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Active Reset

Lesson 3 from: Restore & Rejuvenate

Carling Harps

Active Reset

Lesson 3 from: Restore & Rejuvenate

Carling Harps

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Lesson Info

3. Active Reset

Next Lesson: Full-Body Yin

Lesson Info

Active Reset

Welcome to active recess today. We're gonna do a slow, low impact flow designed to build minimal heat, but create lots of opening through repetitive movements and deep stretching. Go ahead and come to your map and just find a nice, comfortable seat. Verus. Anna is a great place to start. You can sit on your heels if it's too much, you can always sit on a bolster blanket, get propped up something, close the eyes, take a few easy breaths. Well, as you settling, you might sort of start to notice the shoulders get a little heavier the way it starts to Iraq, all the way down into the heels. Right. But as you feel that bottom half of you lengthening down, can you reach up through the crown of the head and get a little bit taller? Find some length through the back of the skull of the neck and just start with a little bit of posture. Create that link through the whole body, take a nice big inhale and then open the mouth. Exhale it out. One more like that big breath in and then open mouth. Exha...

le good. And then to start today, we're actually going to stay in the seat, but you're gonna tuck your toes under so as you took those toes under your pinky toe is gonna want to stick out kind of cheap. So flick that guy under a swell and then sit back on the heels. Right? So in this toes post, what's gonna want to happen is your ankles are gonna want to splay out and sort of rock to the side, See if you can hug the ankle bones together and sit right down onto the heels. That same thing here, weight drops down through the sit bones, reach up through the crown of the head, and it might be rather intense on the soles of your feet, especially if you're a runner. You do lots of standing at your work, So take this time to just sort of breathe into that space, right? Breathe into the intensity wherever it might be. All right. Try to resist the urge to clench up in the shoulders, the face, the jaw, right, and let that intensity stay where it is. Don't transferred all the way up into your face into your throat, and if it helps to close the eyes sometimes Aiken soften the fashion, the connective tissue, all that sort of balled up energy in the soles of feet in the arches and then stay on the toes as long as you can. I know it's intense and go ahead and drop the chin to the chest. Reason space all the way up through the soles of the feet, way up through the spine and through the back of the neck. Then gently start to roll your right ear towards your right shoulder, lengthening out the whole left side of your neck. Right, And you might feel this stretch sort of all the way down from your ear into your traps. Your shoulder. If you want a little bit more through the arms, you can reach your left arm out to the side and just let it dangle. It doesn't need to touch the earth or anything like that. You might start to feel that stretch transfer all the way through your vice up and into the very tips of your fingers. If you're looking for a little more, you can use your opposite hand and just gently lengthen the head in the other direction, right? It's not like a polar crank. You just sort of want to imagine that you're growing a little bit longer through the back of your school, creating a little more space. Gently release that side, rolled the chin back to the chest and then left your left shoulder. And if your feet are screaming at you, read about now, you can always untucked the toes and sit back into your starting position, right. If it's an option, try to stick with it. Hug those ankle bones together, and then on the second side, reach your right arm out to the edge of your mat and lengthen through the right side of your next big lateral stretch. And if this is really intense for you, just notice where it is. We have always sort of like finger like muscles and are neck. The scaling is that sometimes we want to use to breathe right. We want to use these muscles instead of the big diaphragm. So if this is really soaring intense, see if you can move that breath way down into your belly button right at the base of your ribs and expand here rather than expanding in the chest and in the neck, two more rights and then gently released into test and then hands to the floor. Finally untucked your toes, maybe top the tops of the feet on the earth. Sort of bring that blood flow back into the legs. I know that's a big one, and then go ahead and took those toes again and just straighten the legs. Walk the hands back forward fold, and as you release the head, the neck down, wiggle your feet a little bit wider. So there, at least hip with distance apart, even wider. If it feels good, and then bend the knees and let the upper body just drop arms can come into a ragdoll. Just sort of hook that hands in tow, opposite elbow. Relax the head in the neck, right? Resist the urge to straighten the legs. This isn't about the hamstring stretch, right? It's still yoga. Finishes were bent, so see if you can let that go. Don't worry about the aesthetic and just find some heaviness here. You might sway a little side to side, just sort of let everything drop down, feel that spine lengthen out, curl the spine, roll all the way up to stand and then pull the shoulders way up into the years and then exhale dropped them back down, sweep the arms up to the sky, big breath in, and then you're gonna take a hold of your left wrist with your right hand regional