Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / 10-Minute Morning Yoga: Balance, Half Moon & Steady Attention
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. In 10 minutes, you'll be ready to step boldly, deliberately, energetically into the day ahead. Hello friends. Welcome to this Daily Flow 10-Minute Mornings practice. My name is James, and on Fridays, we flow. Come to stand at the top of your mat. Putting everything together from the week ⁓ that we're completing, start by planting your feet firmly. If it's comfortable for you, have your big toes touching, energize down into all four corners of your feet, lift your toes. Set them down one at a time. Put your attention in what supports you. Put your attention where it serves you currently in this moment, in the energy of my feet pressing down. That allows me to engage my legs, to lift my heart. Little drop of the tailbone. Arms by your side, rotate from the bicep, open up your arms. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, just float the arms overhead. And then bring the hands to heart center. Do that twice more. Inhale, float the arms. Exhale to heart center. Can you get a little longer, a little more energy in the fingertips? Inhale. Exhale. We add on, keep the feet firm. Inhale, flex the arms. Exhale, bow forward. Inhale, hands to shins. Exhale, fold. And then root to rise, keep pressing down on those feet. My attention is mostly on my feet, even though other stuff is moving. Inhale, float the arms. Exhale, bow. In fact, my attention is on my feet because other stuff is moving. Flat back. Bow deeply. Reverse your swan dive rise up. Hands to heart center. We keep adding on and now let's see arms. Exhale, fold. Inhale, long spine. Exhale, step the left foot back. Step the right foot back, plank position, top of a pushup. Energize into the fingertips. Feel every point of contact you have with the mat. From the fingertips to the balls of the feet is engaged. Inhale, exhale, lower your knees, your chest and your chin. Baby Cobra, press the belly down. Pull the heart forward. Tuck the toes, Downward Facing Dog. Little pedal out of the heels. Shake out the head. Find your Down Dog, reminding yourself to energize into the finger pads. Feel the quadriceps engaged, pulling weight back into the feet. Inhale rolls you forward to Plank. Exhale, lower your knees, your chest and your chin. Maybe a slightly higher Cobra this time. Downward Facing Dog. We flow that again, inhale, forward, exhale, knees, chest, Exhale down dog. Lift your right leg high to sky. Actively flex the right foot, let it pull you back. Now put your attention on the ball of the left foot. That left leg is your power center. So engage the left leg to bring the right knee to the nose. Down dog split. This time step that right foot all the way forward, still focused on the strength of the left leg, so the right foot has an easier time getting there. And then come up to your warrior one. Bend the right knee deeply. You might bring your hands to prayer overhead. Energize the pinky edge of the left foot. Inhale. Exhale, open out, warrior two. Inhale, straighten to the right leg. Take that triangle pose, left hip back, right arm forward. Look up at the left hand, inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Warrior II. Exhale, inhale. Set up your goddess stance. So float the arms, pivot the feet, heels pointed. Come to your goddess. This is gonna be different than we've done. Take the left hand down to the left foot. Reach the right fingertips over your right ear. Opening up those right ribs. Take a breath. And then. come other side, right hand comes down, left fingertips reach over. Try to keep the feet evenly energized and square. Take your breath this time, sweep the left hand down to the floor, parallel your feet, find a long spine. Bow deeply. Find a long spine, skandhasana bends the left knee. Inhale. Warrior two, push off that left foot. Warrior one. This time shift your weight forward into the ball of the right foot. Find that warrior three. Push down into the ball of the right foot, engage the right leg. Tree pose, remember, put your attention on what is supporting you. Put your attention on what is working as the right leg. Take your breath. Now, can we turn this into half moon pose? Focus on the ball of the right foot. Start to open that left hip back. Send the right hand down to the floor. Open out. Inhale. Exhale, Warrior II. How'd you do? It's okay if you're wobbly. I was a little wobbly too. So take your breath here. Now cartwheel hands down to frame that right foot. Step the right foot