Coming to your back,
Just come to a comfortable position lying down on your mat.
You can have your knees bent if that feels better in your lower back.
Or you can.
.
.
Have a pillow or bolster under your knees like I do.
And this helps ground your lower back a little bit.
And just make some movements and adjustments.
To get settled and comfortable in this first posture.
Beginning to arrive.
And letting go of your day so far.
Coming to your breath,
Just notice how your breath feels.
Notice the quality of your breath.
If it's fast or slow,
Deep or shallow,
Quiet or loud.
Without trying to change it,
Just notice.
Notice if you're breathing through the nose or the mouth.
Any areas in your body that move as you breathe.
Now take a deep breath in through your nose.
Open your mouth and slowly and quietly sigh it out.
Let it go.
Two more just like that.
Deep inhale through the nose.
Exhale,
Sigh it out,
Let it go.
And last one,
Deep breath in.
And sigh it out through the mouth.
Now breathing deeply in and out of your nose if that feels comfortable for you.
And just enjoying our practice.
Make sure you're breathing comfortably,
Not forcing anything.
Deep long inhales and exhales.
As you breathe here,
Just bring your awareness to your body.
Scanning from the crown of your head all the way down.
To your fingers,
Your toes,
Noticing any part of your body that's maybe a little tight or sore that may need a little bit more love during practice.
Just be mindful of that.
If something I say during practice doesn't feel right for you,
Please don't do it.
Just come out of the pose.
And.
.
.
Take a resting posture.
Excuse me,
That works for you.
And then join me when you're ready.
In yin,
We hold poses for three to five minutes,
Sometimes longer.
And as you hold poses,
You want to make sure you're comfortable.
Your breathing and that you're.
.
.
Never holding any sharp pain or discomfort in your body.
Slowly starting to bring some movement to your body,
Starting to bend one knee and then the other.
Bring the soles of the feet to the mat.
And start to hug your right knee in.
So hugging your right knee into your chest you can keep your left knee bent or if you like you can start to extend your left knee long or left leg long on the mat and just press your left leg on the mat Gently holding your right knee into your chest.
Just notice where your knee wants to go.
So maybe it wants to come closer to the center of your chest or towards the ceiling.
The outer edge of your body.
Notice where it's comfortable.
And just breathe here.
So every inhale.
Maybe press your left leg down or left foot down.
Every exhale maybe.
.
.
Bring your knee a little bit closer to you,
Allowing your shoulders to be heavy on the mat.
Breathing comfortably in and out of your nose.
From here we're coming into a twist so bring your left hand to the outside of your right knee and just cross it over your body bringing it towards the left side and your knee will probably not come all the way down to the mat so if you have a pillow or a block,
Bolster,
You can bring it under your knee or your leg.
And just let your leg rest on it.
And then make sure your shoulders are still grounded.
You can turn your head to the right side if that feels good.
We're not going to be here for too long.
We're just warming up the spine a little bit,
Starting to notice how our body feels.
Breathing into this twist.
Long breaths.
Good,
Slowly start to come out.
Bring your right foot to the mat and start to hug the left knee in this time.
So hugging your left knee in towards your chest.
Again,
Just notice what this side feels like.
So notice where your knee wants to go.
You can have your right foot on the mat or if it feels good on this side,
You can extend your leg lock.
So just notice what it feels like.
What feels right on this side.
It doesn't have to look the same as the first.
Again,
Just pulling your knee in just a little bit more with every exhale.
Allowing your shoulders to be soft and grounded.
Good,
And then when you're ready,
Coming into the twist on the second side.
So just bringing your right hand to the outside of your left knee and cross it over your body towards the right side,
Making sure your shoulders are still grounded.
So making adjustments as you need.
You can bring a prop under your knee.
To bring the ground up to you.
And just breathe into this twist.
Allowing your body to soften,
Making sure you're not holding on to anything you don't need to hold on to.
Slowly start to come out of the pose and bend both knees.
You can hug your knees in if that feels good.
Maybe gently rock from side to side,
Massaging your lower back.
And then when you're ready,
Roll onto your left side in a fetal position,
Using your bottom arm as a pillow.
Pause here for a breath or two,
Noticing.
How your body feels after those first few movements.
When you're ready,
Push yourself up to a kneeling position.
And just pausing here.
Make sure your shoulders or down your back.
Let your hands rest gently on your lap or on your thighs.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Just pause here.
Take a deep breath in.
Long breath out.
Slowly start to come to your hands and knees.
So come into tabletop position,
Spread your fingers wide,
Your knees under your hips.
Wrists under your shoulders.
And you're looking straight down.
So the back of your neck is long,
Pull your belly towards your spine.
