Steadiness and Ease

Welcome. So glad you're here. This practice is designed to help us feel and cultivate a sense of steadiness and ease, especially in our standing postures. So for this practice, it might be nice to have two blocks and maybe a blanket. Join me at the top of your mat.

I'm gonna move through some mindful sun salutations, but let's begin with a breath. Spreading the toes, feeling yourself arrive in your space on your mat. You might join your hands together at the heart and just begin to notice the quality of the breath. And as you notice the quality of the breath, you might feel the breath naturally deepen and widen. Notice the quality of your attention.

Only the quality of your energy or energy shifts day to day. It's noticing, arriving. If you'd like to set an intention for your practice or even a dedication, you might take a moment to just listen in word. Oh, to sing where you can soften. Allow for an inhale.

Nice, clear, and grounding exhale. Moving with the breath as you're ready in house, sweep your arms up. Take a moment to ground through your feet, lengthen through your spine, inhale, exhale soft, bend through your knees, forward fold, uttanasana releasing the head and the arms. As you inhale lengthen your spine half arch, as you exhale, bend your knees, ground your hands, step back into your plank. Take a moment to pause in your plank knees on the earth or reaching through the heels.

Inhale, exhale lower as you choose, point the toes, roll the shoulders up back and down. Let's take three rounds of cobra this Mitnick. Press through the feet, inhale lift the heart. Exhale lower. Press through the palms inhale lift.

Agale lower. Last one baby, cobra. Press through the palms inhale lift. Exale lower, tuck your toes, press up back downward facing dog. And in this very first downward dog, pedal your feet, walk it out. You might come high up onto the balls of the feet stretching your toes, bending your knees, reach your sitting bones up, feel the back of the neck soft and releasing.

Again, notice the quality of your breath. Yeah. As you're ready, bend the knees, walk forward, arrive at the top of your mat, inhale half arch lengthen. Exhale forward fold release, ground for your feet, inhale sweep your arms up, lengthen, exhale hands together at the heart. Second round, inhale sweep your arms up. Exhale forward fold, swanda, release the head, inhale half arch lengthen, exhale bend your knees, find your plank pausing here, lower the knees, or chaturanga.

One round of cobra point the toes, inhale press through the palms, lift the heart. Exale lower, tuck your toes, press up, downward dog. Three breaths here. Take your time, bend your knees, walk forward top of the mat, inhale half arch, exhale bend your knees forward fold, ground through the feet, inhale sweep your arms up, lengthen. Nextale, draw the hands together at the heart.

Take a moment to pause and notice how you feel. You feeling that warmth, that energy through the body? Nice. I'm from here. Let's work with our blocks. So bring a block on either side of your mat.

Let's step our feet wide. Setting up for a warrior two. Turn your left foot in your right foot out, bend your right knee. Find your warrior two foot pattern, sweep your arms out. Feel how you can ground through the outer edge of your back foot ground for the outer edge of your right foot sink in, feel the strength here.

We'll dance with this in how press through the ball, the right foot, reach the arms, exhale warrior two. Inhale reach and lift, exhale warrior to three more rounds with a breath. Finding this ease, this fluidity within the effort. Last one, inhale reach, exhale warrior two pause here, and we'll reverse inhale peace four, you reach the right arm up, exhale side angle pose, right forearm onto the right thigh, stretch your top arm up and feel how you can ground through the outer edge of your left foot reaching up lengthening. Feel that space between your right shoulder and your ear.

Nice. Let's take one more full breath to gather lengthening. Then inhale back peaceful warrior, press into the ball of your right foot reverse triangle pose, lengthening. You might walk that back foot in a little bit. And then begin to reach and lengthen towards the right, feel your bottom ribs reaching. From here, you might bring your your block in or bring your hand to your shin. Top arm might reach towards the sky in your triangle pose, trikonasana, or you might sweep the arm down in front of the face and reach, maybe circle that top arm a few times really customize it for you so it feels inviting.

It feels good. Take a moment to pause, find a few full breaths here. Feeling the expansive quality of this shape. Nice. As you're ready reach with the top arm, come all the way up.

Let's turn the toes in for a moment and then bring the heels and toes that will sink down into our goddess pose, lean a little bit from side to side. And then as you're ready inhale, reach the arms up, extend, and x hale, lower the arms, sink into the hips. Inhale reach, exhale lower. Let's find three more with the breath. This removing meditation, exhale. Inhale.

