So as we come to your mat.
Bring your knees as wide as the mat,
Big toes together.
And then for this child's pose,
You can maybe use a bolster.
To lie down on.
So you can bring a pillow or a bolster in front of you and just bring your upper body on top of the bolster.
And it may feel good to bring your forehead down or maybe the sides of your head If that feels better in your neck If you don't have a bolster you can roll up a blanket into a bolster or if you think that your body's kind of ready to move into child's pose you can always come all the way down to Maybe allowing your forehead to rest on a block.
Or a pillow.
And just making sure wherever you are.
Your in a place where you can hold this post.
So we're going to be here for a few minutes.
To start and to get settled.
If this doesn't feel right in your knees,
You can always bring a blanket just under your thighs,
Just so your hips are lifted a little bit.
So finding a comfortable child's pose that you can hold for Hmm.
A few minutes.
Just beginning to arrive here.
You can soften your jaw,
Soften your gaze,
Or close your eyes.
And just bring your awareness to your body.
Notice how your body feels today.
Notice if there's any.
.
.
Are there any parts of your body that are maybe a little tight or sore?
That you may need to be mindful of during practice.
If something I say or one of the poses doesn't feel right in your body,
Please don't do it.
Just come out of the pose.
And take a resting posture,
So a seat,
A child's pose,
Lying down on your back,
Anything that feels good for you.
And then join me when you're ready.
Bringing your awareness to your breath,
Just noticing the quality of your breath today.
Notice if it's fast or slow,
Deep or shallow.
Feel the next inhale,
Expand your body,
Your upper back,
Your mid back.
Your lower back.
And as you exhale,
See if you can soften your body a little bit closer to the mat.
Deep breath in through your nose.
Exhale to soften and let go.
Good.
As you hold here,
Notice if.
.
.
There's any part of your body that you're holding on to that you can soften and let go of Maybe it's your fingers.
Maybe it's your jaw,
Maybe it's your shoulders that can move down your back.
See if you can soften just a little bit.
To get more settled,
Grounded,
And comfortable.
In this first pose.
Breathing deeply.
If you're head is turned to one side,
You can maybe turn it to the other side.
Where about halfway through this pose,
So maybe adjust,
Turn your head,
Make any adjustments you need.
And just breathe.
Notice if there are any thoughts.
Any emotions,
Feelings,
Anything that's coming up for you.
This is a 4-fold.
And It's a symbol of going inward.
And reflection.
So you may notice that you're starting to kind of Get distracted by your thoughts.
And if you're getting pulled into.
.
.
Whatever is going on.
In your head.
And know that that's completely normal.
See if you can allow your mind to gently set that aside.
And kindly bring your awareness back to your breath.
Just following the air.
As it enters.
Your nostrils.
Fills your body up.
And then follow the air as it moves out.
A few more breaths here.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
Good,
One more like that.
Deep inhale.
Full and complete exhale,
Let it go.
Now slowly,
Really slowly start to come out of the pose.
Coming onto your hands and knees.
Slowly,
Mindfully.
Coming to a tabletop position,
Maybe shaking your hips gently in circles.
Just noticing the after effects of that child's pose.
Just seeing if there are any parts that are tight.
Maybe tuck your toes.
Just any movement that feels good.
Just move really slowly and mindfully.
Just paying really attention to what's going on in your body.
And then when you're ready,
You just come to a tabletop,
Spread your fingers wide,
Wrists under your shoulders,
Knees bent.
Right underneath your hips.
And you can tuck your,
Keep your toes tucked if that feels better or come to the tops of the feet.
You're looking straight down so the back of your neck is long.
And then we're gonna move with our breath through some cat cows.
So as you inhale,
Drop your belly,
Open up your heart,
Look up.
Exhale,
Tuck your chin,
Your tail,
Round your back,
And look down.
Inhale to drop your belly,
Open up your heart to the front,
Maybe look up to cow pose.
Exhale,
Round your back,
Tuck your tail,
Look down,
Cat pose.
One more like that,
Inhale.
And exhale.
From here start to walk your knees forward and then cross your ankles and we're gonna sit back in a seat You can use a pillow or a folded up blanket to sit on just to tilt your hips forward a little bit.
