Podcast #168 - Hooked on a Feeling

TRANSCRIPT:

Deep breath in.

You guys know this, uh, you're familiar with this comedian Pete Holmes? Pete Holmes. Now, he always he has a lot of like, really kind of spiritual jokes. He's got kind of, um, I would. I don't know if he's Buddhist, but he's got kind of a Buddhist perspective a lot of times and.

There's one. There's one bit in particular where he does, um. Where he says, like. Like, it's hard to stay mad at someone if you imagine them sleeping. Like, if you're, if you think of like the most intimidating person, or the most annoying person you know or the most whatever.

And then you try to visualize them sleeping. It's very hard to kind of hold on to those feelings because they're like, they're like mouth is hanging open. They're drooling a little bit. They're like. And. And you know, there's another. There's another version of this. Uh, and, and that is.

I sorry I distracted myself, um? There's another version of this, which is to imagine people as a child, right? So, if, um, it's very hard to like, stay mad at somebody. If you're like, oh, buddy. You know, it softens something inside of us, and we even do it with therapy, right?

Like, talk to your inner child, talk to your inner child, because like. If I talk to myself as adult Jessica, I can be, I can be kind of a jerk actually, right? But if I, but if I like, think about my inner child, it like, softens the way that, like, it brings about this little bit of tenderness.

This little bit of softness, gentleness, nurturing care like that. And the same is true, uh, you know, for, uh, Krishna bhakti, so people? People, sort of. Visualize or imagine, or try to like, remember Krishna, in all these different forms, like sometimes as a little baby, sometimes as like, uh, as like a lover, right?

Um, some, you know, in order to evoke within us right within us, this sense of like love and patience and kindness and care, right? So? You know when you think of like? Uh, when you think of like relating to Krishna as a baby, right, like, I mean, you know, you have a new baby, right?

It puts you in a certain mood. It puts you in that mood, and then what changes. What changes if if I'm dealing with a difficult person. What changes is it changes my interaction? It changes my way of relating to that other person, and thereby it changes the relationship. So, it's not so much about, um.

Krishna himself. It's about, like identifying those moments when you feel that sense of like love. Ins inside, and then capturing that. So, like, whenever you're, if you're going around, and you, you know, you see your good friend, or you see your um, your partner, you see, your uh, your child or your whoever it is?

When you feel that spark inside, just be, like, ah, okay? Got to capture this feeling. Gotta capture this feeling and then hold it and then see if you can relate to everyone with that little Sparkle of feeling inside, right? Right? Easy, breezy. Until you spend three weeks with your mom.

So awesome! And then all the communication skills go right out the window.

So, we're gonna sing just a few moments. We're going to sing to go. Paula gopala is the baby Krishna. And then see if we can kind of get some of that flavors. Get some of that inner feeling going out. So, I'm going to sing it all the way through.

And then you can repeat. There's a little pause in the middle of the line, so. Hang tight. Hang tight.

Let's try it.

Together.

Keep it going.

Imagine a sweet little baby.

A little bit louder.

Undergo.

Invoke some tenderness.

We're singing a lullaby.

Last times last times.

Just Savor that sort of sweet, spacious feeling that created in the heart and the voice. The minds.

And exhale a breath out completely. Inhale a full, deep breath in. Exhale fully. Inhale full, deep breath in. Open the mouth and Whisper, aha! Sound! Inhale again. Try to make that sound longer and a little bit louder. That's it, inhale! Now keep the mouth closed, but make that same sound inside.

Inhale, same sound. Exhale. Same sound. Inhale two, three, four exhale. Three inhale two? Exhale. Inhale. Exhale, keep the breath going. Come forward onto hands and knees, and we'll press back to a downward facing dog. Keep the breath going. Try to make the inhales sound and feel like the exhales.

Anna, do you have it now? Do you have it sorted out? I hope. Make sure you unmute your monitor too, right? Just in case. Yeah, okay, all right. Let's, uh, come forward onto hands and knees position. So, place the knees to the floor, and then we'll move through a couple of rounds of cat and cow.

So, as you inhale, Arch the back as you exhale round the back, look down at the knees. Inhale Arch the back look up! Exhale round the back. Look down at the knees. Inhale Arch the back! Exhale round and now Point your toes and push your seat back towards your feet.

And walk your hands a little bit forward so that the arms stretch forward a little bit longer. And then, as you inhale, come on forward through hands and knees, so come up through hands and knees, and then pull your chest forward of your arms. Your hips can kind of go down towards the floor, like a sloppy upward dog or so, and then exhale round the back and push your seat back towards your heels.

