Hi friends,
I hope you're well.
If you're having any tummy troubles or any feelings of anxiety or worry,
We are going to practice a short yin sequence that will help support your gut and your digestion.
Grab a cushion or two if you have them or a yoga block and we'll get started laying down on your back.
So you can slide your cushion off to the left side of your mat or your block or whatever you got that you're using today.
As you can see,
As you can probably see,
I'm in the beautiful Bali,
Indonesia here to get a little tan on while I do some yin yoga with you.
So let's start out on your back,
Bend your knees,
Bring the soles of your feet together.
And we'll just take a moment to get grounded.
Maybe placing both hands on your belly.
To send your attention there.
You could close your eyes or soften your gaze.
And as you feel the back of the body softening,
Kind of dissolving downward into your mat.
You just start to become aware of your natural effortless breath.
Feeling the expansion of your belly.
Under your hands.
As you inhale.
A gentle release as you exhale and let that go.
And just a short reminder that this is really your practice,
So listen to your body,
Do what feels good for you,
Skip anything that doesn't feel okay or that brings pain.
And we're gonna move into a double wind relieving pose.
So hug your thighs into your belly,
Wrap your arms around your legs wherever it's comfortable.
They might go around the shins,
They might go around the back of the thighs.
Bring a softening into your shoulders There's just a bit of a natural round to the spine here.
Draw the thighs down toward the belly.
Continuing to remain.
With your awareness on your breath.
Softening into the shape with as little physical effort as possible.
Now we'll release just the left leg and keep the right thigh in.
Maybe interlacing over.
The top of the shin.
Again,
Try not to force it.
You want to keep it gentle here.
Relax through your left leg.
Feeling each inhale,
Your belly expand toward your thigh.
Allowing that gentle compression to continue as you breathe out.
Draw the thigh down toward the belly.
This is a quieter practice,
So.
If you have any distractions around you,
Any noises.
That might pull you out of the practice.
Just continue to observe that.
Maybe it's.
.
.
Some discomfort in the physical body today or Just a lot going on in the mind.
We want to notice it.
Gently allow your awareness to float right back to your breath.
We'll bring this into a spinal twist here to wring out the organs.
Catch your outer right knee,
Start to guide it across the body over to the left.
So if you do have a block or a cushion,
If it's like a flatty like mine,
You might want to roll it up.
Or fold it in half.
And let it land under the.
.
.
Inner right knee for a little support here.
So we ground the back of the shoulders.
If you want to bring this twist more up into the upper spine.
You're welcome to turn your eyes over to your right.
If it's too much with the legs separated,
Absolutely feel free to bring your legs together and maybe you slide.
That cushion or block right in between the legs for support there.
In yin yoga,
Generally we hold these poses for at least two to five minutes.
This being a bit more of an express class.
To keep it really accessible and something you can work into your day.
Easily.
The poses are on the shorter side for yin,
But you can always Pause.
Or linger longer in any of the shapes that your body is asking you to.
Keeping your attention down to your belly.
Expands and contracts.
With your breath.
Few more rounds of breath here,
Slow and easy.
And so gently,
Let's unravel that.
Come into a shavasana for a moment.
Just extend your legs out.
Feeling the ripple effect from the first side.
As you balance it out and ground the back body down.
Let's hug the knees in again,
Thighs to belly.
Maybe a little rock and roll side to side is what feels best for you here.
As we shift it over to the other side,
Left thigh stays in.
Try taking the opposite grip with your fingers,
You're interlocking.
Extend your right leg away from you,
Let it soften.
Find as much ease as you can in this shape.
Notice if you're getting tight in the jaw.
Or maybe in the elbows or the shoulders.
Keep allowing the breath to soften you.
Down into this shape here.
And as the sun comes and goes for me here in Bali,
It's kind of a nice reminder for me to stay present.
With what's happening in the moment.
Without attaching to an outcome or an expectation.
Whatever your surroundings are offering you today.
I hope you can meet me there as well.
Just stay in presence.
Allowing the sensation physically in the body.
To guide you back into your breath.
To observe what's happening.
Any little shifts that you feel along the way.
So grab that cushion or block,
Slide it over to the other side of your body and we'll move into a twist on the other side.
Hips can shift over to your left.
And catch the top knee,
Guide it gently over to your right.
Option to turn your eyes.
Toward that left shoulder.
And maybe you close them.
Few more breaths here,
Just as you are.
Release this shape.
Let's come right back to Shavasana.
Balance it out,
Extend your legs.
Take a moment to feel the rebound,
All the feels,
Whatever shows up.
Let's reach an arm over your head and then so gently just roll through that side of the body.
And I'll meet you in a hands and knees position.
So kind of a tabletop position.
Take just a little bit.
Of movement for the spine as we arrive.
Allow your belly to drop down as you breathe in.
Peel your heart up.
Cow pose.
