The above video contains the first 14 minutes of the Ayurvedic Flow Yoga class called “A New Canaan”.
This class is designed to balance all doshas, all ayurvedic constitutions. You can practice this segment anytime, anywhere, just don’t do it right before bedtime. 🙂 The rest of the class will be coming out this Wednesday and Thursday. Enjoy and stay tuned!
Video Transcript
Welcome, welcome, welcome! Thank you for being here this evening! We are going to start standing. Please come to the front of your mat. Bring your feet at hip distance apart, push through the outside of the feet, lift the inner arches, cup your toes.
Knees are soft, thighs are lifted, butt is squeezing, palms face the front of the room, stomach is drawn in tight, shoulders are down and back, squeeze shoulder blades together. Chin is parallel to the ground, close your eyes, breathe in through the nose, out through the nose and smile!
Uncup your toes, lift them, spread them apart, set them back down. One more time. Lift the toes, spread them apart, set them back down. Gently shift your weight towards your toes, and towards the heels, towards the toes, towards the heels.
Weight is even on both feet, open up the eyes, inhale arms up over head into the steeple pose, shoulders down, spine tall, chin slightly lifted, gentle tic toc from side to side, nothing too deep yet.
Come back to the center, keeping your hips still, three large circles with your upper body in one direction. And when you complete the three, change directions.
And when you complete both sets, hands come underneath the chin, knuckles push against the chin, palms, wrists, forearms, elbows, squeeze together. Roll the shoulders in so the elbows touch. To a slow count of six, inhale through the nose raising elbows, not the shoulders. Awesome! Drop the head back, open the mouth, loud exhale, palms, wrists, forearms, elbows, squeeze together and head back down. Excellent!
Inhale, two, three, four, five, six, drop the head back, open the mouth, loud exhale, palms, wrists, forearms, elbows together, head back down. Awesome guys! Inhale, two, three, four, five, six, drop the head back, open the mouth as loud as possible, everything together, head back down. Very nice! Inhale, two, three, four, five, six, drop the head back, open the mouth, loud, loud, loud, head back down.
Three more. Inhale, two, three, four, five, six, drop the head back, open the mouth as loud as you can, head back to center. Two more. Inhale, two, three, four, five, six, drop the head back, open the mouth, loud, loud, loud, head back down. Last one. Inhale, two, three, four, five, six, drop the head back, open the mouth as loud as possible, and back to center. Very nice!
Inhale arms up overhead, shoulders down, spine tall, chin slightly lifted, deeper tic toc from side to side. Keep squeezing the palms together, shoulders down away from the ears, very nice. Come back to the center, switch the thumbs around, whatever was on top goes underneath.
Inhale and as you exhale, hips to the street, arms to the create wall. And hold it there. Keep the chin slightly up so you can be breathing through the nose more comfortably. No twisting on the upper body. Very nice. Shoulders away from the ears. Awesome.
Inhale to the center, drop shoulders, lift spine, exhale opposite side. Keep the arms as straight as possible. Keep squeezing the palms together, breathing in and out through the nose. Very very nice.
Inhale to the center. If you feel any pressure on your low back please do support it. Otherwise, leave the arms into the steeple pose. Either way, gently push hips and thighs forward, gentle back bend. You can drop the head back, or keep it up, either way. If you need to breathe through the mouth during the back bend, go ahead. Feel it but do not force it. Very very nice.
And with control, inhale to the center, stomach drawn in tight, exhale forward fold. Grab elbow to elbow, create a box with your arms and let everything just hang in there. Chin to the chest, chin to the chest, butt to the sky. I should be able to see the back of your neck completely flat. Awesome guys, excellent! Hands together, arms by the ears, knees bent, stomach tight, inhale all the way up.
Separate the arms. Left hand grabs the right wrist. Inhale and as you exhale, hips to the street, arms to the create wall. Pull on the arm, not just the wrist. Keep the shoulders away from the ears. Keep breathing through the nose. Feel it down the right side. Excellent.
Inhale to the center, switch the arms around, exhale opposite side. Feel it all the way down your left side, chin is slightly up, still keep breathing in and out through the nose. Very nice.
Inhale to the center. Again, either hands behind the lower back, or into the steeple pose. Either way, gently push hips and thighs forward, gentle back bend. Feel it but do not force it. Make sure your neck is happy and your low back is happy.