Coming back into that child's pose shape, inhale come through hands and knees, pull the chest forward. Exhale, go all the way back to that child's pose. Yeah, inhale. Come forward. Linking breath and movement together. Exhale. Go all the way back. Good, this time. Tuck your toes under, tuck your toes under, and press back to a downward facing dog.

Keep the toes tucked. Keep the toes tucked as you inhale. Come on forward to an upward dog with the toes tucked so your chest pulls forward good. Liven up the legs a little bit. A little firmer in the legs, exhale. Press back downward, facing dog inhale come forward, and through into that upward dog variation toes.

Stay tucked for now. Exhale go back downward, facing dog last one inhale forward. And exhale. Go back good. Walk the feet forward towards the hands and fold forward over the legs. Let the head hang down one. Too good? Walk the feet a bit wider apart. Now, bend the knees come into a deep, squatting position hands together at the center of the chest.

Press the elbows against the knees, push the knees a little wider apart than what they could do on their own, lift the crown of the head up to the ceiling. That's it, Tom. Good. Bring the hands down to the floor, raise the hips up, and fold forward over the legs.

Heel to the feet halfway closer together, arms behind the back, lace the fingers together into one fist, stretch the arms away from the back. With your inhale, bend your knees, open your chest, and look forward. Exhale straighten the legs to fold forward inhale, bend the knees, open the chest, look ahead.

Exhale, straighten the legs and fold inhale bending. Look forward! Exhale extending to fold forward hands on your waist. Lift all the way upright to a standing position. Reach the arms up overhead. Interlace the hands together into one fist inhale. Stretch the arms, reach the knuckles up up to the ceiling.

That's it. Exhale. Bend to the left side. Inhale lift all the way up to Center exhale. Bend to the right side. Inhale lift all the way up. Exhale left side, breathe with it. Inhale lift exhale, right side. Inhale, lift up one more time. Each side exhale Bend. Inhale lift all the way up.

Exhale Bend, inhale lift to upright position. Bring the hands behind your head, so cradle the sort of back of your head with your hands, even use that fine. Let me try that again. Good. Good exhale. Bring the head upright. Okay to inhale, lift the elbows higher up to the ceiling, stretch up through the elbows.

That's it. Keep the back of the neck long, exhale, look forward. Look straight ahead. One more inhale. Reach the elbows up and up and up again. Keep length through the back of the neck. Aha! And then look forward. Release the arms, so same thing when we do our Chiva mukti Sun salutation, right?

You want to keep the neck as if your thumbs were still there, helping you not throwing the head back, right? Okay. Feeding legs all the way together. It's just not the same without Elliot here. Is it inhale? Hook your thumbs. Reach your arms up and Arch back and miss them already.

Exhale. Bend the knees, swing the arms behind the back, lace the hands together, folding forward inhale. Place the hands down step the right foot back to Lunge. Look forward. Exhale downward facing dog inhale. Come forward into a plank exhale chaturanga inhale upward facing dog exhale downward facing dog inhale.

Come forward into plank, exhale knees, chest, and Chin to the floor. Inhale slide forward into Cobra exhale. Tuck the toes sit back towards the feet and then extend the legs downward facing dog inhale. Step the right foot forward. Exhale left foot next to right foot, folding forward inhale bend, knees, hook, thumbs.

Reach up, Arch back, straighten the legs, exhale bend knees, swing arms behind lace hands together, and fold inhale hands down. Step the left foot back. Exhale downward facing dog inhale forward into plank. Exhale chaturanga inhale upward facing dog exhale downward, facing dog inhale forward into plank. Exhale knees chest chin to the floor.

Inhale slide forward into Cobra exhale. Tuck the toes sit all the way back towards the feet and then extend the legs downward dog. Inhale left foot steps forward exhale right foot next to left foot folding forward inhale bend knees. Hook thumbs reach up Arch back straighten legs exhale, stand up, and release the arms.

Inhale hook thumbs. Reach up Arch back. Exhale bend knees swing arms behind these hands together and fold. Inhale hands down right foot steps back. Exhale downward facing dog inhale forward into plank. Exhale chaturanga inhale upward facing. Exhale downward facing inhale forward into plank, exhale knees, chest and Chin to the floor.

Inhale slide forward, Cobra exhale, tuck the toes, sit all the way back towards the feet, and then extend the legs. Inhale right foot steps forward? Exhale left foot next to the right foot. Inhale bend, knees, hook thumbs, reach up, Arch back, straighten legs, exhale bend, knees, swing arms behind lace hands together and fold inhale hands down, left foot steps back, exhale downward, facing dog inhale to plank exhale.

