Yoga For Meditation

A little bit of movement prior to a meditation session can go a long way in helping you feel more comfortable in your body as you sit. In this 12-minute video, Ahsa shares a beginner-friendly yoga sequence designed to release tension in your neck, shoulders, back, hips, and legs.

Have your meditation cushion nearby so that you can easily transition straight into your meditation practice when the video ends. If you are short on time or are looking for stretches that can be done from a seated position, check out her Seated Yoga for Meditation.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Asa. Let's do some yoga for meditation. We'll begin in a comfortable seated position. You can sit cross-legged or I'm sitting in varasana with my knees bent, Sitting back on my heels. So however you'd like to sit, Come to a comfortable seat. Sit up nice and tall, Lift up through the crown of your head. Close your eyes and take one deep breath in through your nose. And let it out through your mouth. From here, We'll move into some neck stretches. On an inhale, Lift up tall through your spine. And exhale, Tip your right ear towards your right shoulder. Extend your left arm out to the side. We'll spend a few breaths here. So notice how it feels if you drop your arm a little lower or higher, Or rotate your palm to face up or down. Or you can even see how that changes the stretch if you rotate your face down towards the ground or up. Just finding a nice stretch in the side of the neck. Might even extend a bit down the arm. We'll stay two more breaths here, Breathing nice and slow. And one more deep breath. On the exhale, Float your head up back to center. Bring your hand back in. Take a deep breath and lift up through the crown of your head and exhale over towards the left. Sending your right arm out to the side. Couple deep breaths here as you feel into this stretch. Moving your arm, Your hand, Or your head. And one more deep breath here. On your exhale, Float your head back up to center. Bring your hand back to your lap. Next, We'll move into a little shoulder opening flow. So on an inhale, Arms come out to the side and overhead gaze comes up, Palms touch. And exhale, Draw your hands towards heart center. Halfway through the exhale, Interlace your fingers and reach your palms out in front of you, Rounding in your back. Inhale, Arms stay just as they are, But reach up towards the sky. And then exhale, Arms out to the side. Bring them back behind you, Interlace your fingers again, Bend your elbows. And on an inhale, Hug your shoulder blades towards each other as you start to straighten your arms, Reaching your hands down and your heart up. And then that exhale brings your hands back to heart center. We'll flow through this a couple more times. Inhale, Arms out and overhead, Palms touch. Exhale, Hands to heart center, And then interlace the fingers, Flip the palms, Reach it forward as you round in your back, Chin to chest. Inhale, Arms back up. And exhale, Release your hands out, Down, Back behind you, Interlace the fingers, Bend your elbows, And wait for your inhale to draw your shoulder blades together, Straighten your arms, And lift your heart up. Exhale, Hands back to heart center once more. Inhale, Arms out and up. Exhale, Hands to heart center. Interlace the fingers, Flip the palms, Reach it forward as you round in your back. Inhale, Arms back up. And exhale, Arms out to the sides, Back behind, Interlace the fingers, Bend the elbows. And then inhale, Shoulder blades towards each other, Arms reach, Hands down, Gaze up. And then exhale, Hands back to heart center. Next, We'll come to a tabletop position, Or a little cat-cow. So coming onto hands and knees, Spread your fingers wide, Wrists under shoulders, Knees under hips. On an inhale, Drop your belly, Reach your tailbone up, And draw your chest and your gaze up. On the exhale, Round in your back, Tailbone reaches down, Chin towards your chest. Inhale, Coming back forward for cow. And exhale, Back to cat. And once more, Coming through. And exhale, Back. On your next inhale, Come back to a tabletop position with a neutral spine. We'll inhale, Reach your right fingertips forward as far as you can. And then on the exhale, We're gonna extend the right arm underneath the left, Or thread the needle, Resting the side of your right shoulder on the mat, The side of your head on the mat. And with your left hand, You can keep it right where it is. You can reach it in front of you on the mat, Or option to float your left hand up towards the sky and back behind you. So you're gonna tuck your fingers in between your thigh and around your hip crease here. We'll pause here for a couple of breaths. Close your eyes if you'd like. Deep inhales and long, Slow exhales. One more here. And on your exhale, If you're in the bind, Release your left hand, Float it back down to the mat right in front of your face. And then we'll all press back up to tabletop, Back to that neutral spine. And then we'll move to thread the needle on the other side. So inhale, Reach the left fingertips forward, Forward, Forward, And then on the exhale, Thread it underneath your right arm, Resting down on the left side of your head, Maybe sliding your right hand up on the mat or opening it up overhead, Coming into that bind. One more deep breath here. On your exhale, If you're in the bind, Release your hand back down to the mat, Press into the mat and come back to that neutral spine. Next, We'll move into child's pose. So step your knees wide, Big toes touch, Sink your hips back towards your heels and extend your arms on the mat, Reaching your fingertips forward and relaxing your chest towards the mat. Now, If you'd like, You can rest your forehead straight on the mat if it reaches. You could also rest your forehead on stacked palms or stacked fists, Or even a pillow or a block if you've got it. So we'll spend two more full cycles of breath here. And after your next exhale, Slowly press yourself up, Bring your knees in. We're gonna make our way to down dog. So slide your hands a little higher up on the mat, Spread your fingers wide, Tuck your toes, Take a deep breath in. And then on an exhale, Push into your hands and feet to lift your hips up and back to downward facing dog. You can pedal your feet here if you'd like, Dropping one heel down towards the mat at a time. You can nod your head, Yes, No, Maybe. On your next inhale, Look towards the top of the mat in between your hands and step your right foot up towards the top of the mat, Lowering your left knee. You can keep your fingers low here or float them up to your thigh. Two breaths here in this low lunge. Relax your shoulders, One more deep breath here, Option to float your arms up and overhead. On your exhale, Release your hands down, Step it back to downward facing dog. And then on your next inhale, We'll step the left foot forward, Lower the right knee. And again, Option to keep it low, Rest your hand on your thigh, Breathe in, Float your arms up and overhead. One more deep breath here. And then on the exhale, Float your hands down, Step it back to down dog. And then lower your knees. We'll come back to a seated position with the soles of the feet together. So transitioning into Baddha Konasana, Bound angle pose. Soles of the feet touch, Slide them in towards your body. Lift up through the crown of your head. Exhale, Fold just slightly, Keeping a tall spine if you can, Just until you feel a nice stretch in the inner thighs. I always love to rock from side to side in this pose. So if that feels good, You can try that or you can just be still. On your next inhale, Slowly rise back up. We'll come back to a comfortable seated position, Maybe in a cross-legged position or any other position, Virasana, Hero pose, Anything you'd like. Rest your hands on your lap. We'll take a deep breath in, Arms out to the sides and overhead palms touch. And exhale, Hands to heart center. Thank you so much for practicing with me today. I wish you a wonderful meditation session and I'll see you next time. Bye.