Earth and Water Flow

(waves crashing) Welcome back, good morning, if it's morning for you. So in this sequence, yes I'm started on the ground. And it's a ground-up flow so we'll begin in Virasana. Tapping into some of the grounding earth elements. So I have a block here and I'm gonna place my block between my feet and then come on down, bringing my sit bones to rest on the block.

If you have two blocks and you prefer a second, you might do that just to elevate the hips. And as I come in, I like to kind of pull my calves out a bit and then come into Virasana. And just taking a moment to settle here, softening the shoulders down the back. And so this is, if it's comfortable it can be a quite sweet position for a meditation. Lengthening through the back of the neck a bit, up through the spine, and then we'll just begin by bringing some attention toward our breath and opening up through the shoulders.

So reaching the arms along your sides and we'll inhale, reach the arms up to the sky, lengthening. And then exhale, release the arms along your sides. We'll do that one more time, inhale, reaching the arms up, exhale and release, inhale, lengthen the spine, the gaze might look up, exhale, release, and then two more times. Just beginning to bring some movement into the body, the shoulders. And then one more time, inhale, reach up.

And then exhale and release. And then reaching the arms out along your sides, find the internal rotation and the external rotation. And as you find the external rotation, reaching from the heart into the pinky fingers. So you're beginning to feel that quality of lift and length up through the spine, the heart, out through the fingers and then the internal rotation and the external rotation. So you might imagine like a flossing of the shoulder joint.

Good, next time you find that external rotation, reach from the heart into both hands. Find that quality of length up through the spine, base of the skull, and then exhale, release the arms. And then inhale, draw the shoulders up around the ears, exhale and release, and one more time. Bring the shoulders up and then exhale and release. Nice, just taking a moment here, resting the hands along the thighs.

Nice, from here, as you're ready, lean forward and then remove the block off to the side. And then tuck the toes under, we're going to find a nice toe stretch here. Sometimes we affectionately refer to this as toe torture pose but the idea is to really open and stretch the bottoms of the feet. And then you might begin to walk your hands in a little bit. And some of you might bring your hands onto your thighs and then lean some weight back into the heels and find that next length through the back of the neck, the base of the skull.

Soften through the face and the jaw, breathing. (deep breathing) You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like. When you feel ready and I feel ready, extend and reach back one at a time. So lengthen, gonna stretch through the heel. Usually it feels good to lengthen through the crown of the head.

And then the other side, extend. And lengthen. Nice, and then coming into Cat-Cow. As you inhale, arching the body, rolling the pelvis forward, and as you exhale, get round, draw the navel towards the spine, let the head release. Inhale, arch the body, shoulder blades drop down towards each other, heart, collarbones open.

Exhale, curl and get round. You might prefer the tops of the feet on the floor or tucking the toes under. Inhale to arch, exhale to curl. One last time, inhale to arch, and then exhale to curl. Let's press back Child's Pose for a few breaths, walking the hands out in front of you.

Reaching the hips away from the hands, forehead resting. (deep breathing) On your inhale, come back onto all fours, tuck the toes under, let's come into Downward-Facing Dog. As you come to Downward-Facing Dog walk it off a little bit, letting one knee bend, stretching the heel towards the floor, and on the other side. Good and then coming into neutral, so both feet grounded. And we're going to play here with finding a bit of a spinal movement, so inviting this wave or kelp-like quality into the spine.

So I'll demonstrate it, it'll look something like this. And you might initiate the movement from the tailbone and the rest of the spine. So head will move along, and experiment with this. So you're creating, or rather allowing for this wave-like motion through the spine. Good, and then press back into Downward-Facing Dog.

Now we're gonna add on to that, so walk your feet back a little bit further. So you find a longer dog than you might have. Okay and as you inhale, we're going to get round here. So round through the upper back. And then rounding forward into Plank Pose.

Shoulders over the wrist and pause. And then we're going to round through the upper back. And then come back into Downward-Facing Dog. Okay so let's try that one more time. So finding that long Dog and then rounding through the upper back, rounding forward into plank.

And then press through the palms, start through the upper back as you round back into Downward Dog. Okay. Good one more time, we're going to round into Plank and then this time lower down. So you might lower the knees or come down through Chaturanga arms. And then softening the shoulders down the back, press up into Cobra, drawing the heart forward.

Exhale and release, reach the fingers. Actually lift the fingers up, and then begin to lift the legs, so reaching up, elbow drawn in towards the body. So like a variation of Shambasana. Good and then press down through the palms, you're gonna kick your legs back and then come into Cobra again. So the heart lifting, you might press down, lift up a bit higher, shoulders softening down the back.

And then exhale, release. Good, tuck the toes under, come onto the knees, and press back Child's Pose, draw the hips towards the heels forehead towards the earth. Allow for a (exhales), softening the belly towards the thighs. As you're ready, inhale, come back onto all fours, spread the fingers wide, tuck the toes under. This time come into Plank, from Plank press back to Downward-Facing Dog.

