Yoga in Practice

(female speaker) Support for "Yoga in Practice" is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina. Welcome to "Yoga in Practice." My name is Stacey, and I will be your teacher. Please close your eyes and prepare for your practice. The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself. Until you have cultivated love for your own self, it is difficult to fully receive the love of others. We practice this in yoga by remembering our own value and worth, even as we face limitations in certain poses. We will explore the idea of self-love in this class by working toward a basic backbend, Bridge pose, and focusing on opening our shoulders and chest, the heart of our bodies. Slowly open your eyes. Practicing with us today is Jacci

"Jackie"

... and also Diana. Let's come to our hands and knees for Table pose. Set up with your hands shoulder-distance apart, with your wrists straight, your fingers spread. Press down firmly into your hands so that the arm muscles tone. Take a breath and, between your shoulder blades, soften down a bit, keeping your core strong. Inhale; lift your chin and your tailbone to gently arch the lower back. Exhale; round in to Cat pose. Inhale; look forward. And exhale; round. Inhale again and look forward. Let the breath move you. And then exhale and round. Inhale; look forward one final time. Take a breath and draw back into Downward Facing Dog. Stretch back. Make sure your Downward Dog is long enough and remember to expand the breath into the middle of your back as you soften between your shoulder blades, integrating your arm bone into the shoulder socket. Keeping your legs and hands strong, inhale; raise your right leg off the floor. Sweep it up behind you and spread the toes. With your exhale, step the foot between your hands to a lunge. When you step forward, if you didn't get the foot far enough, just take several tiny steps to get your foot between your hands. Exhale; lower your left knee to the mat and make sure it feels comfortable. Inhale, raise your chest, and hold your hips. Staying balanced on your legs, lift and open the sides of your body and turn your palms up. With the hands up, roll your elbows in front of your body and lift and open the throat. Press your head back gently and press the arms forward, but roll your shoulders backward so you're doing a gentle backbend here. Exhale; bring your hands back to the mat. Raise your left knee; Downward Dog. Enjoy the breath; stretch out. Staying grounded, remember to keep the arms strong so that you're able to access the softening of the heart, the melting of the upper back. Inhale; raise your left leg. Sweep it up high and strong. Exhale; step forward between your hands. Walk the foot forward as you may need to and then exhale; lower your right knee. Make sure that feels comfortable. If you need extra padding, please use it. Inhale; come back up; hold your hips. Take a breath; open the heart. And then, turning your palms up-- this is like a gesture, how wonderful. In this gesture, as you press your head back, let your shoulders follow your head and, curling your shoulder blades in and up to your heart, to your chest, stay steady and expand the pose; delight in it. Exhale; take your hands back to the floor. Step back to Downward Dog. Enjoy the breath, extending out. Inhale, Plank pose. Lower your knees now and come down into a push-up. Exhale to Chaturanga Dandasana. Keep your hands grounded. Inhale; rise to a low form of Cobra pose, using your legs, your back, but remembering to broaden your shoulders, bringing your collar bones horizontal. On your exhale, take Downward Dog again. Stretch back. Take a deep breath and allow the breath to nourish you. Enjoy the fullness of your breath through the back. Soften your face. Inhale; raise your right leg up once again. Stretch it fully. With the next exhale, step your foot forward between your hands. Walk it up as you need to. Turn your back heel down and, lifting up, bring your hands to your hips. We're gonna do a shoulder extension, a chest opener. If you need to use a strap as opposed to just interlocking your fingers, please pick up a strap now. Clasp your hands around your back. Roll your shoulders back and keep your legs deep in your lunge. As you exhale, fold forward to the inside of your right leg. Take a breath and bow. From your hips, pushing down through both feet, stretch your legs, but also lengthen your spine, your waist. Drawing your shoulders up, stretch your arms fully. Everybody has a different level of flexibility across their upper back and their chest, so don't overdo, and it takes time. It just takes patience. This is a quality of loving yourself. On your exhale, release your hands back to the mat. Place them alongside the foot. Pivot up with your back heel and step back to Downward Dog. Enjoy the breath. Inhale, Plank. Exhale to a push-up. Inhale, Cobra. Good; roll partially down for a moment and come up onto your fingertips. Shift your hands slightly wider, perhaps even wider than your mat. Push down through your fingertips and lift your shoulders up and onto your back. And now roll your right shoulder back and then your left shoulder back, and your right shoulder and your left shoulder. Hold; push down; lift up a little bit higher. Open across your own heart. Exhale; roll back down. Place your hands alongside your chest and push to Table position. From Table, take Downward Dog again. And we'll prepare for our second side of the Humble Warrior. Inhale; raise your left leg; keep it strong. Exhale; step forward. Use a strap if you need to and turn your back heel down for more stability. Coming up, square your hips, clasp your hands or strap behind your lower back. Take a breath and rise up through the heart. Exhale; fold to the inside of your leg. Remember to breathe. What's nice about these poses where you're bowing, it has a quality of humility, and you're bowing here to yourself, recognizing yourself as the unique person that you are, that there's only one of you. And in that remembrance, there is a sense of self-worth. You are worthy simply because you exist. Release your hands; release your strap. Step back to Downward Dog. Inhale to a Plank. And lie down all the way; pause. If you need to adjust yourself on your mat, please do so and lengthen your legs. Extend both of your arms forward. Placing the outer edge of your hand on your mat, keep your hands shoulder-distance apart. These forward-facing backbends are wonderful for the health of our spine and lower back. Rest your head down and stretch out through your arms and legs. And then inhale; raise your right arm only and your left leg only. Spread the toes, the fingers, reach out, and feel your back doing gentle work. And then exhale; release down. Change sides; raise your left arm, right leg. Extend and stretch out. And then exhale; go back down. We'll do this with the breath. Inhale; lift the right arm. Exhale; down. The left arm and right leg. