Lying Down Mindful Movement

This is an MBSR mindful movement practice. The purpose of this practice is not to increase strength or flexibility, but rather to reconnect with the sensations and workings of your body in a kind and gentle way. It also strengthens your moment-to-moment awareness.

Please practice self-care. If a pose doesn't feel right, you can always adjust it or skip it.

Transcript

Welcome to the Floor Yoga practice.

This practice offers us the opportunity to bring mindfulness to the experience of the body in motion.

By cultivating our awareness of the body in this way,

We're exploring and strengthening the deep interconnection between body and mind,

As the meaning of the word yoga,

To yoke or join,

Suggests.

We're also opening ourselves up to the inherent wisdom of the body,

Which is a powerful resource for being fully present in our practice and in our daily lives.

As you go through this practice,

See if you can enter into the experience of the body as deeply as you can,

Paying close attention to your own sensations,

Thoughts,

And emotions along the way.

Remember,

This is not about doing the movements in some ideal way.

Rather,

It's about using them as a way to help to connect more fully to the body and what it has to teach us.

So,

Engaging in this practice with a sense of curiosity and exploration,

And letting go of any sense of striving or self-judgment,

And feeling free to experiment and challenge yourself when you feel ready.

But also,

Being careful to stay within your body's limits.

At times,

This may mean adapting the movements in a way that works better for your body,

Or deciding to sit out of any part of the program that seems inappropriate for you.

So now,

Taking our position for beginning this practice,

By lying down on the floor on a yoga mat or carpet.

If you're unable to get down on the floor,

You may wish to use a bed,

Preferably one with a firm mattress.

So,

We'll begin this practice in the rest pose,

Lying on your back on a mat or carpet,

And fully stretching out to your natural length,

Placing the arms next to the body,

The legs stretched out beneath you,

And aligning the shoulders and the hips so that the spine is straight.

And taking a moment to bring awareness to the breath,

To the sensations of breathing.

Noticing the abdomen as it rises and falls,

And the chest as it rises and falls,

As you breathe in this prone posture.

Perhaps allowing the mind to settle a bit,

To leave behind any thoughts of the day that's already happened,

And any thoughts about what may be to come,

And to fully arrive in this moment.

And when you're ready,

Allowing the arms to lift gently off the floor next to the body,

And to rise in an arc towards the ceiling,

Until they're pointing up towards the ceiling.

And then allowing them to continue on this arc,

Until they come to rest on the floor above the head.

And in this position,

Stretching the arms and the fingers upwards,

And the heels downwards,

And allowing the body to stretch to its full length.

And breathing into this stretch,

Holding it for a moment,

And noticing how the breath feels in the body as it is stretched.

And when you're ready,

Releasing this stretch,

And now allowing the arms to raise themselves once again towards the ceiling,

And continue again on this arc,

Ever so slowly,

Allowing them to float back downwards,

Until they settle again next to the body.

And noticing any sensations that this simple stretch has brought into the body.

And when you're ready,

Allowing just the right arm to lift again off of the floor,

Make its way over your head,

And settle on mat above your head.

And now stretching just the right side of the body,

Having the fingers reach up above your head,

And the heel reach down away from the body,

And fully stretching the right part of the body.

Breathing naturally as we do this,

And noticing any sensations in the left part of the body as we do this.

And when you're ready,

Letting go of this stretch,

And simply relaxing in this posture,

With the arm extended,

And now allowing the arm to make its way back through the arc to settle next to the body again.

And raising the left arm up over the head to settle above the head on the mat.

And when you're ready,

Stretching the fingers up above the head,

And the heel down in the other direction,

To give the left side of the body a full stretch.

And again,

Noticing what muscles are working on the left side of the body,

And also noticing what the muscles on the right side of the body are doing.

And now gently releasing this stretch,

And when you're ready,

Allowing the left arm to make its way back through the air,

And settle next to the body,

And assuming the rest pose once again.

And now drawing the knees up towards the chest,

And embracing the knees with the arms,

Taking a fetal position,

Perhaps interlacing the fingers,

And breathing into this posture for a moment.

And beginning to rock the knees back and forth from left to right,

And in the process giving the lower back a gentle massage,

Perhaps noticing the balancing of the body as the knees approach the tipping point on the left or the right side.

