🌲🐋Olympic NP⛰️ At Peace in the National Parks
🌲⛰️☀️Hey beautiful souls!! Welcome to our "At Peace in the National Parks" Yoga Series! We will visit so many incredibly breathtaking parks, created to protect these sacred lands and all the life that exists there, from Yosemite & Yellowstone, to the Smokies, the Everglades, to Olympic National Park! Last week we visited the Smokies National Park on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee! We found healing in the blue misty mountains and forests, rivers and streams! We connected to the soil, the water, the sun, black bears, elk, box turtles, bobcats, over 300 species of birds, salamanders, and so much beautiful life! The Smokies is the most concentrated populations of salamanders in the ENTIRE WORLD!! Amazing!! We found wisdom with the indigenous Cherokee, who helped us connect back to this sacred land, flora, and fauna. This week, we traveled to the Pacific Northwest, to Washington, to immerse ourselves in Olympic National Park!!
🦌”Nature is the purest portal to inner peace. The earth longs to feel our bare feet and the wind delights in weaving through our hair. We are always connected, we are never separate. This connection to the earth gives us our basic foundation of belonging, home, and safety.
🌲🌊⛰️Lets go to Olympic National Park!! The PNW is incredibly special to me, my roots lie here, both of my father and mother's families are from Washington, so my DNA is quite literally embedded in this land, in the ocean, the trees, the soil, and the mountains. My sun astrological sign is Pisces, and my moon is Taurus, this land embodies all of me, the ocean, earth, and forest! Olympic National Park was established in 1938, and is quite magical, its one million acres consists of the pacific ocean's coastline, tide pools and rocky beaches, and then high cliffs, perfect for cliff divers, and inland, we discover 4 different temperate rainforests full of moss-covered trees, waterfalls, streams, lakes and rivers, and then to top it off, valleys and meadows of wildflowers, and glacier-capped mountains! Everything is here, cozy in one national park drawing 400,000 visitors each year, a quiet secret among the national parks that not many know about. But you'll soon see why it's so incredible with photos below and our fun yoga flow! People of all walks of life arrive here to consume and breathe in its beauty, from hikers, climbers, and kayakers, to artists, photographers, writers, and wildlife conservationists. We connect to our indigenous friends and ancestors, the Quinault, Klallam, Quileute, and Hoh, to remind us that we are in fact woven into this land, and to every living thing that exists here in this sacred land.
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⛰️🐋We began our practice in Mountain pose, our Tadasana! We were so thrilled to be here in this beautiful land, that we opened with our Breath of Joy Pranayama breath work! As we drew the breath in through our nose, we extended the hands forward, inhaled as the arms extended out to a T, another inhale as the hands stretched overhead to the sky, and with the exhale, we melted into a forward fold. We repeated this two more times, and on the third forward fold, we melted the hips down, onto our shins, into our Hero pose, inhaling hands reach overhead, exhale right hand melts down to the right, left arm reaching overhead into a sidebend, through center, left hand melts down, right hand overhead, inhale both hands high, cactus the arms, open the chest, exhale we curl in, cradle the head, arch the back, forearms meet, inhale we open out, exhale we curl in. Inhale hands reach to the sky, palms to the heart and fingertips plant behind the glutes into a mini backbend, gaze to the sky, shoulderblades draw toward one another. Exhale we melt forward, onto the belly, as we dive into the ocean! Hands under the shoulders, forehead grounded, toes out to the edges of the mat, wide legs, inhale we lift into our Low Seal, exhale we melt, inhale we lift, exhale we melt, inhale we lift coming into the forearms, into our Seal, gaze over the right shoulder, through center, and over the left shoulder, through center, we melt down, hands long by the hips, palms to the sky, forehead grounded, inhale we lift the gaze, chest, hands & feet, into our gray whale, exhale we melt, inhale we lift 2 more times, and on the third, we melt down, hands under the shoulders, press into the palms and melt the hips back child’s pose, folded in half like a clam!
