Welcome to this gentle trauma-informed yoga practice for depression.
We're going to start lying down on our backs today.
So join me on your yoga mat or somewhere comfortable on the floor,
Wherever you are.
Can just tune into your body for a moment.
Notice if you feel tired,
Sluggish,
Low energy.
This practice is meant to bring some movement into your day.
Especially if you're feeling.
A little low.
Just bring your knees to your chest.
Can grab.
The knees are just below the knees,
Bringing that.
Body together,
Knees up to chest and just gently hugging.
Maybe rocking slightly from side to side or doing little circles with the back.
Seeing what feels good for your body.
Waking up the body a little bit maybe wiggling the toes or rolling the ankles as you bring these knees to your chest And then lowering that right leg down,
You can keep the knee bent and put your foot down,
Or you can straighten the leg.
And grab behind the left leg here,
Just above the knee.
And then straightening that left leg as much as feels comfortable,
Getting a hamstring stretch here through the back of the leg.
And if this starts to feel like too much,
You can always bend that left knee,
Take a little bit of a break,
And then go back into the straightening.
Or you can bend that bottom knee too.
Bring that right leg back up,
Knees to chest again here.
Little bit of a hug,
Rocking side to side.
Slow and gentle movement for the body today.
And then straightening that left leg this time,
Maybe bending the knee and placing it down or keeping it straight.
Taking your hands to the back of the right leg and straightening that right knee as much as feels comfortable.
Gentle stretch through the back of the leg.
If you feel like your neck is tense,
Try and relax it.
Try and bring that chin down to chest.
On an exhale,
Lowering that right leg.
And just gently having the legs straight,
Giving them a little bit of a shake,
Movement into the body.
And if you're open to it,
You can make your way onto hands and knees.
If you feel like you just need to lie down and rest for a bit,
That's okay too.
If you're joining me on hands and knees,
Moving through some gentle Cat-Cows here.
On an inhale,
You can lower the stomach down,
Tailbone goes up,
Looking forward.
Exhale,
Round throughout that spine,
Chin to chest,
Tailbone goes under,
Those arms stay straight but not locked.
Inhale,
Lowering down again.
Exhale,
Rounding.
And then bringing your body back towards your feet into a child shape here.
Your arms can stay forward.
Allow that head to rest gently on the mat.
Taking a few moments here in stillness with the breath.
You might notice that since you started to move,
Your body is feeling like it has a bit more energy.
You might not have wanted to move today or started this practice,
But you did.
Your body may already be thanking you.
Gently rock the forehead side to side,
Giving the forehead a bit of a massage here.
Letting the muscles relax.
And slowly making your way back up to all fours.
Moving into a cobra here.
So we're going to lie on our stomach.
Your forearms are going to come to rest gently near your head,
Your hands kind of near the end of the mat.
And just,
If it feels good for you,
Gaze forward or gaze up,
Allow a bit of a stretch in the low back.
As you exhale,
You can lower the head down to the ground,
Maybe making a triangle or diamond shape,
Allowing your head to rest here.
If it feels good for you,
You can do a half frog.
So keep the right leg straight.
The left knee is going to bend out to the side so that your left leg is at 90 degrees.
Just getting a bit of a hip stretch here,
Resting forehead on your hands.
Allowing tension to release through that hip.
Perhaps switching to the other side that left leg goes straight that right leg bends up to 90 degrees here And then once again.
Sitting in the relaxation.
And when you are ready,
Making your way back to your back,
Just as we started the class.
If you would like,
You can just lie here and breathe for the rest of the practice or you can join me in a final twist.
Taking both knees up to chest and then lowering them over to the left as far as feels comfortable.
If you have a bolster or blocks handy,
You can place them underneath that bottom knee if you'd like.
And inhaling coming back to center bringing the knees over to the right this time Relaxing and breathing here,
One final stretch.
Slowly making your way back to a lying shape,
Whatever is comfortable for you for that final resting shape.
Taking some nice,
Deep,
Steady breaths in and out.
Thanking your body for showing up today.
I hope that you enjoyed this practice.
I'll see you next time.
