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Part 1: A Morning Yoga Practice from Śrī Devpurījī Āśram Place one hand on the belly and the other at the top of your chest. As you breathe in, draw the breath deep down into the bottom of the lungs, and begin to fill the lungs from the very bottom all the way up to the top. As you breathe out, empty the lungs from the top down to the bottom, maintaining a smooth and even flow with your breathing. As you breathe in, gently push the hand that’s on the belly up towards the sky. As you breathe out, feel the sides of your body move in and down, and feel your belly soften. In your own time, gradually deepen and lengthen each breath. Notice as you inhale, there’s a gentle tension, a gentle stretch through the diaphragm, through the muscles of the abdomen, through the Kumbha Melā, Jadān, Oṁ Śrī Alakh Purījī, Śrī Madhvānanda Purījī, Śrī Madhvānanda... With a deep breath, develop a wave-like rhythm of your body as you breathe, the rise and fall of your whole body. Then bring the hands back down to the side of the body. Welcome to our webcast of our yoga practice this morning, here in Dungog, Śrī Devpurījī Āśram, Australia, where it’s now been raining continually for 42 hours. We’ll start with a gentle stretch through the right side of the body. As you inhale, raise the right arm above the head, curl the right toes back towards the face, and try to open up through the ribs, pressing the right hip down into the mat. As you exhale, bring the arm back down to the side of the body, and allow the leg and hip to relax. Kumbha Mahāprabhudīp Karata, Kumbha Mahāprabhudīp Karata... Purījī, Purījī... At the end of each movement, always draw back to your breathing, letting your body soften, noticing the effect from those first stretches. Pavana Muktāsana (Wind-Relieving Pose), nose to knee movement. With your inhalation, start to bend the right knee toward the chest. Use your hands around the knee and take your time to draw the knee in towards the body as you breathe out. When the lungs are completely empty of air, lift the head, bring the nose up towards the knee, try to lift both shoulders off the ground. Keep a strong grip around the knee as you roll the head back down onto the mat. Extend the heel straight up into the air, and as you breathe out, lower the straight leg towards the ground. So let your body relax. With your next in-breath, bend the left knee to the chest. As you draw the knee in towards the body, notice the stretch through the hip, buttock, and lower back. Lift the head, bring the nose up towards the knee, stretching through the upper back and shoulders. Roll the head back down onto the ground, extending the heels straight up into the air for a long stretch through the back of the legs, and then lower the leg to the ground. Purījī, Purījī... To accommodate the difference, when you finish that round, bring the hands to the side of the body, allowing the whole body to relax. As you come back to your breathing, bend both knees to the chest, take hold of the knees, and start to rock from side to side. Start with quite small movements, as though you’re massaging your back against the ground. In your own time, start to make the movements a little bigger. Notice the different muscles that are being massaged against the mat. As you continue to roll from side to side, notice the muscles around the abdomen starting to work a little more to bring you back to the center. Finally, see if you can roll all the way onto the side and back to the middle, and all the way onto the other side. Come back to the centre, place the feet on the ground, then roll all the way onto your right side. Use your hands on the ground to help yourself up, and we’ll come to sit with the legs out in front in Daṇḍāsana. Half butterfly movement: We’ll bend the right knee and bring the right foot into the midline of the body, and then let the knee fall out to the side. Bring the foot up onto the thigh, with the left toes pointing straight up towards the ceiling. Place a hand under the knee, and try to lift nice and tall through the abdomen. Then, as you breathe in, lift the right knee up toward the shoulder. And as you breathe out, allow the knee to fall down towards the ground. Just a deep inhalation and exhalation. In your own breathing rhythm, use your breath to allow the movement to deepen. Notice the stretch again around the hip and buttocks and the deep muscles on the inside of the thigh. Complete one more round, and then lower the leg and bring it out in front. Then bend the left knee and bring the left foot into the midline of the body. Allow the knee to fall out to the side, bringing the foot up onto the thigh if it feels comfortable for you, and have the right toes pointing straight up towards the sky. Hand under the knee, lift tall from the belly as though you’re making your spine long. As you breathe in, draw the knee up towards the shoulder, and as you breathe out, let the knee fall towards the mat. Just a deep inhalation and exhaling. As you draw the knee up, notice the stretch on this side of the body, notice any difference, and then adjust your effort, and then complete one more round. Find awareness in the movement. Coordinate both legs to move together. As you notice a difference on each side of your body, make those fine adjustments to allow the movement to be symmetrical. And then, when you’ve