back, plank position, inhale. Exhale, maybe Chaturanga this time. Bend the elbows in half. Stay engaged in your abdominals. Roll over your toes. Upward facing dog. Thighs hover. And then downward facing dog. That was a lot. That's a lot for first thing in the morning. So come back to your breath, pedal out your heels. Remind yourself that all of this is in service simply of deepening our connection to the floor, to what is stable. Left leg high to sky. Actively flex the left foot. Now put your attention on the ball mound of the right foot. Engage the right leg. Inhale. Use the right leg to bring the left knee to your nose. Down Dog Split. Use the right leg to step the left foot all the way forward. Runner's lunge, Warrior I. Left knee is deeply bent, maybe hands to prayer overhead. If that's too much, her if your shoulders feel tight first thing in the morning, they can be apart or at your chest even. Look up, inhale. Exhale, Warrior II. Straighten the left leg. Triangle pose, right hip back, left arm forward. Feels really nice. Because my left thigh is rotating out, I feel a little stretch in the inner thigh. Feels good. Look up at the right hand, inhale. Exhale, Warrior II. Inhale. Set up that goddess stance. Heels rotate in. Float the arms. Cactus the elbows, thighs press out. Stay here. Reach the right hand for the instep of the right foot. Left fingertips reach up and over. Open up. Take your breath. Then rise through center, staying firm in the feet. Left hand comes down, right arm goes over. Take your breath. And then bring that right hand down, parallel your feet. Flat back, inhale. Exhale, bow. Sorry, you're just looking at my butt. Find your flat back, now skandhasana, bends the right knee. There I am, hi. Inhale. Warrior two as you exhale. Warrior one. Attention is on the ball mound of the left foot. That's my grounding. So I shift forward and I push down there. And that brings me up, setting up for my tree pose. Good. It's fine to wobble. It's fine to fall out of it, but then direct your attention not to the ego wanting to make the shape, but to the thing that's steady, left leg, left foot, and the breath. Now think ahead. coming to that half moon pose. So I'm engaging in the left leg, left foot, look down, start to open the right hip out. Send the right leg back, float again. If you fall, you fall. I certainly have fallen out of plenty of these sometimes during our practice here together. So take a breath and then lunar landing, warrior two, inhale. Cartwheel hands down to frame that left foot. Step the left foot back, inhale. Chaturanga or knees chest. Up dog or cobra. Downward facing dog. We're gonna flow all of that one time fairly quickly. One breath, one movement. Right leg high, inhale. Runner's lunge, exhale. Warrior two, inhale straightens the right leg. Exhale, triangle pose. Inhale, exhale, warrior two. Inhale, set up that goddess dance. Exhale, bend the elbows right away, send the left hand down, the right arm over. And then sweep the right hand down, come to your wide legged forward fold. Flat back, skandhasana, left knee. Inhale, exhale, warrior two. Inhale, warrior one. Move through your warrior three, come up with that left foot. And then when you feel established, open out to your half moon pose. And if it takes you a second to feel established, so be it. Lunar landing, warrior two. Inhale here. Exhale moves you through a vinyasa, maybe a three point chaturanga. Up. Down dog, last time, left leg up. Left foot forward. Warrior one. Warrior two. Straighten the left leg. Triangle. Exhale, warrior two. And now set up that goddess. Exhale. Send the right hand down, left arm over. And make a big circle with that left hand. Come to your wide legged forward fold, flat back. Gandhasana. Warrior two, almost there. Warrior one. Shift forward, press down to rise up. Find your tree. And then once you've found your tree, stay rooted in the left foot. Look down, that helps with balance. Unfurl to your half moon. Step back to your warrior two. Cartwheel hands, take your flow. Downward facing dog. Walk your hands back to your feet. Soften your knees. Roll yourself to stand one vertebra at a time. Apologize, I'm a minute over. So let's gather hands to heart center. Take this moment, this pause, and decide today where you will place your attention. What can you trust? What is stable? What is unmoving? Don't let this stuff moving around. be a distraction, it wants your attention. Put it on that, that serves. So that you can be of service. The light that is in me bows to honors and is so, grateful for the light that is in you. Namaste.