Use this 30 minute Gentle Yoga class to slowly work your way through you body activating and releasing tension as you go. A playful sequence to help you create more balance and confidence as you move.
Meet your Teacher
Greensboro, NC, USA
Transcript
All right, Hey there, Welcome to another gentle practice. As always, When we are doing a gentle yoga class, Very similar to a regular yoga class, Just taking care of your body as you move through it. We move a little bit slower, Sometimes that can be a little more challenging, Sometimes it's a little more ease-filled, So take care of yourself. If you ever wanna up-level, Do it, And if you wanna back out of things, Do it. We will start down on our back. When you get down there, Just give yourself a nice big stretch as you've landed. Let the body start to settle in. Good, Tuck your shoulders underneath you. We'll land our feet nice and wide, Knees knocking to touch, Palms down on your belly. Take a moment here, Blink your eyes closed or just soften your gaze. And right away, Just land. Take a nice big breath in. Full open mouth sigh. Lip seal if it's available. Breath comes in through your nose. And breath out of your nose. And start to focus your breath a little more here at come in. And here I go out. As always, Your mouth is there as a backup if the nose is stuffy, But if you can air in and out of the nose, Go for it. And as everything's starting to slow down, The focus draws a little deeper inward. See if your mind can soften. And turn your focus into allowing your breath to be even more expansive. Good, Relax your jaw. Last round here, Deep, Full in. Full, Soft out. Good, Gently release your hands. They'll find a cactus shape or a goalpost shape, Whatever makes more sense to you. Feet stay wide, Knees separate, Little windshield wiper movements side to side. Take a breath in, Exhale, Soften both knees to your left. Inhale, Center. Exhale, Both knees right. So these can be at your own pace. They want to feel really gentle, Just getting some movement in the pelvis, In the hip joints, In the front of the hips. Good, One more round each side, Let it feel really nice. Perfect. Come to neutral. Walk your feet in just about hip bone width distance. Arms long on the ground. Palms will face down here. Step heavy into your feet. Inhale, Bridge pose. Push your feet down to lift your hips up any amount, And then pause when you get to what feels like your height. Make the back of your head a little heavier so your chin lifts. Drop your shoulder blades down so your heart lifts, And then let's think kneecaps more forward. The hips will lift up. Any sensation in the low back that doesn't feel good to you, Curl your pelvis a little. So turn on the hamstrings, The bottom parts of the glutes, The belly. Make more space. A longer, Wider, Low back. Big breath in here. Exhale, Press your knees forward, Lower down one spine bone at a time. When you get to the bottom, Heavy pelvis, Soft butt muscles. Tuck your right knee into your chest, Give it a squeeze. Left leg can stay right there as it is for support, If that feels good to you, Or a nice long left leg, Whatever feels better. Little movement into the right hip crease, Little sways might feel nice. You can roll both ankles, Wiggle both toes. Good, Keep the right leg where it is. Left hand onto your left hip bone. Right hand is gonna tug that right knee over to the right. Instead of letting it fall away from you, Which moves the pelvis around, Can you pull your right knee a little closer to the side of your ribs? And then let's think about the side body on the right. Imagine your right hip socket dropping down a little bit deeper away from your rib cage, The ribs breathing a little bit more, And your right shoulder blade settling. Big full breath in, Gentle soft breath out. Pull your right knee back to center left knee bends again right ankle left thigh. You'll stay here if that feels good This is a reclined pigeon or a reclined figure four if you want a little more You're not feeling too much in the right hip float that left foot up left ankle left knee in one line left knee and left hip in one line Hands interlace at the back of the left leg if the head and shoulders lifted up a lot Can you soften them down you can be still here or find a little movement side to side it should feel pretty Very nice. And that movement is gonna give you a lot of feedback, Right? Swaying one way, Not so much sensation. Sway the other way, Hello, That's where it is. So let it feel really nice and breathe into it. Most of us have a lot of hip tension, So no judging, Just noticing. Good, One more in. One more out. Perfect, Let's unravel that, Knees tuck into the belly, Little sways side