We'll bring the hands together at the heart sink down into your goddess pose. Grounding through the outer edges of the feet, straighten the legs, bring the hands to the hips, turn the toes forward, inhale lift the heart, exhale wide forward fold hinge fold at the hip. Bring the hands underneath the shoulders in how lengthen your spine, and then exhale forward fold, bring the heels of the hands and line with the heels of the feet. If you drape your spine, releasing the head towards the earth. It'd be a soft bend in the back of the knees here as you lift the shoulders away from the ears.

Few breaths here in this inversion. It's allowing the head to release. Low the heart. As you're ready, go off the hands back and reach the shoulders, ground through your feet, strong legs. Bring the hands to the hips press down for the feet and inhale come all the way up. Take a moment to pause, let the blood drop back into the feet.

Second side, bring the right foot in the left foot out warrior two foot pattern. Sink into your left hip. So that left foot is parallel with your mat. Reach the arms feel how you can, again, ground and sink in, feel the strength of your legs, softening where you can. Warrior dance, inhale press through the ball of your left foot, gather and reach, exhale warrior two ground, inhale reach the arms up.

Exhale warrior two, three more with the breath. Inhale reach. Lift, exhale, last one, inhale, lift, exhale warrior two pause here and we'll reverse peaceful warrior in how sweep the top left arm up. Exhale side angle pose, bring the left forearm onto the left thigh, opening the chest here. You might sweep the top arm over the ears you lengthen.

Feel that whole right side of your body lengthen. Find a place where the neck feels good as you breathe. Fill out space between your left shoulder and your ear. Now within all of the effort, or can you soften a bit? Finding the balance here, finding that sweet ease and meditation in the shape.

Stay low and strong in the legs as you inhale rise back up peaceful warrior. And then press into the ball of your left foot straighten the leg for a moment, reverse triangle pose. Keep that length as you extend into your triangle pose. Feel the bottom left ribs reach. And lengthen, reaching with the left hand.

You might find the shin. You might work with your block outside your left foot. Top arm might reach towards the sky or lengthen over the ear. Or maybe a few circles with that top right arm, reaching it over and open, down, forward, and open. Making this your own, finding what feels good, take a moment to pause, re reach, breathe, find that ease in your neck.

Feel the expansive quality of this shape. So you're ready, strong through the legs. Reach with the top hand come all the way up. Turn the left foot in. Again, heels in, toes out, sinking goddess. Whoo. Settling in, we'll do a twist and dip.

So inhale lift a little bit, and then exhale dip your left shoulder forward as you twist to the right. Inhale back to center and twist and dip right shoulder as you turn to the left. Let's do that one more time up and then twist. Press through the feet, inhale up, exhale twist, inhale come up, bring the hands together, grounding through the outer edges of the feet, softening the face. And then press through the balls of the feet, bring the feet parallel hands on the hips again, inhale lift the heart, exhale forward, fold release, hands underneath the shoulders, inhale lengthen your spine.

Exhale forward fold. This time, the fingers might come two fingers might come around the big toes as you inhale lengthen and then exhale drawing the head towards the earth. Feel that space between the shoulders and the ears. Feeling the strength of your legs. This feeling the spine releasing, tractioning.

When you feel ready, walk the hands back, underneath the shoulders, strong through the legs, hands on the hips, inhale press down through the feet. Come all the way up to stand. And just take a moment. He'll tell your feet and bring your feet back together. Pause in Tabasana mountain pose. Then just check-in, notice how you feel.

As you spread the toes feeling the strength of your legs, strength of your hips, allow for an inhale, nice full exhale. And take a moment to draw your awareness towards your nostrils. Just notice the quality of the breath in the nostrils. Aligning towards the central channel. Allow for an inhale.

Exale. Nice. From here, we'll play with adding on as you're ready, step your feet wide again. And we'll come into our warrior two. Turn the left foot in the right foot out, bend the right knee, finding your warrior two shape.

We'll reach the arms out. And we'll just find one warrior dance here. In how press through the ball, the right foot's straighten the leg arms reach, exhale warrior two, and how peaceful warriors sweep the right arm up, exhale side angle pose. Just keep the left hand on the hip as you sink down feeling the strength of your legs. We're gonna play towards Arta Chandrason at half moon pose.

