Strong and Expansive Flow

Welcome back. We'll start in a comfortable seat. If you want to prop it up, feel free. And then just let the hands rest. Find a steady gaze. And let's start by inhaling, reaching the arms out and up. And then exhale, draw them to the heart. Nice and easy. Two more like that. Inhale, reach up. And exhale to the heart. Once again, inhale out and up. Exhale to the heart. Then inhale, reach out and up. And as you exhale, twist to your right, hand behind the back, left hand to the knee. Inhale, come back up. And exhale, twist to the left. Just waking it up. Inhale, back to center, arms up. And exhale, twist right. Exhale up. Exhale, twist left. Once again, inhale, reach up. And exhale, twist right. We'll stay here this time. Give it a couple breaths. Just kind of deepening into it with each exhale. Waking up the spine. And then inhale, back up. Exhale, twist left. Give this a couple breaths. And as you bring movement into the body, starting to soften the mind and just drop in for your practice. Inhale, come on back up. And from here, exhale, let's clasp the hands behind the back. Kind of draw the hands away from the body, opening through the chest and let the chin fall down. That right ear, go to right shoulder. Chin to chest, ear to left shoulder. At your own pace, just rolling the head a little side to side. Letting the neck open, letting the mind soften. Gradually come on back to neutral. And then inhale, reaching up again. Exhale, let's take the hands to prayer at the heart center and close the eyes. Home, together. Big inhale through the nose. Home. And setting the tone for your practice with your intention. Dropping in. Gently let the eyes open and go ahead and rock forward up onto the hands and the knees. Hands are under the shoulders. Knees are under the hips. Neutral spine. And then a few cycles of cat-cow, just warming the back. So inhale, lift the tailbone, the heart gaze. As you exhale, rounding the back, tuck the tailbone, tuck the chin. And then again, inhale, lifting through the heart. And exhale, round. Once more, inhale, rise. Exhale, round. And then inhale, come back to neutral. We'll keep grounding through the hands and keep the belly pulling up towards the spine so you're nice and strong through the core, supporting the low back. With the next inhale, extend the right leg straight back, about the height of the hip, pressing through the heel. And then inhale, reach the left arm out. Keep the shoulder blade down the back, extending out through the fingertips, back through the heel. One more breath. And then you're welcome to stay here. Just release and rest. Or take your left hand back, see if you can find that right foot. And if so, start to open through the chest, through that left shoulder. Let the leg rise a little. And a couple more breaths. Good. Stay for your inhale. And then exhale, just release. Hand and knee come back to the earth, soft through the neck. Just give the head a circle or two. And then back to center. Press through the hands, belly to spine. Inhale, left leg straight back. Press through the heel. And then sustaining that. And of course, you can pad that knee if you need to. Reach the right arm out and feel that length in both directions. And welcome to stay here. Release and pause. Or right hand goes back for the left foot and open again through the chest, through the front of the right shoulder as you rise through that leg. Three. Two. And then big inhale, lift it. And exhale, simply release. Hand and knee back to the earth, soft through the neck. Let the head go for a moment. And then to neutral, pressing through the hands. Take a big inhale, tuck your toes. And exhale, press all the way up and back, downward facing dog. Take a moment to ease into it a few breaths here. Alright, then as you're ready, press through the hands and inhale, reach the right leg to the sky. And exhale, open that hip. Bending the knee, give this a breath or two. And then inhale, take the right leg to the sky. And as you exhale, step the right foot forward between the hands. Pause here, grounding down through the left hand. Inhale, reach the right arm to the sky into a simple twist. Then with your exhale, thread the right arm under that right leg. And inhale, reach it back up. Exhale, thread it under. Inhale, reach it up. Once again, exhale, thread it under. And then inhale, reach it up and hold this time, wide open through the heart and the right shoulder for three and two. Exhale, release the right hand down, step directly back into downward facing dog. Ground the hands. Inhale, take the left leg up and exhale, open the hip and the knee.

