♪ opening music ♪ ♪ Support for Yoga in Practice is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

♪ Hello, everyone.

My name is Stacey Millner-Collins.

Welcome to Yoga in Practice.

Joining us today are Michelle and Robin.

Begin seated on your mat and please sit up on some height if you need to, resting your hands comfortably, bring awareness to your breath, and close your eyes.

One of my teacher says, liberated from liberation, I was at last free to be human.

Being human can be a messy and complicated journey as we all know.

It is our light that makes our shadows, our sorrows that give meaning to our joys, making us who we are.

What if yoga as a practice of living fully is inviting us to engage the messiness of our lives and not to run from it.

Are we able to want the life we are currently living right now?

Consider this idea as we move through our practice together.

You will need a strap and a blanket for this class.

Please come to your hands and knees for Table Pose.

Clear any props you have off your mat.

Come to your hands and knees.

Check the foundation of your hands that your wrists are straight and your index fingers are parallel with each other in the sides of your mat.

Walk your knees back a little bit just to get some length through the side of your body.

Good.

On your inhale, bring your right shoulder across to your right hip, twist and then shift again.

So you're just kind of opening the waistline here.

Do that two more times.

Bring the right hip up and then the left hip up.

Opening the side body.

Almost like wagging a tail here.

Good and then hold a neutral.

Inhale.

Look forward and arch to the back.

With your exhale, round to cat.

[ exhale ] Inhale.

look forward.

[ inhale ] Exhale and round.

[ exhale] Once again, inhale.

Look forward.

[ inhale ] And exhale round.

[ exhale] Good come to neutral and flat and your feet.

Sit back onto your heels with your arms stretched out in front of you.

Keep your arms well extended and then move your hips side to side again.

Reflecting that first action.

Just feel that you're opening the muscles across your waistline and into your lower back.

On your next inhale, come back into table position.

Good and then sit back on your heels.

We're going to move with the breath.

Inhale.

Come forward.

[inhale ] Exhale.

Backward.

[ exhale ] One more time.

Inhale.

Come forward.

[ inhale ] Sit back on your heels stretching out through the back.

And now inhale.

Come forward.

Lean out beyond your hands.

Lower your thighs, the front of your hips come down through a slow push up and then lift to Cobra Pose.

Come up.

Roll back down and we'll push to Table Position.

And then sit back on your heels.

Exhale.

[ exhale ] Inhale.

Come forward.

[ inhale ] Move through a push up slowly.

Lift to Cobra.

Inhale.

[inhale] Roll down.

Exhale.

[exhale] Push to Table.

Inhale.

And we'll do it one more time.

Exhale.

Sit back.

Inhale forward into a push up.

Exhale, lifting to Cobra as you inhale, and then lie down.

Good.

Pausing here on your abdomen, please take your left forearm in front of your chest.

You can rest your head on your arm or prop yourself up on the elbow.

Reach your right hand behind you for a thigh stretch.

So holding on to the right foot, keep your knees parallel with each other.

Push your knee into the mat.

Bring your hip and heel closer.

And then add a gentle tuck here.

Enjoy the breath and just settle into the moment as you are feeling your front thigh opening and then release.

Change sides.

Bring your right arm in front of you.

Reach around for your left foot pressing in.

So you may notice that I do this pose quite a lot during our classes.

It's because this is so important for your low back.

This is really the antidote of sitting.

So try to add this pose into your life more frequently.

As you exhale, release the foot back.

Bring your hands alongside your chest, push to Table Position.

Inhale and sit back on your heels.

Exhale again, just reaching out.

[exhale] Good.

Inhale.

Come back to Table.

[inhale] Sit back on your heels exhale.

[exhale] Two more times.

Inhale.

[inhale] Exhale.

[exhale] Inhale.

Follow the breath.

[inhale] And exhale.

[exhale] Inhale forward.

Tuck your toes underneath.

Arch your back and lift into Downward Dog.

Hold your Downward Dog here.

Just exploring the opening here along your back and into your legs.

Please bend the knees if you need to.

So if you are tighter in your hamstrings, this is going to allow you to get better alignment in your lower back.

So feel that you're tipping your hips up and then over time to stretch through your legs.

Keeping the arms engaged, lengthen the pose.

Deep breath in and out.

