Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / 10-Minute Morning Yoga: Take Up Space
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. Just 10 minutes to energize, lengthen, and open into the space that we hold in the world. Hello, friends. Welcome to this daily flow 10 minute morning's practice. My name is James. Come to all fours. Starting as we often do, it's a little bit of cat and cow. Inhale, lift the heart, lift the tailbone, lengthen the belly. Exhale, untuck the toes and really round the spine deeply. Slow, steady movements. Inhale, cow. Exhale cat. One more like that, inhale, lengthen. Exhale round. Step the left foot back. Just give some saws out here. Open up through the Achilles and the calf, just kind of waking up the legs. Slowly, slowly, and do the other side. So the left knee down, step the right foot back. Saw it out. So this morning's practice is centered around taking up space, really, and focusing on not just pulling forward, which I often do, but also pulling back. So step back to a plank position. Now the length of your plank, your shoulders a little forward of your wrists, your quadriceps engaged, elbows wrapped under. This is the length of your warriors and ⁓ down dogs and all that. So feel the firmness of your base and then lower your knees and your chest and your chin. Press the belly down, pull the heart forward for your baby cobra. Then tuck the toes, Downward Facing Dog. I'm gonna move my whole body a little forward on the mat. If you need to adjust a little bit, sure, of course, that's fine. But remember, if you roll forward to a plank, go ahead and do that. That's the same footprint and handprint as your down dog. Do that again, and now roll forward. Feel the length of yourself. Exhale, down dog. Lift the right leg high, down dog split. Bend the knee and stack the hips and make some little circles through those joints. Get a little extra opening. and then step the right foot all the way between the hands. Now probably what happens is it stops here, especially first thing in the morning, so grab the ankle, bring it all the way up. Release the left knee down on top of the left toes. Interlace fingers on top of the thigh. Now if you have an injury or something is painful, of course, you can shorten, but otherwise really feel the length of the stride, feel the dropping down of the hips, and pressing down into the top of the left foot and also the sole of the right. I can give my toes a wiggle because it's across the four corners of my right foot. Then maybe float the arms. Inhale. And as you exhale, half split, straighten the right leg, flex the right foot. If you want to have blocks or something beside you, you certainly may. But not only am I thinking about flexing my right foot, I'm actively drawing my hips back and drawing my heart forward. So trying to find these two opposing directions. It's early. My hamstrings a little tight, so I'm not trying to overdo it here. Just breathing into the stretch. And then walk your hands forward, frame that right foot. Tuck the left toes, lift the left knee and step back to your plank. Inhale. Exhale, lower knees, chest and chin. Maybe slightly higher, Kalvara. Shoulders are not pressing up by the ears. They're drawing back and pulling my heart forward. Tuck the toes, down dog. Breathe and lift that left leg up high. Bend the knee, stack the hips, make some circles. Should feel nice. And then step the left foot all the way forward. Release the right knee down and untuck the right toes. Interlace fingers on top of the left thigh. Again, make sure that left foot made it all the way and if it didn't, just scoot it on up. So I'm pressing that thigh forward which helps firm my connection to the mat. I'm pressing the top of the right foot down and I'm floating the arms. Inhale. Exhale for the half split. Flex the left foot. I'm drawing my hips back, pulling my heart forward. Also, even in my leg, so my left hip's traveling back, my left foot is flexing towards my face. Feel a stretch of the entire back of my left leg. Inhale. Exhale, and then coming back forward, hands frame that left foot, step the right foot, step the left foot back, inhale, and then knees chest in. Cobra pose. Downward dog. Let's add on, down dog, split the right leg. Step the right foot all the way forward, this time warrior one. Rise up. So if you want to, can put your hands on that right thigh again to find the length of your stride and the bend of your knee. Feeling both feet, the right and the outer edge of the left. Inhale, exhale, lengthen the right leg by pushing the mat forward. Both of my feet are really engaged. Heart goes forward, forward, forward, and eventually comes down to the floor to blocks. When I started thinking about lengthening forward when I folded and not just dropping down, suddenly all of these postures, ⁓ Frankly, got better. ⁓ I thought it was because I was inflexible. It's because I was just sort of dropping down and not staying engaged. I had my fingertips tinted, breathing into the stretch, feeling both feet firmly rooted. My hips are traveling back. My right foot is pushing forward. Re-bend that right knee, Warrior One. And then Warrior Two. Straighten the right leg. Triangle, again, left hip back, right arm forward, as far forward as you can go. The very last thing is that it just sort of alights on the right thigh. Look up at that left hand. Wrap the right thigh under. Both feet are active, not just the right one, the left is also super engaged. Inhale. Let's come down to that crescent lunge. Release the left knee. Pivot yourself to face forward. Half split. This is gonna be challenging. Warrior three. Shift forward, keep going forward, keep getting longer. Inhale. Exhale, Warrior I. Let's take our Vinyasa. Hands come down to frame that right foot. Step back, follow your breath. I'm taking Chaturanga. You can take knees just again. Downward facing dog. Left leg high to sky. Both legs are really active. Use the strength of the right leg to step the left foot all the way up. Pivot the right foot down, float the arms, Warrior I. Left knee is deeply bent. Left foot is pushing down and forward. Right foot is pushing down and back. Hips are doing their best to square. They won't ever square, probably completely for most of us. Maybe for you, not for me. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, lengthen the left leg. So feel this wide stride. Send your heart forward. Reach your fingertips forward. Long spine. Forward, forward, forward. And then the body will hinge when it needs to hinge. Breathe about three breaths here, maybe even four or five. Feel the energy in the big toe side of the right foot in particular, in the pinky side of, sorry, big toe side of the left foot, pinky side of the right foot, which is in back. Inhale, exhale. Warrior one. Open out, warrior two. Inhale, lengthen the left leg. Send the right hip back, the left arm forward, forward, forward. The very last thing is that the left hand comes down. So it's more about the hinge than it is the fold. Look up at the right hand, feel that left thigh wrapping under. Inhale. Exhale, re-bend the left knee, release the right knee down, crescent lunge. Take your breath. Half split, lengthen the left leg, flex the left foot. All this length, all this grounding, feel the left foot, shift your weight more into it, pull the heart forward as you push down to lengthen up. three. Step back, warrior one. Take your vinyasa. We do all of that one more time. Very flowy. One breath, one movement. Inhale, down dogs with the right leg. Exhale, step forward. Rise up where you're. Inhale straightens the right leg. Exhale pyramid pose. Inhale warrior one. Exhale warrior two. Inhale lengthen the right leg. Exhale triangle pose. Inhale crescent lunge. Exhale half split. Inhale warrior three. Exhale. Inhale warrior one. Exhale chaturanga. facing dog. Inhale. Downward facing dog. Exhale. Left leg high to sky. Step it forward. Warrior one. And then exhale to settle. Inhale lengthens the left leg. Exhale pyramid pose. Inhale warrior one. Exhale warrior two. Inhale lengthen the left leg. Exhale triangle. Inhale. Exhale, spin yourself forward, release the right knee, crescent lunge. Exhale, half split. Inhale, shift weight forward, push down, rise up, Warrior III. Step back, Warrior I. Make your way to Down Dog. Follow your breath. Walk your feet forward to your hands. Roll yourself to stand one vertebra at a time. Head and shoulders come up last. Mountain pose. As always, pausing just for a moment, seeing your day as it unfolds before you. How will you take up space? Not more than your space, your space. Claim it, step into it. Be the warrior. The light that is in me bows to honors and is so very grateful for the light that is in you. Namaste.