Our Ujjayi breath followed, even lengths of inhale and exhale through the nose, our grounding, stabilizing breath. With the inhale, we envision an ocean wave moving in, washing over us, cleansing us, and with the exhale the ocean wave returns to the sea, carrying away everything heavy we've been holding onto. Even though the eyes are closed, we noticed what we see beyond the lids, finding peace and serenity in this darkness. We traveled to our smell, noticing what we smell around us, notes of Palo Santo, essential oil mist I sprayed overhead, to help us connect to summer in the PNW! We scanned to our hearing, noticing the sound of our breath, the breath of our neighbor, the hum of the furnace, pinpointing an instrument in the music. We scanned to our taste, noticing the last thing we may have eaten, or a sip of cup of tea, coffee, lingering in the mouth, separating the teeth, the tongue falling from the roof of the mouth. Lastly, we noticed our sense of touch, what we feel against the skin, the warmth of the air against the skin, the softness of our clothes, the stickiness of our mat, supporting us, cradling us, serving as our anchor, as we shed the layers that accumulate on the body and mind from daily life, bringing us back home to ourselves, lighter, more free.
We walked the hands in, coming into a comfortable seat! The hands lifted overhead, and met at the heart, palms together, we created our Heart mudra, tenting the fingers, then the ring fingers drip down toward the thumbs, remaining fingers still connected upward, a heart in a tent, we honor the love we have for the national parks and their protection! We rubbed the palms together to create some heat, some healing energy, remembering that our hands are tools for healing, and cupped the hands to the eyes, sending healing energy to the soul. Hands floated to the crown, sending healing energy to the mind, calming the chatter. The mind can become stuck in the past, ruminating over things that have been, or travel too far forward into the future with worry, but the body is always present, so here we connect and stay present. One hand floated to the forehead, and the other to the base of the skull, gentle pressure into our vagus nerve, serving as a nervous system reset button, finally bringing the hands to the heart sending gratitude to the heart and lungs, for the work they do every moment of every day, for us. We set an intention for our practice. We inhaled the hands overhead, and to the right for a twist, peeling the right shoulder back to open the chest 5% more, opening our Anahata chakra, heart chakra, sending compassion, understanding, love out into the world. We arched the right hand to the sky and toward the opposite knee to open the side body, and then brought it to the left knee, crossing the arms, arching the back and dripping the chin. We honored the other side, and then came through center, planted the fingers behind us, opened the chest, arching the spine into a backbend, gaze to the sky, and then melted forward into a fold. We walked the hands in, soles of the feet together, make peace fingers with the hands, hook the big toes, inhale we open the legs out into our Straddle pose, balancing on the tailbone, Balancing Sea Otter, bend into the knees, and roll back meeting the mat, Happy Sea Otter, reach for the outer edges of the feet, rocking side to side, we're otters floating in the Pacific Ocean, snacking of clams, crumbs gathering on the belly. Knees hug into the chest, and melt to the right, through center, and to the left, we've floated to land, onto the beach! We rock n roll along the spine coming into our Table Top!
Our cat cow flow followed as we warmed up the spine, adding in organic movement, hips swaying side to side, or rolling forward and back into Childs pose waving back and forward into our table top. We moved to our breath, our own pace, making our cat cow our own. We came into our neutral table top, inhale as the gaze and right toes reach for the sky, bending the right knee, exhale tap knee to nose, inhale we lift, exhale tap, inhale lift, left hand reaches back for the right foot, into our Cougar pose! Cougars are rarely seen, but they have been spotted hunting on the beach! Inhale we release the right foot, right toes plant back of the mat, left knee lifts into the chest, arch the back, exhale left knee down, right foot extends out to the right side of our mat, inhale left hand lifts to the sky, exhale thread under the right arm, grounding the left temple, left shoulder, Rolling Crab! Inhale unravel left hand to the sky, and down to the top of the mat, inhale lift off off the palms, hands overhead, exhale right hand to the right leg, left hand overhead, inhale cartwheel the hands around, left hand down, right hand reaches overhead, arms and legs extending out like a Sea Urchin in a tidal pool! Hands melt to the top of the mat, knees come together into our table top, cat cow flow, and then we honor the left side!
