Hey everyone,
I'm Ali and today we're doing a short yoga sequence.
This is an all levels yoga for relaxation and it's going to be a restorative sequence on the wall.
So go ahead and find a wall that you can have access to in your space,
Roll your mat up against it or do this right in bed if that works for you.
Grab a pillow or a cushion to use for a prop and I'll meet you there.
All right.
Once you're ready to go,
We are going to start with our legs right up on the wall.
So if you know how to get into it,
Go ahead.
Otherwise,
I'll walk you through it.
Keep your cushion or pillow handy.
Give you some options for that in just a sec.
You're going to shimmy up so you're side by side to the wall as close as you can get.
And then just shift right around.
So your legs come up.
And the back of the body is grounded on your mat or your bed or the floor,
Wherever you are.
So if you can,
If you'd like,
You can scooch your hips a little closer to the wall.
But if your hamstrings,
The back of the legs are a bit on the tighter side,
Feel free to bend your knees as much as you need to take some of that stretch out of the back of the legs.
Now your cushion could go underneath the back of your head,
Or I like to pop it up right underneath my bum.
So under the hips,
But not the low back,
Just to give a little bit of a lift to the hips.
And this can be good for digestion.
And we'll settle in here.
Place your arms wherever it's comfortable.
If you are craving a little more grounding,
Hands on the belly or closer to the body can be nice.
If you want a little more space in the upper body,
Arms out wide or bend your elbows,
Bring the arms to a cactus shape.
And as you settle in here,
We're just going to allow the breath to guide you.
Into the most relaxed version of this shape for you.
Each inhale is drawing you into your body.
Each exhale is guiding you deeper physically into the shape as you settle the back of the body.
Into the floor,
Into the cushion.
I often talk about this shape being a really great one to take on its own if you don't have the time for a full sequence.
You can always just find a wall,
Slide your legs up it and hang out for maybe two minutes or five minutes or ten.
Just allowing whatever works for you with your schedule.
With your body and mind.
If at any point your legs get tingly or kind of numb,
Just feel free to draw your legs back down.
You can bring your thighs to your belly if you need a little reset.
Hug your legs in.
Or lower your legs so the knees are more bent.
Otherwise,
We'll hang here just a little bit longer.
And let's start by sliding that cushion out from underneath you if it's under your hips.
Bring it off to the side.
And go ahead and take that reset,
Hug your thighs into your belly.
Maybe a little rock and roll side to side,
Rolling.
In one direction with the hips in circles and then the other direction.
And then we'll come into thread the needle or figure four shape.
Onto the wall and I love this version It's a little more gentle on the hips so you can scooch back a little bit.
As much as you need to,
Bring your.
.
.
Left foot onto the wall again.
Start by straightening that leg out again.
And then cross your right ankle over your left thigh.
From there,
You can keep the left foot up higher.
Or you can start to draw it downwards so your shin becomes more parallel to the floor or the bed.
We don't want any pain in the knee though,
So you can flex through your right toes if that helps.
And I like to just take my right hand and place it under the thigh just to help.
Gonna prop it up so that I'm doing as little effort as possible to stay in the shape.
So I'm not pushing into the knee.
But I'm just using my hand as.
.
.
Kind of a kickstand.
To help my legs stay in place.
Back of both hips and both shoulders are still grounding downward.
And as you arrive here,
Soften into the front of the body.
In the belly.
The chest The face.
This being a shorter sequence to keep it accessible for you.
You can always do each of these poses.
For five minutes or so even longer if that feels good to make it a fuller sequence a longer sequence Take a few more breaths here.
And let's walk that left foot back up the wall and release,
Uncross your right foot.
Maybe give them a little shake out through the legs and feet.
Again,
You can take the same reset hugging your thighs into your belly.
Move right into the other side,
Right foot on the wall.
Left ankle crosses over the right thigh.
And then decide to stay or draw your right foot a little lower down.
You can always bring yourself closer or further away from the wall.
And you might notice a little bit difference on this side.
All good.
It doesn't have to be the same from side to side.
We're asymmetrical beings.
So just go with it.
Find the stretch that your body craves on this side.
And try to relax into that.
Breathing is slow and easy.
Just reconnect to your breath here.
Last few breaths.
See if you can soften a little bit deeper into your hips.
Taking out any effort that you don't need.
Walk your right foot back up the wall,
Uncross,
Hug your thighs in again,
Little squeeze.
Roll your legs to one side and now we're going to shift back up so we're closer to the wall for one more shape.
So just like how we started,
Hips right up against the wall if you can.
Laying on your back,
Bring your legs back up and this time we're coming into more of a straddle or a wide legged fold.
Well,
We're not folding,
But your legs are coming out wide,
Working with whatever space you have.
Here I have these beams kind of here to support me.
So walk your feet out wide enough so that you feel a stretch back of the legs and also in the inner legs,
Maybe the groin area.
Again,
You can keep your knees as bent as you like.
Same option to grab that cushion of yours.
Lift your hips up slide it underneath your seat your hips And you might find over time that you allow.
.
.
Gravity to create the space to open up a little further into this one.
So you can start out with your knees bent.
Same options with your hands as before,
Grounding closer to the body.
Or more spacious further out,
Letting go of what you think it should look like here.
Tune into the body so if the body is craving a deeper stretch that you can sustainably hold for a while longer.
Maybe walk the feet a little wider out,
A little further down.
Not looking to strain or create any.
.
.
Pain in the body.
But an opening,
A stretch,
Maybe a little discomfort is all good.
See if for the last little bit here,
Maybe your breath can deepen,
Especially on the exhale.
Releasing any built up tension in the low body Each time you breathe out as you sink further into the shape.
Now to come out of this one,
We're going to be.
.
.
Extra careful,
You can reach toward the back of the leg.
Just start to invite a bend into your knees.
And then from there,
Walk your feet back into center,
Feeling that shift in the legs,
The hips,
Wherever else you feel it.
Hug your thighs in one more time.
And we'll come into final Shavasana as we always do.
Now I will offer that.
To be a legs up the wall situation just back to where we started.
Or if you prefer to shimmy away from the wall.
And come into a more traditional Shavasana with your legs extended out,
Your arms by your side.
Feel free to do that right now.
As we take our final few moments of this sequence here.
If the cushion's underneath you,
I invite you to slide that off to the side again.
Arms down by your side.
Soften your knees as much as you need to.
Just once again here,
Tuning in to that sinking down sensation of the back body.
As you just simply breathe in stillness.
With whatever shows up.
Of course,
You can hang out in this shape as long as you need to today.
If you want to finish off the practice in a seated position,
You can start to bring life back into your fingers and toes.
Take any stretch that your body craves.
If the legs are up,
Hug the thighs in one more time.
Roll through one side of the body when you're ready and I'll meet you in a comfortable seat.
If you have the time to stay in this shape for a moment and just observe how you feel.
Even if there are distractions or anything pulling you out of the moment.
Take some time to ground and observe.
I wanna thank you for having the courage to show up and find peace within.
I'll see you next time.
Namaste.
