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Good morning, everybody, and welcome to our morning practice here at Śrī Devpurījī Āśram in Dungog, Australia. We will start in a sitting position. Close your eyes and bring your awareness to the morning atmosphere. This very special time of day is filling the atmosphere around us. Listen to the sounds of nature, and then slowly become aware of yourself. We will chant together Om three times. Take a deep inhalation. Now, slowly open your eyes and come to lie down for relaxation in Śavāsana. Make sure your body is in a straight line. Allow the feet to be a little wider than the hips, and let the feet roll out to the sides. Place your arms a little bit wider than the shoulders, with the palms facing upwards. Roll the shoulders back towards the mat, and tuck the chin very slightly towards the chest. Bring both hands to rest on the lowest part of your abdomen and begin to breathe deep into your belly. As you breathe deep down into the bottom of the lungs, feel the belly rise. As you breathe out, allow the belly to relax. Continue to breathe with your focus on abdominal breathing. Feel the rise and fall of your belly. Be aware of any tension or tightness around the muscles of the abdomen and lower back, and as you breathe, allow those muscles to soften. In your own time, continue to make the breath a little fuller and a little deeper. It may help to exaggerate the movement a few times, pushing your abdomen up towards the sky and drawing your navel back towards the spine. In this way, stretch and soften the muscles a little more around that area. Now, deepen the breath by sliding one hand up to the very top of the chest. Practice full yogic breathing: breathe into the abdomen, continuing to fill the lungs right up to the very top of your chest. As you breathe out, breathe out from the top of the chest down towards the belly. Take a long inhalation, feeling the belly rise, the ribs expand, and the chest and back expand. As you breathe out, the chest relaxes, the ribs move inwards, and the belly softens. Continue to breathe like that, feeling the lungs from the very bottom to the very top, and emptying the lungs from the top to the bottom. Use all the muscles of your body that are involved in taking a breath: the muscles of the diaphragm and abdomen, the small muscles along the ribs, and the muscles at the top of the chest. Continue to deepen and lengthen the breath, trying to find your fullest, deepest breath. After the next round, bring the hands back to the sides of the body. Stay with your breathing rhythm. As you inhale, lift the arms above the head, letting them float through the air on your breath. As you breathe out, bring the arms back down to the sides of the body. Breathe in again, raising the arms, and breathing out, lowering the arms. Coordinate your breath and movement. When you raise the arms above the head, feel the lengthening through the body. As your upper body lengthens and opens, breathe a little deeper, a little fuller. Complete one more round. When the hands come back to the sides of the body, allow your body to relax. Notice the effects of our first breathing practices this morning. We will stretch through the right side of the body. Take a deep inhalation, raising the right arm above the head and curling the right toes back towards the face. Try to press the right hip down into the ground and open up along your ribs. Exhale, bringing the arm back down to the side of the body. Kumbha Mela, Kumbha Mela... One more stretch through the whole body. Take a deep in-breath, raising the arms above the head, curling the toes back towards the face, and flattening the lower back into the ground. Exhale. Take a long, deep breath, relax, and bring the arms out to the sides. For a spinal twist, bend both knees and place the feet on the ground, close to the buttocks, with knees and thighs as close together as feels comfortable. Take a deep inhalation, and as you breathe out, allow both knees to fall toward the ground on the right side of your body. Turn the head to the left. Breathing in, come back to the center. Breathing out, knees go to the left and head to the right. As you breathe in, come back to the middle with the knees and head. Do two more times on each side, moving as slowly as you feel comfortable with today. Take your time and feel the muscles along your back and shoulders starting to stretch and open. When you have finished three rounds, come back to the centre, keeping the knees bent and arms out to the sides. Take a deep breath into the hip area, making the feet as wide apart as your yoga mat. Feel comfortable to make any adjustments. Then, take a deep in-breath, draw the breath deep into the body, and as you breathe out, let both knees fall to the ground on the right side of your body, letting the left knee fall round about where the right foot sole is. Try not to push or force; let gravity do all the work here. Breathe in, coming back to the centre, and breathing out to the other side. Breathe back into the middle, and then twice more on each side. Move with your own breathing rhythm, slow and steady, as you twist, noticing the muscles of your back and also the muscles around the lower part of your back and hips. After three rounds, come back to the centre, straighten the legs, and bring the hands to the sides of the body. Take a deep breath in and let your body relax. The next movement works to develop some strength in the abdomen and muscles of the lower back, and to stretch through the upper part of the spine. Bend the elbows and bring the hands clasped together behind the