Acknowledging abundance, we recognize the blessings and everything and gain
insights into the purpose for our worldly existence.
Vichala Joy Devi.
Hello and welcome to episode number 365 of Yoga with Melissa.
Thank you so much for joining us for a real yoga with real people.
Yoga so you can feel better and move better and connect with your true nature.
It is New Year and we are going to be focusing today.
We're going to be moving back to our moving at the speed of your body series class.
And we're going to be focusing on the excess of New Year and how that can actually inflict violence on our bodies.
And instead we're going to focus on the balance, inner balance that we have and also the inner abundance that we have.
So I want to thank Squeeze Yoga Clothing for my clothes.
Today I am wearing a lovely navy blue bamboo top with the ome symbol on it and purple leggings.
And also thanks to Dusky Leaf for my props.
Today you're going to need a meditation cushion if you have one, blocks and a yoga strap.
I have a testimonial for you today.
It's from Helene and it's a speak pipe testimonial and she wants to let us know how much she appreciates the drone footage.
Hello Melissa, I just want to tell you that I just love your drone pictures and movies in the videos.
It's marvelous to see and I just love it. Keep going. It's very, very nice.
Say hello to your husband and say thank you.
So thank you so much to Helene and to all of you who take the time to send me messages through speak pipe
and on my website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and iTunes and as always the most in-depth conversations happen in our membership community.
And speaking of members, you might want to do the soft squash ball connective tissue video for your feet
and the upper back rehydration video with a soft foam roller before you do today's class today.
All right, let's do the peace mantra today.
We'll start by making, oh, this is how we end the class. We'll bring our hands together at our heart centers.
I'm a little nervous today because we have some guests with us today.
We're doing a Facebook live stream through the whole filming.
So there are lots of people watching the behind the scenes filming of today's class as well.
Om Sahanavavadhu Sahanobunaktu Sahaviryam Karvavahey Tejasvina Vavirvishavahey Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
So that mantra means protect us together, student and teacher. May our studies nourish us together.
May we work together for the union of the good of all. May our learning be luminous and purposeful.
May we live in harmony, peace, peace, peace beyond all.
So we're going to start in a guided relaxation today.
So I will get you to lie down on your backs with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Or if you have a bolster, you can lie with your bolster underneath your knees lengthwise.
And place your hands on your belly.
So feel the earth underneath you.
And allow yourself to sink into the earth.
Feel the nourishment that you're receiving from the earth
through your two feet, your buttocks, your ribcage, your upper back in your head.
Allow all your worry to sink down into the earth underneath you.
Each time you breathe out, allow the worry to release down into the earth.
And allow all your worry to release down into the earth.
So as we come into the new year, we enter a time when we have excessive expectations from our body.
We want extravagant gains financially, professionally, and for our lives in general.
We desire unreasonable losses from our bodies in terms of weight, eternal youth, or other physical changes.
And all of these are a form of violence that cause enormous suffering.
When we know how to stop this insanity, we will experience balance, equanimity, and inner abundance in our lives.
So today we are going to focus on two yams, including Brahmacharya and a Parigraha from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
And these are invitations and an outward practice that promote peace and harmony in your life
as you interact with others and the world that you live in.
So it's important to remember as we practice the yams that these wise characteristics already exist within you.
And through your practice of yoga, you simply come closer to knowing the qualities that are already your true nature.
So reflecting on our intention for today's practice, ask yourself how it relates to you and your life.
What is it that you would like to receive from your yoga practice today?
What is it that you are trying to create, sustain, release, or rebirth in your life
and how can your yoga practice help you to do that?
And then when you feel ready, you can take your yoga strap and you're going to place your yoga strap around the ball of your right foot.
If you have any low back issues, you're going to need to keep your left knee bent or you could keep it over your bolster and extend your right leg straight in the air,
feeling sensations along the back of your right leg all the way to the back of your heel from your buttocks,
or the back of your leg in the ground.
And then if you have low back issues, you're going to keep your left leg bent,
otherwise lengthen it out to have the weight of your left leg supporting your body on the ground,
and open your right leg out to the side until you feel something happening in the belly of your inner thigh muscle.
On the inside of your leg, you want to feel it in the belly of your muscle, but not on your knee joints.
And then draw up through your pelvic floor, draw your navel back to your spine,
and bring your right leg back to the center, and you're going to cross your right leg over your body.
