Sankalpa Yoga - setting your intention, 15 minute practice

Transcript

Namaste yogis. Welcome back. Today we have a salpa practice. So it's all about acting with intention. Let's [Music] practice. Today's practice we are going to start standing in the middle of our mats. So, we're going to bring the feet a little wider than hip distance apart. Right away, close down the eyes. Take a deep breath in. Shrug the shoulders up to the ears. And as you exhale, melt the shoulders down the back body. We'll take this first moment of our practice to acknowledge traditional South Asian originators of the deep spiritual practice of yoga and express our gratitude to all the yogis who have passed this practice down for thousands of years so that we might be here to enjoy it today. Take another deep inhale. Shrug the shoulders all the way up to the ears and exhale melt them down the back body to bring both palms over the heart space. So one stacked on top of the other. You can keep the eyes closed. And then we'll start to bring our awareness into the physical body. Noticing the contact between the soles of the feet and the earth. Feel that grounding. And then feel the legs growing up tall from arch to knee to hip. Notice the tailbone slightly tucked underneath the body. The spine growing up through the back to the neck. The shoulders dropping away from the ears and the heart space open. Relax the muscles of the face and allow the crown to grow a little taller towards the sky. full body awareness. And from there, start to deepen the breath, elongating the inhale and elongating the exhale. Breathing with intention. Sometimes we can find ourselves moving through our day, not really being aware of what we're doing, where we're going, actions we're taking. But when we become present and act with intention that's when we start to change our own lives. When we realize that we can breathe with intention, speak with intention, act in each moment with intention. We come to realize that we have the choice and the power to decide who we are going to be each day. How we are going to show up in the world. And this all starts with an intention. In yoga we call this our salpa. So today or this week or whenever it is, what is your intention? Who are you going to choose to be today? And how would that person act? How would they move through their day? How would they think? How would they speak to themselves and others? Set your intention now and trust that it is entirely within your power to do this. All you have to do is set the intention. Take another deep breath. Feel your whole body breathe as you [Music] inhale and exhale. And then you can either keep the eyes closed or option to blink, open the eyes or start to split those palms apart and allow the fingertips to stretch out wide. So the hands become level with the shoulders. We're in a big T-shape and the palms are spread out wide. The fingertips are stretching out. And on the next inhale, we'll start to draw those hands back in space. Draw the shoulder blades together as we open the chest. Open the heart. Maybe look up. Then as we exhale, fingertips come forward. Rounding through the spine until we just touch the fingertips to the g together. Chin to chest. Once again, inhale, draw the hands back, open through the chest, belly, the throat. Exhale, round through the spine. Kiss the fingertips together. Inhale, open the b front body. Exhale, round, open the back body. Inhale, open the front body. Exhale, open the back body. And then inhale back out to that big T. Stretch the fingertips wide and turn the gaze over towards the left fingertips. And we'll step all the way to the top of our mat. Place the feet down with intention hip distance apart. And then we'll draw the hands to the waistline. On the next inhale, start to lift the right heel and then the right knee. drawing the knee up in space until it's level with that hip into stalk pose. From here, re-establish your intention through the left foot. So, when we're standing on one leg, we often bring our attention into that upper leg, the leg that's lifted. But this won't actually keep you grounded. Will actually mean you are more offbalance. If you put your intention through the grounded leg, then this leg can actually move wherever you like and you should stay pretty stable. So, intention through the left leg and then we'll just flex that right foot and start to cross the right heel across the left thigh coming to our figure four. Draw that right knee back in space. Open through the right hip. Then from here, start to sink down into that left hip. So, sending the bum back, keeping the spine nice and neutral. So, we're tucking the tailbone here, opening through the right hip, and we're getting a nice engagement in that left glute. Inhale here. Exhale, start to rise back up. Straighten that left leg. Once again, intention here is through the left foot down into the floor. And we'll unhook that. Unhook the right ankle and swim that right foot round all