completed one round, let the knees relax. And then start to move the knees up and down. Maintain your breathing rhythm, and then we’ll bring the legs out in front. Give the legs a shake out. We’ll come to grinding, warming up the muscles of the belly and back. We’ll bring the hands out in front, reaching forward. But as you breathe in, make a big circle out to one side. And as you tilt back, keep the spine long, and exhaling forward. Feel your abdominal muscles maintaining the length in your spine. You can keep the shoulders soft with a little bend in the elbows. Try to stay with your breathing, as though your breathing is maintaining the rhythm of your body movement. Then, reverse the movement, and when we’re next forward, bring the hands apart, bring the hands behind the body, just leaning back gently, and take deep, full breaths. Feel the heat in the abdomen. Use your breath to soften any tension or tightness in the abdomen or lower back. We’ll do a side bend from a sitting position, so sit up tall and then bring the hands together behind the head. Try to maintain the length of your spine, take a deep inhalation, and as you breathe out, tilt over to the right side. Try to tilt the left elbow up towards the ceiling, keeping the chest open. Breathing in, come back to the centre, and as you breathe out, tilt over to the left side. Tilt the right elbow up towards the sky, lengthening through the side of the body. Deep in-breath, and breathing out to the other side. Try to keep both hips firmly on the ground as you breathe in and breathe out. Deep in-breath, back to the centre, and a long exhalation to the side. Breathe in, and our final round as you breathe out. Coming back to the middle, bring the hands behind the body, take a deep breath, and relax. From a sitting twist, come out of this posture and bring the hands a little closer into your body, spreading the fingers as wide as you can. Try to have the spine tall and upright. And then, as you take a deep in-breath, drawing the breath deep down into the body, as you breathe out, turn the whole upper body to the right side. Turn your head, look over your shoulder. Try to bring the left shoulder forward. Breathing in, back to the centre. And as you breathe out, turning to the left, gently bringing the right shoulder forward. Deep in breath, back to the middle. Breathing out, to the right. See if you can slide the right hip forward and the left hip back. Deep in breath, to the middle, and exhaling to the left. And again, slide the right hip forward and left hip back. Deep in breath to the middle, and one more round, following your own breathing rhythm, and back. Bringing the hands off the ground, give the hands a bit of a shake and the legs a bit of a shake. One more posture in this position: shoulder circling, bringing the fingers onto the shoulders, elbows together, long, tall spine. And as you breathe in, lifting the elbows, deep in-breath and exhaling, use your breathing rhythm to maintain the movement of your body. Feel the breath deep and strong. Come back, and then coming to the back of our mat, sitting on our heels in Vajrāsana for our level two postures this morning. Our first posture, Śaśāṅkāsana (Hare Posture). A good posture for bringing energy back into the body, bringing extra blood flow into the top of the head. A good posture for movement around the hip area and relaxing the upper back. We’ll raise the arms above the head. Try to reach up and be long through the side of your body. Look up towards the hands, and then start to fold forward and move slowly, keeping both hands moving together. Then, placing the hands on the ground, feel the forearms on the mat, and place the forehead on the ground. Elbows are bent, shoulders are soft. As you breathe in, lengthen up from the spine, lifting the head, raising the arms above the head, looking up. And breathing out, bringing the hands back down onto the thighs. Deep breath and relax. Breathing in, raise the arms above the head, looking up. Try to be really long through your spine. And as you exhale, tilt from the hips. Try to keep the buttocks on the heels as much as you feel comfortable. Nice. And slow, and then fold deep into the posture, as though you’re bringing your chin a little closer to your chest, bringing the forehead onto the ground. Here, take some deep breath into your body. As your belly expands against your thighs, feel that pushing the air into the backs of your lungs. Feel the breath massaging the whole area around the kidneys and lower back. Feel your abdomen getting a good massage as well. Begin to squeeze the thighs together, stretch the arms out in front, and as you breathe in, lift the whole of your upper body this time. Raising up, looking up towards the hands, and exhaling, bringing the hands onto the thighs. Deep breath. Feeling the effect, and we’ll do one more round as you breathe in, raising the arms up. Try to take the whole length of your exhalation to fold forward. Draw back to your breathing, deep in-breath, massaging all of the internal organs. Feel the fresh blood supply to the head. Allow the shoulders and upper back to relax. As we come up again, squeeze the thighs together, lift from the belly, raising both arms above the head, looking up towards the sky, and exhale, bringing the hands back down onto the thighs. Draw back to your breathing. Slide off our heels, and our next