And then inhale, reach and exhale, step the left foot forward, simple twist. Ground that right hand, inhale, reach the left arm up. And as you exhale, dive the arm under the leg, come down towards the earth. Inhale, back up. Exhale, under. Inhale, reach it up. Once again, exhale, come down. And then inhale, reach it up and holding up, extending out, wide open through the chest and that left shoulder, three and two. With the exhale, release the left hand down, step straight back into downward facing dog. Take a breath. And then inhaling, roll forward into your plank pose. For this first vinyasa, exhale lower the knees and then come all the way down. Inhale, just a gentle cobra lifting through the heart. Exhale, melt back to the earth and press all the way into downward facing dog. Two more. Inhale, come forward. Exhale, stay with the knees or move to chaturanga if you're ready for it. Inhale cobra or move to up dog. Exhale, all the way back and downward facing. And then one more cycle on the breath. Inhale to plank. Exhale, knees or chaturanga. Inhale cobra or up dog. And exhale all the way back, downward facing. Take a breath. And then with your inhale, simply walking the feet forward towards the front of the mat. And let's take an easy fold here. You can take a gentle bend in the knees, let the hands fall soft through the neck. And then let's take the right hand over to the left ankle. Let the right knee bend a little and then inhale, reach the left arm up to the sky, twisting it out. You can look down or up past the fingertips. Three, two. Exhale, release. Come back into the fold and just shift to the other side. Left hand to the right ankle and inhale, float that right arm up, wringing it all out internally. Three, two. And exhale, release. And keep the head heavy. Keep a gentle bend in the knees. Slowly with the inhale rolling all the way up to stand. And exhale, let the shoulders release down the back. Feet together, hands to prayer at the heart center. Close the eyes just for a breath. Then suriya A, let the eyes open. Inhale, reach out and up. Exhale, bow out and down. Inhale halfway. Exhale, hop or step back, lower knees or chaturanga. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Steady here for five. Four. Three, nice long spine, soft neck. Two. And bottom of the exhale, soft bend in the knees, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, fold. Strong center, flat back. Inhale, rise all the way up. And exhale, hands to prayer, heart center. Again, inhale, out and up. Exhale, fold. Inhale halfway. Exhale, hop or step back and lower. Inhale, lifting through the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. A full five breaths. Easing into the back body. Four. Three. Two. Soft bend in the knees with the exhale, hop or step to the front of the mat. Inhale halfway. Exhale, bow and fold. Strong center. Inhale, rise. Exhale, hands to the heart. Good. Once again, inhale, reaching up. Exhale, fold forward. Inhale, halfway.

Inhale again, hop or step back and lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, downward facing dog. Give this just a couple breaths. And then we're going to play with it a little bit similar to what we did on the hands and knees with the opposite hand and leg going back. We'll just play with the balance. So begin by taking the right leg up towards the sky and then open the hip, bending the knee. You can walk both hands in a little bit and then start to just inch the left hand in. It can help to turn the left toes out a tiny bit and then feel free to fall. Just reaching back for that right foot. And if you find it and you feel steady, you can try to lift the leg a little, pressing into the hand. Two, and release. Let it go. Shake it out a little bit. Come home to your down dog. Take a moment. Let's see how the second side feels. Pressing into the earth. Inhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inching the hands in and then draw the right hand in little by little until you feel ready to reach up and back, finding the foot. And then maybe pressing out through the leg a little. Three, two, releasing with the exhale. Let that go. Shake it out. Nice work. And then let's wash it away with a vinyasa. Inhale to plank. Exhale to lower. Inhale, lifting the heart. And exhale all the way back. From here, inhale, right leg up. And with the exhale, we'll just step it forward into a low lunge.

