Hello and welcome to this gentle trauma-informed yoga practice for anxiety.
Grab a yoga mat and something comfy to sit on and we'll get started.
Find that comfortable seat.
Allowing your gaze to soften or your eyes to close.
Tuning into the present moment around you.
Often with anxiety,
We're focused on the future,
The what-ifs.
Going to spend this practice taking time to be present with ourselves and our bodies.
Doing a physiological sigh breath here.
I invite you to breathe in through the nose.
And then you're going to breathe in again through the nose to top up that breath.
And then exhale through the mouth.
In through the nose.
Again.
And exhale out the mouth.
One more time in through the nose.
Again.
And out through the mouth.
Can open your eyes if they are closed.
Moving into some gentle movements with me.
Inhale those arms above your head.
Exhale,
Twist to the right.
Inhale.
Arms above your head.
Exhale.
Twist to the left.
Once more each way.
Inhale,
Arms up.
Exhale to the right.
Inhale arms up Exhale to the left.
And then bring the body back to center.
If you are seated on something,
You can move it off to the side and we'll move on to hands and knees for some cat cows.
Shoulders over wrists,
Hips over knees.
Gently inhale as you lower your stomach to the ground,
Tailbone goes up,
Head goes forward.
Exhale round throughout the spine,
Chin to chest.
You can move back and forth at your own speed,
Tuning into how the body feels,
Tuning into the breath.
Notice your mind wanders into those what-ifs,
Into those anxious thoughts.
Can acknowledge that and come back to the present,
Come back to the breath and the movement.
And coming back to tabletop here.
And just wiggling the hip side to side so that hip goes to the right,
Your head goes to the left.
Then the hip goes to the left,
The head goes to the right.
I'm just moving back and forth a few times,
Getting some different movements through the hips.
And then coming back to center once again.
Bringing those feet and shins off the mat and just rocking those legs side to side,
Those lower legs,
Getting some rotation of the hips here.
And then bringing those legs down,
Moving into a child shape.
If you'd like,
You can bring your knees as wide as your mat.
If you want,
You could grab your bolster that you were using to sit on and allow that to be a bit of a rest for the face and the body here.
Taking a moment in this child shape,
Focusing on the breath and the body.
And if the mind wanders coming back to the present,
You are safe in this moment here.
On your next breath,
Coming back up,
Moving that bolster if it's there.
Back to hands and knees.
Moving into a pigeon shape here,
You can take that left knee and bring it behind the left hand.
That left foot can go behind the right hand or somewhere near it,
And your back leg can be straight.
You could stay up on your hands here or you can go down on your forearms.
Whatever feels good for the hips.
If you feel like you need a blanket under that right knee feel free to grab one or even a block or bolster under that left hip.
You can do that as well.
Anything that will allow the body to relax and release tension.
Once again,
Spending time here.
.
.
Bringing the awareness back to the body and the breath.
When you are ready,
If you're on your forearms,
You can come back up to your hands and switch sides here.
So that left leg will go back,
The right knee will come behind the right foot.
Right knee will come behind the right hand.
Right foot will come behind the left.
And then once again,
You could stay on your hands or go back down on your forearms.
Same options with the blanket or the bolster under the knee or the hip.
Bringing awareness,
Relaxation.
To the body here,
Relax the jaw.
Coming back to the breath.
And on your next exhale,
Bringing those hands back up.
Moving back so you're in a seat,
You can swing your legs forward so you're at the front of the mat again.
Taking that right foot,
Bring it into,
Sorry,
The left foot.
Getting my rights and lefts mixed up a lot today.
Into the right leg.
And then allowing your right hand to gently slide down that right leg.
A bit of a stretch here.
Maybe feeling a pull in the back or the hip.
If you would like,
You could take that left arm overhead.
More of a stretch.
Exhale if your arm is up bring it back down switch sides here that left leg goes straight right leg comes in And then reaching with that left hand.
Perhaps bringing that right arm overhead for more sensation,
More stretch through that right side body.
Always coming back to the breath.
Exhale,
Let that arm go.
Bring that left foot in to meet the right.
Maybe grabbing those feeds.
Just getting some gentle movements to the knees here,
Taking one nice final breath in.
And letting it go.
Thank you for joining me in this movement for mental health.
Today was all about moving through anxiety.
I hope you enjoyed it.
And I'll see you in the next video.
