Winding Down Yoga

Whether the end of your day or the middle, this is your invitation to pause and drop in or wind down and let go. Starting with a standing check in, we'll then flow down through the body, releasing tension and moving with breath to bring ease and awareness back into the body. Ending with a relaxation of singing bowls, you'll feel relaxed and ready for sleep or refreshed and ready for what the rest of the day brings. Taking time to wind down brings us back into presence, let's find yours.

Transcript

Hello and welcome. My name is Brenda Mailer. Today I am inviting you into winding down. So whether this is the end of your day or maybe a pause in the middle of the day. This is an opportunity for you to check in with yourself. Feel into the body, Nourish the body. And calm the mind. Bringing yourself down and in and into a restful space. So this practice is going to begin standing. And it's going to take you down onto the floor. I have my singing bowl set up behind me here and we'll end with a beautiful sound bath to support you and just. . . Receiving. Letting go. Alright. So be mindful of what your body needs as you move through the practice. This is going to be quite gentle, So it should be okay. Just always pay attention to what your body needs and adjust as it feels helpful for you. So we are gonna start standing. So I'm gonna make my way over to the mat. And I'll invite you to just stand up. And one of the reasons I wanted to begin this practice with standing is because. . . We sit so much. And I just wanted to begin this way for us to feel into the body in this upright position that we've probably been going through our day in and then slowly bring ourselves down onto the mat, Okay? So we're just gonna start a mountain pose. And I'm just going to invite you to stand. Let's just stand for a moment. And you might soften your gaze or you might close your eyes or just whatever feels right for you. I'm just going to start to. . . Notice what is, Notice the senses. Feel your body standing. Feel the space around your body. The scents, The sounds of the space. The feeling of your feet touching the floor. And perhaps just noticing a bit of the mind. Is it still maybe caught a bit in the day? Just acknowledging those thoughts. And for now, See what we can set aside. You know, We can always pick things back up again later if we need to, But this is the moment for you. Okay. And so then as we take the mind a bit into the body, Just noticing the expression on your face. You notice how you're holding your facial muscles, Your jaw. Feeling your head as it balances over the body. Feeling your shoulders, Your arms resting beside your body. Maybe noticing how you're holding your hand. This isn't about performing, This is about being. So don't feel like you have to stand in any particular way. Noticing how you feel through your spine. The posture. Without judgment, Just noticing how you're holding yourself. The ribs, The heart space, The belly. If you're noticing your breathing. Just noticing through the shoulders and the back, Is there tension? Is there ease? Does your belly feel soft? Is your breath. Shallow or deep, Just let it be. And then how do you feel through the pelvis? Are your hips kind of sunk forward? Are you dropping into the back? You know, Leaning a little forward. You're like, What's that posture like as you just stand? Let's not judge. Let's just notice. Feeling into the hips. You know the legs. The thighs, The knees, Are you locking the knees, Are your knees soft? How do you feel down through the lower half of the legs, The ankles, The feet? Are your feet connected into the floor? Are you gripping through your toes? You know, The balls of the feet relaxed. Do you feel this steady steady balance between both legs? Are you kind of leaning in one direction or the other? This is no right or wrong. We're just noticing how we are. We're just doing a little check in. And then as you just feel the whole body now from the feet to the crown and just. Feeling into that space within the body, Around the body. Let's bring our attention a bit more into the breath. So maybe place hand on belly, Hand on heart. And this also helps to draw your focus inward. To let go a bit of the external to begin to heighten into your internal. And just feel that rhythm of your breath. Where does the breath touch through the body, Through the chest, Through the belly? Just the breath feels somewhat even in its flow, The inhales and the exhales. One deeper or longer than the other. And just recognize that your breath is always being influenced through your nervous system. So whatever it's doing is. . . Is good You know it's trying to find balance. But it's also influenced a lot through the mind. And so if you notice that your mind is still a bit busy, The breath is a bit shallow, Just see if you can slowly drop your mind a bit more inside, Maybe even bringing both hands down to the belly or the sides of the body for a moment, Just so you can start to anchor a bit more internally. I'm going to wind down that thinking mind for a moment. Maybe even bringing your focus all the way down into the bottoms of the feet. Feeling that connection. With the body, With the floor. Whatever helps you to start to draw your focus in. And then just do a little check in, You know, How am I feeling? Do I feel agitated? Do I feel calm? Is there buzzing? Is there numbness? Is there coolness or warmth? In my body my experience. Let's just meet ourselves as we are, With curiosity, With compassion. And as you start to slow the mind down into the body, You might notice that your breath naturally begins to deepen. Notice that the legs start getting tired from standing. You start leaning a little one way or the other. And as we start to seek a bit of balance, Just feeling that groundedness through both feet. Softness through the knees. Ease