Clear the Blockages

(waves crashing) Namaste, family. I've got a lot of favorite mudras. This is one of my all-time favorite, santosha mudra, smiling mudra. Smiling even before you have a reason to smile. I'm so excited to be here with you today, check it in, no blockage, we're clearing the way.

I got a mudra for you, so open your hands. You can open up both your hands. Any time we're working with the hands, we're working with the heart. Psshooo. Right into the heart, okay?

Check that in, left hand open, or right hand. Bring your other hand around it, shankh, or it's a conch shell. Here we are on the beach, right, this is a conch shell, or a shankh mudra. And the no blockage is to clear the communication. Could be with yourself, it usually is with someone near and dear to you that you wanna get clear with.

You gonna get clear on your side of the street, clear the path, clear the channel, so you can say what you need to say with love. Meditate here, it's right around your throat. If you feel your hands dropping somewhere around your heart or where you need it. Oftentimes, ceremonies or beautiful rituals are started with the... Wah! With the call of the conch.

A new beginning. Fifth chakra, your throat chakra, vishuddha chakra right here at your throat, communicating, saying what you need to say. Say what you mean and mean what you say. And getting really clear with what it is. A big part of this chakra and communicating is listening.

Speaking and listening together. Feel your breath come in, move out, almost like you're on the ocean, right. Like the wave washes up to the sea, and it moves out, and you're part of that flow, in and out. Communicating, listening, channeling, keeping the channel open. Mmm.

Up to you on the smiling. It will bring the sun out, I promise you. There's another mudra I love. I was gonna choose one today, but I'm feeling like I want you to see it, 'cause it might totally, you might totally vibe with it. So, check it in.

It's the mercury finger, your pinky. It's the Buddha. Sometimes I call it buddhi, buddhi mudra. Not boot-ee. Buddhi, for the Buddha.

And then you bring your elbows up in line with your shoulders, and it really feels like when you're sweeping something or clearing something. I love it. And you can start with your eyes open, and then you might like you want to close your eyes. Just clearing the way for you to, like, live in your truth and speak your truth, speak it from your guts, speak it from your soul. And then you move on your breath, which is always the gift of this practice.

You can keep it really simple. (deep breathing) I love those Tibetan, the sand drawings. They're so beautiful, and then at the very end they're willing to just sweep them up. Non-attachment. Clearing the way for you to take the next right step in your life, getting clear with someone you love, getting clear with you, the self inside of you.

What do you need today? Mmm. And you can feel this connection with your guts. We're gonna focus on that, too, uddiyana bandha. It's another mudra, a lifting mudra.

Practice lifts us up. We're gonna do two more times here. You can already feel it. Everything's participating, that's the beautiful thing about yoga, bhakti yoga, devotional yoga. Everything participating with all your whole self.

Rolling your whole self out. Here I am painting, right, just like painting the sky with my breath. (deep breathing) One big reach, spread through your hands. Inhale here. And then let your hands float down, hmm.

Maybe the ground, maybe your legs. So, no blockage, why is she bringing out the blocks? (chuckling) Put the blocks in your way. Let's see how we can work with them as a tool for self-understanding and self-discovery. The great thing about the blocks is you're gonna see pretty damn quickly is that they create a lot of length in the arms, so your arms get longer.

That's fun. And you know, our arms, our reach in the world is so big. Sometimes we feel like, "I wanna change the world, "I wanna cha.." and you do. You change the world inside of here. When you change, you change the world around you.

You change how you see the world, how you show up in it. So, your reach is so big. We're gonna come on to hands and knees. The cat-cow party. And you can do some of those to capture that feeling of pressing down and moving up into the shoulders, the chin comes in.

The belly lifts. There's your first feeling on, and actually, I'm gonna bring my breath into it, so check this in. Breathe in, and then every bit of breath out your mouth. (sustained exhale) With your breath held out, draw everything in and up, and then you'll notice that with a breath held out, you can even draw more in and up. And then relax on the breath in.

Bandhas are these great internal lifts, yogic cool tools that create lightness and liftedness in the body. Oftentimes, they're listed under mudras, so the bandhas, these internal lifts that redirect the flow of energy in the body, so that we create this feeling of flying and lightness, and who doesn't wanna fly? Who doesn't wanna feel lighter, or light itself? Light, light. Be the light.

Okay. So, I'm gonna check that in again. Breathe in, and if you wanna tuck your toes under in advance, the belly will fall on the breath in, but on that breath out, and I'm gonna do out the mouth for starters, really empty out (sustained exhale). Keep the breath held out. And notice how much more lift you'll get.

Keep the breath held out, and then we're gonna ride up and back into downward lovin' dog. You can even linger here, this is crazy feeling. Wow! Breathe in. (exhaling) With the breath held out. Mine is coming in 'cause I was speaking.

Lengthen, lengthen, lengthen, lengthen, open, open, open, open. It's like this cool parachute. I almost did that in college, I almost jumped out of a plane. I was jumping out of windows, so that was plenty. Check this in.

