Yoga in Practice

Support for Yoga in Practice is provided by the ETV endowment of South Carolina. Welcome to Yoga In Practice. My name is Stacy and I will be your teacher. Please close your eyes and deepen your breath. During your yoga practice you build heat, heat creates transformation. In Sanskrit the word for this inner heat is called Tapas. It Is ignited by your desire to become the best version of yourself. In your practice Tapas is created through the work of your body but also the work of your mind. Yoga is about becoming who you are. Today we will practice the hip opening pose created to stoke this inner heat. Please open your eyes. Let's begin. Joining us today are Paul and Laura. So come forward onto your hands and your knees. Prepare for childs pose. So sweep your feet together spread your knees apart and then sit back on your feet first and then bow forward lowering your chest and your head closer to the floor. Your arms can sweep back alongside your legs or you can keep them extended forward. Close your eyes and just feel the breath for a moment. One of the ways to build an inner heat is by the focus of the breath. The most commonly practiced breath pattern that we use on our mats is called ujjayi. It's made by toning the muscles in your throat as if you are breathing out onto a window. So it has this resonant rubbing sound and it is that rubbing that generates the heat. Try to focus on this breath throughout your practice today. On your inhaled please lift your chest come to seated and then slide forward slightly extending your legs out in front of you. Please hold the backs of your legs for support and then roll your spine down slowly onto the mat. Bring your knees into your body and wrap your arms around both legsm Press your back into the mat gently and enjoy the breath. Now sliding your hands up behind the back of your knees stretch your feet up toward the ceiling. Press your legs towards your palms and extend up through the feet spread your toes and now move your ankles a few times point and flex. There's no need to rush it really is this slow movement that is mindful it is the slow movement that is transformative. Take your feet now and roll them around and gentle circles. Spread your toes. Reverse the angle turn your feet in the opposite direction. Then keeping your hands behind your legs as they are on your exhale pull the knees down into your chest and hug them in again. And then inhale re extend the legs push up through the heels and then exhale pull them back down. Do that twice more keep the hands behind the legs push into your hands and then exhale bring the knees back down. Inhale up. And one more time exhale down. Good inhale keep the legs raised and sweep your arms over your head. Reaching back for your hands tone your abdomen strongly and with the toes spread in the ankle Flexed please lower one leg your right leg slowly down to the floor. When it reaches the mat take a deep breath stretch it long and then do the second side. Exhale lower your left leg all the way down. And now I keeping the arms over your head point your toes take a deep breath and stretch through your body. and then exhale and let it go. Do that twice more this is called extended Mountain pose. The stretching through your spine feeling the breath move through your body. One more time stretching out nice than long and exhale. Now go ahead and bend both knees again. Bring your arms down beside your body plant your feet on the map and cross your right ankle on top of your left thigh. Thread your hands through your legs and hold onto the back of your left leg. Keep ankles flexed and the focus here is the rotation out through your right leg. If you can. Shift your hands to the top of your shin bone here it's not necessary but it will add a little bit of a challenge. you can also relax the Left Foot Down even point the foot a little bit. Now keep your right foot active and taking the right foot try to drag it down the front of your left leg. Keep doing that and now pull your hands up toward your knees. You should feel the right hamstring, the back of the leg and feeling the right hip turn. Good release your hands and take them out to the side. Please keep your right ankle crossed as it is and now on your exhale lower your legs to the left side of the mat. Bringing your foot down and then planting the sole of your right foot flat. The focus here is opening the right knee away from your body slightly. You want to stretch the side of your thigh which is referred to as the IT band in shorthand. Some of you may really feel this quite a lot. Others of you not but just open here breathing to your back and remember to keep the breath stoked. The Heat moving. With your inhale come back up to Center. Good uncross the right ankle take a breath. And then a cross your left ankle. Thread your hands through your legs and hold onto the back of your right hamstring and just focus on the turning out here of your hip. Move the left sit bone in towards the right sit bone until you feel that left hip open out. Shift your hands to the top of your right shin if that's possible. Relax the right side a little bit more but engage the left foot more fully drag the Left Foot Down. Pull your hands up. towards your knee and breathe When you do hip opening it's important that you don't clench through your jaw so keeping the face soft even adding a sweet smile is a good way to remember that discipline comes from devotion. Heat help us to grow. Release your arms take them out to the side. Lower your legs to the right side. Plant your left foot and then gently press your left knee out and away from you. Try to keep that left foot grounded as much as possible. An find a balance between doing the work but not overdoing. Soften the eyes. On your inhale pull the legs back up. Un-crossing the legs plant your feet take a breath and settle. Let's use a strap now so grabbing your strap slip the strap across the ball of your right foot. Raise the right leg to the ceiling. Extend supta padmasana. Press your leg into your hamstring and gently Arch the back. Flex the ankle and feel the back of the leg stretching open again. Then holding the strap in your right hand open your left arm wide to the side and as you exhale please open your legs wide away from each other allowing your left leg to move out as well. Hip opening is a slower form of a practice. And since we know we are doing hips that's where your mind will