Embracing Change

Welcome. I'm Brianna. This class is about shifting our reaction and embracing change. For this practice today, you won't need any props. Find yourself in a comfort seat. You can cross your legs or resume any posture that feels good to you.

And when you're ready, you can settle back into your seat and lift up through the crown of the head. Allow the breath to deepen. And as you breath the deepens, land your attention into this moment, and consider a time that you felt thrown off by a sudden shift or change, an external shift or change, or internal, an external stressor, an internal stressor. What we're practicing today is not avoiding the unavoidable, in fact, things that happen to us. But what we're working with is the ability to shorten the space from resistance to acceptance.

So as you continue to deepen your breath, allow whatever feeling of acceptance there is to arise. Noticing the ways in our lives that we can make things a little bit easier. Make things a little bit easier by dropping some of the resistance we have towards life's unexpected events and dropping into the ability to embrace them. Embrace them with full acceptance. Take your deepest breath in.

And as you take this deep breath in, notice when you reach the top, When you reach the top, can you hold the breath for a moment expanding on the pause between the breath? When you exhale, let all of the breath go, emptying out, emptying out, emptying out, and holding the breath out on the bottom. Breathing in and noticing the expansion and the yearning for the breath in, pausing at the top of the breath, noticing the fullness the buoyancy, the energy. Exhale and let it go. Let it go. Let it go.

Hold the breath out. Inhale. Sense of fullness and lift, expanding the pause between the breath, holding at the top, and holding at the bottom. For a couple more rounds on your own. And through the breath, through the practice of the breath, We practice what it feels like to expand in that moment to consider the moment between cause and reaction.

Bring the hands to the heart and prayer. Smooth the breath out, breathing in, and out. And if you have an intention for your practice today, you can set it now. Take a deep breath in and bow into the heart. Breathe in and lift the head, drop the hands to your knees and start to bring your chest forward on an inhale.

The shoulders go back and down. And as you exhale, scoop the tailbone under and round in, allowing the chin to reach towards the chest. A seated cat cow, breathing in and breathing out. You can continue with this cat cow shape, or we can shape shift right away into soofy circles. Heart moving forward as you inhale, and sweeping back as you exhale.

And you can approach this in a way where the spine itself is sort of like a stir stick moving around, or you can approach it in a way where there's a lot of cat cow. Oriented. Switch directions when you're ready. A lot of energy that's housed in the base of the spine. So stirring it up and making space for it to rise.

Switch sides again. Inhaling and exhaling. You can go faster or go slower. Switch sides, such directions. Last one.

Good. And then find your way sitting up quite tall. Switch the cross of the legs. Place your left hand down and stretch your right arm up for the breath in, then reach the arm up and overhead as you breathe out. Good. Inhaled to stretch the right arm to the sky.

And as you exhale right hand comes to the left knee and you take a twist, the left fingertips reach back behind you, a nice gentle gaze behind you. Keep the right hand where it Turpin your left arm to center. Scoop the left arm up with the right. You're giving yourself a hug or taking eagle arms if you'd like. And the eagle arms don't have to stay still.

They can lift and lower. They can turn a little bit side to side. I'm feeling into the space of the upper back. Good. Another breath. When release, the right hand comes right down next to you and the left fingertips reach up to the sky for the breath in and up and overhead as you breathe out.

Inhale to rise. An exhale to twist. The left hand comes to the right knee and your fingertips walk back. The heart is above the pelvis here, roof of the mouth above the heart. Left hand stays as a right arm sweeps forward, scooping up eagle arms on this side.

And remember, if it's too much, you can always hold shoulders instead. The invitation for a little bit of movement here, if that suits you. Breath breathing. Good. And then release. Scoop up through the knees and place your feet on the ground so that their hip distance apart.

Hands can come back behind you so that you can lift up through the chest and now open from the front of the shoulder. So the turning inwards of the eagle arms leads us to the heart lifting in the altar pose here, or lifting the hips upwards to the sky. Breath in. Breath out. Bread in.