Chaturanga inhale upward, face exhale, downward face, inhale to plank, exhale knees, chest, and Chin to the floor. Inhale, slide forward into Cobra, exhale. Tuck the toes sit all the way back towards the feet and then extend the legs. Inhale left foot forward. Exhale right foot next to left foot folding forward inhale bend, knees, hook, thumbs, reach up, Arch back, straighten legs, exhale, stand up, and release the arms.

Inhale, bend the knees, reach the arms up utkatasana chair pose. Exhale hands to the floor. Fold forward inhale halfway lift. Look forward. Exhale Hoppers step back chaturanga. Inhale upward dog. Exhale downward facing dog inhale right foot forward. Warrior one reach all the way up. Exhale hands to the floor.

Step back and lower chaturanga. Inhale upward facing dog. Exhale downward facing dog inhale. Step the left foot forward. Reach up Warrior one. Exhale hands to the floor. Step back chaturanga. Inhale upward facing dog. Exhale downward facing dog. Let's do one more each side inhale right foot forward Warrior one.

Exhale hands to the floor. Step back and lower chaturanga. Inhale upward dog. Exhale downward dog inhale left foot steps forward virabadrasana one. Exhale hands to the floor. Step back chaturanga inhale upward, facing dog exhale downward facing dog. Breathe. Breathe out! Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale three. Inhale. Exhale for four.

Breathe in. Breathe out five! Bend the knees. Look forward. Inhale Hopper step feet to hands. And exhale. Fold forward. Okay. Uh, step the feet back, like eight or ten inches. Have the feet together hands about shoulder width with distance apart, and then we're going to bring the knees to the floor between the hands, so knees touch down, shift the shoulders slightly forward.

So, shoulders just a little past wrist, tuck your chin to your chest, lift the hips as high up as you can into the air, piking the hips. Lift up onto the tippy toes, push into the hands shoulders still forward forward forward chin still on your chest. When you need to rest, put your heels down, put your heels down behind you.

Okay, bring the knees to the floor. Wow, everyone's got a lot of energy today. That's good thing, because this is an energetic sequence. Okay, let's shift your shoulders a little bit forward Pike your hips high up into the air. Try to come up onto the skin of the tips of the tippy tip toes, and then when you need to rest heels down behind you?

Anytime you want to rest, just put the heels down behind you. Okay, I love it. Everyone got more sleep than me. Okay, bring the knees to the floor. Shift the shoulders forward. Shift the shoulders forward. That's it. Push into the floor. Lift the hips high up tippy. Tip tip, tip toes.

Maybe you can even float the tips of your toes right up off the floor. It's so close. And then rest the heels down to the floor. Okay, you can either repeat that same sequence, or you can turn this into a little tuck jump where you're kicking your heels towards your buttocks.

So, hands to the floor? Get ready, either tuck jumps, or you're repeating that sequence of hiking the hips high up into the air. Go ahead, one. Yeah, try three or five something like that. Good Alice, yes, good. Helen, yes. Wow, I love the energy. Is everyone just feeling energized today for no particular reason?

I know, I am, yeah, go next. Okay. I noticed you even dressed up. Yay! It's pretty fun, okay! Walk your feet back downward facing dog. I was telling my friends last night. I haven't followed. I haven't properly followed basketball since all those kids were like before they were born.

Okay, those players last night. Like, I haven't followed basketball in decades. And yet, it's been so exciting. Okay, inhale. Step the right foot forward Warrior one. Exhale open hips and arms to the side inhale. Straighten the right leg. Exhale Bend into. Try no. Straighten the right leg and reach into triangle, right hand down, left arm up one.

That's it. Two turn the back foot in just a little bit three. Good. Breathing for four, energize the top of the leg there. Five with your inhales stand all the way upright exhale. Bend the right knee Warrior two, breathe one. Too. Nice! Try to tuck the tailbone a little bit underneath.

Belly button lifts in and up form. With your inhale, straighten the right leg, exhale, bend the right knee, place the right hand outside of the right foot, reach the left arm over the left ear, extended ankle. That's it, feel. How if you press the left foot down a little harder, you could reach longer and longer through the left fingertips.

Inhale, bring both hands to the floor. Exhale start to straighten the front leg. Move the back foot in a little bit closer. Inhale a breath and exhale. Fold forward good back. Heel back, heel anchoring down. Yeah, for. With your inhale, bend the right knee hands to the floor. Step back to down dog splits.

Just take the right leg up and back for a moment. And then step the right foot halfway to the hands just halfway to the hands three or five hops to hands down practice one. Yes, two right foot hops, right foot lens, same foot? Yep, three. For. That's right, that's right.