And now bringing the knees to stillness,

And pulling the knees more closely to the chest,

Pulling them in on an out-breath,

And holding them towards the chest,

Noticing the sensations perhaps in the back,

And the arms,

And the legs.

And if you want,

Extending this stretch by raising the head,

Raising the forehead towards the knees,

Holding this for a moment.

And now again releasing this stretch,

And letting the legs stretch out again beneath you,

Coming back again to the rest pose.

And keeping the right leg extended beneath you,

And allowing the left knee to rise towards the chest,

And circling the left knee with the arms at this time.

And guiding the left knee in slow circles,

Giving the hip joint a nice stretch,

Making circles with the knee to the left,

To the right,

Whatever feels comfortable.

And bringing the knee to stillness,

And pulling it towards the chest again.

And noticing what the right side of the body is doing now,

And seeing if it's possible to simply let the right side of the body relax,

Anything that's not working.

And simply holding the left knee towards the chest,

Perhaps raising the forehead towards the left knee to extend this stretch.

And when you're ready,

Releasing the left leg again to stretch it out,

Taking a few breaths now,

And noticing the sensations in the left half of the body,

And the right half of the body.

And raising the right knee now towards the chest,

Circling it with your arms,

And making gentle circles with the knee,

To the left and to the right,

Large or small.

Again,

Allowing the hip joint to loosen up through this motion.

And now bringing the knee to stillness,

And pulling it more tightly to the chest.

And remembering to continue to breathe naturally,

Breathe into this posture.

And if it's comfortable for you,

Bringing the forehead up towards the knee.

And again,

Noticing the left half of the body,

And allowing just the muscles that are working to work,

And the muscles that are not,

To rest.

And when you're ready,

Releasing this stretch,

Coming once again to the rest pose.

And taking a few breaths again in this posture,

Noticing any sensations in the body.

And if you have room now,

Stretching your arms out to either side to make a T,

Or otherwise simply keeping them next to the body,

Raising the knees up towards the ceiling,

And putting the soles of the feet on the floor,

So the knees are pointed up.

And bringing awareness to the gentle curvature in the lower back,

Where the lower back naturally rises off the floor.

And now pressing down the lower back onto the mat,

Perhaps raising the tailbone just a little bit off the floor,

To allow the back to make full contact with the floor,

Or the mat.

And now raising the lower back again off the mat,

To restore that curvature,

And perhaps emphasizing that curvature a little bit.

Raising the lower back off the floor,

While keeping the tailbone on the floor,

Creating that curvature.

And when you're ready,

Releasing this again,

And allowing the full back to make contact with the floor again.

And then again raising the lower back up off the floor.

And continuing a couple more times this motion of curving and straightening the lower back.

Now coming to stillness once again.

And bringing the arms back next to the body,

The knees still pointed towards the ceiling,

And the soles of the feet on the floor.

And from this posture,

Raising the entire abdomen off the floor,

Creating a straight line from the knees all the way to the shoulder blades,

In the bridge pose.

Noticing all the muscles that are working in this posture,

In the legs,

In the back.

And perhaps noticing any sensations in the arms,

Or even an expression on the face.

And remembering to breathe naturally as we do this.

Resting in this stretch.

And when you're ready,

Allowing the back to settle back on the floor,

Placing one vertebra down at a time.

Unfurling the back,

Back onto the mat or carpet.

Taking a moment again to notice what sensations are present.

Perhaps sensations of warmth,

Or tension,

Or relaxation.

And with the soles of the feet still on the floor,

And the knees pointed up at the ceiling,

Bringing the knees and the ankles together.

And stretching the elbows out to either side,

And clasping the fingers behind the head.

And from this posture,

Allowing both knees to fall over to the right-hand side of the body.

Allowing the back to gently twist in this posture.

Seeing if it's possible for the right knee to touch the mat,

Or simply letting it fall as far as it will.

And perhaps seeing if it's possible to keep both shoulder blades on the floor.

Giving the back a nice twist in this direction.

And perhaps extending this twist by turning the head and looking over the left elbow.

And again,

Breathing in this posture.

And now allowing the knees to rise back up,

And letting them fall now over to the left side.

Again,

Letting them settle as far,

As close towards the floor as possible.

Perhaps making contact with the floor,

And keeping the shoulder blades on the floor as well,

If that's comfortable for you.

And extending this twist by turning the head and looking over the right elbow.

Holding this posture and breathing into it.

