Welcome to day four of the nervous system relaxation series.
Today it's all about taking a pause in our day to choose ourselves.
All you will need is a mat,
All the blocks might be handy,
So go ahead and grab those.
And we'll get started.
You can start with me on hands and knees today.
We'll move through some cat cows.
On an exhale,
Rounding through the spine,
Chin to chest.
Inhale,
Lower the stomach to the ground.
Arch the back.
That tailbone goes up.
Exhale round through the spine,
Tailbone goes under,
Chin to chest.
Inhale,
Bringing that tailbone up.
Moving through a few more of these,
Go at your own speed,
Choosing as big or as small of a movement as you would like.
Knowing you can pause throughout this practice as much as you need.
This is about you and your body.
Coming back to center.
Doing a little bit of arm lifts to activate some muscles.
You can put a little bit more pressure or support through the right hand,
Lifting that left arm up to your head.
Exhale and lower.
And then the same on the other side.
Lift that right arm to your head.
Exhale and lower one more time each way.
Pausing at the top.
Feeling that strength.
Through the arm.
One more on the rights.
And exhale lower.
And from here,
Coming into a child shape,
Giving ourselves a moment,
Bringing the hips back towards the glutes.
The arms can bend or straighten and rest your body however feels comfortable.
If you want your head to rest or you want your head to stay up,
Whatever works.
Taking a few breaths here.
Pausing.
Checking in with the body and seeing how it feels today.
Is there anywhere sore or stiff?
Is there anywhere that feels like it needs more nourishment?
And if so,
Can you.
.
.
Breathe into those areas now and give them some love.
One more breath here in this child shape.
And when you're ready,
You can take your hands down.
You can look up.
You can come back up.
And take your left leg,
Bringing it forwards into a low lunge here.
And from here,
You can stay up tall or you can slide your body a little more forward,
Maybe getting more of a pull through that back leg.
Your hands can rest on the right thigh or maybe you bring them down and they rest.
On the floor.
The version that calls to you.
Feel free to choose.
And then on an exhale,
Bring your glutes back and allow that front light to straighten a bit so you get a stretch through the hamstring.
Once again here,
The hands can stay up or you can rest them on the ground or if you have blocks,
You could use those.
And you can move back and forth through these two shapes.
Finding what works for you,
Finding what feels good.
If one feels like it needs more of a stretch,
You can pause there.
You can hold that one longer.
Wherever you are,
Doing one more movement or one more pause.
And then switching sides here.
So taking that left leg down,
That right one's going to go forward.
And then sliding into this stretch,
Maybe getting a bit more of a stretch through that back leg.
Hands can stay up or can go down.
And as you exhale,
Switching here,
Straightening that front leg,
Getting that pull to the hamstring.
And then moving back and forth,
Your own speed.
Just as on the other side pausing or stopping somewhere if it feels like it needs more of a stretch more of a sensation Wherever you are,
One more movement or one more moment of stillness.
And then taking that fat leg,
Bringing it down.
Moving into a pigeon shape here,
You can take your hands,
Bring them forward,
Take your left leg and bring that left knee behind the left hand,
That left foot behind the right hand in a pigeon.
You can keep your body up or you can go down on your forearms.
Feeling that stretch here through the hip.
And we'll pause here.
We'll take some breaths.
Relax that jaw.
Relax the forehead.
If it feels safe allow some relaxation into that hip.
And if anything doesn't feel good or comfortable,
You can always come out.
You can always switch.
It's your choice.
Level.
Whenever you are ready.
Coming out of this shape here.
Coming back on the hands if you're not already on them and switching legs.
So now the right knee is going to go behind the right hand,
The right foot behind the left.
Back leg goes nice and long and once again you can stay on the hands or go on the forearms.
Allowing that same thing here,
That pause,
That breath.
Letting go.
Allow the ground beneath you to support you.
See perhaps on this side if you can let go of that hip.
Breathe where you are.
And when you are ready,
Coming back up.
Coming to your back.
And once on your back,
Taking your right knee to chest,
That left leg can be bent or straight.
And allow that right knee to just.
.
.
Come out to the side a little bit.
So you get a bit of a stretch through that inner hip,
That inner thigh,
The opposite movement of our last shape.
Just taking one breath here.
Coming back to center,
Switching to the other side.
That knee comes in,
That left knee goes out.
Stretch here and breathe one breath.
Back to center,
Letting everything go in rest.
Ending the practice with a final deep breath in.
And out.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
I hope you enjoy this pause in your day.
I'll see you next time