I'm gonna start with, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go right leg. On your breath, and then this is totally like a hang-ten moment. (growling) Play with the shakiness, play with the balance. Whoo-oo! Make sure you scream in your apartment or your house, so that your neighbors know that you're having a really good time. Living, living living.

Being yourself, that's the most free, when you can really be yourself. Okay. Come up on the toes. That's fun, already I'm having a massive internal parachute going on. Mmm-kay.

Let's go even deeper into these lifts, and another way, in addition to the breath, is using the legs, so these longer arms, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale, come in, in, in, in, in, in in. Notice how much I'm lifting the back heel. Come in, come in, and round the back, lift the back of the waist. You're gonna tick tock a little bit. Dancing pigeon.

On your breath, back and forth. You'll feel it, and then lift up. You can even keep the breath held in, or out. And why not? Let's see if we can stick the knee on the arm, and come up.

I don't know what it's called, you can make up a name there. You can always shoot the leg out to the side. Mmm. I call it a drunken triangle. It's kind of like a shoot the bird.

There might be another name for it. Come in and up, and then let's check out the other side. Left leg, on your breath. Breathe it up. Oh, did I check?

I don't think I checked in the balance on this side. Let's do it. Mmm, did I do this side? (laughing) So fun, I had done this side, that's okay. Big breath in.

You also have the arches in the feet, and the arches in the hand, create that nice lift in the belly, and on the exhale, the diaphragm is lifting. Right, that's the yogi's muscle, so that's gonna give you a big lift, and it massages the heart. Come in, exhale, exhale, roll in and up, and then, on your breath, from arm to arm, elbow to elbow, tick tock. See if you can keep the belly uddiyana lifted, that flying up feeling. Good.

As you spin down the heel, really send the knee into the back of the arm, and lift the arm up high. Mmm-hmm. You might when you shoot it out even see if you can grab the leg up there that's floating. Or if it hits the ground, slide into it on your breath. Drunken triangle.

Good, up and back. Let's play with the lift on the breath. Check this in. Leg's gonna come high, you're gonna step into the lunge. Let's see if we can suspend and lift the hand even before the foot...

Little far back. Even before the foot lands, lift the arm up. Come into the twist. And then, stay close to your breathing. Use the seat to invite the pelvic floor to lift and feel buoyant, and then you can release, then the legs can relax into the hips there, nice.

So, you're sturdy, you're supported, but there's also a lightness that can open up to the stretch of the heart and the length of the arm. And let's roll in the other direction. This is fun. Spin the back heel down, you can even roll the arch into the block. The lip of the block, and shapeshift into a triangle.

Roll the heart up out of the hips. The lower belly, up to you. It can relax, or you can feel how the pubic bone will move back, and the tailbone will come in, you'll get that nice rise. That support, it's like fastening a seat belt, right? You get that support from inside yourself.

As your inner world gets reorganized with yoga, right, your inner world is shifting. Dog your way back. Check it in, open it up, big breath in. Arches, hands, breath, amazing. Trust it, mmmmm.

Lifting the hand before the foot even lands. See how everything just on its own, it's in our, happiness and freedom, it's in our nature. Nobody tells us, well they try to tell us how to live in the world, right. It's in our nature. The deep listening.

Good, then through there. Step it on back, and let's play with some... You can rest at any time. You might wanna drop your knees, sit back, feel the blessings there. Mmm-hmm.

And rest. If you're pumped up and ready to go, keep the momentum going. So, this is a really fun, energetic way to work on the liftings and the jumpings. I'm gonna start by breathing in, and on the breath out, right foot outside, left foot inside. And spring back.

Breathe in here. Let's aim, look where your aim is. Mmm, wow, two places. One foot's gonna go one spot, one's gonna go to the other one. On the breath out, left foot outside, right foot inside.

Hmm, let's try that again. Notice, the great thing is, the body's ready for this lift. A small bend in the knees, the arches rise, you can even feel from your feet your lower belly lift. From your hands, the pillars here, create this incredible opening here. Breathe in, and jump on the up breath.

Now, stay here, and come to the other side. And go... (laughing) And then, you can jam with that a little bit, right? Spring back. What about both feet?

To the outside. Both feet to the inside. Both feet on top of the block. Over the block. Up and over the block, and then on the block.

(laughing) Squatting. Outer legs move in, inner elbows move out, heart stretches up, tailbone keeps dropping, shoulders always wanna get in there. See if you can relax your shoulders. You might tip up into a crow, check that in. Come up on your toes, get a little closer on your arms, and lean your knees right into the back of your arms.

Use your fingerprints there a little bit, and then get long and lifted through the arms. Mmm-hmm. Bring your hands back to the block, and then jump back. Check this one in. You're gonna have to get your hands out of the way on this.

Breathe in, and then jump. (laughing) So, see that? Get the hands out of the way, so your feet can come on the block. It's a pretty quick jump. Sometimes the blocks fly out in about 10 directions.

Fly up on your breath in. Arms come down. And then get a fun feel for coming up on the block. It's only a few inches, but it can feel like it's about three feet. I'm not sure how that works.

But enjoy. Move the inner thighs away. Get that nice, big lift through both sides of your waist. You might even, whooo, add a little fun lift in the heel, or a big lift in the heel by pressing into the ball of the feet. Fly on up.