Noticing perhaps that as we breathe into different postures,

We're opening up and using different parts of our lungs.

Returning energy and capacity to these parts,

These important parts of the body.

And bringing the knees back up to vertical,

Pointing towards the ceiling with the soles of the feet on the floor,

And the arms next to the body once again.

Taking a few breaths in this posture.

Noticing thoughts and emotions that might be present now.

Noticing perhaps how the state of mind has shifted.

Noticing any sensations in the body.

And now raising the right leg off the floor to point up towards the ceiling,

Or just as high as is comfortable for you.

And holding the leg up straight,

And circling the foot so that the ankle gets a nice twist to the left and to the right.

Making circles with the toes in the air.

Now reaching out with the arms and circling the leg.

Holding the leg perhaps at the thigh,

Or the knee,

Or the calf,

Wherever is comfortable for you to reach.

But supporting the leg as it is pointed upwards.

And now gently pulling the leg towards the chest with the arms,

Just as much as is comfortable.

And perhaps now noticing what the right leg is doing.

Again,

Releasing tension wherever it's not needed.

And if you choose,

You can extend this stretch again by raising the forehead towards the knee.

Holding this stretch now,

And breathing into it.

And when you're ready,

Releasing the leg and letting the sole of the foot settle on the floor next to the right foot.

And now raising the right leg up,

So that it's pointing upwards,

Just as far as is comfortable.

Again,

Making circles with the toes in the air.

Giving the ankle a nice stretch in this process.

Warming up these muscles slightly.

And now reaching up and supporting the leg with the arms,

Wherever the arms are comfortable.

Reaching the leg.

And now gently pulling the leg towards the chest.

Breathing into this pose.

And raising the forehead now towards the knee.

And holding this stretch for a moment.

Continuing to breathe naturally.

Noticing the sensations of breath in this posture.

And when you're ready,

Releasing this stretch and straightening the body out again.

Stretching it out again on the mat,

Or the carpet,

Or the bed.

Resuming the rest posture again.

And moving now to turn on to the left side of the body.

Supporting the head in the left palm.

And extending the right palm in front of you and placing it on the floor to balance you.

And now raising the right leg slowly up into the air,

Just as high as is comfortable.

And holding it in this position.

Once again,

Circling the toes in the air to the left and to the right.

Making small circles.

Exercising the ankle joint.

And then bringing the foot to stillness and simply holding this stretch for a moment.

And breathing into this stretch.

And when you're ready,

Allowing the leg to float ever so slowly down,

Lower and lower,

Until it finally makes contact with the other leg.

And when you're ready,

Turning the body around to lie on the right side.

With the same posture,

Hand in the right palm,

Left hand in front of you on the floor.

And now raising the left foot up and the left leg up towards the ceiling,

Or as far as is comfortable for you.

Making circles with the toes.

Circles to the left.

Circles to the right.

Bringing the foot to stillness.

Noticing the natural breath,

The sensations in the legs,

In both legs.

Any sensations in the torso or the arms.

And now letting this leg float back down ever so slowly again,

Until it makes contact with the other leg on the floor.

And rolling over now to lie on the abdomen,

With the arms extended next to the body,

And the head lying on one cheek.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this posture.

Noticing the sensations of the breath in the abdomen.

And now raising the head up to balance on the chin and looking forward,

Looking in front of you.

And raising the left leg up behind you,

Straight up behind you.

Noticing the tension in the left leg and in the right leg,

In the hips.

Seeing if it's possible to keep the hips straight and as much of the body's relaxed as possible.

Holding this stretch for a moment.

Breathing,

Noticing sensations.

Letting this leg float back down and letting the head rest on the other cheek on the mat.

And raising the head again to balance on the chin,

Looking out in front of you.

And raising the right leg straight behind you,

As far as is comfortable.

Just holding it in this posture.

Noticing what's tense in the body,

What's loose,

If there's any tension that can be let go of.

Seeing if it's possible to keep the pelvis against the floor,

Not twisting it.

And letting the leg float back down to make contact with the floor.

Letting the head come to rest again with a cheek on the floor or the mat or the carpet.

Again,

Paying attention to the breath in this posture.

Noticing sensations in the muscles,

Perhaps of warmth,

Relaxation or tightness.

Just whatever is present.

And raising the head again to rest with the chin on the mat,

Looking forwards.

