Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / Balance Is Where You Put Your 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. James: 10 minutes to ground, energize, and flow into whatever the day might hold. Hello friends, my name is James. This is Max. Come to stand at the top of your mat. Welcome to your daily flow, 10 minute mornings practice, and you know, on Fridays we flow. So coming to stand at the top of your mat, step your big toes together if that feels comfortable in your body. Otherwise hip width is fine. Give your shoulders a nice shrug up and back. down. Feel your fingertips reaching long to the floor. Feel how that lengthens the neck and then feel the feet firming down, the legs engaged, a little lift to the kneecaps. Inhale. Exhale. And now float your hands overhead. Exhale, bring them to heart center. Just starting to wake up the back a little bit. Inhale, sweep the arms out. Really try to make a big wide circle. and then gather hands to heart. One more time, inhale. This time, big fold forward as you exhale. Already linking breath and movement. Inhale, long spine, hands to shins. Exhale, bow. Reverse your swan dive root down, rise up, inhaling. Exhale, hand to heart. Another one like that. Inhale, floats the arms. Exhale, bow. Inhale, long spine. Exhale, feel your chest melting to your thighs and then root down through those feet. Rise up strong legs, hands to heart. We'll keep going. Inhale, close the arms. Exhale bow. Inhale, long spine. This time, step that left foot back. Find your long lunge and then root down, rise up, high lunge. Inhale. Exhale, warrior two. Back foot spirals down. Nice long stride. The shoulders over hips. Flying warrior, straighten the legs. Rotate so that your toes point out and your heels point in. Goddess squat. Rise up, inhale. Exhale. Stand tall, wrap the left hand behind, see if it can capture the right hip crease. And then parallel that left foot, skandhasana, bend the left knee, try to keep that half-bite. Look forward on your inhale. Exhale, come to triangle pose with that half-bite. Now if you need to let go of that hand, let go. It's making balance a little harder, so it means your core has to activate a bit more. Look up, take your breath. Release that, warrior one. Exhale, hands come to frame the right foot. Step the left foot forward. Inhale, flat back. Exhale, bow deeply. Press down, rise up. Exhale, hands to heart. Other side. Inhale, floats the arm. Exhale, big bow forward like a swan dive. Inhale, long spine. Step the right foot back. Find your runner's lunge and then ground down on that left foot. Come all the way up. High lunge, inhale. Exhale, open out, warrior two. Soft shoulders, energizing the fingertips. Flying warrior, straighten the legs now adjust so that your heels rotate in, your toes track out. Cactus the elbows, bend the knees, keep those thighs pressing out. Inhale, rise up, reach up. Exhale, pull down, draw the shoulder blades down your back. Last time, inhale. And exhale. Rise up, wrap the right hand behind, see if the right hand can come towards the left hip crease. I'm using that to help open the right shoulder and also lengthen the low back. Now parallel the right foot, lift the ball of the left, bend that right knee. This also makes me keep my chest nice and proud, so maybe you don't go as low as you would normally. Look up, inhale, exhale, triangle pose, maybe with that half bind still. Keep that. those right fingertips reaching around. Look up, inhale. Exhale, release all of that, come to your warrior one. Bring hands down to frame the left foot and step the right foot forward. Long spine. Bow deeply. Root down, rise up. Building a little bit of internal heat. Moving with the breath. Remember, as always, your breath is more important than my cue. So if I move a little fast, just go slower. You'll catch up. You can always press pause. Feel your feet. And now float the arms. Exhale, bow. Long spine, step the left foot back, runner's lunge. Rise up, high lunge, inhaling. Exhale, warrior two. Flying warrior, set up for that goddess. Exhale, just one round. And now rise up, wrap the right hand behind as you bend the left knee, skandhasana. Now look forward on your inhale. Spring forward, wrap the left hand behind, grab the right big toe. bound triangle. Now maybe shift your weight forward, float that left foot. Maybe bring the right hand to the heart. Half moon pose. Breathe. Step the left foot to meet the right. Sit into a chair and then fold forward. Long spine. deeply. Reverse your swan dive rise up. Now then pose. Other side and now close the arms. Exhale, bow deeply. Remember everything is optional except for the breath, so keep breathing. Flap back. Step that right foot back. Rise up high lunge. Open out warrior two. Flying warrior. Cactus the elbows. Rise up, so I'm doing the other side this time, wrapping the little left hand behind and then coming down, bending that right knee. Now looking forward, switch the bind. So now my left arm, left hand goes to the left big toe. My right hand wraps behind. Maybe you stay here. Maybe you shift forward and float that right foot. Now I've released that left big toe, course. Left thumb comes to the heart, energizing in the legs. Try to keep the right hip stacking. Whoa. and then maybe look up, challenging balance. Step to a chair. Come on up, Mountain Pose. I say it a lot. Our practice together is not about perfection. Never will be, as long as I'm doing lives, especially. So when you wobble, you wobble. When I wobble, I wobble. What matters is where do you put your attention when that happens? Do you place your attention on the wobble, on the imbalance, or do you look for where you can find your balance? Take a breath, inhale. Exhale. Inhale, close the arms. Exhale, bow. Long spine, step the left foot back. Rise up, high lunge. Open out, warrior two. Float the arms, bend the knees, goddess. Rise up, this time no bind, skandhasana. I'm gonna go directly from skandhasana to half moon pose. So look forward, shift forward. maybe right away tapas and to capture that left foot in the left hand and then keep the chest spiraling open. Maybe look up, maybe pick up that right hand. Sit in chair to ⁓ Inhale. Exhale, bow. Root down, rise up, Mountain pose, one last round. Inhale, float the arms. Exhale, bow. Inhale, long spine. Runner's lunge, right foot steps back. High lunge. Warrior two. Inhale, flying warrior. This goddess squat helps activate those legs in the back body and the abdominals. Rising up, no bind this time, skandhasana. Now thinking ahead, I'm coming to half moon pose. So shift forward, feel the big toe side of the left foot, float the right one. Maybe reach the right hand back and capture the right foot. And then keep everything peeling open. I'm trying to focus on the big toe side of that right foot and wrapping the right hip under. and then maybe looking up. Maybe not. And sit into your chair. pausing, reflecting on the practice that is ending and on the one that counts, the one that's about to begin. How will you arrive in the world? How will you treat others? How will you treat yourself? Especially when you wobble a bit. I like that is in me, bow to honors and is so grateful for the light that is in you. Namaste. ⁓