward fold as you breathe out. And as we transition towards a more passive and gentle posture, you might feel that the breath starts to slow down. That the heart rate starts to slow down. And you reap the benefits of the yoga practice and the mind too. You might feel a little more open space. And while you're at it in this forward fold, you could allow the head to go.

Gently start to rise. From your seated place, you'll breathe in and roll onto the bolster behind you as you breathe out. When you arrive, take any little shifts that you need so that you can feel as though your lower back is supported, your upper back is supported, and your head is supported. Something doesn't feel right, be sure to move the bolster around so that it's in a more comfortable position. Now you can allow the shoulders to slide down the side of the bolster, let the hands release.

Your legs can stay as they are, but if you would prefer to take the soles of the feet together and the knees wide, how we did towards the beginning of class, you're welcome to do so. You can allow the breath to drop towards the belly You can allow the face to soften here. Good. And then the continuation of dropping the stories and the labeling. You might even find that it's quite easy towards the end of the practice. But I think you'll find it's a kinder way to live.

It's a kinder way to be outward towards the world and others. And it's a kinder way to live in our inner world as well. We can be receptive to the sensations, thoughts, and intuition that arises without getting caught up in the judgment and the tangles that it often brings. There's an invitation to stay exactly as you are in the supported fish pose. And if you would prefer, you could bring the knees together and move the bolster out to the side.

Taking your preference of how you would like to take your rest today. And wherever you've decided to land and be, you can allow the breath to release. You can allow the mind to release. Opening up to the freedom that the practice brings. Opening up to the freedom through Shavasana.

Take a deep breath in and let it go. Invites a movement into the body by moving your fingers and toes and allowing the head to move side to side. Stret your arms up overhead, allow the knees to bend and shift to your right side. Slowly start to press your way back up to your seat. To the place that we started.

Finding a comfortable meditation seat, the palms of the hands turning upwards. Breath deepening. Full breath in, allowing everything to lift upwards, breath out the energy of moving downwards in a grounded sense. With the eyes closed, perceiving your awareness in your body through the lens of discernment allowing everything to be exactly as it is without any labels or any preconceived perceptions. Draw your hands to the heart and prayer.

Returning to the intention you set the beginning of practice. Take a full breath in. And bow inherence to the heart, to the inner light that has guided you always and always will. Thank you.