Sarah Hannala | Bhakti Yoga Basics - Full Body Flow

Transcript

hi everybody i'm sarah hanala welcome to my youtube channel today we'll be starting out our bhakti flow basics series today will be a full body flow so we'll be going over just a little bit of everything today to start out your beginner's practice [Music] we'll begin with some brief chanting so bhakti yoga is the path of love and devotion there's four primary paths of yoga and we'll be focusing on this path of love and devotion so we honor that sense of devotion by chanting so we'll begin by finding any comfortable seat that feels best for you your hands can relax wherever is comfortable maybe even bring them up to prayer at heart center for anjali mudra either a soft gaze or let your eyes close we'll begin by connecting our breath take a gentle inhale through your nose sweet sigh out your mouth this will begin as a call and response so first i'll say it one time and then you can join in with me i'll let you know when and we'll go through it a few times so that you can catch on [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] a little louder [Music] [Music] oh [Music] take a gentle breath in soft tie out your mouth the words mean i bow to the divine so inviting ourselves to just step into that sense of offering a sense of devotion pausing here for a moment to feel that vibrational energy let's take another breath in another breath out gently allowing your eyes to flutter open to a nice soft gaze hands relax back down whoever is comfortable we'll be moving through a full body flow today this is a beginner series so we'll begin just right here in the comfortable seat take a big breath in gentle breath out and allow your right ear to fall to your right shoulder maybe your eyes close if that feels good you can stay right here or maybe the left fingertips come down towards the mat once again you can stay here or maybe take this right hand and just place it gently on the left ear we aren't pulling but we just place it on top for a little extra gravity start to invite in some gentle breaths and through your nose and exhaling out the nose or the mouth just igniting a breath just that's just a little bit beyond your natural breathing patterns [Music] one more here inhaling exhale release the hand if it's on top head comes through neutral and then left ear to the left shoulder once again you can stay here or reaching these right fingertips down and maybe taking the left hand to your right ear breathing in breathing out feeling the sensations and gentle stretch to your neck one more inhale one more exhale good releasing the hand if you have it on top rise the head up and let's make way onto our backs knees are bent soles the feet on the mat palms face down maybe you can even tickle your heels with your fingertips on a gentle inhale we'll press the hips up towards the sky set ubandas in our bridge pose we try not to squeeze the butt here it's kind of always the first thing we do in a back bend we'll actually allow the glutes to stay soft as we lift the hips up just a little bit higher as always you can close your eyes or take a gentle gaze and we try to maintain some consistency in our breath inhaling slow let's use the exhale to lower down slow nice and strong one vertebrae at a time good let the knees kiss one another maybe the hands come to the belly if that feels good we always want the lower back to settle and pause for a moment after doing big back bends [Music] when you're ready knees come into the chest give yourself a little squeeze maybe a little hug maybe rock a little bit side to side if that feels good or take some wiggles of your toes circles of your ankles just getting into your body when you're ready take a supine twist we drop the knees over to the right side left arm can open up either straight or elbow bent like a cactus and we allow the chin to fall over to the left side so we invite in a full spinal twist getting that gentle twist in the neck as well maintaining that consistent breath inhaling slow exhaling slow starting with a simple breath nothing too forced yet just inviting ourselves to move into our body to move into our breath let's take one more here inhaling through the nose exhaling out the nose or the mouth moving through the center and to the other side dropping our knees all the way to the left right arm opens up either straight or bent like a cactus chin falls to the right eyes closed if you can you're always welcome to keep a soft gaze however when we close the eyes we draw the focus inward a little bit [Music] we can maintain that sense of observation in our practice simply observing the way that each space feels in our body the way the breath feels [Music] even observing some of the thoughts in the mind knowing that it's okay to think [Music] one more breath in one more breath out coming back towards the center hug the knees into your chest once again little squeeze and then start to rock forward and back taking pretty big rocks here like you're massaging your spine mountain five or six and on the last one we rise all the way up cross our ankles plant the hands and step back to a table top position so we wanna be on the hands and knees knees stacked directly under the hips wrist stack directly underneath the shoulders spread the