head. Have the feet about hip-width apart with the toes pointing upwards. Take a deep inhalation, and as you breathe out, roll the head, look at the space between your feet, and bring the elbows together in front of the body, just lengthening through the back of the neck. Try to extend out through your heels. As you breathe in, roll the head back onto the mat, letting the elbows relax. As you breathe out, the same movement. Take a deep in-breath, and as you breathe out, draw the navel back to support the lower back and lift the head. Try to lift your upper back, bring the upper back and shoulders off the ground, and bring the elbows together. As you inhale, roll the head back onto the mat. Exhaling, the elbows come back to the ground. Do three more times. Move in your own breathing rhythm. Be aware of drawing the navel back towards the spine to support the muscles of the lower back as you lift, and then release and relax as you lower back down. Purījī, Purījī... Tuck the head between the shoulders. When you look at yourself, it looks like the elbows are a little bit tucked into your body. Press the head between the shoulders and tuck the toes under. Then, as you take a deep in-breath, start to lift the head. Press down through the toes, knees, and elbows, and start to lift the hips and back off the ground. Tuck the tailbone under as though you are lifting up from your belly. Look ahead, long straight spine, and breathe out, rolling back down. As you roll back down, rest the head between the shoulders. Another round: toes tucked under, take a deep in-breath, lifting the head, and as you lift your upper body, tuck the tail under, rolling your hips under, lifting up from the belly, pushing down through the elbows. Look ahead, roll the shoulders. Mahāprabhujī Karatā He Kevalam. Have the feet about hip width apart (can be a little wider, especially if you are working with any problems through the lower back). We will do a swimming movement to open up the area around the shoulders and the upper back. Bring the thumbs to rest on the collarbone, the elbows up at shoulder height, and stretch the arms out in front. Take a deep in-breath, turning the palms back, opening out across the centre of the chest, and then bending the elbows, bringing the thumbs back to the collarbones. Deep in-breath, stretching out, big wide circle, open through the chest, and exhaling as you bend the elbows. Breathing in, continue like that. Try to keep the arms up at shoulder height with smooth movements. As you bend the elbows, try to keep the elbows up also. If you like this video, please subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon to get notified of our latest videos. This is a spiritual lecture about Yoga in the Indian tradition. In the palms forward, Hustrāsana, just working through the shoulders and the upper part of the body once again. As you breathe in, raise the arms above the head, reaching up, and then bend the elbows as you cross at the wrists. Breathing out, bring the arms back down to the sides of the body. As you stand, tuck the tailbone down and lengthen through the spine. Breathing in, raising the arms above the head. Breathing out as the arms cross over the head. Breathe in back to shoulder height, and breathing out, lowering the arms. Deep in-breath, stretch through the sides of the body. As you breathe out, allow the arms to reach up and lengthen, and open the lungs. Take a deep in-breath into your full, open lungs, bringing the arms to shoulder height. Deep in-breath, stretch through the sides of the body, as you Purījī, Purījī... Bend the knees a little closer together for a standing forward bend. Have the legs about hip width apart, turning the heels out a little bit, feeling a bit pigeon-toed but not looking pigeon-toed. Rest the hands on the thighs, lifting up tall from the belly. Take a deep in-breath, and as you breathe out, slide the hands down along the thighs, just moving slowly. Bend the knees if you need to, to take any tension out of the lower back or backs of the legs. Let the arms slide as far down your legs as they are going to. Let the top of the head point down towards the mat. Look towards your navel or towards the knees to keep the neck and shoulders comfortable. Then, stretch the right shoulder down towards the mat, and then the left shoulder. With a little bend in the knees as you breathe in, roll up from the spine, and let your head be the last part of your body that comes up. We will do the same movement again. Take a deep in-breath, start to roll the head down, tuck the chin towards the chest, and feel the upper back rolling, middle back, lower back, and rolling the hips up towards the sky. Let your whole upper body pour over your hips, letting the shoulders point down towards the ground. Extend the right shoulder down, and then the left shoulder down. Then, rolling up from the spine, take a deep in-breath, tucking the chin down towards the chest, and rolling forward. Take your time, let the hands slide down along the legs. Extend the right shoulder down towards the mat, then the left shoulder. Keeping the shoulders square and relaxed, roll up from the spine. Do two more like that, just going in your own time. Bring your hands to the sides of the body. Be very still, continuing with your concentration and your gaze at your point of focus. Feel the left leg strong, bend the right knee, and bring the foot to rest onto the thigh. The knee can point forward so you get a good deep bend, and then take the knee outwards. Help yourself down now to the back of the mat, sitting in Vajrāsana and tiger stretch posture, Vyāghrāsana. Breathing