And out lower your seat down to the ground. Hands can sweep forward and your feet will stay as they are or they can lift up to a modified, boat pose or an extended boat pose. You choose your own adventure here, and we'll inhale together. As you exhale, allow your right arm to sweep down and out to the side as you exhale. Breathe in and come back to center.

The left arm sweeps down and out to the left as you exhale. Breathe in. Torso twists as you exhale ribs rotate, inhale to the left, one more on each side. Inhale back to center, feet land onto the earth, hands behind you. Once again, heart lifts.

If you choose Alter pose, you're welcome to take that lifting all the way up and breathing in. And then lowering down as you breathe out. Send the legs behind you. It come up through your hands and your knees in order to make your way up into downward facing dog. With the hips shifting and gliding back, the hands can press evenly.

Your head can let go. Allow the heels to drift down towards the ground. And roll yourself forward into plank pose for a breath in. Lower to the ground as you breathe out. 10 to your fingertips on either side of your mat.

Let your elbows stick upwards to the sky. A cobra lift will take your heart forward for the breath in. And as you breathe out, the right shoulder will dip down to the center of your mat as you look over your left shoulder. Inhale rise and exhale left shoulder dips as you look over through your right shoulder. Couple more like this, several more like this. You can play with the direction of the gaze.

So if there's a different place that you like to look for this, like, down instead of over the shoulder, you're welcome to do that. Good. And when it's complete, bring the hands underneath the shoulders. A cobra pose where the heart moves forward, hands are under the shoulders, breathe in. And lower down as you breathe out, you can press yourself up to your hands and your knees or right into downward facing dog. Let your heels lift, breathe in. Bend your knees.

Look forward, walk, or pop up to the hands, the forward fold. Inhale to a half lift and fold in as you exhale. Nice and slow. Sweep your arms out and up to the sky. Hands to the heart as you breathe out. Keep the hands here for a deep breath in.

Let it go out the mouth. Share pose, bend your knees, heels, stamp into the ground as you inhale. Forward fold as you exhale, elongating through the breath. Inhale, let the heart reach forward, plank pose as you exhale. The breath in, lower down towards the earth as you breathe out.

Tend your fingertips to the outsides of the map, breathe in heart lifts, right shoulder drops as you exhale. Inhale. Left shoulder drops as you exhale, inhale rise, lower down hands underneath the shoulders, press up to plank pose, downward dog. Allow your right leg to lift high as you inhale and step through in between the hands as you exhale. Back heel spins down to the earth.

Warrior one sweeps your arms up. In your warrior 1, shape, the back heel is spinning down towards the earth. Both hip points and frontal hip points are fo pointed forward ish as the heart lifts and the breath breathes. Nice deep bend through the front knee. In fact, you might straighten the right leg and breathe in and bend the knee as you breathe out.

Very nice. Allow your arms to float out to the sides and take a deep breath in wrap your right arm underneath the left arm as you breathe out giving yourself a hug or wrapping up to eagle arms. Lifting your fingertips upwards to the sky and bowing inwards a little or a lot. One round of breath here. As you rise up, sweep your arms out and up as you inhale.

And as you exhale hands come down to the earth and you step back to plank, lower towards the earth, cobra hands remain underneath the shoulders as you breathe in. And downward facing dog as you exhale. Left leg rises, breathe in. Step it up and in between the hands as you breathe out. Warrior 1.

Arms rise. Inhale to reach and extend through the left leg and exhale bend. Arms float outwards. Left arm reaches underneath the right for a hug or eagle arms. Inhaling to lift up and exhaling to fold.

Notice the extra moment of pause. Even in the stressful moments, even in the hard, bound up postures, sweep your arms out and up. Inhale. Plank as you exhale. The opportunity to move through the flow, chaturanga, up dog, and down dog, and putting our body in these kind of funny positions, confusing or hard, and developing the ability and the physical level to stay calm, to observe, to cultivate the observer.

As a tool for us to expand that space off of the mat to choose the way that we react, lift your heels, breathe in, Bend your knees, hop or step up to the hands. The half lift to inhale and the fold forward to exhale. Chair pose. Breathe in. All the way up to stand and hands to the heart.