And now raising the chin off the mat,

Perhaps letting the eyes move up the wall in front of you to see how high you can look.

Raising the chin up as far as is comfortable.

Giving the back a backwards stretch.

And breathing in this posture.

Breathing naturally.

Holding this stretch.

Noticing what's tense,

What's relaxed.

And letting this stretch go.

Letting the chest and the head settle slowly against the mat again.

And bringing the hands up to place the palms next to the shoulders on the floor or the mat.

And when you're ready,

Raising the head again.

Raising the chin off the mat and the head off the mat.

And putting some pressure on the palms to further raise the chest off the mat and the head.

Allowing the eyes to look further and further up the wall in front of you.

And pushing the chest up off the mat as far as is comfortable.

Feeling the tension,

The pressure of the palms on the floor.

Perhaps tension or shaking in the arms.

And remembering to continue to breathe.

Allowing the breath to flow naturally in this posture.

And then gently beginning to lower the chest back down onto the mat.

Releasing the pressure of the hands on the mat.

And coming to rest once again in the rest posture on the abdomen.

And bringing awareness again to the sensations of the breath.

And the sensations in the muscles.

In the arms and in the back and in the neck after this exercise.

And for this next stretch,

Getting up off the mat onto all fours.

Onto the hands and knees.

Having the hands on the mat,

Shoulder width apart.

And the knees slightly spread as well.

In the table pose.

And getting comfortable and stable in this posture.

And now moving into two alternating postures known as the cat and the cow.

For the first posture,

Letting the head dangle between the arms and arching the back like a scared cat.

Holding this posture for a moment.

And when you're ready,

Bringing the head up to look at the wall in front of you.

And letting the back sag between the shoulders and the hips like an old cow.

And now perhaps on an out breath,

Letting the head fall again between the arms and the back.

Arch up into the cat pose.

And on an in breath,

Raising the head again into the cow pose.

And now alternating slowly or quickly,

Whatever feels comfortable for you,

Between the cat and the cow pose.

Noticing what feels comfortable for you.

And noticing the breath as you exhale and inhale.

Moving from one pose to the next.

And allowing the body to come to stillness again in the table pose.

On the hands and knees.

Again bringing awareness to sensations in the body.

Noticing the pressure of the knees and the palms on the mat.

And now releasing the weight from the right knee and raising the right leg to be stretched out behind you.

Holding it out parallel to the ground.

And once you're stable in this posture,

Raising the left arm out.

Raising it off the floor and stretching it out in front of you.

Pointing at the wall in front of you.

And raising the head to look out towards where the left arm is pointing.

Noticing the sensations of maintaining your balance in this posture.

And continuing to breathe naturally as best you can.

And feeling free to touch down the toes at any point if it's comfortable for you.

And now releasing this stretch and coming back into the table pose with both hands and knees on the floor.

And when you're ready,

Raising the left knee off the floor.

Extending the left leg out behind you.

And once you're stable,

Raising the right hand off the floor and extending the right arm out in front of you.

And looking up to follow where your right arm is pointing.

And simply holding this posture for a moment.

Again bringing awareness to the muscles,

To the breath.

Noticing the dynamic micro movements it takes to maintain your balance.

And when you're ready,

Releasing this stretch and coming back into the table pose.

And now bringing the ankles closer together and perhaps spreading the knees out a little bit into each direction to form a V.

And letting the buttocks float down to settle on the heels,

Onto the center of the V.

And letting the abdomen also come down to rest on the thighs and the knees and the mat in the child's pose.

And for this posture it's possible to stretch out the arms above the head or to bring them in and to let them stretch downward next to the legs.

And seeing what tension can be released in this posture.

Giving up as much weight as is possible over to the floor again.

And when you're ready,

Raising yourself off the floor again into the table pose.

And then rolling over to lie back down on your back in the rest pose with the arms lying alongside the body and the legs stretched straight out beneath you.

Giving all your weight over now to the mat or the floor.

Bringing awareness to the sensations and the muscles throughout the body.

Noticing what's present in the body after these series of stretches and postures.

Perhaps noticing any sensations in the feet or the lower legs or the upper legs and the torso,

The back,

The arms and the hands,

The shoulders and the back of the head.

And for a moment resting in awareness of the breath.

Simply noticing the body as it breathes in and breathes out naturally at its own pace.

And continuing to rest in awareness of the body and awareness of the breath until the bells