Making our way into a lunge sequence. As you're ready, root through the fingers, inhale, lift the right leg behind, back, square the hips. Reach through the heel, as you exhale, curl, get round, draw the knee towards the forehead and then step it forward between the hands. Wiggle back through the ball of the left foot, lengthen through the crown of the head, let the left knee lower down. From here, keep the top of the foot on the floor as you draw the hips back, you'll find a nice stretch through the top of the foot, ground down a bit.

And then exhale, bend the front knee and sink in. Let's do that again, inhale draw the hips back, keep that right foot grounded on the floor. Exhale, sink in, one more time, inhale, draw the hips back, keep the foot on the floor, and then slowly peel the foot up. Come on to that heel, draw the hips back. And you might bring the forehead towards the right shin.

And then exhale sink in, sink low into the hips. You might stay right here. You might begin to reach the arms up towards the sky. Reaching from the heart into both hands. Breathing, find that ease through the neck.

Good, release the arms down. Find that internal rotation, interlace the fingers, and then inhale, lift the heart. Spacious through the throat. Front body opens, and then release the arms. Again draw the hips back and then slowly peel the foot up.

Come on to that heel, find the hamstrings, exhale, bend the front knee, sink in. Tuck the back toes, lift the back leg, find your Downward-Facing Dog, let's do that. Press through the palms, reach the hips away from the hands. The invitation is to walk the feet back again. Find that long, lengthened Dog and then rolling forward into Plank.

And again, that rounding through the upper back, get super round as you begin to draw the heart forward, coming into Plank Pose and then lowering down. Either through the knees or through Chaturanga. Softening the shoulders down the back, press down, inhale, lift the heart, Cobra. Exhale, release, keep the hands where they are. Inhale, lift the heart, let the hands get light, lift the legs, draw the elbows in.

Exhale, release, and then kick back through the legs, press down through the palms inhale, come up to Cobra again. And you might lift a little bit higher. Exhale, release, tuck the toes, press back, Child's Pose. Hips towards the heels, forehead towards the earth. Allow for a (exhales), soften the belly.

As you're ready, reach your arms out in front of you. Come onto all fours, soften the shoulders down the back. And then find Plank, from Plank press back Downward-Facing Dog. We'll find a lunge on the left side, as you're ready, inhale, lift the left leg high. Keep the hips square as you reach through the heel.

Exhale, get round, knee to forehead. And then step the left foot between the hands. Wiggle back through the ball of your right foot. And then let the right knee lower. Again as you draw the hips back, keep the foot on the floor you'll feel a nice stretch through the top of the foot.

And then exhale, sink in, let's do that again. Inhale, draw the hips back. Exhale, sink in, as we find that again, we'll draw the hips back, keep the foot grounded on the earth and then slowly peel it back, coming onto that heel. And then you might round, release the head. Good, bend the front knees, sink in.

From here you might stay low, hands resting on the thigh. You might reach the arms up towards the sky, grounding through the legs and the feet as you feel some more freedom up through the spine, front of the body. Breathing. And where here can you find a bit more ease through the body? Good, release the arms along your sides.

Again find that internal rotation. And then interlace the fingers so that opposite hand on top, finger on top. Softening the shoulders down the back, inhale, begin to lift the heart. Notice what feels good for the head. So you might gaze forward, or so of you might play with lifting the heart and letting the gaze look up.

Breathing. Okay, as you're ready, release the arms. Tuck the back toes, lift the back leg, step back. We'll come into Downward-Facing Dog, find that long Dog again and we're going to round, round, round through the upper back. Round forward into Plank.

From Plank lower down again, either on the knees or through Chaturanga. Softening the shoulders down the back, press up Cobra, lift the heart. Exhale, release, keep the hands where they are. Inhale, Shambasana. Exhale, release, press down, kick back a bit.

Lift the heart, again you might play with sliding up a little bit higher. Bhujangasana and then heart softening forward. Tuck the toes, press back, Child's Pose. And from here, inhale, come back onto all fours. Finding Plank, from Plank press back Downward-Facing Dog.

From Downward Dog, walking your feet towards your hands. Inhale, half-arch, lengthen the spine, Ardha Uttanasana. Exhale, Uttanasana, forward fold, and you might soften the knees a bit here, let the upper body release. Beautiful, as you're ready, strong legs and back. Inhale, come all the way up, reverse one, reach the arms up.

You might find a slight back bend as you lengthen and then release the arms along your sides. Just taking a moment here, standing in Tadasana, Mountain Pose. Sometimes as I come up from a forward fold I can feel a bit dizzy, and light-headed. So just notice how it feels for you. If that's the case, I would suggest taking it a little bit slower, so maybe even rolling back up towards standing.

