♪ opening music ♪ ♪ >> Support for Yoga In Practice is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

<Stacy> Hi, my name is Stacy Millner-Collins.

I hope you're well today.

Joining us for class are Greg and Caroline.

Please take a good seat and feel free to sit up on a cushion or a folded blanket.

As you close your eyes, enjoy your breath and just settle.

The profound truth is that you cannot be human on your own.

You are human through the relationships and the connections you make.

This is the African concept of Ubuntu, whereby a person is a person through other people.

We are made for interdependence.

I need you in order to be me.

Our class today will remember this deeper truth by moving from the periphery into the core using twists and backbends.

Slowly open your eyes.

Please clear any props you have on your mat and bring your legs forward.

Bending your knees, slide forward toward the front edge of your mat and hold on to your legs.

Roll down into a supine position on your back.

Once you are lying down, knees bent, place your hands on the inner edge of your hip bones about two inches, and then raise your feet off the mat.

Squeeze your knees and feet together and as you press your fingertips down into your lower abdomen, you should feel a muscle there.

You'll feel it more by gently coughing.

(coughing) That's your transverse abdominus muscle which supports your spine and your pelvis.

Keep your fingers where they are.

With your legs raised, tap your toes down your right foot down and then your left foot down.

We'll keep alternating like this.

I want you to feel that transverse abdominus muscle working.

However, if you have any lower back pain, it's fine to press your back a little flatter to the floor.

Over time, you'll build strength.

You have one more each leg.

So tap down on the right, and then tap down on the left.

Bring your legs back together.

Keep them raised, squeeze the knees in and now both legs together.

We'll do it 10 times.

So tap down and up and down, and up.

Breathe as you do this, don't hold the breath.

Exhale as you touch down and up.

Good.

Five more.

Reach down.

Hold that 90 degree angle at your knees.

And here's your last three, feeling that abdomen work.

And two... and the last one.

Nice job.

Hug your legs into your chest.

Press your back into the mat and just stretch out the lower back.

Now crossing at your ankles, roll up to a seated position and hover right at the top if you can, and then go back.

We'll do this three times.

So come up.

Here's number two, and back and your last one, see if you can hover.

Now if doing that is too difficult, just roll to your side and come to seated.

Good.

Release.

Roll to your hands and knees into table position.

(silence) Plant your hands.

Make sure your wrists are straight, your index fingers parallel.

Take a deep breath in.

And then exhale to soften and settle keeping your spine supported through the abdomen.

With your inhale, please look up and arch and as you exhale, round.

Open your back.

Inhale, look forward.

Exhale, round.

Inhale, look forward again.

And exhale round.

Good.

Pause in neutral.

And now lean forward and come into a modified pushup.

Lower the front of your thighs, your hips, your lower belly.

Once you are lying down on your abdomen, lengthen your legs back behind you.

And then stretch your arms forward, staying lifted to your fingertips.

Keep your hands about as wide as your sticky mat.

And then pushing your fingertips in, lengthen your legs again.

And then walk your arms forward.

Good, just keep stretching out.

Now take your forehead to the floor, but keep your arms lifting.

Keep reaching out.

So you're getting a nice long extension of the core of your body here, the sides of your waist, the arms lifted...Good.

And now release.

Lift your head and walk your hands back about five inches, taking your hands a little wider apart, you're still lifted to your fingertips.

Inhale, lift, pulling up.

It's another form of cobra pose.

And then come back down.

Good.

Walk your hands back about another five inches.

Stay on the fingertips, pick up your shoulders.

Inhale, rise back up.

Keep your feet and knees pressing down.

And then roll back down.

And now, place your hands next to your upper ribcage, palms down.

Inhale, shoulders up, rise open to cobra pose lifting.

Pull the shoulders and the head back as you lengthen through your spine.

And then exhale, roll down.

Move to table position and come into downward facing dog.

Please walk your feet apart as wide as your mat.

Keeping your feet wide.

Keep the shoulders lifted into the back of your body.

And then just lengthen out through the spine breathing here through the back.

Remember you're pulling from the periphery into the core.

