Yin Yoga & Mindfulness Practice - Anchor & Ground

Anchor into the present moment and allow an oceanic breath to wash away any tension in your body with this YIN Yoga & Mindfulness practice. Anchoring & Grounding this supine sequence includes the shapes of Bananasana, Reclined Butterfly & Laying Twist followed by Savasana. Grab a couple of pillows and blankets for this practice.
Music by Chris Collins

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this practice of Yin Yoga and Mindfulness today.

My name is Shel.

I'm going to be leading you through this practice layered with a little bit of mindfulness just to bring you both into the body and into the present moment.

The sequence today is laying on our back.

The propping we'll need today is just some simple blankets,

Maybe a pillow or two,

And you can grab those off your lounge or your bed,

Or a bolster and a couple of blocks.

We'll be taking three different shapes.

Banana asana,

Butterfly pose,

Reclined,

And also a laying or supine twist,

And then followed by most important shape of shavasana.

So just laying on your back,

Get nice and comfortable in a mini shavasana shape.

So our arms are wide by our sides,

Palms facing down,

And we'll stretch our legs out long,

About the width of your shoulders or your mat,

And we'll just remind ourselves of the three principles of the practice of yin yoga.

The first principle of yin yoga is to find our appropriate edge.

So we don't want to push and strive too much when we're practicing yin,

Because we're looking to stimulate the yin tissues,

Which are the deeper layers in our body,

Our joints,

Our ligaments,

And the fascia.

Not so much on the external layer,

Our yang layer.

And we never want to feel anything pinching,

Grabbing,

Or alarming in the shape.

No electricity type feelings,

Or sharp feelings,

Or intenseness.

There is always permission to come out early and readjust.

It's a practice of listening within as well.

So we want to come in and find Goldilocks not too strong,

But not too soft.

I like to think about it around a six out of ten in efforting.

And it's kind of like a dull,

Achy sensation in the target area.

The second principle is once we've found or leaning into our edge,

We become still and then muscly soft.

So allowing that yang outside layer of the body to relax so the yin tissues on the inside can take up a little bit of that efforting.

The third and most magic ingredient is time.

These yin tissues don't like to be rushed.

They like to be still and steady and take a little bit of time to respond and yield to the shape.

And we can anchor into this third principle by using our breath as our anchor.

Today's breath in this sequence is a very light yu jia or oceanic breath.

So let's start to cycle the breath in through the nose and out through the nose.

Again not pushing or striving even with the breath.

Just letting it flow in and out.

We'll see if we can get the breath even on both sides.

And if you're familiar with yu jia breath,

We add in that little restriction in the back of the throat.

If you're not familiar with yu jia breath,

I have a little beginner bites five-minute meditation on it as well.

So we're just cycling the breath in and out through the nose.

That little slight constriction in the whisper muscles.

Just so your breath becomes audible to you.

And we can use that as our anchor as we move into the shapes.

Each time you notice the mind wandering,

We'll come back to rest on that yu jia breath or oceanic breath.

So we're going to move into our first shape which is banana asana today.

So we're going to start to just shuffle the feet a little bit to your right.

And the shoulders shuffle a little bit to the right.

So we're making a C shape or a banana shape with the body.

So on the right hand side we have a little bit of compression.

And then on the opposite lateral side there's a little bit of a tensile stretch.

And this one can creep up on you a little.

So remembering that first principle,

Appropriate edge,

We're looking for that six out of ten or that Goldilocks.

So don't come in too deep to any of the shapes because when we move in too deep in our yin practice,

We're actually hindering the flow of qi,

Moving throughout the body.

So check in,

Finding the appropriate edge.

We want to have the hips grounded.

So finding that C shape gently with the body.

You can bring the arms up over your head or you can just lay them down by the side if there's anything going on in the shoulders or resting across the body.

And then option with your left leg,

You can keep it gently next to the right or you might even like to hook it over the right ankle.

But just making sure that left hip doesn't lift up when you do this.

We want to keep the hips and sacrum grounded on the earth.

So now that you're in the shape,

Just see if you can find that second principle.

So relaxing muscly,

Especially the feet.

And then coming to your anchor,

Your breath.

That gentle oceanic breath,

Moving in and out.

Where can you notice or feel the breath the most in this shape?

You might notice it a little bit more on the left side.

That little bit of expansion through the ribcage on the left.

Just letting the breath cycle in and out.

We're staying in each shape just for a few minutes,

Normally around two to five minutes.

So checking in that you're comfortable.

Come back to the breath and that little magic ingredient of time.

And there's always permission to come out early and we never want to feel anything pinching,

Grabbing or alarming.

