Hey Ogies,
I'm Nicole.
Thanks for joining me today.
Today I have a super short practice for you and we are relieving tension in the upper body,
In particular the shoulders and the neck.
So two blocks for this practice.
If you've only got the one block,
Then get yourself a towel rolled up nice and tight.
If you don't have any blocks,
Then a thick book and a rolled up towel,
You can improvise with those.
When you're ready,
Come to seated for me,
Just crossing the legs.
If you're finding here that your lower back is rounding,
You might like to sit yourself up on the block.
We'll begin with an easy twist.
Let's turn to the right,
Left hand to the right knee.
Inhale to sit tall.
Gently press down through the feet.
And as you exhale,
Draw the navel in,
Looking over the right shoulder.
As you inhale,
Feel the breath descend and the navel expand.
Take a little pause before you exhale slowly.
Drawing the navel up and in towards the spine.
Let's wrap the right arm now around the left side waist.
Bring the head back to face the front,
Drop the left ear towards the shoulder.
So you're lifting the chin diagonally.
Now you might choose to rest here or you can take a few nods,
A few yes and no.
Well done,
Yogis.
Lifting up the right arm,
Leaning over to the left now for a side bend.
If there's any discomfort in the right shoulder here,
You can just keep the arm nice and low.
Looking down towards the floor and breathing into the side waist.
Let's come all the way back up,
Change sides,
Right hand,
Left knee.
Just coming halfway into the twist as you inhale.
And then exhale to deepen.
Wrapping the left arm around the right side waist.
Bring the gaze back to the front,
Drop the ear towards the shoulder.
And either rest there or take a few naps.
Moving into your side bend,
Lift the left arm up,
Leaning over,
Looking down.
And coming all the way back up,
Let's take our arms out to the side about shoulder height,
Pushing through the heels of the palms and drawing the fingertips back towards the body.
From there,
Roll the shoulders forward and down and just take the elbows ever so slightly up and back.
You might feel a little bit of heat or tingling down the arms as we do some nerve tensioning.
And then we'll connect index finger and thumbs.
Roll your wrists and shoulders forward and down.
Look down.
And again,
See if you can move the elbows just a little,
Up and back.
And let's release.
Inhale,
Cactus arms.
As you exhale,
Cross the right arm over the left.
So bending the left arm and here is option one,
Keeping the right arm straight.
If you're staying here,
Guide the shoulder down and create a little bit of resistance between the forearms.
Otherwise you can bind once.
Or twice.
Gently pressing those forearms together.
So it's inhale,
Unravel,
Cactus arms.
Exhale,
Change sides.
Either holding the left arm straight,
Binding once or twice.
Be sure to gently press those forearms together.
And then breathe into the upper back and shoulders.
And let's release.
Well done,
Yogis.
Give the shoulders a little roll.
And then we'll come over onto all fours.
Moving into our puppy pose.
Now if your forehead doesn't meet the mat with ease,
Place your block underneath.
We'll keep the hands mat width apart,
Elbows and palms lifted.
Just the fingertips on the floor.
Inhale smoothly,
Deeply.
And pause.
And as you exhale,
Har out the breath.
Well done,
Yogi.
Let's slide down onto our nasal now and just have one block close by.
You may or may not need it.
So we're crossing the right arm in front of the left and make sure that those arms are underneath your chin and not out in front.
And then we'll walk the arms away from one another as though you're tying yourself into a knot.
And you can either rest with your ear on the bicep or a little bit deeper if you bring the body forward.
And rest your forehead on the block.
Or of course you could take your forehead to the mirror.
Palms can face up or down,
Whichever feels best for your shoulders.
And once again breathing into the upper back.
Into that space behind the heart center.
Pull your next inhalation out of the pose.
Let's change sides.
Left in front of the right.
Tying yourself into a knot.
And then bringing the head down to rest.
And let's lift on up.
Unravel those arms.
We'll just take a brief rest,
Turn your head to one side and let the hands face the ceiling.
Relax the shoulders.
And when you're ready,
Pressing yourself back.
So recruiting your blocks now.
And let's take one block to the flat side,
That will be for underneath the shoulders.
Second block on the second height for underneath the head.
If you've only got the one block,
It's the rolled up towel that you'll place here to go underneath your shoulder blades.
If you don't have any blocks,
Then it's the towel under the shoulders,
Book underneath the head.
So when you're ready,
Let's lay ourselves down.
Lining up either the towel or the block with the bottom of the shoulder blades.
Ladies,
It will be in line with your bra strap.
And bringing the head to the block.
Let's begin with our knees bent,
Arms out to the side.
So before we come to stillness,
We'll just do a couple of little sit-ups.
Let's inhale here.
And then as you exhale,
Crossing right arm over the left.
Either take the hands to the shoulders or find your eagle arms once again.
Squeeze the shoulders together.
And on the out,
Breath retention,
Tuck in the chin and sit up.
Then lower back down.
As you inhale,
Unravel the arms.
And then we'll change sides.
Exhale,
Left over the right.
Squeezing elbows together.
Lifting up on the out-breath retention.
You might even feel a few little self adjustments in the upper back.
Inhaling.
Let's do one more on each side.
While on your keys.
When you're ready,
If it feels okay for your back,
You might like to straighten and relax the legs.
To maybe even adjust the height of the block under the head.
Go a little deeper by turning it lower.
Or you can remove it all together.
It's a wonderful pose to help us undo bad posture.
And let's bend those knees.
If you don't have a block underneath the head,
Bring it back now and just take it to the flat side.
And then remove the block or the towel from underneath your shoulders.
So we just have the base of the skull lined up with the edge of the block.
Inhale smoothly and deeply.
And as you exhale,
Slowly drop your head to the lap.
You'll inhale back to center.
And exhaling on the side.
Well done,
Yogi.
So next time you come back to centre,
Feel free to remove the block.
And then we'll take a dynamic twist for the upper body.
The thoracic and cervical spine.
Little somatic movement,
Right arm out to the side,
Left hand to the heart.
Let's inhale here.
And then as you exhale,
Roll onto your right side.
Left palm traces along the inner right palm.
Palms to meet,
Or maybe reach beyond.
Look down to the mat and over your shoulder.
And as you begin to inhale,
Trace the left palm along the inner arm.
Left arm out to the side,
Right hand to the heart.
Changing sides.
Well done,
Yogi's.
Feel free to do another couple if you like,
Otherwise you can come to stillness into Shavasana.
You might like to lay flat.
Or if you've got those two blocks,
You might even like to place them underneath the hamstring.
Tucking the shoulders under.
And just taking a few minutes here.
Observing any newfound space in the upper body.
Breathing into any newfound space.
So let's inhale a little deeper now.
Feel free to wiggle those toes and fingers,
Maybe even stretch as though you just woke up.
And in your own time,
You can roll onto your preferred side.
You might like to rest there for a minute or two.
Really coming up to seated when you're ready to continue on with your day.
Thanks for practicing with me,
Yogis.
I hope that you have relieved some tension in the neck and shoulders.
Have a lovely day.
