The Wall is the Door

Let's get in the mood. I love to start with mudras, so family, let's start with two awesome mudras. Always great to get your focus, your intention. It will change, like, as you give to your intention it gets bigger it grows. It's like if you focus on your problems they get bigger.

If you focus on your intention it gets even bigger, so take a moment, and enjoy the focus. Your intent. The direction you want to go. The wall is the door. I want to introduce you to two mudras.

One is fearless mudra, Abhaya mudra. This is plenty on its own. Not holding onto anything, like you have everything that you need. All the divine ingredients to take you on this adventure. Then this becomes Dhyana mudra.

This hand comes down below. Sometimes, it seems like when you're being blocked, or stopped, that maybe you're meant to go another way, but maybe it is that the wall is the door. I want you to feel this give and take with your breath in Dhyana mudra. Dana, it's my name, and it also comes from the Sanskrit word meaning to give, to be generous. Sometimes when we feel like we don't have enough it feels like it's hard to give even more, but when we feel like we have enough, strength, of course, comes from being generous.

Feel your strength, and your generosity, and your ability to listen, and take in as much as give. If it does feel like that there's a door there or something stopping you in your tracks remember that the wall is the door. This is Dhyana mudra. Something you want to take in, and something you want to embrace this day, on this day. Something you want to really open up to, and then something from you to give more of yourself.

You want to give more from you that maybe is kind of hidden down here. You want it to take expression. Maybe you feel one more than another, too. The give and take is so interesting that the wall sometimes, something that seems like it's that one door closes, and, of course, another opens. 10,000 open.

You cry for the lover that's left you, and 10,000 more will come. Oh my God, oh my Goddess. Breathe in to possibility, family. Big time, big time, big breathing. Good, we're gonna move from, and you can also switch hands on this.

You can change your mind at any time. That's a great reminder in your life. You might be all set to do something, and you change your mind. As a yogi everyday is change your mind day. Did you know that?

It's not on the calendar. You can put it on the calendar. Everyday you get to change your mind. You get to choose what you think, and that will shape your day, it will shape your journey, and your destiny. We're focused on the journey, not the destination.

Your hands open, feel that, love it. We're gonna move these hands. Were gonna move into what is called Breath of Joy. We're gonna start with a bunch of breathing. Great way to get started.

Sometimes you jump on your feet. Sometimes you're not quite ready to get up on your feet, but you can make your way to the mat. So this is something that I often do. There's a couple of different ways that this can look. I feel like it's a mini sun salute, like I don't have to quite get up, and do a salutation, but they're happening here, so check in these two different ways.

Up and open on the breath in, and then all the way in on the breath out, so you can go slow and rhythmic breathing in. See how the sun like you're worshipping the sun, and then exhale folding in. Your naval is moving all the way back into your spine it's like really moving back. Inhale, opening expanding. Exhale, move in, and then moving on your breath, celebrating the day moving through something that felt maybe impossible, and you're gonna show up one more day, one more moment.

Take it one breath at a time, so check it in. You can speed these babies up. It becomes more of a Kriya, or a cleaning practice. Of all the breathing practices the Pranayama practices are a great way to focus. Bring the mind into attention, but also a great cleansing because the breath is so cleansing, so check this in, breathing in.

You get high on that one. I want my practice to be wild. I want my life to be free. I want to step into the magic every single day, and the breath is really, really your ... That's the vehicle along with this instrument to take you all the way. Another way that you can do this, and I've often called them, and my memory of it is like a Tibetan sun salute, so that big open one is called a Breath of Joy.

This one you come up, and then come in. If you want to move more slowly you're not gonna hear that great big breath out, or that cleansing breath. Up and then open, and inverse is up and out, so you can see which way your arms really feel like express as you come in. Then sit with that, so you can feel the effects of breathing in that way. It's a great way to get the mojo going, and raise the energy shakti.

This one is a Camel Rock. We're gonna hang out with a bunch of big openings in the shoulders, and heart opens, and check this out. You're gonna slide your hands from your knees up your thighs, and your elbows bend, and your heart on its own wants to open again. The exhale is gonna move you out in the other direction. I'll take it also to the side, so you can see this.