Super straight arms? Uh-huh. Okay, step back to your downward facing dog. Step the left foot forward Warrior one reach all the way up. Exhale open hips and arms to the side inhale. Straighten the left leg. Exhale. Reach to the left for triangle. Good one. Shrug the shoulders down away from the ears.

Keep the back of the neck nice and long. Three, yeah, energize the arms. Push this part of your foot down inhale. Stand all the way upright exhale. Bend the left knee where you're two. Hold it here. Good top of the chest lifts. Arms lengthen out in both directions.

Inhale, straighten the left leg. Exhale. Bend the left knee. Place the left hand outside of the left foot. Reach the right arm over the right ear extended side angle, one. Two, yes. Push the left knee against the left arm. Good with your inhale both hands to the floor. Exhale start to straighten the front leg.

Move the back foot in a little closer if needed. Anchor the heel down exhale. Fold forward good one. Two straighten more and more. Three, yes. Inhale, bend the left knee exhale. Take the left leg up and back down dog splits. And then step the left foot halfway to the hands.

Lift the right leg up three or five hops. Yeah, hops can start super small, or you can start to make slightly larger. Yes, straight up was super. The more you can straighten the arms, the better. Oh, Noelia, looking good, all right. Okay, press back downward, facing dog, yes. Good inhale.

Step the right foot between the hands. Exhale a breath out here. Inhale reach the arms up for high lunge. Crab hold of opposite elbows and try to get your forearms like a little bit behind your head. Lean your head back into your forearms, a little bit, soften the back knee for this one, and then try to lift a little more upright through the front body, yes, and then inhale.

Straighten both legs. Exhale bend both knees and bring the left knee almost all the way to touch the floor, but don't touch down yet. Inhale straighten, both legs lift up, exhale Bend, almost grazing the floor with the back knee inhale, extend lift up. Exhale, Bend this time. Place the left knee down.

Both hands can be on your front knee. Scoot the front foot a little bit more forward and let the hips come forward and down. That's it! Now, if you want to turn this into a crescent, lunge arms overhead, for example, you can. Yeah.

With your inhale lift all the way up, right? Keep the left arm where it is right arm down alongside the body. Turn it into a side Bend here, so reach the left arm all the way up and over. Wow! Already, guys, jeez! With your inhale, reach the arms all the way up.

Exhale hands to the floor. Uh, step right into your plank. Feet together and then shift onto the right hand and the outer edge of the right foot. For side plank, one squeeze the inner legs together two, yeah, three. Come back to a plank, lower the knees, chest, and Chin down to the floor.

Inhale slide forward into Cobra. Exhale tuck the toes, sit all the way back towards the feet, and then extend the legs downward facing dog. Inhale, step the left foot forward. Exhale, a breath out, inhale. Reach your arms up overhead, exhale, holding opposite opposite elbows. So, try to switch the cross of the arms.

It might feel a little strange because you're used to the other one. Lean your head back into your forearms and soften your right knee, a little bit inhale, straighten both legs, exhale, Bend both knees, and almost graze the right knee, almost almost almost to the floor. Inhale straighten both legs.

Exhale Bend both knees. Inhale straighten both legs. Exhale bend both knees last one inhale, straighten lift, extend exhale, Bend both knees, and touch the right knee down hands onto the top of the left thigh. Scoot the left foot a little bit more forwards. You have a little more space and then descend the hips forward and down.

Great! From here, you have the option. Crescent lunge arms reach alongside the ears to yes. It's three good. Lift the arms of the Torso straight up. Keep the right arm up left arm down alongside the body. Reach the right arm towards the white wall side, bending one. Two good, that's it, three?

Four. With your inhale, reach the arms all the way up, exhale hands to the floor, step right into your plank. Exhale shift onto the left hand outer edge of the left foot for side plank. That's it, one. Two, three, inhale to plank, exhale knees, chest, and Chin to the floor.

Inhale slide forward into Cobra exhale. Tuck the toes sit all the way back towards the feet and then extend the legs downward facing dog, okay, walk the hands back towards the feet. Walk the hands back, fold forward over the legs. Okay. We're gonna work on, uh, on, uh, Crow pose bakhasana.

So, uh, hands want to be shoulder width distance apart. Your knees wrap around the backs of your upper arms, uh-huh. And then, see if you see about shifting weight into the hands. Maybe you lift one foot, maybe both feet to, let's see what's? Yeah. Two, oh, nice, three. We're excellent.

Yeah. Okay, yeah, come down for just a moment. Okay. A couple of things couple of things. If you're not getting the feet up off the floor. One one thing that I've been working with across the board kind of is just um. Like breaking up the the stagnancy or the stiffness of it all, um, in, in different shapes and in different circumstances.

