Witnessing Stillness

Hi. My name's Annie. Welcome to this flow. We'll be moving a bit, but dropping into some play with a little more stillness in this Vinyasa flow today. I'm really glad you're here. We're gonna start in a seat.

So if you want to take a block underneath the sitz phones, as you sit maybe into heroes onto the heels, if a criss cross suits you better. You can always find that shape. Just whatever is comfy for the knees today. But allow that humanness permission to just enter onto your mat space. So if there's fidgeting or any shapes, shiftings that you need to move through before finding your way closer to stillness, start to settle in.

Feel the breath. Just as it's naturally moving here. Welcoming in this practice of presence of pause. We'll play with the breath a little bit as we drop in Nice to invite you to breathe fully into the nose and fill up with as much air as you can draw in. And then exhale. Let the breath go completely empty and pause at the very bottom of the breath.

Inhaling through the nose. Exhaling fully, emptying pausing at the bottom. And then breathing naturally. Just invite you to keep that in mind as we move today and finding that pause at the bottom of each breath. It's a little bit of void that stillness in between the new cycle.

Breathing in and letting go. And we'll stay in the seat a little bit longer. Just advise you to take the right hand Start to reach it out to a tee and then flip the palm back. You know, bend the right elbow and place that right hand behind the small of your back. And you can feel the back of your hand, press into your lower spine.

Allowing the heart to reach up a little bit more. You can stay here, or you could drop the left ear towards the left shoulder, just finding maybe a little bit more sensation through the trapezius muscles. All the way through the neck, long exhale, emptying fully, inhale drawing back through center. Right hand comes back into your lap. The left hand will reach out into that teeth.

Palm flips back. You'll bend the left elbow and place the left hand behind the lower spine, pressing the back of the hand into the spine. Feeling the heart lift, shoulders draw down, staying or dropping right ear, right shoulder. Feeling the breath move in, move back out. Crown of the head reaches back up to the sky.

Take the left hand out from behind the back, and we'll start to walk our way in through table tops. You can take that block away if you have it. Just gently place it up to the side of your mat. We'll use them down the road. You walk yourself into a tabletop and maybe pitter powder the feet and just kinda release the ankles from that seats, tuck the toes for a moment, then drop the stomach, lift the heart into a cow.

Axale round and curl into a cap, chin to chest, spread the shoulder blades apart. We'll fight a neutral spine. Hip stays stacked over the knees. We'll walk our hands forward and start to let the heart melt towards the earth. For puppy.

And so the forehead, it might rest onto the mat. The chin can also draw forward if the neck says that's okay. Again, there's this pause. This exhale. Lock the hands back underneath the shoulders, come back into your tabletop.

You'll tuck the toes, send the hips up and back into downward facing dog, Ottomukosfanasana. Take some time. Just walking it out, bending one knee and the other. Maybe you shake the head. No where you ask a couple times. And allow that process of settling.

Stillness, soft bend of the knees. Heart pressing towards the thighs. Right? Like, we'll lift high to the sky when you're ready. This first time, feel free to bend the knee, open up the hip up to the sky, finding the weight back into the right hand. So both palms press firmly onto the earth.

Start to step the right foot forward and through. We'll locate those two blocks. Bring them into the high setting. Bring them into any setting you want. I recommend the high.

The left knee will stay lifted. We'll find lizards. So drop the stomach and drop the hips, lifting the heart up in this lizard. Funny a nice Long line, that left heel up into the left hip out and through the crown of the head. With an exhale, we'll find a high pyramid.

So hips begin to shift back. Right leg straightens any amount. You can walk the blocks underneath the shoulders a little bit more. You're high on the back toes. You can let the chest just fold a little bit closer towards the right thigh.

Start to rebend the right knee as you breathe in. Walk the block slightly off of your mat space. Left hand is gonna come down. Right arm will go high. Ground your left knee as you do.

So you're opening up into this low lunge twist. You just check and make sure those left fingers or the fingers on your left hand are spread wide. The rudeness to that left hand. Will begin to slide into a grounded side plank. So right foot steps back.

You can pivot those left toes out, but root the right foot down and then reach the right arm over here. So you're finding this big, long line of energy. Through that right side body. As you exhale, right hand will come down to the earth. So those right toes are tucked.

Gonna press to the palms. Left leg goes up and back, three legged dog. Bend the knee, open the hip, but stay rooted through both hands. A really deep breath in. As you exhale, step the left foot forward and through, you can grab those blocks if you'd like.