Feel free to pad that back knee a little if you'd like. And then start with the hands on that front thigh and just guide the hips forward. Tall through the spine. Then adding the arms. Inhale, reach it up. Take a moment, interlace, press it out. Just feeling that length. And then we're going to move into the side bodies here. Stay for your inhale. And as you exhale, just release the left hand down on the earth or on a block. Right arm up and over. Keep rolling the torso open as you reach. Three, two. Keep the leg strong. Press through that right foot to inhale, back up. And then to the right, exhale, few choices. You can simply rest the right forearm to the thigh. You can take the right hand down on a block or all the way to the earth. Keep reaching up and over. Three, two. Then again, strong through legs and center. Inhale, come on back up. Exhale, releasing the hands down and let's draw the hips straight back. Arda Hanamanasana. Inhale, extend through the heart and exhale, fold. And of course, if you have a practice of full Hanaman and you feel for it, slide that right leg out. Breathing into it. Three, two. And then inhale coming forward. Exhale, walk the hands down inside of the front foot. Stay here or release to the forearms and elbows. And then one more opposite hand to leg clasp. If you feel for it, the left hand stays down and the right hand goes back for that left foot. You can stay low or you can let the chest open and kind of ease back into it. Three, two. If you have the foot, you want to release it slowly and then inhale, walking the upper body back in and up. Exhale, hands either side of the front foot, tuck the back toes, lift the knee. Inhale, right leg back to the sky and just shake it all out. Let it all go. Downward facing dog, left leg, inhale to the sky. Exhale, step it forward, low lunge, lower the back knee, pat it if you'd like. Start simply with the hands on that front thigh and just ease down into it.

And keep the foundation, then inhale, take the arms to the sky, interlace, press it out. Yeah, stay tall, inhale. With the exhale, release the right hand down outside the hip, grab a block if you'd like and extend that left arm up and over. Opening the side body. And strong legs and center. Inhale, come on back up. With the exhale, again, lots of options. You can rest the forearm to the thigh. You can take the left hand down to a block or all the way to the earth and extend, right arm up and over. Three, two, strong legs and center. Inhale, come on back up. And exhale, simply release hands to the earth, drawing the hips back, Arda or full Hanuman. Inhale, reach through the heart. Exhale, deep and into the fold. Five, soft neck. Four, three, two. And then inhale, easing forward, bending that front knee. Exhale, take the hands inside, meet this pose at your own edge. And maybe taking the left hand back for the right foot. Nice, deep stretch for the right quad muscles. And again, you can kind of ease down or you can open it out, whatever you feel for. Breathing three, two. Gently release if you have the foot. Inhale, walk it all the way back in and up. Exhale, hands either side of the front foot, tuck your back toes, lift the back knee and inhale, reach the left leg all the way back to the sky. And then exhale, shake it out, release it, downward facing dog. You're welcome to stay right there or take the Vinyasa.

Inhale to plank. Exhale to lower. Inhale, heart rising. And exhale all the way back. Take a breath here, moving from your center and your intention. With the inhale, right leg up. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale, back up. As you exhale, step the right foot forward, coming directly into warrior two. Spin the back heel down. Inhale, reach left arm up and back, sitting down into it. And then from here, as you inhale, let the arms rise and exhale, open. Inhale, rise. Exhale, open. Once again, inhale up. Exhale, open and sit a little deeper into it, holding strong here for three, two. Yeah. And then with the exhale, reverse, reaching it back, extending through the fingertips and holding here for three, two. Right. Then inhale, float it up. As you exhale, lengthen that right leg, reaching out and down, triangle pose, wide open, extending through those left fingertips. Feel the strength in the legs, energetically sending that tailbone towards the left heel. Breathing three, two. Right. Entirely up to you. If you want to stay where you are, please feel free. If you want to explore a bound triangle, you're just going to start to ease that right arm under the right leg. Reach it back. Left arm goes back and see if you can find the bind. Then slowly begin to lengthen that left leg and roll the heart open. Three, two. And from here entirely up to you, stay in triangle, bound or unbound, or turn the gaze to the earth and start to shift into Ardachandrasana with or without the bind. Use your gaze strong through that standing leg and just play with it. Fall all over the place. Keep coming back to see what's there. And then gently unwind. We'll meet in warrior two, find the feet, reach the arms out just for a moment. Take a big inhale. Exhale, reverse again. Stay for the inhale and exhale. Hands to the earth. Step back and lower. Inhale, lift the heart. Exhale and downward facing dog. Take a breath or two. And inhale, left leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip. Inhale back up and exhale. Step it forward, grounding the back heel. Let the right arm inhale. You open into warrior two. Sit down into it. And then inhale, lift the arms rise. Exhale, sit a little deeper. Inhale, rise. Exhale, down. Again, inhale. And exhale. Give it a moment, strong through the legs, open through the heart. And then a big inhale.

