- Hello, my darling friends.
Welcome back to Flow, your 30 day yoga journey.
It's Day 28, Intuit.
Let's get started.
(light rhythmic music)
Alright, let's begin in a comfortable seat.
Come on down to the ground.
Sit up nice and tall.
As you're ready, squeeze the shoulders up towards the ears.
As you breathe in and then exhale,
drop them down and back.
Repeat, inhale, squeeze and lift.
Exhale, down and back.
One more time.
And then we'll draw the palms together.
Tuck the chin into the chest.
Bow the head gently.
Just take a moment here to land.
Close your eyes.
Or soften your gaze.
Soften through the toes.
Let the low body be heavy
and draw your attention to the base of the spine,
root chakra.
And just slow and without judgment,
continue that line from the base of the spine
all the way up to the third eye point.
So take your time.
You're just using the power of your imagination,
the power of your awareness to draw a line from the base of
the spine all the way up
through to the third eye.
And you can do it a couple times.
This is really what this series is all about,
just kind of acknowledging the patterns of distraction,
how hard it is to tune in and focus on what really is.
So maybe do it a couple times.
Just repeat going back down to the base of the spine.
You're simply drawing a line of awareness all the way up.
And as you do this, just notice if anything changes.
The way you're sitting,
the way you're breathing,
the way you feel.
Relax through the hip creases and the tops of the thighs.
If you're gripping there,
it's a good idea to sit up on a blanket.
And then slowly,
let's lift the thumbs up to the third eye here.
Lengthen through the neck.
Lift through the heart.
Imagine a string on the crown
of the head pulling you up.
Take a deep breath in here.
Then a long breath out.
Inhale in deeply.
And exhale completely.
You can bat the eyelashes open
and release your arms gently down to your sides.
Oh Benji, my love.
Mi amor, I'm gonna have to move you and I don't want to.
Maybe I'll work around him for a bit actually.
So let's all come forward onto all fours.
If you have a friend that you
practice with at home and share a mat with,
you probably know what it's
like to make adjustments (chuckles) based on them.
Tabletop Position.
Inhale, drop the belly.
Third eye point looks forward, shoulders draw down.
And then round through the spine.
Find a textured breath here.
Find that audible breath.
Remembering that this experience is
individual to you.
So today really trusting your intuition,
leaning into that relationship,
in the physical practice with your breath.
Take it away.
You can continue in the structure of Cat-Cow or
maybe you start to follow the pull elsewhere.
Maybe checking in with the side body, the shoulders.
Maybe the heart's a little tender today
and you come to an Extended Child's Pose.
Maybe the front body,
the abs are sore so you come through for a Cobra.
Listen and respond.
Find what feels good.
And then when you're ready, curl the toes under,
walk the hands back, come into your Froggy Squat.
(laughs)
Stretch through the feet.
Find a deeper breath.
Who needs a yoga block when
you have the support of your Cattle Dog?
Alright and then from here,
gently walk it all the way out to Plank Position.
Extend through the crown.
Let's start to wake up through the core.
You can rock a little front and back.
Maybe side to side.
Deepen your breath.
Inhale in here.
Exhale.
Slowly lower (chuckles) to the knees.
Knees come as wide as your mat.
Big toes to touch and we're
gonna send the hips all the way back.
Love you, buddy.
Forehead, third eye point coming to the mat or to a block.
And in this shape we're gonna massage the brow points,
this third eye point,
stimulating the third eye.
This energy center of the body
that we are focusing on today.
You can move in circular motions.
You can move left to right.
And as you do this of course,
just notice the thoughts that come up, if anything.
Notice how you feel.
And then use your beautiful
power tool of the breath to acknowledge.
And then come back into the present,
the new present moment.
Alright, now keep it going here as part of the lesson.
Hear this my darling friend, don't decide where it ends.
So with the breath and the exploration,
we get to tap into our intuition.
We don't decide where it ends
or finish the check mark in the box.
Just this beautiful practice of
deep listening and trust.
Lovely.
On your next breath in, lift your heart.
Connect the dots with the breath.
Bring the left hand to the middle of your mat
and reach your right fingertips up high.
Big breath here.
Exhale, thread the needle.
Right fingertips go under the bridge of the left arm and
we come to rest on the right ear, right shoulder.
Left fingertips can reach all
the way towards the front edge of the mat.
Breathing deep here.
Fill the belly with air.
Feel the expansion.
The rib cage as you breathe in.
And then slowly bring it back to center.
Right hand comes to the middle.
Left fingertips reach up high as you breathe in.
And we thread the needle.
Left fingertips going under the bridge of the right arm.
Right fingertips reaching forward.
Breathe deep.
Maybe you find some soft, really soft,
gentle movement in your pelvis here.
Lovely, slowly release.
Walk the knees back underneath the hips.
Curl the toes under.
Walk the hands back once again
for your Froggy Squat.
Now spread the fingertips wide.
Bring them out in front.
You're gonna drag the hands back just a bit.
Inhale in.
Exhale, lift your center and your hips up.
Bring the knees to the backs of the arms.
You're not going into the full posture.
We're just kind of preparing.
Send your gaze way out in front up towards the third eye.
And we're just gonna do a little rocking here.
Rocking on the toes.
The toes never leave the ground.
But we're finding that core connection
and our focus out beyond
the nose.
So looking forward,
looking in the direction that we are going eventually
to maybe lift one toe
and then the other.
And then drop both heels,
lift the hips up high,
relax the weight of the head over,
Standing Forward Fold.
Take deep breaths here.
Let them be a balm for the soul.
Let them replenish the body.
Let these breaths guide your movement.
Listen to what you need.
Is it a soft swing?
Is it grabbing the elbows?
Is it shaking the head?