If you notice that you're sitting here on your heels, and it's not super comfortable for you get a block. You can slide a block right under your seat, and that might be just the trick, so you're moving on your breath always the case. Breathing in, sliding your hands back. Shoulders move away, exhale melting the head, and trust your breath. Energy is wise.

The breath knows how to move in the body. Can you feel the Camel Rock of it? So you would do this big out and in. In order to make sure you hit both sides because you're not just three-dimensional. There's so many dimensions to you, like the moon sometimes we celebrate the full moon, or the new moon, but look at all the phases.

There's so many phases of the moon in between. It's like your practice. At first it feels like your life is here, and your practice is like they're in two different places, and you start to see that everything that you do is part of your practice, everything. Honoring the phase that you're in allows you to grow into the next phase, so feel these different phases as like you're here and here and here that you can roll through each phase of it. Once you've moved this way, and in, it's nice to express the body in all the possible dimensions, so that the breath is moving more evenly in the body everywhere.

I remember Desikachar, even his definition of Pranayama, to extend or lengthen the breath is that which is infinite and everywhere. That which is infinitely everywhere. That the breath that seems like it's here is infinite, so you're linking up with what can feel limited with what's unlimited. With what can feel bound to what's boundless. The pose that captures the attention of the wall, and then the door is called deep pose, Parighasana, so I'm gonna pop my leg out to the side, roll the toes up.

If you find your toes want to wander down this knee is right underneath the hip, and you come out to the side. Yoga reminds us that the door is always open. We just have to open it. You can sit down in between into that Vajrasana, or the Camel Rock type pose, and then Parighasana. We're going to turn this into a flow today.

A flow where we don't even have to stand up the whole time. It often feels like a little, mini triangle in the hips, so you can stay with softening the hips, and feel them rinse underneath the body, or you can let the hip roll open a little bit. As the hip softens you might get that spin open in the chest. We're gonna take a few shapes, and then begin to bring them all together, so check this in. I'm gonna start with Crescent lunge.

I find that the belt is really fun, but if you don't have a belt at home it so doesn't matter. This will give you like a lot of length, and lift and you'll see it pretty quickly. From this knees on the ground you'll slide the foot forward, almost like I'm exploding onto the scene, taking that big leap in our life that we do each and everyday. We're gonna go above the elbows, Crescent lunge, and just give this great big reach. You can see I've got this snake-like belt.

Open up your hands, fingers together. See how it feels. There's some dropping through the hips. You can feel a little bit more weight into the right foot, and that will lift you up to the left side of the waist, and the hip points will start to roll up in the front body. Use the feet so you can drag the right foot back, and the left knee forward, and roll those back ribs up.

Feel how long you can get. Feel like your arms are starting down by the ground almost at your hips, and get that opening, that stretch, that lift, that reach from your hips to your fingertips, and then beyond what you can even come up with. Feel the back body lift up into the front body, and the front body pour over the back body. Then when you feel like you've had enough stay one more breath. Stay a little bit longer than you think you can.

That's when change happens. You can rest the arms down as you sit back on your heels. You could always take your arms out of the block, shimmy your shoulders. Let's check it in, left side. If that movement is difficult use your hands to help you walk forward.

You might get tangled up in your belt. A good problem. It will keep you on your mat longer. The lasso. Lasso Lucy.

Sometimes the buckle will move around. If you can get the buckle off your skin, and then you see how the arms can rise up. Lift the arms up. Tumble into the sides of your body. I love that thumb going back, and the fingers reaching up, and then that movement, that elongation of your breath, and the spine elongates, and from that tailbone that's dropping there's this great gush and lift, and float, and loom in space, and yum.

If you need more room for the hips to release you can walk your feet to the sides of your mat. Then free breathing everybody, free breathing. Dragging the feet feel the inner thighs hug in. You got a little bit more room to play up and out. I'm gonna come out of this baby.