So, what I mean by that is? Um, the way I've been working on that in Crow is, like, instead of instead of just trying to hold it really, really still, and you're like, oh, one foot, I don't know if I can get my feet, try instead to make it a moving practice.

So like, for example, you could move forward and lift your foot and move back. You could be inhaling and exhaling As you move forward and back and just try to get it like a little bit more. A little bit more Dynamic, because then you'll then you'll be more. Resilient and responsive when you are balancing, and then you'll be able to like rebalance with your hands a little bit easier like that.

Now, if? If you're very very, I didn't mean to. I'm like, if you're good at crow pose. But if Crow is very confident and comfortable for you, then here's the next little step to try. So, imagine look, it's not going to happen even when I demonstrate it, even when I demonstrate it's not going to happen.

But but I'm, I'm imagining that I'm trying to lift my knees off my arms now, so what that looks like is just. It's subtle, but you can see the moment where I imagine I'm trying to lift my knees up. They're not lifting, obviously. But, but you can see how the whole shape is like suctioning up towards the ceiling.

And then, if you wanted to lift up into a handstand, you can okay. Okay, so give one of those things a try either. You're kind of like moving forward and back one foot at a time, or if you're coming up into it with both feet on the off the floor, then try.

Imagining that you're going to lift the knees off the backs of the upper arms. Maybe, and maybe you can do it, yes?

That's the sound it makes. Yeah, that's I. I always do sound effects. That's it!

Oh great, yeah. To get your center of balance, yeah, and you can feel you can sort of feel that inner sort of lift thing happening. So, so from inside, I'm imagining lifting the the knees off the arms, even though they're not lifting. It's, I'm thinking about it, and then that pulls the whole shape more up.

And then, eventually, you can turn it into a handstand all right. Yeah, yeah, all right. Okay. If you want a few more moments to experiment with that, you can take all the time you want otherwise. We're coming into downward dog. I know, sometimes it feels like. Sometimes, it feels like the teachers moving on right at the moment when you're about to have a personal breakthrough.

So, I want you to know that if you need extra time in something, if that's happening, you take the extra time, even if it means you're gonna catch up with us later. It's all right, okay? Inhale step the right foot forward between the hands. Exhale lower the left knee down inhale.

Reach the arms up. Exhale hands to prayer. Twist to the right side. Hook the left upper arm outside of the right leg. From there, tuck the left toes under. Lift the left knee up away from the floor for one. Two good three? Yeah, try to move the chest closer to the thumbs and the thumbs closer to the chest four.

Live with your inhale both hands to the floor. Step into your seated spinal twist, left knee crosses behind the right foot. Come to sit down, inhale left arm reaches up. Exhale. Twist to the right side. Look all the way over the right shoulder. And breathe. To try to soften both shoulders down the back, lift the center of the chest up good.

With your inhale turn to face forward exhale counter twist. Inhale, turn, face forward. Stock up the legs for ankle to knee Flex out through both feet. Inhale, exhale, fold forward one. Yeah, if you're not crawl if you're not, uh, able to cross the legs like that, you could always put the right leg in front.

Flexing both feet.

Okay, lift all the way upright to a seated position, bend the knees, and set the feet onto the floor in front of you feet together knees together, one hand behind each of your knees. Come up onto your tippy toes, skin of the tips of the tiptoes pull with your hands to pull your chest forward and up.

Feel how that draws the lower abdomen in and up feet, uh, feet to the height of the knees. You can stay here or arms parallel to the floor. You can stay here, or you can work on straightening the legs in a boat to, yeah, lift the chest more three.

Good four and then feet to the floor. Okay, let's transition on to standing on our shins, so just transition yourself forward. That's it, you could. You might experiment with having blocks under the hands or not. For the next part, I have my hands next to my knees. So? Sort of similar to those, um, well, sort of similar to those Pike positions we were doing earlier.

The shoulders are going to come a little bit forward, and then I'm going to press into my hands, and I'm going to try to lift my shins off the floor, my shins, and my feet off the floor. Yeah, try hover. Get your toes. Yes, that's it. That's it. And put them down good.

Do that a couple of times. Oh, yes. You can use blocks. Yes, I find blocks gives a little extra boost.

It's everything kind of. It's kind of everything. That happens a lot where people are like, what muscle are you using in handstand? And I'm like every single one of them, and even some I didn't know I had. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And then, if you want to push up to handstand from here, you can.

Okay, let's press back to downward facing dog.

Good step. The left foot forward between the hands lower the right knee down inhale reach the arms up. Exhale hands to prayer. Twist to the left side. Good option. Now to tuck the right toes under lift the right knee up, extending the right leg one. Good lift and spread the collarbones.