And we're going to come to a seated forward fold with the soles of the feet together.
So seated butterfly,
And your feet can be as far away from you as they need.
So you can make a big diamond shape with your legs.
If you have blocks and if you want to use your blocks for kind of resting your thighs on,
You can bring blocks under your thighs just allowing your legs to rest on something.
So in yin we're working on the deeper tissues the fascia,
The connective tissues,
The ligaments.
And so we want to make sure that we're not using our muscles.
So letting go of our muscles as much as we can.
So when you use props to hold your body,
You don't need to use your muscles as much and you can allow your muscles to relax.
So really come to a forward fold,
Just finding whatever feels good.
If you don't have blocks and you want to use a bolster or a rolled up blanket,
You can bring your rolled up blanket or bolster just under your knees,
Allowing again,
Your knees and your thighs to rest on it.
So just finding Um,
A seated butterfly that kind of works in your body and taking as long as you need to find a place to settle in.
So you want to make sure that you're in a comfortable place before you move into the pose.
And then when you're ready,
Just start to kind of walk your hands forward.
You can round your back,
Allow your head to be heavy.
And again,
You don't want to pull anything or force anything.
Just let your body rest in a place where it feels comfortable.
And by holding.
A place where you're comfortable,
You're letting your body kind of open up.
And after a few minutes,
You'll realize that you can maybe go a little bit deeper into the pose.
So adjusting your prop.
Um.
.
.
In a place where you can Kind of move into.
.
.
A folder.
Affordable that feels comfortable,
Supported.
And a place where you can hold in stillness.
So taking your time.
Finding your pose.
And then coming to stillness.
Allow your shoulders to soften Allow your eyes to close if that feels good.
And just slowly.
.
.
To come back to your breath.
Noticing if there's any part of your body that you can soften and let go of.
Notice if you're holding on to maybe your thighs.
Your head.
Your shoulders.
Your fingers,
Your toes.
Seeing if you can let go of whatever is not necessary here.
Find stillness.
Just come back to your breath,
Allowing your body to breathe naturally into this pose.
Lulling the pose to settle in your body.
Notice any thoughts.
Any feelings start to come up.
When you notice,
See if you can bring your awareness back to your breath.
Allowing yourself to be here.
In this pose.
Good,
So we've been holding the pose for a few minutes now.
And maybe you've noticed that your body is starting to open up a little bit.
Maybe you can go a little bit deeper into the pose.
So if you need to make adjustments.
Do that now.
Maybe you need to back out a little bit.
So just noticing what your body's telling you.
And what your body needs.
Maybe you go a little bit deeper and notice that that doesn't feel right.
Then you back out again.
So taking few moments to make adjustments if needed.
And then come back to stillness.
Come back to your breath.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
One more like that,
Deep inhale.
Exhale all the air out.
Let it go.
And then really slowly start to come out of the pose.
So just moving.
Slowly,
Mindfully.
Paying attention to every single movement.
Come out of the pose,
Move your props away.
And spring the soles of the feet to the mat,
Walk them closer,
Give yourself a hug.
And you can bring your feet mat distance apart.
Bring your hands behind you,
Your fingers pointing forward.
Move your knees from side to side.
Good,
Just letting go of anything that's left in your body from that pose.
When you're ready we're going to move into our next posture which is deer pose.
So it's a little awkward to get into but it's really comfortable when you get into it.
So just coming to a seat.
You can maybe start in a seat and then keeping your right leg where it is.
You're gonna bring your left shin parallel to the other edge of the mat.
So maybe right shin is parallel to the short edge,
Left shin parallel to the long.
So I'm just making like a 90 degree angle.
With your legs.
So,
It's.
.
.
Does look a little weird,
But it should feel really good in your hip.
So if you need to maybe sit on a pillow,
Maybe move a pillow under your left hip,
Do that.
Your left foot can be Flexed and you can be on the side or you can come to the top of the foot depends on how that feels in your ankle So finding your pose,
And then you're going to turn your shoulders towards your right knee.
And start to walk your hands forward.
So you're just gonna fold forward over your right thigh.
