Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / Morning Yoga for Balance, Focus & Energy | Tree Pose + Warrior III
Transcript
- James @ Daily Flow: Hello friends. Thanks for downloading the audio version of today's 10 minute mornings practice. The YouTube video is linked in the show notes. And if you're staying with just the audio, don't worry about doing it right. Just move and breathe in a way that feels honest. That's enough. a follow or review goes a long way. And of course, you're always welcome to practice live with me on YouTube, 8 a.m. weekdays. James: 10 minutes for energy, balance, and clarity to start our day together. Hello friends, welcome to your Daily Flow 10-Minute Mornings practice. My name is James. And don't forget to practice all the way to the end because we'll draw a card to set our intention together for the day. Step your feet together, firmly rooting down. Energize the feet like you're trying to tear the mat apart gently. And then think about spiraling your thighs inward toward each other. then from your shoulders, from your biceps, rotate your arms open. Feel that nestling together into your back body. Firm the feet even more. Lifting up. Inhaling. Exhaling. And now, flex the arms overhead. Exhale, bow. So now bring your hands to your shins and then step the left foot back. Lower the left knee down onto the mat. Untuck the left toes and as always press down the left foot just enough to lift the knee and then settle it down calmly. Float the arms. Feel a sense of deepening your lunge as you energize down into the floor and then lifting up through the seat. Inhale. Exhale, bring the left hand to the floor beside you. Right arm goes high to sky, nice low revolved lunge. Maybe you bend the left knee and swing the right hand back to capture the left foot. It is early day, so that's too much, don't worry about it. Take a breath, inhaling. Exhaling, release that, and then start to straighten through the right leg, coming to a half split. Flex the right foot. You can stay pretty upright like I am, especially since we're just getting started. Take another inhale. And exhale. And then go ahead, slide the right foot forward and then tuck the left knee in behind the right ankle. Sitting up for a seated spinal twist. Float the arms. And I'm just gonna hook my left elbow around my right knee. Right hand is behind, like a kick, stand, inhale. Exhale. Release the twist, bring your hands back to frame that right foot and see if you can float the left foot and bring the feet together to forward fold. Inhale, long spine. Exhale, bow deeply. Root down, rise up, inhale. And then right away, bow forward on your exhale. Long spine, step the right foot back, release the right knee down. Again, little pressing down in the top with the right foot to pick up the right knee and then settle it calmly, energizing down into those points of contact with the mat, float the arms. The more you energize into the floor, the more you can open up into the hip space and lift up through the ribs. Inhale, keeping all of that good length, set the right hand on the floor, left arm high to sky. And then maybe bend the right knee and swim the left hand back to capture the right foot. tapping the right shoulder blade under, take a breath. And then let's find that half split. Release all of that, straighten the left leg, flex the left foot. So the left toes are traveling towards you, which opens up into the calf as well as the hamstring. Breathe. And as I shift forward, bring the left foot more or less to the center of the mat, and then crossing the right knee behind to have a seat. Proceeded spinal twist. Find your sits bones first, float the arms, and then sending the right arm forward, wrapping the right elbow around the left knee, left hand nice and close. Sit up tall and haling. Exhale, wrap that right shoulder blade under. Release the twist. Again, start to shift your weight forward now to that left foot. Hands come to frame it. Pick up the right foot and set them together. Find a flat back. Bow deeply, roots to rise, inhale. And then fold forward on an exhale. We're gonna dial that up just a little bit. Inhale, lengthen. And then step the left foot back. This time, keep the left knee lifted. Come up to a high lunge. Inhale, lengthen. Same rules apply, firm the feet in order to deepen your expression of the posture and feel the ribs lifting from beneath. Now as we come into a twist, send the left arm forward and the right arm back in an airplane style twist, T-shaped twist, wrap that left elbow under. Take your breath. And floating the arms up, straighten the right leg, spiral the left foot down, and then come into your pyramid pose, pulling your heart forward. as you fold over the energy of that straight right leg. Taking your breath. We're to come to warrior three. Shift your weight forward. Look forward. Press down into the ball of the right foot. Engage the right leg. Internally rotate the thighs. Everything spiraling together. Take your breath. Then come to stand. Mountain pose. It's a lot. Feel your feet on the floor. Float your arms. Bow forward. long spine, step the right