On your exhale,
Round your spine,
Draw your navel in,
Chin to chest.
One more time.
Inhale,
Lengthen.
Maybe you look up.
Exhale,
Round your spine.
And as you come back to a neutral spine,
I want to tuck the toes underneath you.
Come into a super gentle downward dog.
Take a little pedal out with your heels.
So you bend one knee,
Bend the other.
Get this nice big stretch into the back of the legs and the spine.
Now we're going to walk the feet so that they come outside your hands and we're coming into a yoga squat.
So walk your feet up to your hands,
Step outside so you should be about outside your mat and then lower down as low as you comfortably can go.
Hopefully the heels.
Will stay on the floor,
So walk your feet wider out.
If you do have a yoga block,
You're welcome to sit on that to take some of the pressure out.
Remember,
It's a shorter class,
So we're not going to be here for forever.
But once you've found a place that works for you,
You can bring your hands together at your heart.
Maybe a little rock.
With the weight side to side a couple of times to get settled.
And then just land here if you can.
Remember,
If there's any pain in the joints,
You want to come out of the shape.
Maybe you just come into a forward fold.
But otherwise,
We're okay with discomfort.
We know that will come and go.
We wanna just.
.
.
Allow this opening.
To the front of the body here as we gently let the arms and legs meet each other.
With a really minimal amount of pressure.
If it helps you to keep your thoughts internal,
You are welcome to close your eyes if that feels good for you.
Only if you're practicing outside like I am.
This could feel like just a bit more of a hot yoga class.
Which can be nice as well,
So.
Again,
Just allowing anything that shows up invited in.
It's all temporary.
Continuing to keep your focus on your breath.
Let's take one more deep,
Deep breath in,
Fill all the way up.
Open your mouth and let that go.
Alright we're going to come into ragdoll or a standing forward fold here so you can bring your hands down to the mat and use them to just help you lift your bum up,
Walk your feet in a little closer so they're about hip distance.
Definitely you can bring as much of a bend to your knees as you need,
So you might even have your legs to almost more of a 90 degree here to help you stay balanced and if the back of your legs are tight.
If you want support,
Your hands could be on blocks.
Otherwise just hanging out here for a pretty short amount of time.
If it feels okay in the spine,
The lower back especially,
Just try to hang.
But again,
Bend the knees and keep the spine straighter if there's any pain showing up.
Make sure you're breathing.
One more big breath in.
Open your mouth,
Let it go.
Okay,
Bend your knees way,
Way more.
Bring your hands to the mat.
And we will actually lower right down to lay on your back again.
Grab your cushion or block.
We'll use that for the next pose.
Coming right down onto your back.
Let's keep the knees bent,
The soles of the feet grounded here for a moment,
Again allowing the spine to settle.
And we'll come into one of my faves.
To end the practice or before we get to our final shape.
This will be a supported bridge pose,
So I'm going to use two cushions.
Again,
You could use one.
And roll it up.
Or stack them or use a block.
Your feet are about under your knees,
About hip distance.
Lift your seat up and slide whatever you have right underneath your bum.
So we don't want it at the low back,
We want it a little bit lower than that at your hips or your bum.
So it should be.
Lifted and supported here.
Now you can stay right here or I'll offer a lift to the legs.
You can bring your arms out to the side if that helps.
If you happen to be close to a wall,
Feel free to slide your legs right up the wall and hang out there as long as you want.
Otherwise.
.
.
We have an imaginary wall.
Mine is courtesy of that hot,
Hot sun.
And we just allow the legs to kind of hang here over the hips.
With the pelvis tilted upward.
Really great pose for digestion.
Your arms are closer into the body,
Maybe bring them again to your belly.
For that extra bit of awareness there.
And again,
A place you can hang out for as long as you have it,
As long as it feels good.
Sometimes I'll stay in this pose for 10 minutes and it feels fantastic.
Sometimes 30 seconds feels like enough.
So you do you.
If you're ready to join me,
We'll end in our final shape shavasana.
So slowly draw your thighs into your belly,
Bend your knees,
Give them one more sweet little squeeze.
And then release your feet back onto the mat,
Ground them down,
Slide your props out of the way.
I'm actually going to slide these under the back of my knees here for Shavasana.
You might want to try that out as well.
Extend your legs out,
Take any last little movements or shifts that will help prepare you for stillness in this final shape.
And as you arrive there,
Just start to observe.
Notice your surroundings,
What's happening around you.
Observe the thoughts in your mind.
Releasing any expectations or judgments.
Shift your awareness to your breath.
Stay here as long as you like.
If you'd like to finish off in a seated position where we started.
Take your time,
Start to wake the body up with any wiggles or stretches or movements that feel good to you.
Slowly once more,
Rolling through one side of the body to come up.
To your seated position.
Maybe on your block or cushion if that makes sense to you.
I want to thank you for having the courage to show up and find peace within.
I'll see you next time.
Namaste.