Inhale, tuck the toes, lift the hips, downward dog, finding movement, then stillness. In our downward dog, we created plank waves, floating into our plank, exhaling up into our Downward dog, 3 times, and pranam knees chest chin, into a low cobra, and up into our downward dog. We floated to the top of our mats into a forward fold, hanging heavy, and began to root to rise, we slowly lifted up, one vertebrae at a time, the head the last to come through, into our Tadasana, our mountain pose. We felt the grounding energy from the sand pull at the soles of our feet from the toes to the arches to the heels, anchoring us. This energy circled around the legs, to the pelvis, the hips, around each vertebrae of the spine to the shoulders as they melt down from the ears. The crown reaching for the heavens, we are stable, rooted, and anchored. We inhaled hands overhead, right hand to the left wrist, bending to the right, through center, side bend to the left. We came through center and to exhaled forward into a swan dive melted into a forward fold. We planted the hands and moved through a vinyasa flow, pranam knees chest chin into a low cobra, or a chaturanga flow to upward dog, or skipped the flow completely, stepping into downward dog. Always your choice!
We've walked from the beach inland into the rainforest! Our flow began in Tadasana, inhale hands reach overhead, sidebend to the right, center, to the left, swan dive forward fold. Move through your flow, meet in downward dog, inhale right leg lifts, exhale cross tap right knee to left elbow, inhale lift, exhale right to right elbow, inhale lift, exhale knee to chest, right knee down, bend into the elbows, a little pushup, left toes to the sky, inhale we come up, melt into the right shin, knee forward as the hips melt down, left toes roll to the back of our mat. Roll onto the right hip, pivot to the back of our mat, right foot into the left thigh, Fallen Tree, left hand reaching for the left foot, right hand reaches overhead. Inhale cartwheel the hands around to the top of the mat, right hand down, hips lift, left hand reaching overhead, Rainbow Arch, left hand down top of the mat, inhale right leg unravels to the sky, exhale knee to chest, inhale lift, exhale knee to chest, right foot steps forward between the hands, back heel grounds, we rise up Warrior I hands to the sky. Inhale cactus the arms, open the chest, right over left Eagle arms, exhale humble in, inhale lift, exhale humble in, inhale lift, exhale float forward into the right foot, floating the left leg Warrior 3, keeping our bind, inhale left knee floats through center into our Pilar pose, left foot wraps around the right leg, inhale we lift into our Eagle, exhale crunch in, inhale lift, exhale crunch, inhale lift, exhale crunch, realeasing our bind, palms plant, left toes to the sky Standing Splits, left knee into the chest, left foot steps back, left hand grounds, right hand high, Twisted Lunge, inhale reach, exhale thread the right hand under the left arm, 3 times we thread, walking the hands to the long left side of our mat, WideLeg fold.
🌲 Inhale we rise up, 5-pointed Star, exhale into our Goddess. Inhale we float into the right foot, left foot meets the right leg, into our moss-covered tree, through center, we float into the left foot, into our Tree, through center, one more time to the right and to the left, through center. Inhale extend up, 5-pointed Star, arms out to a T, exhale we hinge from the hips melting down into a Wideleg fold. Walk the hands to the right foot, melt the hips Skandasana, prayer hands at the heart to balance, melt the hands forward, find a heart opener or a bind. Walk the hands through center and to the left, Skandasana. Inhale walk the hands to the back of our mat, framing the left foot, right hand grounds left hand high, Twisted Lunge, left hand down, left shin forward, walk the hands a handprint out to the left and right, melt the hips down, inhale we lift, exhale we melt down, elbows to the sky, wide arms like goalposts. 3 times we create pigeon waves, and on the third lift, right shin moves forward toward the hands, into our Deer pose, today our Elk, inhale the hands lift overhead, chest pivots to the left knee, exhale we melt the heart, hands walking forward. Inhale the hands walk in, feet stay as they are, roll the hips, we pivot to the top of our mat into our Deer, right shin forward, magic trick! Inhale hands overhead, exhale we melt over the right knee. Inhale the hands walk in, palms plant top of the mat, left toes peel to the back of our mat, right leg unravels to the sky, exhale knee to chest, inhale lift, exhale knee to chest, and thread the right foot through to the left, left hand high, Fallen Star, left hand down, right leg to the sky, bend the knee open the hip, Flip your Dog, Wild Thing! Coming through center, right leg high, exhale knee to chest, step the right foot through, between the hands, right hand lifts, Twisted Lunge, right hand down, heel toe the right foot to the edge of our mat, melt the left knee, into our lizard, today our Salamander in the rainforest! We can melt into the forearms, or twist the heart open to the right, and bind for the back foot! Release the foot, both feet to the back of our mat, move through your flow, and meet in Tadasana top of the mat to honor the left side!