And taking your time as you come up into Tadasana to draw your awareness, your attention back down into your feet and take your time to really settle and ground through the feet and the legs. You might keep the eyes slightly open and lifted. Beginning to move with our breath through Sun Salutations. So finding a Surya Namaskar A variation. Get awareness towards our breath.

As you're ready, on your inhale, circle the arms up to the sky. As you exhale forward fold, releasing the head and the arms. Inhale, half arch to lengthen. And this time as we exhale we're going to step back into Downward-Facing Dog. We're going to find that long Dog, that long, lengthened Dog.

The invitation here is to get round through the upper back, find that spinal wave action as you roll, roll, roll, roll. Inner thighs drawing towards each other, and then coming into Plank. From plank, lowering onto the knees, or keeping the elbows in through Chaturanga. Perhaps all the way down, finding that Cobra action, softening the shoulders down the back, lifting the heart, Bhujangasana. Exhale, and release, this time we're gonna tuck the toes under, lift through the thighs, back of the legs long, elbows into the ribs, and then press up into Plank.

Press back into Downward-Facing Dog. Good, from here lift the right leg high. Extend, lengthen through the heel, square the hips. On your exhale, get round, curl, curl, curl. And then step the right foot between the hands.

Lower on down, again as you inhale, draw the hips back. Keep the foot on the floor, feel that stretch through the top of the foot, perhaps. Exhale, bend the front knee and sink in. One more time like that, inhale. This time you might come onto that heel, press down through the heel and then (exhales) get round, release the head towards the shin.

I like to keep the back toes tucked. You might prefer it top, press the top of the foot down to the floor as you release. Ardha Hanumanasana, good, bend the front knee. We're going to find the lunge here. Again you might stay low.

Hands on the thigh as the gaze comes ups. You might reach the arms up towards the sky. Lengthening, again as you root, lengthen, reach, find that ease through the neck. From here you might begin to bend the elbows, scoop the elbows under and up, find that Cactus variation. Another variation is to interlace the fingers, right through the base of the skull.

And then begin to gently encourage the head to lengthen, back of the head to lengthen. Softening through the jaw, breathing. Ah, inhale, exhale, release the hands. Good, we're going to draw the hips back again. Come on to that heel, get round.

And this time we'll bend the front knees. Bring the hands around the inside of that right thigh. That right foot, excuse me, and then sink down, right? You might begin to lean from side to side. Breathing into where you feel any sensation or edge or perhaps there's some stickiness.

(exhales) A few more moments here. Okay, and then slowly come back. Draw the hips back, you're going to tidy up the foot. The hands around the foot and then step back into Plank. From Plank, lower down, soften the shoulders down the back, peel the heart up for Cobra, Bhujangasana.

Exhale, release, tuck the toes, strong legs, elbows in, press up into Plank, press back Downward-Facing Dog. We're gonna find that on the second side. Inhale, lift the left leg high, squaring the hips, extend through the heel. As you exhale, curl, get round, get round, step it through. Wiggle back, come down onto that right thigh, right knee.

Inhale, draw the hips back, top of the foot on the floor stretching, exhale, sink in. One more time, inhale, draw the hips back, and then slowly begin to peel that foot up, pressing down through the heel. And from here you might round. Good, slow bend the knee. Hands might find the thigh as you come up.

You might reach the arms up towards the sky. Reaching from the heart into the hands. Again find that ease through the neck. Bending the elbows, scooping them under and up. Perhaps interlacing the fingers and then lifting up.

Shoulder blades drawing down the back. Sternum lifting up, breathing. Beautiful, exhale, release, draw the hips back one last time and then peel the foot up. Press down through that heel. Good, as you bend the front knee, hands around the inside of the left foot, and then sink down.

Again you might lean a bit from side-to-side. Breathing. If you want and need to feel more of a stretch, you might come onto your forearms like this. A few more moments here. Okay as you're ready, draw the hips back and then tidy it up, hands around the front left foot, tuck the toes, lift the back leg, step back into Plank.

From Plank, lower down. Inhale to Cobra, lifting the heart. And then exhale and release, tuck the toes, lift the legs, keep the elbows in, press up into Plank, press back Downward-Facing Dog. (deep breathing) Take three breaths here. As you're ready, step forward between the hands.

Inhale, half arch, lengthen, exhale, foreword fold, inhale, rise all the way up, reaching. Exhale, hands at the heart. And taking your time to notice how you feel. Inviting your awareness back down and through your legs, down through your feet. And this receptive quality up through the bottoms of your feet, up through the spine.

Okay from here, making our way down to the earth through a Suns Salutation, hands at the heart, as you're ready, inhale, circle the arms up. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, half arch, exhale, we're going to step back into Downward Dog, again find that long Dog. And then rounding, rounding, rounding, rounding. Now you might round into Plank here.