fingertips wide take up a lot of space when you're ready take a big inhale drop the belly pull the shoulders back with the chin up heart up exhale as you round and chin towards the chest shoulders to the ears connecting breath and movement as we inhale open the heart exhale rounded and shoulders to the ears chin to the chest inhale arch and open exhale round it in two more inhale exhale last one inhale exhale releasing to a neutral spine pausing for a moment from our tabletop position we take the right foot step it forward you might have to wiggle it forward a little bit and rise your torso up hands come to the hips adjust your hips as needed hug your belly in nice and strong we want to protect the lower back and then if it feels comfortable for you you can rise the arms up overhead we take a big inhale lengthen up the spine and on the exhale slowly start to drop your hips down but keep that engagement in your belly so we're protecting the spine anjanae asana the low lunge two breaths here in through the nose out the nose or the mouth inhale stay for the exhale releasing the hands down hips come back our half hanumanasana our half splits so you have a gentle bend in the knees a little bit of flexion in the feet if that's available to you we try to avoid any real rounding and reaching here we draw the shoulders back a little bit walk the hands back or forward as needed always adjusting to your practice remembering that this is your practice so please adjust as needed taking another breath in here one more breath out good then we bend the knee to step this foot back to our tabletop and stepping that left foot forward once again adjust as needed rise up when you're ready hands on your hips to remind you to square them up hug the belly in strong and you can always stay right here on a big inhale lift the arms up overhead take a big inhale lengthen up your spine keep the belly strong and on an exhale start to draw the hips down towards the mat two full rounds of breath [Music] good after that exhale hands come down hips back our arda hanamanasana our half splits once again a little bit of softness in the knee a little bit of flexion in the feet if we can breathing finding that gentle consistency in our breath one more inhale one more exhale good bending the front knee plant your hands all the way down this time tuck the back toe knee off your mat and step back to a high plank core nice and strong hug in the belly try not to sink your butt too low or too high it's about in line with the shoulders belly nice and strong take a breath in take a breath out and shift your weight forward just a little bit shoulders past the wrist we lower the knees chest and forehead a surrender of the ego hips stay up then we lower the hips untuck the toes take a big inhale busangasana our baby cobra lifting the head and chest off the mat elbows to the rib cage and lower down on the exhale forehead down surrender of the ego one more time inhale up little backbend exhale forehead down surrender of the ego push yourself up and back to a child's pose knees wide toes touching we sit back on our heels walk the hands forward forehead towards the mat feel your spine lengthen a little bit maybe walking the hands even a little bit more forward trying to sink the hips back to your heels but don't worry if your hips don't come all the way down just listening to your body meeting yourself wherever you're at one more big breath in one more breath out [Music] good rising up through a tabletop to downward facing dog so we tuck the toes lift our hips up high soften the knees a little bit lengthening the spine don't worry too much about getting your heels down or locking out the legs our main focus is actually lengthening our spine belly in just a little bit take a nice breath in exhale it out the mouth this time good look forward step your right foot forward spin your back heel down and rise the arms up overhead warrior one belly stays a little bit strong here and we're working to square off the hips really press into the edge of your back foot planting the pinky toe down find a simple gaze to lock your eyes upon we call our dristy preferably somewhere that isn't moving too much it can be on the floor the wall or even up towards the sky if that feels good for you just one more breath in we use the exhale to open up veer bhadrasana too warrior two where we stack our torso directly over the hips tilt the pelvic floor under just a little bit and keep opening up this right knee it naturally kind of starts to go inward so we want to stack it right above the ankle we take the gaze over the middle finger relax the shoulders away from the ears take a big breath in breath out extended side angle pose so we draw the right elbow down to the knee left arm comes up over the head reaching forward so we're extending that side body try to maintain the depth in your front leg as best as you can always remember that this is your practice and to meet yourself wherever you're at take a gentle breath in [Music] gentle breath out rise yourself up reversing the warrior left hand down the back thigh open up the right side body then straighten your front leg torso stacks over the hip square off your hips once again uttita trikanasana or triangle pose as we tilt forward our right fingertips either