Feel your breath flowing like a river to release stagnant energy and emotions. 

A dynamic class with simple transitions offers space for you to contemplate where guilt resides in the body. Move through sun salutations to build heat and connect to breathe. Side waist, hamstring, and hip opening create space for you to feel more aligned and at ease in your body. Twists help to release stagnancy, massage the internal organs, and stimulate the digestive system. This class is great for anyone who indulges in sports as it relieves the muscles strained running and cycling.

Style: Lila Flow

Duration: 35-minutes

Level: open

Props: 2 blocks

Focus: side waist, hamstring, and hip opening.

Location: Vancouver, BC

Music: Pete Wonder

Take the class without music: Guilt Lila Flow w/o music

Opening Meditation

Come to stand at the top of your mat and extend your hand wide to either side in hasta mudra with the palms up as an offering to receive. Take a few deep breaths to arrive in the here and the now. All feelings and emotions are welcomed; they are invited to be experienced. To release an emotion, we have to receive it in our bodies fully. Once the emotion has been expressed or felt, we must let it go.

Questions to consider:

• How do you define guilt?
• What is your relationship to guilt?
• Where does guilt live in your body?
• When was the last time you felt guilty?
• Can you breathe into where you feel the guilt arise in your physical body?

Brings your hands to prayer and take your thumbs to your third eye. Bow your head towards your heart. Think of your breath as a river, allowing the inhale and exhale to move like a wave through your body.

Mantra for class:

May our thoughts, feelings, and emotions flow like a river, moving in and out of our mind’s eye, our inner awareness.

Sun Salutation Flow

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Wave 1

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Utkatasana (chair pose) variation as a moving meditation

• Inhale and take the hands to prayer at the heart
• Exhale and hook your thumbs and stand
• Inhale and take your hands to your heart
• Exhale and release the hands to your sides
• Repeat several cycles of moving meditation

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation

• Inhale and take the hands to the sky
• Exhale and draw your hands down through prayer
• Repeat several cycles

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward dog)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)

Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation

• Lower the back knee to the ground
• Take your hands overhead and clasp one wrist
• Lean over to one side to express the side waist

Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) variation with various hand mudras:

• Clasp hands at the low back
• Take prayer mudra at the back between the shoulder blades
• Grap opposite elbows behind you

Tada Kapotasana (standing pigeon pose) variation with hands to the sky

• Option to stay in chair with hands and chest lifted
• Option to bring the ribs to the thighs and extend the arms toward the front of your mat

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky) variation

• Cross your legs so pinky toes touch
• Extend both arms to the sky
• Clasp one wrist and lean over to one side

Vasisthasana (side plank) variation

• Option to keep the hip extended from the ground
• Option to lower hip and gently twist to express the outer hip and side waist.

Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated spinal twist)

Uttanasana (forward fold) variation with ragdoll arms

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Core Flow 

Come to recline on your back and extend your heels and hands to the sky.

• Extend one leg toward the ground so it hovers and breathe into your lower abdomen.
• Hug the belly in and press the back ribs into the earth.
• Breathe deep into your core and soften your jaw.

Continue extending one leg at a time OR bring your hands to your bum and lower both legs simultaneously.

• Inhale and extend the heels to the sky
• Exhale and lower your legs only so far that you can keep your back on the ground
• Repeat several cycles

Bharmanasana (tabletop) for cat/cow stretches with Lions Breath

• Inhale and round the spine, taking chin to chest
• Exhale and arch the spine and stick out your tongue

Ustrasana (camel pose)

Sukhasana (seated pose) and breath to release

Cooling Flow

90/90 legs (aka deer pose) variation

• Twist to one side to express the side waist
• Fold over your front leg to express the hip

Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold) OR Baddha Konasana (seated bound angle pose)

Savasana or seated meditation to close your practice.