Learn Yoga

So if you feel that your spinal cord has collapsed, so I just say that because a lot of people are new to the practice. It's really hard to sit up nice and tall. So I just want to acknowledge that, and that's why we're going to work on the body today with the breath. When you're ready, take a moment to close your eyes and just tune into how you're feeling. And we'll do so by noticing the breath. And as you're ready, just taking a couple of nice refreshing inhale sand exhales, just on your own. Feel it out. Great. Just take a moment to kind of clear the slate. Maybe this image of kind of clearing your desk. So that you can really just end to yourself in this moment. We're going to get a great stretch, a great release in the neck and the shoulders. But you can also take this time to just do a little energetic hygiene, right, because it's all connected. Great, then open your eyes. And after you've taken a couple amazing, beautiful refreshing deep breaths in and out. So don't skimp on that. We'll bring the hands to the heart. Allergies. Press the palms together. Active arms here. When you're ready, elbows go out left to right. Now imagine a string pulling you up from the crown of the head. So literally use your creative mind, your imagination to see the spine, the vertebra lifting and lengthening. Keep breathing. Pressing the palms together, elbows left to right. You're wanting to create a little heat, a little prana here. Sit up nice and tall, lift the chest. Again, imagine that string pulling you up from the crown of the head even more. And then release everything. Awesome. Hands come to the knees here. So if you're on a chair you'll go arms out long. If you're on the floor, see if you can wrap the arms around. So this will be different for everyone so that you can create a little bit of leverage here as well. So arms nice and straight. And then when you feel like you've found that, inhale, wrap the shoulder blades around your heart space, and lift your chest up. See if you can keep the image of that string just lifting and lengthening up through the crown of the head. And then from here, inhale in. Keep the heart lifted. Just exhale chin to chest, nice and slow. And then inhale, carve a line with the nose, look up. Then exhale. Keep the heart lifted, chest lifted, chin to chest. So there's a little bit of connection with the hands and the legs here, so you have that leverage as you inhale, look up. And as you exhale, chin to chest. Inhale, look up. And exhale, bow the head. Keep it going, a couple more times. See if you can keep the shoulder blades really firm on the back and the heart lifted. Then if you're experiencing any fussiness at all in the lower back, draw the navel in, hug the lower ribs in a little bit to support. Cool, one more time. Inhale to look up. And this exhale chin to chest. And then continue the journey. Let the shoulder blades release. And we're going to bring the navel towards the back of the spine and round through the spine here. Now a lot of us in the community, we've done this shape before, right? Think Cat Pose. But see if you can really kind of sink in, find more depth here today by wrapping, excuse me, releasing the shoulder blades to wrap forward. And then hug the lower ribs in, create more stretch by hugging the front body to the back body. Then notice if you're clenching in the jaw or in your forehead or anything like that. And soften. Breathe deep. Close your eyes and feel it out. See if you can imagine the muscles of the back and the shoulders stretching, lengthening. Neck gaining more length, more space with every inhale. And use your exhale to soften, release any tension, any congestion, any stress that's been building up. This manifests in the body. This manifests through tight muscles which cause us discomfort. So you've got to bring the breath. Bring nice poignant breath. Great, then ground your tail down to the earth and start nice and slow articulating up through the spine. So we start to tilt the pelvis back and we roll up through the spine nice and slow, and the crown of the head is the last thing to lift up. And then just see if you can imagine the natural curve of your spine, which is different for everyone, right?

And then when you're ready, open the palms, elbow creases up towards the sky. Squeeze the shoulders up to the ears and then wrap them back. And so the placement of your hands is going to move back, back, back. Wrap them back. And then bring the hands to the tops of the thighs here. And then again, firm the shoulder blades down the back body. And inhale, lift from the crown. Lift your chest. So you're engaging. In fact, go ahead and lift your hands a little bit, gentle pulses here. Back with the elbows. You're engaging all the muscles around the shoulders. You should be able to even feel it a little bit in the muscles of the arms. So baby pulses here. Again, if you're feeling any fussiness in the lower back body find support from within. Draw the navel in. Connect to your core muscles. Great, we're here for five. Breathe deep. Four. Three. Two, reach the fingertips all the way up on the one.