01/02/2026
On the surface, this class was a LOT of fun, and I woke up feeling fantastic!
The quick takeaway is we had a lot of fun moving and stretching, trying some breathing exercises and learning a bit about juicing with Dr. Jess!
The immunity boosting juice shot Dr. Jess made for us had quite a kick, and I woke up today with more energy, feeling great.
I love collabing with Dr. Jess, and can’t wait for our new classes coming up, this year!
Thank you to everyone for showing up for yourselves, and to Dr. Jess and Miranda for the awesome photo memories. 💜
ON A DEEPER LEVEL:
The class we did yesterday, had a lot of heart and intention poured into it. What might feel like a randomized series of movements had specific purpose in every tiny bit.
I know folks often say yoga is more than a pose. Here’s a deep dive, if you wanna read…
The theme for this class was “Detox and Reset”
We started by talking about our “systems”.
-The Circulatory System filters our blood, delivers oxygen and nutrients throughout our body and removes waste.
-The Digestive System processes food and separates and removes waste as well, while delivering nutrients to our bloodstream for energy, healing, growth and repair.
-The Lymphatic System helps maintain healthy fluid levels in the body, helps our body filter harmful stuff, and helps it absorb other stuff…
And there’s the thing: Yoga helps activate ALL THREE of these systems.
An effective yoga class stretches and compresses every part of the body, and helps eliminate carbon dioxide, lactic acid and lymphatic fluid from deep within the body, too.
Deep breathing encourages better oxygen intake (and carbon dioxide removal), and helps stimulate the digestive organs (as does physical movement).
Being focused on your movement and breath helps encourage being in the present moment, which helps remove yourself a bit, from chaos.
So yes, it’s much more than just poses and stretches. The way yoga classes are structured, even when we have a lot of fun (maybe even especially when we have fun), are a hug to your entire body and self.
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WANT EVEN MORE OF A BREAKDOWN? No pressure, but I live for this.
*We began by bringing awareness to our breath, while on our backs. Breathing through the lower abdomen encourages deeper, more oxygen-rich exchange, and deeper exhales encourage deeper, fuller release of carbon dioxide.
Studies have shown that effective, deep breathing not only helps calm the nervous system, but it also supports lymph fluid movement, and digestion.
*Next, we brought ourselves to a comfy seated position of our choice, and started stretching the neck, jaw and shoulders. Beginning with gentle movement here, this stimulates sinus clearing, and lymph drainage in the many nodes of your neck area.
*Seated cat/cow follows similar movements as the neck warmups, encouraging the movement we’ve started with to begin to flow through the body and not stay stagnant.
*Seated side stretches and twists continue to move the circulation toward our digestive tract, and encourage part one of a gentle liver stimulation.
*Moving toward standing positions, we transitioned to kneeling, and did different variations on lunges. Activating the legs, getting the circulation started slowly but strongly, then offering options for twists in lunges asks the lower half of the body to join the party, and also activates the abdominal lymph nodes, restimluating the digestive tract once again.
FUN FACT: If you want to encourage digestion, turn right first, then left.
*We transitioned to standing, with the option to do downward dog pose. Down Dog encourages additional circulation through the legs in a back and forth exchange between the upper and lower parts of the body.
*Up to standing, we found our stability in mountain pose, and did some standing crescent stretches, activating and stretching the sides, and massaging the rib and torso lymph nodes.
*Up next was chair pose, leading into eagle pose (which we always do in multiple versions for every practice). Not only does eagle pose help with keeping in check with both sides of our bodies, and the balance differences we all have, by compressing the legs and activating the muscles, this flushes the leg lymph nodes and increases circulation. We flowed slowly from chair, eagle (first leg), chair, eagle (second leg) and rested in star pose. Flow movements also help the released toxins and increased blood flow to move successfully throughout the body.
Staying in tune with our breath as we move encourages oxygen to reach our limbs and encourages all of our systems to operate more efficiently and effectively.
*While we were in the flow, we did a slow-paced Sun Salutation. Sun Salutations can feel intimidating, and can feel overwhelming, but we take things slow and steady. So you get the benefit of the full body flow and movement, while not letting your head spin.
*Inside of a Sun Salutation, you’ll often find Cobra pose and Down Dog. We did both in our Salutation yesterday, and I wanted to add that Cobra also stimulates the chest lymph and boosts immune awareness-especially when paused in, and deep breathing is encouraged.
*Next we rested in Child’s pose (or Puppy, or Surfboard), with the option to do overhead side stretches. Kinda like crescent stretch above, this stimulates the abs/torso and ribs and also compresses the legs, depending on which position you’ve chosen for resting.
*As we started to slow down, we rolled onto our backs and did a few leg hugs, rocking side to side if we wanted a bit of a lower back massage. This also stimulates and massages to lower abs, pelvic lymph and begins to calm the body, while activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
*As we go a bit back and forth between our active and resting movement, one more offer to choose either a restful, supported Bridge pose or an active, unsupported Bridge. Maybe we had one last bit of energy we needed to squeeze out. Maybe we’re more ready to let go. Yogi’s choice. Either way it’s great for opening the heart and lung area of the body.
*One more twist before we nap? Why not! Resting into Supine Twist is great for your kidneys, liver and abdominal area. Once you’ve come out of the twist? Fresh blood flow returns to those organs and stimulates a final dose of detoxing action for our class flow.
*The final and most important part of class? Savasana or Happy Nap. What seems like laziness or maddening stillness from the outside is actually the key to healing and recovering. Our final pose of class, where we get to be still and rest, is a huge gift. That stillness at the end of class supports our immune reset, and helps tell our minds and body patterns that it’s safe and approved by us to be in a relaxed state. Savasana integrates our work, and helps rewire our bodies to accept healing, growth and self-love.
And THEN we drank immunity boosting and anti-inflammatory juices, fresh squeezed on the spot by Dr. Jess. It was a DREAM!
So yeah, while we stretch and breathe and relax together, every single part of a yoga class has purpose, and is a very powerful way to take care of yourself.
This specific class was for lymphatic movement and detoxing. But a yoga class or script can be set to so many different goals.
If you choose to do yoga for the poses, because they feel good, you’re not alone. They really do feel so good! But if you wanna dig beneath the surface, that’s also great, too! There’s a place for everyone in our family, and we’d love to see ya anytime you’d like to join us. 💜
app.ubindi.com/Michelle.Waters
Rooted Wellness MOV
