okay welcome to class we are going to work with uh extensions uh so extension of the hips and knees ankles as well as extension through our spine today um you're going to want to have probably a couple blankets or towels a pillow or bolster and then a folding chair um or chair of some sort ideally and we're going to start uh coming onto our bellies so no no props for this first one we're just going to come onto our belly you could stack your hands and place the forehead on the backs of the hands or you could turn your head um to look one way so your in one Temple or the other on the hand and just take a few breaths here and just notice what you notice so notice you know your feet your toes your ankles the directions that things are pointing your knees pelvis maybe gently Rock the pelvis side to side the arch of the low back the contact with the rib cage on the floor okay and then we're going to take the pillow and or a couple of folded beach towels or bolster and pop ourselves up Ken okay so taking our bolster it's going to come so that it is above the pelvis um rib cage is resting on it and that our forearms can come to rest on the ground and depending on the size of your bolster you might um have it so it's touching kind of the top of the pelvis mine isn't rectangular it's more cylindrical but kind of swish down so and depending on the length of your torso if your bolster is really big you might find that two-folded towels works better but we want to be able to have the forearms on the ground okay and then think of taking the two big toenails and stretching them out and away from the pelvis so this sense of if somebody was there and could hold on to your big toes and just gently traction them away from your hips that's kind of the sense that we want to have here for a few breaths okay feel the forearms on the ground and we're just kind of resting on them with your next exhale though I'm going to encourage you to think about the upper armb bone at the elbow reaching down into the floor so you've got an active reach kind of from the armpits down into the floor so you'll feel some muscles around the shoulder kind of start to engage you might feel how your shoulders like roll back or you get brought across the collar bones and then we're going to take the head and curl the chin towards the collar bones and then curl the head up and I want you to feel for kind of where you have space in the neck and shoulders in this movement so it might not just be a rolling of the head down and back it might also be a lengthening kind of towards the ceiling okay the next time the head comes up we're going to pause and then those hands and we're just going to flip the Palms up and then back to the ground a few times keep that reach from the armpit through the elbows that length kind of sliding out through the big toenails okay then we're going to take one elbow and bring it up onto the bolster and again start to find that reach from from the armpits up through to the shoulders so your pelvis will be on the floor okay the low front ribs will probably be touching your folded blanket pillow or bolster and again Palms they could be down towards the floor as we reach that elbow into the bolster they could be facing one another they could be Palms up find the hand forearm position that lets you have this reach from the armpits into the bolster again play with the head nodding it yes find the place where it feels like you've got space in your shoulders and your neck we're just going to take a couple breaths here okay we're going to lower down over that bolster hands are going to come underneath the shoulders so now the hands are on the bolster the elbows are back behind us and I wanted to think about taking the elbows and the forearm towards the floor as you peel up off that bolster you might go to a bent arm you might come all the way up to a straight arm kind of work where it works for you but this sense of the arms kind of ratcheting towards the floor helping us lift the chest and exp extend through that upper spine inhale lower down exhale elbows reach towards the floor forearms move towards parallel with the ground good the next time you lower down relax we're going to stack our fists on front of the bolster and just rest your forehead on the back of those hands you might wiggle the hips side to side okay so whichever iteration of the arm position got you kind of the greatest sense of being able to move um into extension in your spine um you're going to choose that hand position bolster position now and then the only other change we're going to make is bringing the Inside Edge of the feet together and the feet towards the ceiling so we should start to feel kind of the backs of our thighs engage a little bit the hamstrings to hold the Shins here yeah okay and then that arm position that you've decided on you're just going to move in and out of that spinal extension with this new leg position so we kind of pivot up on the knees as we extend through that spine maybe you play with where the hands are again taking mine a little wider with my fingers pointing out towards the end of the bolsters is giving me more face to move into extension through that spine okay last one push the inside edges of the feet together reach down through the arms or the elbows and then we're going to release down scoot that bolster all the way out of the way release the tops of the feet to the ground rest the back of your head on your your hands rest your forehead the backs of your hands again you might wiggle the bottom side to side a few times okay we're going to scoot that bolster this time we're going to scoot it down lower than the abdomen and ribs so that the blankets or pillow or bolster are hitting us at the pelvis and the top of the thighs okay so for me I've got a longer spine so the bolster under the hands works really good to get me leverage to feel that spinal extension others of us having the bolster under the pelvis is going to work better for you to get a sense to be able to push through the arms and extend through the spine inhale lower down you might wiggle through the hips exhale Slide the big toes reach through the arms press the tops of the feet into the floor