A little yes, a little no.
Perhaps it's choosing to let go or forgive.
Then bend your knees generously and slowly roll up to standing.
Shoulders reach up towards the ears on an inhale,
on an exhale down and back.
Palms together, thumbs to third eye.
Inhale, lift the heart, lift the chest.
Elbows bend left to right.
Draw your belly in.
Keep the palms together here as we bend the knees and slowly
melt our way back down into the fold.
Nice.
Walk the palms all the way out to your Plank Position.
Inhale in.
Exhale, lower the knees.
Squeeze the elbows into the side body and slow and with
control lower down to your belly.
Press the tops of the feet into the earth.
Inhale, we lift.
Baby Cobra.
Exhale, we release.
Curl the toes under, press up to all fours.
Peel the tailbone up, Downward Facing Dog.
And now some deep breaths here.
Let them be full and let them inform the movement
that your body takes.
Cultivating that relationship with that inner voice,
inner teacher, the inner guide.
And so another way of putting
that is you get a little moment here to improvise,
to use your breath, to listen, to play.
And that can be really hard, trust me.
I know it's a lot easier to
show up for yoga and just be told what to do,
but we really can deepen our
practice through this type of work.
That's why I love the chakras
and love playing with and
exploring the energy centers of the body.
This is a great point of entry
to taking your practice to another level.
Okie doke, from here, bend the knees,
slowly look forward.
Make your way to the top of your mat now.
Uttanasana, Standing Forward Fold.
On your next inhale, lift up halfway.
Exhale, soften and release.
Root to rise here.
Inhale, reach for the sky.
Big breath, big stretch.
Exhale, palms come together,
thumbs to third eye and we'll continue the journey
cascading down as you bend your knees,
Forward Fold.
Inhale, halfway lift again.
Exhale to soften and release.
Step the right foot back, just the right foot back.
Lower the right knee to the ground.
Bring the palms together, thumbs to third eye.
And from here, pressing into that back leg,
lifting up through the pelvic floor,
Crescent Lunge with the palms together
on the third eye.
Finding that line from the base of the spine,
drawing energy up from the
pelvic floor all the way through the spine.
Bringing that awareness all the way up to the crown.
Lovely, release.
Right hand comes to the earth.
Left fingertips pull the left hip crease back
as you lift your right knee up.
Left fingertips to the sky.
Breathe in.
Breathe out, bring it back.
Left hand to the earth.
Step the left toes back, Plank Pose.
Inhale in.
Exhale, lower to the knees.
Squeeze the elbows into the side body.
Look forward.
Slowly lower down, belly to earth.
Tops of the feet ground down.
We inhale for Cobra.
Maybe it grows a little higher.
Exhale to soften and release.
Curl the toes under.
Press up to all fours or Plank.
Then send the hips up high and back, Downward Facing Dog.
Three deep breaths here.
And then slowly step the right foot all the way up.
Lower your left knee to the earth.
Set up your foundation, your alignment.
Then bring the palms together, thumbs to third eye.
Press into the top of that back foot and we rise up.
Pulling the right hip crease back.
And again, chasing that line of awareness, that energy,
from the base of the spine all the way up through the crown.
Breathe in,
breathe out to release.
Right thumb comes to right hip crease,
we lift the left knee.
Spiral heart up towards the sky,
then maybe take the right fingertips all the way up.
Inhale in, exhale to bring it all the way back down.
Plant the palms, step the right toes back,
inhale in here,
belly to Cobra or Chaturanga to Upward Facing Dog.
Follow your breath.
Meeting spot is Downward Facing Dog.
Inhale in deeply.
Exhale completely.
Three cycles of breath.
And then after three breaths,
slowly allow the knees to kiss the earth.
Bring them wide or knees together
or if Extended Child's Pose not your jam,
you can flip onto your back.
Now we'll send the forehead to the earth once again.
Feeling that soft pressure point on the third eye here.
And if you don't have a prop
and the head doesn't reach the ground,
you can stack the fists like so.
I don't know if you can see me
with Benji's bottom in the way but okay.
So when we're in moments where
we're feeling indecisive
or just off,
more than off center, you know, those moments where we're kind
of like (nervous laughter)
searching for that sense of belonging,
that identity,
wondering which direction in the road to take,
you can come into this shape
or to any of the shapes we've played with today.
Stimulating this third eye point.
Symbolizing and honoring
the connection to our inner teacher,
that inner guide.
If you're in Child's Pose,
let's go ahead and transition to meet our friends on our backs.
Nice and slow.
And when you get there, you can take your bun out.
You can hug the knees up into the chest and just give
yourself a little massage here on the low back.
Breathing deep, you can close your eyes.
And even here,
when I'm in a public yoga class and definitely at home,
you will see me not just moving my knees around,
massaging my low back,
but I will get in there and I will find the spots.
And it's wild to think that a
practice like this can assist me in embodying my values,
but let me tell you, that's the beauty of yoga.
I'm taking care of my physical body here,
but I'm also practicing listening
and responding to what feels true.
I don't need to look to someone else
to decipher that because I have my ongoing practice of
checking in with myself in that way.
Beautiful, relax your legs.
You can extend them out long.
Take a deep breath in,
the deepest breath you've taken all day.
And exhale, relax your body.
Beautiful work.
Last time for today's session,
let's bring the palms up
and thumbs to third eye.
Give thanks for this beautiful connection to
inner teacher.
And as we've been kind of
touching on towards the end of this journey, also
there's the invitation to connect to something bigger,
to unite with something bigger.
Perhaps more on that as we
give some love to the crown chakra mañana,
but 'til then, beautiful work.
Thank you for being here.
Let's take a final inhale in
and exhale to close.
Namaste.
(upbeat rhythmic music)