Look between your hands and step forward into a forward fold.

Uttanasana.

Good.

Inhale.

Lift halfway.

And you can bring your hands to your shin bones if you can't go quite so low.

And now bring your hands to your hips.

Pick up your shoulders.

Inhale.

Rise to Mountain Pose.

Lower the hands.

Inhale, raise your arms overhead.

Lower the hands with the breath back down.

Twice more.

Inhale.

[inhale] Exhale, start to warm up the body by deepening the breath.

Inhale.

Rise up.

Exhale and lower.

[exhale] Inhale, lift.

[inhale] And then bend over Forward Fold.

Lift halfway inhale.

[inhale] Exhale and fold and shift your hands beside your feet.

Step your left foot back to a lunge.

Release the knee comfortably to your mat.

As you inhale, pick your arms up.

Come into this kneeling lunge.

Engaging your legs by dragging the right foot back, your left knee forward and toning around the lower abdomen.

Exhale.

Take your hands back to the mat, staying on your fingertips.

And now shift back for a runner's lunge, stretching your right leg straight.

Flex the right ankle raising the toes off the floor and press your heel into your mat.

gently drag your right heel backward and you'll feel the underside of your leg engage more.

And now lunge forward, plant that foot and also plant your left hand onto the mat.

Turn the fingers out slightly.

Inhale.

Twist to the right side raising your right hand up.

Lean your head back and draw your shoulder blades onto your back.

You can also raise your left knee here deepening the pose.

Inhale.

Stretch your arm over your ear, elongate and then touch your mat.

Exhale.

Step forward with your left foot.

Bend over.

Take a breath and fold.

And the second side.

Step your right foot back.

Lunge.

Release the knee onto your mat.

Inhale, sweeping the arms up.

[inhale] Hugging in.

Enjoy your breath.

Good.

Exhale, take your hands to the mat.

Fingertips and lunge back for a runner's lunge, stretching your left leg straight.

Keep the ankle flexed and stretch your toes.

Enjoy your breath.

Good.

And then lunge forward.

Planting your right hand onto the mat, twist open to the left side.

Breathe.

Good.

Stay here, leaning your head back or also raise your right leg if you wish.

Draw your arms over your ear.

Breathe.

Good.

Touch your hand down to the floor and step back to Downward Dog.

Once you're in Downward Dog, open your feet apart wider than your hips, about as wide as your mat.

Then bend your knees forward.

And with your knees bent forward, spread your knees open.

Arching in with the lower back, press your legs a little bit straighter slowly.

Extending.

Hug your arms in.

Take a deep breath here.

Walking your spine nice and long.

Good.

Step your feet back in sit down distance apart.

And then lean to Plank Pose.

And on your exhale, lower your knees to the mat, come through a push up, and then inhale, lift open to Cobra.

Good Downward Facing Dog.

Exhale.

[exhale] Bring your right leg forward for Pigeon Pose.

Now you don't need to swing your foot out too far.

Just make sure your knee is slightly wider than your hip.

If you do have knee issues in this pose, it's fine to bring your leg more parallel straight ahead or you can also lie on your back and cross your ankle.

Keep your fingers on the mat and just pull open.

Press your knees into the mat and draw them towards each other.

Good.

Plant your hands and step back Downward Dog.

Change legs.

Bring your left leg forward.

Good.

Stay up on the fingertips, working from your knees in, hug in so you feel the abdomen tone.

Lean the throat back and just enjoy this hip stretch as well as a gentle back bend here.

Breathe.

And then lower your hands, Downward Dog.

Exhale.

Lower your knees back onto the mat.

Come to seated.

So for this next series of poses, you may need a strap so I invite you to take your strap or your belt to the front of your mat so you can reach it easily.

Please come back to Table Position.

Planting your hands from Table come into Pigeon Pose again, sliding your right knee up towards your right wrist.

Inch your foot across.

As you exhale, walk forward here joining your palms.

Try not to collapse into this pose.

Keep the pose more energized as you hold it.

Pulling your legs in elongate through the spine.

Enjoy your breath.

And then inhale, come back up right, sit down on your outer right hip and take your back leg, swing it forward and cross it over that front leg.

This is Ardha Matsyendrasana.

Wrapping your arms around your leg, pull up nice and tall.

