Hi,
My name is Dieke and welcome back to the Femme Embodiment Quest.
This is day number three and the word is slow,
Which means it's all about slowing down.
These days we live in a world where everything is fast,
Everything is moving at a really quick pace and we move through our day very often also in a fast motion.
Our minds work fast,
Our body needs to work fast and so when we do that we get really easily stuck in this sort of masculine overdrive mode of just going and doing and being busy with the next thing after the next thing.
And we forget that there is this other mode,
The more feminine mode within us,
That's all about slowing down,
Coming back home,
Going inwards.
And so that's what today's practice is for and the exercise is inspired by yin yoga,
Which I've done a specific training in as well.
It's one of my favorite styles of yoga and specifically when we combine it with Chinese medicine and working with the meridians,
The energy channels in the body.
And so today's energy channels that we're going to be working with is the water meridians,
The kidney and the bladder meridians,
Which are specifically designed to really calm down your nervous system and to drop into a deep state of rest and digest.
For that,
What could be helpful is to have a little pillow or a cushion somewhere close by because with the core and main pose of today's practice,
It can be really nice to have that so you can discover and move around and see what works for your body.
For now,
Make sure you set yourself up and then one bell marks the start and three bells marks the end.
And so you can place your hands in front of your chest and namaste,
Taking that moment to connect to that slow theme,
That word of today.
And the invitation is to also move slowly within transitions as if we're moving through honey.
Taking a deep breath in here.
Taking your time,
Exhale,
Sighing it out.
Also taking your time.
And then we're going to start off by opening and closing the chest,
Working with the front and back of the body.
That's also where those energy channels and meridians run of the water element.
So taking a deep breath in,
Moving your chest forwards.
You can even use your arms,
Opening your chest.
Exhale,
Rounding the spine.
Chin goes to chest.
You can use your arms or place your hands on your knees.
In breath,
Moving forwards.
Opening your chest,
Arching your spine.
Exhale,
Rounding chin to chest.
And doing that two more times.
So in breath,
Opening your chest.
Rounding your spine.
And then from here,
Coming back to center,
Stretching your legs out in front.
Giving your legs a little shake,
A little shimmy.
Moving your toes.
Maybe playing with your feet for a moment.
Beautiful.
And then from here,
We're going to use the hands,
Stroking your legs.
See if you can tickle or connect to your toes,
But if you don't come further,
That's fine as well.
Let's see if you can create a little bit of a stretch in the back of the legs.
And then from here,
You're rounding all the way back up.
So we're stretching out that entire back line and creating also a connection to the back.
So in breath,
Feeling your legs moving forwards.
Out breath,
Rounding all the way back up.
In breath,
Forwards,
Creating that hamstring stretch.
And exhale,
Rounding all the way back up.
So connecting to your body here.
I always invite you to use your breath,
But also use your hands to really feel and connect to your body.
So let's do this two more times.
Just find your own flow in this.
Beautiful.
And then the next time we're moving forwards and you're rounding back up,
You're just going to hold it here for a moment.
Just three breaths in this sort of forward fold.
Relaxing your head,
Relaxing your hands,
Palm face up.
And then slowly after your third exhale,
Coming back up to seating.
And then from here,
We're going to come into a pose that I call legs up.
You can do legs up in the air or also legs up the wall,
Depending on what's most comfortable for you.
Again,
This is where maybe your pillow comes in nice.
You're going to come to lie down on your back,
Placing your feet about hip distance,
Bending your knees.
You're going to lift your hips gently up if you're going to use the pillow,
But I would recommend trying it out first.
And then from here,
We're going to float the legs up.
And so you want to basically have your ankles on top of your knees,
On top of your hips.
So I'm not like actively stretching them up.
I'm trying to find this space where they can be fully relaxed,
Where I'm actually not really engaging my muscles to get my legs to float up.
Now,
What's also important here is that your belly is soft and relaxed.
If you're noticing you're having to tense and hold your belly to float your legs up,
Then it might be wise to place an extra pillow underneath.
And if that doesn't work,
What can be nice is that you come with your legs against a wall.
So you want to move yourself to the wall and place your legs up and see if you can get your bum as close to the wall as possible.
And then from here,
You can place your hands somewhere on your body or you can have your arms wide.
But I want you to come into stillness.
So we're not moving or fidgeting or moving around.
Finding this point of stillness,
Of slowness.
And in yin yoga,
We tend to hold the pose a little bit longer.
And we're dropping into the space of non-doing.
Specifically,
This pose is amazing to do just before bed or if you're noticing you're overwhelmed.
It's a perfect way to slow down and calm down your nervous system.
You can bring your focus towards your breathing,
Towards your legs,
Noticing the sensations in your legs.
It's possible that your legs start shaking a little bit or you're noticing some trembling.
That's totally all right.
That's okay to let that happen.
Just keeping your legs as relaxed as possible.
There's nowhere else to go,
Nothing else to do.
Just being here.
Maybe you're noticing your body naturally taking a deep breath at some point.
Maybe you start yawning.
That's totally all right.
And then taking three more breaths here,
Inviting you to see if you can be fully present,
Fully aware of all three inhales and exhales.
And after that third exhale,
Gently letting your knees come back down into your chest.
Giving yourself a loving hug.
And then from here,
Placing your legs down.
If you were using a pillow or a bolster or a block,
Removing that.
And then stretching out your legs.
Just taking a little Shavasana here.
So just coming to lie down on your back,
Palms face up,
Feet full open.
And just letting that posture integrate.
Just allowing yourself to be in stillness.
And just being a witness,
Noticing if there's anything you can sense or feel here.
Those three bells mark the end of this practice.
You can place your hands in Namaste in front of your chest.
Most likely you're still lying down,
So you can do that there too.
And just thanking yourself for showing up again.
Thank you.