Sometimes you'll enjoy some of the held poses because we're gonna be getting our spiritual boogie on, so you're gonna see a lot of movement, and you're gonna be like, oh, I like, but I can also pause and slow down my role, so you can see how that feels. I'm gonna roll up my belt. We'll see if we nab it one more time. It helps you feel like you set up this space like an altar, whether you have fresh flowers that keep the space near you alive like a living vibration. Like when you have a statue of the Buddha, or a statue of Ganesh it's not just a statue, it's a murthi, it's like the living vibration of the Buddha, so this living vibration of your practice links you up with the lineage of all yogis everywhere, so organizing your space can really feel like a part of that, and on the day that you need to throw it to the side.

Here we go. If you want a dog in here open your legs. It might really like, oh, my God, I'm so ready. I can feel that like really opening up the back of my knees here feels really good, and who knows? Sometimes that big wide downward loving dog gives you room to really release or peddle through your legs.

Great. Lengthen through those fingers. Sometimes I take a little wider stance with my hands, hands stance, for my shoulders but always stacking the bones will give you a pretty good lead. From here I'm gonna step through, and you're gonna see our friend again. Up to you, back toes tucked under, or find the tops, different feeling.

It brings more muscle to the bone. A little bit more muscular energy. We're gonna thread these poses together, so from Crescent lunge I'm gonna come up and over. Remember that gate pose out to the side Parighasana. Spin the heart up.

Spin the belly up to lift the heart. From here I'm gonna come up right down underneath left. Look at my left foot turn in. Have a seat, seated Kali. Seated Kali, or not.

If you need more sweetness in your practice bring more sweetness. If you need more fire bring more fire. You get to make that choice. Stargazer, so then run the leg long, and stretch the arm away. This could be a little sideways Shiva moment.

Collapsed Shiva where you bend the knee, and reach for the foot. Check this in. You could do this one later. I'm gonna do it now because it's gonna get more progressive as we go, so pigeon pose. Sometimes I look as a reference like where I am is my toe like a little cashew.

Is my foot like a little cashew, or do I line it up there. Then you might even come down. And empty out. If you're keeping the shape more fluid, and it's more of a flowing practice you might come right here, step back, and then in between I love doing these. Check these in.

Check these babies in. So your butt is near your heels as a dancing camel. It's a great way to find a lot of length in your lower back. Left arm up, sink down, check in the other side. Notice as I come here I can handle it, but it's fun to sink the hips, nab the heel, then fly up and down.

Cycle down and around. Always moving like yourself. Make it your own, make it yours. Then you might feel like you want to nab both heels, or maybe you'll do that on the next round. Maybe we'll do it next time.

Left side open it up, step it through, sink it down, fly it up. I'm using that back toe. Look how it lifts me up out of my hips. If it's knee heavy for you two mats or you can always flip the mat over, so that's of the listening in your practice. Here we are Anjanaya, Gate pose, seated Kali.

This right foot notice where it goes. A little comes over like a little secret moment comes over. Good always. We're using the arms in here. Fly out of the shape.

Stargazer. Collapse Shiva. Release the leg away. We're gonna weave around, so use your hands and your toes, so you can lift the leg up, and take care of your knee there. I'm gonna stay lifted, and go to the energy and lift on this one.

Step it back, dog it, dance it, free it, shake it, open it, love it. Wow, wow, wow. Just feel the back of the heart. Breathe into it and open. As you release we got the other side I'm gonna build on this flow and include some other shapes here.

Let's have fun together, and up to you. I mean you can lift the leg, and open the hip, or you can keep the leg more in line. If you need to break a rule today then open up a hip. If you feel like you've been following something so specifically, if you need more freedom. Sometimes you need to tighten screws in your practice.

Sometimes you need to loosen them. You decide. Anjanaya I'm gonna start dancing. We're dancing, it's on. Golly, yeah.

Stargazer, check it in. Gonna come around this time. I'm gonna lift the leg up high, and then as I come through Crescent lunge is back. Gonna come up through Crescent lunge. I'm gonna come sideways here.

I'm gonna get a block. We're gonna take a variation of Vishvamitrasana. Vishvamitrasana, it's a mouthful. Check it in. You can even play a little bit from side-to-side.

I'm gonna come under here, and bring my hand underneath the block. So far things are pretty lined up. The knee, the hand, and I'm gonna straighten the leg against my arm. This is not completely straight. It's as straight as it can be.