come to the shin or all the way to the mat or you can even take your piece fingers around the big toe if that's in your practice the main thing here is we don't want to dump into our shoulder but we lengthen up both hands are reaching in opposite directions belly stays nice and strong and our fingertips are just in contact with our leg or the mat instead of sinking our weight into it one more breath in one more breath out bend that front knee reverse the warrior one more time big inhale exhale hands come down to frame your foot roll into the ball of your back foot and step back high plank our vinyasa flow lower your knees chest and forehead hips down untuck the toes pushing up exhale forward head down push up and back child's close one breath pause downward facing dog [Music] always connecting our breath and movement take a gentle breath in here a gentle breath out [Music] look forward step the left foot forward spin your back heel down belly strong as you rise yourself up arms up overhead remember to press into the edge of your back foot we're working to square off the hips a little bit as best as we can take one breath in breath out as we open up warrior two remember shoulders and hips all stacked fingertips spread wide no sad hands reaching energy breath in breath out extended side angle pose the left elbow comes down to the knee we reach that right arm up over the head reaching towards the front of our mat opening up the side body breathing into the space finding regulation in our breath one more inhale one more exhale rise yourself up and back keep the depth in your front leg reversing the warrior and then straighten the leg square off the hip stack the torso utita trikonasana when you're ready tilting forward remember fingertips either come to the shin or all the way to the mat or if it's available piece fingers to the big toe we don't want to dump into the weight though we keep the energy nice and strong reaching in both directions one more breath in one more breath out bend the front knee rise and reverse your warrior one more time use the inhale exhale brings us down hands to the mat we're on the ball of the back foot step back vinyasa flow always connecting your breath with your movement up and back balasana child's pose one breath and make way to a tabletop position from here we'll take half pigeon pose so your right knee comes up towards your right right wrist the foot and shin is angling downward we try to keep our hips nice and square as much as we can sliding back on that back leg watch your ankle we don't want the toes to come in and the ankle to be all broken but we straighten that ankle as best as we can lowering down maybe that's onto the elbows maybe you're able to walk all the way forward forehead to the mat and if this just doesn't feel available to your practice at all you can bend this back knee come on to your right hip a little bit and create this nice z-like shape and walk down from here always remembering to meet yourself wherever you're at this is your practice your body you know you best wherever you are taking a few rounds of breath here sinking into our hips inviting in the space simply observing the sensations and inviting yourself to observe the sensations without judging them [Music] without criticizing them or just allowing it to simply be a part of the experience one more breath in one more breath out and starting to rise yourself back up onto your hands tuck your back toe send your leg all the way up to downward facing dog so you can give it a little shake make sure the blood's back in those toes maybe pedal out the feet and then when you're ready that left knee comes up towards the wrist remembering we either straighten the leg back squaring off the hips or take that nice z like shape where we bend the back knee we're on the left hip and we adjust for our practice remembering to listen to your body wherever you're at walking the hands forward if you can or coming onto the elbows maybe even we allow the forehead to come down that surrender of the ego breathing in breathing out finding a simple observation of the experience trying to maintain some consistency in our breath [Music] one more inhale stay for the exhale rising yourself up this time we'll roll onto this left hip sweep this right leg forward maybe shake out the legs as needed maybe even a little massage or even little punches to your legs once again let's make sure all that blood is flowing in our toes we take a little soft bend of the knees pashimotanasana are seated forward fold a little bit of flexion in the feet if we can lengthen up your spine and from here gently starting to walk forward we aren't trying to round and reach it doesn't really matter if you reach your toes i promise that won't bring you any closer to enlightenment but it may cause strain in your back so we lengthen up the spine first and walk from here eventually we will start to straighten the legs but just remember to meet yourself wherever you're at there's no rush in our practice and every day just observing the experience little by little one more breath in one more breath out good rising yourself up you might want to slide forward a little bit on your mat we'll be coming all the way on to our back so maybe you bend the knees first arms come out in front