30 Minute Yin Yoga To Balance

This 30 minute practice helps to open your front and back body and is rounded out with some deep hip stretching. A perfect practice first thing in the morning, when you need a break, or when you are ready to tuck in. Grab the props you have...Blocks, blankets and pillows, get comfy and get ready to balance out your body.

Transcript

Hey there. So this will be around 30 minutes. It is a yin yoga practice. This one I find great either for right before bed or in the middle of your day or at the beginning of your day. It just gets into all of the main spots, Helps the body wake up a little bit, But also calms the nervous system. So I love this one. We'll focus a little bit on opening the chest, A little bit on the backs of the legs and a little bit on the hips. All right, So let's get started. Nice tall seat anywhere you want to be. You can always sit on something for a more comfortable seat or use a wall if you have it. Legs can cross or butterfly, Soles of the feet can touch, Knees open, Palms plant down to ground, Palms up to receive. Let's just give ourselves a moment to settle. Eyes blink closed if that feels comfy for you or just a soft gaze down. Take a moment, Little movement in your shoulders, Neck, Little gentle movements in the spine. Just notice what you brought into the space. And then allow yourself to settle. Take a nice full deep inhale in through your nose. Big open mouth sigh. Start to let go of your day already. One more like that, Sit up a little bit taller, Big breath in. Big breath out. Lip seal, If it's available. Breath comes in and out of your nose. Slow, Deep and smooth in. Deeper, Slower, Softer out. Slow deep in. Deep, Soft, Slow out Start to settle into your breath pattern, Just observing your air come in. And observing your air leave. Relax any parts of the body that have gotten a little stiff in the process. And feel each inhale provide you with more space, More availability. Each exhale a little more softness. A few more rounds here on your own. Good, Last breath in, Sit up nice and tall. Gentle, Soft exhale out. Good, Eyes flutter open or regain your focus. Always nice to start with a few groundy breaths wherever you are just to slow everything down, Remind your body and brain what's coming next. First thing we'll head into is a Yin variation of a heart opener, A reclined fish pose. If you have two yoga blocks, They'll be super helpful. If you only have one prop, I'll let you know what to do with that. Two yoga blocks, One at its tallest height towards whatever end of the mat you want to call the top of your mat. The next block will be one step lower. And I'd say about three, Four inches, You know, About from back ahead to shoulder blades, That's what we're looking for. If you choose to use your props lower, The one for your head would go down to its second, The one for your shoulder blades would go down to its first. So that's kind of the stair step process that we'd like to use. I'll show you how to get in with two props and then I'll show you how to get in with one. First prop, The widest prop will be for your shoulder blades and those are bones, They're triangular and sit on either side of the back. Use your hands, Bend your knees, Ease yourself down. Until what you think is the shoulder blades have landed on that prop. And you should be able to stay propped up aptly named. If you move your arms, You should feel the bones of the shoulder blades nudging into those blocks. And that's how you know you're in a good spot. You'll slowly lift your chin and let your head land on the next block that's back there. Your hands can help you adjust the block forward or back. And we're really looking for the prop as always to be on the meat of the bones. Right, So these props are supporting bones, Not soft tissue. So when they support soft tissue, They tend to dig in a little, It doesn't feel very comfortable. You also wanna make sure your props are really sturdy on the ground so they're not rocking. So play around and see how you land with that. If you're on your two blocks, You're good to go. I'll show you if you're only using one prop. If you have a yoga block, Even a blanket or something that you could roll or fold up the length of the shoulder blade, You would lay that down, Ease yourself onto that. Good. And then when you're only using one prop, Depending on how high it is, You might not be fully on the back of the skull. The chin might open a little bit more and you'll split the difference between the crown of the head and the back of the head. Good. If this feels like too much opening because the block is too high, You would come up, Lower yourself down and use a blanket or something of that sorts. Good. So ease yourself in. I'll put us on the clock here and get myself set up. Your legs land in any way that feels comfortable for you. So this is about the chest and heart space opening. I like to take the arms wide, Palms facing up. Some of you might prefer palms on your belly, Depending on how high up you are in your props. Knees can bend and knock in feet wide. Some of you will find that the most comfortable and restorative. Some of you might like the opposite, Feet together and knees wide. And some of you might like to drape your legs long. So whatever feels most comfortable to you in the low body, That's where you wanna be. We're here just to simply support the upper body and offer as much opening as we can. So nudge yourself around, Adjust, Readjust, And then just simply land. Notice your chin likes to creep towards your chest