Enjoy that lengthening as you stretch down through your hips.

Good.

Keep your feet wide.

Look up forward and walk up into a wide form of Uttanasana standing forward fold.

Bow over as you exhale.

Inhale.

Lift halfway forward.

Exhale and bow.

Strong legs.

Inhale and lift.

Keep in mind, you can always place your hands on the front of your legs.

Exhale and bow and lift up one more time.

With the wide feet bend your knees and rest your forearms across your thighs.

This is downhill skier.

Good.

Staying into your hips.

Enjoy your breath.

Now lift your arms out in front of you.

rise up to standing... and exhale.

Take your hands down.

Join them to your heart.

Good.

Maintain the wide stance.

Exhale, lower your arms.

Inhale.

Lift your arms overhead and bending forward.

Follow your breath.

Lift halfway.

Inhale.

Fold forward.

Exhale.

Rise to standing, lift.

Join your hands, exhale.

Lift your arms.

Inhale.

Bend forward, exhale.

Coming up halfway.

Open up through your hamstrings.

Bow again.

Now using your core strong.

Rise up.

folding your hands, come right back down the center of your heart.

We'll do it one more time.

Lower the arms.

Inhale, lift.

Exhale, fold center.

Lift halfway.

Inhale.

Fold down.

Exhale.

Raise your arms.

Inhale Anjali Mudra, palms to your heart and remind yourself of your connections in life.

Please keep your feet wide.

Move through a squat and hold.

Now, taking your hands like you're holding a towel around your neck, bend at your elbows, pull down on that imaginary towel to engage the upper backs.

Stay in the squat and put your weight back through your heels and your hips.

We're not going to move the lower half of the body here.

Now, hinging forward right from your hips go down.

And then pull up and feel yourself working your hips and your low back.

Come down and up.

Down.

Keep breathing.

Here's four you should be feeling your hips, your hamstrings working, and here's six.

We're going to go for a total of eight shoulders back.

Seven.

And your last one.

Good.

Push down.

Rise up to standing stretch your arms up.

Join your hands.

Come back to the heart.

Take a deep breath.

Good, please step your feet together.

Beneath your sit bones.

Spread your toes.

Exhale, lower your arms.

Inhale.

Lift overhead.

Exhale, bend forward touch the mat and step to downward dog.

(silence) Make sure your downward dog has enough length.

Keep your hands well grounded.

On your exhale, lower your knees to the mat to table position and we'll do snowbird pose.

So raising your right leg off the floor parallel to the ground and your left arm forward.

Good.

And now change.

Raise your left leg and your right arm.

Good.

And let's alternate with the breath.

So moving a little more quickly.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Rising up, support your spine.

And keep changing.

Come up...and down and up pull from the fingers into your body.

Last one, reaching up...and down and up and down.

Good.

Table.

Take a deep breath.

Simply connect into your body into your breath.

Please look up and draw into downward dog.

(silence) Lengthen through your down dog.

And now move forward to plank pose.

And pause, hold your plank.

Plank is one of the best exercises for your overall strength in your core.

So as you push your hands down, pull your hands toward your toes without actually moving the hands and you'll feel your core get much stronger.

Good.

On your exhale, lower to a push up.

You can always bring your knees down to the floor.

And then lie on your abdomen, again.

Stretch your legs back.

Please bring your arms forward, hands wider than your mat.

Stay up on your fingertips.

Again, cobra.

Inhale lifting and lower.

Hands back a little further.

Inhale, lift.

Exhale, lower.

Hands back a little further.

Inhale, lift and exhale lower.

And now move your hands onto your mat next to your upper chest.

Inhale, pull up to a traditional cobra.

Hold your cobra.

Don't go up so high that you feel it across your lower back just high enough that you can move into your shoulders.

Lengthen back through your toes.

Open through the front of your shoulders here and lean your head back.

Good.

Exhale and roll down.

Push to table position and transition to downward facing dog.

From downward dog, raise your right leg.

Now you can do this next series of poses kneeling as well.

Draw your right knee up to your chest and direct it back.

