I have another deeply restorative practice for you.
Stressed and simply out of sorts.
This class will help to reset your nervous system.
It will help you to find yourself again,
That sense of calm and clarity.
And it will also help to improve your digestion as well.
Often when we're feeling stressed and overwhelmed,
Everything contracts and tightens.
So this class is a great practice to detox body,
Detox mind and find yourself again.
So a few props for this practice.
Two blocks.
If you don't have blocks,
Grab yourself a thick book and a rolled up towel.
Yoga bolster.
If you don't have the bolster,
Two or three pillows or a thick blanket rolled up nice and tight.
And we're also using the wall.
So position yourself close to the wall.
And when you're ready,
Let's begin.
So first posture,
We'll take our legs up against the wall.
Make sure you can reach your blocks or you might even prefer your bolster or your pillow.
We'll sit sideways with one hip touching the wall.
Get in nice and close.
And then bring your shoulders down as you swing the legs up.
So a little bit of space between your bottom and the wall is fine.
If you want to get in closer,
A bit of a wiggle and a shimmy.
And then I invite you to place either one block on the flat side underneath or maybe two blocks.
Stacked on top of one another.
And then we'll straighten those legs.
Allowing the legs to fall heavy.
Against the wall.
Begin with your hands on your navel.
Feel free to close the eyes down.
Soften the forehead.
And gently place the tip of the tongue where the teeth meet the roof of the mouth.
And inviting your ujjayi breath.
That little tone in the back of your throat.
You may begin to hear the sound of your breath,
Like the sound of the ocean.
And start to deepen the breath.
Commence your diaphragmatic belly breath.
Can you notice your hands rising as you inhale?
And then the ribs and chest expand.
As you exhale,
Gently draw the navel in towards the spine.
Inhaling smoothly and deeply.
And then pause,
See if you can hold the breath.
For one or two counts.
Before exhaling slowly.
Navel falling towards the spine.
Finding those lingering pauses each and every time.
Prepare to remove the blocks from underneath you.
Once you've moved the blocks to the side,
Just wiggle back a little.
Give yourself a bit more space between the wall and the bottom.
And then we'll take a reclined pigeon,
Left ankle to the right knee.
So you'll see here I've got my right foot flat on the floor and I've created a right angle.
Try not to let your bottom lift up off the mat.
If you need to lighten this pose,
Simply straighten that leg.
So we're here for just a few breaths.
You might even like to take a little rock from side to side.
Noticing any tension in the low back and the outer hip.
And simply breathe into that space.
Meet the tension in your body with your breath,
Not with force.
Not with judgment.
That's release.
Both feet to the wall now.
Recruit your block.
Place it in between your thighs.
We'll take a twist.
Bring those knees over to the right side.
And if the floor seems too far away,
You can use your pillow,
Your bolster or your second block to prop up that leg if you need to.
So any concerns with your left shoulder,
You might rest with your arm down next to the hip.
Otherwise,
We'll take a few.
Sweeping circles with the breath.
So left fingertips to meet the right elbow crease.
As you inhale,
Take the arm above the head,
Out to the left,
Turn the head to the left.
With the exhalation,
The arm is sweeping down past the hip,
Returning to the right arm.
Inhaling,
Arm above shoulder lines.
Exhaling below the shoulder line.
Well done,
Yogi's.
I'm coming to stillness in the twist now,
But if you would like to take a few more circles,
Do so.
You might even like to take chin mudra,
Connecting index finger and thumb.
Inhale a little deeper into the lower body.
Let's release the pose.
To support the back,
Squeeze the thighs in on the block.
It will help engage your core.
Bring those feet back to the wall.
Remove the block.
We'll take recline pigeon,
Other side.
Right ankle to the left knee.
Welcoming those rocks if that feels good for the body.
And do your best to meet the body where it is today.
Not to where you were in your practice last week.
Or where you long to be.
About where you are today.
Moving into the twist,
Recruit your block once again.
Legs over to the left Sweeping circles with the right arm this time.
Right fingertips to the left elbow crease.
Inhale the arm up and out to the side.
Exhale,
Sweep it down.
Feel free to do a few more repetitions.
Otherwise coming to stillness,
Making that T-shape with your arms.
When you're ready.
And from here,
Yogis,
Let's roll onto our left side.
Remove the block.
Come into the fetal position just briefly.
And then whenever you're ready,
Press yourself up.
Coming up onto all fours.
Taking a hold of the two blocks if you have them if you don't have the two blocks for this next little flow then that's fine.
Just bring your hands flat to the mat.
Otherwise blocks are mat width apart on the flat side.