And with control, inhale to the center, again stomach drawn in tight, exhale forward fold. Grab behind the legs with your forearms, chin to the chest, butt to the sky. Really get the forearms behind the legs. If the hands can reach the feet, you can stick the fingers underneath the heels, fingers pointing forward. Either way, chin to the chest, butt to the sky. Awesome guys, excellent. Hands together, arms by the ears, knees bent, stomach tight, inhale all the way up, exhale imaginary chair.
Make sure your feet are at hip distance apart so it’s more comfortable for you. Use the butt, use the butt to really keep the knees at hip distance apart. Excellent. Your weight should be on your heels. You should be able to lift the toes and set them back down. If you feel any pressure on your lower back, bring the arms parallel to the ground or at the heart center, they don’t have to stay up, Either way. squeeze fingertips together.
You can keep the arms up and just squeeze fingertips together to engage more of the triceps. Shoulders are down away from the ears. Awesome guys. Knees apart. It’s all about the glutes, it’s all about the butt. And actually Danielle pointed out to us that it is all about the butt with all the pictures here. Sit a little bit lower, almost there. Excellent.
With control, inhale arms up, slight back bend, exhale forward fold. Grab behind the legs. One more time, chin to the chest, butt to the sky. See how your forward fold feels a little bit nicer now. Excellent. Hands together, arms by the ears, knees bent, stomach tight, inhale all the way up, exhale imaginary chair.
Bring the hands to the heart center. Thumbs against the sternum, forearms parallel to the ground. With control, shift your weight to your right leg. Lift the left foot just an inch off the floor. Stay in your one legged chair. Keep that knee bent, keep the right knee bent. See how you can feel the right side of the butt a little bit more. You can rearrange the feet so it’s easier on you.
See how you can feel the right side of the butt. Find a spot in front of you that you can focus on and hold it there. Find your balance. Awesome guys, excellent.
With control, both feet on the floor, sit a little bit lower, rearrange for the other side. You can tap the floor with the toes if you need to, nothing wrong with that, with the toes of the right foot. Feel the left side. Awesome. Set that foot on the floor, sit a little bit lower, almost there, almost there. Excellent. With control, inhale all the way up, slight back bend, exhale forward fold. Flat back, squeeze shoulder blades together, forward fold.
Hands on the floor, right leg comes back, high lunge. Other leg comes back to match, plank pose. Anytime you need to, drop the knees on the floor, nothing wrong with that. If the knees are off the floor, make sure your butt is 1″ higher than the rest of your body to protect your lower back.
The only thing that can go wrong in this case is if you drop the butt and feel pressure on the lower back. If you feel anything like that, set the knees on the floor. If in doubt, knees can be on the floor. Either way, spread the fingers apart, push through every single finger, push through both hands. Tight belly, tight butt. Deep breathing in and out through the nose.
Elbows by your side, low push up, chaturanga or six or eight. Hold hold hold, hold hold hold. Up dog or cobra, exhale down dog, butt to the sky. Awesome. Butt to the sky, you can do that. Excellent.
Right leg all the way forward, grab it if you need to, use the hand and move it forward. Use the hand, excellent, yes that’s it. Other leg, forward fold. Other leg comes forward, left leg forward, forward fold. Excellent. Hands together, arms by the ears, knees bent, stomach tight, inhale all the way up, slight back bend, exhale forward fold, flat back, forward fold.
Left leg back, high lunge. Other leg back, plank pose. Anytime you need to, the knees can be on the floor. Hold hold hold, you can drop the knees on the floor. I’m going to show you the three options for the low push up, or chaturanga.
- With the knees on the floor, the simplest way is hands and feet on the floor, knees on the floor, chest and chin touching the floor. Your hips stay up. That’s the eight point.
- A little bit more challenging is the six point. Which is chest and chin off the floor, six points of contact, hands, knees and feet.
- And the most challenging is the full chaturanga. Which is this, just hands and feet on the floor.
Either way, choose one of the three and hold it. So, elbows by your side, choose one of the three and hold it. Up dog or cobra, exhale down dog. Don’t worry about it.
Left leg, all the way forward, grab it if you need to, other leg, forward fold. Excellent. Hands together, arms by the ears, knees bent, stomach tight, inhale, all the way up, exhale, hands to the heart center, by your side. Awesome guys.
Namaste kala! Which in Greek means, may we all be well! -Vie and Tim
Online Resources
To learn more about the magnificent sciences of ayurveda and meditation take one of our Private Online Yoga Alliance 200-hr or 300-hr Yoga & Ayurveda Teacher Trainings
The Paleo Ayurveda & Spartan Yoga Podcast. 20ish-min Episodes. Seasonal. On Thursday’s. You can find us on all major platforms, including iHeartRADIO, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
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