Lunar Flow

(waves crashing) Namaste. Welcome to our lunar practice. So far in some of the talks, we've discussed some of the bigger seasonal cycles and practices, talked a little bit about the different cycles or stages of life that one navigates through, and in this practice, I just wanted to offer a little something to highlight that in Ayurveda we see that not every day is created equal, and some days have more of an internal energy, based on the moon pattern. Some days it's a little bit more external energy. So this practice is really nice if you're having one of those days or it's that time of the month where the moon is more internalized, the new moon time, and because it's more cooling in that way, it's also something that might be really complimentary to our summer practice, where the season's really hot and we want to do some flow, but a flow that doesn't build a lot of upper body heat.

This is also a great practice of a little Sun Salutation alternative if somebody has a lot of wrist or shoulder issues. So we'll try it a few times together, and try to make it your own eventually. So we'll begin in Tadasana, with your feet on the ground, palms facing forward. When you're ready, draw your arms up by your ears as you inhale, and catch ahold of your left wrist with your right hand, and then arch over to your right side. Look down towards your heels.

Inhale. Come up to the center. Catch your right wrist, and take a bend over to your left side. Look towards your left heel. Come up to neutral.

Open the feet wide into our goddess seat, the elbows bent, and sink down into that squat shape. We'll spin our feet to turn to the left side and come to triangle pose, with your hand at maybe the middle of the shin or top of the ankle as you come to triangle. In triangle, we'll gather the hands in front of the heart. Turn your left foot in about 15 degrees, and then bow forward toward the earth. Sink down into your hips.

Try to stay low with your hips as you transfer to the other side, as you bow forward toward your right side. We'll adjust the feet and come into triangle pose on your right side. If it feels good, look up. Then from triangle, we'll come back to our goddess shape. We sink down with the chest open.

Then from here inhale. Come back to center with your arms up, and then hands back toward your chest. Okay, so again, more in rhythm with your breath. Inhale. Reach up.

Catch your left wrist. Exhale to the right side. Come back up to the center. Catch your right wrist and exhale to the left side. Come up to the center.

Open your heels wide for straddle goddess seat, and then turn the left foot out and reach out into your triangle base. Take a big breath in. Hands toward the chest, left foot turns in, and we bow forward to the left, and transfer through the feet to work over to your right side. Exhale here. Adjust your feet again as you come into triangle pose.

When you're ready, look up. And then coming back around through the goddess shape, as we drop into the feet. Inhale. Come up into straight legs. Arms up, and then hands to your chest.

One more time. Inhale. Go up. Catch your left wrist. Exhale to the right.

Look down. Then you'll come up to the center. Catch your right wrist and go to the left. Exhale. Then you'll come up and out into our straddle goddess seat, as we sink down.

And then turning towards your left side triangle pose, gazing up. Gather your hands at your heart. Exhale. Bow forward and down, and then transfer your weight over to your right side. Exhale forward.

Adjusting the feet, triangle pose. We back up through your goddess shape as you sink down, and then back up, arms raised, and then back into a Tadasana. Hands gather back in front of the chest. Just notice your breath for a moment in Tadasana. We get another three rounds as we inhale, with your breath rhythm reach up, catch the left wrist and exhale.

Look down towards your right heel. You'll come up to the center. Catch your right heel, look to the left as you arch. Inhale up, coming through your goddess shape. Exhale.

Inhaling into triangle, the left leg turned out. Gather the hands at the heart. Turn that right foot in, left foot in. Now forward, and then transfer your weight to your right side and exhale, bow forward. Your triangle pose with the right leg turned out.

Back into your goddess shape. Exhale. Inhale. Legs joined together, reach up. Exhaling, hands to the heart center.

Inhale up, and exhale arching to the right, and you'll come up. Catch the right wrist. Exhale, arch to left. Come up to the center. Find your way into goddess.

Exhale. Inhaling, triangle. Left leg turns out. Hands to the heart, lunge, bow forward towards your left leg, and transfer your weight over to the right. Exhale, bow forward.

Inhale, triangle pose, left foot turns out. Back up to goddess. Sink into the feet. Exhale. Inhale all the way through Tadasana, raised arms.

Exhale to the heart. One more in sync with your breath. Inhale up. Exhale side bend, and look toward the right heel. Come up.

Catch your right wrist, look to your left heel. Through the center, open the feet, goddess pose. Turning to the left, triangle pose. Deep breath in. Gather the hands as we're turning that right foot.

Bow forward and down. Moving to your right side, exhale. Through triangle pose, breathe in, and you back through goddess pose, exhale. Inhale, reaching up, and gathering the hands toward your chest. And may that serve you well during the lunar time of the month.

Namaste.