Hi everyone,
My name is Nadine and I will be sharing a restorative yoga practice with you today.
If you're not familiar with restorative yoga,
It's a little bit different than other types of yoga in that the focus is primarily for your rest.
And comfort.
So our focus today will be on the power of claiming your rest.
So we'll need a few props and tools to do that.
And this is a perfect practice to do at home.
And you can always substitute any items that you might be missing.
So we'll start with a blanket or two,
So keep that close by.
And then we'll also need a pillow or two or a yoga bolster,
If you have one.
And In addition,
It would be great.
If you have some yoga blocks,
Two of those.
And if you don't,
You can always use books or anything else you have laying around the house to improvise.
It's really important to really claim this time for yourself by dimming the lights,
Making sure it's quiet,
Maybe lighting a candle or some incense,
And really setting the stage for this rest practice.
So we will start here on our backs today.
You can take your legs over.
Your bolster or your pillows.
You can stack two of those.
And you can also make a pillow with your blanket.
And.
.
.
Come down onto your back.
This is where our practice We'll begin today.
And allow yourself to get settled.
Here on your yoga mat.
And just begin to read.
And connect with your breath.
You'll start to notice your inhale and your exhale.
So without fixing or changing or doing anything,
Just begin to follow your breath in and out.
Feel free to close your eyes.
Or even grab an eye mask if you like.
And connect with your breath.
And from here.
We'll start with some box breathing just to get ourselves grounded and centered.
Together.
I will guide you through it.
So imagine a square and that you are drawing the outside of that square.
And so we'll start with an inhale.
Drawing the left line of the square.
Folding at the top.
And then exhaling down the right side of the square.
And then holding at the bottom.
So we'll take a nice easy inhale through the nose.
All at the top.
Exhale.
And hold at the bottom.
We'll do that for a few more rounds.
Inhaling up.
Holding.
And exhaling down.
One more time,
Inhaling up.
Holding.
And exhaling down.
Whole day.
Beautiful.
And from here,
You can release the breath and just return to your natural breath.
And maybe you're feeling the rise and fall of your belly.
Allowing those shoulders to settle on the ground.
Away from the ears.
I'll remind you multiple times because our shoulders have a tendency to hike all the way up to our ears.
And they don't even realize it.
And we'll go through a little body scan from here,
Just relaxing the back of the head.
Onto your pillow or blanket.
Relaxing the forehead.
Little creases there.
Eyebrows the muscles in the face and the jaw.
Notice if the teeth are clenched,
Let that go.
I'm relaxing the shoulders.
The back against the floor.
Keeping the heart space open and soft.
Belly soft.
Also notice if anything is clenched there,
Let that go.
And really feeling your sit bones,
Your lower back.
Supported by the Earth beneath you.
And allowing the legs to be heavy.
On your bolster or on your pillow.
And we'll take a collective breath here together,
Breathing all the way in through the nose.
And big exhale out through the mouth.
Beautiful.
We'll just take a moment of rest here.
Before we transition into our next pose.
And so with restorative yoga,
We'll be holding each pose for a few minutes.
So it's really important to find.
Your comfort,
Your rest,
And keep moving around,
Wiggling around if you need until you find that point of comfort.
That is the whole purpose of this practice.
So from here,
You can.
.
.
Slide your legs over the bolster and make your way back up to a seat.
As we transition into our next pose.
So you can move your pillow or blanket over to the side and keep your bolster where it is.
We'll turn our back to the bolster and grab that blanket.
And roll it up.
So we'll be using this rolled up blanket to place it right underneath the hips.
We're coming onto our belly.
And so you'll slowly make your way.
Onto your belly.
And you can rest the tops of your feet.
Onto your bolster.
And then you can place either cheek onto your mat.
Or you can make a pillow with your forehead.
And just allow yourself to rest here.
Continue to breathe.
And just having that little bit of elevation for your hips.
Can be really calming.
And helpful for the body.
So feel your chest against the floor,
Maybe even tune into your heartbeat.