You might play with rounding forward, finding Chaturanga. Which I'll demonstrate, so as you get round, round, round, round, you're going to play with drawing your hips through and then lifting up through the heart. Widening through the collarbones. And then exhale, press back Downward-Facing Dog. Beautiful, you might take a slightly long Dog for this one.

We're going to play again with rounding forward to Plank. You might prefer to round forward and play with Upward Dog. And I'll demonstrate as you're ready. You're going to find that rounded shape. Again you might round through to Plank or you might play with drawing your hips forward and finding your Upward Dog.

Wide through the collarbones, and then exhale, press back down to Downward-Facing Dog. Beautiful, lower the knees, take a few moments in Child's Pose, forehead towards the earth. And then reach the arms along sides. (steady breathing) Beautiful, palms underneath the shoulders, chin into the chest, taking a moment to round up to Bhadrasana, sitting up on the heels. And then we'll transition on to our backs.

Drawing your knees into your chest. Now as we come into Bridge, the invitation is to find a supported bridge with our blocks, okay? So we'll first do it without the block and then we'll do it with the block. So spreading the toes, arms along your sides, inhale, exhale, curl the tailbone under, lift the hips, hands reaching towards the ankles or, again perhaps, underneath the back, and then lengthening through the thighs, hands reaching towards the heels. Spacious through the throat.

Breathing. And feeling the support from the bones. So the bones supporting you. Softer through the eyes, nice to release. Come high up onto the balls of the feet.

Reach the arms up towards the sky, get round and then, nice and slow, releasing the spine. Again it's like the spinal wave action. Rounding, rounding, and then releasing each vertebrae, nice. Taking a moment to pause here, rest. Now as we find a second bridge, and feel nice is to take a supported bridge.

So with your block along side next to you. As you're ready, press down through the feet, curl the tailbone under, lift the hips. And then bring your block under your sacrum. For me it's like the lower, kind of 2/3 of the sacrum. So it's not jammed into my back like this but it's just supporting the lower part of the sacrum.

Which is super sweet, my hips can settle, receive the support of the block. Starting with that lowest setting. Now this might be perfect, you might prefer a slightly higher setting, alright. So you can come onto that second side. Again, supporting the sacrum.

Drawing the shoulders under the back. Now, some of you might prefer to press down through the feet, lift the hips and bring it on the third setting, the highest setting of the block. And I like the feeling of the edge of the block supporting my sacrum lengthwise, rather than sideways. And now here's a nice opportunity to draw the shoulders under. You might interlace, again staying awake in the feet and the legs.

And the throat is spacious. And receiving the support of the block. Now you might stay right here, you might play with lifting one leg up and lifting the other. So finding a supported Viparita Karani with the legs up towards the sky. This is a really lovely inversion here.

And then softening, pressing gently through of the mound of the big toes. And spacious through the throat, you might soften the gaze here a bit. Beautiful, as you are ready, your legs were extended, you might release legs down into Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Bridge. And then into come out of it, press down through the feet, lift the hips. Now if you're on the highest setting, what can feel nice is to lower down to that first setting and then bring your sacrum there and just kind of acclimate there.

Releasing the shoulders out from underneath you. (deep exhale) And then slowly press down through the feet, lift the hips, bring the block off to your side. And then slowly release all the way down. Nice, hug the knees into the chest. Allow yourself to rock here, a bit side-to-side.

Nice, you might extend the legs up towards the sky, flex the feet one last time. If appropriate for your neck and your shoulders, you might choose to find Halasana, Plow. Inhale and exhale, bring the legs over. Again let it feel spacious around the neck. And the hands might even interlace here like in Bridge.

Nice, if you're in Halasana Plow, and you're ready to come out, look towards your feet. So let the gaze look up as you slowly release down and the spinal wave feeling each vertebrae. Once you make that connection, release the legs. Nice, good, hug the knees into the chest. Find a spinal twist over to the right, stacking both knees.

Inhale, exhale, gently twisting. You might keep that right hand on the left thigh as you lengthen the left side body. You might prefer to reach the arms out along your sides. Taking a few breaths here, keeping the belly soft. Nice, as you're ready, inhale, come back up to center.

And then exhale over to your left. Again it might feel good to bring that right hand on your right thigh. Lengthen the right side and then releasing the arms. When you're ready to come up, inhale with the knees, come back up. And then rolling to your side, using your arms to press yourself up towards a seat.

Going towards a seat, closing our practice. Again, here like (exhales) settling down into the body, into the sit bones, the pelvis. As you feel that support from within gently lengthening up through the spine. Feel that uplifting quality through the base of the skull. Last few moments, like catching the feeling tone, the effects of your practice.

As you are ready, bring your hands together. And namaste. Thank you for your practice. Have a beautiful day, namaste.