Yin Yoga To Relax & Unwind

Join Ali for this short and sweet yin yoga practice for all levels, with the deeply relaxing sound of ocean waves in the distance. This gentle yin yoga sequence is a wonderful way to unwind at the end of your day and help you feel more relaxed for bedtime.

Transcript

Hello my loves,

I'm Ali and I'll be practicing with you.

This will be a short yin practice so when you're ready you can start by laying right down on your back.

I'll meet you there.

Here we are in Shavasana,

Laying on your back just taking a moment to drop into the practice to observe how the body is feeling,

To notice if the mind is feeling really full today or scattered and to focus in on your breath.

Let's take a deep breath in together through the nose.

Open your mouth let it go.

Now go ahead and hug your knees in to your chest or your belly.

Wrap your arms around your legs.

Maybe starting with a gentle rock side to side left to right on the low back.

Then settle into stillness just breathing and holding here for a moment.

Each inhale feel your belly expand toward your thighs.

Each exhale just gently allowing your thighs to melt down toward your belly.

One more breath in expand the belly.

Breath out little squeeze thighs to belly.

Let's release that come back to a Shavasana.

For a moment feel that sweet little rebound in the front body.

Reach one arm over your head and we'll roll through that side of the body and come up to a seated position.

Now we're moving into butterfly pose.

So as you come into a seat you can bring the soles of the feet together in front of you and allow the knees to fall out to the sides.

If your hips are a little tighter like mine you could scoot your feet further forward.

Making kind of a longer diamond with your legs.

And if you have any low back stuff going on like sciatica or any achiness in the low back you can stay upright here.

Otherwise we'll slowly start to hinge the upper body forward allowing the spine to round and letting the head get heavy.

Notice if you're tensing up in your shoulders or hugging in at the belly.

And anytime your mind fills up just keep coming on back to the breath.

Maybe noticing after a little bit of time passes that your upper body just naturally softens further forward.

So take one more deep breath in.

Big breath out the mouth.

And we'll move so so slowly out of this shape.

You can reach your hands toward your outer knees as you roll your spine up gently guiding your knees back together.

Maybe giving yourself a little squeeze once your legs come together.

And then let's counteract that lean back into your hands.

Kind of puff the chest up a little bit and let your knees fall side to side.

Just moving through a little twist as we get some length back into the spine.

And now let's come through to hands and knees.

We'll take a little more movement before we move into our next shape.

So let's just do one cow pose here.

Drop your belly down,

Lift your chest up as you inhale.

Into a cat pose round your spine,

Draw your chin to chest,

Exhale.

And as you move back into a neutral spine we're coming into melting heart pose next.

So from this shape you'll start to just walk your hands forward allowing your chest to drop down toward your mat.

Your hips will stay right above your knees.

This gentle back bend can help lubricate the spine.

And the heart opening in the posture can also help release any negative emotions.

So if you can come to a shape where your chest is just dropping toward your mat.

If your shoulders or chest are tight bend your elbows,

Bring your arms wider out as much as you need.

And we'll settle in here for a while.

The forehead is on the mat.

If it feels better to have something underneath your forehead you could stack your hands or bring your chin to the mat.

And if it's a little bit uncomfortable as this pose often can be,

Just remind yourself you're not here forever.

Those moments of discomfort are often where we grow,

Where we learn.

So maybe you invite that intention in here.

As the discomfort can also teach us patience.

So keep breathing.

Take one more deep breath in right here.

Melt your heart closer to your mat as you exhale.

Take your time and let's start to walk the hands back in toward the body.

Pressing back up to hands and knees.

If you want a bit of movement we'll take one round of cow dropping the belly down,

Peeling the chest up as you inhale.

And then cat to counteract that.

Round your spine,

Chin to chest,

Breath out.

Now go ahead and turn all the way around.

Come to lay down on your back again.

Take just a moment here in Shavasana.

Extend the legs out,

The arms.

Feel the settling in the back body.

And we'll come into happy baby.

Bend your knees.

Reach your arms through the inside of the legs to catch the outer feet.

So your thighs are hugging in kind of toward the side body,

The outer ribs.

And the spine has a natural rounding,

Especially in the lower back.

This is a deep hip opener.

It also can be known to release unwanted emotions and relax the lower back area.

So another one that might become uncomfortable as time passes.

You know the drill,

You're not here forever.

See if you can just soften into it and continue to breathe.

Feel the back of the shoulders sinking heavier down to your mat.

A weightedness in the hips and the hands with minimal effort,

Just drawing the legs a little further down toward the side body.

Stay with me here.

Let's take one more deep breath in together.

Open your mouth.

Exhale all of that out.

Let it go.

And slowly one more time,

We will release the shape and extend your legs back out,

Coming into your final Shavasana.

If you need any last little shift or movement,

Feel free to take that.

Just listen to your body and what it craves.

And as you drop into stillness,

Extending the legs out,

Shift your feet a little wider apart.

Sink your hips down into the mat.

Let the back of the hands get heavy.

Feel a weightedness in the back of your head,

Noticing all of the space you've created in the front body,

The hips,

The heart space.

And just take some slow,

Easy breaths right here.

And of course,

You're more than welcome to stay as you are.

But if you'd like to finish off the practice in a seated position with me,

You can start to wake up your fingers and toes.

Take any stretch that feels good and natural in the moment.

Rolling through one side of the body,

Come up to a comfortable seat.

And if you have the time,

Maybe hanging out here for a few minutes to meditate and observe any shifts that have happened in the body or the mind.

I want to thank you for having the courage to show up and find peace within.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you, Ali! This was a perfect reset + yin stretch this morning when I didn’t have very much time. 🙏🏻 Rob

Thank your for this gentle practice. I loved the sound of the waves in the background. It was very soothing. Namaste 🙏

Hello beautiful 🌼🌼🌼🌼Thank you so much for this sweet Yin Yoga practice ☀️ I’m feeling nice relaxed like after a short nap 🌼be well 🙏Namaste

Wonderful! Thank you so much for this relaxing practise. I loved how there was so much time for the single poses.

Wonderful little gem of a yin practice. Beautifully paced and expertly guided and cued. Thank you for this!