Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / 10-Minute Morning Yoga for Stiff Bodies
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: Still feeling stiff this morning, the next 10 minutes can make all the difference. Hello friends, welcome to your daily flow 10-minute mornings practice. My name is James, and of course practice till the end so that we can draw a card, set some intention, and ground that day together. And be sure to hit like and subscribe on your way out. Right, come to stand at the top of your mat. Planting your feet together, feel the firmness of your feet. Wrap your shoulders back. Externally rotate your biceps. As you energize down into the feet, feel that rise up through your legs. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale floats the arms overhead. Exhale, bring them to your side. That's it. Inhale, float the arms. Look up, reach up. Exhale, take the arms wide. One of those things we skip over a lot. So just getting the shoulders a little waking, a little awake. And then pause here in your ⁓ upward salute. Press down in the feet, lift the waist, find your little pelvic tilt. So the front of the pelvis scoops up, which means the tailbone drops down. And as you do that, maybe hands come to prayer. Continue from the feet. Start to find an easy backbend. Shoulder blades wrapping under, so it's like your shoulder blades are supporting your heart from behind. Inhale, exhale, fold forward this time. Hands don't have to come to the mat, just come forward. Hands to shins. Fold, press down to rise up. Inhale, find your gentle back bend, and then hands to your side. Do that again. Inhale, flips the arms. Exhale bell. Inhale, hands to shins. Exhale, bow. Inhale, press down, rise up. Find this easy. Back bend. Shoulder blades wrap under. Everything is engaged. Hands to the side. Let's add on. Inhale, floats the arms. Exhale, bow. Inhale long spine. I'd like to pause here just for a moment. Feel the length of your spine. Bend your knees and start to peel your stomach onto your thighs. So really feel like you're connecting. Very deliberately and then bring your hands to the mat. For some people you'll have to bend your knees a lot. For some people you won't so much. But the two things you're looking for, hands on mat, belly on thighs. Now relax your head. Relax your neck. Start to energize through the heels just a little bit. Keep that tilt of the pelvic bone so the tailbone is dropping down. And see if you can find a little more length in your legs. It's early days, so don't feel like you have to get perfectly straight. Some folks will, some folks will stay super bent, but belly still connected to thighs, hands still connected to mat. Inhale. Exhale, re-bend your knees. Step back to a plank position, top of a push-up. Engage your legs, pull your heart forward, inhaling. Exhale, lower your knees, your chest and your chin. Cobrapose, press down in the abdomen, pull the heart forward. Send your hips to your heels with your toes tucked in a child's pose. Pause here. Bring your biceps alongside your ears. My toes are tucked, so I have a little stretch through them, which feels nice. And I'm reaching my fingertips forward. Keep that connection through your body. Roll yourself, unfurl your spine to plank. Now downward facing dog. Down dog. The knees can be bent, the heels can be up, but the spine should not be rounded. So. If you find yourself getting your feet on the floor, but your back is really rounded. See if you can think about lengthening, pushing the mat away. Take your breath. Look forward. Walk yourself to the top of the mat. Find a flat back. Inhale. Exhale. Peel your belly onto your thighs as you fold. Press down, rise up. Find your easy back bend, shoulder blades draw together. Hands to your side. So this is all really spinal warm up. Inhale floats the arms. Exhale bell. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, step back to your plank. Pause for an inhale. Exhale, knees, chest, and chin. Gobra pose. Move back to that child's pose, toes tucked. Inhale, roll your spine forward and then downward facing dog. Down dog is also really a back bend. So just like in that upward salute, the shoulder blades are guiding the heart further back. They're wrapping, the elbows are wrapping under. Take your breath. Down dog split the right leg. I'm going to keep the thigh internally rotated for now. So the right hip is closed. Inhale. Exhale, right foot outside the right hand. Lengthen. Pull your heart forward. Take a breath. And then down dog split again. This time set the right foot between the hands. Energize