and extend up inhale lower down exhale slide through the big toes ground into the floor push through the hands shoulders roll back and down good this next time you push up you're going to pick one foot to stay reaching long and you're going to curl the other one up towards your bum and then we'll release it all the way down and we're going to switch sides so again this time sliding one foot up towards the bum as we extend up good this next time go back to that first foot that reaches up and we might reposition the hands to be more midline based and reach back with one hand or the other you decide so it might be the same hand that your brain is like yes reach back with that hand for others might be the opposite hand that when they're in the center your brain goes use this one go with the one that your brain is like this is the one we should take off and reach back if we don't grab the foot we can just push into the heel and the heel push into the hand and then we come down go to the other foot don't assume that the same hand is going to want to reach back or the opposite hand like what you did on the other side again go with what your brain is like reach back with this one so we've got a push into the floor and the hand and foot pushing into one another okay and then we'll release down you could wiggle that pelvis side to side so adding the reach with arm is a really nice way to start to get a stretch through the front of that shoulder okay this next time let's come to our forearms and our forearms are again kind of more in the center because that's going to set us up better for our brain to go yet you could take this arm or this arm off as we come up which won't be as high we're going to reach back for that foot press in through that [Music] forearm roll that shoulder back and down think about sliding the knee away [Music] from the armpit on that side take a couple of inhale exhales and then we're going to release that foot release that forearm going to the other side side so we're going to bring the opposite heel to the bum again it might be the opposite arm that wants to reach back it might be the same arm you might notice that on one side when you reach back you kind of grab the pinky edge of the foot maybe on the other you grab the inside big toe first met head of the foot don't predetermine what you're going to do just see what your brain body today where it guides you again foot into hand hand into foot think of the knee reaching away from the shoulder couple of breaths and then we're going to release and come down roll to the side so we can scoot the pillow bolster whatever is under you out to the side come flat onto the belly like when we started the class release the forehead on the back of the hands and just take a couple of breaths here again noticing what you notice in terms of like which toes are in contact with the floor the position of your foot Shin thigh no pelvis how much in what of your rib cage is in contact with the ground okay we're going to roll to the side and um take our bolster or pillows so mine's long but yours might be shorter which is fine you're just going to rest on your forearms what we want to do is position that pile of pillows towels or that bolster so that our pelvis is supported and then our torso that might mean that if yours is quite long you turn your head to one side it might mean that yours ends uh further back and then you're just going to position your forearm so that your torso is supported well and we're going to take one leg out to the side roughly you know knee somewhere in line with the hip and then the heel below the knee so it doesn't need to be 9090 at each of those joints but somewhere with a bend and a bend and I guess a Bend Bend at the hip at the knee at the ankle okay we can release that torso down and then that leg that we've taken out to the side you're going to take the pinky edge of that foot and lift it up towards the ceiling or in the direction of your head and then lower it back down maybe rest on the inner border of that foot and the knee comes off the the ground so we go into some external rotation and then we lift that pinky Edge outside edge of the heel off and we come into some internal rotation again we're not fighting anything just sort of give the suggestion and see what your brain does with it and work there okay then you're going to let that leg settle and we're going to take the other leg out as well so we're gonna have both if I some space there so we'll have both legs out in this frog supported frog pose okay then we're going to straighten the one we first bent take it out long and the side that we've still got bent at the hip bent at the knee bent at the ankle again we're going to take the outside edge that pinky Edge outside edge of the heel towards the ceiling and then bring the Edge to the floor maybe the knee and thigh lift maybe they don't whatever happens for you is data for your brain more and more so fascinating to me where I'll be like I want to do this and my brain is like do what like and you need to give yourself a second to let things organize and figure it out and when I do that usually it figures it out the best way to do it but it's taking me a long time to learn not just to kind of ramrod things get that a lot of my 20s and even 30s okay let that go we're going to extend that Lego so both legs are long come back to that first side bend the hip bend the knee bend the ankle and then hands are going to come underneath the shoulders and again think of those elbows forearms pitching towards the ground kinda then rotates the upper arm bone back to peel us that bolster okay and then we're going to pitch the elbow into the forearm away from the floor and we're just going to roll up and down a couple of times like that and maybe your hands don't need to be under the shoulders maybe your hands need to be in front of wherever you are kind of with the fingers and the thumb and more of like a diamond configuration and that this gets you better leverage to kind of feel and be able to ratchet and extend each of the vertebra of the spine so you know play with that hand position and again that idea of the elbow end of the forearm pitching towards the [Music] ground where your head looks so that there's a sense of like space in your your shoulders and your neck and we're going to peel up with this leg out to the side one last time okay lower down slide and extend out that leg and then we're going to come up on the other side now I've got the top of my foot on the floor but no you could also have the toes tucked under you could find that like MTP joint and be working with the ankle of that extended out leg bent some of us that's going to give us a better sense of being able to work the upper body against the lower body to extend through the spine and through the shoulders so on the hips and maybe you find that on one side that works better and on the other side having the top of the foot down works better but keep feeling for like what helps make space for you to then move into space in this shape and you might take a couple breaths there and release down and extend that leg out we're going to hold the side and come off of that bolster and give our pile of blankets or a bolster a turn um any questions that work okay Karen you're good okay awesome okay so with this next one we're taking the Bol this way um for some of us for me there's some things that I'm going to find this potentially too low and so a workaround would be to take whatever it is that you're using and you could add a couple of blocks under it to get you the height that you want okay so and it might be that you like need this height on one side but on the other hip you don't need that height so you might even have one block that you work with so again you know have the options available and let your system like problem solve it I'm just giving sort of one iteration that um I found works but there's more than just the one so we're going to move from here we're going to step one foot over top of that support so we're kneeling behind and in front and then we're going to work this front leg into this 9090 so we're GNA work this front leg and slide this back leg back so that we come into this elevated pigeon so to start with we don't need this knee to go to the ground we don't necessarily need this hip to to also be square like so you might start more in this 9090 you see how my back leg is turned towards you and my front leg is turned away from you but I'm resting on that front outer hip so then from here I can work with starting to extend this back hip to the degree that the position that I've got my front chin in works for that front hip so just kind of roll in and out the other kind of way you can work with this is that front leg if it's that front hip that is kind of what where you're getting stuck or running into yourself if I take this front shin and move it in and come on to the front of that foot all of a sudden there's different space in that front hip and I can get more Square to the floor does that make sense so it it just kind of play where it's you know you know your body is like yeah be there for a second and breathe that tissue that is getting tension that feels good don't stay in a place this is also kind of I like these blocks is because I can widen them so that this front leg I can get this foot and there's space for it because maybe that foot actually needs to come under the pelvis a little bit so if you can see I've got I'm the top of my foot is kind of under the bolster but now I don't squish that foot because I've got blocks on the bolster and now I can work that hip extension on that back leg right I could come down onto the forearms that's going to work more of that front outer hip back hip stuff if I come up onto the hands or when I come up on the hands I'm going to work a bit more of that back extended hip which I could also then play with bringing the foot up and again maybe a hand reaches back again let your brain decide is it the opposite hand that reaches back or is it the same side hand that reaches back and then the hand and foot can kind of work into one another and you find where you get the extension of the back hip and the work and extension through the spine that's productive for you today okay work with reaching the leg into the ground both hands reach back of where it feels interesting for you and then to finish come down onto the forearms let the spine round and drape over that front leg let's just take five breaths here okay and then thread that front leg I just kind of sit on the bolster and then I'll flip the direction that I'm going any questions about that before we go to the other side did you find someplace that was like work workable and interesting awesome okay so set up that front leg you might try to have that like you know parallel to the bolster front Shin dorsy flexed anle ankle to start with and then start to turn the pelvis and that back thigh find what's workable and then it might become obvious that you're you know you want to work here you want to work with extending the spine you feel really grounded through the legs right maybe you want to bring that front foot in a bit more so you come down onto that thigh and you can get more kind of square through that back hip and again almost like the legs scissor together maybe that back thigh comes up and a hand whichever one again it's making sense for your brain and body today reaches back might be that Pinky side it might be the big toe side okay find what works for you a couple of bre there all through that lens of like what what helps make space for you to move into space into whatever shape is being expressed today okay and then release that back leg lower down over that front leg maybe really ground down through the front of that back hip that might make some space for you to get into that front hip a little bit differently okay and then spin yourself so you're likeing Thea on that bolster and then we're GNA swing off of it okay we are coming to kind of moved through hip extension spinal extension and we're going to put it together in our Peak pose and then come down with a couple of restorative pose poses and chiasa this is where the chair comes in handy again where I put my hands is just a suggestion you're gonna find a position a a rotation a turning of the hands that uh works for you okay and I'm going to show us