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. One more time, both sides. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. And exhale. Rest your forehead down. Turn your left cheek onto the floor and sweep your arms alongside your body. Turn your palms up toward the ceiling and just get very soft, heavy. Take time to pause in your practice as a way of nourishing yourself to cultivate a sense of self-love. Keeping your arms down beside your body, turn your forehead back onto the floor. Pressing down through your feet, draw your shoulders forward toward your ears and pick them straight up until you feel the upper back and the shoulder blades engage. Inhale; raise your head and shoulders, keeping your neck long. And then raise your legs off the floor and breathe. Curling up with your shoulders, exhale. Take your legs back down, but keep your chest up and focus on this pose, utilizing your back and your legs, grounding your legs into the floor. Exhale; release back down. Please turn your right cheek to the floor and relax your shoulders all the way down. Enjoy your breath. We'll do this one more time, so forehead to the floor. This time, we'll lift the upper and lower body together simultaneously. Lift the shoulders up, engage your back, and, on your inhale, pick up your chest, your legs, and stretch. Stretch your legs, raise your right leg about 4 more inches, and stretch it back. Lift your left leg next to that one. Keep your shoulders rising up; smile inside. And then exhale and release back down. Take your left forearm beneath your head. Bend your right knee and reach back with your right hand to hold the top of the foot. Press your knees into your mat and draw your heel down. Remember your right shoulder needs to stay lifted, the shoulder blade drawing to the back. This pose is called Eka Pada Bhekasana in Sanskrit. More commonly, it's Half Frog pose. Lifting your head, push your heels and hips down. Lift up and raise up only if that feels appropriate. If you need to keep your head down, that's fine. You can also come up a little bit higher. With your exhale, please release the right foot and change sides, taking your right arm under, sweeping back with your left hand. Push into the knees, pull the heel down, and lift your shoulder. If you have any knee issues or if you're pregnant, you can turn to the side to do this, stacking your knees and keeping this action. The head can be up or down. Just stretching the front of your thigh. It's fine to smile. Exhale; release; lower down. Bend both knees this time. Hold the tops of your feet. Grab your feet beneath the base of your toes and spread your toes back against your hands. Take your shoulders forward and up to the ceiling, just like we've been practicing. Take a deep breath, your head coming up. Push your feet backward until your heels move over the knees. Lift up through the heart, inhale, and raise both legs up, Bow pose. Stretching up, breathe. Go only as high as you're able to and remember the practice of self-love. Exhale; release down. Release your hands next to your chest. Release your feet. Push up to Child's pose. Walk your knees apart; settle down. Bring your forehead down to your mat or rest your forehead onto your arms. Enjoy your breath. Child's pose is a wonderfully nurturing posture. It's a pose of bowing to yourself. Enjoy your breath as you expand the spine and feel your hips settling heavily toward the feet. Inhale; raise your chest off of your legs and come to kneeling. Please pick up a block. We'll be using our blocks for a supported Camel pose, placing the block between your knees. We use the block to help you remember to hug in. As you hug the block, think about embracing yourself. Your feet can be flat on the floor, which is more challenging, or your feet tucked. Lift your waistline and spread your hands across the small of your lower back. Press your head back. Let your shoulders follow the flow of your head. Lifting the chin, not letting your head back, keeping the back of the neck supported, rise up and then spill yourself backward gently, keeping your hips right over the top of your knees. Remember to hug the block. As you hug in, shine out through your own heart, celebrating your own self-worth. Exhale; release; take a breath. Remove your block and take Child's pose again. Bow. Close your eyes. Slow down the breath. Feel your heart; feel it beating. Please come to seated. From seated, cross your right ankle in front of your left ankle. Take your left hand onto your kneecap and reach your right hand behind you. When we sit with crossed legs, it's called Sukhasana. It means "nectar," "sweetness." Lifting up through the waistline, exhale and twist to the right slowly. Turn the head as the last thing and let your gaze be relaxed. Soften your eyes down toward your cheeks and feel grounded. Breathe across the chest. Inhale; come around to center. Change directions. Change your feet as well. Hold your left knee with your hand and reach around. Take a deep breath, grounding. Exhale and twist. Stay with the breath. Inhale; release to center. Keeping your ankles crossed, walk your hands out in front of you and bow forward. Bowing here, keep your hips grounded and just grow the spine out; soften. This gesture of humbleness, of a sense of humility as you bow in, you feel grateful for who you are, regardless of your limitations or challenges. Inhale; walk your hands back up. Come to seated. Place your feet out in front of you and hold the backs of your legs and roll down. We'll be using a block for this first pose. We're heading into Bridge pose. We'll do this a few times, different ways. This first time, we're going to be using a block. Take hold of a block and remember