or maybe the opposite, Your chest lifted up to your chin. So add some weight to the back of your skull, Lift your chin lightly. Lips and teeth part, Your tongue drops. Jaw and hinges and breath just simply smooth out. Imagine your breath moving deeply into the front, The sides and the backs of your ribs. Send more air through your collarbones, Shoulders soften. You're just about halfway through this first longer hold. Take a moment and just observe what's going on. Often our mind gets quite busy when the body gets still, Right? And if that's you, It's not uncommon. Just remind yourself that you are safe and comfy where you are, And you are here to slow down. So perhaps that information in your brain can unhinge a little bit. I like to imagine the words, The phrases, The sentences. I place them on imaginary clouds or inside of helium balloons. And I notice that when I breathe in, It feels like they get a little closer to me. And when I breathe out, They drift even farther away. So they're always there for the taking if I'd like to reach back into them. But they also can continue to drift and drift and drift. Letting go of attachment or judgment and just allowing myself to simply be. Can you deepen your breath? Give the earth and your props a little more weight. Soften your jaw. And just a few more rounds here. Can they be some of your biggest yet? Good, Full, Deep, Expansive breath in. Soft, Gentle open mouth sigh out. God. If you find yourself lower on props, You used a blanket or a block at its lower height, It will be more comfortable for you to roll over to one side or the other and gently draw yourself up to a seat. For those of us on two props or props that are higher, It'll be easier just to draw ourselves to sit up. So plant your palms down, Walk your elbows back, Chin to your chest, Lifts your head, Elbows walk back to gently press yourself all the way up to a seat. Take your time, No rush. Legs extend when you get there and give yourself a moment just to simply be still with a long spine. So you're in a very extended pose. So take a moment just to reset. Then some soft movement in your neck and shoulders might feel nice. Little roll, Little wiggle. Good. Many props that were behind you, Go ahead and move them beside you. So we've opened the chest. Now we're going to do the opposite movement with the spine and round the spine forward. At the same time, We're also going to dive into the backs of the legs and we'll do one leg at a time. So you'll leave your right leg extended nice and long, Left sole of your foot towards your right inner thigh. It doesn't have to glue itself to it by any means. It might be a little bit wider and not attached to the leg, But it wants to move in that direction. Good. We're looking for a really tall seat. And often when we find ourselves on our butt bones, Most of us live in this land, Rounded back. Into the low spine quite a bit or the mid back. Again rounds itself back. If you have a blanket you can shift around slide that blanket underneath your butt bones or a pillow might feel really nice or a cushion is going to give you enough lift to get out of the low spine and make some more space into the hips. You also have a lot of soft tissue back there, So sometimes just a little rock side to side, Move the soft tissue out of the way, Is enough. Whatever props you have, If you have two props, Same size, Same density, They're going to frame the right knee. They'll be supportive for the arms, The forearms. And if you're only working with one prop, You can place it on the outside of the right leg and we'll see how it goes. You may want to use it on top of the thigh, But we'll see. So take a nice big breath in, Tallest seat that you've got here. Exhale, Chin drops to your chest, Head is heavy. And then think of a wave or a C-curve rounding. So up and over your hip bones, You'll round forward. Again, If you find yourself scooping under and rounding back, You'll just offer a lot of pressure to the mid and low spine, And we want to avoid that. So we'll keep this area as long and tall as we can, And we'll round. So think of ribs towards your hip bones when you round. Good props are there to catch your arms or forearms. You can also place your elbows on them and support your head. If you're only working with one prop, Whether it's a block or pillows, That can go on your thigh, Again, For your elbows, For your hands. Some of us like support for the head and some of us just like to drape the body. And if you're not working with props, Or would rather not, Palms face up, Arms draped down towards the floor, And you just soften. And in here, Most commonly the left shoulder will be higher than the right. Can you drop a little more weight to the left in that left butt bone and settle your left shoulder down? That might mean one prop is a little higher than the other to help you even out. Rock your chin open and close your jaw and then let yourself simply settle in. You're already halfway through. And can you deepen your breath, Release your shoulders, Soften your jaw. Bigger breath right through the backs of your shoulder blades, Back of the neck. Heavy your butt bones down, You're right there, Last few rounds. Good, Nice, Full, Deep breath in. Big soft sigh out. Slowly unravel, Hands will help you ease your spine up nice and long. And again, When you get to the top, Just be still in the spine. Notice maybe some subtle or big differences between the sides. And we'll go ahead and switch out our legs. Your hands can help you extend your left leg. You'll bend your right