10 min Yoga Flow

Okay, we're back. Today our focus will be on total body short flow. Great to do if you don't have a lot of time or you need something to kind of get yourself going if you feel stagnant or tight. We're going to start in four fold. So I'm going to turn it to the side so that you can see my form. You can be faced the with same way or probably facing towards me is best. Always making sure to keep a slight bend in the knees to protect hybrid extension. And one thing I love doing is using the hands similar to a deadlift.

As you come down to really help engage. Lowering down, bringing your heart towards the mat. Allow your head to hang down. Really let the shoulders and your head hang here. Immediately begin to engage the breath. Remember, ujjayi breathing is breathing through the nose and out through the mouth with the mouth closed, which keeps that rich oxygen flow flowing through your body, releasing tension in your muscles, increasing flexibility and liability. Taking ragdoll arms here. Opposite hand to opposite elbow.

Slowly swinging to the side. Don't rush the body. Continue to let your head hang. Release the hands halfway. Lift hands. Come to a shin, your shins or your thighs. But the goal is to flatten the back for your body. Face down towards the mat. You're really going to feel this all the way down from the tip of the heels up through the calf, the hamstrings, the lower glutes, forward fold hands come back towards the mat or block. This is a great place to grab your blocks. This is for fold with blocks.

Blocks are an excellent source. Right, for now we're only going to need one block. Left leg is going to stay straight, right knee is going to bend. Right hand stays down and left arm comes up. And you might need to take your block and lift it up here. It really just depends on your height or preference. But notice left leg straight. Right knee bent so that I can get a full twist. This is going to help piriformis hip all the way down the back side of the body. And then we're engaging the upper side of the body in the twist.

Slowly lower down and we're going to switch sides. Left knee bends, left arm is straight and then right hand heels up. Oh, I just heard my hips crack. That felt amazing. That was my body going. And then slowly lower your right hand down. Blocks are going to come out in front of you. This kind of feels like downward dog, but not quite. But we are going to go towards a low lunge. Right foot is going to step forward, left leg steps back and the knee comes down. Release your foot and then lean in here.

It is okay for this knee in this posture to overextend the ankle. That engages the shin and creates flexibility there. While we're also stretching and getting some viability and flexibility in the left leg and growing and quad splits prep, bring the blocks back towards the foot. Slowly coming back. We're working towards straightening that front leg, coming on the heel of the foot. Remember that the hinge is at the hips, so my back stays straight. This is me straight. This is knee in splits prep.

You don't want to be hunched over because then you lose the benefit of this posture. Always keep slight bend in the knee. Heel down, toes up. Slowly bring that right foot back down. Blocks come beside each side of the foot. Now to move through it. We're going to curl the left foot coming up into high lunge here. Step your left foot forward just a little bit for intense leg stretch here. So then straighten out. Still a tiny bend in that right leg. The back is as flat as possible. Again, you can come up higher here because we want to keep the intensity of this.

We call it intense leg stretch for a reason. That's where we want to feel it. Good. And then left leg comes up to meet right. Let's take another four fold. Just showing you how to adjust and utilize your blocks to move with you. Lunge on the other side. So right leg back, lower the right knee towards the mat, release the foot, and then hinge forward again. Perfectly fine to have that knee extended. I actually want it that way so that we pull in your shin and your ankles. Give yourself a minute here.

Really let everything kind of seek into this posture. Splits, prep blocks, come back slowly straightening that left leg, bringing the heel down, toes up, hinging at the hips again. Find your best option based on the height of your body. I'm short, so mine is here. And slowly bringing that left foot back. Flops come to both sides. Curl the right toe, coming up into high lunge. And then bringing your right foot forward slightly and straightening your left leg for intense leg stretch on the other side.

I was almost gonna say this is one of my favorites, but it's all a favorite. And then let's take a quick strengthening flow here. So, coming back into low lunge, which just means you slightly come on the balls of that right foot coming up into warrior. Get that balance. Arms come up tall. Sinking in. Right foot steps up to meet left. Mountain pose. Forward fold halfway, lift four fold. Left foot steps back for lunge. Warrior one coming up tall, making sure your hips are directly stacked and everything is faced forward.

And then when nailing your arms back down to the side, left foot steps up to meet right fourfold. One last time. Hands come up around the side into prayer. Cleansing breath. Feeling a little warmth in your body now. And release. Have a phenomenal day.