Yin Yoga For Sleep

This verbally guided 65-minute Yin Yoga class was designed to inspire sleep. We invite you to complete this class in bed so you can drift blissfully off to sleep when it's complete. You may also complete this class by lying on the floor. You'll want to have two bolsters, pillows, or blankets nearby for this asana.

Transcript

Welcome to Yin Yoga with Planet and Peace of Mind by the Athenaeum Collection.

Today's yin yoga class is designed to support restful sleep and this class can be carried out on the floor on your mat or you can even do this class comfortably from your bed when you're ready to call it a night.

So take a few moments here to get your area set up,

Decide if you'll practice directly in bed so you can easily drift to sleep at the end of practice or if you're going to be on the floor using a mat,

Grab that and any pillows or bolsters and blankets that you would like to use for support.

We will begin today's class starting from an easy seat.

So find a legs crossed seat on the bed or on your mat.

Make sure to create a tall straight spine as you stack one vertebrae on top of the other and create space throughout the rib cage to take deep easy breaths.

We'll remain here for about five minutes.

So taking a moment you can place one hand on the heart,

One hand on the stomach to tap into relaxation and connect to your breath,

Allowing the breath to be a natural rhythm.

Release control of the breath and breathe easily and naturally.

If you do not want to have your hands on your heart or your stomach,

You can also lay them in your lap.

Hands can be folded,

Palms can be up towards the ceiling or they can be gently resting on the legs themselves.

Take this time to clear your thoughts from the day that has gone by.

If any thoughts pop into your mind,

Simply allow them to pop in and pop directly out,

Holding no judgment for any thoughts that bubble up.

You can take this time to set a sankalpa or an intention for this practice.

So anything that you just want to focus on during the practice like finding relaxation,

Getting a good night's rest,

Releasing the energy from the day,

Anything like that.

So just take a moment,

Set your intention.

If you need to,

You can switch the cross of your legs.

So if one leg is on top,

If you're feeling slightly uncomfortable or feeling tightness or tension,

You can switch legs if you choose.

And then settle back into a comfortable breath,

Allowing the natural rhythm of your breathing to take over.

Creating awareness in your body,

Paying attention to areas of tightness or tension and releasing and relaxing into those places with each breath.

Settling deeper into the pose,

Maintaining a straight spine.

Just a few more moments.

Continue breathing.

And slowly,

Mentally preparing,

You can bring a little movement to the knees or to the spine,

Twist and shake as needed.

We are going to be transitioning into our next pose.

We will be moving into butterfly pose.

So gently and at your own pace,

You can uncross your legs.

You can actually extend them out straight in front of you.

Give them a shake if need be.

Turn from side to side,

Releasing any tightness or tension that may be remaining within the body.

And when you're ready,

We will come to butterfly pose.

Butterfly pose is a seated position,

Very similar to easy seat.

But instead of having the legs crossed,

You will remain in the seated position and bring the soles of the feet together,

Touching.

So the knees are out to the sides and the feet are meeting in the middle,

Soles together.

You will want to make sure your spine is nice and tall and straight so there's ample room for breathing.

And your hands can lay rested in the lap.

They can wrap around the outsides of the feet.

They can wrap around the big toes.

And depending on how intense you would like the stretch to be,

The closer you draw your heels towards your body,

The more intense of a stretch you will feel.

So if you're feeling this stretch is too intense,

Simply allow your feet to move away from the body.

Create more space between the heels and your core.

And this pose is called butterfly because you can flap your knees up and down and it resembles butterfly wings.

So take a moment here,

Flap your butterfly wings gently and slowly.

Work out any tightness or tension in the spine.

And then when you're ready,

Close your eyes if you'd like and we will remain in butterfly for a few moments.

So settling into the pose,

Getting comfortable.

Allowing the natural rhythm of your breath to take over.

Mentally preparing,

We will be transitioning into supported half butterfly.

So slowly begin to flutter the eyes open if they're closed.

And you can take a moment to extend both legs out straight in your seated position.