to side. Maybe another one of those big stretches like we did when we first laid down. Perfect, Both knees bend, This time right foot stays flat on the ground, Left knee tucks into your belly. You'll interlace around the shin, Find that soft sway, A little side to side. Notice if there's any pinching in the hip, The groin, That's normal, Right? It might just be tension. Soft, Gentle breath there. Maybe the right leg extends long if that feels good, But if it feels like too much, Re-bend the left knee. Perfect, Left hand will stay attached to the left leg, Right hand, Right hip bone to guide it into place, Left knee. Squeezes its way out to the side there, Right onto the side of the ribs. Lay the back of the right side pelvis down, Soften your shoulders, Little pinch into that hip socket, It's perfect. Slide the hip socket down, More breath into the left ribs. We're trying to make the left side body even longer here. Good, Left knee comes back to neutral, Right knee bends, Left ankle, Right thigh bone, Cross it over. Maybe we stay here, Especially if this hip is a little bit tighter, Or perhaps you float your right foot. You scoop up behind the knee, A little rock side to side. Jaw can move, Chin can move. This is just for you. Remember, We're opening up the body. We're not looking for perfection. We just want things to feel nice. God. Soften both knees into your belly. Little squeeze here. Pull everything in and up. Shoulders lift, Head lifts. Long, Soft neck. Breath in. Good, Exhale, Let that go. Big stretch. Let's turn on our abdomen while we're down here floating tabletop with your legs. So ankles, Knees, Knees in line with hips, Palms on your thighs. Draw your hands down to those hip creases, And now you're going to push your legs away from you and your legs are going to press back into your hands. You push, You press. Belly tends to get round here. Can you pull it a little bit flatter? More intensity, More pushing, More pressing, A little less work, A little less pushing, Pressing, Right? It all looks the same. You know how hard you're working. If you want even more, Head and shoulder blades lift up. Just be careful if the head lifts, That it's not craning up. So move your chin away from your chest. Line your ears and shoulders back up and drag your shoulders down. Breathe in. Push, Press, Push, Press. Breathe out. Feel those abs working. Shaking is awesome. One more breath in. You did it, Breath out, Let it go, Beautiful. Little gentle rocks up to a seat. If you have any neck issues, Roll to your side to sit up to a seat. So a couple little rocks usually feel pretty nice on that spine. Once we get up there, We'll meet in all fours. So you can roll through your legs or just swoop them back around behind you. Curl yourself back onto your mat. Couple Cat-Cows, Really gentle. Inhale, Eyes high, Belly dropped. Let your wrist imagine sliding back, Your heart imagines pulling forward. Exhale, Chin into your chest, Dome and round. Two more, Inhale cow, Let the whole pelvis move, Maybe some rocks here. Exhale, Cat, Dome and Round. Inhale cow. Exhale, Cat. Good, Come back to a neutral, All fours, Long and strong. Plug your belly up, Take your gaze a little more forward, And everyone slide your shoulders out of your ears so the torso's really strong. Flip your toe pads down, Really gentle downward facing dog. Hips lift high, Head drops low. You take a moment here, Sway your hips, Shake your head. Good, And then ease into this down dog. Knees can be deeply bent. Elbows can also be bent here. We just want this to feel really spacious and nice. Feel your ribs draw back into your abdomen. Yeah, Belly comes up and neck is long. One more inhale. One more exhale. Gaze backwards at your toes, Hands walk back in space, As much movement as they need, Little arm work to get there. And when you land, You'll be at the back of your mat, Feet about hip bone width distance, Hip bone width distance is two fists, You can always measure, You're right there. Soft knees drape your body over your legs. You can scoop up opposite elbows here if that feels nice. A little sway might work. One more in. Good, Exhale, Let that go. We will roll up one spine bone at a time. Drop the head, Pull your belly in, Roll up so slow, So steady. One spine bone at a time till you stand yourself all the way up. Good. Find a neutral gaze forward or eyes can blink closed for a moment and just feel your body underneath you. Quite naturally, Much like mine, Your palms might face towards you or face backwards. Let's lift our shoulders up, Slide them down our back, And as they melt down, The palms will lightly flip forward. Let's do that. Nice wide chest. Now the back is so supported and so