Spreading awareness through all four corners of the feet and coming into our best and most beautiful tadasana today. Find your breath. Then bend the knees softly and inhale, reach the arms up and overhead. Full body stretch here. And exhale, forward fold. Take your time. Nice and slow. Inhale. Find a flat back position here. Keep it soft and easy breezy beautiful. Cover girl. Or guy. Then we'll just take a second here to just check in, stretch it out. Then slowly, we'll spread the fingertips left to right. Inhale, reach it all the way back up, stretching out the body, warming up. And exhale, back down we go. Inhale, halfway lift. And exhale, soften and bow. This time, step or hop it back to plank or half plank. So we can be here at a top of a push-up or knees lowered. Hug the elbows into the side body and slowly lower down, cobra or upward facing dog. Deep breath in. And to get a nice baby cobra, pulling the elbows back and deep breath out as you release. Stay on your belly this time. So palms are going to be underneath the shoulders here. I'm going to press into the tops of my feet and keep my feet hip width apart. So I'm not zipping them up just yet but keeping them nice and wide, and really pressing into the pubic bone here. Spread the palms wide.
Notice if the elbows are coming out, pull them back. Then inhale, lift up baby cobra. Keep the heart open. And see if you can slide the fingertips forward, and come onto your elbows. So elbows are going to replace where the palms are, and I'm going to continue growing up tall. So it might take a little bit of swimming to find that stacking of the elbows and shoulders. And again, we press into the pubic bone actively so pelvis is grounding down. And then notice if the fingertips have come in or gone out, see if you can keep these two lines. So we're coming into a beautiful sphinx pose. Extension through the crown. We draw the shoulder blades in, together and down, we grow up nice and tall. You can tuck the chin into the chest slightly, and make sure you're not crunching in the back of the neck, but find awesome length back there. Then inhale, turn past your right shoulder. Press into both elbows firmly, evenly. And then back to center. Careful not to clench the buttocks here, but keep activity down through the pelvis as you look past the left shoulder. Stretch, stretch, stretch. Press into your right elbow. Breathe. And exhale back to center. Great.
Now we release slowly onto the belly. Send the fingertips down towards the bottom edge of your mat. Inhale, lift up. Exhale. Press in your palms, lift the legs up high. Three breaths here. You can rotate the ankles, you can spread the toes, reach the fingertips. Pelvis, again, actively grounding down so we're not just kind of likely flakey, but we're taking care of the lower back. You can tuck your chin into your chest if you feel any pressure in the back body. Breathe, breathe, breathe. And then we release. Awesome. Forehead comes to the mat. Palms come underneath the shoulders.
We curl the toes under, and we transition to downward facing dog. Work it out here. Stretch it out. Breathe. Then we come to a place of stillness for one full breath, in and out. Awesome. This time walk the palms all the way up towards your toes. And we come into the forward fold here at the back edge of the mat. Inhale. Halfway lift and exhale. Slide it down, send the fingertips left to right and inhale. Reach it all the way up pressing into the feet. Reach, reach, reach, reach. And then exhale, hands to heart. Awesome. Lift your sternum to your thumbs and slowly we're going to rise up onto our toes. Drawing energy up from the arches of the feet, really maintaining this Mula Bandha and this Uddiyana Bandha, and this beautiful stacking of the spine. So hands can come together at the heart. And I begin to slowly lift up through the center channel, lifting up onto the tippy tip toes. Now find something you can focus on in front or ahead. Maybe just past the nose, as we gaze down on our Cristi and collect strength. Squeezing in, in, in. You can imagine a block between the thighs here, sit bone to heel connection. You might reach the fingertips up and overhead here. You might stay palms together at the heart. Take one more breath wherever you are. And then exhale with control, with ease. We slowly lower back down. Awesome.
Shake it off by inhaling, reaching fingertips up and overhead, and exhale diving forward. Inhale, halfway lift. And exhale down. Like a little animal, like a puppy dog, we walk the palms forward. Keep the knees bent. Enjoy this being alive in your body today, and then find your downward facing dog. Now we're going to drop the left heel. Inhale, lift the right leg high. Bend your right knee. Instead of keeping the hips square today, we're going to open up by stacking the chips one on top of the other. So careful not to crash in your left shoulder here. But keep a little integrity in that right palm by dropping your right shoulder down. You can rotate that foot. You can kick out. Breathe one more breath here. And then we step that right foot all the way up and into our lounge. Find your Warrior I. Nice and strong. Inhale, rising up. Sink into that front knee. Deep breath in. And exhale. Open out, Warrior II. Inhale, reach forward, up and back, Reverse Warrior, Peaceful Warrior. And exhale, spiraling all the way back down to your lungs. Great. Slide the right toes back and take a vinyasa. Again, we can lower the knees, keep it real chill here, or we can add a little fire, Chaturanga to Up Dog. Follow your heart.
