Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / Friday Flow for Strength, Twists & Bound Triangle
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: In 10 minutes, you will feel more grounded, stronger, more flexible, and ready to flow into whatever the day and the weekend might hold. Hello, friends. Welcome to your daily flow 10 minute mornings practice. My name is James. And on Fridays, we flow. And we also draw a card to set intention for the day and for the long weekend ahead. But that's at the end. Step your feet together. Coming to your mountain pose, give your shoulders a nice shrug up and back and down. Big external rotation of those biceps. Open up your heart. Now energize your feet. Feel that strength rising up through your legs, through the long bones, all the way up through your spine. Inhale. Exhale. Interlace your fingers in front of your chest. Flip your palms inside out, press them forward. Drop the shoulders, separate the shoulder blades and find that cat back. Feel the front of your navel scooping up and back. Inhale. Exhale. And now floats the arms up to the ceiling, nice and long through that waist. Lean to your right. The heel of the left palm is pressing up and over. Look underneath your left arm. Inhale. Exhale. And now rise through center. And then go the other way. The heel of the right palm leads up and over. Look underneath your right arm. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, rise, separate your hands. Exhale, big swan dive, bow forward. Find a flat back. Bow deeply. A little bend in your knees is fine, and then press down to rise up, inhaling. And then right away, fold forward again on an exhale, just getting a little bit of flow going. Inhale, hands to shins lengthen. Exhale, bow. Press down, rise up, inhale. And then last time, fold forward on an exhale. Inhale for a long spine and then plant your palms and step back to your plank position top of a push-up. Inhale. Exhale, lower your knees, your chest and your chin. Cobra pose, inhale. dog. Exhale. Take a second here and pedal out your heels, shake out your head. Find this first down dog of the day. Really feel the backbending at all. So your fingertips are energized. Your quads are gently lifting and engaged in your heart is traveling back towards your thighs. Look up at your navel. Inhale. Exhale. Step the right foot forward. Come up to a warrior one. spiraling that left heel down. Wrap the left shoulder blade under. Energize the fingertips, biceps travel alongside the ears. The feet are strong, the legs are strong, the heart is open. Inhale. Exhale, start to shift your weight forward. Look forward. We're coming to a Warrior III. Press down, rise up. Feel the energy in the instep of your right foot. Inhaling. And then step back, Warrior II. Exhaling. Flip the right palm piece forward here, inhale. Extended side angle pose, reach that right arm forward. Right hand comes to the outside of the right foot, or you can bring it to a block or your elbow to the thigh. Now wrap that right hip under, lean back, up, inhaling. exhaling, straighten the right leg, triangle pose, maybe you grab that big toe on the way. I'm in a half bind here with my left hand behind. You don't have to be. Look up, inhale. Exhale, re-bend that right knee. I'm gonna untangle my arm now. Rise up, parallel your feet, inhaling. Exhale, wide leg, forward fold. Looping your peace fingers around your big toes if that's available, lengthen your spine, and then bend the elbows 90 degrees. Now if that feels like it's not gonna happen, you can hold opposite elbows instead. The point is to have some traction to lengthen your back body as you lift. up through the hips, but keep that tailbone a little bit tucked to protect the hamstring. Inhale. Exhale. And then release all of that. Walk yourself forward so that hands frame the right foot. Lift the back heel. So now you're in a runner's lunge. And let's just take an easy twist here, right arm to the ceiling. Energize that left hand down. and exhale, bring the right hand down again. Step the right foot back, inhaling. Exhale, lower knees, chest and chin. Cobra pose. Downward dog. Again, take a second, feel your down dog opening up the heart, energizing the fingertips. Breathe. And set the left foot all the way forward. Spiral the right heel down. Now, that left foot doesn't make it. Just noodle it up. Wrap the right shoulder blade under. Biceps alongside the ears. The left knee is traveling forward. The fingertips are traveling back. Both feet are super engaged. Inhale. Exhale, start to shift your weight forward, forward, forward. It is the forward and the down that makes the shape, even though it looks like a lifting up. Moving forward and pushing down. Inhale, and then warrior two, big step back. Peaceful warrior. Again, I'm taking that half