To rise up and be open to new opportunities and experiences, to soften our often closed and guarded exteriors.
Challenges in life are inevitable. The way we respond to challenges determines their outcome and ultimately sees us living a life of happiness or misery.
Feeling empowered and enthusiastic, or blocked by excuses and painful emotions. Often all that stands in the way of being happy are our ideas of what will make us happy.
Will you be courageous enough to cut away that which no longer serves you and allows you to live in highest integrity?
This flow is an energising and heating practice to cultivate strength and vitality.
Some of the postures particularly Chair pose – Utkatasna will possibly have your legs burning and your mind saying STAND UP!
See if you can notice thoughts as they are, notice sensations in the body as not good or bad, just focus your breath, deepen it, and feel the sense of confidence and strength that comes with seeing things through!
Downward Facing Dog
It's often a weird feeling for beginner Yogis as often the hamstrings (backs of legs) and shoulders are tight, so it may not feel super fantastic, but I promise with practice this pose becomes enjoyable.
Commit to practicing this flow for 7 days and lengthen the number of breaths you hold the postures for! Challenge yourself daily!
Notice how you progress, deepen into postures and gain STRENGTH in your body and your mind! Enjoy!
Move Through Blockages
Sitting in Sukasana – easy cross leg position. Close your eyes.
If this position is not available to you due to knee injury, sit against a wall so that your back is supported and legs are stretched out in front of you.
Close your eyes. Allow the palms to rest face down on the knees. Rock gently side to side on your sit bones connecting both it bones to the earth <
From this steady seat, lengthen your spine, allowing the elbows to bend in towards your waist and the shoulders to softly glide down away from the ears. Gently lift the heart broadening your collarbones and draw your chin gently in towards your chest allowing the spine to lengthen up to your crown.
We start with Kaphalabadi – Breath of Fire - a heating and energising practice to blow off cobwebs, clear your mind and energise you. Not suitable for pregnancy, high blood pressure or anxiety.
Inhale a half breath and as you exhale through the nose, draw your navel with a strong pumping action to your spine, emptying breath vigorously, allow the inhale to occur on its own, focusing purely on the pumping action of the exhale. Continue in a steady rhythm for 30-50breaths, exhale all the air out, take a long deep breath into the belly and retain it, exhale release. Repeat for 2 more rounds.
Tip forward onto hands and knees, with hands shoulder width apart, spreading fingers wide and grounding all parts of your hands into the earth. Shift the knees back a little, curl toes under and start to press into hands and balls of feet to lift hips towards sky into
Downward Facing Dog. Press the hands strong into the earth to send your weight back into the heels, driving heels into the earth. If your legs are tight feel free to keep knees slightly bent. Allow the head to relax and eyes to look between the feet. Glide shoulders away from your ears and keep pressing with straight strong arms away from the earth. Feel your spine lengthening, creating space between the discs as you inhale, notice the expansive quality of your breath, exhale and notice the contraction back in toward your centre. Take 3 breaths here.
At any time you can come back onto the knees and sit back onto the heels resting chest on thighs in
Child's pose
.
Lift up onto tip toes and look to your belly, drawing navel to spine and waving the body forward into
a High Plank Position. Ensure your wrists are under your shoulders and that you press into the floor with your whole hand and finger pads– or if you are in child’s pose shift forward in to a low plank position. The eyes look forward last as you broaden collarbones and send heart forward, exhale draw belly up and back pressing into down dog driving heels into earth and sending weight back into heels, inhale wave forward, exhale pressing back, repeat 3 more times building strength and heat in the body.
Inhale look forward between your hands and step up to the front of the mat, allow the body to fold forward, chest draped over thighs here in
Uttansana forward bend. AHHHHH Big sigh, exhale the heat out of the mouth. Again slightly bending knees as you need, take 3 breaths here.
Bend knees, stick sit bones out behind you, press into feet and lead with your heart to rise up to standing circling the arms above you and drawing them down into heart.
Step your right leg back into a high lunge – feel free to take back knee to floor for gentler option. Get grounded though the whole front foot and toe pads. With hands on hips curl the back toes under and press firmly into the front foot and back foot - please ensure your front knee is stacked above your ankle, scoop pubic bone and draw navel into spine, as you shift front shin forward and drive back heel toward the floor you will feel a strong opening in the right hip.
Extend the arms overhead like lightning bolts. You can keep them shoulder width apart or connect palms together over head. Take 3 rounds of breath deepening with each exhale. Inhale, exhale take hands to floor and step front leg back
into a low or high plank.
Inhale get long, scoop belly, exhale press back to Down Dog, hold for a round of breath.
Inhale step right leg forward in between heads and press up into a high lunge extending arms up as before or taking them onto hips. Hold for 3 breaths.
Bring hands to floor, step the back leg forward to the front of the mat and fold in
Uttanasana. Take a round of breath, ensure feet are together, big toes touching and heels tucked apart slightly.
Bend knees and squeeze them together, sweep arms behind you and with an inhale and energy in the legs reach the arms forward and up above the head holding as you deepen into your seat in
Utkatasana chair pose.
Take 3 breaths here building strength and heat in the legs. Draw navel into spine, feel all four corners of the feet pressing into the earth and the knees squeezing together. Chest is lifted, eyes up. Inhale press into feet to stand and draw hands into heart.
Inhale extend arms up palms together, exhale deepen into chair pose and twist to the right,
Option 1 release left had to outside of right knee and take right hand to lower back,
Option 2
- to keep hands pressing together at the heart and bring your left elbow to the outside of the right knee using it as leverage to twist deeply from the belly, eyes looking to side or even up. Gently draw your left hip back a little ensuring knees are together and hips are even.
Hold for 3 rounds of breath. Inhale up to standing centre, exhale repeat on the left.
Inhale to centre and stand.
Step right leg back into a high lunge, solid foundations, take hand to heart palms pressing together,
Option 1 - inhale long spine, exhale draw navel to spine and twist from the belly to look to the left.
Option 2 to deepen as in chair twist bringing right elbow to outside of left knee and using it as leverage to spin from the belly.
Take 3 rounds of breath, finding strength to face challenges.
Inhale back to centre.
Exhale hands to floor and step back into a low or high plank. Inhale get long,
Exhale press back to
Downward Dog. Take one round of breath here, taking
Child's pose
instead if you need to.
Inhale step right leg forward and repeat lunge twist. Inhale to centre and step back foot up, feet hip width apart.
Inhale, exhale and bend into knees, send sit bones behind you so that your weight is distributed evenly through whole foot and heels particularly. Inhale Sweep the arms up above head as you straighten legs and look up,
Exhale and vigorously sweep arms down and behind you as you fold forward and deepening into your seat, inhale sweep arms up, exhale out of the mouth as you sweep them back, continue 10 rounds of this charged breath, with fingers like knives slicing the air cutting away old ties, old patterns, negative thoughts, patterns, behaviours, feel energised and strong and light.
When you finish exhale and fold forward in Uttanasana for a soothing forward bend, hold for 5 rounds of breath feeling a sense of cooling and calming in the body.
Bend knees, sink sit bones, Press into feet draw navel into spine and slowly uncurl stacking the spine lastly reaching arms up and exhaling out of the mouth and drawing them into the heart.
Finish in
Tadasana.
1. Grounding In