rest. Keep the balance there. As you inhale bring the legs back up to Center and then shift hands. Stretch your right arm wide and pick up your hips and slide them to the right side of your mat. Extend your left leg onto the floor and as you exhale pull the right leg across your body. Keep your shoulders grounded and breathe. Pressing into the hip. Pull against your strap so it feels like from your foot your drawing energy up the leg into the hip and that will definitely increase the heat of the pose. When you feel that engagement lengthen out both legs and then inhale bring the leg back up to Center. Bend the knee release the strap plant both feet and slide your hips back to the middle of the mat take a breath settle, soften. Good second side slip the strap across your left foot raise it up. Stretch and extend. Focus at the leg is straight. If you're a little tighter in the pose the leg may come away from your body the object is to get a straight leg not to have the leg straight up over the hip and the use of the strap is here to help us just elongate the length of our arms. So firm your thigh push the leg away from you and then hold the strap in your left hand. Please open the right arm wide and then open the legs apart. Enjoy your breathing keep your hips level. Stay strong. And breathe ujjayi. Inhale bring the leg up change hands. Shift your hips to the left. Extend your right leg out onto the floor and then pull the leg across your body. Stack your pelvis hip on top of hip and firm the leg. If you're a little tighter across your hamstring it's completely fine to bend your left knee the top leg in this case. Roll the hip down and away from your foot pull into the hip socket and then from your hip stretch your bones back out so there is this push and the pull. Enjoy the breath. Inhale bring the leg up. Exhale release the strap bend your knees and pause. Clear your straps out from behind your body. Take a breath. Now half happy baby pose. So bending your right knee bring it up into your chest first. Reach down hold the sides of your foot and then raise the sole of your foot up. It's good to bend your left knee to begin this pose. Now clear the right leg away from your rib cage and then there's this push and pull again.So as you push up through the right foot pull down with your arms and bring the knee a little closer to the floor. You can intensify this stretch by using a blanket up underneath the right leg and trying to bring the right leg directly down onto the blanket. Eventually the leg touches the floor. Keep your knee pushing down into that blanket if you've done this more advanced form and then turn your hips back to the left. You should feel like you're creating room in the right hip joint. Keep breathing ujjayi. Good release. Plant your feet take a breath. And let's do the second side. Bringing left knee in. Now if you're using a blanket shift over to the left reach up and hold your foot. Bring the knee down onto the blanket if you're using it. Push the knee into the blanket your anchoring it, your stabilizing the foundation there. So try to touch your left knee all the way down and then spin your hips back to the right. Another variation of the pose would be to extend your right leg here. So keeping the heel over your knee stretch out and reach out through that right leg and you should feel definitely a hip opening here. Remember to balance your hips stoke the breath. Good exhale release. Plant your feet if you used a blanket clear it out move it behind you so it's not in your way and then hug both of your knees into your chest. Please roll up to seated. In seated poses if you sit on a blanket when you begin your practice bring the blanket with you and you may need a strap for this next posture. Stretch your legs out and shake them gently. Now slide your hands down the back of your legs from your ankles through the Cavs to the back of the legs into where your sit bones are and then adjust the Flesh of your sit bones and rock a few times side to side. So that all of your weight is Centered down in the bones of the pelvis. Strengthen your legs. Bring the hands next to your hips push down and Arch the back lift the heart and then fold forward. So if you have a strap place it around the ball of your foot. Try to stay upright if you can hold your feet, hold your feet and bow forward. You just take your time keeping the legs strong so there's a fire reaction through the legs. If you're using a strap remind yourself that the strap is helping you to stay seated. So you pull up through the spine drawing your shoulders back. The thing is to have better form it's not about how deep you go it's about honoring who you are. This is really the practice of yoga. Feel the ujjayi breath. Press the legs down and feel the fire in your thighs help you to do that. Good inhale rise back up to Seated. Take a breath. Clear the strap. Bend your knees slightly Slide the feet in just a little bit so your feet are approximately 2 feet away from your hips. Turn your feet to the side and open your knees out wide. Holding on to your shin bones pull up and Arch the back and then again hinge forward. As you hinge try to keep long through your spine not collapsing over and closing down the breath. Bow forward. This is called Omega pose because you're making the shape of the omega symbol with your legs but you often feel a different stretch in your hamstring when your legs are turned out in this manner. Extend and bow. Keep the ujjayi moving. Inhale raise up. Good cross at your ankles and roll forward onto your hands and your knees plant your hands and come to table position tuck your toes. Take a deep breath. Lift your tailbone and take downward dog stretch back. Enjoy the downward-facing dog extending. Bend your knees slightly and lift up through the hips. Press the legs back and now soften the back of your neck and extend through the spine use the effort in your legs push your thighs back so that you're moving from the groin you're going more into your hips here. And that's move to Pigeon pose please bring your right knee forward up towards your wrist. Slide the knee slightly out to the side the foot slightly to the left and walk your left leg back. Bow forward onto your elbows and bring your palms together. Push into your knees root them into the mat and then against your mat drag your legs toward one another. So that you feel an uprising lift in the belly in the hip. Keep this