Give them a small shake,

Maybe roll through the shoulders to release any remaining tension you might be feeling in the spine.

And then preparing to come into supported half butterfly.

This is where you'll want to grab your bolsters or any blankets or pillows that you will use for support.

Supported half butterfly is similar to butterfly.

You will extend your left leg out to the side and you will bring your right sole of your foot to meet the inner left thigh.

So to intensify the stretch,

Where you place your foot against your thigh is up to you.

Closer to your knee will be a less intense stretch.

And the closer you move towards your body,

The more intense stretch you may feel.

Then once you are in your half butterfly pose,

You'll want to take your pillows,

Bolsters or blanket and you can pile them onto your extended left leg.

And then once you have your support in place,

You can inhale,

Rotate your torso to face the left leg that is extended.

And as you exhale,

You can gently fold over on top of whatever support item you have selected,

Whether it be a pillow,

Blanket or bolster.

And allow that support to take the weight of your body so that you can sink into your supported half butterfly pose.

Take a moment,

Get comfortable in this pose,

Connecting into your natural rhythm of breath,

Not holding any control over the breath.

Slowly begin to melt into supported half butterfly.

Finding a deep release through the lower back,

Through the hip space.

Finding rest and relaxation in your support.

Mentally preparing to transition to the opposite side.

Begin to flutter the eyes open if they're closed or begin to wiggle fingers.

And then using your hands,

You can slowly support yourself to rise to a seated position.

We're going to switch to the other side for another supported half butterfly.

So you can extend the right leg,

Give both legs a shake if you need to.

Then you're going to draw the right leg out to the side and fold in the left leg,

Allowing the left sole of the foot to meet the right inner thigh.

The closer to the knee,

The least intense the stretch will be.

As you draw your foot closer towards your body along the inner thigh,

You will intensify the stretch.

Again,

You'll want to grab your bolsters,

Pillows or blankets and you can pile them up on the right extended leg.

Take a moment,

Gather your items.

Then when you're ready,

As you inhale,

Creating a tall straight spine,

You can rotate your torso to face the right leg.

And when you're ready,

Exhale as you fold over your support items.

Allow the items to carry the weight of your torso as you melt into seated half butterfly on the right side.

You'll remain here for a few moments so that you can allow your body to melt into the bolster,

Pillow or blanket,

Relieving stress and tension from the lower back and the hip space.

Remember to continue breathing.

Do not hold your breath in any of the poses during this class.

A natural rhythm of breath is ideal.

Allow the breath to help you settle into this pose.

As you inhale,

Every time you can create a little space in the body.

In each exhale,

You can relax deeper,

Releasing more tension.

Then preparing for our next pose,

You can go ahead and flutter the eyes open or wiggle the fingers.

And when you're ready,

Using your arms to support the torso,

Go ahead and slowly work your way up to a tall seated position.

You can release your legs from the half butterfly pose,

Extend them both out straight and give them a shake.

You can also reach your hands up overhead and give yourself a big stretch,

Taking in a large inhale.

And as you lower your hands to the bed or to the floor,

You can let out a large exhale.

Next,

We will move into a supported forward fold.

So remaining in your seated position,

You can place your legs straight out in front of you.

And then you'll want to again have your bolster or your pillows or blanket and bundle them up on top of your legs.

So kind of create a big table on your legs.

Then create a tall straight spine as you inhale.

And when you're ready,

You can exhale and fold forward over your supports.

So we're coming into a supported forward fold.

We will remain here for a few moments.

So gently allow your body to settle into those supports.

And again,

With each inhale,

Create expansion and space through your spine.

And as you exhale,

You can settle into the fold a little deeper for more muscle relaxation and tension release.

And slowly preparing for our next pose.

We're going to be moving into a knee hug.

So you can gently flutter your eyes open,

Wiggle your fingers,

And then use your hands to slowly walk yourself back up to a seated position.

You can move your support system,

Your bolsters,

Blankets,

Pillows out to the side and then come to a supine position on your back.