We're just moving gently in and out of our cat-cow stretches with a child's pose.
Little semantics here.
Let's inhale,
A little back bend.
And as you exhale,
Round the spine,
Sit back towards the heel.
Your forehead won't meet the map.
Inhale,
Return to tabletop,
Little backbend.
Exhale and round,
Sitting back.
Let's do one more.
And the next time you inhale,
Return to tabletop and we'll come into our puppy pose.
So you have a few choices here.
Either hands can be mat-width apart,
Arms are straight,
Forehead is to the mat or to your block.
Otherwise,
Elbows closer,
Hands to prayer above the hedge.
Now,
If you're nursing a shoulder injury,
Just leave that arm out of the pose and use that hand as a pillow instead.
Modifying the practice.
Adjusting the postures to fit your body.
We're only here for a few breaths.
Feeling the inhalation expand the upper body.
Find those lingering pauses.
Before you exhale and soften the heart.
Towards the man.
Well done,
Yogis.
Very briefly,
Sit back for child's pose,
Just to give those shoulders a little rest.
Hands next to the feet,
Palms facing the ceiling.
Let the shoulders be heavy.
And let's press on up to seated.
Bring those legs out in front.
And this is where we'll use our bolster or your pillows.
Bring them over on top of the legs.
We're taking a forward fold.
We want full contact with the prop to your belly.
It's quite soothing for the nervous system to have that gentle pressure there.
Folding forward now and you might need to use your blocks or your book whatever other props you have to support the head So depending on your range of motion,
You might have the block on the vertical side,
Or maybe you can take it a little bit lower.
We're allowing the back to round.
Turn the palms up to face the ceiling.
Feel free to take your mudra.
Just ensuring that the forehead is resting on something.
And your bolster is gently touching the needle.
And witnessing.
The stages of the breath.
As you inhale,
Notice the navel pushing the bolster away.
And then the ribs and chest expand.
So you're feeling the breath not only in the front side,
But the back side of the body as well.
Taking that spacious inhalation and then pause for a moment.
Gradually release the exhalation.
There's nowhere to be but with your breath.
Gently follow your next inhalation out of the pose,
Coming up slowly.
Let's move those props to the side.
Bending those knees and gently swishing the knees from side to side.
Well done,
Yogis.
So from here,
Bringing your bolster over once again.
So that it will be behind the knees.
And then your other props will support the upper body for our fish pose.
So I'm going to have one block on the flat side underneath my shoulder blade.
Second block on the second height underneath the head.
If you don't have the two blocks,
This is where you'll have your rolled up towel under your shoulders and either the block or maybe your book underneath the head.
So configuring your props when you're ready.
Prop underneath your shoulder blades for the ladies is right underneath where your bra strap would be.
Let's go a little higher under the head.
Just for the first few breaths.
Feel free to take your mudra once again.
Allowing those legs to fall heavy.
And simply breathe into the heart center.
And in this heart opening posture,
This is the perfect time.
To invoke a little gratitude.
What are you grateful for today?
What makes your heart smile.
What makes your heart smile?
Don't overthink or attach.
To the situation or the person just breathing in that sense of gratitude.
There's no story.
Just gratitude.
You might like to lower the block now.
Taking the back bend a little deeper.
Only if that feels okay for your body.
And then from here,
If you can,
Let's remove the block from underneath the shoulders.
Keep the one under the head.
Just make sure it's on the flat side.
You might like to take butterfly legs,
Bringing the soles of the feet together and let the knees fall out wide.
With the next exhalation,
Allow the head to fall to one side.
And you inhale,
Gently come back to center.
Exhaling to the other side.
Feeling the meeting points between the back of the head and the block.
And,
Of course,
Feel free to take a few more repetitions if your body needs,
Otherwise coming to stillness when you're ready.
And when you eventually come to stillness,
You might like to straighten those legs once again.
Remove the block if that feels okay for your neck.
She lowered down into Shavas.
Tucking the shoulders under.
Acknowledging any newfound space in the body.
And as you drift into Shavasana,
Leave no traces with your thoughts.
Just as birds leave no tracks in the sky.
Allow those thoughts to float off into the distance without a trace.
Just be.
Let's inhale a little deeper now as we guide our awareness back.
Feeling the breath touch the nostril.
Wiggling those toes and fingers.
Maybe stretching,
As though you just woke up.
In your own time you can roll to your preferred side.
And maybe resting there for a few moments in the fetal position.
Only bringing yourself up to seated when you're ready to continue on with your day.
Thanks,
Georgies,
For practicing with me.
I hope you are feeling refreshed and relaxed.
And I wish you a lovely day.