Pulling the leg across to your right shoulder, wrap the right arm around your leg and reach your left hand behind you.

Now settle down into both hips and rotate to the left.

Turn your head look over your back shoulder and then turn and look over your front shoulder.

Breathe.

Maintain the rotation even though you've turned your neck the other way.

As you inhale, release, come forward.

Lean onto your right hip and slide your right leg out in front of you.

Good, cross your left leg on top of your right leg, pressing the weight of that leg down.

Now you may need to sit up on some height and you may want to use your strap, so have it handy.

Spread your toes.

Bring your fingertips behind you again and lift up.

Now pressing that left leg into your right leg, you should feel a deeper hamstring stretch as you fold forward.

So walking your hands out in front of you.

You can keep your hands on the floor.

You could take a strap and wrap it around the foot or hold the foot with your hands.

Now if you are using a strap, if you are tighter in this pose, hamstrings, hips, sit up tall.

I'm much more interested in you maintaining good alignment in your lower back and you'll notice that that stretches the hamstring more effectively.

Extend and over time.

Just come forward.

Now release the strap.

Good.

Uncross your left leg.

Cross at your ankles and roll to Table Position.

From table, let's change sides.

Slide your left knee up and forward.

Go wide.

Walk your right leg back behind you.

Working your knees pull in towards your pelvis and fold down onto your forearms.

Enjoy your breath, lengthening out.

Now my experience is that as you hold these poses that are closer to the floor, you tend to collapse into the pose.

So make sure you stay energized hugging the knees toward the pelvis.

Elongate through the spine.

Keep your hips parallel with each other.

Good.

And now walk back up right.

Sit down on your outer left hip and swing your right leg out in front of you.

Cross the right foot over your thigh if you can.

Good.

And then lift up through the spine.

Holding on to that leg, refresh the lengthening of your spine, reach to the top of your head.

Please take your left arm around your right leg.

Reach your right hand around behind you.

Good now turn and look over your shoulder.

Turning from the waistline.

Keep your foot planted on the mat.

And now turn your head and look back over the front shoulder, even as you maintain this rotation.

Enjoy your breath.

Good.

Now release.

Keeping your leg crossed, just take your left foot and extend it out in front of you.

Sit up on height if you need to.

Now rest your right leg across your left leg.

This pose is called Eka Pada Gomukhasana Paschimottanasana.

A lot of syllables there.

So rise up and fold forward.

Your hands can come forward.

Hold the strap.

Hold your foot.

Just keep in mind that hamstrings require us to keep practicing.

It's the gift of the hamstrings.

Your hamstrings really govern your low back.

So doing these poses are important.

As you inhale, come back upright to seated.

Please cross at your ankles, roll back to Table Position, and from Table, transition into Downward Facing Dog.

Stretch back.

Look forward and walk up.

Uttanasana.

Good.

Lift halfway forward.

Bring your hands to your hips and rise to standing.

Good.

If you have a blanket, place a blanket at the front of your mat and you're gonna put your heels up on that blanket.

However, if you don't have a blanket, just take the front end of your sticky mat and roll it up a few inches.

Then stand in front of the roll with your feet wider than your hips.

So I have a fairly wide stance here.

We're going to go into a squat.

So I'd like you to bend your knees.

Slide your hands down your legs.

Hold on, pressing your hips back.

Now you can stay upright more like this, or you can bring your arms down to your thighs as downhill skier.

If possible with your feet parallel, sit down.

Squat.

Now you don't have to sit down all the way.

Just try to hover and please find the point where you need to stay.

Perhaps it's better here today.

Perhaps it's better here.

Good.

Working into that lower back.

Now on your inhale, touch the floor.

Lift half way.

Bring your hands to your hips, rise to standing.

Good.

Release.

Stand off of your sticky mat.

Unroll it and come down on the floor.

You're going to need a blanket probably for this particularly if you're tight.

So I invite you to sit up on a blanket.

Fold your left heel into your body and bring your right leg up.

Now, turn your right leg out similar to what we were doing in Pigeon Pose.

You may be more in this position where you're just holding the outer heel, your leg is low.

Or if you have more flexibility in that hip, you're going to come up more in an upright position.

But in any seated pose.

I'm most interested in you maintaining good alignment, good curve in that lumbar spine.

Not slumping over.

