Hello and welcome.
This practice is for softening,
Expanding,
Opening up your side body.
You might choose to practice this in bed as you first wake up or as you wind down from your day,
Choosing to practice perhaps on the floor with a blanket or pillow under your head.
And because you can't see me and sometimes my directions or guidance is not that clear,
Encouraging you to make the practice what you need it to be.
You can't get anything wrong,
This is a chance to spend time with your whole self,
Connecting to your body and bringing some aliveness,
Awakening,
Unfurling through the sides of your body.
Not many movements that we do throughout the day involve the sides of our body.
My side body can get pretty sticky and stiff.
If you are not there already,
Inviting you to meet me laying down on your back.
Perhaps as you next exhale,
Feeling and sensing into this sinking,
Softening down.
You might gently scan from head to toe all of the places that are in relationship to the surface,
The texture that supports you.
Nestling down through your shoulders,
Maybe a little wave through your hips,
Rocking them from side to side.
You might even like to roll your head from side to side as the rain has started to fall outside.
Maybe listening for any sounds in your space,
Letting your ears receive and retrieve the symphony,
The orchestra of sounds all around.
From your reclined shape on your back,
The invitation is to cross your arms over your body,
Letting the palms rest on the upper ribcage,
Really nestling into your side body.
Letting the shoulders,
Your upper arms,
The forearms be really heavy.
And for a few rounds of your own breath,
Your natural rhythm,
Inhaling,
Feeling the expansion of your ribcage into your hands.
This opening,
Widening,
Creating more space for your breath to flow,
To dance,
To nourish all of your cells.
Continuing with as many conscious breaths as you like.
If you'd like to follow along with me,
Inviting you to bring the soles of your feet to the floor or to your mattress.
And let's roll on to our left side.
Your left arm might snuggle underneath your head as a pillow,
And the right arm might be lengthened along the right side body.
And as you next exhale,
Lengthening your right leg long,
Letting the foot land on the mattress or the floor.
And you could stay right here,
Perhaps already feeling that opening through the right side body,
Side waist.
And if you'd like to explore a little more,
You might float the right arm,
Rainbowing it over your right ear and back behind you.
Letting the hand rest anywhere that feels comfortable enough.
The possibility of pointing and flexing through your right foot.
Noticing how that point and flex might shift and change the sensations you can feel in your right hip,
Right waist.
Exploring a few rounds of natural breath here.
You could try breathing into places where you feel a stretch.
Maybe you can even feel an opening and expanding through the right side of your body,
Making more space for your breath to flow in and dance.
Remaining here for longer if you like,
But otherwise gently rolling onto your back.
The right leg lengthened long and your left knee gently bent.
The left sole of your foot might be towards the right ankle or the right calf.
This doesn't need to look a certain way,
But it is a modified tree if you are familiar with yoga.
Letting your hips and pelvis grow heavy.
Your hands can be resting anywhere that feels supportive.
I quite like to have my hands resting on my belly.
Where do you feel this stretch the most?
Could you invite your body to soften,
Unwind?
Maybe just a fraction as you next exhale.
And you might choose to stay right here in your modified tree pose,
Or you might like to bring your arms back behind you,
Clasping onto opposite wrists or elbows.
And as you next find an exhalation,
Shifting your upper body and your torso over to the left any amount.
Again inviting this rainbow shape through the right side of your body.
My crescent moon shape.
Inviting you to explore a stretch through the right hip,
Right waist,
The right side of your body.
Exploring a few more rounds of breath.
Seeing what it's like to imagine your breath traveling down into the places where you feel this stretch.
You might even imagine that you are lengthening the whole of the right side of your body.
From the right heel,
Meandering up to the right hip,
Right shoulder.
As the rain outside has become really heavy.
Softening,
Sinking down into the surface that supports you.
And unraveling,
Coming back to the middle.
Maybe beginning with the torso and upper body.
Releasing the left leg long.
Making any little micro adjustments with your hips.
Bringing the arms down by your sides or resting on your body.
Before we explore that sequence on the second side,
Can you notice any difference between your left side and your right side?
Might be really subtle.
I get a sense that my right side is a little bit longer.
A little more connected to the surface underneath.
A little more connected and grounded.
Bringing the soles of your feet to the mattress or the floor.
And in your own time,
Rolling over to your right side.
You might choose to have your right arm underneath your head for support.
A little pillow.
Or perhaps the blanket or the pillow underneath your head is enough.
Settling into this shape on your side.
Lengthening your left leg out long.
Resting the foot into the surface you're resting on.
Noticing where you might feel an opening.
Where you feel sensation,
Muscle stretching or opening.
And for today this might be enough.
Exploring a point and flex through the foot.
Seeing how that might shift and change what you can feel and notice.
Or if you like,
Floating your left arm up towards the sky and over.
Rainbowing the left arm.
Letting the arm rest over the ear.
Finding a place where you can let the arm grow heavy.
There might be a generous bend in your elbow.
Breathing into the left side body.
Feeling how your body expands to make more space for the generosity and loyalty of your breath.
Remaining here for longer if that feels useful.
But otherwise,
Using your next exhale to roll over onto your back.
Your left leg lengthened out long and the right leg gently bent.
Exploring where feels supportive for the right foot.
Whether it's closer towards your left ankle or the left calf.
My right foot and left leg aren't touching.
Seeing where you might like place that right leg.
Feel into that opening through your right hip.
Perhaps a stretch through the inner groin.
Your hands might be resting on your belly.
Detecting any movement beneath each of your hands as your body is breathing here for you.
Choosing to stay just as you are.
Or maybe exploring this crescent moon shape.
Your arms might travel back behind you,
Holding onto your wrists or the elbows.
Letting your upper body,
Your torso,
Your shoulders,
Your head and your neck,
Travel any amount towards the right,
Towards the bent knee.
Opening up through the left side body,
Creating openness and spaciousness.
You might have noticed that one side of your body feels quite different to the other.
This side for me has far less sensation.
Your next inhale into any places that feel tender and sticky.
And as you next exhale,
Is there a part of your body that can soften?
Sink a little further down into the support underneath you.
And then traveling back to the middle.
Releasing the arms down by your sides.
Perhaps rolling out through the wrists,
Stretching your fingers out long.
With both of your legs lengthened,
You might begin to press down through one heel and then the other.
And as we began with the arms resting on the sides of the upper ribcage,
You might like to again cross your arms over your body.
Letting the hands nestle into the sides of your ribs.
Finding a few breaths,
Seeing if you can detect even a fraction more movement after this opening of the sides of your body.
You might wrap your arms around the shoulders as though you're giving yourself a hug.
And with your arms wrapped around your body in this containment hug.
Let's close the practice together with one conscious breath in and one conscious breath out.
Thank you so much for practicing together.
It is such a joy and such a privilege.
I hope to share our practice together again really soon.