kind I'm going to show sort of like three different places we could stop along the way so last thing we're going to do with the bolster with that hip extension is we're bringing actually I'm going to use a block instead of a bolster the firmer surface I think is going to work better for me so block or bolster I'm going for the block because the firmer surface I think is going to work better I've got my one foot forward and my other foot behind me but I'm going to hinge forward so I can bring the back foot up onto the edge of that chair could be the first MTP joint could be the front of the ankle and then I'm going to stand back up with that torso reaching that knee down into the block okay as I reach that knee down into the block I want to let the sit bones kind of and the tailbone kind of scoop towards the back of the thighs and I'm just going to shift my chest and hips forward and back to the degree that that back quad front of the thigh front of the hip stuff is in agreement with okay now I could also add a reach of the arms up and back and then a bit more of a hinge a reach up and back of the hands a press forward through those hips okay I could reach back again to that foot with one hand or the other okay and then we're going to come forward bring both knees to the ground take that foot off and just come to tall kneeling for a second and notice yourself side to side and then based on your experience on that side you might reposition the prop or go for a pressed foam block instead of a firmer cork or wood block etc etc knee shouldn't be um uncomfortable here there's a spot for all of us on the knee that it likes pressure so play with the prop placement other foot's going to come forward we're going to hinge forward and bring the front of that ankle Shin to the chair again it could be I'm too close if I do it but it could be also the MTP joint is on the edge of that chair so It's tricky to see with the blanket but it's like my toes are like under the chair and the pads at the ball of my foot are on the chair so could be this way for some of us could be the front of the ankle for others again create that reach down into the block with the knee and then just take the hips chest forward and back forward and back okay you might add that reach up and back almost like you're bending the fingers towards your thumbs and then hinge out and then [Music] scoop and then hinge out again maybe as you reach forward a hand reaches back then finding those places and spaces that it's like you've made space to move into the space and there's something workable in the position you're in okay take a couple of breaths and then we're going to come out have that couch stretch release that so hips and things spine we're all ready so I'm going to show you the three kind of iterations that you could come into here um depending on your chair so mine has this nice these nice slanted arms that work really well uh for me if your chair isn't like a folding chair and it's a dining room chair um you might find that you put blocks on the seat of the chair and that creates a platform for the hands but here are the here's where we're going so I'm going to sit down I've got my shoulder blades resting on the chair okay I would advise having the chair against a wall because in my brain knows it's not going anywhere okay and the reason is is because now I'm going to use my legs to lift my hips up up and now I'm in this tabletop position so I could work here hold onto the chair and kind of work some spinal extension here lowering and lifting the hips you could grab onto the chair I might walk the feet more under and roll up onto the top of my head my elbows are reaching towards the wall maybe I keep going then work up into full wheel and come out so there's places for you to work the legs working the hips an extension while we find some spinal extension here okay so again maybe I'm here I lift up maybe I use the back or the side of the chair to then lower and I'm working my legs when I'm working some spinal extension maybe I stay lifted here walk the feet up and roll up to the top of the head I'm thinking elbows like we did when we were on the ground rotating towards the wall maybe I push through the arms and come all the way up so there's places and spaces for all of us to find somewhere where we can work the the position and the actions that we're trying to get okay so take another minute or two to work with whatever I know I'm like it's very humid here right now I'm like sweaty sweaty to work with some iteration of that okay some of us might find the hands here work you know maybe we're here and this is this is workable is reaching the arms out and lowering the hips using the edge of the chair maybe hands come behind the head elbows reach to the ceiling and again this becomes really interesting where we can get a little more kind of extension and through some upper segments of the spine so there's lots of places where you could get that little work stretch space thing that has your brain kind of go oh that's cool I like that sensation uh I didn't know we could do that just take a couple breaths there and then we're going to come um out and move into a couple of three restorative poses before shias um any questions about that work we just did on the chair found something that was workable with the shoulder and stuff okay awesome awesome awesome I love that one it's just that kind of work is I find so much more useful than if I'm feeling kind of slumped and just going be up straight be tall like that there's no it's not sustainable I find like two minutes later I'm like sometimes it's because we're legitimately are just tired and we need to just be as efficient as possible which sling is um and other times that can be helpful if I've been at the computer but I'm like I still have an hour of stuff I have to do and it just sort of like okay it's like that coffee without having the coffee at 3: in the afternoon okay so we're going to use um we're g to First do the active pose and then we're going to set oursel up into a into the restorative version so the active pose we're going to do is fish which uses all these same actions so legs are going to reach out long okay um the