So coming back to that first principle of appropriate air to each and every time you take shape.

Letting any sounds and thoughts and emotions just come and go,

Washing in and then washing out.

We're gonna take one more minute in the shape so check in.

Has that edge bubbled up a little high?

Do you need to unhook the leg or lessen the C shape?

Or perhaps there's the opportunity to hook the left foot over the ankle.

Remembering in our practice,

Less is a little more.

Recommitting to stillness and becoming muscly soft in these last few rounds of breath.

To exit the shape now,

We'll unhook that foot if it's still hooked.

Release the arms back down by the sides if they're not already.

And let's walk the feet back to the midline of the mat and then the shoulders shuffle back to the midline.

You might even feel like your left leg's a little longer than the right.

Don't worry we're gonna even ourselves up.

We pause here for a moment,

Just noticing any rebound as you come out of the shape.

Like a flushing,

A sachi,

The prana moves back through those areas that we either compressed or gave a tensile stretch.

We allow that to dissipate before moving into the next shape.

When you feel ready to move,

We're gonna move to the opposite side now.

So start to bring the feet to the left side of your mat,

Keeping the hips grounded and then the shoulders shuffle a little to the left,

Keeping elongation through the spine but again creating that banana or C shape with the body.

Shoulders grounded and then arms either by your side or if it feels okay you can reach them up over your head,

Even clasping the wrist with one hand.

Check in on your edge and then see if you need to add in the little hooks.

The right foot over the ankle of the left,

Remembering to keep the hips grounded.

Finding that C shape with the body but not going in too deep.

And then become still.

And then become still and muscly soft.

Notice on this side where do you feel the breath the most.

Find your anchor.

Resting your awareness half in the sensation and half in the breath.

And if you notice the mind wandering,

That's okay,

Perfectly normal.

We gently add that layer of mindfulness to the left.

And then we're going to come back to the left.

And then we're going to come back to the left.

And then we're going to come back to the left.

That's okay,

Perfectly normal.

We gently add that layer of mindfulness we notice.

And then bring your awareness back to that breath.

Rolling in and rolling out.

And see if you can soften into the shape as each exhalation arrives.

And we'll stay a little longer now.

See if you can soften the body just a little bit more with each round of breath.

And we'll take the last minute on this side around six to eight breaths.

You may wish to hook or unhook the foot depending on where your edge is hovering.

Remembering any pinching,

Grabbing or anything alarming,

We always move back out of that.

Settle back in for around five more breaths now.

And slowly move out of the shape,

Unhooking the foot if it's still hooked.

And then releasing the arms if you have them over your head,

Bringing them down by your side.

We'll move the feet back to the midline of the mat first.

And then shuffle the shoulders back to the midline.

And you might feel that you've evened up the length of those legs now.

And just waiting for any sensation to dissipate,

Discerning your experience as you move out of the shape.

We'll next move into the shape of reclined butterfly.

So remaining on our back,

We're just going to bring the soles of our feet together and slide them up a little.

So we're making a diamond shape with the legs.

And here we add a little bit of support.

So those pillows you might like to bring on each side of the outer edges of the knees.

You may have some blocks that you practice with at home as well.

So you could bring those there also.

And just adjust the diamond shape of those legs till you tap into that edge.

And then with your arms,

You can splay them out,

Bringing the hands wide,

Tapping into that hard and long line a little as you stretch the arms wide.

Or alternatively,

Bring one hand on the heart and one hand on the belly to help you anchor a little bit more.

And then finding that stillness in the shape.

The target area here is the inner seam of the legs,

Our kidney,

Liver and spleen meridian lines.

So softening muscly in the legs,

Feeling into that sensation on the inner seam of the legs.

Finding your anchor point in this shape now.

Where do you feel the breath the most?

Maybe in the belly,

The chest or even into the ribs expanding,

Filling up.

We'll take the second half of the shape now.

So just check in.

How is your edge sitting in this shape?

Do you need to adjust or stay exactly as you are?

You can adjust the diamond shape by bringing the feet a little closer to the groin or moving them away as well.

And adjusting those props,

The pillows and the blocks on the outside edges.

We commit to stillness and we'll take six to eight more rounds of breath.

Remembering always permission to adjust,

Come out early if any shape doesn't feel right in your body.

Notice where your hands are.

And let's bring them down to the outside edges of your knees.

We exit all shapes in a yin matter nice and slowly and softly.

So let's guide our knees back towards each other with a little bit of help from our hands.

Let the knees rest and we'll step our feet wide just into a baby giraffe shape.

So your feet are the width of the mat and your knees just gently resting against each other.