And then slowly hug the knees into the chest.

You can wrap the arms around the knees or simply hold the knees with the hands.

And we will remain in a knee hug for a few moments.

This will be a slightly longer pose than the previous ones.

So you can take a moment.

You can even rock side to side,

Almost like a little piece of popcorn.

And rolling over the spine side to side.

Just working out any places you may feel tension or tightness.

So we will remain in this knee hug for a few moments.

Settle into your pose.

You can also cross the feet in this knee hug.

And you can hold on to the feet with your hands if that is more comfortable than holding on to your knees.

Allow the breath to be natural.

Do not hold the breath.

Gently rocking side to side.

Preparing the body for a restful night's sleep at the end of this practice.

Slowly begin to prepare for our next pose.

So you can open the eyes if they were closed.

And you can begin to release the feet or the knees from the hands.

You can take a moment to extend the legs out straight.

Reach the hands overhead for a full body stretch.

Take a few breaths here,

Inhaling and exhaling.

As we prepare for our next pose.

We will be coming into knee to chest pose on each side of the body.

So we will begin with the right side of the body.

You can slowly begin to draw the right knee towards the chest.

Keeping the left leg extended out straight.

You can use the hands to hold on to the right knee to draw it in closer towards the chest.

If you need to support the left leg that is extended straight.

You can place a pillow,

Bolster or blanket under the left knee.

To give it a little support and decrease the intensity of the stretch.

So just taking a moment here.

If you would like to close your eyes,

I invite you to do that.

Or you can leave them open if you are more comfortable.

With each breath,

Ensure that your spine is connecting with the bed or the mat that you are laying on.

You can roll the shoulders back and away.

To find a comfortable supine position with the right knee drawn towards the chest.

So we will hold this pose for just a few moments.

So go ahead and find your comfortable place into the chair.

Hold this pose and maintain a natural rhythm of your breath.

In knee to chest pose.

Then mentally preparing to switch to the opposite leg.

You can release the knee.

Extending the right leg completely out straight.

Take a moment to reach the hand overhead.

Give yourself a full body stretch.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Then when you are ready,

This time keep the right leg.

Allow it to remain extended straight out.

And then draw the left knee towards the chest.

Again,

Using the hands to clasp around the left knee and hold it into the chest gently.

If this is too intense of a stretch,

You can again place a pillow,

Bolster or blanket under your right knee to give it a little support and reduce the amount of stretch on the body.

So taking a moment,

Settling into knee to chest pose with the left knee drawn in.

We will remain here for a few moments.

So continue breathing naturally,

Settling into this pose.

Preparing to move into our next pose,

You can flutter the eyes open if they are closed.

Release the left knee from the chest.

Extending both legs out straight.

Reach the hands overhead and enjoy a full body stretch.

Taking a few deep breaths.

And then preparing for our next pose,

Which will be a supine twist.

So remaining on our back,

You can inhale and draw the right knee towards the chest.

And then gently and slowly,

Keeping the shoulders connected to the mat,

You can draw the right knee across the body towards the bed or aiming towards connecting with the mat or floor.

Now this is when you'll want to have a support possibly under the knee to reduce the amount of space between the knee and the bed or the knee and the floor.

So your right knee is drawn across the body and is resting on a pillow or bolster or even a folded up blanket.

So this is a cross body twist in the supine position.

The right knee is drawn towards the chest.

The shoulders remain connected to the mat.

And then the right knee is drawn across the body for a twist.

The eyes can gaze over the right hand,

Which is extended out to the side.

So gazing over the right fingers.

And allow the body to really melt into the support under the right knee.

Ensure that you keep your shoulders connected to the mat.

So you may need additional height under the right knee to help keep the shoulders connected.

We will remain in this pose for a few moments.

Allow your breath to remain natural and consistent.

Do not hold your breath in any of the poses during today's practice.

Mentally preparing to come out of this pose and switch to the opposite side.

You can gently flutter the eyes open.