happy. Breathe in. Good, We'll move our arms forward to lift them up. So palms face forward, Swoop your arms up to the sky. Good, You can gaze up or not, Whatever feels better to you. Notice when our arms go up, So do our ribs and our shoulders often. Can you settle your ribs and melt your shoulders? So for most of us, That just means arms farther apart. Good. Imagine there's a rope on the ceiling. We're gonna grab onto it and pull ourselves up. Reach with your right arm a little taller. Reach with your left arm a little taller. Reach with your right arm a little taller. Reach with your left arm. And again, You can gaze up or forward. Right arm one more time. Good, Left arm one more time. Perfect. Come back to neutral, Breathe in, Little bend in your elbows, Arms cactus, Gentle back bend, Let your heart open open open open. Good, Inhale back to center. Arms will drape down by your side, Chin to your chest, Gentle roll down. So sit down first like you're sitting in a chair, Chin drops, Head heavy, You roll all the way back to where you started. We add in a little half lift, Ardha Uttanasana. Fingers on the floor, Shins or thighs, Nice long spine. So we're looking for a parallel chest to start out here rather than that deep diagonal. If your body allows for the diagonal, Great. We just want a really strong spine. Pull your belly in, Broaden your heart breath in. Exhale, Melt forward and down. Let's do that again. Roll up, Touch the sky. Big inhale, Arms swoop forward and up. Right arm starts first. Reach out. Left arm and then right arm. Feel the side body get longer. Notice the shift of weight on your feet. Notice how that feels. Good. Come back to center. Little back bend. Good. Inhale, Grow. Arms just melt down, Chin to your chest. Roll yourself forward and down. Good, Inhale, Little halfway lift here. Exhale, Fold, Good, We're gonna add on, Look forward, Hands will crawl forward, Bend your knees deeply, High plank, Top of a pushup, Long and strong. Not here long, Just turning on the abs, Turning on the belly. Always an option to drop those knees down, Lengthen through your neck, Everyone, For three. Good, For one, Downward facing dog, Beautiful. Look back at your toes, Breathe in, Soft knees, Crawl hands back, Back, Back, Back. Good, Inhale, Half lift here, Long spine. Exhale, Fold one more time. Little sequence, Different at the end. Inhale, Roll up, Arms swoop up tall. We reach to the ceiling, Up with the right and then the left. Keep the breath moving up. And up, Last one, Reach up. And up, Good, Exhale, Back bend. Inhale, Lift up arms tall. This time, Little change, Hands come to your heart center. We'll walk to the top of our mat. One step. Two step, Three, And just about a half step lands you at the top of your mat. Good, So really mindful movement here. Take a big breath in. And a soft breath out. Inhale, Arms swoop up again, Palms flip forward, Lift up. Hands through your heart space, This time flat back, Hinge at your hips, Lower all the way down. Good, Inhale, Little half lift. Exhale, Plant your hands, Left leg slides back into a lunge. Always an option to put props underneath your hands, Blocks work beautifully. You'll melt your left knee down. Option as well to put a blanket underneath your left knee or roll your mat underneath your knee. Toes can relax or stay active. Hands onto your right thigh, Lift yourself up. And it gets really wobbly when we first lift up. So don't judge it. Let it wobble. Take your right hands, Push them down a little bit more. Draw your belly up. The temptation is to really sink deeply here, Which puts a lot of pressure into your low spine. Send your right foot down more. So step into that right foot and that'll turn on the legs. Allow your left hip bone to slide forward and the right hip bone to slide back. Good. Right hand stays on your right thigh. Lifts up in space. Put your left hand behind your head. Open your left elbow. Little side bend. Right arm rests on your right thigh. Left elbow lifts up. Gentle stretch up and over. Notice how much your head wants to crane forward. Press it back and breathe into your left ribs. It should be wobbly. This is a big balance challenge. Breathe in. Breathe out, Drop deeper into your right big toe, Breath in. Beautiful. Breath out. Good. Let that go. Come back to neutral. Two hands down on the ground. Flip your left toes down. Nice, Long, Strong left leg. Warrior two, Your left foot, Left heel drapes down to the ground. Good. Arms can cartwheel up, Or you can use your right thigh to press up. Spin yourself open into your warrior two, And there you are. Good. Zip your belly back. Squeeze your heels in. So instead of sinking low, We're trying to lift away from the