hands are by the side we're literally going to push the elbows into the floor and lift up into spinal extension the top back of the skull will rest on the ground you could walk the hands in closer to the body or further from the body but it's a reach down with the elbows reach long through the legs crown of the head back kind of spot on the head rests on the the floor so notice the arch of your back back from like the pelvis to the top of the head and then relax the elbows lower yourself down so that height of the arch is then what we're going to try to create for ourself we could use um could really simply use the bolster here and then I'm going to use the chair and a block [Music] there and then I'm going to come down rest on my elbows and top of the head hits the bolster of the block stretch the legs out so it's like my shoulder blades are on the the um just kissing the bolster top back my head's kissing the bolster I'm able to get a gentle kind of push down and towards my feet of the the forearms elbows could be that I use two blocks and am even more kind of passive in it where I've got the height of that block I've got the other block long ways and I come back on it I just find sometimes the edges of these are a little um aggressive sometimes and again you know I still want to have some contact with forearms elbows into the ground and the legs long I like the softer bolster version better so we're going to be in this active quasi active variation of fish for another minute and a half okay with your next exhale you might release the head back onto the support release the elbows stand the feet up on the ground roll to the side Mo that and then we're going to come into a side Bend so could use your folded towel or your bolster again so I'm going to scoot this up kind of just above my pelvis and then drape myself over it so my shoulder is on the floor now I could use a block fold towel for my head I could also just fold up my arm underneath my head as well and then legs could stay stacked here if you want to experience um a sense of kind of more length on the top half of the body you can extend that top leg out okay really think about reaching the outer edge of the foot kind of away from the head and then that top arm can bicep can lay alongside the ear so we have a bit of shortening or compression on the bottom half of the body and then expansion and lengthening on the top half of the body might direct the inhale kind of to that top half pinky toe to pinky finger and then the exhale to the bottom half of the body take three more breaths here and then we'll change the other side then fold up that top arm and leg roll forward and come up to sitting and then you can reposition yourself on the other side bolster just above the pelvis as you come down you could use that that arm and fold it up maybe use a blanket and a block underneath the head kind of roll the chest and the pelvis forward a little bit and then you can take that top leg if you want stretch it out [Music] long think of that pinky edge of the foot rolling away from the head and the pelvis and then that top arm the bicep rest alongside that ear again might be a sense of an inhale from that top pinky toe finger to the pinky toe e three more breaths here okay and then you're going to fold up that leg and arm roll towards the floor in front of you press yourself up we've got one more posture before our um chiasa and that is a forward fold seated forward fold so I like to put something underneath my thighs that I can and kind of ground down into so rolled yoga mat rolled towel bolster and then I like to use the chair for this and it might be that the Arms Reach down on it and you tip and maybe like at the breast bone you rest on the chair but we want to have a sense of the pelvis folding or rolling forward forward maybe that chair comes to rest at the forehead I find the arms being able to reach out long helpful but we want to have a sense of the top of the pelvis coming towards the top of the thighs so after all the spinal extensions this forward fold really um instead of like that energizing of those spinal extensions this rounding of the spine and draping over the front of the thighs really is a cooling calming energy to it okay take three more breaths here and then slowly roll your head your chest back up so you're vertical over those legs you can keep that chair handy just in case any you want to use it for final posture for chilasa or you could use the rolled yoga mat or the bolster that's what I'm going to do today and um if you've got a blanket if you position the the uhit like so I'm G to pull up that side and then wrap the corners around the feet just gives it a little Koozie for the feet and then lay yourself back I'm going to put that bolster keep that bolster underneath my thighs find where the arms want to be might be beside you they might want to rest on the pelvis or on the ribs maybe before the hands find a resting place you bring them back to just cradle the oxop put of the head that Ridge at the back of the head I just create a little bit of traction with the follicles of the hair to get a sense of like lengthening through the back of the neck as the head comes to rest on the ground you could have your attention stay with your breath in and your breath out depending the how active your mind is today if it's a little Stiller maybe you let the attention soften and expand out a little further off e e e e e bring your ATT back into up my your body as it rests on the ground feel pressure maybe the sensation of or tingling coolness heat and start to gradually bring movement back to the body be wiggling fingers and toes or spreading the fingers or Toes or reaching the arms or legs long or curling into a ball maybe rocking side to side and as you bring movement back to the body you'll make your way onto a side take a second there just in the fetal position use your hand and your arm to press yourself up maybe the hands rest in your lap or Palms come together thumbs just to the left of the breast bone in prayer position breathing in with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for this day this body for this breath and for choosing this time shant shant