Our Somatic practice gives us tools to regulate our nervous system, to stimulate the vagus nerve that begins at the base of the brain and runs throughout the body touching every organ system! We agitated emotions stuck in the body, to help them release, and to serve as a reset button. I usually alternate between these tools each week! We began in our Tadasana, brought the right hand to the left upper side of the chest, and extended the left arm forward, palm facing the sky. With a deep inhale, we kept the hips forward, as the left arm slowly traveled out to the left side, gaze following, to the back, paused at the back with the gaze over our left shoulder, and on the exhale slowly brought the arm back toward the top of our mat. We repeated this two more times, inhaled as the arms reached overhead, palms gathered at the heart. We brought the left arm to the right upper side of the chest, extended the right arm forward, palm facing up, and with the inhale slowly traveled the right arm out to the side as the gaze followed, to the back, and paused opening the chest. With the exhale we brought the right arm slowly back to the top of our mat, and repeated 2 more times! We rubbed the palms together to create some healing heat, and we brought the fingertips to the crown, massaging the fingertips all over the crown and behind the ears, even the base of the skull. We moved into the temples, massaging circles here, we dripped the fingers to the jaw, the hinge where we open and close the jaw, the perfect release for jaw clenchers like myself, and maybe you too. We pulled down on the ear lobes, pulled the middle of the ears out to the sides, up to the top of the ears pulling toward the sky. With one hand to the base of the skull, pressing into the vagus nerve, the other hand brought the index and middle fingers to the hairline at the forehead and began rolling the fingers down the forehead, between the eyebrows, down the bridge of the nose to the tip, repeating 3 times, and switching out the hands. We brought our fingertips to the base of the skull, pressing into our vagus nerve, and melted the fingertips toward the ears, along the jawline, and down the front of the neck to the collarbone. We repeated this 2 more times, releasing tightness in the throat. We tapped into the collarbone, with slow rythmic taps, all fingers in unison, into one of our acupressure points in the body. We brought this tapping to the sternum, center of the chest. We slowly tapped here, either with the fingertips or Bilateral Butterfly taps using cupped hands over one another on the chest, activating both hemispheres of the brain, continuing as we inhaled, paused to bring the hands to the heart, stacked on top of one another, and as we exhaled we audibly hummed into our bee breath🐝! If you hold tension here in the chest, this is a nice release! Humming is a somatic release, also good for respiratory infection season to break things up in the lungs, and humming has shown to reduce anxiety better than sleep! We crossed the arms at the chest, and squeezed into opposite shoulders, down to the biceps and triceps, and into the forearms. We brought the hands to the shoulders again for a squeeze, and swiped the hands down the arms, chest, abdomen, low back, and legs, making sure anything still tethered to the body is fully released. We released everything from last year, last month, yesterday, that we need to let go of, swipe it away, let yourself be freed of it, so we don't carry this heaviness any longer! Allow it to melt down your back! Let it drift into the breeze, the water, no longer needed in this moment!
🍃We came into stillness, then swayed right and left, and found stillness again, noticing the effects: we can feel cool, heat, or tingling sensations, even a spontaneous yawn! All signs of a regulated nervous system. We removed anything stuck, anything harmful & toxic still attached to the body! We stimulated the vagus nerve, the super highway of information from the brain to the body! We sent messages to the brain that the body is not under threat, it does not have to exist in a continuous active state (fight /flight/freeze mode). We helped our body to experience a larger capacity to sit in discomfort, and not immediately reach for unhealthy soothers, or run from it. We welcome space for triggers to be felt and moved through. We have the ability to help our nervous system shift fluidly between states when each are needed, the sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems! Both are useful and 100% needed, but we do not want to become stuck in one state for too long. These practices are so useful off the mat as we encounter stress or triggers in our daily lives! We find balance! We find freedom!