Keeping the right knee lifted. Think about dropping the hips low. The heart up, holding this lizard's variation. Finding that pause at the bottom of the exhale. And then breathing in fully from there.

Next, exhale, high pyramid, hips shift back, left leg straightens any amount. And you're high on the right toes, just laying the hips draw back. Don't be afraid to walk those blocks further under the palms if you have them. Last couple breaths. Maybe the heart drops a little bit closer towards the left leg.

And do as you inhale, bend the left knee walk those blocks slightly off of your mat space, plant the palms, or plant the right palm, ground the right knee. Come into that low lunge twist. Left hand goes high. Right hand is firm onto the mat, just setting up our foundation. You can pivot through the right toes to find a little more foundation.

Left foot is gonna slide back, left foot grounds. Reaching side plank left hand over ear. Just enjoying the space so you can create through this left side body. Exhale left hand comes down. Those left toes are tucked.

Right leg will go up and back 3 like a dog. So we'll take this breath to movement. Find an exhale. Bend the knee. Open the hip. Inhale square the hips, exhale step the right foot through.

High lizards, inhale drop the hips, lift the heart, exhale into high pyramid hips bump back. Inhale, bend the right knee, left hand down, right arm goes high, grounded side plank, step the right foot back, inhale, reach the right arm over ear, open up the heart. Exhale right hand down, tuck the right toes, left leg goes high, inhale, step the left foot forward and through exhale. Inhale, drop the hips into your high lizards. Axale high pyramid hips bump back.

And he'll bend the left knee, drop the right knee down, find your twist, left hand high, grounded side plank, left foot steps way back. Left arm reaches over ear, big breath in. Left hand down as you exhale. Right leg goes up and back one more time. 3 legged dog.

Ax, you'll step the right foot forward and through. Let's bring it a little bit wider this time wrapping up into runners. So you can drop that bottom knee. This is where those blocks can again come in handy. If you wanna take them underneath the hands or the forearms, they just bring the ground a little bit closer.

The hands are inside the right thigh. You can untuck the back toes. Heart can stay lifted. This can be your place of stillness. Through this pause, at any point, the forms might start to lower down towards the earth.

And so we practice the body becoming still, but the breath staying dynamic Exhaling fully, sitting in that pause of the emptiness, and then breathing in deeply. 3 more breaths. If you're lowered down to the form, just start to press back up onto the palms. Bring the right foot and toe heel it into the center of your mat space. So we'll tuck the left toes and lift the left knee.

You can hop the back foot in and up. And again, blocks are your friends, not your foe. I like widening my stance almost like mats with this and sometimes just so there's space for the hips to square down towards the earth coming into full pyramid. Even offer yourself some gentle compassionate self assist with the right hand onto the right hip and just gently drawing the right hip back. And grounding the right hand back down to the earth or blocks, allowing the chest again just to bow further inwards.

Kind of the head might fall closer to the earth. Long exhale. And then gently lifting the heart back up, bending the right knee. Spin high the left toes just so you can step the left foot next to the right into a forward fold. You can just be human, cha cha or sway, shake the head.

We'll find feet to touch or hips width, find a halfway lift, palm towards the shin's, heart forward, then exhale forward fold. Bend both knees, come into utkatasana, sweep the arms forward and up. Feel the weight, saddle, and sink into the heels. Maily button draws into the spine. Take the hands behind you, and you can stay with the palms facing down.

The pinkies squeezing towards one another. You might play with interlacing the fingers and squeezing the palms. Hold and breathe and just feel all ten toes spreading wide and rooting onto the earth. This place of stillness, even a little bit of discomfort, maybe a little bit of heat building through the legs. One more breath.

Keeping the hips low. We'll come back into utkatasana arms forward, inhale, exhale forward, fold hinge to the hips. Find a halfway lift, palms towards the shins. The blocks can stay nearby. The right foot will start to step back.

Just switching into our runner's lunge. So left heel is gonna toe heel wide. Right knee drops down, undoing the back toes, and allowing this to be a process of layers that you can just peel back At any point, maybe the forms start to ground towards the blocks or the earth. Just encourage you for about these next 3 to 5 breaths to find stillness and whatever layer you're in. Practicing those long exhales, little pause at the bottom.

Take your time. We'll start to press back up onto the palms prepping into full pyramid. So to heal the left foot into the center of the mat, lift your right knee, and hop the right foot in and up. Creating that nice grounded forty five degree angle to the back heel. Blocks might be underneath the palms. You can give yourself that gentle self assist, left hip drawing back.