Together we'll meet. Downward facing dog. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Drop the right heel, lift the left leg high. Then bend that left knee and stack that left hip over your right. Square through the shoulders. Breathe here. Then squeeze that left knee all the way up and through, step it into your lunge. Pivot on the back foot. And when you're ready, find a nice, strong Warrior I. Arms reached up high. Reach, reach, reach. Inhale and exhale. Send them out, Warrior II. Lean back, tuck your pelvis. Sink deep and reaching forward up and back. Keep it soft and easy, peaceful warrior. Stretch it out. Deep breath in. On and exhale, We cartwheels all the way back. Great. Step the back foot up to meet the front, when you come back to your lounge, and we find that forward fold. Inhale. Halfway lift, keep a soft bend in the knees. Then exhale out. Inhale, reach it all the way up. Full body stretch. And exhale back down to your heart. Awesome. Take a second to observe your breath. Just notice how you feel. And then we're going to bring the soles of the feet together, the arches of the feet together for a little tree practice. So I'll actually come to face the front here, and we'll draw energy up through the arches of the feet, and really find this upward current of energy as we shift the weight onto the left leg.
Peel up off onto your right toes, and take it nice and slow here. As you interlace the fingertips, catch the right knee or the right shin in your palms. Inhale. Press away from your standing leg. Lift up, squeeze your right knee in, and plug your heart, and lift up. Elbows down. So if you're new to balancing practice, this might be a challenge for you. You can bring your left fingertips to the wall here. Again, remember when we were pressing the pelvis into the earth, we're remembering that integrity as we press into the standing leg, tuck the pelvis, and lift the heart. Great. Now, slide your right fingertips to your right ankle, and see if you can draw your right heel up towards the center line. Another option would be to bring it just below the knee. And then a final option is just to keep those toes on the ground, no biggie. Working on drawing the hips forward and lifting up through the heart. So we're all at different levels here. We have a little tree practice. On the 12th day of Christmas here in the United States, you get a partridge in a pear tree, right? Here we get silly Adriane in a tree. Shut up, Adrien. Okay.Find your tree pose, find your breath. Hold onto that Cristi. If your right foot is pressing into your left thigh, press back with that inner thigh. Find more upward lift. You might reach the fingertips up high overhead. Beautiful tree practice, vipassana. High, all the pinkies forward. Drop your shoulders, everyone. Then from your tree, we're going to practice Warrior III. So what that looks like, it might look like bringing the big toes up, or if you're already up here for the center line, we're going to start by sending the fingertips back, opening the chest and heart. And then keeping the right foot alive and bright as you send that leg back. We press through the right heel and inhale. Reach the fingertips forward. And again, if you are new to the practice, keep those toes on the floor.
You can always go from here to here. One more breath, wherever you are, inhale. And then exhale. Hug everything back in. And we shake it off. Awesome work, my friends. Let's do the same thing on the other side. So zipping the legs together, we find our breath again. Palms together. Anjali Mudra at the heart. Peel up through the left foot. And before you just slide into it, you know or jump into it, find that integrity. Lift up. Keep rocking forward through the pelvis, stacking, finding that upward current pressing away from the right foot, rather than... Otherwise, it tends to be all collapsed, holding on for dear life, pain in the foot. So you can move at your own time. I'll talk us through this side as well, just in case you're new to the practice, and you want to take it nice and slow. Interlacing the fingertips, we hug the left knee in. We lift up through the heart.
We draw the elbows down. So the energetic body comes along for the ride is basically what I'm trying to say here. Then maybe we slide the left fingertips down to that ankle and we draw it up and in, or we find another variation that works for us here today. Nice and easy breezy. Excuse me. And then we press back with the right inner thigh, and we find that lift, and everyone breathes here. Going through their checklist, lengthening up through the crown of the head, and maybe finding a Mudra on this side that feels right. So having a little fun. Don't take it too seriously. Relax your forehead.
The thing about balancing postures is their going to tell you what's up right away. So that can be frustrating. And if you're frustrated, take a deep breath in and use that exhales to soften. Really nice work, my friends. We're going to challenge ourselves here by moving into our Warrior III. So if your toes are on the ground, you can just slide it out. Send the palms back. Start here. And if you're in that tree, stay connected to your center as you send the fingertips back, airplane arms first, just to find a little counter balance, that opposition. And then we slowly send the heart forward as we release left foot back, toes back. Navel draws up. And maybe I stay here pressing into the palms, or maybe I send the fingertips forward. Warrior III, breathe in and out. Find that opposition. And to release, we hug everything in. And step it back and shake it off.
Awesome. And you out-reach fingertips, all the way up toward the heaven. And exhale, forward fold. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, bow. Help toe, heel-toe, the feet wide. Just coming through your yogic squat, just nice and slow, and coming onto seated. From your seated posture, bring your hands behind your thighs, and slowly roll it back. Take a twist of your choice. So it can be a one-legged twist, it can be a reclined twist, maybe you sit up on your sit bones and try out a twist. So we're taking a moment to twist. Check in with the spine. And then when you're done, hug the knees into your chest one more time. And then we'll grab the arches of the feet. Picking up back together for a happy baby pose, we slowly draw the soles of the feet up towards the sky and we breathe. Send your tailbone down towards the front edge of the mat. Relax your shoulders. One more breath. And then we release, soles of the feet come together, Supt Buddha Konasana. Interlace your fingertips. Bring them behind your head. Arms and legs are mirroring each other here. I call this Barton Springs pose, named after an amazing natural bed, pull here in Austin, Texas. Extend your thumbs and give yourself a little massage. That's an order! Really get in there. Massage the back of the head. Really, really give yourself a little love. And we'll slide the right toes out, followed by the left. Stay here and the arms for your Shavasana or release them left to right. Take a deep breath in through the nostrils. And exhale out through the mouth. Awesome practice today, my friends. Take good care. Namaste.
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