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

♪ ♪ <Stacey> Hi, welcome to Yoga In Practice.

I'm Stacey Millner-Collins.

Joining our practice today are Jen, who's pregnant, and Angela.

Take a comfortable seat.

And as you close your eyes bring awareness to how you are feeling today.

Breathe easily.

To savor something is the act of stepping outside of an experience to assess and appreciate it.

Savoring intensifies the positive emotions that come with doing something you love.

To relish today's practice more, I invite you to stay as present in the moment as possible, and to feel and even taste the natural gratitude that arises by simply appreciating the gift of this life you have been given.

Please slowly open your eyes.

Let's get started.

You will need a strap and perhaps a block for today's sequence.

Today's practice is all about appreciating the back of our bodies and building awareness there.

Please come to standing.

Have your strap at the front of your mat.

Plant your feet.

Spread your toes.

Fold your hands to your heart.

We'll move into some half sun salutations here to warm up our legs and our back.

Exhale.

Lower the arms.

Lift up.

Inhale.

Exhale, fold forward.

Inhale, lift halfway.

Exhale and fold.

Rise to standing.

Inhale.

Sweep your arms down.

Fold them back to your heart.

Release.

Take your arms up.

Bend forward, exhale.

Uttanasana.

Inhale, lifting halfway.

Elongate your back.

Exhale and fold.

Inhale, lift to standing.

Sweep your hands down.

Fold them back to your heart.

Savor your breath.

And again, inhale.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, lift.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, rise to standing and sweep your hands back to your heart.

Good.

Inhale, lift your arms.

Bend over, exhale.

Touch the mat and step to a plank pose coming back.

Get long enough here so that your shoulders are over your hips and just pause building some awareness in the back of your body.

Exhale, lower down onto your abdomen, unless you're Jen.

She's going to demonstrate camel pose here.

So I'd like you to pick your legs up, lengthen them back, and then lift your hands off your mat.

So this is a hover form of cobra pose.

The shoulders slide towards your ears, the head of both arm bones pick up and you should feel your upper back working here, beginning to bring awareness into that back chain of our body.

Breathe.

And now place your hands on the mat.

Push and lift into a full cobra here.

Opening the heart.

Slide the side of your neck back.

Slide your head back.

Reach up through your head as you pull back through your toes.

Good.

Table position.

Take a breath.

Look up and arch and draw back to downward dog.

Downward dog is a wonderful pose to bring awareness to the whole back chain starting from the hands through the shoulders, all the way down into the back of your heels.

Please step your right foot forward into a lunge and you may need to take more than one step to get up there.

Taking hold of your strap, we're going into warrior two.

Turn your left foot down onto the floor.

Rising up.

Strap in your hand.

Settle down into your legs.

Make sure you're long enough here.

So if you need to adjust your stance do so.

Holding on to your strap, separate your strap about three feet and you can always adjust the strap a little longer if you'd like.

Inhale.

Sweep the arms up, pull your hands behind your back and pause opening the chest and now lower the hands.

Good.

So we'll do this with the breath.

So bring the arms back up and lower them down.

That's one.

Let's do four more.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Pulling up.

So feeling that right hip working here as you do this, lifting the arms and come back forward.

Three more.

Keep tugging on your strap.

Exhale, back.

You can do this.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

You have one more.

Inhale.

Rise up.

Squeeze in.

Exhale, pull out.

Inhale, rise, and bring the hands forward.

Good.

Raise to standing.

Oh, you're going to feel that right leg.

Turning your feet parallel, let's change directions, turning your left foot to the side.

Please take your arms in front of your chest and lunge.

Hold that warrior lunge.

Opening your knee, feeling your hip.

Let's move.

Inhale, lift up and back, overhead and forward.

Keep squeezing.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Can you go a little lower?

Inhale.

Exhale.

Come up, and forward.

Two more.

Breathe.

Pull back, and up, and forward and the last one here.

Inhale, squeezing in.

Rise up, pull the hands up and over.

Good work.

Stand up.

