Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / Ground, Open & Focus | 10-Minute Morning Yoga
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. James: In just 10 minutes, you can ground, open, prepare, and slow down before you have to start rushing. Or maybe you don't have to start rushing. Hello friends. Welcome to your Daily Flow 10 Minute Mornings practice. My name is James. Be sure to practice till the end. We'll pull a card, we'll set some intention for the day, and of course, hit like and subscribe before you have to head out. Come on to your back. So Max is here with me today. He'll be demonstrating and assisting. Ground down in your feet. Lift back up into a bridge. I think we started here yesterday too. I've been starting my classes in bridges a lot lately. I guess it just feels good. Walk your shoulder blades together. Also when it's hot outside and you take some back bends, it opens up the front body and releases some heat. Inhale here. Exhale, lower down. Bring your right knee in, give it a nice hug, extend your left leg and just stir the pot a little bit. Get some lubrication into that hip joint and then take a brief twist. Guide that right shin across, turn your head away from the twist, turn your head to the right to help your right shoulder blade connect. Exhale. to center, take a figure four ankle to knee, thread the needle with that right hand, interlace fingers around the left hamstring, and then use the right elbow, open that right hip out. Should feel it in the outside of the right thigh, the abductors. Inhale. Exhale, lower down, set both feet down. Another bridge, lift up, interlace your fingers. Remember, soften the glutes and energize the feet. Energize the feet and soften the glutes. You'll feel your quads start to wake up. Inhale. Exhale, lower down. Then bring that left knee in, extend the left foot forward. There we go. Stir the pot a little bit. and take a twist, guide the left shin across, turn your head to the left. It's not fancy, but it feels good. Inhale. Exhale, come back to center. We'll take that figure four. the right knee in, thread the needle, make your feet active. Not necessarily flexed or pointed, but flexed or pointed. Like, you don't have to choose one. It doesn't matter which one you choose, but you have to choose one. I guess that's what I'm saying. Exhale, release all of that. Tied them down a little winch to the lark if you want. And then hug your knees into your forehead, really round your spine and then rock and roll from the leg. Take a couple of rocks. You're only looking at the dog, aren't you? I would be too. And then see if you can come to all fours. Come up here, come to your place. Good boy. your bone. Spread your ten fingers wide. Wrist creases parallel to the top edge of the mat. Pull your heart forward, lift your tailbone, inhale, exhale, tuck your toes around your spine. Do that again. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale round. As you inhale, you feel the shoulder blades drawing together, lengthen. As you exhale, wrap everything under and around. Come back to your neutral, step back to a plank, inhale, exhale, lower knees, chest and chin. Cobra pose, press down on the belly, pull the heart forward, and then tuck the toes. Downward facing dog. Pedal out heels, shake out head, whatever feels nice, and then walk your feet forward to meet your hands. Separate your feet a little wider than your hips, bend your knees a lot, hold opposite elbows. So rag doll, but try to see if you can get your heart to come kind of between the thighs and release the head. Breathe. Then release the elbows. Roll yourself up to stand one vertebra at a time. Head and shoulders come up last and then step your feet together. Mountain pose. Feel the firmness of your feet. Start to activate through the feet. Feel like you're gently pulling the mat apart. Give the shoulders a shrug up and back and down. Remember every pose, no matter how simple, including this one, starts with the mat. So feel that connection. Inhale. Exhale. And now, flex the arm. Exhale, bow forward. And now lengthen. Let's come to Chaturanga. So plant your hands. Maybe you shift your weight to your fingertips. Look forward. Feel like you're lifting your hips up to float your feet back. And then look forward. Upward dog. Of course, if you want to step back, you can step back. Then downward facing dog. Lift your right leg high to sky. Inhale. Step the right foot between the hands. Exhale. Come up, Warrior I. Inhaling. Interlace your fingers low behind your back. Exhaling. Straighten your right leg. Humble Warrior. I've been doing this in my classes this week, but we haven't done it here for a while. So really think about pulling your heart forward. I'm getting as long as I can. The knuckles are pulling me back. My chest is pulling forward. And then when I can't go any further, I can start to round. Now the right shoulder is meant to thread inside the right thigh and the crown of the head is meant to be close to or on the mat. But if you have to stick your butt way out to do it like that, then you're probably gonna fall. So just keep the shoulder on the thigh if you'd like. One more breath and then release that come up, Warrior I. Look out beyond the front edge of your mat, maybe like a foot, shift your weight, Warrior III. Rest down into the instep of the right foot. Inhale. Exhale, Warrior I. Inhale. Exhale, Warrior II. Flying Warrior, straighten the right leg, lift the ball of the right foot. Skandhasana, bend that left knee. You can stay really upright if you'd like. Feel that ground, that lifting up to the pelvic floor. You can go deeper if it feels good. Inhale. Set your left hand beside your right foot. There you go. Set your right hand down. Step back, take a vinyasa. Just breathe and move. Down Dog, split the left leg. Step the foot between your hands. Warrior I, remember if the foot doesn't make it, just noodle it on up. Lift your heart, wrap that right shoulder blade under. Inhale. Exhale, interlace fingers low behind. Maybe put the other thumb on top. Straighten the left leg, open your heart. Now as we come to Humble Warrior, you're pulling your heart forward, pressing your knuckles back to start. Feel that lengthening, get as long as you can. And so maybe you stop here. Maybe the knuckles start to scrape the ceiling because you can't go any further forward, but keep the feet really strong. Keep that left hip hugging in. Inhale. Exhale, come back up, Warrior I, release the hands. Open out, Warrior II. Flying Warrior, straighten the left leg, lift the ball of the left foot, Skandhasana, bend the right knee. Again, just listen to that hip. If you don't want to go as low, don't go as low. Try to stay grounded in the right heel the best you can. Look at your left foot, inhale, exhale. Set your right hand beside your left foot, Low Revolve Lunge. and set the left hand down. Take your vinyasa, inhale, exhale lower. Inhale, upward facing. Exhale, downward facing dog. Inhale. Exhale, inhale, step or float to the top of your mat. Exhale, bow, press down through your feet, rise up, inhale. Mountain pose. Exhale. Take a moment, take a breath, maybe come to sit. Let's see what little bit of inspiration we might find together. Focus. The shape is extended side angle pose. Progress comes from committed practice while you're here. So you've at least committed to practice today and you've made it through the whole thing, apparently. Progress comes from committed practice. Let's take a moment and think about what it means to progress. What is progress? How do you define it? Is progress being able to float back to Chaturanga? Is it being able to stand on your hands? Is it being more flexible? Is it being healthier? Or, or, is progress simply progressing through your life, getting a little better every day. Instead of being in the rut of whatever your day today is, moving forward deliberately, even if you do the same things, even if you're making the same lunch, even if you're going to the same office. What today? can be different. Maybe it's simply how you think about it. Maybe today you set an intention. to show up in a way that is supportive, in a way that is generous, in a way that is you. me know how goes. The light that is in me bows to honors and is extraordinarily grateful for the light that is in you. Namaste. Thank you. Thank you for spending this time. Thank you for giving me cause to reflect. This has become my favorite part. I wrote a blog post about it. I'll put a link in the show notes. But however you're spending your day, thanks for spending this part of it with me. Be sure to hit like and subscribe and comment and ask questions and send emails and visit my website, dailyflow.yoga. You'll find... my whole video library over there and you can filter through and check things out. Let me know how that goes too. Have a great day. Namaste. James @ Daily Flow: 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.