And then slowly draw the right knee back across the body.

And then you can extend the right knee out straight.

So coming out of our supine twist.

Both legs are out straight.

And you can reach your hands over your head and enjoy a full body stretch.

Taking a moment to take a few deep breaths.

And then when you're ready we will come back into a supine twist on the opposite side of the body.

So this time you can draw the left knee towards the chest.

Keeping the shoulders connected to the mat.

And then as you exhale you can cross the left knee over the body to connect to the bed or the floor.

And again this is a point where you will most likely want to have a bolster,

Pillow or blanket.

That you can tuck under the left knee as it's across the body.

To decrease the amount of space between the knee and the floor or the bed.

Your arms are outstretched into a T shape.

And your gaze can be over the left fingers.

You can allow the eyes to close.

Keeping the head towards those left fingers.

Or you can leave the eyes open.

Whichever is more comfortable for you.

Allow your body to begin to melt into the support you have under your right knee.

I'm sorry,

Under your left knee.

As it is supported by your blankets,

Pillows or bolster.

Allow the breath to remain natural.

As you find deep relaxation in this cross body supine twist.

Preparing for our next pose.

Begin to come out of the twist.

Drawing the left knee back across the body.

And then extending the left leg out straight.

You can take a moment to extend the legs out.

Extend the hands overhead.

And enjoy a full body stretch.

Take a moment to enjoy a few deep and relaxing breaths.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Four to five times.

Preparing for our next pose.

We will be moving into supported butterfly.

So this is a pose.

You will want to have two sets of supports.

One for each side.

You may recognize the name butterfly from the previous poses in this class.

So lying on your back.

With your legs out straight.

Now you are going to draw the soles of the feet together.

Just as you did in seated butterfly.

But your back will remain connected to the bed or the floor where you are.

So in this pose with your soles of your feet connected and your knees slightly bent.

You can again flutter your knees up and down.

To create the wings of a butterfly.

Next you will want to take your supports.

Either two bolsters or two pillows.

Or even two blankets rolled up.

And you will want to keep your feet connected.

So the soles are touching.

And then you can lift your knees up and away from the bed or the floor.

And place your bolsters,

Pillows or blankets under the knees.

Then you can slowly allow the knees to connect with the bolsters and mats on either side.

So you will flutter the wings in.

Knees closer together.

Flutter your knees and wings out.

And allow them to rest into your support system.

So finding your supported butterfly pose.

You are lying on your back.

With your butterfly wings supported on each side.

Allow your natural rhythm of your breath to return.

The hands can be gently rested across the abdomen.

Or the arms can be out to the sides.

Palms facing up to receive.

Palms connected to the mat or bed for grounding.

We will remain in this pose for a few minutes.

So gently allow your body to be fully supported.

As you melt into your supported supine butterfly.

Or reclined butterfly.

Now is a good time to think about the intention or the sankalpa that you made at the beginning of this practice.

Allow that intention to stay at the front of your mind for the remaining portion of this yin yoga practice.

With each inhale you can feel the expansion of space through the abdomen,

The rib cage.

Opening through the hips.

And as you exhale settle deeper into this reclined supported butterfly pose.

Finding relaxation and comfort with each breath.

If you're feeling any tension or tightness.

You can adjust your supports,

Your bolsters,

Blankets or pillows.

To reduce the intensity of the stretch on the legs.

So you can add more or fluff them up if needed.

And then settle back into your pose.

Allowing the supports to be there to hold you and provide comfort.

Do not fall asleep yet.

But enjoy the sensation of relaxation and restfulness.

Mentally preparing for the next pose.

Slowly flutter the eyes open if they were closed.

Begin to wiggle the fingers and toes.

And then gently draw the knees together.

Release the soles of the feet from touching.

And plant the soles of the feet into the bed or the mat.

You can take a moment to hug the knees into the chest.

Roll side to side over the spine.

And then when you're ready you can exhale.

And release the soles of the feet into the mat or into the bed.