Ohhh!

Turn your feet parallel.

Clear your straps.

Turn your right foot to the side.

Pull your hands to your mat.

Step to downward dog from here.

-- Feeling how you warmed up your whole back including your shoulders and your hips.

Good.

Please step up to the front of your mat, and walk your feet apart from each other.

So I'd like you to place your feet as wide as your mat.

Now pull up and bend your knees into a little semi squat here, putting your weight back to your heels almost so much that it feels like your toes are going to leave the mat.

Now straighten your legs just a little bit.

Feeling your hips starting to work here.

Raise your chest.

Now, bending your elbows like you're holding a towel around your neck, also engage your upper back.

This is like a super squat.

We're going to be working our hips here, bending from the hips and not the spine.

So let's go forward, go exhale, and then pull up and forward.

Up, feeling the hips, forward and back.

So you'll start to feel a slight burn in your hips and the back.

That should be normal.

But discomfort shouldn't be.

So if you're feeling your low back, tuck your ribcage down a little bit more.

Pull forward, and up.

You have three and up feeling that, two, and up and last one.

Good.

Raise to standing, huh!

Shake out your legs.

Step your feet in beneath your sit bones.

Good.

Fold your hands.

Exhale, lower your arms, raise them overhead and bend over.

Lift halfway, inhale and exhale.

Step to downward dog.

Reach back.

Again, feeling the back body just that work from that squat position.

Your hips feeling more alive, Savor the feeling.

Please step your right foot forward to a high lunge.

So again, help yourself forward as much as you need to, and this can be modified by kneeling.

As you inhale, raise your arms over your head.

Good.

Gaining your balance.

Again, feeling how you're working that front hip.

Let's fold forward with the breath.

So Exhale, bow over.

Inhale, lift.

Exhale, follow the breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Lift back up one final time.

And now bring your hands to the mat.

Downward dog, step back.

Second side, step your left foot to a lunge.

Getting your balance, engage your muscles.

Hug in.

Inhale, raise your arms over your head.

It's the front hip that you should be working that back chain, moving with your breath.

Exhale and fold.

Inhale rise Exhale.

Inhale.

One more time.

Exhale.

Rise all the way back up.

Stretch for the sky, and then exhale, bring your hands to your mat and step to downward dog.

Reach back.

Breathe.

Good.

Once again, step your right foot to a lunge.

Walk your hands out in front of you, or also put your hands up on blocks if you need to.

Pushing off, lift your left leg.

Now working that right hip, pull your chest up even to the floor and sweep your hands beside your hips.

Your arms can also go out to the side and I want you to definitely be working that right buttocks in this pose.

Keep your eyes on a steady point, toning your abdomen.

Good.

Now bend the knee, touch the floor.

Step back, downward dog.

Second side, left foot forward.

Walk your hands forward, put them up on blocks.

Inhale, raise your right leg.

Now you can keep your hands on blocks the whole time like Jen is showing, or if you can come up in this balancing posture, warrior three.

Using your legs to support the balancing, tone the belly.

Breathe, your arms can sweep forward.

Take your time working that whole left leg and then bring your hands back down, and step back.

Take downward dog.

Enjoy your breath.

(silence) Please walk forward into Uttanasana, a standing forward fold.

Inhale, lift to mountain.

Exhale, bend forward Uttanasana.

Good.

Now this next pose we're going to do in repetition.

It's a one legged Uttanasana.

So tap your left foot behind you bending both of your knees.

Now pick your chest up.

Your weight is going to stay in your front leg.

Good, and then we're going to lift the back leg or you can keep it down like Jen is showing.

And then take your opposite hand, your left hand and reach to the floor and pull back up.

And reach down and pull up and reach down.

And up.

Down again.

Hold on.

And your last one, go down.

Whoa!

And come back up.

Good.

Step together.

Whoa!

Shake out your legs.

You should definitely be feeling your right hip.

It's very gluteal.

Good.

Bend your knees and take your right foot behind you.

Good.