posture is Meru Ākāraṇāsana. Come to lie sideways on your mat and have one arm under the shoulder. Have the fingers spread as wide as you can. Then, look down your body and check that you are in a straight line. You might need to roll just a little bit more onto your hip. Bring the top hand onto the thigh and try to lift up from your abdomen, and then let the whole of your body hang off your shoulder. Feel the side ribs stretching, feel the space between the ribs and hip opening. Look straight ahead, find your breathing rhythm, and then help yourself down by bending the elbow and resting the head in the elbow. Try to stretch your elbow away from you, feeling the stretch from under your arm. Find a point to focus on to maintain your balance here. As you breathe in, start to bend the top leg, reach on the inside of your leg, taking hold of the big toe, or just taking hold of any part of your leg that you can, and then extend the leg up towards the sky. Keep the straight leg that’s on the ground active, with the toes working back towards the face. Keep the lift from the abdomen. Try to extend your heel up to the ceiling as much as you can, and then, bending the knee, straightening the leg, bring the hand back onto the thigh. Then, using your top hand on the ground, help yourself up and back into the starting position. Then, roll onto your hips and change sides. Be aware of the difference on this side of the body. If this is too strong for your wrist, elbow, or shoulder, then you can easily come down onto your forearm. Try to have the hand directly under the shoulder. Look down your body. Find yourself in a straight line. Have your feet as though you’re standing on the ground. Lift up from the belly, and then let your whole upper body begin to hang off your shoulders. Deepen your breath, feel the ribs stretching open, and the space between the rib and hip opening. Deepen your breath, then come down, resting the head in the hand. Try to point your elbow away from you, top hand on the thigh. Maintain the length of your body, just breathe in, bending the top knee, reach on the inside of your leg, taking hold of your big toe, or any part of your leg that feels comfortable, and then extend the leg up. Extend the leg up, and then extend the leg up, and then extend the leg up, and then extend the leg up, and then extend the leg up, and then extend the leg up, and then extend the leg up, and then extend. The leg up, and then extend the leg up. Deep breath into the ceiling. Keep the leg on the ground very active. You can bend the knee to help maintain your balance. Keep extending the heel up towards the sky, bending the knee, straightening the leg. Part 2: A Guided Yoga Practice: Postures, Breath, and Awareness Place your hand on your thigh, draw back to the breath, and then, using your top hand on the ground, help yourself back up to the starting position. Take a full, deep breath, noticing the effects of that posture through the whole of the body, back to the legs, around the legs, back to the body. Then, roll onto your hips and bring the legs out in front. Our next posture is Bhūmanāsana, Greeting the Earth. It is quite a strong twist into the upper part of the back. We’ll go nice and easy to start with. Bring the hands out in front. Have a little bit of space between your feet so the hips are already feeling a little open and relaxed. Tilt back, giving your spine lots of room to move. Take a deep in-breath, and as you breathe out, turn your whole upper body to the right, bringing the hands as far behind as you can. As you lean back, allow the top hip to roll off the ground. Notice down towards the ground; the top hip can roll off the mat as much as you feel comfortable with. Strengthen your arms now. Press up. Come back to the middle and lower the arms. Take a nice, deep breath. We’ll go to the other side, bringing the arms up to shoulder height. Again, a little wider so the shoulders are comfortable. Tilt back, just finding the length in your spine. Take a deep in-breath, and as you breathe out, we’re turning to the left side, bringing the hands behind, bending the elbows, letting the top hip roll up towards the sky, bringing the nose down towards the ground. Then, using the strength in your arms, push yourself back up and lower the arms. Take deep breaths. Another round as we bring the arms up, tilting back, long spine, turning to the right side, bringing the hands onto the ground. This time, try to keep as much of your hips on the ground as you can. For most of us, that will mean we don’t go as deep as we did before, just turning the upper body, giving a nice twist, and keeping both hips firmly on the mat. Using the strength in your arms, push up and back to the middle, and lower the arms. Take a nice deep breath and relax. Raising the arms, tilting back, and as we turn to the side, just go a little more gently this time, both hips on the ground. Bend the elbows as much as you feel comfortable with, and notice that maybe you don’t go down as far as you did in the first round. Strengthen your arms, helping yourself back up, and bring the arms behind in a deep breath. We’ll do one more round. In this round, find the halfway point between the hips being on the ground and the hips being all the way off the mat. Try to find that halfway point. Bring the arms up to shoulder height, breathing in as we tilt back, and as we breathe