So the knees are bent.

The bottoms of the feet are touching the mat or bed.

We will be moving into windshield wipers.

To help release tension through the hip space and the front of the hip.

First we will draw our knees towards the right side of our body.

The hands can be extended out to the sides,

Palms facing down or palms facing up.

Or if it's more comfortable you can even bring the hands to rest on the hips.

So gently windshield wiper the knees towards the right side.

You can take a pillow or a bolster or blanket and rest it under the right knee.

The left knee will be resting on the right knee so it will be stacked.

And the pillow or bolster can hold the weight of your legs.

You do not have to have a support for this if it is comfortable.

So we're just folding the legs one on top of the other and leaning them towards the right.

The spine and the shoulders are connected to the mat.

So take a big breath in.

Inhale deeply.

Exhale and settle into the pose.

Finding release through the outer left hip.

If the stretch is too intense you can adjust the height of the bolster or pillows under your right knee.

Ensure that you are continuing to breathe with a natural rhythm.

Avoid holding the breath.

Allowing your inhales to rise and fall naturally.

Then mentally preparing we are going to rotate our windshield wiper to the opposite side.

So you can lift through the knees bringing the knees back to the middle alignment of the body.

If it's comfortable you can windshield wiper the knees back and forth or right to left just a few times slowly and gently.

And then you'll want to move your bolster pillow or blanket from the right to the left.

And when you're ready you can inhale.

Then as you exhale slowly lower your left knee towards the left side of your body to rest gently on top of your supports.

The right knee is stacked next to the left knee.

So we are now windshield wipering to a left-sided gentle twist of the knees.

The height of the bolster or pillows can be tall to reduce the intensity of the stretch through the outer right front and side of the right hip.

So slowly and gently melting into this pose.

Releasing the weight of the legs into your support item.

You will be here for a few moments so tap back into a natural rhythm of breathing.

With the eyes remaining closed or open settle into your pose.

Slowly beginning to prepare for our next pose.

You can draw the knees back into center alignment with the body.

Slowly flutter the eyes open if you need to.

Then you can extend both legs out straight reach the hands overhead and enjoy a full body stretch.

Take a moment to take three deep breaths.

And prepare to come into our next pose.

We will enjoy a deep knee hug.

So when you are ready you can draw both of the knees towards the chest.

Wrapping the arms around the knees or you can cross at the ankles and each hand can hold a foot.

We will hold this pose for a few moments.

You can rock side to side for the duration of this pose.

Or you can remain still once you have settled in and found a comfortable place to land in a knee hug.

Inhaling and exhaling settle into your knee hug pose.

We will remain here for a few moments.

Maintain a natural rhythm of your breath.

Then slowly when you are ready you can exhale.

And on your exhale you can release the knees.

The legs can come out straight from the body.

Reach the hands up overhead and give yourself a full body stretch.

Inhaling filling the lungs deeply.

As you exhale bring the arms to wrap around your shoulders and give yourself a hug.

Then when you are ready extend the arms out to the sides.

They can be away from the body,

Extended to a T or close to the body.

The palms can be facing up or down.

We will be preparing for Savasana in the next few moments.

So gently shake out the hands,

Shake out the feet.

Rotate and roll the shoulders back and away from the ears.

Allow the legs to lay naturally and comfortably.

Shifting the hips,

Rolling the feet and the ankles.

Finding relaxation,

Allowing the spine to connect fully with the mattress or the mat beneath you.

Preparing for total relaxation.

Allow the intention you set at the beginning of practice to remain in your mind for a moment.

And then gently close the eyes if that is comfortable.

And allow the breath to become natural.

Let your body melt into the surface of the floor or the bed beneath you.

Allow yourself to feel completely supported.

Total and utter relaxation.

Your breaths can become slower and deeper.

Your eyelids may begin to feel heavy.

Your concerns or worries from the previous day have completely melted away.

Your breath is gentle and relaxed.

You have found total relaxation as you gently drift off to sleep.

Thank you.