And you're gonna come all the way down.
It may feel good to have kind of a bolster to come down on.
You can come all the way down,
Maybe turning your head.
To one side or the other.
And so finding.
.
.
A pose that feels right in your body.
Again,
This should feel really good.
And just bringing your torso down,
Your belly down on top of your right thigh and your left Your left foot can be any position.
Again,
That feels good in your ankle.
And just allowing your upper body to rest.
On a pillow or a bolster,
You can bring one side of the head to your pillow,
To your hands,
Wherever you are,
Make sure your shoulders are completely comfortable.
And saw.
Your head and your neck are settled and comfortable.
And there's no pain,
Especially sharp pain in your knees or your hips.
If moving all the way down doesn't feel good,
You can always stay up.
And your elbows and just allow your head to be heavy.
Wherever you are make sure you're in a place where you can hold this for a few minutes.
We're gonna be here for about three minutes.
And just taking a few moments to get really Saddled.
Let go of anything you don't need to hold on to in your body.
Maybe it's your jaw,
Maybe it's your gaze,
Your forehead.
Maybe you're pressing your tongue to your teeth or the roof of the mouth.
Letting go of anything that is not necessary right now.
That includes any thoughts.
Any feelings or emotions?
Set everything aside and come to your breath.
If your mind starts to wander.
Just really gently bringing it back.
To your bra.
Maybe starting to feel this pose a little bit more as you hold the pose.
The sensations may start to get more intense.
Mmm.
See if they're still comfortable And if you notice that you think you need to make adjustments,
Just pause.
And see if it's actually necessary.
See if you can visualize your breath moving.
To the areas in your body where you feel the pose.
And then soften as you exhale.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
Then really slowly bring your hands down on the ground,
Push yourself up to a seat.
And then bring your left foot on the mat.
And your right foot.
And again,
Just windshield wiper your knees gently from side to side.
Letting that go.
And then when you're ready,
Moving to the second side.
So this time your left shin is in front of you.
And your right chin is.
Parallel to the other edge of the mat,
So you're making a 90 degree angle.
With your right knee and left foot.
And then turn your shoulders towards your left thigh.
Adjust your pillow under your hips if you need.
And then when you're ready,
Slowly walk your hands.
Forward,
Bringing your torso down.
Onto you.
A pillow,
A bolster.
Or all the way down to the ground.
Maybe you turn your head.
To one side.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
And just take a moment to notice how your body feels.
So this side may feel completely different depending on what's going on in your hips and your lower back,
Your shoulders.
So notice if You need to make adjustments to get comfortable.
Letting go of any expectations that decides will look the same as the first.
And when you find your position,
What's coming to your breath?
Softening anything you don't need to hold on to and allowing your body to open up in this pose.
Notice if your mind is starting to wander.
See if you can bring it back to your breath.
Hmm.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
One more like that,
Deep inhale.
Exhale all the air out.
Let it go.
And then slowly start to come out of the pose walking your hands towards you lifting up bringing your right foot and then the left foot on the mat,
Mat distance apart.
And just lean back,
Windshield wiper.
Your knees from side to side.
Get it.
And then when you're ready,
Making your way to your back.
Coming to your back with your feet flat on the mat,
Your knees bent.
Good.
Your feet can be hip distance apart.
Allow your hands to rest gently somewhere on your body.
Let your shoulders and your hips be heavy.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes and take a deep breath in.
Exhale,
Let go,
Feel heavy and grounded on the mat.
So we did.
A lot of poses that were forward folds.
So we're just gonna come to.
.
.
Um.
.
.
A slight.
Heart opener.
And.
Thank you.
We're going to move into supported bridge.
So if you have blocks,
You can use your blocks.
If you have a pillow or a bolster,
You can use that.
If you don't have any props close by,
You can just start to Lift your hips up,
Bring your hands under your hips.
If it feels good and just let your hips rest on your hands.
So just lifting your hips up a little bit And you can always lift up and hold your lower back up with your hands.
If you have a block,
You can bring your block under your hips on the lowest height or the medium height.
I'm trying to avoid the highest height of the block for this one.
If you have a pillow,
You can bring your pillow under your hips.
