halfmoon vitality flow
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[00:00:00] Hello my friend. Please find your free download after this practice that will give you an overview of every pose that we practiced today. You can find this download in the show notes or the description of this episode. Let's practice begin on your back in supine Butterfly, bring the soles of your feet to touch.
Place one hand over your. And one hand over your belly. If it's comfortable to you, close your eyes.
Begin by connecting to the sound of your own breath, moving in and out of your nose gently and with ease.[00:01:00]
Take a full breath in
and a full breath out.
Two more like that in through your nose
and.
One more full inhale
and a slow exhale.
Lengthen your legs and take your arms over your head for a full body stretch and lengthen your body from fingers to toes.
Keep your left leg straight. Pull your right knee to your chest, interlace your fingers right below your [00:02:00] kneecap, and gently pull your right knee towards your right armpit
and pull your knee just a little bit closer in.
And then take your right knee over to the left side of your body for a gentle twist, and it might feel good to look in the opposite direction. As your knee, notice what feels best on your neck.
Breath in.
Breath out and slowly come back to the center. Pull both of your knees to your chest and then straighten your right leg and interlace your fingers right [00:03:00] below the left kneecap and gently pull your left knee towards your left armpit.
Pull it just a little bit closer
and then guide your left knee over to the right side of your body for a gentle twist. And if it feels good, look in the opposite direction as your knee.
Big breath in
and out. Slowly return to the center. Bring your knees to your chest. Put one hand on each knee and make some gentle circles in one direction. Give [00:04:00] yourself a little low back. Massage into the floor, and when it feels natural, move into the opposite direction.
Catch your thighs right behind your knees. Rock up and down one or two times. Come into boat pose balance on your sit bones. You can put your feet right on the floor and just lift your chest up. Or you can keep holding behind your knees and let your feet float off the floor. Lift your chest up, set your gaze forward.
You're here for. 4, 3, 2, 1. Cross your ankles, plant your hands. Come to a tabletop position. Move through some rounds of cat cow. Start by dropping your belly, lift your chin and your chest, [00:05:00] and then push the floor away. Round your upper back. Tuck your chin to your chest. Continue to move through some rounds of cat Cow, and you have my invitation to make these movements creative and organic, move through the sides of your body.
Roll your neck and your tailbone. Make these expressions intuitive. An opportunity to explore the natural curvature of your spine.
You even have my invitation to close your eyes and to just feel yourself moving with your body and your breath.[00:06:00]
Downward facing dog. Lift your tailbone to the sky. Start by pedaling around, swimming around through your down dog a little. Bend your knees, sway your hips. Find a comfortable and sustainable position for your hands and your feet.
And then set your eyes to 1.1 Unmoving. Place something you can see physically when you set your eyes. Set your mind. You create focus in the mind by settling your gaze. So consider that your gaze is also part of your mindset. Where you focus your attention. And where you place your attention is where you send your [00:07:00] energy.
Pick your heels up, bend your knees. Look forward. Step to the top of your mat. Halfway lift. Lengthen your spine rag doll pose. Catch your elbows. Open your feet. Hip width, maybe wider. Pick up all 10 of your toes and stretch them out. Allow the weight of your head and your arms to create traction, to use that passive weight to create opening in the backside of your body.
Notice the way the breath shifts and changes when you're in a deep forward fold.[00:08:00]
Release your elbows. Place your hands on your hips. Press down, reach up, stretch your arms over your head. High mountain pose. Take a big full breath in. Bow forward over your legs, forward fold. Let your head fall towards the earth. Halfway lift, lengthen your spine. Listen, put your fingertips on the floor.
Step your left foot back, low runner's lunge. Keep your knee off the floor and just a straight back leg. Your heel stacked over the ball of your foot. Lift your. You could even put one hand on each on a block so that you have a little more lift
Warrior one. Ground your back foot to an angle. Press the floor away. Rise up, stretch your arms over your [00:09:00] head and set your eyes forward. Bend your front right knee.
Try this. Soften your elbows just a little bit, and then pull your shoulder blades into your spine. When you soften the elbows, you create more access to your shoulders, so draw your shoulders in and organize everything into your center line. Imagine there was an imaginary line running from the crown of your head all the way through your body.
Organize into that center.
Big breath in,
breath out. Interlace your hands behind your back. Stretch your bound hands towards the floor. Lift your chin and your chest up towards the ceiling. Create length from your [00:10:00] belly button all the way through your chin and continue to ground from your pelvis through your heels. Full inhale, humble warrior.
Keep your bind fold over your front right thigh. You might rest your right shoulder on top of your right thigh, or maybe your shoulder falls to the inside of your leg. Set your eyes to one point something you can.
Rise back up Warrior one. Reach your arms over your head. Open up Warrior two. Look down at your feet. Line your front heel up with your back arch heel to arch alignment. Stretch fingertip to fingertip and try looking slightly to the left rather than looking directly over your extended middle finger.
Just look slightly off center and [00:11:00] notice if that takes a little bit of pressure out of your neck. Find a comfortable gaze, something sustainable, something you can.
Reverse your warrior. Reach your right fingertips to the sky. Create length from your knee all the way through your fingers.
Take a big breath in,
extended side angle. Rest your forearm on either the top of your right thigh or bring your hand to a block or the. Notice where you place your arm or your hand to generate length on the underside of your body rather than collapsing in towards your thigh, create length between your thigh and the right side of your body.
Spin your ribcage open [00:12:00] and set your gaze to one point. You're here for five, four. 3, 2, 1. Make your way to all fours. Take a round or two of cat cow.