And then we're going to move through some cat cow.
So as you inhale,
Drop your belly,
Open up your heart,
Look up to cow pose.
Exhale to round your back,
Tuck your tail,
Look down,
Cat pose.
Inhale,
Drop your belly,
Open up your heart,
Look up.
Exhale,
Round your back,
Tuck your tail,
Look down.
Want more like that?
Good.
From here,
Slowly,
You're going to start to bring your right foot to the front of the mat.
So,
Coming to a low lunge.
And you can make adjustments,
Movements,
Making sure the back knee is comfortable.
So if you want to bring folded up blanket under your knee or just roll up your mat under your knee to make sure you're comfortable.
We're going to be here for a few minutes so we want to make sure that the back thing is comfortable and if it feels better to keep the toes tucked you can do that or come to the top of the back foot.
So staying here in low lunge.
You can keep your fingers on the mat or you can,
If you have blocks and you want to use your blocks,
You can bring your hands on blocks on either side of your foot.
Align your shoulders to soften.
Your head is.
.
.
Neutral,
Head is comfortable.
Make sure you're not dropping your head or lifting it up too high.
You want to make sure your neck is is just in line with your spine.
And in this pose,
You may notice over time that you can go a little bit deeper and maybe your knee starts to go past your ankle.
But let's start off with the knee stacked over your ankle.
And notice where you feel this pose.
So maybe you feel it on the top of your left thigh,
Maybe on your right hip or on top of the thigh.
Make sure there's no pain,
Especially in your lower back or shoulders or your knees.
Just breathing here.
You can soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Just going inward,
Coming to your breath.
Soften your jaw,
Allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of the mouth.
Then notice if there's anything you're holding on to that you can soften and let go of.
Take a deep,
Long breath in and out of your nose.
From here,
Slowly start to heel toe,
Heel toe the right foot towards the right side of the mat.
Maybe you allow your toes to just spill off the mat so your foot is on a slight angle.
Wherever you are,
Make sure your knee is moving towards your toes so you can adjust your foot.
Make sure your knee is moving towards your toes.
And now your hands are on the inside of your right foot.
What we call dragon pose in yin.
Goodbye.
You can maybe walk the back knee back a little bit more.
Just having your hands on the mat or on blocks.
And stay here.
Or maybe you want to come down a little bit,
You can bring your elbows down to the mat or onto the floor.
Block or bolster.
So just taking a few moments here to find a place where.
.
.
You can hold the pose,
Making sure that you're at your edge.
So you're feeling something.
And then back out a little bit so you're not.
Forcing it or holding it.
A pose that you're not completely comfortable in.
Allowing your body to be comfortable and then Move deeper into the pose as you hold it.
You want to make sure you're not holding any muscles,
So letting go of tension.
Anything you're holding on to in your shoulders.
In your legs,
In your hips.
Maybe allowing your head to hang.
Maybe resting your forehead on proper.
Or if you're all the way down,
Maybe on the mat.
Just notice where you feel this pose.
Notice if this is already starting to become a little intense in your body.
And before you make adjustments or movements or decide that You can't do it anymore.
See if you can take a breath or two.
Visualizing your breath moving into the areas of your body that you're Feeling this pose.
And then notice if you can soften as you exhale.
You Take a deep breath in.
You Long,
Slow breath out.
Good.
Now really slowly start to bring your hands down on the mat,
If your elbows touch the And I'm all down.
And just really slowly start to come to a twist bringing your right hand on top of your thigh and just stacking your shoulders maybe look up or back over your right shoulder Just coming into a twist.
And then come back to center,
Bringing your right foot back to your lunge.
And move your hips back,
Straighten your leg,
Maybe flex your foot if that feels good.
So this should feel really good in your body.
Make sure there's no pain,
Especially in your right hamstring.
And you can maybe lean a little bit closer to your leg.
We're not going to be here for too long.
Just a counter pose for what we did.
Make sure,
Again,
The back knee is comfortable.
And this should feel like a really good release and release.
Bye.
Ahem.
And when you're ready,
When you've had enough,
Come back to your lunge.
And then from here,
We're going to heel toe,
Heel toe the foot now towards the left side.
So we're getting ready for swan pose or pigeon as we know it.
Uh,
Yeah,
Thank you.
Postures.
So swan pose.
Bring your right knee down.
Your hip is probably lifted so if you want you can bring a prop under your right thigh or your hip.
And just notice how you feel.
So maybe walk the back foot back a little bit.
And if this is too much,
Just come to your back and take a figure four shape.