Keep your right leg drawing in towards the center, and you want to feel something happening on the outside edge of your leg here.
Relax your shoulders, space between your teeth, allow your tongue to float in your mouth.
Feel your whole back body resting against the ground.
And then come back to the center, draw your leg in again,
and you're going to slowly lower your right leg down to the ground,
and pause there for a moment, feel the effects of your practice along the whole right side of your body.
So as I said, we're focusing on Brahmacharya in today's class,
and Nitchala Joy Devi translates Brahmacharya in Chapter 2, Verse 38 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras,
as devoted to living a balanced and moderate life, Brahmacharya,
the scopes of one's life force becomes boundless.
So when we live a life of moderation and balance rather than the excess that this time of year, New Year's, New Year's resolutions demand of us,
this brings our life into balance and harmony.
It also brings balance to our divine nature, our true nature,
so that we don't have to try to fix or change ourselves or try to search for some kind of perfect solution for ourselves.
We're already perfect.
Okay, and then we're going to switch sides.
So hook your strap around the ball of your left foot now, and then draw your left leg in,
and you only need to draw it in until you feel something happening on the back of your left leg.
If you're feeling it, you're doing it.
Remember, this is an inner practice.
We're practicing for the inner abundance and the inner balance of our practice.
If you're feeling it, you're doing it.
This practice that we're doing here is not an aesthetic practice.
It's an inner practice.
If you're feeling it, you're doing it.
And then you're going to open your left leg out to the side until you feel something happening in your inner thigh.
But you don't want to go so far that it moves out of the belly of your inner thigh muscle into your knee joints.
So pay attention to your own body.
Listen to your own body.
Again, we're going for the inner abundance and the inner harmony of your own practice without going to excess.
And then draw up through your pelvic floor.
Draw your navel back to your spine.
You're supporting your core, your low back as you draw your leg back to the center.
Relax through your hip joint.
And cross your leg over your midline.
You want to feel something happening along the outside edge of your leg through your IT band here.
Keep your shoulders relaxed on the ground.
Space between your teeth.
Allow the muscles between your eyebrows and your forehead muscles all to relax.
And then you can bring your leg back to the center.
Draw it in again.
And you can release your strap and let your leg go down to the ground.
And feel that sense of inner balance now that you've done both sides.
Okay, so from here, we're going to bend your knees.
Roll to your right side and we're going to come up onto all fours for a cat pose to release your spine.
Okay, for a cat pose, you can place your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.
If you have any wrist issues, you can come up onto fists, which will keep your wrists straight.
Or you can come down onto your forearms.
Either is fine because the intention here is to release your spine and move your spine.
You're going to breathe out and round up through your back and then you're going to breathe in an arch through your back.
When we come into the new year with resolutions that are excessively demanding of our physical, our mental, our emotional and spiritual bodies,
this is Brahmacharya out of balance.
And when we're talking about this, this is like, we're talking about nonproductive expenditures of energy.
So one thing that Christine said before when we were talking to her on the Facebook live before we started filming was that it said,
she said, it seems like our days are very, very full.
And I said to her, well, right now we're expending a lot of energy, but this afternoon we'll spend our time restoring our energy.
So we'll have lunch and then we will probably, I'll probably nap, but Tim will edit, but we'll have more downtime this afternoon.
So when we do things, it causes an outflow of energy and it's up to us to tune into whether our actions drain our energy or give us energy.
Brahmacharya translates as expending only the energy we need to live in harmony.
So certain activities such as the activities that are associated with New Year's resolutions often, such as starving our bodies, over exercising, over exerting yourself mentally,
staying up too late, overworking, expending a lot of energy in any form, bring you out of balance rather than into it.
Okay, so from here we're going to come into lunch pose or anjana asana.
And I'm going to get a blanket for this one for sure.
So would you mind passing me that blanket behind you, Tim?
Thank you. So take a blanket for on your knees.
I should have included a blanket in the props list. Sorry.
And you're going to walk your left leg forward so you're lengthening your ascending colon first.
And actually what we're going to do today is come on to come into the inside of your left foot and then you're going to walk towards your right knee.
Come on to the inside of your right knee and then lean forward so you're getting a bit of an inner thigh stretch here.
And then you're going to come back to the center and you're going to come upright and we're going to come into a back bending version of lunch pose to open up your spine.