Just making sure if you're using a prop or your hands that you're not putting any pressure on your spine.
So you want the prop to be under your hips so your lower back is completely comfortable and there's no pressure there.
Wherever you are,
Maybe roll your shoulders under a little bit,
Tuck your chin in.
Making sure you're not turning your head quickly from side to side just looking upward We're not going to be here for too long.
Um.
.
.
Heart opener to counter all the forward folds that we worked on.
Taking a few deep,
Long breaths in and out of your nose if that feels good.
I say,
Don't turn your neck,
And I do it myself when the cat comes close by.
Breathing deeply.
Okay.
And then when you've had enough of the heart opener,
You can start to Gently move your props away,
Slowly bring your hips down and just let your hips and your lower back rest on the ground.
Resist the urge to hug your knees in right now.
Just pause here,
Maybe windshield wiper your knees gently from side to side.
Great.
And then we're going to come into an easy twist.
Any reclined twist that feels good.
Right in your body right now so if you want you can stack your knees let them fall to the right You can maybe extend the top leg if that feels good.
Wherever you are,
See if you can allow your shoulders to be heavy.
If your left shoulder is starting to lift up,
You can bring a folded up blanket or a pillow under your shoulder.
To bring the ground up to you.
Any twists.
Right now that feels good in your body.
Maybe turning your head to the opposite side.
Breathing here.
Noticing how this feels in your body.
When you're ready,
Slowly come back to center and switch sides.
So moving to the twist on the second side and just doing whatever feels right on this side so it doesn't have to look the same.
So for this one,
Maybe you decide to cross your legs.
Again,
Maybe you extend the upper leg.
Maybe you just let your knees back,
Fall to the left.
Wherever you are,
Soften your shoulders,
Maybe turn your head to the right.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
And just breathe here.
Notice as we are coming towards the end of the practice,
If your mind is starting to wander.
If you're starting to get impatient with the pace.
Of this practice.
Just notice it without trying to solve it or without judgment.
Notice.
And be curious about how you feel right now.
Take a deep breath in.
Long breath out.
And slowly start to come back to center.
Uncross your legs if they're crossed.
Now if you like you can start to hug your knees in,
Maybe gently rocking from side to side.
Massaging your lower back,
Maybe making circles or half circles with your knees.
In one direction and then the other.
If happy baby is part of your practice,
You can come to happy baby pose,
Grabbing the backs of your thighs.
Or the outer edges of your feet.
Again staying in stillness or Gently moving.
When you're ready,
We're gonna come to.
.
.
Our final posture,
Shavasana.
So if there's anything else your body needs,
Take that now.
And then find your version of Shavasana.
Grabbing any props or any layers that you need.
You can bring a bolster under your knees.
You can have your knees bent.
Feet mat distance apart,
Allowing your knees to fall inward.
You can bring the soles of the feet together,
Coming to Supta Baddha Konasana,
Reclined butterfly pose.
So any variation.
That you need right now for your final relaxation.
Wherever you are,
Allow your hips and your shoulders to be heavy.
Your feet and your toes,
Relax.
Arms by your side,
Palms face up.
Fingers gently curled in.
Soften your jaw part your teeth allow the tongue to fall away from the roof of your mouth Soften the muscles of the face,
Your eyelids,
Allowing your eyes to gently close.
And then scan 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 that you can soften and let go of just a little bit more.
To get comfortable here.
Allow your body to rest and breathe naturally and take in the effects of your practice.
Thank you.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
One more,
Just like that,
Deep inhale.
Full and complete exhale,
Let it go.
And slowly start to bring some movement back to your body.
Moving your fingers,
Your toes.
Your wrists and your ankles,
Maybe gently rocking your head.
From side to side.
When you're ready,
Bend one knee and then the other.
Roll onto your right side in the 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.
Slowly start to push yourself up to a comfortable seat.
Sitting with your spine tall.
Your next straight.
Your chin parallel to the mat.
Soften your shoulders.
Soften your jaw and soften your gaze.
Bring your hands by your side.
As you inhale,
Reach your arms all the way up.
Palms touch overhead.
And exhale to 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,
For your practice.
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.