foot back, keep the knee lifted, then rise up to your high lunge. Energy down into the feet. Engagement of the right quad helps bend the left knee more. Wrap those shoulder blades under. Take your breath. Then the left arm travels back and the right arm forward. Wrap the right shoulder blade under. Thighs are spiraling internally here as well. And then straighten the left leg, release the twist, bring the right foot on firmly onto the floor. Send your heart forward for your pyramid. Take your time. Feel free to put something under your hands or rest your hands lightly on the calf. Don't need pressure on it though. Cause then suddenly you're putting pressure on the knee. So lots of energy in the feet. And now as you put your attention on the ball mound of the left foot, look forward. Think about everything rotating in, because that will square and level the hips, which actually levels your center of gravity. And then maybe you float the arms, everything energized. Come to stand, mountain pose. One more. We'll flow a little bit more. Dial it up a little bit more. Put your feet on the floor. Inhale, flow C arms. Exhale, bow deeply. Long spine, step the left foot back. Rise up to your high lunge. Left arm travels forward, right arm back. And then maybe left arm flips, keep that right knee traveling forward and then using this space in my left side body, lengthening into a twist, prayer twist this time. Hands come together. Maybe look up over the right shoulder. Inhale. Exhale and now releases the twist this time standing split so shift forward Energize down into the right foot float the left leg still internally rotating to keep the hips nice and square Staying rooted in that left foot Sorry in that right foot. I'm gonna come all the way to stand for a tree pose So look at the floor steady your gaze bring the left knee up And then left foot find somewhere inside the right You even have the ball of the foot on the floor, remember, still internally rotating on that right, pressing together firmly. Stay here if you'd like, or float the left knee, left piece of fingers, left big toe. Breathe and maybe lengthen. Remember, I'm not reaching for the foot. I'm pulling the leg into the hip socket and then maybe open out to the side. Steady your gaze, steady your breath. And then whether you're in tree or hand to big toe, release all of it. Set the left foot down. Energize those fingertips up. Look up, inhale. Exhale, bow. Inhale for your long spine. Step the right foot back, runner's lunge. Rise up, high lunge. Lots of energy in the feet. Right arm goes forward, left arm goes back, and flip that right palm. We're doing this in service of opening up the front of the body. So take your breath and then think about keeping that length as you send the right arm forward to hook it outside the right thigh. Hands to prayer. Lengthen the spine. Inhaling. Exhaling. Inhale releases the twist and think about come shifting forward as you float the right leg, hide a sky standing split. Breathe. Keeping that firmness in the instep of the left foot, strength of the left leg rise all the way up for your tree, finding the right foot somewhere inside the left leg. You notice I wobbled a little bit and I wobbled because I came to the outside of that left foot. So as long as they stay rooted in that internal connection, I feel very steady. So maybe you stay right here. Maybe you flip the right knee. Right piece of fingers, find the right big toe. Remember the length of your spine is more important than the length of your leg. So my back is nice and tall and the knee is bent. This is the pose. Or maybe I start to flex it forward. Maybe I start to lengthen, but I'm not rounding the back at all. And I'm pulling the thigh back into the hip socket. And then maybe opening out, finding a point of focus for my eyes, that drisdi, that gaze. Whether you're in tree, or you're in ⁓ hand to big toe, body gustasana, lower down with control. Float the arms. Mountain pose. Not easy. Take a moment and we'll draw our card for the day. Coming to sit if you'd like or standing in quiet meditation. Just looking for whatever will help us anchor our day. Let's pick this one. He's in hero's pose like me. Meditation, daily contemplation reveals the nature of consciousness. Daily contemplation reveals the nature of consciousness. To find the nature of consciousness, first you have to be conscious. So together we set our intention, maybe for a little extra meditation time today, but definitely. to look for moments to be still and quiet. that's meaningful to you, I invite you to keep it, carry it through your day. Otherwise, forget I said anything. gathering hands to heart center. The light that is in me bows to, recognizes, and is very grateful for the light that is in you. Namaste. Thank you so much for spending this time with me. course, as always, be sure to like and follow and subscribe and share and all the things and leave comments that will help us grow our community together in a way that is organic. Help the people who might appreciate us find us. Have a wonderful day. Thank you for spending this part of it with me. Namaste.