So we warmed up your spine and cat pose and now we're bending it backwards here.
Okay and then we're going to come forward and down we're going to switch sides and we're going to do that whole sequence on the other side.
So you're going to step your right foot forward now and then you're going to bring your hands to the inside of your right foot and you're going to walk over to your left knee.
Pick up your knee, you're going to come on to the inside of your left knee, the inside of your left foot and lean towards your right heel.
So the second yam that we're focusing on today is a party graha and this yam often gets translated as non possessiveness and non hoarding.
And it means to take only what you need.
And when reflecting on this yam we can ask ourselves how much do I need?
And I'm not saying with this one that financial stability isn't important because when you have financial stability there's a lot less stress in your life.
I can tell you that because I've had financial stability in my life and I've had not financial stability in my life and having a good financial foundation is really important to not having a lot of stress.
Cover recognizing when we have enough and appreciating the goodness in our life is incredibly important to preserving energy because worrying about money all the time is just an incredible drain on your energy.
Or always accumulating more.
We're going to come back to the center and we're going to do the back bending version.
So sink down through your front right foot, drop your tailbone, reach your left arm up and allow your spine to bend backwards here.
And then we're going to come down and actually we're going to make our way up to standing.
So we can do that right through lunge pose so you can just place your hand on your knee and come up to standing.
From standing you can put your blanket off to the side.
All your props off to the side actually.
You're going to take to your feet wide and turn your toes out and you're going to sink down and you're going to bring your arms straight up.
Breathe in, you're going to exhale side bend, inhale center, exhale side bend and inhale center.
So Apari Graha refers not only to our expectations for material wealth or material fame as well,
but also I think unrealistic expectations for non-stop happiness and joy in our lives.
So it's simply unrealistic to expect that this year 2017 is going to be all good.
There will be good points and there will be challenges this year just like any other year.
If we spend all our time worrying about the future we will lose a lot of energy.
Instead we can take our time to appreciate what we have in our lives and the world around us.
Your life is far more valuable than any excessive material wealth can be.
Then come back center, lower your arms down, straighten your legs, turn your toes, face them forward, inhale, reach up.
You're going to roll your pelvis over your leg bones, lift and spread your sit bones behind you and drop the crown of your head until you come forward.
Then come here into a wide-legged standing forward fold and you can just let go of all the worry and all the excessive expectations here.
You're going to have to drain right out of the top of your head and your shoulders through your hands and into the ground.
Then from here you're going to slowly make your way back up to standing.
Then we're going to come back down onto our stomachs.
You're going to come down and lie on your belly and just roll your hips from side to side to release your low back.
Then tuck your right toes under, lift your right knee, reach back through your right heel to lengthen your low back.
You're going to take your hands underneath your shoulders, roll your shoulders back and up.
Tuck your tailbone under and you're going to inhale here. Remember, non-horning and you're just doing this in a balanced way without excessive energy.
You're going to inhale and reach up.
If you're feeling it, you're doing it. It's not about the way the pose looks, it's about how it feels in your body.
Keep your shoulders relaxed.
Then you're going to slowly lower down and we'll pause here and just allow your forehead to rest here, allow your back to rest.
When we practice a Parigraha, Natyala Joy Devi says, actually Nikolai Bachman says, we discover why we were born.
I think this is a pretty bold statement and one that suggests that without external stimulus of our possessions or the excessiveness of our life,
we'll have more time for balance in our internal lives.
We're going to come up and forward now. Bring your knees forward, open them wide.
Come into wide knee child's pose. If this bothers your knees, you can lie on your back with your knees into your chest instead.
Slowly make your way up to seated and then you're going to want to get that blanket again.
For the insides of your knees probably, let's see, probably open it out about this much.
Then you're going to come onto all fours and you might want to bolster here too.
I did say a bolster and I've avoided getting it out so far but you might want it here.
So you come onto all fours and then you open your knees wide with your legs at a 90 degree angle, your toes pointing forward and you come forward here.
Keep your pelvis tucked under and leaning back. The tendency is going to be to lean forward but if you come forward it takes it out of your inner thighs
and you're going to stay in your inner thighs here.
Then you're going to use your upper body strength to push yourself up and come back center and we're going to do a seated forward fold.