the ball mound to the right foot. That same thing. I'm thinking about connecting my belly to my thigh. And then the kneecap and the ball mound are connected. So that energy is traveling up for your pyramid pose. My back heel is not on the floor, so I'm going to hop it closer until it is. And bow. Bend the right knee. Pull your heart forward on an inhale. Exhale. Maybe go a little deeper. Do that again. Inhale, bend, look forward. Exhale, lengthen. If the back heel comes up when you're bending that right knee, that's okay. So do it one more time. Inhale. Exhale. Walk yourself along the left edge of your mat for a wide-legged forward fold. I'm going to separate my feet just a little bit more. Long spine. And bow deeply. That same image of peeling my chest onto my thighs, only my thighs aren't there right now. Long spine. Press down in the outer edges of the feet. Rise up with a flat back if you can't. Now rotate that right heel triangle pose. Left hook travels back, right arm goes forward. Far forward it goes is not important, only that it goes as far forward as is comfortable for your body. Make a little hook with your right hand. Put the thumb and index finger into the top of the right thigh. That's your hip crease. See if you can energize that. Deepen that. Fold there. Inhale. Exhale, warrior two. Cartwheel your hands to frame that right foot. Step back to plank. Inhale. You can take chaturanga if you want, or stick with knees chest gent. Go break. Downward facing dog. Heels grounded, if that's available to you. But if it's not, bend your knees. In fact, it's a nice thing, even in a more advanced practice, to bend your knees and feel that shift. Left leg high to sky, down dog split, internal rotation of the left thigh, deliberately closing it off. Inhale. Exhale for lizard, left foot outside the left hand. Pull the heart. your shoulder blades under, my back leg is engaged, I'm lengthening my spine. Take a breath. Down dog, split the left leg. Inhale. Exhale, step it between your hands. Now, that connection. Belly to thigh. Start to lengthen the left leg, pushing into the ball mound with the left foot, lifting the left knee crease up. When I get about as straight as I can go, then I hop the right foot in and adjust so both hand that both feet are firmly planted. Inhale, bend the knee, look forward. Exhale, lengthen. These are not big ⁓ transitions. It's just giving the hamstring a second to relax and release. So that maybe it warms up a little more. Maybe you get a little better stretch. But nothing too intense. This is not that kind of a practice. Just take a breath. Feel good. And then walk yourself along the right edge of your mat for wide-legged forward fold. Separate the feet a little bit more. Lengthen your spine. Fold like you're peeling your belly onto your thighs. Press down, rise all the way up, long spine. Pivot that left foot, come to your triangle. Left arm forward, forward, right hip back, and then make that little L with your left hand, plug it into the left hip crease, deepen that hip crease. good actually take an inhale and an exhale rise up with a long spine warrior two carwheel hands down take your vinyasa inhale exhale knees chest or chattaranga up dog or Downward facing dog. Bend your knees, look forward, step or float to the top of your mat. Long spine. Bow deeply. Press down, rise up, reach up, look up, inhale, exhale, arms to the side. You can stay standing or have a seat. Let's pull our card for the day. How you feeling? A little more open maybe? A little more connected to your body, I hope for sure. I feel that way. Let's see if we find some inspiration for the day. How about this one? So reverse plank is the pose illustrated. Meaning, effort toward a value goal, valued goal brings fulfillment. Effort towards a valued goal brings fulfillment. We spend so much of our time, so much of our days doing what we have to do, getting done that which has to get done. Pay the bills, get kids to school, walk the dog, make breakfast. Make your own breakfast. Just checking the boxes, getting through it. What if you spent 10 minutes on a goal that is meaningful to you. Of course, that means you have to start with knowing what is meaningful to you. It's not that you have to give your entire life to it. It's not that you have to dedicate every waking moment. You might want to. And that's cool too. Just take 10 minutes to step out of the things that you have to do and into the things that you want to do. And let me know how it goes. The light that is in me bows to honors and is very grateful for the light that is in you. Namaste.