knee. And again, It might touch towards the left ankle. It might be a little wider. Depends on what feels good to you. We'll nudge that soft tissue around. Add in or take out props underneath the butt bones. Take a nice big breath in, Long through your spine. Exhale, Chin to your chest. C-curve, Round forward. Good, Props land anywhere that felt good Other side most likely will feel good on this side. Make sure the extended leg is really soft and spongy. The tendency is to turn it on, To flex or to point, Or to reach for your feet. Let those feet go. They'll still be there at the end of class. Let them go, And you just soften. This time, More often than not, The right shoulder is a little higher. You've rocked your weight onto the left. Can you send more weight to the right? Drop your right shoulder, Soften your right ribcage, And heavy your right butt bone down. You You're well over halfway through. Do you need to use any adjustments to help you check in with your props? Maybe you lower them or raise them. Maybe you give yourself a little movement in your neck or jaw. Soften your shoulders. Breathe a little deeper, Full deep in right through the back of the body, Full soft out. Full deep breath in. Gentle, Soft breath out. Slowly ease yourself back up to a seat. Again, No rush. Give yourself a moment of stillness when you're there, Just observe. Good, And then some soft movements, Neck and shoulder. You can shift your props, Use your hands to help you elongate your legs. Then it might feel nice to flutter the legs up and down, Side to side, Roll your ankles, Wiggle your toes. And we were rounded forward for a while, So if your hands are planted behind you, It might feel nice just to lift your heart. Maybe throat opens, Maybe it doesn't. So now we've opened through the heart space, We've gotten into the back and the backs of the legs. We'll head a little deeper into our hips. For this one, Our props will move over to what will be our left side. I'd recommend you turn towards the long edge of your mat, Not necessary, But helpful. So give yourself a little shift there. Hands plant behind you, We'll find what we call windshield wipers. Knees drop from one side to the other and just let it feel good to soften the knees, Get the hips moving a bit. Next time both knees settle over to the left, You'll stay there. That's kind of the shape the legs will be in. Press yourself up towards a seat and turn to your left leg. So our props are here over here on the left. Our left knee is bent, Right? I want my left shin to be parallel with the top of my mat. So I'm going to draw it out here. Left ankle left knee in one line that makes part of my 90 degrees left knee left hip in another line So when I look down my leg has this nice start of a square shape The back leg might be the issue and for most of us it can get really tight right where the hip joins Or in the groin your options here for less Sensation is to move your right knee as far forward as you need and it can come all the way up to the heel So it can move up a little bit or you can go all the way up Whatever helps you sit up a little bit taller and take all the pressure out of the right side. The right side is there just to support whatever is happening in the left. So negotiate, Renegotiate. Good, Then sit up nice and tall. We'll hinge at our hips. So hips are lovely where they are. We'll take our whole body forward. So the outside of the left knee drops down to the ground, Hands crawl forward any amount, And then our props are there to help us. Any height that we need. Blocks work really nice with forearms. You cross your arms, Rest your head if that feels nice. Some of us will prefer just to give ourselves a little more support and maybe drop the head. Whatever feels better to you. I like to imagine I'm laying my left ribcage to bed on my left thigh, So really let it melt in. Eyes close, Jaw softens, And we are in our hips. So more often than not, The body, The brain have a lot to say about what goes on in the hips. So you may be receiving a lot of information emotionally, Physically, The rhythm of the breath might have shifted as well. Just stay with it. Right? All of that information is coming up because the body feels a little vulnerable, A little uncomfortable. Remember, You're never stuck. You can offer yourself little rocks, Little wiggles of your toes, Chin, Jaw. Good, And then allow yourself to settle in a little bit deeper. This is your halfway mark. Can you deepen your breath? Can you send air to that outer left hip socket? To the left hip crease, Maybe even the low spine. Imagine every inhale helping the muscles to yawn open, Every exhale allowing them to sink just a bit deeper. Any information that's helpful, You keep it with you. All the rest of it, You just let it melt away. Full deep inhale in. Big soft sigh out. And use your hands to help you ease yourself back up. Again, Take your time. The easiest way to get out of this is take your left hand, Place it over to the left. Right arm will swoop behind you, You'll head right back into those windshield wipers. Rock back onto your glutes, Soft movement of your knees, One side to the other. Some of you might find it enjoyable to unbend your legs, Right? They were bent for a little while, So maybe you extend your legs long, Flutter them up and down, And then head back to those windshield wipers. And then we'll take a moment just to extend our legs so we can shift our props and keep our knees happy. So any prop or props you use to the left, You're gonna move over to your right. They