the way behind us. Keeping that balance, keeping that rounding in the left foot till we come to warrior 3. Stay here. Kicking that right heel out. Crown of the head reaches towards the top of the mat for one breath. Exhale. Step back into that right foot. Draw the hands up towards the sky as we come to high lunge. Beautiful. So, we're on the ball joint of that back foot. And from here, we'll start to touch that right knee down onto the earth just for a second. When we get there, we'll make sure the tailbone is tucked down. So, we're really open through the front of the right hip crease here. And then from here with intention send the right heel back. Lift the right knee. Come back into your high lunge. Take a breath here. And then start to pivot out to the long edge of the mat as we come to a big star pose. Fingertips are reaching up and away. Both feet are grounded on the earth. and start to pivot both heels in. Bend both knees. Bend both elbows as we come to goddess pose. If you like, close your eyes. Send the tailbone down into the earth. Bend a little deeper. Take another breath in. Bend a little deeper. And then rise all the way up. Straighten both legs. Straighten both arms. Pivot both heels out so the feet are parallel. If anything, the toes slightly in. From here, swim the fingertips down behind the body. Interlace those palms and start to draw the hands down and away as you open through the chest. Once again, shoulder blades draw together just like we did at the beginning. Inhale to look up towards the sky. Open the chest. Exhale. Start to send the heart forward. Hinge at the hips until the crown of the head starts to fall down towards the earth and the hands come up and overhead. Breathing deep. Crown of the head reaching towards the earth. It doesn't need to be anywhere close. We can also bend both knees generously if that feels good. Take another breath here and then start to draw those hands back down towards the bum and allow that to lift the torso up towards the sky. Once again, break free with the hands. Come out to that big beautiful star pose. Allow your intention to flow out past the fingertips, past the feet, out into the world. Take a deep breath in and then we'll come to the other side. So, draw the hands back down to shoulder height. This time we'll look towards the right fingertips and then we'll step to the back of the mat and try that again on the other side. ground down through both feet and then draw both hands to the waistline. Send that intention down through the right foot. And then as you inhale, start to lift the left heel and then the left knee. Drawing that left knee all the way to hip height, establishing that connection and that grounding through the right foot and then flexing the left and crossing it over the right knee. Coming to that figure four. Draw the left knee back in space. Inhale here. And then exhale. Start to bend through that right knee. Feeling that opening in the left hip. Engaging through the right glute. The tailbone is tucked. So the spine is neutral. Sit here. Breathing deep. Perhaps noticing the resistance in the hip. If you can use the breath to soften. One more inhale. Exhale to rise back up. Straighten the right leg. And then sending the intention down through the right foot. We'll unhook the left ankle and swim that left foot around. Coming to our warrior three on the other side. Kick back through the left heel. Crown of the head draws towards the front of the mat for one breath in. One breath out. And then step back with the left foot. Draw the fingertips up towards the sky. As we come to our high lunge, stand strong here. Then slowly start to dip that left knee down to the earth just for a second as we tuck the tailbone under. Feel that opening in the front of the left hip crease. And then with intention, draw back the left heel as we lift the left knee. Coming back to our high lunge. Inhale here. Exhale. Open up to that big star pose. One more here. Take a big breath in. Big breath out. And then start to bend through the elbows. Pivot in those heels. Bend through the knees as we come to our goddess pose. Close the eyes. Feel the tailbone drawing down towards the earth. Deep breath in. Maybe sink a little lower. Deep breath in. Maybe sink a little lower. And then extend both legs. Extend both arms. Take up space in your star pose. Feel your intention extending out past the physical body. Become the person that you want to be today. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Allow the hands to start to drop. Heel toe the feet back underneath the body. Bring the palms together. Anjeli mudra at the heart space. Take this last moment to express some gratitude to yourself for committing this time to your practice today. committing this time to self- betterment and self-discovery, fulfilling your own cup so that you can better pour into others. It was an honor to practice with you by the head of the hands. Thank you so much. I'll see you next time. [Music]