Now feel free to keep that foot down.

If you feel a little unsteady, that's a better place to be.

Place your right hand, touch it down and pull back up.

So long as you're working that front hip, tap down, and up and down, and up and down.

Up one more.

You got it and go down and pull up.

Whoa!

Step together.

Good.

Shake out your legs.

Lift your arms.

Inhale.

Bend over to Uttanasana and pause.

Good.

Line up your feet.

Bend your right knee.

Stretch through your left leg.

(silence) Change.

Bend your left knee.

Stretch through the right leg just feeling your whole back open up through that hip and into your hamstring.

Good.

Inhale, lift halfway.

Bring your hands to your hips.

Inhale, rise to mountain.

Good.

Let's do one more hip work, balancing work.

We're going into a pose called eagle pose, Garudasana.

So I'd like you to come down through a squat.

Now I prefer to do this pose with my arms out.

It gives me a little bit more steadiness.

So feel free to do that.

Please raise your left leg, cross it over your right leg.

So your right leg is doing all the work.

Squeeze your calves in if you can wrap your foot behind your ankle, do that.

Breathe.

And we'll transition this into half moon pose.

You're going to reach your right hand down to the floor.

Touch the floor or the block and extend your left leg up.

You can continue to look at the floor if you'd like or raise your left arm turning sideways.

Try to lift your left leg high enough.

Now it's really that right hip you're working here.

So tuck that hip under.

Keep your waistline drawn back.

Good, and then step together, Uttanasana.

Inhale, lift halfway.

Bring your hands to your hips.

Rise back to standing.

Good.

Shake it out.

Second side.

So move through a little squat here.

You can take your feet a little wider, arms can go to the side.

Standing on your left foot, raise your right leg.

Cross it.

Breathe.

Feel free to stay here, or if you'd like, transition to half moon.

Reach your left hand down.

Raise your right leg up.

Find a place where you're being aware of the whole back of your body.

When we're aware of the back body, it helps us to feel more sensitive, more alive, more alert to what we're not often seeing.

So breathe into the back.

Good.

Please step together.

Uttanasana, pause.

Breathe here.

Slow your breath down (deep breaths) and move your hands alongside your feet.

Step to downward dog.

Draw forward to plank.

From plank, lower your knees into a push up or simply hold cat and cow.

Good.

Coming down, inhale, lift open to cobra pose.

You can just hold the pose like Jen is showing on your hands and knees instead, and then tuck your toes.

Lift into downward dog.

Stretch back.

Hold the pose.

So downward dog feels so good, especially when you're pregnant, so that you're stretching out through the lower back.

When you have that extra weight in front of you, your low back does a lot of work.

So I'm just pressing up through her hips and downward into her heels.

Try to do the same at home.

Enjoy your breath.

Good.

Let's go into side plank pose.

So we're going to step our left foot halfway forward.

Stay up on the toes, and now turn your heels to the right, so you're facing the left side of your mat.

Now notice your right shoulder.

Settle down into that right shoulder.

It feels a lot better in the shoulder and in the wrist.

Allowing the head of the arm bone to integrate.

Please raise your hand.

Look up.

Reach through the belly, through the head, keeping your back engaged.

Please work your right foot in this case, and now take the hand all the way down.

Pivot through downward dog, and let's change sides.

Stepping your right foot up partially, Turn your heels to the left.

Raise your right hand.

So this is side plank.

With assistance, the head drawing back the feeling integration from the shoulder, the upper back, the mid back, the low back, tone your abdomen.

And then exhale.

Take your hands back to the mat.

Step to downward dog.

Good.

Come forward to plank and release your knees.

Coming into a push up, we're going to do this three times.

So exhale down for a push up keeping yourself strong.

Inhale up.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

One more time.

Inhale, push up.

Good.

Come to table pose.

Adjust the legs.

Take a breath.

Please raise your right leg off the mat.

Lifting the abdomen, tone through the back body and sweep your left arm forward.

Now sweep your left arm behind you.

Bend your knee and hold the foot.