bind, wrapping the right hand behind. If that's not happening, don't worry about it. If you have it, use that right forearm to lengthen the low back. Inhale. Exhale, extended side angle. Left arm goes as far forward as you can. And then the hand can come to the floor or the elbow to the thigh. Wrap that left hip under, lean back, look up, inhaling. And we're coming to triangle. Maybe you left piece fingers, grab that left big toe on the way. Leaning back, look up, inhale. Exhale, re-bend the left knee, Warrior II. Untangle the arms and then Flying Warrior, parallel feet. Wide-legged Forward Fold, nice big bow. Maybe this time the hands walk back off the mat and you get the head a little closer to the floor, lifting up the hips, energizing the feet, softening the neck. Inhale. Exhale. And then root down. Walk your hands forward to frame the left foot. Runner's lunge, left arm high to sky, lower revolve lunge. Look up at the left hand. Feel the belly peeling away from the left thigh. Exhale, switch that left hand down. Inhale, step back to plank. Exhale, knees chest in. Maybe a higher cobra. Downward dog. from here, inhale, exhale, bend the knees, look forward, step or float to the top of your mat. Long spine, bow deeply, roots to rise, mountain pose. We'll do that all one more time, but much quicker. Be in the flow of it, and if you screw up, nobody cares. You might, but nobody else. Feel your feet on the floor. Inhaled, the arms. I'm going to get to practice detachment by not carrying, fall forward, find a long spine. This time I'm going to float back to a Chaturanga. facing dog. Downward facing dog. Right foot steps boldly forward, rise up Warrior One. Shift forward Warrior Three. Open out Warrior Two. Whoa, Peaceful Warrior. Extended side angle maybe. You wrap the right forearm under, right arm underneath and take a full bind. Careful of that right hip though. Maybe straighten the right leg for bound triangle pose. Look up. Take your breath. Release all of that warrior too. Flying warrior, parallel feet, wide legged forward fold. This will be a little different. Find a flat back, then come to skandhasana. Bend the left knee deeply. Make sure that left heel stays on the floor. Look forward on it, inhale. Hands frame the right foot, and then right arm goes up to the seat. Sweep that hand down, float the right foot back. Take your vinyasa. Skip it if you'd rather. Down Dog, we'll do the other side. Step that left foot forward. Rise up, Warrior One. Exhale, Warrior Three. Step back, Warrior Two. Peaceful Warrior. Extended side angle, maybe with your bind, if you have to stick your butt out to hold your own hand, I wouldn't do it. Energize that left foot. Triangle or Bound Triangle. It's a big deep twist. Untangle all of that warrior to flying warrior. Wide legged forward fold. Long spine, skandhasana, right knee bends. Look forward at that left foot. Hands come to frame it and then the left arm goes to the ceiling. Sweep the left hand down. Take your vinyasa. facing. Downward facing dog. Bend the knees, look forward, step or float. Top of mat, flat back. Bow deeply. Root to rise. Mountain pose. How you feeling? So as always, we end our practice with just a moment. So come to sit. And as I shuffle the cards, looking for how we should step into the day, how we should step into this long weekend. Let's see what we got. take this one. illustration is Bridge Poet. Oneness, universal consciousness, infinite manifestations. We end our practice in the West with namaste. It's actually a greeting in Hindu speaking countries, but ⁓ for us in the West practicing vinyasa yoga, we tend to end the class with it. And I always say, the light that is in me bows to honors and is very grateful for the light that is in you. And one of my teachers often adds, and I sometimes add, When I'm in that space in me and you're in that space in you, we are one. Any separation is created by our mind. any distinction, that there is any difference between me, you, the sofa, the card, our pets, the trees, the plants. Any idea of separation that we have is a human invention. It's an egoic invention. So maybe today we look for and try to connect with that light. start with somebody easy, maybe work your way up to a couch. me know how it goes. And with that, the light that is in me bows to, honors, and is very grateful for the light that is in you when I am in that space in me and you are in that space in you. We are one. Namaste. Thank you as always for spending this bit of time with me. Please take a moment to like and subscribe and leave comments, ask questions. Let me know if there are special things you'd like to work on, maybe special postures that are challenging for you, if we can get to them in 10 minutes, even if we can't. Have a wonderful day, a great weekend. I'll see you next week. Namaste.