that the blocks have different heights

the lowest, the medium, and the highest point. Most people will be on the medium height. Press down into your feet and lift your hips up and slide the block directly underneath your pelvis and then sit down on the block. Allow the weight of your pelvis to rest with that support. Keeping that support, walk up into your upper back. Keep your chin lifted, pressing down. You can release your hands down next to your hips and just root. The focus of this pose with your hips supported is to access the upper spine with a bit little more ease since you don't have to worry about what your legs and hips are doing. Inhale; lift your hips back up; remove the block. Rest your knees together; pause; enjoy the breath. We're gonna practice Bridge pose one more time, this time using a strap. Take hold of your strap and slip the strap across the front of each ankle, like you're holding the reins of a horse. Walk your hands down the strap, not to tighten down through the shoulders, but just to have something to hold onto. Move your shoulders toward your ear lobes, roll them back into the floor, and remember to press your head firmly into the ground. Inhale; lift your hips back up. The strap helps us to gain power. As you pull on the strap, notice how that engages you into your upper back. We are opening the heart as a celebration of self-love. With your exhale, slowly return the hips to your mat. When they hit the mat, release your strap and let your feet, your knees rest together. Enjoy your breath and widen across your back. This time, we'll do Bridge pose without any prop. However, if you would like to use the block or strap, please feel free to. Walk your feet in; plant the feet; Spread your toes; bend your elbows. Pressing your elbows into your mat, roll your shoulders back; press your head back. Inhale; pick your hips up. Lift up fully, fully, fully. This third go-round, you should have more freedom in your back. You can release the hands down. In all backbends, your knees tend to splay apart, so hug in lovingly. On your exhale, release the hips back to the floor. Pause; bring your knees together. Rest your feet apart. Enjoy the breath. We'll do a variation now. This will be a one-legged Bridge pose. The name for Bridge in Sanskrit, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, the word Sarvangasana means "shoulder stand," so you're really trying to get up in your shoulders. Bend your elbows; press your head back. Get up into your upper back and raise your right leg to the ceiling. Flex the ankle, inhale, push up, and lift that leg. When you've raised the leg, hug in with your left knee and feel like you could extend up, raising higher. Exhale; lower your hips first. Bend the knee; place the foot down. Second side, raise your left leg; flex the ankle. Bend your elbows; pull into your shoulders. Inhale; raise your hips up. Get into your upper back and feel like you could lift, hugging your knee into the midline. Keep your chin lifted. On your exhale, return the hips down to the floor. Lower your foot; rest your hands; pause. Backbends are very invigorating. That's a nourishing sense. Lift your right foot off the floor and interlock your fingers around the back of the right leg. Keep a gentle curve in your lower spine and push your thigh forward against your clasped hands. As you continue to press forward, slowly raise your heel to the ceiling. Jacci is very open in her legs, so she can get her leg pretty straight. If this is not the case for you, it's fine to keep your knees slightly bent. To show what it looks like... Find the fullest form of your pose for you. Exhale; bend that knee; place the foot down. Let's do the second side. Clasp your left leg, push the leg forward, keep the natural curve in your lower back, and then stretch your foot to the ceiling. Make a footprint. Remember that the foot remains strong, as if you were standing on it. Roll your shoulders back into the floor, and the breath, it's easy, natural, free. With your exhale, bend the knee and place the foot down. Hug both knees into your chest. Rock along your spine for a moment. Bringing your feet parallel with each other, please open your arms out nice and wide. If you have props in your way, clear the space, rolling your shoulders back. On your exhale, lower both of your knees to the right. Anchor the shoulders. Even though we're doing a rotation here, this is definitely a chest opener, a heart opener. Press your legs together, deep breath, and then inhale; pick your knees back up to center. Exhale the knees slowly to the left, anchoring your right shoulder. Your feet can rest on the mat, and just open across the heart. Stretch out through your fingers. Inhale; bring the knees back up to center. Draw your legs into your heart. Rock side to side. Let's prepare for deep relaxation. Sliding your legs out onto the floor one at a time, shake them. Place them a little wider than your hips. Lower your hands down and relax into your hands. Soften your eyes, relax across your brow, and pay attention even to the tongue and the roof of your mouth. Let the earth hold you. Continue to enjoy your relaxation for a few more moments, as long as you are able... Thanks for practicing with us today. Namaste. CompuScripts Captioning ccaptioning.com (female speaker) Support for "Yoga in Practice" is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina. (male speaker) To purchase a copy...