And then letting that breath guide you. Folding chest a little bit further down towards the left leg. Start to rebend the left knee. Gaze forward and step the right foot next to the left. You can just slide those blocks away.

Let's find our halfway lift as we breathe in. Full exhale forward fold. Oodkatasana one more time, bend the knees, sit the hips back. Sweet the arms forward and up. Stanley's bring the palms to touch, draw the thumbs into the heart center, connect the thumbs into the sternum.

You can feel just like a gentle bow of the chin inwards. Back of the neck long. You can play with lifting the heels here. We have 3 breaths of a variation in your chair. Ground the heels if they're lifted, reach the hands up to the sky, extended mountain, Tarassana, this time.

Big inhale. Maybe a little backbend as you reach up. Axale hands come through heart center, pausing, feeling, standing in our center. Long exhale. Inhale. Reach the hands back up to the sky. Forward fold as you exhale.

Halfway lift as you breathe in, plant the palm, step both feet back into a high playing pose, and this is gonna be a little bit of one of our longer holds. Allow this process of landing to take hold. Just allowing the palms on the earth to be the focus, the feet rooted, and the heels pressing back. Crown of the head reaches forward. One more breath in.

Taking this all the way to the belly. Your knees are there for you nice and slow. Once you're on your stomach, untuck the toes, and we'll slide the right knee up. You can take the hands underneath your forehead for a moment into this variation of half floor frog. Letting the right leg be heavy.

You'll stay here and just sort of lift the heart by pressing the forms. Slide the right hand underneath you into a twisted floor frog. This left hand can turn into a mini fist and just come right underneath the right temple as you guys over towards the left. Two more deep breaths to yourself. As you feel ready, just gently press back onto the forearm slightly.

Right hand will come underneath and back on top of the left palm. Slide the right knee back down. You can take both hands underneath the forehead, bend the knees, and then just windshield wiper the feet, right, and left. Finding how floor frog on the left side, left knee will start to slide up and wide. You can turn your gaze over towards the right just for a moment in land first before we find our twist.

Left leg is heavy. Enough pressure on the forums and palms to lift the heart slightly, threading the left arm underneath the palm can face up and that right hand can turn into a fist as a little pillow for the side of your head. Savering this pause. Whether there's been slowness or busyness leading up to this practice with yourself. Just invite you to really feel and drop into the stillness.

Letting the body go with one more exhale. Pressing back up with your inhale. Both hands can come back underneath the forehead. Both knees down and maybe a wag at the tail just to shake the hips out. Well, we're all right onto our back.

So you can just pancake on over, coming onto your spine, letting the head lay down. The left leg will stay long, and the body just lands back of the body onto the earth. Start to bring both knees into the chest. You can bring them both wide and start to move into a happy baby. Back of the thighs might be what you grab.

Hands might walk up the calves or towards the feet. I need a little tuck of the chin just to elongate the back of the neck and the tailbone presses to the earth. Find a little sway or rock side to side. Pausing in the middle, finding that stillness, drawing a breath in, big exhale out. Knees come back through center.

You can plant both feet onto the earth. If you block nearby, you might press the feet and just lift the hips up and slide that block underneath your lower tailbone for a moment. We'll find the legs up to the sky, and this block just gives us a nice lift of the hips. We don't have to hold so much tension in in the lower back. Few breaths.

Feet are now light. Back is heavy onto the earth of the block. Finding one more of your breath and lowering the feet back down. Hips will lift slightly just so you can slide the block off the mat. Lower the hips back down and start to slide into corpse pose, Shavasana.

Find the arms and the legs be long. The gays might find a point up ahead. The gays might close if that feels alright for you. This process, going inwards, sitting in a little silence, being with what's here. Start to stir the breath.

Just a little bit deeper back into the lower belly and the lungs. Playing with one of those long exhales and pausing at that empty point. Full inhale from there. Cycle of an exhale. You can find little wiggles if you're ready to move on.

If Sebastian is calling you a little bit longer, please stay. Just roll off onto either side into supported fetal. Using that bottom arm as a pillow to support your head. They're pressing up into a seat just like we began. Palms can place down onto the thighs.

Table and heavy. Bringing the palms into the heart space and the thumbs connected in with the sternum, taking a moment and bowing the chin inwards and just thinking this human behind your thumbs that showed up with you for practice today. Thumbs can draw between the brow centers. I thank you and perhaps we thank one another for being together and moving together today. Peace be with you.

Namaste.