are ready to go for you. We'll head back into our windshield wipers. Let's just do one more to the left, Then one to the right, And we'll land. This time we'll press ourselves up towards the right as if we're about to get off the floor. Right shin parallel with the short edge of your mat, Right thigh bone parallel with the long edge of your mat. We're looking for that 90 degree angle, So our knee isn't bent in too much. It's really nice and long, Ankle and knee in one line, Knee and hip in one line. The left leg is probably talking either from the hip crease or the groin, So it can move forward any amount. You get yourself situated, Whatever feels good to you, And then you can play around with it, Opening a little more deeply. Sides can be pretty different, Yeah. Nice big breath in here, Sit up tall, Give the heart a little puff. Right ribcage this time, We'll lay down on your right thigh. So you crawl yourself forward and there's that stretch. Props go anywhere you need them to go. I always like to start higher. And ease yourself in. Breath or two and then you have plenty of time to lower, Lower, Lower if you would like. Chin can tuck or not, Whatever feels better. For me, This right side is always much tighter. I am right dominant, And I guess I tend to use this right side a little bit more than the left, So it has a lot more information for me. Little movements might feel nice, Little sways, Chin, Jaw. And let the breath just roll. And this is your halfway mark. Take a moment, Shift, Adjust as you need. Scan, Notice the tension. It always creeps in somewhere. Can you soften it? Perhaps with movement, Perhaps with breath. And then let yourself just simply resettle. Last few rounds of breath. Place your air where you need it the most and continue to expand. And soften. Good, Full, Deep breath in. Biggest, Softest sigh out. Slowly ease yourself up. This time you'll place your hand over to the right, Rock back, Right back into those windshield wipers. Get the blood recirculating through the hips, Extend your legs, Little shakes, Little wiggles. Good, And then draw yourself up to a seat. We'll move our props out of the way, Head down onto our back to close out our program. Hands will help you. You don't even need to use those abs. Ease yourself down. And when you lay down, It will feel lovely to lay down. Take a nice big stretch. Good, Reach the right side of the body a little longer than the left and then switch, Reach the left side of the body longer than the right, One more right longer than the left. Left longer than the right. Good. Soften your knees into your abdomen, Little rock side to side here. Just let the low back melt itself down. You're welcome to rock your chin, You know, The same or opposite direction of the knees. Whatever feels nicer just to ease the spine back down. Good, And then draw your knees into your belly, Give them one little squeeze, Stamp the whole spine down, Big inhale. Exhale to your final rest. That might be a pentacle pose, Similar to a Shavasana, Where the whole body drapes long and wide like a human X. You're a five-pointed star, Fingers, Toes, And head. If the low back is tender and it doesn't enjoy this pose, For some of us it doesn't work out so well. You're welcome to bend your knees, Feet wide, Knees knock in, More of a fallen bridge shape. Wherever you land, Let your palms face up. And an action of receiving. Add weight to your skull, Your chin lifts lightly. Keep that weight in your skull, Lift your shoulders and tuck them underneath you. Nudge your right shoulder right, Your left shoulder left. Settle all of your ribs down. Unclench the glutes. Unclench your jaw. Drop your tongue from the roof of your mouth. And feel whatever is on the earth just land a bit deeper. Breath in, Belly rises, Ribs open. Breath out, Everything softens and sinks. The front of the body gets just a bit lighter. The back of the body just a bit heavier. Relax your forehead, Your eyebrows. Eyes blink closed, Your gaze softens. And allow yourself to just simply drift. If you have the luxury of time and space, I recommend you stay right where you are and continue to receive. If you are ready to move back into your day, Soft movements. In your fingers and toes, A rock of your chin. Maybe a nice big stretch like you just woke up. Peel your ribs off of the earth. Knees eventually make their way to your belly. Again, No rush. Little rocks will land you in a fetal position on your left side. Left arm slides in like a pillow for your head. Tuck yourself in and just land. Fetal position here as a place of renewal and rebirth. You take a moment, Breathe in anything you want to keep with you. And breathe out whatever you're ready to release. Your right hand will help press you up to a nice tall seat. Again, Any shape you want to make works for me. Allow your butt bones to drop heavy. Your head floats light. Little movement as you settle. Draw your arms up to your heart center. Palms touch. Fingertips touch, Closing off the neuro circuits, Helping the mind to feel at ease. Thumbs into your sternum. Sternum puffs back into your thumbs. Take a nice full breath in through your whole spine. Open mouth sigh. Drop your chin into your chest in an action of gratitude for all of that work. For the quiet. The patience. The effort to get onto your mat and to practice. And a moment of gratitude for you. For who you are, For all that you do. You trust that it is enough because you yourself truly are enough. Namaste. Thank you all so much for joining me. I hope you feel good, And I'll see you soon.