So looking for your block, reach your hand towards your block, and bring your block about six inches to a foot out in front. Of your right foot. Now as you're ready, begin to lift your back leg up off the floor, kick through the back heel flex the foot. Your left hand might stay on your hip or you might stretch the left arm towards the sky. Feeling the energy through the fingers, the toes, finding some ease within the wobbling, within the movement, within the strength.

You might stay a bit longer as you're ready. Grace will transition back to warrior two, bend the right knee. Find your feet. As you're ready, now warrior two pause. Nice work.

And then hands on the hips, turn that right foot in, turn the left foot out and find warrior two to the left. Reach the arm sink down into the left tip. One warrior dance. In how, press through the ball, the left foot arms reach, exhale warrior two. In how sweet the left arm, a peaceful warrior.

Exhale side angle, left forearm onto the left thigh, right hand might stay on the hip. You might pause right here. Again, feeling the strength of your legs, hips, finding some ease within the effort. Playing towards Artish and Drasana looking for your block. As you're ready, nigh, tiptoe that right foot in, and then lifting off, feel the energy of your back, right leg. As you open the hips, maybe reaching your top right hand towards the sky.

Maybe there's a soft bend in the back of your left knee as you balance here. Notice what you choose to do with your gaze. Notice the quality of your breath. You might stay here a bit longer. When you feel ready, bring your hand to your hip, bend your left knee graceful transition back into your warrior to open up.

And then pressing the ball of your left foot, hands on the hips, turn the toes forward, inhale reach the arms out, roll the shoulders forward, interlace your fingers behind your back, or you might work with a strap or a towel in how lift the heart open, exhale fold hinge at the hips, releasing the head towards the earth stretching the arms up out and over. Feel the back of the neck releasing here, breathing, feel the shoulders lift up away from the ears. You're welcome to stay here a bit longer. Slowly release your hands. Might walk the hands forward for hammock posts.

Draw the hips away from the heels soft in the heart towards the earth. Easy through your neck. Nice. As you're ready, walk the hands back underneath the shoulders to heal your feet a little closer together. Come into a melasana shape, squat pose, heels, and toes out. See how it feels to sink down into the hips.

Maybe the hands come together at the heart. Softening the jaw here, feeling the grounding energy of the shape. Beautiful as you're ready, uttanasana, forward fold, to heal your feet under your hips, soft bend through the knees, take a moment to pause here in your fold, soft bend through the knees, chin into the chest, slowly roll and round your way up, feeling the heart, feeling the shoulders, feeling the head, arriving in mountain pose, pause, and notice. Nice work. Let's make our way. You can grab your block.

Bring the blocks on their side of top of your mat. We're gonna make our way towards the top of the mat. Take a moment to arrive in your mountain pose. On a reset here. Nice. Moving into triangle pose.

Step your right foot back. Your back foot is at about a 45 degree angle left foot forward. Now how you can draw your right hip forward, your left hip back, grounding through the outer edge of your back foot, draw the tailbone under a little bit, feel a low belly lift. We're gonna reach our arms out, roll the shoulders forward, and then bring the hands behind the back. You might let the top of the hand rest in the palm or maybe find the elbows or reverse prayer. Ground for the back foot.

Inhale lift the heart, you might stay here. You might exhale draw the left hip back. So you begin to lengthen. You might pause in the extension. You might exhale round and release forehead towards the shin.

Again, finding your edge. Breathing. Ground through your feet as you're ready in hell. Come all the way back up. Take a moment to pause.

Keep your feet where they are as we set up for a revolve triangle pose. Working with a block, if you'd like to here. As you're ready, and how reach your right arm up. And then next, he'll draw your left hip back as you begin to reach the right arm forward, maybe finding a block on the inside of your left foot or on the outside. So find what feels right for you and then begin to revolve and rotate towards the left as you ground through your back foot.

I have my left hand on the pelvis to kind of feel the pelvis level off. And then reaching the top arm towards the sky, customize the shape for you, feel that left hip drawing back as you inhale, Exhale lengthening. Once you're ready to release, look down, bring the left hand to the hip, rotate the torso towards the floor, ground for the feet hands on the hips. Come all the way back up. Bend the front knee step forward, pause and notice.