you use the strength in your core to lower down nice and slow good legs will come straight up towards the sky you can stay right here this is a perfect inversion or sarvangasana shoulder stand where we start to lift the hips up hands come to our lower back we're going to wiggle the elbows towards one another we really try not to move the neck here and we eventually start to flatten the body pointing the toes up towards the sky breathing in breathing out and you're welcome to stay right here or taking halas in a plow where the toes come all the way over the head towards the earth behind you and don't worry if you can't reach the earth that's okay maybe bending your knees a little bit as needed to support your lower back let's take just one breath in one breath out and starting to come all the way onto your back and the hands come down matsyasana the fish so the hands will be either beside or underneath the glutes i like to bend my knees first feet down come up on the elbows press my heart up towards the sky and then straighten out the legs from here if i can big inhale if it's available to you chin starts to peel away from the chest and the head falls back if that's okay on your neck breathing in breathing out one more inhale through the nose out the mouth chin up towards your chest come all the way back onto your back left leg is straight right knee comes into your chest interlace the hands around your knee squeeze it in towards your chest breathing in breathing out and taking a twist so we draw this knee all the way over to the left side right arm opens up like we did in the beginning either straight or bent whatever feels best for you remembering to always adjust for your body as needed keeping a soft gaze or maybe the eyes closed one more breath in one more breath out coming back to the center hug the knee back and towards your chest and lift your head and shoulders off the mat give your knee a big kiss even if you can't reach it give yourself some love thank you so much knee for holding me up leg up towards the sky lower down slow using the strength in your core good left knee comes in interlace the hands around the knee give it a little squeeze and then a big twist when you're ready [Music] left arm opens up either straight or bent chin over to the left eyes closed if you can drawing the focus inward on the breath on the sensations of the experience [Music] one more breath in [Music] one more breath out coming back through the center hugging the knee in big squeeze head and shoulders off the mat big kiss upload a kiss even if you can't reach it thank you so much knee and we send it up lower it down slow our final relaxation so getting out any last little wiggles and twitches adjustments movements so you find a final resting posture that serves your practice if straight legs is not comfortable for you you can always bend the knees allow them to kiss one another this is very supportive of the lower back so any resting posture that feels best for you let's take a big breath in let it out the mouth either arms beside you palms up or you're always welcome to have the hands in contact with yourself in some way eyes closed if you can just inviting yourself to really soften into this final space maybe your top and your bottom row of teeth just gently separate inviting your jaw to hang a little bit heavy to release any extra tension we let go of any control of our breath allowing it to be passive maybe we even repeat to ourselves i am relaxed i am relaxed i am relaxed inviting yourself to fully relax into the space you're welcome to stay right here for as long as you'd like we're starting to take a gentle inhale through your nose sweet tie out the mouth bring a bit of movement back into your body just reminding yourself that you're here in this body maybe wiggles to your fingers toes hips or head when you're ready take a big inhale reaching the arms up overhead taking a nice big stretch out your fingers out your toes and exhaling out a yawn a sound or a sigh bending the knees as you roll onto one side in a fetal-like position allowing the arm to serve as a little pillow just taking a moment to pause here to feel the support of the earth beneath you whenever you're ready with very little effort starting to rise yourself up to a comfortable seat or maybe the eyes remain closed and the head will be the very last thing to come up let's take a breath in take a breath out and all together may we bow at the feet of our teachers for our guru mantras our prayer to teachers om guru brahma om guru vishnu om devo maheshwara may the entire world be at peace as we rise up hands come to prayer at the third eye center to love with no intentions hands to mouth to love with no expectations and hands to prayer at heart center to love for love's sake no more no less slight bow of the head just taking a moment here to find honor and gratitude for yourself we're having the discipline and the courage to show up to the mat today i thank you i honor you and i love you i love you i love you thank you everyone so much for practicing with me today please be sure to if you'd like more videos i'm going to have lots and lots coming and make sure to put in the comments some suggestions of things that you would like to learn thank you so much have a wonderful day