Hey there,
I'm Allie.
I'm an international yoga and meditation teacher,
Retreat leader,
And yoga teacher mentor.
Today,
I'm going to be sharing a short yin yoga practice that is a great one to use around the new moon or really any new beginning,
Any fresh start,
Any transition that comes your way.
Before we start,
Go ahead and grab a cushion or a bolster or something that you can use for this practice.
I'll give you some options for that.
That.
Okay,
So around the time of the new moon or like I mentioned,
New beginnings,
Maybe it's the start to your week or a fresh month or the new year.
It's a great time to get really clear on what you want to bring into your life.
You want to plant seeds.
You want to set intentions.
So we'll start here,
Just in a comfortable seat,
Getting grounded.
And creating a little bit of clarity around the intention that we want to set for this practice today.
So make sure that your spine is straight.
If your seat is grounded,
You can let your shoulders roll up,
Back,
And down a couple of times.
Lengthen the back of your neck so your chin draws down slightly toward your chest.
Let your shoulders soften away from your ears.
Maybe you soften your eyes as well so they look down to the floor ahead of you or close them all together.
And let's just drop into the moment here.
Observing any distractions around you,
Any sounds.
Visual distractions.
Notice any thoughts in the mind.
It's feeling pretty full today.
Observe how your body feels.
And now shift to a sense of curiosity.
What do you want to bring in to this fresh start,
This new beginning?
Even if it's just the start to a new day.
Just sitting with that for a moment.
Be curious with what shows up.
Something you want to bring into your life or change.
Whenever it is set that intention.
Or the positive shift.
Take a deep breath in.
Open your mouth,
Let it go.
Keeping that intention in mind as we move through a few.
Gentle yin yoga postures.
I have this beautiful green scenery behind me today.
I'm coming to you from Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico.
And for the next few moves.
.
.
Along with the greenery,
Maybe you hear the birds in the background as well,
We're going to be inviting in some shapes that allow our body to open so that we can create space for this positive shift.
So we're going to go ahead and move to a hands and knees position next.
You can slide any prop you have off to the side.
And we'll come right into a wide knee child's pose,
So knees to the edges of the mat,
Big toes together.
Melt your hips back to your heels and soften your forehead all the way down.
So either forehead to the mat or forehead to your hands.
Or go ahead and bring one cheek down.
For a little bit more mobility in the neck and the upper spine.
If you're doing that one you might bring the cushion under your cheek.
Creating space in the hips.
Stretching out the low back here,
Just settling.
If you do have one cheek down,
Just gently switch it up,
Bring the other cheek down,
And we're just continuing to soften.
Into the shape physically and allowing your belly to gently rise and fall.
Through stillness.
Gently coming back through center,
Let's press into the palms,
Rise back up,
Draw your knees a little closer in.
And just for a sweet little rebound,
Let's tuck the toes under,
Take a downward dog,
Lift your hips up and back,
Nice big stretch out for the legs.
And the whole back body pedaling out your heels.
You can bring your knees right back down to the mat and now we'll take a stretch for the shoulders.
Sometimes known as thread the needle that can have a few different meanings in in yoga in general But we'll start by reaching the right arm out and up to the side And now we do thread it under your left arm.
So again,
The right cheek is coming down.
This time the hips are stacked over your knees.
And maybe again,
You reach for that cushion and slide your cheek underneath it.
Left arm can stay at it as it is or slide it behind your low back if that feels okay.
And it might feel a little awkward in this shape,
But through that bit of discomfort,
We want to try and find some ease.
Kind of a surrender,
A settling,
And a trust.
Not that discomfort will pass.
What we gain from the pose is greater.
Than the challenge that we face through it.
Really just like a lot of new beginnings when we first start.
Okay,
Left hand comes back down and again let's sweep the right arm out and up,
Take a little rebound stretch.
Release that hand back to the mat,
Taking the other side.
Left arm rises up,
Opening up.
The heart,
The chest.
Thread it under to land your left cheek down.
Take your time,
Release your right hand.
Once more,
Stretch your left arm out and up.
Release that hand back down to the mat.
Let's just take a little movement for your spine.
Cow pose,
Drop your belly,
Peel your heart up,
Inhale.
As you breathe out,
Round your spine.
Feel that counter movement.
As you bring your chin to chest,
Exhale.
Back to a neutral spine.
Now let's take another downward dog just to shift the energy around and stretch that out.
And coming into saddle pose,
Walk your knees to the top of your mat.
Knees wide,
Big toes together.
You could always take the opposite if that feels better for you.
We're going to start to lean back.
Your hips are on your heels,
And get a sweet stretch into really the whole front body,
Especially the top of the thighs.
So.
Start to lower down,
Lean back into your hands.
If you don't feel much in the front body,
You can keep lowering further down.
Just make sure there's no pain,
There's no pinching or throbbing,
Especially in the knees or the ankles.
If you're doing that,
You can always just come to a Shavasana instead or take any other shape that intuitively feels right for you in the moment.
We won't be here for too long.
If you are really open in the thighs,
You might find your way all the way down.
But there's really no better or worse way to do this shape.
The best thing for you is to find the version in your body that works for you today.
Creating lots of space in this shape Try to release tension where you can.
Go easy on yourself with where you end up.
Just simplify it.
Just be here and breathe.
And similar to how we came into it,
We'll slide out.
Slowly again.
Once you're up to a seat,
Just swing your legs out in front of you.
Lean back into your hands.
Actually extend the legs out for a moment and just let your feet fall side to side.
That might feel really good.
To reset,
We've had our knees bent quite a bit in this practice.
And now we're coming into supported fish.
So grab that cushion or bolster.
And it'll go underneath your shoulder blades,
Your upper spine.
If you have a yoga block,
That definitely works as well.
I don't have one with me at the moment.
So as you set that up under your shoulders,
Your upper spine,
And then let your head come down to the mat.
You should be getting a little supported backbend here.
Starting out with the knees bent,
Feet on the mat can feel a little more stable and grounded.
And then you can decide from here if you want to lengthen the legs out.
Or maybe you want to create one more opening in the front body and come into a reclined butterfly pose,
Knees out to the sides,
Feet,
Soles of the feet together.
So make sure your tailbone is feeling really grounded here on your mat and your head is supported as well.
If you're in butterfly,
You can reach toward your outer knees.
Slowly gather the legs back together.
So soles of the feet on the mat and we'll just rise up enough to slide that prop out from underneath you,
Coming into our final shape,
Shavasana.
If you'd like any last movement or shift or shape before we get there,
Feel free to take it.
Giving your spine a little time to settle after that gentle backbend.
Maybe you let your knees fall side to side.
Then extend your legs out,
Take up all kinds of space here.
So we come into our final shape,
Shavasana.
Yeah.
As you drop into stillness,
Starting to bring it back to the beginning,
Observe.
Any sounds or distractions externally in the space around you.
Notice what's happening in the mind.
Become aware of how the body feels.
Shift your awareness right back to your intention,
Drawing it back in.
Can even imagine it as if it's already happening.
What it would look like or feel like.
Or sound like.
When you're ready to let that go,
Refocus in.
On the natural ebb and flow of your breath.
As always,
I encourage you to hang out here as long as it serves you today.
When you're ready to finish off the practice back where we started,
You can start to bring in small movements into your body.
Take whatever stretch feels good in the moment.
Roll through one side and I'll meet you back in a seated position.
I want to thank you for having the courage to show up and find peace within.
I'll see you next time.
Namaste.