A full breath in and in a little bit more out the mouth. Charpose. Inhale. Forward fold as you exhale. COBRA breath in or sorry.

Artutanasan at the half lift and hands plant step back to plank and lower. Now the cobra or the upward dog, and downward facing dog. Right leg will lift high. Breathe in. Step it up and in between the hands as you breathe out.

Back heel spins down. Arms rise. Warrior 1. Inhale straighten the right leg and exhale right knee bends. Pause.

This time around hand's sweet behind you, and you interlace the fingers. The heart moves forward and up this time around. And on an exhale, you can take yourself up and over into devotional warrior. Choose how deeply you'd like to go. You can let the head rest or let it hang.

Well, maybe I'm really good at these moments in between of expanding our awareness. Even when there's stressors, even when it's hard, we can make better decisions and shorten that length between resistance and acceptance. Sweep your arms forward and up. Breathe in. Warrior too as you breathe out.

Hips start to open. Arms start to float wide. Really nice. Can kind of relax through the shoulders and the neck, flip the front palm up, bend through the front knee deeper, peaceful warrior. Like you're opening up more space in the right hip.

Stay in the peaceful shape, but extend the right leg. So the right leg is straight. Rise all the way up as you breathe in and range your right hand to your right shin for the breath out in triangle pose. Left hand is currently reaching to the sky and you can stay there. If you would prefer, you can reach that left hand behind your back as if reaching to the top of the right hip.

Allowing that left shoulder to open, allow the breath to breathe. Good. And you do have another choice here. If you would like, you can heel toe that left foot in, put a little bend through the right knee, and reach the right fingertips to the ground, lifting the left leg up into half moon, into Arta Chandra. And if you liked that half bind with the left hand behind your back, you could kick the foot to your seat and take Chapasana. The bound half moon pose.

And whether you're in triangle, whether you're in half moon, whether you're in Chapasana, let the breath flow, knowing you can come out, you can take a different version of this. Good, right knee bends, step the left foot back, rise up to warrior 2, recalibrate on an inhale. Hands come to the earth as you exhale. You can go to down dog, child's pose, or lower through the flow. Left leg, lift high, breathe in.

Step it up and in between the hands, as you breathe out, back heel spins down, arms rise, warrior 1. Bending deeply into the front knee, swing the hands behind your back and interlace the opposite thumb on top. So interlacing in a in a different way. Let the chest rise up as you breathe in. And tip yourself forward as you breathe out.

Let the head go. Sweet the arms forward and up, breathe in through warrior 1, straighten the leg, and shape shift up and open to warrior 2. Landing in the new shape with the knee bent, flip the front palm up, and tip back to peaceful warrior making more space through the hip. Stay in this tipped back shape and straighten the left leg for peaceful triangle pose. Rise all the way up and over for triangle trikonasana.

Right on reaching You can stay with this right arm reaching or wrap it behind your back into the half bind as if as if reaching to the top of the hip, top of the left hip. And you can stay here Or if you would prefer, he'll toe that back foot in, bend through the left knee and launch upwards into half moon with the right leg lifting, Chapasana might come as a variation bending the right knee and holding onto the ankle or the foot, letting the heart shine upwards. And slowly release the top foot. Everyone arrives in the warrior to shape wherever you came from. Breathe in hands, come down to the earth, step back to plank, and lower cobra or upward dog.

And downward facing dog. Lower your knees to the earth take child's pose or puppy dog pose. So either your hips will reach towards your heels, to rest in child's pose, or your hips will be will stay above your knees as you reach your hands forward. Your forehead may or may not reach to the ground. Puppy dog pose or child's pose.

And wherever you've chosen to be, walk both hands over to the right. It's possible that the left hand places itself on top of the right hand, and you Brianna directly into the left side body. Other side hands will walk to the left. Right hand can place itself on top of the left hand. Breathe into the right side of the body.