ground. Broad chest. Breathe in. Breathe out. Good, Right hand goes behind your head this time. Open your right elbow, Pull your belly up nice and strong, Left arm to your left hip. Turn that whole left hip on, Feel the glutes get strong, Breath in. Good, Breath out. Right elbow lifts up, Little reverse warrior variation. Feel that same side body bending sensation you just felt. Feel your right knee move more forward. Breathe into your right ribs. Strong underneath that left hand. Breath in. Breath out. Good, Inhale, Lift your right elbow a little higher. Exhale brings you back to a warrior two, Release your arms. We'll switch out our arms. Left hand goes behind your head. Press your head back into your hands. Right arm reaches forward and down, Extended side. So right arm can rest inside the right thigh or on it. Wherever it is you're pushing away from the thigh rather than dropping into it. Belly moves back, Lay your head back. Gazing up might feel really nice, But also trickier on the neck. Gazing forward or down might feel better. Just keep that connection, Hand and head. Braffin Breath out. Squeeze your heels in, Last one, Inhale. Exhale, We'll let it go. Left arm releases all the way down to your mat. We unravel, Left heel lifts up. You look forward, Little pat, Pat forward, Or a big step forward, Two feet together, And fold. Inhale, Half lift long spine. Exhale, Release, Hands down to the floor or on props. Right leg slides back into a lunge. Big, Long lunge. Take a moment to get it set up. Melt your right knee down, Your choice, Toes active or passive. Hands on your left thigh, Press up. And notice how we sink, Right? That belly releases, Little pressure into the low back. So take a moment, Let the body do what it loves to do. And then we'll start to activate, Use our muscles. Push your left foot down, Step deep through your mat. You'll feel yourself lift up. Right hip bone this time. Drag it forward so the left hip bone can pull back in space. Imagine you can get longer from your kneecap to your hip bone. Make that bone feel longer. One part of the leg reaches forward, One part reaches back. Hands pressed down, Heart wide, Belly up and in. Left hand stays on your left thigh for stability and you can drape the whole arm down there. Right arm goes up, Right shoulder soft, Hand behind your head, Elbow wide, Push head back and hand forward, Whoop, Little side stretch up and over, And you don't have to go far to feel it. It is a very tricky balance. The temptation is gonna be to open the left knee, Which will make everything wobbly. So keep stepping into your left big toe, Breathe through your right rib, Soften your shoulder down. You're right there, Full deep in. Fold about Let that head lay back a little more. One more in. One more out. Good work. Release that. Right arm comes down. Nice strong lunge right where we started. Right toes flip down. Active leg. Warrior to your right heel. Right heel drops into the earth. Step into the pinky toe side. Arms cartwheel up or you use your left thigh to help you lift and then take up space in the air, Right? The body is limited, But energetically you can reach for miles. So reach, Reach, Reach. Soft shoulders. Good. Right hand, Right outer hip. Hip, Turn on that glute. If it's soggy and soft, Turn it on. Left hand behind your head, Lay it back, Reverse warrior variation. Hand into head, Head into hand, Left elbow lifts up. Good, And keep pulling the left elbow up, Breathe through your left ribs, Belly pins back, Breath in. And breath out. And breath in. You've got it, Squeeze your heels in, Last round, Inhale. Exhale back to your warrior two, We'll switch out our arms. Left arm goes forward, Right hand comes up, Goes behind your head. Attach head and hand nice and strong, Reach forward, Extended side. Left arm inside of your thigh or on your thigh, Wherever you choose, You're pressing into the left leg. Zip your belly in, Gaze forward, Up or down, Push press into the hand, Push, Press for two. Good, One big full breath in. Exhale, Melt both hands down back to your lunge, Right heel lifts up. You look forward one big step or little pat steps forward if you need. Feet hip width, Bend your knees, Soften and fold. Good work. Let all of that go. Inhale, Little half lift. Exhale, Melt. Good, Heavy into your heels, Chair pose, Arms swoop up above your head. Same motion, Palms flip forward, Reach up above your head. When we get into chair, We tend to get very archy in the spine, Right? The ribs splay forward. Can you pull your butt bones down and then zip your ribs together a little bit? So maybe you're not sitting as deep as your ego wants you to, And that is totally fine. Legs are shaking here, You've got