late. This guy almost like you're pulling that left arm out of the socket. And as you reach up, step into the right foot, left foot comes back behind and then big side body stretch in the left side. So it's almost like you're doing like a curtsy or a play or something like that. That's the motion in the legs and then reach up through the left arm, bending over, leaning to the right to get a big stretch on the left and with your next breath, come back to center release and then second side left hand grabs the right wrist. Stretch it up really toll, and then step the right foot behind the left lean over side body stretch on the right side. You should feel a nice big lengthening all the way from your hip that your armpit maybe way up through your pinkie finger. I find that buoyancy in the knees on then back to center. Take a breath in, lengthen up as tall as you can. Reach the head between the arms, tryto lengthen up. Even pull those shoulders up into the years so you get is tall. It's possible and the next cell folded all the way forward and walk your way out to a downward facing dog. Once you find your own dog, take a moment, just pedal out the feet. Say hello to your first inversion of the day. A more restorative, more passive. So just let the head hang heavy. Keep a soft bend in the knees. Reach those thigh bones back and with the arms nice and strong, Inhale, lift onto the tips of the toes, bend the knees and then on the exhale, you're gonna drop both heels to the right toes turned to the left. So another big side body stretch. You should feel it all the way through the left side armpit, maybe way down into the hips than inhale back onto the toes and then over to the second side. Heels to the left does to the right arm. Stay strong. Keep pressing into that right hand back to center with an inhale and then open the mouth, relaxed the head. Exhale, inhale, Reach the right leg to the sky, stretch it long and then step your right foot up between your hands so you find a little lunch. You can help your leg up there. If it needs a little boost, right, you can take one or two or five steps. There's no rush. Sweep the arms up to the sky, and as you find your low lunch, see if you can feel that sort of heaviness that you started class within your hips and lengthen them forward. So drop the front hip down. Reach the arms up. Take a big breath in good than interlaced. The hands and customer broke the back of your neck, so it's almost like you're reaching and sort of holding. Cradling the back of your school. Lean the head all the way into the hands and relax back. But you've got this sort of double chin feeling this really attractive thing going on in your face, and that's what you want so you can lengthen the spine back, create some space between the molars, relax your jaw, then release those hands up and exhale fingertips to the earth Good house with our Arte Hahnemann Hasna Pull the hips back, flex the front foot and lengthen the collarbones forward. And if this feels too much being up right here, you can always sit back on your back foot and take it a little bit more restorative, Reaching, lengthening out. It's been about two full breaths here. Could come all the way back onto that front foot. Plant your palms, you're gonna tuck your back toe and then all you need to do is just sort of hell. Tell your right foot wiggle it over, finagle over to the left side of your mat to find half pigeon. So as you find half pigeon, instead of trying to make that shin relieve hair alone really strong, I want you to actually talk that foot closer back towards the groin, point the toe and let this be a little easier version. Right? Easy is good. So up to you what you need today if you want a little bit more in your back, leg the front hip into your Leo so as and that good stuff and you can talk the back toe and stay upright, ready feel like? No, thanks. I'm trying to relax. Then go ahead and release down fold all the way forward. We don't need very many props for this class, but if this is a really intense post for you, you can always stuff a blanket. Ah, bolster underneath your right hip and give yourself something to sort of release into can be really nice and actually helps us open a little bit more to take some liberties. If you need some things, get yourself set up. Once you're nice and settled into half pigeon, see if he can slow the breathing down. Spending about five deep full breaths here in doing that five breaths doesn't exactly sound like a lot. But if you can slow them down, those five breaths might take up to almost a minute, focusing on the length of the inhales. The length of the exhales is that breath gets softer and longer. You might notice the same thing happening to the muscles and the hips, the glutes on. Then, with your next breath, start to walk your hands back underneath your shoulders, tuck your back toes and you're gonna pull that right. Like all the way up and back to a three legged dog stretch all the way through the right side. You can bend the knee might open the hip if it needs a little bit of energy. Soprano moving through and then stretch it back long and you're gonna pull your right knee all the way up to the left tricep ready? Promise we're not doing abs. And then, as you pull that left me up straight in the foot out towards the left side of the mat, planned the palms and pull the chest forward. So it's tempting here to just sort of slouch. It's tempting here to press really hard because it's kind of a hard place to be. Instead, I want you to focus on length. Can you move the chest, the top of the sternum, forward towards the top of your mat? Can you pull the hips back? And then you can either