Reverse, reaching it back, opening through that side body. Three, two. Then inhale, rise and exhale. Lengthen the left leg, reaching out and then down for triangle pose. Wide open through the chest, through that right shoulder, extending it out. Again, it's your choice. You can stay in your classic triangle or if you want to play with it, start to bend that left leg a little so you can slide the left arm under and then reach back and explore the bind. Begin to straighten the left leg. Once you have it, open through the chest, open through the right shoulder. Three, two. All right. Again, the options are up to you. Stay in triangle bound or unbound. Move into half moon with or without the bind. And again, feel free to fall. Use your gaze to start to draw that back foot in and then gradually transferring the weight. When you're ready, unwind and float it all the way back, finding your warrior to sit down into a big inhale. Exhale, reverse. Inhale and then exhale. Hands to the earth, step back, wash it away. Lower. Inhale, heart rising. Exhale, downward facing dog. Take a couple of breaths. Again, with the inhale, let's take the right leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip and the knee. Inhale, go back up and exhale. Step the right foot forward, grounding the back heel. Inhale, open it, warrior two. And as you exhale, come into side angle, Parsvakonasana, grounding the right hand, reaching the left arm up and over. Again, we've got lots of options. We can stay here, just keep exploring it or start to bind your side angle, wrapping it around. If this is enough, stay there for a few breaths. Come out of it when you need to. If you feel pretty steady, let's draw the back foot in, shifting the weight to that left foot at the front of the mat and then strong through the left leg and the center will inhale to rise, taking that right leg with us as we go. Extending out and hold, three, two, and then let the transitions be mindful. Bending that right knee, replace the right foot to the earth. See if you can sustain the bind, steady gaze. Transfer the weight to the right foot and step your left foot back. We'll meet in warrior two, unwind. Inhale, rise. From here, exhale, hands to the earth. Inhale, let's take the right leg to the sky. Exhale, open that hip again, bending the knee. You can stay here, face to down dog or flip it open into your wild thing, pressing through the feet and reaching it out, offer it away. Three, two, and inhale. Float the right leg back to the sky. Exhale, just shake it all out. Let it all go. Take a grounding breath here and inhale. Left leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip. Inhale, back up. Exhale, step it forward, ground the back heel, right arm opens you. Inhale, warrior two. Exhale, side angle. Again, just start with a variation you feel for in this moment. There's nowhere to get to. There's no better or worse. If this is where you want to stay, enjoy it. If you'd like to try the bind, feel free. If you feel pretty steady in the bind, turn the gaze to the earth. Ease the back foot in. When you're ready, step it all the way to the front of the mat and then ground through the right foot. Strong right leg, strong center. Use your gaze as you travel up, taking your left leg with you. And then if you feel steady here, start to extend that left leg out and breathe. Three, two. Again, mindful transitions. Bending that left knee again, step the left foot back to the earth, ground through the left foot. Use your gaze and step the right foot back. Good. Let's meet in warrior two. Inhale, reach it up. Exhale, release. Hands to the earth. Inhale, float the left leg to the sky. Exhale, open the hip. Keep it there. Come back to down dog or flip it open. Wild thing. Reaching it out. Offer it up. Three, two. Inhale, take that left leg back to the sky. Exhale, shake it all out. Let it go. Downward facing dog. Give yourself another grounding breath here.

