Hi friends,
I'm Ali and I'm bringing you today a beginner friendly yoga practice for deep relaxation and back support.
Let's get started.
We're going to start out laying down on your belly.
I'll meet you there.
So for a moment,
Let's just get grounded,
Bringing one cheek to the mat,
Arms by your sides.
Allowing the front of your body to settle.
Observe any parts in your body that are tense or tight today.
See if you can relax them just a little bit more.
This practice is really about being still and with your breath.
So as you lay here,
Feel your breath move in and out of the body.
Nothing to change or fix.
Let's switch to the other cheek.
And we'll prop up onto our forearms now for sphinx pose.
A really great pose to compress the lower back and create some space in the upper body.
If you're tighter in your chest,
You can bring your arms further forward or further apart.
You want to feel some sensation in your lower back,
Making sure there's no pinching or throbbing at any time.
You can always come out of a shape or modify it so that you don't get those sensations.
Maybe you'd like to add a little bit more.
You could bend your knees and let your feet float toward the back of your body,
Maybe bringing the knees a little wider apart.
Just continue to soften the face,
Let the breath flow naturally and use as little effort as you can here.
So so so slowly descend your legs back to the mat.
And we'll lower right down arms by your side.
Bring one cheek to your mat.
Feel the rebound,
That kind of ripple effect as you settle the front body back down onto your mat.
And bring the other cheek down.
So now let's go ahead and shift all the way around to lay on your back.
If your low back is sensitive,
You can bend your knees,
Bring the soles of your feet onto your mat for a moment just to help it settle.
And we're coming into banana asana.
So basically you'll be moving into the shape of a banana.
Let's start by shifting your hips over to the right.
Extend your legs out and drop your feet to the bottom left corner of your mat.
Your arms reach overhead and hands to the top left corner,
Same side as your feet.
So you see you're creating this kind of moon shape or banana shape.
We want to keep the whole back body pinned down onto the mat,
Especially the back of your right hip.
If it's too much for your arms and they're not reaching the mat,
Bend your elbows as much as you need.
So we got this sweet stretch in the side body here.
If you're not feeling much,
You could cross one ankle over the other or clasp one hand in the other if they reach.
And then just settle in.
Breathing through the stillness.
So so so take your time will shift back to center.
Bring your arms by your sides,
Hips to the middle,
Separate your feet,
Land in Shavasana for a moment to rebound.
Moving into the other side,
Hips to your left,
Feet to the bottom right,
Hands to the top right.
Modify however you need,
Keeping the back of your hips and shoulders supported by the earth.
So so so.
Once again,
Let that go and we'll come back to Shavasana.
Now let's hug the knees into the belly.
Wrap your arms around your legs,
Dropping in here for a moment to compress the front of the hips.
Make sure the head stays heavy and supported on your mat.
So so coming into a spinal twist from here,
Start to shift your hips over to the right and then let the knees just fall over to the left.
Arms can widen out to the sides,
Maybe your eyes turn to the right.
Using this little effort here,
The spinal twist will help bring out the spine and release some tension in the lower back.
So so so Let's shift back to center,
Come to Shavasana just for a few breaths.
And we'll move right into the other side of your twist.
Shift your hips to the left,
Hug your knees in and allow them to gently fall to the right.
Sink your shoulder blades into your mat,
Maybe allowing your eyes to travel to the left.
Let's inequitize heels it's emergent and Bane brD This is going to get you off to cover Slowly bring it back to center.
Shift your hips back to the middle of your mat and we'll come right into a reclined butterfly pose.
With the arms of your feet together,
Knees all open.
If it's too intense for your hips,
Try sliding your feet further away from you.
Let your hands rest wherever it feels comfortable.
It could feel more grounding to place your hands on your belly or close to the body.
If you'd like a more spacious effect,
You could bend your elbows and bring your arms onto your mat by your head.
Okay.
If you'd like to stay here longer for your final shape instead of shavasana,
Always an option bringing your arms back down by your sides.
If you'd prefer to shift to shavasana gently reach toward your outer knees to guide your legs back together.
Take any last movement that you need and then extend your legs back out on your mat,
Dropping into stillness once more.
Shavasana's EVERY Smack And if you'd like to finish off the practice just as you are,
Stay right here.
If you'd like to finish off in a seated position with me,
You can start to awaken your fingers and toes.
Take any move that feels natural in the moment.
Roll through one side of your body and I'll meet you in a comfortable seat.
I want to thank you for having the courage to show up and find peace within.
I'll see you next time.
Namaste.