Sacrum or your lower back,

Grounded into the mat.

When you move out of each shape you may wish to stay static or you can add in a little bit of slow and gentle movement.

And then let's stretch our legs out long and we're going to move now into a reclining twist.

So a few different options if they're in your practice.

You may wish to take the twisted roots variation,

A double knee supine twist.

So I'm going to talk you through the single knee variation.

So let's bring our right knee in towards our chest.

We're going to take the arms out wide,

Palms facing down.

And then let's shuffle the hips a little bit to the right as we bring the knee across to the left.

With your knee and ankle resting on your support,

The props,

The cushions that you have.

Arms reach wide,

Relax into the shoulders and just settle into that reclined laying twist.

Release the jaw,

The tongue can move around the roof of your mouth as you relax all the fascia in the mouth as well.

And then settling into stillness of the shape.

And then come back to that oceanic breath,

Washing in and washing out.

Letting any thoughts and emotions come to the surface as if they're being washed in with the tide.

And then letting them set sail with the exhale as the tide and the breath move back out.

Noticing where you feel the breath the most in your body.

Letting any thoughts and emotions come to the surface as if they're being washed in with the tide and the breath move back out.

Let's observe three more washes of breath.

Start to bring that right knee back to center line and releasing it down.

Let that right leg become straight now,

Hips are grounded and then we'll draw in our left knee in towards the chest.

We'll bring those pillows or blocks or bolster or blankets,

Whatever support you are using and then taking it across to the right hand side now.

We'll take that left knee across,

A little shuffle of the hips towards the left a little so we're stacking the left hip on top of the right.

Making sure your knee joint and ankle joint are supported with your props and then we'll reach those arms out wide again.

Head and neck relaxed to where feels most comfortable.

Releasing the jaw,

The tongue moving around the walls of the mouth,

Giving the mouth a little massage internally before relaxing the jaw,

Letting the face be soft.

Shoulders are soft and heavy,

Arms making that T shape with the body and then relaxing into the shape,

Leaning into that washing out of the breath now.

Noticing in your supine twist where you feel the breath the most here.

Eyes are soft and heavy,

Anchoring your body against the earth.

We'll take six more rounds of soft oceanic breath.

Let's start to journey that left knee back,

Slowly coming back to centre.

We'll keep the left knee drawn in and bring the right knee in to meet.

We'll wrap our arms around our shins,

Sacrum pressing into the earth,

Just giving ourselves a gentle little massage here into the sacrum,

A little egg of the universe,

Staying static or a gentle gentle rocking.

And then we'll release the legs,

Stretching them out to that first shape we made of that Shavasana shape.

So legs stretch out long,

Feet come wide to the edges of your mat,

Hands come down by your sides,

Stretching them long and let's place the hands,

The palms facing down now,

Anchoring and grounding as we move into this most important shape of Shavasana.

And here I want you to let go of that light oceanic breath.

There's absolutely nothing to do now but to allow your practice to resonate and cultivate in the body.

It's the undoing now.

Just let the breath settle back into its natural rhythm without any influence from you.

You can observe the breath but without influence.

Everything relaxed now,

Anchored against the earth,

Safe and calm.

Letting go into that anchor and that support now.

Anchored here,

Safe in your harbour,

Resting to hear the sound of my bell in a couple of minutes.

And with the sound of the bowl just remaining in stillness,

Noticing its richness and vastness.

And then let's drink in a deeper more conscious breath in and perhaps a sigh out through the mouth.

We'll start to just awaken a little in the physical sheet of the body,

The fingers and the toes,

Maybe a little stretch or a yawn.

But taking your time,

There's no rush.

When you feel ready,

We'll roll over onto one side.

Just pause there for a moment.

Noticing any resonance from your practice but always without judgment.

We use our hands for support as we press our way back up.

Finding a seat,

We'll bring our hands into our heart and gently bowing the head,

Bringing the thumbs towards the brow.

With love,

Compassion and kindness,

We say Namaste.

Thank you for joining me.

I hope you enjoyed our practice and I'll see you next time.

Sending you love and a colourful day.

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🌷🌺🌺🌷Thank you so much for the wonderful yin yoga practice 💌and your interesting and inspiring words🌼☀️my body mind and soul feels so sunny and sweet 🗺️have a blessed day 🦋Namaste

It felt more calming and great stretch! Namaste! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Absolutely Awesome Class Thankyou so much - loved it !! Please can you tell me the name of this track of music was so soothing
Nameste 😊🙏❤️

Love! So nice to get back to basics… and as a Kiwi, hearing your Aussie accent! Will def be saving for another day xx