So bend both knees and then bring your right ankle on top of the left thigh so you can be on your back or you're in swan pose and you can stay here with your hands on the mat making sure your spine is long and your shoulders are rolling down your back Your head is neutral.
And if you want to move a little bit deeper,
You can start to bring your elbows down to the mat or come all the way down,
Bringing your forehead onto the mat or on a block.
Good wherever you are make sure that You're not holding any pain anywhere in your body,
Especially in your right knee.
Make sure your shoulders are comfortable,
Your head and your neck.
We're comfortable.
And then scan from the crown of your head all the way down to your toes.
Notice if there's any part of your body that you're clenching or holding on to that you can just soften now.
Maybe it's your forehead,
Maybe it's your jaw,
The muscles of the face.
And then come to your breath,
Taking deep breaths in.
And long breaths out.
Bringing your awareness to your breath.
Letting go of any thoughts feelings,
Emotions,
Anything that starts to come up for you.
When you notice that Your mind is.
.
.
Moving off your breath.
You're getting distracted with.
Thoughts or feelings.
Maybe your plans for today or the weekend.
See if you can set that aside for now.
And just come back to your breath.
We've been here for a few minutes now,
So you may notice that maybe you can make adjustments and go a little bit deeper into the pose.
You if you do make adjustments.
Just find a place again where you feel comfortable.
And then come to stillness.
Resisting the urge to.
.
.
Fidget or move or scratch.
Look around.
See if we can stay still.
And present in this moment.
Take a deep breath in.
Exhale all the air out.
Do it one more inhale.
You Exhale to let it go.
Good now slowly starting to move out of the pose moving really slowly mindfully listening to how your body feels.
Moving out of the pose,
You can come to tabletop.
You can maybe tuck your toes and slowly move to downward dog.
Just noticing what your body needs here to come out of.
That pose.
If you're in tabletop you can move through some cat cows,
You can maybe rock your hips from side to side,
Maybe making circles with your hips.
We're going to move to the second side.
So when you're ready,
Step the left foot forward,
Coming to a lunge on the second side,
Adjusting your legs,
Making sure you find a place where the back knee is comfortable.
If you need to pad the knee.
If you need blocks for your hands or.
.
.
If you don't have blocks,
You can always bring your hand on top of the last thigh.
So find a place where you're comfortable in this.
Lunch.
And when you find your pose,
When you find your edge and a place where you can hold stillness,
Just allow everything to soften.
Shoulders down your back.
Your neck and head neutral and comfortable.
Just come back to your breath.
You may notice that you're already going a little bit deeper into the pose.
Maybe you're starting to feel it a little bit more.
When you're ready,
You're gonna start to breathe.
Maybe move your palms aside and walk your left foot towards the left side,
Allowing your toes to still.
Off the mat,
Maybe bringing your hands to the inside.
Just check your left knee,
Make sure it's moving towards your left toes.
And just find your dragon pose on this side.
So this side will probably feel different so don't expect it to look the same.
You may need to use props on this side or maybe you stay on your hands instead of lowering your elbows.
Whatever you choose.
Try it out,
And if it doesn't feel good You can always back out a little bit.
So finding a place where.
You're comfortable.
And you feel something,
But it's not pain or discomfort.
And then come to stillness.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Soften your jaw.
The muscles of the face.
And then breathe into this pose.
If your mind wanders,
Just bring it kindly and gently back to your breath.
Take a deep breath in.
Exhale all the air.
And slowly start to relax.
Come out of the pose,
Bringing your hands down with your elbows.
Ground.
And then heel toe,
Heel toe the foot back to center.
We're just gonna come to the counter pose.
So pull your hips back,
Start to straighten.
Rela flex.
Having a bend in the knee,
Making sure the back is straight.
Of the leg is comfortable.
Maybe leaning forward a little bit,
Just noticing how this feels.
It should feel really comfortable.
There's no sharp.
.
.
Pulling or pain or anything like that.
And then when you've had enough,
Come back to center.
Walk your foot towards the right side.
Let your knee drop.
And come to your swan pose.
So again,
If,
If this pose doesn't feel right in your body,
Come to your back and take.
And figure four on your back with your left ankle on top of the right.
So just pausing here,
You can have your hands on the mat and just stay here.
If you need props under your left hip,
You can do that.
So making adjustments on the side to get comfortable.
And finding.
Whatever variation.
Swan pose.
Feels right in your body on this side.
Letting go of any expectations.
Any images in your head of what this should look like.
And just feeling.
What feels right.
Finding a place where you feel the pose.
And then find stillness.
Come back to your breath.
And just notice any thoughts coming up.
Notice if you're starting to think about your day.
If you're thinking about how.
Long this practice is taking or.
.
.
How this pose is.