And then all the way through to sit. Soft bend in the knees, just top or step through. And we're going to roll directly onto the back and play with a little core work before we backbend. So to begin, just hug the knees in towards the chest, interlace the hands behind the head, and we'll move into a little bicycle. So lift the head on the chest, extend your left leg, left elbow to the right knee. This is slow. Switch the legs, twist to the other side. And switch. Belly in and up. Switch. Again, slowly. And switch. Good. And then building the pace, circling the legs, twisting the upper body. Stay with that belly in and up. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one. Good. Release. And then extend the legs straight up to the sky. Pull the belly in and up. Lower the legs as far as you can. Hold. Three, two, and then crossing the ankles back and forth, back and forth as you draw the legs back to the sky. Keep the crossing as you lower back down. Good. Three more cycles like that. Lift it up. Keep drawing the belly in and up. Sustaining shoulders soft. Come on back down. Good. And rise up. Okay. Come back down. Rising up. And then release the crossing of the ankles. Just once again, lower the legs. Pull belly in and up. Hold, hold, hold. Five, four, three, two. Lifting the legs, tailbone up at the top, and release. Good. Plant the feet. Take a big inhale into the belly. Exhale. And then just rock yourself all the way back up so that you're sitting on your knees at the front of the mat. We're going to take our back bending in Ustrasana today. If you like to pad the knees, you can fold your mat over and maybe grab a blanket, whatever support you need. Three cycles. So just starting gently. Thumbs making contact with the sacrum. Send it down as you lift up through the heart. Shoulders down the back and just easing open. Three, two. Inhale back up and exhale. Just sit down. Take a breath. Come on back to the knees.

To the hips. Descending through the tailbone as you lift through the belly. Big inhale. Exhale ease back. Keep it right here if you feel ready for it. Reaching back for the ankles. Letting the heart rise and breathe. Three, two. Strong legs. Inhale up. Exhale. Sit back. Again just settle for a breath or two. Third and final back bend. Come on back to the knees. Take the variation you feel for. Hands to the hips, rising through the heart or reaching all the way back for the heels. If you want to tuck the toes, give yourself just a little more lift and support. Feel free. Three, two. Again, strong legs and center to come up.

Exhale. Sit back and just let that ground. All right. With that wide open front body, we're going to move into Virasana. Begin by coming just onto the hands and the knees and walking the feet out and then it can be helpful to kind of roll the calf muscles out. You can sit up on a blanket or a block if coming all the way down to the sit bones is too much for the knees. Honor the body. Okay. Stretching through the front of the legs. Breathe into what you've got. And only if it feels safe and wise, start to ease back into Supta Virasana. You can simply start on the forearms and the elbows. See how that feels. We want to try to keep the knees together and down. If you have a strap, you could always support yourself by buckling the strap around the legs. And only again, if it feels safe and yummy, come on down. Arms wherever they're most comfortable. And then whatever variation of your asana you're in, just let yourself surrender for a moment. And if you're in Supta Virasana, breathing into that whole front body, continuing the opening from Ustrasana. Breathing three. If you're all the way down, we want to come out of it mindfully. So arms alongside the body. I like to kind of gently hold the feet and then press down through the elbows to rise up. Use the fingertips for the rest of the journey. Ground. And then let's be really kind to the knees. Just lift to the hands and the knees and then right leg first, extend it back and tuck the toes. And then just gently kind of press through that heel, opening through the right knee joint again. And then release that leg and extend the left leg back, tucking the toes. Pressing gently out. Nice. And then just release. Okay, we'll keep this simple easing all the way back onto the back, hugging the legs in towards the chest, rocking a little side to side. From here, simply release, take the soles of the feet together, the knees out to the side. Give the body a moment to surrender. If you felt your backbends were really deep and you have the time and the space, you can take a twist to either side or anything else you feel for. Otherwise we just draw the knees together and back in towards the chest and take a little release in the happy baby, holding the feet or the ankles. Keep this neutral or rock a little. You can even lengthen one leg and then the other. Getting all that work through the hips, unwind and shavasana, beautiful work. Extend the legs all the way out. Let them roll open from the hips. Rest the arms, close the eyes and let it all go. Let's take a big inhale through the nose. Gently hold, open the mouth, exhale.

Let yourself rest. Let the whole system replenish. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale.

Exhale. Exhale. And drawing the awareness back. Exhaling with your breath and then inhale, extending the arms up and over, reaching it out. Exhaling, feet to the earth and roll to either side and guide yourself all the way up. Comfortable seat, resting the hands, closing the eyes tall through the spine. Then take the hands to prayer at the heart center. One breath and stillness. Closing together with the sound of OM. Inhale, OM. Gently inhaling, soft mouth forward with your exhale. Thank you and Namaste.