stay here or if it's available, you might drop that right hip to the mat and keep moving forward through the chest. Right. Imagine you're back. Left hip is rolling on top of the right, so it's like you're trying to square your hips forward. It's not actually gonna happen, But that's what you're trying to dio, and this is probably gonna be really intense, right? This is all in that outer hip in the I T van, so go as easy as you need to. You can lift up or down. Your forms might come to the earth. It's been a few breaths here. If it becomes too much and you need to put a bend in that front knee totally fine. Take what you need so that you can get the most out of this stretch. If you really tense and freaking out the whole time, you're not going to get very much out of it. It's so just is necessary. Walk the hands back underneath you take those back toes. If they came untucked, pull the right knee into the chest and then right foot back behind you. Downward facing dog for the next side. Sweep the left leg up to the sky. Step it all the way between your hands. Lowland Drop the right me. Sleep the arms up good, just like side one. Feel the hips moving forward and down, so it's almost like you're pressing and lengthening. Instead of trying to stand up tall in your lunch Regent forward and get longer. Lengthen through the fingertips and then interlaced the hands and cradle the back of the head. Push the back of the throat, that sort of soft pilot in the back of the mouth. Push it into the hands, lengthened back, right, supporting your head and your neck so it doesn't have to do too much work, but you still get that nice settle back. Bend a little bit of length hard opening. Get sweep the arms back up and then fingertips the earth Arte Hahnemann half splits. Flex the front foot. You can go all the way down seated, or you might stay upright when I want you to focus on this. Squaring those hips right. It's tempting to let that front hip slide open. We feel more flexible that way, right, but we actually get more flexible by squaring off the hips. Keep the breath nice and even and long, and then press that weight back into the left foot, played the palms, took the back toes, and you're gonna wiggle that left foot over towards the right hand until you find half pigeon on side to so finagle your hips as necessary. You could walk that back foot back. You could stay up right, focusing on the front of the right hip, those hip flexors. Or you can fold all the way forward, focusing more on the outer left hip. Getting into that pure for miss in the glutes in this poses sort of one of those ones that for some of us, it's like this big. It feels amazing. And for others, it's like, What is this? And how did I get here? And how do I get out of it? Yeah, So if that's you walk yourself up to your forms, you might be on your hands. There might be a nice bolster or pillow in front use. You can relax and help to encourage some of that ease. I just noticed sort of. Which person are you? Right? And there's no judgment. There's no right or wrong. It's just sort of where do we hold that tension? What kind of physical activities do we do that might encourage that? And how do we find some balance for them? Last two breaths. Hands come back underneath the shoulders. I took the back toes left leg all the way up in behind you three legged dogs. Stretch it out, bend the knee, opened the hip. Whatever feels right, it's straighten it out and then left. Me too, right tricep come all the way across the body again. For that I t band stretch. Stretch the left foot out towards the right side of your mat, flex the foot and then pull the chest forward. Forward. Forward. It's is off your shoulder blades. They're moving down your back and your collarbones air reaching, floored like a string is pulling them to the top of the map. But then maybe you lower that left hip. Keep reaching the heart. Ford. Feel that right, like sort of turn and spin down as you square the hips and then decide you might be upright. You might lower down whatever allows you the most ease in this very challenging pose. That's what's right for you. Hands back underneath the shoulders. Make your way out of that one. Pull the left knee into the chest and then then step it back behind you. Sweep the right leg up to the sky and then foot all the way to the top of the map. This time caressing lunch. So back me stays lifted. Come all the way up to standing, and instead of automatically reaching the arms up in finding that intensity, I want you to just totally let him go, right. So drop the shoulders down, maybe put a bend in that back. Me, So there's a little bit of use there as well. Hands could be at the hips. They could be doing literally nothing, right? This work is in the legs, so try not to transfer it up into the shoulders. Traps the jaw, which is usually where we want to take the intensity. We want to remove it from the big muscles put into his little baby ones that aren't actually tasked for the job. Good. Now hands to the hips straight in the legs. Take a big breath in and then exhale. Bend back into it. A couple more like that in health. Straighten the next help end and how Straighten, exhale, Ben, find a little mobility in that hip and keep going with it to more good on this last one. Go and step the back foot in, so it's a little shorter standstill. You can ground the hell square those hips forward and then fold all the way down. Relax ahead of the NEC. Find pyramid poses. You let everything go. But if the ground feels like it's a 1,000,000 miles away, you can come up onto a few blocks. You might bend that front me a bit more. So you've got some space, whatever it takes so that