How did that feel in your body? Clearing breath, inhale, exhale. Let's feel into the other side. So keeping the right foot forward, step your left foot back, coming into pyramid pose hands on the hips, drawing the right hip back, the left hip forward. From here, reach the arms out, roll the shoulders forward.

Again, hands might find the sacrum, the elbows, or reverse prayer, and how lift the heart length and the front body exhale draw the right hip back so you root through the back foot feel that length, that length, that length, you might stay where you are. You might release into the fold, letting your back round if you'd like. Feel the shoulders reaching down and away. Feel a strength of the outer right hip drawing in as you connect with the feet. Notice the quality of the breath.

As you're ready ground for your feet, inhale come all the way back up. Might feel like a long journey. Release the hands at your block up. Maybe it's on the inside of your right foot today or the outside. As you're ready and how reach your right arm up, feel that length and space as you draw your right hip back. Keep reaching and lengthening reaching and lengthening left hand finds the block.

And then begin to rotate your torso, your ribs, your heart towards the right. Your right hand might stay on your pelvis. So you feel where your pelvis is in space. And then maybe that top right arm reaches as you continue to draw your right hip back, connect through the back foot as you lengthen, find a place where your neck feels good. Yeah. Notice the quality of the breath in this twist.

As you're ready, strong through the legs, bring the right hand to the hip, rotate your torso towards the floor. Use the strength of the legs, hands on the hips. Come all the way up. Bend the front knee, step forward. You might take a moment to just shake it out.

Notice. We'll bring our blocks off to the side. Find our way to the floor with a sun salutation, just kind of smoothing everything out as we flow to the earth. Spread your toes hands together at the heart Let's find a clearing, centering breath, inhale, exhale. As you inhale circle the arms up, exhale forward fold.

Really release, inhale half arch lengthen, exhale bend your knees, step back into your Alana, pause in your Alana, lower yourself down, cobra point the toes, inhale lift the heart. Exhale lower. One round of Shalabasana locust. Sweep your arms alongside the body as you inhale, lift the chest, lift the toes. This feels really nice after all the standing work. So feel the strength of your back body.

Yeah. Muscle strong into the spine, opening the chest long through the neck, inhale, exhale, release. Beautiful. Bring the hands underneath you. Press your way up and round back towards a child's pose. A little side to side. Your nourishing breath into the back body, exhale soften.

Take your time as you're ready to slowly round your way up towards the seat. We'll stretch the legs out coming into a seated twist. Mari Chias, I'm gonna see. I like a blanket for this. You might sit up on a blanket.

Take a moment to stretch both legs out. And then we'll bring our hands underneath the right knee. Draw the right heel in maybe a little wide. As you're ready and how lift the left arm up, exhale twist to your right. Maybe wrap your lift arm around the right knee, right fingertips behind you, inhale, lift, exhale twist.

Feel that energy of your left leg. In how lengthens you exhale twist. New more moments here. Alright. As you're ready, slowly unwind, lovingly stretch that right leg out, bring the hands underneath your left knee, that hips width apart. Inhale reach your right arm up, exhale, twisty, or left, you might wrap your right arm around your left knee, left fingertips behind you, root, lengthen inhale.

Exhale gentle twist to your left, reaching through the right toes, breathing here. You feel ready, take your time slowly unwind, and stretch your left leg out. And we'll transition down to the floor. As you're ready rolling onto your back, and draw your knees into your chest. From here, ground for you for the feet, we'll find one round of bridge.

Spread the toes, draw the tailbone under press through the feet rising up, lengthening hands might reach towards the heels. You might roll and tuck the shoulders under, maybe finding the interlace. May be bringing your hands underneath your hips. Long through the neck, soft through the face. When you feel ready come high up onto the balls of the feet, stretch the arms up, exhale roll the spine down, stretch the arms overhead, upper back, middle back, low back toe heel, the feet wide, little windshield wiper side to side releasing through the hips, the legs, feeling into if there's anything your body is calling forward to round out your practice, taking the time, and listening inwardly for guidance.

You might stretch out in Shavasana. Might take your time to ease your way up towards a seat. Whatever shape you're in, just resting in the space you've created, in your practice. Otis the quality of the breath, Oh, is the quality of your energy? Love for an inhale, generous exhale.

If you're seated, joining the hands together, Namaste. Thank you so much for your practice. Have a beautiful day.