this. Stay nice and strong, Big full breath in, Big full breath out. One more inhale. Good, Exhale, Melt forward and down. Beautiful. Inhale, Halfway lift. Good, Exhale, Step back to a nice long lunge. So same start as before in our lunge, But we're gonna add on to this. Bend your left knee any amount, So you really feel the weight of the pelvis drop down. Hands on your right thigh, Push to lift yourself all the way up in space. It is extra wobbly now, Our knee is not on the ground. Always an option to put your knee on the ground if you need, No trouble there. Good, Hands can stay attached to that right thigh, It's gonna push and press. Same action, Right foot steps down, Right hip moves back, Left hip tries to draw more forward. If it feels manageable, Swoop your arms up above your head. Good, Soft shoulders. Long, Long neck. Breathe in. Breathe out. Good, Right hand drapes down to your right thigh or on your right hip, Whatever feels a little more accessible here. Big breath in, Left hand behind your head. Elbow widens, Tiny bend up and over. The temptation is your right hip will wanna sink to the right. Can you level it out and just let the motion be a side bend? The hips are nice and quiet. Lay your head into your hands, Widen your chest for three. For two, Whoo, One, Inhale back to center, Good. Arms lengthen up, You're gonna gaze forward, Move your hands to your heart, Big step forward. Give those legs a little shake. Nice work. Arms down by your side. Take a moment to focus. Let go of all of that hard work. Breath in. Breath out. Inhale, Chair pose, Sit down. Good, Not here long. We've already been here. Heart's lifted. This is what we want. Breathe in. Exhale, Fold forward and down. Good. Inhale, Half lift long spine. Exhale, Release, Nice long lunge. Right leg moves back in space. Bend your right knee deeply. So think of it as a double lunge. Weight of the pelvis drops down. You'll pull your belly in, Press into your left thigh to lift up. Good, And right away, Step down into your left foot. Think of your left hip moving back. Right hip forward, Belly strong. Maybe arms come above your head. Maybe they move to heart center. Zip that abdomen together, Right? This is the most heavy lifting we'll do in the series. One more inhale. One more exhale. Left hand to your thigh for stability or your hip. Good. Right hand behind your head. Elbow widens. Breath in. Exhale, Little stretch up and over. Good, Notice the left hip wants to push to the left. Press it back to the right. Keep lifting up towards the ceiling. Last inhale. Last exhale, Gorgeous work. Inhale, Unravel, Arms up above your head, Get long. Exhale, Hands to your heart center, Move the weight into your left foot, Big step forward, Two feet. Hands down and breathe. Good work. That was not easy. Big full in. Big full out. Inhale, Swoop your arms up above your head. Palms touch, Exhale, Hands to heart center, Bend your knees and fold forward and down. Little half lift here. Good, Exhale, Come to a seat. Your choice, You can tuck one leg behind the other, Or just bend both knees and sit down. Good, Let's meet with our feet touching, Knees nice and wide. Let go of all of that heavy lifting that we did in our legs. Sit up tall. If it's hard to swoop your arms up above your head, You're not alone. Maybe the legs slide a little more forward. Good, Big, Wide breath in. Exhale, Gentle twist over to your right. Think of this as an unraveling. Head and neck are always the last to arrive. Maybe they look over the right shoulder or perhaps looking sideways is enough. Wrap your right shoulder down your back. Make your left butt bone a little heavier and everybody get taller. Breathe in. Breathe out, Slow everything down. Inhale, Back to center, Lift up. Exhale, Gentle twist over to your left. Left shoulder down your back, Maybe head and neck gaze over the left shoulder, Or maybe sideways is enough. This time right butt bone is the heaviest. Good, Unravel to center, Inhale. Right arm drapes down, Left arm up to the sky. Option left hand behind your head like we did in our series. Push back and open, Or if the shoulder needs a break, You just reach up. Think of going up way more than going over. Right elbow bends any amount. Breathe into your side body. Good, Inhale yourself back up. We go the other way, Left arm down, Right arm stays up. We're drapes behind your head, Open chest, Breathe into your right ribs. Always play with the gaze, What feels better in your neck. Good, Last inhale. Last exhale. All the way back up to center, Nice and tall. Hands swoop behind your back. Pinkies will go in, Thumbs out. Palms or tense your fingers, Clink your heart, Lift open. Throat opens any amount and it doesn't