Now take it wide to your outer right arm and back and now cross it over to your left arm adding a little twist here, and take it back.

Good.

Lower your foot downward dog.

Good second side, raise your left leg.

Exhale, draw forward.

Inhale, take it wide.

You can do this on your knees and take it back and then cross it over to your right shoulder and take it back.

Lower the knee or the foot and take downward facing dog.

Inhale to plank.

And again, find the place where your head, your shoulders, your hips are aligned, your core is engaged.

So keep reaching back through your heels.

Good lift back through downward dog.

And now raise your right leg one more time.

Using that core engagement like we just did, pull your right knee forward towards your chest and step up slowly.

Now if your foot didn't get up in one step, take as many short steps as you need to get long enough in your pose.

Inhale, lift to a high lunge raising your arms overhead.

Getting steady with your balance, hold your right wrist and pull.

Please lean to the left side of your mat.

This is called a crescent pose, high lunge.

Good and come back through the middle.

And now lower your arms down beside your waistline with the elbows under your shoulders, like you're holding a beach ball.

Please twist to the right.

Exhale.

And come back in again to the right.

And back to the middle.

Last time to the right.

And back to the middle.

Inhale lift your arms rise up and touch your mat.

Exhale.

Downward facing dog.

Step back.

Take a breath.

Notice how that series of poses just works you into the awareness of your middle.

Think of that as connecting you more deeply to your heart.

Inhale.

Raise your left leg.

You can modify this kneeling as well.

Pull your knee up to your chest, and slowly step to a high lunge.

Kneel here if you'd like, inhale, sweep your arms up and over your shoulders.

Good.

Soften your face.

Now holding your left wrist, lean to the right.

Feel that whole side body opening.

Hold your balance.

And then inhale, come back to the middle.

Release your hands, take them down to the waistline.

Good.

Squeeze your arms towards each other.

Now twist to the left and back forward.

Two more times.

Go exhale to the left.

And inhale back.

And last time, squeeze.

Keep your shoulders engaged.

And come back forward.

Inhale, lift your arms over your head.

And then exhale, reach down, touch the mat.

Take downward facing dog.

Enjoy the breath.

Forward to plank.

Lower your knees come down through a push up.

Inhale, lift to cobra.

Open the back.

Pause.

Good.

And now take downward dog, stretch back.

Step your feet apart and come into a wide footed plank pose.

So by putting your feet apart, you get a little bit more stability in this posture.

This can also be done kneeling, lift your right hand up and take it to your left shoulder, and then put it down and take your left hand across to your right shoulder and place it down.

And let's alternate with the breath.

Go.

Inhale.

Left...right... left...right, left feel your core Lift.

Last one.

Hold up.

Good.

Take downward dog.

Stretch back.

Good forward to plank into a pushup.

Walk your feet closer together and come down.

Inhale, lift to cobra.

Good and then lower all the way down coming down onto your abdomen.

Make sure you're on your mat.

So you may need to slide yourself back a little bit.

Please take your left arm in front of your chest and reach around with your right hand holding the right foot.

Now you can also lie on your side with this if you need to.

Makes it a little easier.

Keep your knees close together.

Pressing your right knee into the mat.

Begin to lift the hip and heel into each other and add a tuck until you feel this more in the front of your right thigh.

You can lift your chest if you like or just stay down and low.

Exhale, release.

Second side, right arm across.

Hold your left foot for this thigh stretch.

Good.

Knee down as you push the knee down, feel your hip rising.

Try to close the space down between your hip and heel.

Keep your left shoulder lifted.

Looking straight ahead, balance your hips and shoulders.

And then exhale and release down.

Good.

Walk your legs back a little bit just adjusting the front of your thighs in and sweep your arms down alongside your body.

Rest your forehead on the mat.

Good.

Raise the front of your shoulders off the floor and then inhale Raise your head and come up through the upper body.

This is locust pose, Salabhasana.

Your legs are grounding you to help you get up a little bit higher.

(silence) Good.

As you exhale, lower back down.

Take a deep breath.

Good.

On your next inhale, lift your chest up again.

Now you can also lift your legs as well or just keep your legs down on the ground.