Even pull this back a little bit more. Yeah. Good, both hands touch down. Cross the right knee behind the left foot, coming to sit down, preparing for seated spinal twist. Inhale right arm reaches up. Exhale. Twist to the left side. Yeah, beautiful. To sitting up nice and Tall, pressing the left foot down.

Good inhale turn to face forward. Exhale to counter twist. Inhale, turn to face forward, stacking up the legs for ankle to knee or some other variation of ankle to knee Flex out through both feet and fold forward, yes. That's good. I know I can see everybody's excitement when we move into ankletone.

It's like. All good, all good. Also, mine changes seasonally. Like, as soon as I'm riding my bike again, my hips get a little tighter, no tighter tighter. Yeah, for sure. Okay, lift all the way upright to a seated position feet on the floor in front of you. Come up onto the tippy tip.

Tip toes now, uh, have one of your blocks handy. Pull the chest forward and up. Stay really as far forward on your sitting bones as you can feet off the floor. Pick up your block, hold your block in both hands. Right side Center left side Center go as slow or as fast as you want.

Slower gives me more opportunity for awareness so I can really like feel what's going on in every moment. Fast, of course, is faster. Yeah.

Okay, once you've done the right side and the left side equally, then rest for a moment. All right. So, we're going to transition forward onto our toes next, and I'm going to put a block. On the lowest setting now. You could technically have the block either skinny or wide, like this, and where it's almost like a crow pose kind of a situation, except I'm gonna practice like hopping from side to side, so I'm gonna practice hopping both feet to the right side of the block.

And hopping both feet to the left side of the block, and I could even skip that middle part and just practice hopping over the block, and again, we're practicing. We're kind of practicing all this, like core lift, lifty stuff. So try, that's the technical term. That's the Sanskrit, uh, term, actually.

So, think of making it. Yeah, progressively like lighter and lighter. This would turn into maybe some, like floating movements eventually. Yeah, nice.

Yeah. All right, and when you're over it. Rest.

Good, okay? Put the block aside. Child's pose.

Oh, okay.

Okay. Uh, setting up now for. Setting up now. For inversion practice, you can. You can take a forearm stand or headstand. Let's get off our hands now since we've spent a lot of time on the hands if you really need to do some more handstanding. It's okay, but Forum standard headstand.

To spend a little bit more time upside down. Yeah, of course, you can, yeah. You got it?

Nice.

Good. Yeah, that's it. Keep the lifted legs straighter. Keep this leg as straight as you can. That's it. And then swing that straight leg up. I know, it's like a coordination thing. Yeah, yeah, swing the the upper leg, the lifted leg, but keep it as straight as you can.

Okay, yeah.

Yeah. That's it. Good, good. Good, good. Good.

What happens in that standard? Take your head off, though, it's fun. You could take your head off, and then you could even flatten your hands and turn it into a forearm stand if you wanted as a transition. Yeah. And just see. In other words, you can have fun with it.

There's no fun in yoga. There is. There's no crying in baseball, and there's no fun in yoga. Your next Workshop will be everything from every post into a handstand exactly. Okay. So again, if you're still having fun with it, you can have a little more time if you want to otherwise.

Uh, start to make your way out of it, you can come back to the middle. And come into your downward facing dog.

Okay, downward facing dog.

Good. Come forward into a plank lower all the way to the abdomen arms alongside the body palms of hands facing up to the ceiling, legs, and feet together. Inhale, lift up. That's it!

And exhale release on. Yeah. Bend the knees, reach back, catch hold of the ankles with your inhale, lift up head, chest, and knees.

And slowly release on down.

Again, bend both knees, reach back, catch hold of the ankles. Second time inhale. Lift up.

Exhale release on down.

You know? We have time. We have lots of time actually. Um, so, um? What I would love to do is I would love for everyone to move over to a wall space. Short edge of the mat to the wall. You can thank Anna Maria for what we're about to do next.

Per Anna Marie's request. No, I put you on the spot. It's not fair, all right. Find a little space at the wall short edge of them out to the wall. Start. Start standing on your knees. Oh yeah, plenty of space. Come on. Yeah, plenty of space. We got space.

We got space. We got space. We got nothing but space.

Okay, we're going to start facing the walls standing on your knees. Oh yeah. All good. So much space. Oh yeah, you can also be like against that little sticky-outy pillar. Okay, standing on your knees facing the wall. And then. Walk all the way up against the wall so that the hips can touch the wall hands on your waist.

Imagine you want to push the pubic bones slightly more into the wall, so you hook the tailbone under? Hello, wall! Lift the chest, lengthen the front of the body, start to Arch back. See if you can reach your feet or your ankles, but the idea being that you keep the hips moving forward against the wall.