Our cool down began in Tadasana, we inhaled hands overhead, exhaled with a Swan dive, and planted the hands, heel toe out, hips melt into our Yogi Squat, hands to the heart, elbows nudge the knees open. Inhale plant the palms, lift the hip, Froggy Hop back, into Yogi Squat, 3 more times back until we're at the back of our mat, meeting in Yogi Squat. Inhale hips lift, hands walk forward into our Downward Dog. Right hand threads under the left arm to the left shin, through center, left hand to the right shin, through center, heel toe feet in, walk the hands in to the feet, lower the hips into our Toe Squat, our Owl pose, inhale hands reach up overhead, and T the arms out, chest twisting to the right, knees stay forward, through center, hands high, arms reach out to a T, twist to the left, through center, hands to the heart, plant the palms, hips lift, bent knee twists to the right, right hand high, through center, left hand high, and down, walk the hands forward, melt into the shins, Hero pose, inhale hands lift, exhale right hand down, left hand overhead, through center, left hand down, right hand overhead, through center, inhale cactus the arms, open the chest, exhale curl in, cradle the head, forearms meet, 2 more times, and then melt forward, forehead grounds, hands reach back for the heels.
Inhale we lift through the chest, roll onto the left hip, coming into our seated Childs pose, arms wrap around the shins. Feet extend out into our Straddle, V shape, exhale we melt forward. Inhale we walk the hands in, feet in, and plant hip width apart, palms plant behind the glutes, fingertips forward, inhale lift the hips, into our reverse table, our picnic table today! Exhale we melt the hips down, remember to pack your trash away, there are black bears nearby! Soles of the feet together, we hook the big toes, and extend the feet out into a V, our Balancing Black Bear, bend into the knees, and roll to our backs, reaching for outer edges of the feet rocking side to side, Happy Black Bear! Knees hug into the chest, inhale feet to the sky, Tpose, waterfall legs, right leg crosses over the left, bend the knees, hug the thighs together, reach for shins, lengthening the right IT band, relieving sciatic nerve pain. Open out the right leg to the right, cradle with the right hand, left hand to the left shin pulling the shin in toward the ribs, into our Arrow pose, honoring our PNW indigenous peoples, the Klallam, Hoh, Quinault, and Quiluete. We bring the right leg back in, over the left, stacking the knees, hips scooch to the right, knees fall the left, Supine Twist. Knees float through center, find a bridge, and then feet lift, Tpose, and honor the left side.
We create space for anything else we may need before our final rest, perhaps another twist, shoulder stand, bridge, plow, wheel, legs up the wall. We made it to our PEAK POSE: Savasana! We could stay at the wall, or find the full length of the body on our mat. Together, we completed a full body cleanse! We found meditative peace, a calming of the mind, removed masks, heavy burdens, found insight into ourselves, we experienced expansion, fearlessness, release, and freedom. Yoga helps us shed what we no longer need, so we may see our most purest selves! We connect to divinity! To slow down means to heal! That is why savasana is the peak pose, the most important pose, the goal, the pinnacle. To find peace. In the stillness! We surrender. We discover ourselves again without the layers we shed, much like the reptiles we embodied today, removing the armor, the walls. They all come down, revealing our divine self.
🌲⛰️☀️This class was so incredibly fun, I love a good Earth-centered vacation on our mats! Even if we can not travel to our favorite spots due to weather, cold temperatures, funds, or being too far, we can always visit these places in our yoga practice!! So fun!! I'm filled with SO much gratitude for you all choosing to practice with me. I'm humbled and so thankful! And of course, our Olympic NP Yoga playlist was amazing! Lots of mountain, ocean, forest, earthy vibes happening, strong feminine voices, and transformation vibes! Listen with the link below!
🍃Come practice with me on Fridays at 11:30am for a Gentle Somatic Flow, and on Somatic Sundays at 10:00am!🫶🏻 ✨🌿