Go underneath. Drop the block underneath the shoulder, and lengthen the leg against the arm. It might be something like this, but great, you don't need the other arm, you just gve it some feeling, yay. So that's a fun one, and you could always take the belt to reach the arm. I'm gonna get out of that jam.

Take a moment here. I'm gonna pull way back a la runner's stretch. Where are you running to? Your mat. Your running to your mat. Come under here, and bring your hands to your sacrum for a soft hold, soft bind.

Let yourself be held. Sometimes we think we're holding, but feel like you can be held. Held in the breath of God. Held in this embrace. We're gonna come into it a little bit more fully on the other side.

Step back, your call. One big dance with the breath with the divine in you, your divinity, and let's roll to the other side. Here we go, left leg is high. Anjaney a Crescent lunge. Deep pose.

Kali, Kali, Kali, Kali. Oh wait, I didn't even roll up my eyeballs. Then I look really eccentric. Yoga is eccentric. Lifting muscles is concentric.

It shortens the muscle. Yoga lengthens the muscles. As you come around we swoop the leg up on this one. We brought it through. We dropped the back knee down return to an old friend.

Up and back, up, up, scoop up and back. Lifted the hips up. Turn toward that Gate pose in that same direction. You can hit it again. Made a shelf with the knee, with the leg.

It kind of looks like a Salvador Dali painting. Block. Really fun use of the block, too, because it brings the arm up, makes the arm longer. Then come right under here. As you're lifting see if you can make that connection with your lower belly.

It doesn't seem like you need your lower belly. You'll find it on the exhale, and then lift on your inhale. Really extend to the back of the leg. Really keep the heart lifted. Then you might even try this side.

Wow, can I nab the arm to the leg? You can even squeeze your knee to the arm as you come out. As you release the block away here it is hands come underneath. Peak around a little bit. It could be that your foot goes back behind your head Ostrich pose.

Hands come behind your back. Give yourself the width. Did you notice that when it's more narrow this way knee to foot without the broader stance I'm not as supported. We want to feel supported in our life, in our practice. Lengthen the leg a little bit.

For this one you might even roll back your mat because a sticky mat is notoriously sticky. You've been in some sticky situations, so you might take this shape, and then go all the way, all the way. Cool, so when you get here make sure you flip your mat, or if you're on a rug no problem. I might even slide this back a little bit just so you can see where we're going with this today, and I'm gonna come down, and then begin to lengthen my leg, and come into a variation of Hanuman extending both legs long with the arms clasped behind the back. Hi.

Big breath in there. Big breath out. Getting out is always interesting. I wanted you to feel the Hanuman shape, and another thing that we've noticed from practicing together is like you can hang out with this. This might not be the one you do day one.

The wall is the door. Maybe it's the wall, the wall, the wall, but we're not gonna give up. Yogis don't give up. Whenever challenge comes in our life we rise to meet it, so that's the essence of that shape today is the wall is the door, lovers. Be generous.

That's where strength comes from. Dhyana mudra be generous that's where strength comes from, and let go, never give up, and always let go. The wall is the door. Open it up and walk in. I have a mantra for you I want to share.

Another name for the Lord is Ram. Ram is the mantra for Hanuman, often Ram and Sita. Sri means beloved. Cherished one. â?« Sri Ram, Jai Ram â?« Jai, Jai, Ram, Om â?« Sri Ram, Jai Ram â?« Jai, Jai, Ram, Om â?« Sri Ram, Jai Ram â?« Jai, Jai, Ram, Om â?« Sri Ram, Jai Ram â?« Jai, Jai, Ram, Om â?« Sri Ram, Jai Ram â?« Jai, Jai, Ram, Om â?« Sri Ram â?« Jai Ram â?« Jai, Jai, Ram, Om â?« Ram is calling on the courage when you don't have it.

Standing in the middle of your fear with courage. You can just Ram it out, you can go â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« like you're starting a motorcycle, starting the engine, filling up the tank, getting on your ride, getting into your life. Get like so completely into it that's Ram. â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram â?« You did it, you're amazing. I love you, I'm so proud of you.

Loving you, loving life. Keep showing up. We're in this together. Namaste.