Kick the foot into your hand, lift your head and look up.

Now if you can't find your foot, it's fine just to press the foot toward the ceiling so you're engaging that gluteal muscle here.

Breathing.

Open.

Tone your abdomen.

(silence) and then release through table position.

Take a breath.

Settle.

Second leg, raise your left leg.

Sweep your right arm forward.

Good.

Now sweep the hand back gracefully.

Bend your knee don't rush through any of this Enjoy and savor the way you move.

Open your throat.

Lift through the heart.

Keep your legs strong.

This fluency he wished to feel through the whole body and then release through table.

Take your knees down.

Child's pose.

Open your knees and sit backward onto your heels.

So as much as we want to train and work our back body, you also want to be able to bend forward.

Breathe across your back, settle back through your hips.

(silence) Feeling your stretching through the back of your hips here, the gluteal muscles that we've already worked quite a lot through this sequence.

Enjoy your breath.

Good.

Inhale, rise to seated.

Slide forward toward the front of your mat a bit, bending your knees.

Hold on to the back of your legs and roll down.

(silence) Good.

Hug both of your knees into your chest, and just massage the back a little against the floor, rocking side to side.

(silence) and plant your feet.

Let's sit up for bridge pose.

So we think of bridge pose as that back bend.

It's also so good for your hips and your shoulders.

So bending your elbows, press your head into the floor.

With your inhale, lift your hips off the mat.

Keep hugging your lower legs in towards each other.

Pulling your feet back towards your shoulders so that you're feeling even the hamstring here engaging.

Press from the knees down through the heels.

Good.

Exhale, lower your hips back onto the mat.

Good.

Take a breath.

(silence) And then we'll do another bridge pose, but this time with repetition.

I invite you to modify by just keeping both feet on the mat here.

So we're going to inhale.

Lift up to bridge, and now raise your left leg.

Keep the left knee bent.

And we're going to go down and up with our pelvis.

So go down, five, squeeze...four... three.

two... last one.

Come up.

Plant your left foot.

Change sides.

You can just simply lower your hips with both feet on the ground.

Go down and up.

Feel yourself working your hip.

Breathe three, two.

Good.

Last one.

Plant both of your feet.

Take a deep breath.

Lift open through your heart, and then exhale, release your hips.

Good.

Relax your back.

Keep your feet grounded on the mat.

Take your arms out to the side.

As you exhale, release both of your knees to the right side of your mat, a very simple, easy rotation to the floor.

When you're pregnant, just avoiding really, really deep twists is important.

So only go as far as it feels appropriate.

Keep a gentle curve in your back and tone your belly.

With your inhale, bring the knees back up and lower your legs to the left.

After about 20 weeks or so, you want to not spend so much time on your back but these little short periods of being on your back is fine.

(silence) On your inhale, bring the legs back up.

Hug both of your knees into your body.

Wrap your arms around your legs, move your feet a few times and rock side to side.

So we used our back body, our hips so much today.

Allow your sit bones to tilt down for the floor, rounding your back into the mat.

Massage.

And then release and coming into relaxation pose, Shavasana.

Stretch your feet out about as wide as your mat.

Take your arms down, palms up.

Close your eyes.

(silence) Allow yourself to settle.

(silence) Being aware of how you're feeling and just savoring the gift of this breath.

Feeling your body after our practice together today, and remember, ♪ music begins ♪ it always pays to dwell slowly on the beautiful things, the more beautiful, the more slowly.

I invite you to stay in this pose for as long as you would like today.

Just savor it.

Don't rush.

♪ When you're ready to come out of the pose, move your fingers, your toes, bend your knees.

Roll to your right side ♪ and using the strength of your arms, push your hands into your mat and walk yourself up slowly.

Come back to seated.

♪ Please join your hands to your heart ♪ and I hope that you're able to more deeply savor your day.

Thanks for practicing with us.

Namaste.

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

♪ >> Download the SCETV app now and watch Yoga In Practice with Stacey Miller-Collins on demand.

♪