Walk your hands to center, and then in towards the knees, rise up onto your knees and shin. Hands can come to the heart for a moment as a way to reset and re center, and then allow the prayer at the heart to rise up towards the ceiling so the shoulders lift up back and down. A little version of our camel pose, and you're welcome to stay here. You're also welcome to curl the toes under. It's possible that the right hand reaches to the right heel, and the left arm reaches to the sky.

And this half camel pose, you'll breathe in. And as you breathe out, bring the left hand reaching now towards the left heel and the right hand up, so you switch sides. There's a breath in and the breath out to switch sides and inhale to rise. And you can make it more like a dancing camel if you'd like. By sweeping the hips back and then bursting up into the one-sided camel pose on an inhale and transitioning as you exhale. So taking your time as you move through a dancing camel pose, admiring the transition here, the part of the pose where the back bends, and then it shifts and changes again.

If at any point you want to drop into the camel pose by bringing both hands to both heels, you're welcome to do that, or you can stay with the dance through the transition. A few more breaths wherever you are. Good. Alright. Release and come onto your seat, send your legs forward. And in fact, take your legs quite wide.

Quite wide can mean the length of your mat or a little bit wider. Toes will turn upwards towards the ceiling. Sit bones press down and take a moment to lengthen upwards with the spine. Crown of the head lifting and lengthening and breathe in. Start to walk your hands forward as you breathe out.

Allow the head to let go. And head let's go and it might swing a little side to side. And slow the breath down even more. Slowly start to rise up. Can shimmy the knees together holding the backs of the knees if that's helpful?

Bentonies or straight legs, arms sweep forward, and slowly come onto your back. Take up some space for the breath in. And let it go out the mouth. With the knees bent rock the knees side to side, Think of it as a way of sort of parsing out and sorting through, and then bring the hands down by your sides. Brianna in, and breathe in some more.

Let it go out the mouth. Cross your right thigh over the left, lift your feet off of the ground and spread the feet far away from one another, reaching up to grab opposite feet. So the right hand holds the outer edge of the left foot, and the left hand holds the outer edge of the right foot. In this shoelace pose, you can explore. You might take a few breaths here You may lower the feet as if they were that the heels were lowering towards the hips and take a breath there.

Searching perhaps for some resistance in the body, searching for the resistance in order to feel into it. And considering if there is some part of it that you can accept. Keep the legs as they are, but release the feet. Both knees will drop to the right in the bound up shape, or you can unwind for this twist. So knees will drop over to the right as the left arm reaches away. If you find that the right leg on top of the left is too much of a twist, you'll simply unwind and remain in the twist for a more supported version.

And wherever you are unwind and come back up to center, cross the left thigh over the right, reach for opposite feet, right hand holds left foot, left hand holds right foot. Explore the resistance on this new side with the feet lifted. Or the feet lowering with the knees increasing their bend towards your hips. Searching and and welcoming the resistance as our practice of acceptance. Maybe a little observation of your willingness to remain in the resistance.

Or the interest in getting to the acceptance. Let the feet release, but keep the shape of the legs as you drop the knees up and over to the left, legs can stay in that bound shape. And if it feels like too much, you'll unwind the knees and sack them instead. And slowly come up to center, unraveling and hugging the knees into your chest and taking any last movement that you'd like. Allow your legs to reach long.

Your hands to come by your sides or onto the body and drop in to the state of rest and relaxation Letting go. Shivasana. Take a deep breath in. Let it go. Invite movement back into the body.

And stretch your arms up overhead. Bend your knees and slowly roll to your right side and rise up to your seat. Welcome the breath in. Use your next inhale to lift through the crown of the head, inhaling and pausing at the top of the breath. Your next exhale leans you back into your seat and grounds you exhaling, holding at the bottom of the breath.

Breathe in. The heart lifts. Pause. Breathe out. The shoulders relax. Pause. 2 more breaths on your own practicing the pause.

Draw the hands to the heart and prayer. I'm remembering your intention. Take a deep breath in, and bow into the heart. Brianna out. Thank you for sharing your practice today.