engagement and let your hips Rock a little side to side and noticed how that feels breathing to the sensation of it. Keep your breath deep. Keep your breath expansive. Hold still and then raise your left knee. Lift the left leg higher pull up through the belly and then spin the side of your left hip toward the floor and you should feel a deeper opening in the side of your right hip. Good lower the knee me exhale. Bring your hands in inhale step to table. Take a breath adjust your hands look up Arch the back and take downward dog One More Time. Stretch back. Pushing back. Lengthen your neck feel the rubbing in your throat and extend. The ujjayi means to rise up triumphantly. It creates a transformative energy when we breathe and focus This Way. Pigeon pose number two slide your left knee forward. Bringing it up and out walk your right leg back and bow forward. Come on to your elbows and Breath. Work your legs press them down and hug them in tone even into the belly. Keep that and Rock from side to side. When you're working with your pelvis consider the idea that your hips are level. But you not tippin one way or the other. So hold your hips level and then inhale and raise your right knee, lift your right thigh, drag the left knee back and then spin your right hip toward the floor and you should feel an intensification in the pose. Good lower the knee down. Bring your hands to the mat Step to table position. Please take downward dog. Walk your hands backward to your feet. Walking back to the end of your mat. Let's do a deep squat so if you need to you can elevate your heels up on the edge of your blanket here. Bend your knees and squat down low. Bring your palms toward your heart. If this is too challenging on your knees it's fine to stay lifted just pausing with your elbows resting on your legs. Good exhale sit all the way down. Good slide forward and if you set up on a blanket bring that blanket with you again. Coming up bend your knees and bring your hands behind you with your fingers facing backward. Please take your right foot and cross it on your left thigh again. This pose is half of fire log pose. Half Agnistambhasana. The key here draw your lower back in lift and open the heart draw your shoulders back. Please hold here like Paul will show or if you have more opening in your hips pivot to the left side of the mat. And if you've pivoted try to stack your shin bones one on top of the other. The hands to remain behind you helping you to lift and open the spine or exhale full forward. You can move the hands in front of you walking the hands forward and bow. The word agony in Sanskrit means fire. An so we bow forward into that transformative fire of our self. Enjoy the pose. Flex the ankles, widen your inner thighs. And then inhale raise backup. Pivot out of the pose. Uncross your legs keep your hands behind you take a breath. Good second side roll the shoulders back arch your lower spine as you cross your left ankle. Now engag drag the foot down the thigh like you felt earlier when we were doing eye of the needle lying down. Hold here you can even walk up perhaps a little closer to your legs or even extend the leg out. Find a place where you feel the left hip. On your exhale pivot to the right and stack your shins. Agnistambhasana. Resting legs one on top of each other. If your left knee is really high here if you don't have that Mobility you can wedge a blanket a pillow some sort of support underneath your top shin and allow the legs to root down. Please walk forward if and when you are ready bowing to yourself. This Fire Heats us. This fire is illuminative it helps us to know ourselves better. With your inhale please raise back up. Good bring your hands behind you pivot out of the pose. And stretch legs forward. Now if you're sitting up on a blanket please clear the blanket just shift it back behind your mats and again walk forward so that you're more on the front of your mat you have plenty of Mat behind you. Keep your legs strong. You can adjust your hips again and then lift your arms out in front of you and pull your arms into the shoulder socket. Now tone your abdomen and very slowly roll down one vertebrae at a time try to keep your legs flat as you roll all the way down. Then lift your hands to the ceiling and then roll all the way back up. Press your back in lift up towards your toes. Good do that again exhale plugin rollback keep your core engage one of the best ways to get heat. Lift your hands to the ceiling. Good exhale roll back up press down one vertebrae at a time. Good one last time exhale pull your belly back roll your spine down stretch your arms over your head and take a deep breath and stretch out and exhale. Good open your arms wide and bend your knees plant your feet. Lower your legs to the right side just do a very simple and easy stretch to the side. Ground your shoulders. Slow the breath down. Close your eyes, relax your tongue. Inhale bring the legs back up to Center move to the other side lower your knees to the left. Enjoy the breath. Inhale bring the legs back to Center. Please hug your knees into your body and wrapping your arms around your legs move your feet. And then slide your legs out onto the mat. Slide your legs out one at a time go ahead and shake them out. Position your feet as wide as your mat and bring your arms down and shake your fingers out. You can turn your head from side-to-side close your eyes. Soften the face. Now get very still The end of the practice is still transforming us, like a meditation. So receive that Practice is the process of transformation and beautification of a soul... from a leaf eating caterpillar to a nectar sipping butterfly. It grows with the wings of love and compassion. Honor yourself as you remain here in shavasana. Stay here for as long as your mind and body my need. However when you're ready to roll out of the pose please bend your knees pause roll to your right side and then pushing down into the floor with both of your hands rise up two seated slowly. And take a comfortable seat. Once you are seated close your eyes and bring your hands together once again in front of your heart. May you honor the practice of your Tapas the devotion you make to yourself thanks for practicing with us today namaste. Support for Yoga in Practice is provided by the ETV endowment of South Carolina. To purchase Yoga in Practice on DVD order online at shop scetv.org thanks for your support of public television.