Keep the front of your shoulders lifting up and feel yourself extend and lengthen through the back of your neck.

Exhale and release down.

Good.

Stretching your arms out in front of you.

Stay up on your fingertips again.

And then lifting your head this is Superman pose.

So you're going to raise your arms up off the floor.

Try to lift your arms a little higher.

Stay here with your legs down if you prefer or also raise your legs.

Spread your toes and feel yourself hugging into the middle of your body.

Pulling from the feet and the fingers into your hips.

And then exhale and release down.

Good.

Bring your hands beside your chest, push up to cobra and then into table position.

Take a deep breath, look up and arch.

Exhale, round.

Look forward.

Fold in, open your back.

One more time, inhale, look up and round in.

Look forward, fold your toes underneath and raise back to your downward dog.

Hold your downward dog as a neutralizing pose.

Taking time just to stretch through your legs and the low back.

Keeping in mind that your legs are what govern your lower back and the health of your low back.

Please walk forward right to the middle of your mat.

Once you're in the middle of your mat, sit down.

Use a blanket under your hips if you need to.

We're going to do a seated twist here in this pose.

So begin first with your feet wider than your hips.

Pull up and lift through your spine.

And then lower your knees to the right side of the mat.

Notice that my legs are not stacked on each other.

Using your left hand, reach around and hold on to your right knee and take your right hand behind you.

Good.

Turn and look over your right shoulder or turn your head and look back across your left shoulder.

Good.

Work your toes.

All the parts of yourself are important.

All the parts of our community are important.

You can deepen this pose by lifting your left hand, take it across to your right arm and pull.

See if you get a deeper twist that way.

(silence) Good and release.

Take your hand down.

Spin back to center.

Keep your feet wide.

And now release your knees to the left.

Work the toes and make sure this front thigh is grounded.

If you're up on a blanket, that thigh may not go all the way down though.

Lift through your spine.

Take your right hand across to your left knee.

Reach your left hand behind you.

Good.

Pull up through the abdomen but keep your core muscles engaged.

And now turn and look over your right shoulder.

Enjoy your breath.

If you want to deepen this pose, you can take your right hand across over onto your left arm and pull.

See if you can twist a little bit more to the left.

Inhale, release.

Good.

Lifting your knees back to center.

Plant your feet and bring your hands behind you with the fingertips pointed back.

Walk your arms toward the end of the mat so they're not directly underneath your shoulders and lift your heart.

Now you could stay here keeping the neck nice and long, the throat open or moving into purvottanasana, raise your hips.

As you lift your hips, try to align the hips, the shoulders and the head similar to plank pose, but feel your collar bones open apart.

Good.

On your exhale if you brought your hips up lower your hips down and walk your legs in.

Hold on to your legs and just pull upward through your spine.

Enjoy your breath.

Good.

Holding on to the back of your legs one more time, please lie down on your mat.

(silence) And once you are down, adjust, make sure your shoulders feel comfortable and raise your legs to a 90 degree angle like we did at the very beginning of this class.

Take your fingers back in to the lower abdomen and then tap your toes down and bring them up and tap down and up.

Down.

Up, keep breathing.

(silence) Good.

We have five more, feeling that muscle work.

Remember if you just need to stop at any point along this exercise, feel free to do that.

We have two more, tap down and up and down.

Good.

And release.

Take a deep breath.

Shake your legs out.

Good.

Hug your knees into your chest.

And then just extend your legs out onto the floor.

Shake out your arms.

Shake out your fingers.

Settle and relax into your body.

Shavasana.

(silence) Please stay in this pose for as long as you need or may want today.

When you're ready to come to seated however, roll to your side slowly and using your hands, press into the floor and rise back up to seated.

Take a comfortable seat.

Fold your hands to your heart to honor yourself into the many connections you have in your life and remember, pull a thread here and you'll find it's attached to the rest of the world.

♪ Thank you for practicing with us today.

Namaste.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Support for Yoga In Practice is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

♪ >> Download the SCETV app now and watch Yoga In Practice with Stacy Millner-Collins on demand.

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