Keep the pubic bone at least, even if it comes away a little bit. You're still reaching it as if you want it to continue touching the wall. Yes. Yes, hips moving forward, forward, forward forward. And then you can lift up any handset. Just kidding. Live straight up. And from here come into handstand and from there come into handstand and from this coming in.

Okay, I'm kidding. Okay, turn around to face the center of the room, so you're still going to be standing on your knees? But you're going to be facing away from the wall now. Can you with one hand? I want you to be able to reach back and like, barely graze barely the wall with your middle finger, so you saw my first reach, I was.

I was even a little too close, so I'm going to move even further so that I just barely barely barely touch. Okay, good, and then turn to face forward. Yeah, hands on your waist. Too. Too much. Okay, take it easy. All right now that we know how intense it is.

Let's do it again. Don't worry, there will be a shavasana. There will be a generous shavasana. Okay, so arms reach up. Look back behind you, palms of the hands to the wall palms of the hands to the wall, try to straighten the arms, and then see if you could walk the hands down just a little bit further towards the floor and then straighten the arms again.

Push push into the wall. That's it! Okay, lift up. Lift up! All right. Lay down on your back with your head at the wall and your feet going towards the center. Yeah, so. Scoot scoot up close to the wall so that literally your head is all the way touching the wall.

Yeah. Place the hands on the floor with the wrists all the way up against the wall, so palms of hands are on the floor and then the crease of the wrist. Yeah, is all the way up against the wall forearms at the wall. Feed a little wider. Push down into the feet feet on the floor.

Yeah, that would be a trick. Lift up full wheel! Stay there. Yeah, push your nose closer to the wall. Push your nose closer to the wall. Try to reach the tip of the nose. Almost to touch the wall. Maybe you can touch the tip of the nose to the wall?

Yeah.

Okay, chin to the chest, slowly release down.

Can I? Hmm.

Can I borrow you? Can, can everybody come up to stand without a lot of knees to the chest business? Like, try not to hug your knees in your chest, but come up to stand. And then come all the way over here. And can we use? Can we use your map?

Hi, can you start the same way that we just did so head on the floor? And then. Head all the way up against the wall. Okay? Hang on, don't do it yet. Okay, so the next the next bit? Never mind, we're gonna do it. We're just gonna show. Okay, so start just by lifting up into your wheel at first.

Go ahead, lift up now. Optionally, you stay here. Five breaths come down, no problem. Otherwise, optionally, step one hand to the wall two hands to the wall. Leave them there, both hands to the wall, and then push the arms straight pause. Walk the hands, one more step up. And then stop there straighten.

Walk the hands one more step pause there and straighten now! If she's going to lift all the way up, go ahead, lift up. She can do it without me. Yeah, if you're gonna lift all the way up. Keep your feet exactly where they are, don't like, oh my gosh, I did it.

Well, incredible, right, because where your feet ended up is where they need to be to come back down and then the coming back. So, both coming up and coming down. I often see people kind of scrambling up and down the wall, so I really insist on. I think the best practice that I've experienced is to really pause at each step and straighten the arms.

What that looks like going? The other way is, she's going to reach the arms up. She's going to press the hips really, really forward, just like we practiced in camel. She's going to find the wall with her hands. Pause. Push the wall. Take one, even step down. Pause, push.

One step pause push instead of like? Crawling up and crawling down right. Those pauses are really, really helpful in in learning to do it. Go ahead. Yeah. As many steps as it take, it might take some of us 20 steps. It might take some of us two steps, right?

Okay, chin to the chest slowly release down. Get slippery. If not, if you're pushing the wall. Yeah, now if you're pushing enough with your hands, it shouldn't. But, you know, give the hands a wipe off just in case. So, and if the more experienced you are the less steps.

So if if you took sort of four steps, maybe decrease it to two steps. Try to do it in one step like that. Okay, so lay down, I know. Lay down with your head against. Well, remember, you can. You can, of course, do a wheel and come down and not try this thing.

You don't, uh, no pressure. Help a breakfast. It'll be it'll be where your wheel needs to be. So, whatever is good for your wheel? Yeah. Feet a little wider, though, and then hands to the floor. Yeah, or you can start on the baseboard actually. It might actually be better.

Yeah, okay, go ahead, lift. If you're trying the stand-up thing? Get your type five together. No, if you're trying to stand up two hands to the wall, straighten both arms. Thank you! I'll be here all night. Oh no, you're right. Yes, and then hips forward to stand up hips forward to stand up.

That's it. Come on. Come on. Okay, reach the arms up. You might as well, all right, good. Find the wall push with your hands. Yes, find the wall push with your hands. Okay, hips forward. Hips forward hips forward. Yes, hands to the floor. Amazing. Yes. I stumbled a little bit.