You'll want to have this blanket so that you can elevate your pelvis. You don't really need much elevation.
Just a little bit so you can tip your pelvis forward. I think I want more than that.
So you sit on the edge so your pelvis can tip forward. Take your legs wide and then you're going to fold forward.
Then come over to one side.
Then go over to the other side.
Coming back to the center.
Then making your way up to seated. You're going to draw your legs in and you can make your way down to lying on your back.
You can use this bolster underneath your knees for Shavasana.
You're going to stay resting here in Shavasana and I'm going to sit up and redo a poem.
This poem is called The Fountain by Denise Levertov.
Don't say there is no water to solace the dryness at our hearts. I have seen the fountain springing out of the rock wall and you drinking there.
An eye too before your eyes found footholds and climbed to drink the cool water.
The woman of that place, shading her eyes, frowned as she watched, but not because she grudged the water.
Only because she was waiting to see we drank our fill and were refreshed.
Don't say there is no water. That fountain is there among its scalloped green and grey stones.
It is still there and always there with its quiet song and strange power to spring in us up and out through the rock.
You're gradually going to wiggle and stretch and bend your knees and roll to your side.
You're going to come up to seated. We're going to do some alternate nostril breathing to close out as our Mujir for today because this breath is so balancing.
The way alternate nostril breathing works will take your left hand and bring your thumb and index finger together and rest that on your lap.
Then take your right hand, extend your first two fingers and your thumb, curl your ring and your baby finger in, rest that on your third eye.
You'll close your right nostril right at the tip, at the bridge of your nose, just underneath the hard cartilage there.
You're going to close your right nostril, breathe in through your left nostril and then close left, breathe out right.
Breathe in right. Close right, breathe out left.
Breathe in left. Close left, breathe out right.
Breathe in right. Close right, breathe out left.
Breathe in left. Close left, breathe out right.
Breathe in right. Close right, breathe out left.
Breathe in left. Close left, breathe out right.
Breathe in right. Close right, breathe out left.
And then lower your right hand down and feel the effects of this breath practice for you.
And then we'll close out our practice with our mudra and our mantra, making space with breath and a sigh.
Lokasamastasukinobhavantu.
May all beings be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute to the happiness and freedom for all.
So if you liked today's show, then please give it a thumbs up, especially if you liked it on the live stream.
If you liked being able to preview it and see the sneak peek on the Facebook live stream, let us know if you'd like to be able to do that again.
And if you know somebody who would benefit from today's class, then please feel free to share it with them.
And I want to thank Sean for his donation this week.
You can also contribute of your time and your energy by leaving some comments below.
And today's question is, next week we go back to our balancing series. What actually, no, next week we have a special guest for you.
We do.
Because, well, yes, we're going to have a special guest class for you.
We're doing a collaboration because this week is like the fifth and the next week is the 12th.
So we have a special guest for you next week.
Now, so let me ask you in the comments, do you have any other yoga classes that you watch on YouTube?
And if you do, let me know if you'd like us to collaborate.
If you'd like to see one of their videos on my channel and one of my videos on their channel and let them know too.
Because this is something that I would like to do more of this year, more collaborations.
I've done it on my other channel, fair amount, but I like to do it more on this channel.
Next week, tune in and you're going to get to see a special collaboration.
Fingers crossed, yeah, we're waiting for that video still, but she did say, I think this coming, I'm pretty sure.
Okay.
And today we focused on bringing things into harmony and balance.
And if you would like a short 10 minute yoga for anxiety meditation to help you come into harmony and balance,
then go to yoga with Melissa slash 365. If you scroll down and put your email in the box, the opt-in box,
then we'd be happy to send you that short 10 minute yoga for anxiety meditation.
And also, as I said, we focused today on letting go of the violence and excess of New Year's resolutions
and instead focused on bringing that inner harmony and inner balance to our lives and focused on that instead.
And if you'd like support on that all the way through January, our leadership team and our membership community
is focusing on that all the way through January, through our daily yoga connections, through our devotional section.
Ivy who runs that is watching this right now on Facebook live also in our monthly retreat and our live classes on Mondays.
So we would be happy to support you in that and you can become a member here by clicking below.
So I am sending you much love from beautiful British Columbia.
May your joy be as deep as our oceans, may you be as grounded as the trees in our forests and may you be as strong as our mountains.
Om Shanti Namaste.