in, come up onto the knees with the hands in front. As we breathe out, bring the hands under the shoulders, fingers wide, arch through the spine, and bring the right knee towards the chest. As you breathe in, take the right leg behind, extend and straighten the leg. Keep the hips square, then bend the knee and draw the knee towards the chest, arching through the spine. Breathing in, keeping the knee bent, take the leg back and up. Extend the leg out, straighten the leg away from you, bend the knee, and draw the knee towards the chest. One more round like that: keeping the knee bent, take the leg behind, lift the heel up towards the ceiling, straighten the leg away from you as though you are opening up from the hip, bend the knee once more, and draw the knee towards the chest. Then bring both knees together, coming up onto the knees, hands in front, breathing out, and lower down. Take a deep breath. Breathing in, raising the arms, coming up. Breathing out, hands under the shoulders, fingers wide, bending the left knee towards the chest. As you breathe in, take the left leg behind, keeping the knee bent, then extend the leg out and away from you. Keep your leg where it is, bend the knee, then draw the knee down towards the chest. Breathing in, take the leg behind, straighten the leg out and away from you, bend the knee, and bring the knee towards the chest. One more round. Keep the hips square, bend the knee, knee to chest. Bring both knees together. Breathing in, coming up onto the knees, and exhaling down. Now, let’s take some deep breaths and move through some rounds of Kārtu Praṇām. Place hands on the thighs, find your breathing, raising the arms above the head, reaching up, bringing the hands together, looking up. Keep the shoulder blades moving down onto your back. Separate the hands and roll forward from the hips. Let the hands, forearms, and forehead rest on the ground. Then, lifting the hips off the heels, start to slide your upper body forward. Let your upper body hang between your shoulders, and then start to extend your heels towards the mat. Turn the heels out a little bit and bring a bit of space between your feet. Look between the hands, bend the knees, and take a big step with the right foot forward into a sprint lunge. Bring your chest forward, smooth the hips down, unfurl the back toes, and sit tall into the hips. Purījī, Purījī... We are raising the whole of the upper body, bring the hands together and look up. Separate the hands and roll slowly forward, bending the knees if you need to. With a little bending of the knees, take a big step back with the right leg, right knee to the mat. Bring your chest forward and hips move down and forward, and straighten the spine as you uncurl the back toes and reach the arms out slowly. Keep softening through the shoulders. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā to the ground, opening through the backs of the knees. Then come forward onto the ground with your knees, and lower all the way down to the mat. Place the hands beneath the ribs or around about where the top ribs are, fingers wide. Then lift the head and roll up into a baby cobra or half cobra, shoulders moving back and down. Try to point your toes away from you so you can really feel your thighs and hips pressing into the ground. Place your chest to the mat, toes under, hips in the air, caterpillar, and then pressing up and back into hare posture. Raise the whole upper body, hands together, soft shoulders, looking up towards the hands. Then bring the hands apart and bring the arms back down onto the thighs in a deep breath. Just moving through the other side as we raise the arms above the head. Go slowly. Start with the arms a little bit wider, soften the shoulders down, hands together, look up, and lift through the side body. Keep the spine long, bring the hands apart, roll forward, lifting the hips off the heels. Slide the chest forward in front of the hands, toes under into a caterpillar, and then push off on your feet, slide further forward, lifting the head and chest, coming up into whatever cobra feels good for you today. Fingers wide, palms flat to the mat. Shoulders down, elbows towards the side of the body. Toes under, lift up and lengthen back into mountain. As you extend the heels down towards the ground, open up the backs of the knees. Look between the hands, bending the knees, and take a big step with the left foot forward. Chest forward, looking ahead, lifting the upper body. Then start bringing the arms out a little bit wider than normal. Meditation, meditation, meditation... We are going to jump the toes under, lifting the hips, breathing out, back into Sumaru Āsana. As we breathe in, right foot forward into a sprinter, holding the breath into Vīra, breathing out as we come forward. Keep the breath out into a forward bend. Breathing in, raising the arms and upper body, hands together. Welcome to the end of our practice with a short reading from Swāmījī, from the Yoga in Daily Life book: "Without discipline, there is no continuity, and without continuity, there is no success. Discipline is the key to success. Impatience can destroy so much. Therefore, practice with patience and wisdom." Bring the hands together and rub the palms. Place the warm hands on the face, massaging all the muscles of the face. Fold forward, relaxing your body. Let the blood come back to the top of the head. Let your senses awaken, making your saṅkalpa for the day. Whenever you are ready, slowly come up. Thank you, everybody, for joining us here this morning for our morning practice at Śrī Devpurījī Āśram, Dungog, Australia. Hari Om.