And comfortable.
Now you're tired of hearing my voice.
Just notice it.
Notice what's coming up.
And just tell yourself that that's completely normal.
And see if you can set it aside.
See if you can be really gentle and kind to your thoughts and to your feelings.
Tell them to wait until our practice is over.
Welcome back to your breath.
Notice where you feel the pose.
Notice if you're holding on to anything that is not necessary here.
Idiots.
Your jaw,
Your forehead Maybe it's a thought or a feeling.
Letting everything go except your breath.
Focusing on your breath.
I'm staying in this moment right here,
Right now.
Take a deep breath in.
Long,
Slow breath out.
And slowly start to come out of the pose.
So moving really slowly and mindfully.
Moving your props aside.
Oh,
I need to sleep.
Coming out of the pose,
Finding anything that your body needs here.
So maybe you move into downward dog.
For a few breaths.
Maybe you're in tabletop.
And you rock your hips from side to side,
Maybe move through some cat cows.
Bring your knees wide,
Big toes together.
Push your hips back towards your heels.
And come to child's pose for a few breaths.
So allowing your elbows to rest on the mat.
Bringing your forehead down either on the mat or on a block or you can stack your hands.
Bring your forehead down to your hands.
Just taking a few breaths here,
Deep,
Long.
In and out of your nose.
You Noticing how your body feels after those postures.
And then noticing what's going on in your head.
Notice any thoughts or feelings or emotions.
We did a lot of hip openers today and we hold a lot in our hips.
A lot of tension a lot stress.
Holding hip openers for long periods of time can bring things up And if you notice it.
Just recognize that that's part of the practice and it's normal.
And see if you can let it go and come to your breath.
When you're ready,
Slowly come to your hands and knees.
Walk your knees forward.
Cross your ankles.
To a seat.
Extend your legs long,
Put your hands behind you and just shake your hips.
You can bend your knees and maybe windshield wiper.
Your knees from side to side.
Any movements.
That feels good here.
Bring your feet on the mat.
Walk your feet towards you.
Give yourself a hug.
Maybe bring your forehead to your knees.
And.
.
.
Thank your body for everything it does for you.
For holding you,
Healing you,
Moving you through life.
For all the poses on and off the mat.
Good,
When you're ready come to your back.
Just hug your knees into your chest.
Maybe gently rock from side to side,
Maybe make circles with your knees.
In one direction and then the other.
This should feel really good.
So make sure that You're moving.
In a way that is healing and comfortable for your body.
If happy baby is part of your practice,
You may come to happy baby pose.
And then when you're ready,
We're going to move into our final resting posture,
Shavasana.
So whatever that means for you and your body,
You may have your knees bent,
Your feet flat on the mat,
And just allow your knees to fall in towards each other.
You can have a bolster or a rolled up blanket under your knees.
And then just ground your lower back.
You can have your legs up the wall if you want.
That feels good in your body.
Or you can come to just a regular Shavasana with your legs extended long,
Allowing your Feet to fall out towards the edges of the mat.
Letting your legs be heavy,
Your hips grounded.
Your spine long.
Shoulders down your back away from your ears and heavy on the mat.
Allow your arms to rest gently by your side.
Your palms face up,
Fingers gently curled in.
Slight tuck of the chin so the back of your neck is long.
You Soften your jaw and allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of the mouth.
Soften the muscles of the face,
Allowing your eyes to gently close.
And scanning from the crown of your head all the way down to your fingers and your toes.
Notice if there's any part of your body.
Soften and let go of just a little bit more to get comfortable here.
Allowing your body to rest and breathe naturally and take in the effects of your practice.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
One more like that,
Deep inhale.
Full and complete exhale,
Let it go.
You Start to bring some movement back to your body,
Moving your fingers,
Your toes.
The rest of your ankle.
When you're ready,
Bend one knee and then the other.
Roll onto your right side in a fetal position using your bottom arm as a pillow.
Fetal pose after corpse pose reminds us that after every ending,
There's a new beginning.
And slowly start to push yourself up to a comfortable seat Sitting.
Find hope.
Your neck straight,
Chin parallel to the mat.
Soften your shoulders,
Down your back.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
And bring your hands by your side.
As you inhale,
Reach your arms all the way up.
Home stretch overhead.
And exhale,
Bring your hands to your heart,
Bow your head to your hands,
And thank yourself for coming to your mat today.
For spending this time for yourself and for your practice.
Bring your thumbs to your third eye,
The space between your eyebrows.
May your thoughts be kind.
Thumbs to your lips,
May your words be caring.
And your thumbs to your heart center.
May your heart be filled with love and gratitude.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Namaste.