Good.

Now put your hands behind your knee.

You can raise your heel.

If you're more flexible, reach up and hold the foot with your hand or wrap a strap around your right foot and extend the right leg up.

The more I pull down on that right leg, the more lift I find in my spine, the better posture I can have.

Breathe.

Good.

Bend the knee.

Release the foot.

Let's do the second side.

So folding your right heel in, pick your left foot up, cradle the ankle and try to keep your ankle straight.

So finding wherever your hip can go here.

So it may be down kind of low.

As long as you're feeling a stretch in your outer left hip, you're doing it well.

Good Transitioning.

If you can hold your foot, hold your foot.

If you need to hold behind your knee, do that.

If you want to strap, find that.

Kick your heel up and raise your leg.

This is called Krounchasana.

And what we're feeling is the back of our leg or hamstring.

Hamstrings are messy.

No matter how many years you practice, the hamstrings always want to announce themselves.

So be willing to stay in this messiness here.

Don't strive for perfection.

Just strive for what is good.

And then exhale and release this foot down and place your feet out in front of you.

Bend your knees.

Anchor your feet like you have sandbags on your legs.

Take your arms forward and roll back, just a little bit halfway.

So I want you to feel that you're engaging your core here, pulling your ribs down towards your hip bones.

And then inhale, pull up.

[inhale] Good.

We'll do it again.

Go back.

Now you can keep your feet down.

That would be a good stopping point if you need to.

Look straight ahead.

If you can raise your feet with your knees bent, do that.

Spread your toes.

And then come back up.

Plant your feet.

Sit up nice and tall.

And we'll do it one more time.

So start with your feet planted.

Lift your arms.

Curl back.

Draw your ribcage into your body, the sides of your ribs back.

Lift your feet if you are able.

Bend the knees.

And one more stage deeper, stretch your legs straight.

Enjoy your breath.

This is Boat Pose, Navasana.

Feeling your core work.

Keep engaging.

Good.

Now come up.

Plant your feet.

Nice job.

Holding on to the back of your legs, please roll down slowly onto your back.

When you're all the way down, bring your right knee into your chest.

Bring your left knee into your chest and hold on to your legs and just stretch out through your back.

Good.

Now, keep your feet off the mat.

Bend the knees to a 90 degree angle and shift your hands to the front of your thighs.

So you're going to hold the very front of your thighs gripping them.

arch the back if you can.

And now take your hands and tug up on your legs like you're trying to lift your knees to the ceiling.

As your legs pull up, your waistline should go back, pressing into the belly.

Stay here, but if you can lift your head towards your legs, lift your head towards your legs, curl up.

This is a deep work in the core.

Good.

And now lower your head back down.

Open your arms sideways.

Good.

And lower your legs to the right as you exhale.

[exhale] And then inhale, come back to center.

[inhale] Exhale to the left.

[exhale] Inhale back to center.

[inhale] Exhale to the right.

Keep your shoulders grounded.

[exhale] Inhale up.

[inhale] Exhale to the left.

[exhale] Inhale up.

You have one more on each side.

You can do it go over.

You should be feeling your abdomen a little bit.

Come up.

And your last one to the left.

Good and come up.

Please hug both of your knees into your body.

Give yourself a nice hug.

Close your eyes and allow yourself to rock gently side to side.

Move your toes.

Move your ankles.

And then planting your feet back onto your mat.

Please set up for relaxation, Shavasana.

Extend your right leg, extend your left leg.

Move your arms out away from your body and just gently wiggle your fingers.

Settle into your breath.

Settle into this posture.

Softening the places that feel tight.

Enjoy this life that you have been given.

Its messiness and all.

Enjoy the gift of your practice.

It helps you to awaken.

May you want the life that you are living.

Our intention is to affirm this life.

Not to bring order out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake up to the very life we're living, which is so excellent.

Invite you to stay here in this pose for as long as you may want to today.

Take your time.

Don't forsake this posture.

When you are ready to move slowly wiggle your fingers, your toes.

Bend your knees, plant your feet and roll to your right side.

Using the strength of your arms, push your hands into the floor and walk to a seated position.

And once you are back to seated, take a nice breath in and fold your hands to your heart.

May you feel gratitude for the life that you have.

Thank you for practicing with us.

Namaste.

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