actually need to open at all. You can gaze down and still get a big heart opener here, But if it feels nice, Maybe you look up. Just take care of that neck. Good, Let's turn that inside out, Chin into your chest, Roll forward and down. Crawl your hands forward any amount. Let your spine just melt here. Gentle opening in the outsides of your hips. Chin can move away from your chest for a little more intensity in the hips or drop towards your chest for a little bit more in the low back. One more big breath in. Exhale and melt your shoulders out of your ears. And crawl yourself up to a seat. Hands will rest on shins or knees, Whatever feels the most accessible. Inhale, Lift your heart, A little bit more gentle, But still that same backbend sensation. Exhale, Dome and round. So just think seated cat-cows here. Inhale, Heart opens, Giving the pelvis a chance to rock, The spine unravel. Exhale, Chin to your chest, Dome and round. One more, Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Dome and round. Good, Come up to a nice tall seat, Hands behind your back, Pinkies and thumbs out. Feet will open hip width distance, Little windshield wiper sensations again with those knees, Just like we did at the beginning of class. Little bit more movement this time now that the body is warm and open. Good, We'll draw ourselves down to our back, Your choice, Little ab work, Arms reach forward, Knees bend. Don't want that ab work, Hands down, Ease yourself down. Curl yourself in as you go big stretch right where we started class. Knees come into your belly soft rock side to side. We'll find a really gentle twist here. Cactus your arms, Big inhale. Exhale, Both knees soften over to the left. Take your chin to the left as well. And imagine your right shoulder blade dropping heavier into the earth. And let go of the work. Just let yourself land where you land. Breathe in. As you breathe out, Your right side body gets longer and longer and longer. Inhale, Both knees back into your midline. Exhale, Both knees over to the right. Chin falls right as well. Keep it really soft. Breathe into your left rib cage. Just huddle your left shoulder. One more full inhale, More space between the left hip bone, The left armpit. Breath out and let all of that go. Good, Both knees draw back to neutral, Floating tabletop. Hands onto your thighs, One little push press here, Belly in, Just feel the abs turn on. Good, Soften that down, Two feet on the floor, Legs about hip bone width distance, Arms land on the mat, Step into your feet, Gentle bridge pose. Notice if there's a little more ease and space compared to the one at the beginning of class. Press into your head, Your shoulder blades lift your heart. Move your knees more forward, Last inhale. Exhale, Soften one spine bone at a time all the way down. Pelvis lands, Butt muscles relax, Knock your knees in, Wiggle your feet wide, Palms land on your belly. Breath comes in. Breath goes out. If this feels like a soft space to end your class, You're welcome to stay here. Otherwise, You can melt yourself into a Shavasana or any other shape that feels restful to you. And let go of the work, You have done plenty. Feel all that new space in the side bodies. Expand your breath so much it moves into the ribs on the side. Soft jaw, Drop your shoulders, Drop your skull. Extend your arms, Palms flip up and just float. I will guide you out in a moment. If you found a soft space to land, Please stay exactly as you are. If you're ready to move on, Little shifts or wiggles, Maybe a nice big stretch. Knees come into your belly, You'll ease yourself over into a fetal position on either side. Let your gaze stay soft or your eyes closed. Take a moment wherever you land, Gather anything that felt good and breathe it in. All of the other stuff, Just let it go. Your free hand presses you up to a nice tall seat, Any seat that feels manageable and good to you. Let your arms swoop up tall above your head, Palms touch, Breathe in, Big sigh out, Hands to your heart. Chin drops to your chest. A moment of gratitude here for all that work you just did from the inside out. For the effort, The energy, And the courage it took for you to step onto your mat. And honest and true gratitude for yourself. For who you are and for all that you do, Whether it goes seen or not, You trust that it is enough. Because you yourself really truly are enough. Namaste. So thank you all so much. Gentle classes definitely move at a specific pace, But they can be quite challenging. So at any point in time, I hope you took time to modify, Put that knee down or back out if you needed to. Class is always a suggestion, Never a requirement. I hope you feel really good and I'll see you soon. Bye.