you can find some heaviness through the spine, the head, the neck, right in the low back consort of Unravel on release. There's not a lot of tension. Sometimes what our hamstrings restraining means are low back is straining as well. Take one more breath. Then slowly you're going to start to walk the hands to the left. You're gonna pivot the toes to the left as well and find a wide legged forward fold. So you're already halfway there. All you gotta do this, let everything drop down. The hands might come to the mat. You can support yourself here, right? The head might come to the mat. You can support yourself here if you want a little extra shoulder stretch interlaced the hands draw the knuckles away from the base of spine and then release almost like you're ringing out the shoulders, keep a little bending the elbows. No hyper extension here. I feel that. Strengthen the legs, huguely inner thighs together, and then breathe across your collarbones. If you can broaden across the chest, release the hands, put a little mini bend in the knees and walk your way all the way back to the top of the map. Ben, that right? Me? Plant the palms and you're gonna step all the way up to the top of the mat. So big step into the right foot. The left foot is actually gonna come behind. So you're crossed at the ankles. So instead of a regular fuller fold, all you're doing is cross the ankles. A pinky toes might touch right? They may not. It depends a lot on the shape of your legs, your bones, your pelvis. So try not to berate yourself. Just cause your pinky toes don't touch today or ever. Doesn't matter. Good back. Any sort of pressing into the back of the front. Me relaxed the head in the neck. You might walk the hands all the way over to one side, all the way over to the other. Another another another lovely I t band outer hip stretch. Then come back to center. You're gonna take a big step into that right foot, Suck the left knee all the way up in income to standing and then left foot to the inside of the right leg. Three shots in the tree posts, right? So just for a moment, and instead of reaching the arms up and finding the full expression, just let him drop down again. Maybe they stay hands at heart, right? But we're trying to encourage some of that softness around the shoulders and traps, but usually what wants to take over to see if you can let that be heavy and just focus on the balance on your legs. So focus on pressing that left foot into the right side, pressing the right thigh into the left foot so they're working together. Maybe you close the eyes. If it feels like there's a little bit of balance, find a little bit of that piece there. Take two more breaths here, stand strong in the right leg. Come back to that posture we started with. Lengthen up nice and tall last breath yet and then release the left foot hug money into your chest, given a nice squeeze and you step it all the way back behind you, Hands to the earth and then right foot follows downward facing dog in hell left leg to the sky, Step that left foot up between your hands and rise up crescent lunch. Remember arms air soft and easy and sort of shake out those shoulders right. Remind them that they're not supposed to do anything, which is kind of nice. And then in house to rate in that front leg and exhale. Bend into that crescent lunch and then how Straighten and exhale penned a couple more. Find that range of motion in the hips. Can you find some control? If you're wobbling all over the place, you might widen your stance your feet or further across the mats. You're not sort of like standing on a high beam. More like you're standing on railroad tracks. Two more rounds. Get on your next round, stand strong into the legs, straighten out that left leg and then step the right foot in. So you're shortening your stance. Lengthen up with an inhale and exhale fold all the way forward and feel that left thigh bone pulled back. Relax your head in your neck, Little bend in that front. Me right to you not to jam into the back. Find any hyperextension. Just make this pose what it needs to be for your body, right? Prop yourself up. Bend the knee finds Amis on. And then same thing here. This time we're gonna walk to the right side. So pivot your toes to the right and you're gonna find wide leg it forward fold. So for this one, if you feel like you need more work in the hamstrings today, if that's what's really sore, that sort of one of those more difficult areas definitely stay with that typical wide legged Ford fold toes either parallel or a little bit in heels out. If the hips are more what needs the love today, then go ahead and do the opposite so heels and toes out. Sort of your like you're in more of a sumo stance, and then hands are gonna come to the ankles, right, hands to the ankles. And those knees is deep as you can, and then use the elbows and the forms actually press the hips away from one another right, and you should feel the inner thighs, the growing sort of starting toe open. Finding some length. You could drop the hips more or less, sort of figure out where that sweet spot is for you and then relax ahead of the NEC to sick three breaths. Here there might be a little sway, so I decide, Right? There's no rules movement. It's fine. And then with your next inhale hands back to the earth. Slowly straighten the legs, pivot the heels out, toes in and then turn your way back to the top of the Met and then stand strong into that left foot and you're going all the way to that forward fold. So right foot comes behind, cross at the ankles. Little Mini, bend in the knees and fold all the way down. Walk your hands in that sort of semi circle around your feet. There