Stand up on your knees. Camel pose. Place your hands on your low back. Lift your pelvis towards the ceiling. Pull your elbows and shoulder blades into your spine. You can tuck your chin to your chest or lift your gaze up to the ceiling.
With an inhale, come back up to neutral. Plant your hands, downward facing dog.
Stretch your left leg behind you.
Step [00:13:00] through Warrior two. Sweep open and ground. Stretch your fingers forward and back.
Reverse your warrior. Reach your left fingertips up to the sky. Open up your left side body.
Half moon pose. Grab a block or bring your left fingertips to the floor and slowly begin to lift your back foot up off the floor. To balance on your left foot, spin the center of your chest towards the ceiling. And again, where can you place your left hand to generate more length on the underside of your body?
If you're feeling wobbly or you're falling over, part of finding balance is falling. So just let that be natural. Let that be normal. That balancing on one foot is challenging.
You're here for 5, [00:14:00] 4, 3.
One step to the top of your mat. Reach your arms up over your head. Take a big full body stretch bow forward with your exhaled breath. Halfway lift, lengthen your spine. Step your right foot back. Low runner's lung. Keep your knee off the floor and your back leg straight heel stacks over the ball of your foot.
Lift your chest up. Create a long line of energy from your tailbone through the crown of your head.
Ground your right foot warrior one. Press the floor away. Rise up. Notice if you're giving yourself plenty of space between your feet, find a stable pose, a pose that allows you to stand on your own two feet.[00:15:00]
Something you can hold.
Big breath in. Interlace your hands behind your back. Stretch your knuckles towards the floor. Lift your chin and your chest up.
Big inhale, humble warrior. Bow over your front left thigh. Keep the bind. You can keep your bound hands at your low back, or your bound hands might lift away from your low back. It just depends on the mobility of your shoulders and what is comfortable in your body today.
Slowly rise back up Warrior one, open up warrior two.
See what it feels like to look just [00:16:00] slightly to the right, to take a little bit of the rigor and strain out of your neck. To find a comfortable place to set your attention where attention goes, energy flows
reverse your warrior. Reach your left fingertips to the sky. Open up your side, body lengthen. And then come into extended side angle. You could grab a block, you could put your forearm on your thigh, or you could even touch your fingers to the floor. There are always options to scale up or to scale down based on what feels good in your body today, but ask yourself, where can I lengthen the underside of my body?
How can I generate even more length on that bottom side to create more lifting and opening in my.
Be curious, [00:17:00] rather than approaching the pose with judgment, approach the pose with wonderment. What can my body do today?
Take one more big breath in. Bring your right hand to the floor plank pose. Step both feet back. You can put your knees right on the floor, equally powerful to plank on your knees or your toes. Set your gaze forward. You're here for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Downward facing dog tailbone to the sky.
Stretch your right leg behind. Warrior two. Step your foot forward, sweep open, ground your back foot. [00:18:00] Soften the elbows of touch and draw your shoulder blades into your spine. Organize everything into that invisible center line.
And now reverse your warrior. Reach your right fingertips to the sky. Open up your side body.
Half moon pose. Slowly transition by reaching forward, either touching your fingertips to the floor or a block, and then pick your back foot up off the floor. And again, don't worry if you wobble. Wobbling is part of life. Sometimes we fall and we pick ourselves back up. We train our brain to get up each and every.
So find that balance. Spin your chest open, reach your arm up. Set your eyes to one point. You're here for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Step to the [00:19:00] top of your mat. Reach your arms up over your head.
Bow forward. Exhale halfway lift. Make your way down to a seat. Come to bridge pose. Come to lie down on your back. Put your feet on the floor hip width apart. Lift your hips up, interlace your hands underneath your body, or just grip the edges of your mat and pull your shoulder blades into your spine. If your hands are interlaced, walk your upper arm bones underneath your body and continue to organize into your center line.
Hug everything. From the skin to the muscle to the bone, draw in. You're here for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Slowly lower down supine butterfly. [00:20:00] Place one hand over your chest, one hand over your belly. Allow your knees to just open.
Happy baby. Pull your feet towards you. You can reach for the pinky toe edges of your feet, or you could even catch your shins, your knees, or your thighs, something closer to your body. I notice where you feel the sensations. I. Of this hip opening pose, you can rock from side to side or be still whatever your body is calling for.[00:21:00]
Pull your knees to your chest. Open your arms into a T. Drop your knees to the right. Turn your gaze to the left.
Come back to the center and take your knees to the left. Your gaze to the right.
Make your way back to the center. Give yourself a big, tight squeeze. Wrap your arms around your shins. Pull your forehead to your knees. Give your right knee a kiss. Just do it and then give your left knee a kiss. And then give yourself a big, tight hug and in your head, say this to yourself. I love you.[00:22:00]
Love you,
and then come to lie down on your back for Shavasana, lift up your shoulders, slide your shoulder blades underneath you. Allow your feet to just be heavy splayed out towards the sides.
And if it's comfortable, close your eyes.
We won't be here for long. Allow this time of silence and stillness to feel timeless.
Just a moment to be with yourself without having to add anything in, without having to be anything to anyone. Just a moment to exist.[00:23:00]
Free of expectation, free of burden. Just you right now.
Take a long, full, deep breath.
And empty it.[00:24:00]
Make some gentle movement with your fingers and your toes, and circle your ankles and your wrists.
Take a big, full body stretch from fingers to toes.
Pull your knees to your chest, and if it's comfortable, roll over to your favorite side.
Gently lift yourself up to a seat. Bring your palms to touch at the center of your chest.
And then pull your thumbs to the center of your forehead and bow your head towards your heart.
In honor of you [00:25:00] and me and this practice that we share. I bow to you dear friend. And saying, no, must stay.
