Open heart, open mind: March playlist, intention & flow

Hello, March. Where here in Kansas, it's a beautiful spring day one minute and snowing the next. 

This month, like this midwest weather, I struggled to land on an intention. Usually things naturally fall into place ... but this month I kept changing my mind. So over the weekend I meditated on it, pulled some cards from Erin's Affirmation Deck and it hit me. The "not knowing" was a clue all along.

March intention setting - Affirmation deck by Erin Brown

My intention is to be open. To not let my own rules, ideas and regimen get in the way of new ideas, opportunities and experiences. To be open to growth and to whatever feelings might come to the surface … welcoming them in instead of challenging them or shoving them away.

Open heart, open mind

Physically, I want to open my heart. My backbend practice took a backseat during my pregnancy. But now I'm almost five months postpartum and ready to get bendy again. My chest yearns to expand.

In my C2 classes we'll be focusing on backbends and also giving our hips some love — creating lots of space in two of the areas we tend to hold the most tension. We'll flow and stretch and work toward king pigeon and king dancer. 

Here's a peek at part of the flow.

It's humbling to go back to backbends. They were my favorite pre-pregnancy and king pigeon was a pose I loved. Now, not so much. My toes feel so far out of reach. But that's OK! The journey isn't always linear. I'll make it back to my toes when my body is ready. For now, I'm loving my strap.

King pigeon pose with strap

As the title of this post promised, here's the playlist for our flow!

Be on the lookout for a heart-opening restorative sequence on my YouTube channel. And if you haven't already, please subscribe by hitting that big 'ol button below! I want this to be a fun, welcoming online space to practice yoga. Hitting "subscribe" may not seem like a big deal but it really helps to build this community ... and it helps more people find these videos so we can make a well-rounded yoga practice accessible to more people.

I shared a 15-minute killer core sequence as well as a lovely short restorative hip-opening sequence (see below) that goes with this month's intention. Tomorrow I'll share a postnatal flow!

There will be a new video every Thursday — absolutely free — so subscribe to join!

Hello, March. Sorry I was late to the party. I was too busy trying to control you that I forgot to welcome you with open arms.

I'm ready now.