out, turning to the right side, trying to go as deep as you can with the hips trying to stay on the ground. Find the halfway point, coming in, coming up, and breathing out. Raising the arms, be aware of the difference on this side as you go. Tilt back, long spine, and then turn, bringing the hands to the mat, fingers wide, and try to turn as deep into your upper back as you can. Try to maintain the hips on the ground, but let them come up halfway. Breathe in, coming up, and breathe out. Bring the hands behind the body. Take deep breaths into the abdomen. Use your breath to massage your spine. Take long, deep breaths and relax. Our next posture is Aśvasañcālanāsana, the horse rider posture. We’ll bend the knees. It is a lovely posture for developing strength through the abdomen and through the lower back. Bring the hands together, arms out in front, and lift up tall. Take a deep in-breath, tilting back, and then extend the legs out in front, curl the toes back towards the face, and keep a nice length in the spine. As you exhale, bend the knees, and as you breathe out, reach forward over the thighs. Deep in-breath, tilting back, straightening the legs, curl the toes back, and exhaling forward. Then, in your own breathing rhythm, take a long in-breath, keep the shoulders relaxed and the spine long, and exhale. Breathe in and breathe out. Reach over the thighs, inhaling. Long legs, long spine, and exhaling. One final round, bringing the hands behind, straight legs. Come back to your breathing. Just notice the heat in your belly, the warmth through the whole body. Our next posture is Meru Pṛṣṭāsana. We’ll come to lie on our abdomen. A lovely posture for developing strength through the abdominal muscles, and especially the diaphragm. Fold the arms and have the thumbs resting in the creases of your elbows. Have the elbows under the shoulders. When you look at yourself, it’s like the elbows are tucked a little bit deeper into your body. The tops of the feet are on the mat. Feet are about hip width apart or can be a little bit wider. Then, let the head rest between the shoulders. Start to press down into the ground through the elbows and through the tops of the feet. As you inhale, lift the head and lift the hips into the air, tucking the tailbone down, keeping the spine as straight as you can. Be strong through the elbows and tops of the feet, lifting from the belly. Exhaling, roll back down, letting the head hang between the shoulders. Take deep breaths. Breathing in, press down through the arms, through the tops of the feet. Knees are on the ground. Lift the head and hips. Roll the tailbone under so the spine remains long. Try to lift up from the base of your belly and exhale. Relax the shoulders, relax the head, relax your belly. Then, one more round: as you breathe in, lifting the head, press down, lift up, tailbone under. Try to roll the shoulders back, extend the spine, and exhale. Rest the head between the shoulders. Take some deep breaths here. Unfold the arms, bring the hands beside the body, and we’ll push up and back into Vajrāsana. We’ll go through some rounds of Kartu Praṇām. Relax your body, be aware of your breathing, and take some moments to feel the effects of our postures this morning. As we breathe in, start to raise the arms above the head, bring the hands together, and look up towards the hands. Keep your hands, palms flat, keep reaching up towards the sky. With your next exhalation, bring the hands apart and roll forward into Śaśāṅkāsana, the hare posture. Maintain smooth, easy breathing. Keep your hands where they are and the fingers wide. Come up onto the hands and knees. Tuck the toes under, tilt the hips into the air, and then, bending the elbows, lower the chin and chest to the ground. Karata Mahāprabhujī Karata He Kevalaṁ Karata. Bring the front foot forward into a sprinter’s posture. Bring the chest forward and look ahead. Uncurl the back toes. Flatten the top foot, the back foot, to the mat and sit up into the hips. Reach the arms out in front. Bring the hands together and look up toward the hands. Palms flat, fingertips touching. Keep lengthening up through the upper body and softening into the hips as the hips move forward. Bring the hands together and look up toward the hands. Palms flat, fingertips touching. Keep lengthening up through the upper body and softening into the hips as the hips move forward. Bring the hands together and look up toward the hands. Palms flat, fingertips touching. Keep lengthening up through the upper body and softening into the hips as the hips move forward. He’s back beside the feet in a sprinter’s pose, looking ahead, shoulders soft. Tuck the back toes under, look down, and step into a forward bend. Allow the top of the head to point down towards the ground. Feel an even weight between the front and back of your feet. Have a little bend in the knees now. As you breathe in, raise the arms out in front, lifting up. Bring the hands together, palms flat, and look up towards the sky. Try to tuck your tailbone under, as though your spine is lengthening and reaching up. Bring the hands apart, roll forward from the hips, allow your whole upper body to fold over the hips, and fold as deeply into your forward bend as you can. Look towards the knees or towards your belly button to keep the shoulders and neck relaxed. Take a small bend in the knees, and a big step back with the right