may be one side or one spot that feels better, more interesting, more intense, and others. It's sort of doing some self inquiry to see where that spot is for you today. Back to center again, Stand strong into the left foot. This time, you're gonna pick up the right and come all the way to standing. And then that right leg comes in. Rickshaw symmetry, both second side arms, air soft or hands at heart could focus on that balance, your sort of lifting up through the arch of that standing foot and then pressing into the left thigh with the arch of the right foot. Use this balancing practice as a bit of mental centering. Might find some clarity. Gets one of the beauties of the yoga practices standing on one leg. As simple as it seems, right. Oftentimes there's no room in your brain for anything else for any of the lists, right? Any of the thoughts in the rest of day because all you're worried about its standing on one leg. So can you find that right now last breath on and then released that right the all the way to the chest, squeeze it in and then step the right foot all the way back. Hands to the earth. Left foot follows downward facing dog. Drop the needs to the earth. And once you find tabletop, you're gonna press into that left hand, sweep the right arm all the way up to the sky. So it's almost like you're twisting, unraveling open to the right and then dive that right hand all the way underneath the left armpit reaching across your body. And that left arm is gonna go out long, so it's like you're threading a needle. Most of the weight is gonna be on your right shoulder, right and see if you can drop the traps away from the ears, create some space in the neck. Hips might still be up high, and you know it might be back more like child's posts. Whatever feels best to you, breathe into the upper back. See if you can feel that space between the shoulder blades spread out and wide and make your way back. Left hand back underneath. You sweep the right arm up, finish out the movement and then right into the earth. Good second side press into the right hand. Left arm sweeps up, twisted open on. Then thread that left arm underneath the right arm pit left here to the mat. Right arm reaches all the way forward. Lengthen it out. You could spend about two more breaths here, the right hand back underneath the shoulder. Climb your way all the way back up to tabletop and then from table top. Just use a few rounds a cat cow to sort of clear out all the movement your body. So plant those palms and then drop the belly down. Drop the chest down. Pull the heart through, arching the back, lengthening the crown of the head up good, and then Kappos press the ground away. Puff up that space between your shoulder blades. See if you can move the front body into the back body and around belly button to spine. A couple more in help Pull it forward. Big breath in exhale round right and cat cow might feel awesome just the way it is. Ford and back. If you want a little extra movement right, take your liberty. Make this year own it might be side to side. You might sort of move the rib cage over to the right and then up and then over to the left and down. Let this sort of be an exploration of your own body of your own breath right there. You might find that there's a lot of movement in this area of your body. You might find that there's virtually none. And that's okay, right? So, see if you can move in a way that gives you a little more breath, a little more space and just explore your own body here a couple more rounds and then come back to center, Sit back on the heels, find the Rocinha right where we started. Sweep the arms up, inhale and then right arm under left arm over. Eagle arms. Right. So eagle minus the legs minus the balancing. Just the work in the arms as you interlaced the hands. You're wrapping them all the way and trying to turn the pinkies towards the wall in front of you. If this is, like not happening, no thanks. No big deal, right? You could just sort of give yourself a nice big bear hug. It's like you're reaching for either shoulder blade, and that's going to get the same effect, this broadening across the upper back in the shoulder blades. And that's what we're really looking for. If you've got the eagle wrap, I want you to think about lifting the elbows away from the mat and then the thumbs away from the nose. Can you lengthen the sides of your neck. Slide the ears back in space just a little bit. Take one more breath and then unravel. Sweep the arms up and second side, left arm under eagle arms. Breathe into the back of your lungs, so use that inhale to puff up the back body and create more space and then drive the thumbs away from your nose. Try to keep turning the pinky side of the hand towards the wall in front of you. I didn't feel that nice big stretch across the upper back room and gently release the arms. Just bring your hands here lap. Take a few moments to shake out the shoulders. Whatever weird thing needs to happen, right? Nobody's watching. Move that blood through, and then as you close the eyes, see if you can soften that breath down so it's just barely audible. Feel the face. Soften the skin around the eyes, the jaw the next. Come back to that link through the crown of the head. It's almost like a string is pulling you up, not heaviness through the tops, the feet, the hips nice and buoyant light everywhere in between. No, we'll just finish with one big, deep breath together, inhaling through the nose and then over the mouth. Let it go in hell. The hands to third a center. Thank you for practicing today. Finding the time to get on your mat Nomis day.

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