And continue to breathe.
And begin to notice.
Where the mind takes you.
Because often when we come into a host of stillness.
This is exactly when the mind will begin to wander.
Which is completely normal.
So.
.
.
Try to think of a few anchors for this practice while you're in this pose.
Anchors that can bring you back to the present moment.
Back to your space.
And back to yourself.
So this might be.
A mantra or an affirmation,
I am here,
I am present,
I am calm.
Or maybe you just come back to your breath,
Following that breath in and out over and over again.
Or even just coming back gently to the sound of my voice.
Continuing to breathe.
Saying thank you to yourself.
For allowing yourself time and space.
Just for you.
To feel what you need to feel,
Process what you need to process.
Really just slowing down.
In a society where we barely get to do that.
So all those things,
The to-dos,
The worries,
The stressors,
We'll try to keep.
Their way back into your practice.
And so we're not trying to.
Stop the thoughts completely.
Can still observe them.
And just gently Push them to the side.
And reclaim this time for yourself.
And so from here.
I'll have you come on up.
I'm the belly.
And.
.
.
You can take this log that you created with your blanket,
Place it towards the top of your mat.
We're going to switch directions.
And if you do have logs or books.
You can place them.
Vertically.
At the bottom of your mat.
And then take that bolster below on top.
So that it's nice and sturdy and you can play with the height to see what's comfortable for you.
And then we'll slowly come on to our bath.
And keep those legs.
Elevated.
So we'll bring one leg over.
And then the other.
And make your way down.
With this support.
Of that rolled up blanket.
Underneath your neck and shoulders.
And your arms can be extended by your sides.
Palms facing up to receive.
Or if you feel like you need more grounding,
You can take those hands onto your belly.
Are onto the ground.
Whatever is calling to you today.
And just begin to notice now that we're here on our backs again,
If you are holding any parts of your body up.
So again,
I'll drop the shoulders away from the ears.
Allow your upper back to melt into your mat,
Into your support.
And really allow those legs to be heavy.
On your bolster or pillow.
And we'll take another breath here as we set on to this pose.
Big breath in through the nose.
And big breath out through the mouth.
And just imagine that every exhale you take through this practice is just an opportunity Cherubies!
Or let something go that isn't serving you today.
That you don't wish to carry with you.
Allowing the body to restore to its natural state.
And allowing yourself to just relax.
Continue to connect with your breath.
And just notice any sensations that might be coming up for you.
Maybe you're noticing some resistance to this practice.
We're just acknowledging where you're at today.
And if you're not used to a practice of stillness,
This might feel.
.
.
Unfamiliar or even uncomfortable for you.
So just know that this is a practice just like anything else.
And it does get easier over time.
And just allow yourself to be open.
To the healing benefits of this practice.
Allowing yourself to receive.
And know that you will get exactly what you need.
Through this practice.
So from here,
You can gently bring those legs back over.
We're going to come to a seat again.
And this time,
We'll remove.
.
.
The bolster from the blocks will put those blocks aside.
And you can bring that bolster.
Vertically.
On your math.
And we'll take the right hip.
To the bottom of the bolster and we'll stack the knees.
And then gently bring yourself down.
Aren't too.
Or bolster.
But just allow yourself to.
As well and settle here.
Feel free to close the eyes.
And again,
Just allowing yourself to be here.
Notice if you are holding up any parts of your body.
And just allow yourself to be heavy.
On your bolster or your pillow.
Relax the legs.
And you can always place a blanket.
In between the knees just for a little added support.
For those needs.
Again,
Just ensuring.
Your maximum comfort.
And ease in this pose.
Continue to follow your breath.
In and out.
Coming back to this space,
Coming back to this moment again and again.
And just allowing yourself to feel supported.
Buy the props.
And when you're ready,
Slowly make your way back up again.
And this time we will switch to the other side.
Take that blanket with you.
And we'll just bring our left hip to the bottom of your bolster or pillow.
Stack those knees again.
Grab that blanket if you like.
And come on down on your left side.