leg into a sprinter. Bring the chest forward, look ahead, then uncurl the back toes and sit tall into the hips. Reach the arms out in front, bring the hands together, and look up towards the hands. Keep the upper body long and stretching up, and your lower body softening and moving forward. Bring the hands apart back beside the feet, tuck the back toes under, lift the right knee, and walk the left foot back into mountain. Keep the fingers as wide as you can as you press back from your fingertips. Encourage the heels toward the ground by opening up through the backs of the knees. Start to bring your body weight forward onto the knees, bring the hips to the ground, keep the chest up and shoulders back, into a cobra. Tuck the toes under, tilt the hips into the air, bring the chest down to the ground into a caterpillar pose, and then, using the strength in your upper arms, press back onto your forearms and then all the way back into hare posture. Kumbha Melā, Jadān, Oṁ Śrī Alakh Purījī, Siddha Purījī, Siddha Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā Purījī, Siddha Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā. Keep stretching through the sides of your body, bringing the hands apart. Keep the spine long, moving forward slowly and smoothly, folding into the hare posture, forehead on the ground. Elbows bent, shoulders soft, lifting up onto the hands and knees, toes under, tilt the hips up, and lean forward, bringing your chin and chest to the ground into a caterpillar. From your feet, force yourself forward onto the hips, lifting the head and chest into a cobra. Relax the shoulders down, elbows slightly into the side of the body. Toes under, lifting the hips into the air, pressing back into mountain posture, Sumaru Āsana. Look between the hands, bend the knees, and step the left foot forward between the hands into a sprinter’s lunge. Looking ahead, direct the gaze upwards. Uncurl the back toes as you sit tall into the hips, reaching the arms out in front, hands together, and look up. Keep reaching up and softening into the hips. Bring the hands back beside the feet, looking ahead. Direct the gaze upwards in a sprinter’s stance, tuck the toes under, look down, and step into a forward bend. Press down through your feet into the ground, roll the hips up towards the sky, look towards the knees or towards your navel. Then, bending the knees, reach the arms out in front, lifting the whole upper body. Bring the hands together, looking up, tailbone tucked under, and make yourself as tall as you can. Bringing the hands apart, fold forward from the hips, moving slowly and smoothly. Fold into the forward bend, bending the knees. Take a big step back with the left leg into a sprinter’s lunge, chest forward, and direct your gaze upward. Start to bring your body weight forward, coming onto the knees, then rolling the hips to the ground. Keep the chest lifting, shoulders back and down, looking up. Tuck the toes under, lift the hips in the air, turning the chest to the ground, caterpillar, and then pushing back onto the forearms. Then use all your strength to push back into hare posture. Then, use the strength from your belly to lift the whole upper body, hands together, looking up, and bring the hands apart and back onto the thighs. Take a deep breath, slide off our heels, and we’ll come to lie down for a short relaxation. Make sure that you’re warm enough. Find a comfortable lying posture, and take some moments to notice the effects of all our postures this morning. Notice the effects on your body, on the muscles, on all the joints of your body. You might be able to notice the effect on your circulation by feeling a little bit more warmth through the body. Then notice the effects of our postures this morning on your energy, on the prāṇa in your body. You might notice that by feeling the breath a little deeper, a little stronger. You might feel the breath is flowing more smoothly through the whole of your body. You might notice that your whole breathing system, lungs, and diaphragm feel more toned and more active. Then, notice the effects of our postures mentally. You might feel a deeper awareness of your body and your breathing. You may have found that your concentration was longer and easier to maintain. So allow your whole body to relax now. With each out-breath, allow your body to soften and deepen into the ground. Let go of any tension or tightness in any part of your body. Feel that the ground is supporting your body. Use each breath to consciously relax your whole body. While practicing, you may have noticed some parts of your body felt tight, stiff, or were holding tension. Notice now if that’s changed during the practice. Use your breath to release any more tightness or tension. Then slowly, start moving the fingers and toes, rolling the head from side to side, bringing the movement back into your body. Bend the left knee and place the left foot on the mat, roll all the way onto your right side, and help yourself up into a comfortable sitting position for our prāṇāyāma practice today. Sit comfortably in your seated position, hands in Chin Mudrā. Our pranayama practice today is level 3, Nāḍī Śodhana, alternate nostril breathing. We’ll start our practice by singing together the sound Aum. Allow the resonance of the sound to draw yourself to your concentration, to awaken your inner consciousness, to deep inhalation.