That's okay. It's all part of the process. Yeah. Okay. All right. Come on down. Yeah, hug the knees in. Just remember to, uh, remember, you can thank Anna Maria for that, you know?

Okay. Yeah, when you're finished, hug the knees in. Whoop! Yes, nice. Nice work.

Yeah. Yeah. It's scary. Yeah, it's scary. That's, that's one component. I mean, not only is. I've always found back bending to be very challenging from a physical standpoint, but it's also. Mentally and emotionally challenging. There's a lot of fear in. Going backwards. There's a lot of fear in being vulnerable.

You know, yeah, in these positions, right? Hug the knees in, okay. Bring the knees over to the left side of the body as you look to the right.

Bring the knees into the chest. And go the other way. Johnson Johnson. Love us. And bring the knees all the way up to the center. Come on up to a seated position, sit upright, straighten the legs forward out in front of you, Flex the feet, and fold forward poshumo tanasana one.

Could lift all the way up right to a seated position. Now you could, you could spin around and put your legs up the wall for a Vipery to karani, or if you want to finish your practice with shoulder stand, then just make sure that you're setting up with enough room behind you to go into plow at the end and all that.

So, if you're not sure, all of what I just said, if you're not sure how to get started or what to do, let me know, and we'll, uh, we'll figure it out together. Legs up the wall or shoulder stand. Yeah. We'll have a couple examples going in a minute.

There we go.

I have this memory of being in teacher training. And. My teacher, Sharon Gannon, was teaching us. Um, according to Krishnavacharya, one of the one of the greats of, you know, classical, uh, yoga? You know, was asked. Like, kind of, you know, what are the qualifications for being a yoga teacher?

Like, what do you? What do you need to qualify yourself to be a yoga teacher and one of them is like? You know, have a teacher in a lineage that actually, you know, acknowledges you as their student as well. Um, so you have a teacher. You have a lineage and then.

He also says You must have a sincere liking of people and in the moment. This was like 20 years ago. In the moment, I was like, well, I'm disqualified. Um, and I wasn't sure for a long time if I sort of like even met that qualification, and I've thought about it many, many times over the years.

And what's fascinating is that, like, through the practice of teaching and through the practices of yoga themselves, I it has it has come about, right? That sincere liking of people has percolated from from within, from my interactions from teaching people, you know, same with singing. Like, sometimes sometimes I in the past, I didn't always get the bhakti thing.

I didn't always get the like singing to Baby Krishna thing, um? But it's, it's amazing how? Even if you feel unsure about it or neutral about it or doubt, have doubts about it. Something about just singing itself brings about this beautiful mood inside you don't, even you don't have to force it.

You don't have to fake it just the singing itself, sort of brings about that sweetness that tenderness. And that sort of heart opening, if you will. That expansion. Vulnerability.

Even. You know, even those of us who you know have have gone through tough things and and been? Uh, hurt in our lives, right? Um. You know, the the remedy the healing happens in? Our other relationships, right? The healing, uh, comes through our other connections and through.

Our support system, right? Even though it feel you know, it feels tempting when those hard things happen to isolate or to pull back or to shut down to protect ourselves. Let's see, that's going.

If you're in shoulder stand? Come through. Plow and fish. So, halasana feet behind the head? Matziasana crown of the head to the floor about 10 breaths each.

And then everybody, gradually making your way. Towards shavasana, as promised as advertised.

Started to deepen the breath.

Start to bring some movement into the body.

Gather up the knees, roll to the right hand side. Come on up to a seated position.

Sit up nice and tall. Starting at the crown of the head scanning through the body all the way to the seat. Try to relax any tension or gripping any place you might still be holding on to energy. Relax, the face, the jaw shoulders.

Belly.

Feel the breath moving in the body.

Feeling each time there's inhaling each time. There's exhaling, just stay with the feeling of it.

Thank you all so much for making time for practice and for all of your hard work and your sense of humor and your sense of adventure today. Isn't that funny? I always feel like at the end if everybody's like, really. Vocally in tune. I'm like, it worked. The yoga worked.

But it is. It is sort of interesting how our how our voices can all kind of come together in a really beautiful way after we've. Breathed and stretched and spent this time together, you know? All right, thanks. If you have any questions about today's class or something specific about your yoga practice, let me know.

If not, we'll see you next time. The Friday morning class at, uh, the 10 o'clock Friday morning class is for now. The community class, which means it's 14 to drop in in person, so if you're around, if you have, you know, friends who are? Like students, or, you know, social workers, or like whatever, and need a little need a little extra yoga?