Breathing in. Come on through. Hands back to the block. Jump your way back. Jump your way through, jump your way back.

Jump your way around, jump your way back. You've already jumped on the blocks. And then jump, jump, jump with both feet right through center. Big hearts as you inhale and lift up and away. Exhale, take that forward bend.

You can even bring the blocks out to the side a little bit, and then shoot your legs all the way down and have a seat. Hmmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm. Another fun way to use these blocks for lifting is to take a shape that you're checking in, and then drop the blocks just like we did with that lift. Right under your shoulders. Sometimes this moment of getting up from here to here, lifting the hips up, so press down.

Wrists smack under shoulders, and then lift up. And cross the ankles, and you might even bend your elbows into ashtavak. Reach, reach, reach, lift, lift, lift. Go get up into that lower belly. We'll head the legs away.

Have a seat. (panting) (panting) Pant like a dog. Check in the other side. You know, you can, could be symmetrical, maybe you try something else on this side. Let's stay with it for now.

You can stay right here, actually. It's almost like a Ganesh leg, and stay right here with one leg front and one leg back. The ankles don't need to cross. And it will give you that feel that when you move down, you can really get that lift up. These took me a long time.

I would be like, "Why aren't I lifting?" You know? So, you have to trust that with the effort is the grace, and that another name for magic is repetition. You're gonna do these more than once, it's like learning the scales on a piano or anything that's important to you, you know it takes time. So, you have to give time time here. Sometimes, this leg slides off a little bit.

Get your guts going, get your breath fired up, get your life. You're in it, you're totally, wanna show up. You don't wanna miss a single moment of your life. So excited and turned on. Ankles cross.

Shoot the legs out like that shooting star. Hug in through the elbows. Ashtavak, crooked in eight, where are you? Crooked in eight places. Mmm huh ha ha.

Little exit. Have a seat. Throw these to the wind, or you might be like, "Oh, I know what I can do now. "I can become a goddess." I can take it underneath my knees, and totally turn it into a restorative shape. Elbows can soften by your head, or you can bring them down by your side.

And feel your being, it's already magic. It's already magic. And now, you're in the place that you can feel it. Let yourself really be here. The clearing, clearing, through you, so you can really be in your truth today.

And whatever you need to say, you'll say it with love. You can bring more love to everything that you do. No blockage, all clearage. No blockage, all clearage. You can always loosen the blocks away, and take shavasana with the legs long.

And if you want some time to have a seated practice, all of these practices really give some time to sit and be with ourselves, have a little bit more ease with sitting. Maybe you won't become fearless, but you'll fear less. Fear less. Maybe you really enjoyed the shankh mudra. (deep breath) Or maybe you didn't enjoy it, but you felt like, "Wow, every day "I choose to be on my path "is an invocation." It's like, I call it the house of yes.

It's like, "I'm gonna say yes to being clear." I'm saying, I wanna live in the house of yes. I wanna live in this, I want a faith. Faith will build a house inside of you. And if you don't have faith some days, you could have mine. You can.

That's how it works, that's how it rolls. We're in it together. On your very personal, personal path, feel how supported you are. Shankh mudra, conch mudra. Making this ritual relevant in your day today, the practice of yoga that lives in the heart of you and how you show up.

So, stay with this mudra for you. If you felt yourself, like there was still some residue or something clinging or lingering, it can happen like that, a cobweb. Maybe that la... (exhaling) Okay. Choose one of those, make a choice.

That's what we do every day, we make choices, and yoga helps us make better choices every day. I'm gonna get the harmonium. It's like my friend, like you and me and the harmonium, and the poetry, and the music. It's how we are enchanted on our journey, truly enchanted. And I'm gonna sing, and you can sing with me, or relax into your mudra, or into a shavasana.

(slow harmonium droning) â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« I sat down day one day to, one morning to chant om namah shivaya, and I kept chanting hallelujah. (laughing) And then I fell in love with hallelujah. I didn't grow up singing hallelujah. It kind of has like "hail," "halla." It feels up. "Hallelu-- "Hallelujah," like, "Hallelujah." â?« I am the light of the sun â?« I am the light of the sun â?« That's what it means to me.

â?« I am the light of the sun â?« I am the light of the sun â?« Sing it, 'cause you are the light of the sun. We are. â?« I am the light of the sun â?« I am the light of the sun â?« I am the light of the sun â?« I am the light of the sun â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« I like all the Ls in there. La la la la la, Hallelujah â?« Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-oo-jah â?« Hallelujah, Hallelujah â?« Hal-le-lu-jah â?« Hal-le-lu-oo-jah â?« Mmmmm. You can always hum it.

(humming) Like a bee, right, a bee just buzzes around. Like we do, buzzin' around like maniacs, and then we find the nectar, we get inside the flower. And the bee, like us, gets so quiet, like we just buzz around and there we are. We find what we need to find when we need to find it, and then we get real quiet. (humming and droning harmonium) The sound will bring you into the silence.

(humming) (laughing) (sustained inhale) Loving you. Loving life. Namaste.