Are there any adjustments?
That you needed to make from the other side,
You can always take.
Those adjustments here.
And just notice how you're feeling.
On your left side.
Is our feminine side.
Our side of nurture and warmth and compassion.
So just allowing that energy to seep in.
Continuing to connect with your breath.
Again taking a moment of gratitude.
For yourself.
For carving out this time,
For claiming this time.
To be here.
Pending to you.
We'll be here for a few more moments.
Continue to soak in each breath.
Positive energy.
Rest and ease Renewal.
And the fuel.
That you'll need moving forward with your day.
With your evening.
With your week or month to come.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly make your way up again.
And this time we'll use our blocks again.
Or brain.
One block tall.
A one block short.
Again,
You can do this with books or whichever household items.
Maybe under pillows,
Couch pillows would work well.
And then take your pillow or bolster,
Place it on top.
And make sure that blanket is near.
And we'll turn you around.
I'm connecting.
Your lower back with the bottom of your bolster.
Slowly make your way down.
Make sure you have that blanket handy.
And you can place the blanket just over the torso like a weighted blanket.
Or you can open it up,
Get yourself nice and cozy.
And with your legs.
They can be extended.
You can bring the soles of the feet together if you like.
Or they can be crossed,
Whatever is calling to you today.
And just allow those shoulders to drop again away from the ears,
Just letting gravity do its thing,
Allowing those elbows to dangle.
Keeping that heart space nice and open.
And taking another breath here.
Filling up all the way to the top.
And letting that go.
Again,
Checking in with your energy and notice how you're feeling in this moment.
And coming back to this moment again and again.
Either through your crowdsourcing.
Through an affirmation.
Or through the sound of my voice.
Know that you are using this time wisely.
To fill up to refuel.
In ways that we don't really get to do in our ordinary lives.
We're constantly moving and doing.
Go away.
Just allowing time with yourself.
And know that the benefits will multiply.
And we don't have to think of this practice as filling ourselves up.
So that we can tend to everyone else.
You can really keep this practice for you.
And know that you are filling yourself up.
For the purpose of 10 days.
To yourself.
And claiming.
Your right to rest.
To be free from overwhelm.
And burnout.
And allowing yourself to connect with yourself.
And just eat.
And from here we'll come into our final resting pose into our Shavasana.
If you are comfortable where you are,
You can stay.
Exactly that way.
Or if you like.
You can move all the props and bring yourself all the way down to the ground,
Maybe grabbing that pillow or bolster,
Placing it beneath the knees.
Making sure that your head is supported.
Another blanket or pillow.
And make your way down.
And take your final rest.
Allow yourself to take up space on your mat.
Allow yourself to breathe.
And maybe even going through that body scan that we started with,
Relaxing the head.
The forehead,
The eyelids,
The cheekbones.
Shoulders,
The chest,
Keeping a nice strong back.
And keeping the front soft.
Allowing those legs to be heavy.
And taking your rest.
Bye!
Slowly begin to connect with your breath again.
Come back to the space,
Come back to your body.
Bring some movement into your fingertips.
To the toes,
Maybe moving that head side to side.
When you're ready,
You can make your way over to either side,
Just resting your head.
On your arm.
And soak in another breath.
While you're here.
Continuing to allow.
The healing benefits of this practice.
And slowly when you're ready.
You can make your way back up to a seat.
Ahem.
And we'll close out our practice together,
Bringing one hand to the heart space.
And the other hand over.
Feel free to keep those eyes closed or just keep a soft gaze.
Maybe you feel that heartbeat again tapping into your own rhythm.
And together.
We'll take a nice easy breath in through the nose.
And big breath out through the mouth.
Releasing anything you don't wish to carry with you today.
We'll bring those palms together,
Thumb knuckles to your chest,
Chin slightly tucked.
And I see and appreciate you.
For choosing yourself today and showing up for yourself.
And may we see and appreciate who we are.
In this moment as we are.
And who we have yet to become.
Ashe.
Namaste