to the pelvis. Let go of a sigh. Whenever you need to. The body's natural way of letting go. So now that we are kind of checking in, We know how we're feeling, We can sense into our inner state, Now we can start to work with it. Not that it has to change, But we're going to invite change through intentional action. So we'll start by just deepening the breath slightly. So taking an inhale and then slowly letting go of the exhale. Ah. Let's just do that three times. So inhale. A little audible sigh is good to let go and then again. Ah. Just notice how your body responds. Your shoulders soften as your face relax. The breath continue a bit more deepened. Stay aware of your breath and just bring your hands alongside your body. I'm just going to start by just moving the face, Just kind of making some facial expressions. Ah, Opening the jaw a bit. Maybe have a big yawn, Sort of waiting to get out. And then roll the shoulders up and back. Start to feel the shoulders moving. Let the body just be organic in its movement here. It's not a rigid movement. Start to feel a little flow through the body. Releasing tension through the shoulders, Going the other way. Hmm. Good. And then shake out the arms for a moment. Shake them out. You know, The stretch to that jaw. And then just feeling into the neck now. So we've kind of opened a bit of that energy through the shoulders. So now we're just going to drop the head down towards the collar bone and we're going to sweep the head a little side to side. And then start to notice how you feel through the sides of your neck. Just letting that movement be natural. The shoulders can sway slightly. You start to wake up and release any tension that you're holding in the neck. The more we move, The more the muscles respond, The more the energy flows. You might start to feel more into the upper back. Maybe get through the front side of the neck as your head leans off to one side. Once that starts to feel complete for you, Just bring the head back forward again. Good and then deep breath. Roll the shoulders up, Lift the head, Open the jaw. Another big release, Another yawn, Shake out the arm. Alright. Ah. Now let's just get a little bit more into the arms. Sweep and take the arms up and around. Just releasing through the chest and you bend the knees a bit. I like to bring one arm over the other each time. Opposite movements, Sweep and lift. It's releasing tension through the body. Opening that chest if we've been sitting at a desk rounding forward just really feeling into that Open it. Move with your breath here. Sweep up, Inhale. Exhale down behind. Getting a little bit more movement through the upper body. Beautiful. Sweep and then let the arms just fall and notice how that feels. Another roll for the shoulders if you like. Let's take the feet a little wider and bring the hands to the hips and let's just circle those hips around. Noticing how we feel through the front of the pelvis, The sides, The back, The hamstrings. Just releasing, Getting some flow through the body. Bring the hands around the pelvis as you want. Switch directions when that feels right for you. Keep the breath flowing. Mmm. You might notice a lot as you lean forward through the hip flexors. You might notice the hamstrings are tight. Right both ways just play with it right doesn't have to be one way or the other just let your body show you the way Good. And then come back up to center. Maybe give those hips a little wiggle. Ah, Good. Then we're gonna stand on each foot, Circle the ankle. We need to get those ankles moving. And then if you want, You can kind of stir a pot with your knee too. Stir one way. Other and if this is hard for balancing maybe grab a wall if you need to Shake that leg out. Do the same with the other leg. Ground on the other foot. Do the ankle. Still aware of the breath. Stir that pot. In all directions. And then just shake it up, Shake it up. Just feel that connection with the legs, The feet. Hey, The hips, The shoulders. Kind of shake out the whole body for a moment. Oh, Letting go of the day, Letting go of what you've been doing. Ooh, They're mine! I'm going to take the feet a little wider and let's just sweep the arms side to side. A little twist going through the body. I like to flop the arms against my body as I come around. So just let this be organic, Natural. So you're turning away and letting the opposite heel lift up off the floor. Arms flop we go the other way and just releasing stagnant energy through the hips You know, Getting a little twist through the spine. Sweeping those arms. Let it be a little playful. What are you sweeping away? You know, What are you clearing out of your field? What isn't yours that you've been carrying today? There you go. Clear the space. And then once that feels kind of complete, You can slowly wind it down. I like to wind it down nice and slow. You know? Slowly letting the body find. That stillness again. Notice how it just slowly stops. You know, Like a pendulum slowly coming to stillness and then just pause there. Feel into the body. Into the hips, Notice the arms resting. The body still has a little bit of movement. My hips are still moving a little. Ah. Connect with the breath. Alright. Let's just take our legs wide for a moment. You're going to reach up. Exha, Bring the hands down. Now if you have blocks, You need a block, Grab blocks. Bring the hands to the floor, Whatever feels right for you. Legs don't have to be super wide. We're just going to bend one knee, Open the inner thigh, Come over, Bend the other knee. Just feel a bit into those hamstrings, Those inner thighs. And then just pause and breathe. Kind of notice how you feel through the inner thigh. Hands on the inside and the outer. Let's do the same thing on each side. Just releasing a bit of tension through the inner thighs. Ah. Come back to center. Maybe just fold forward here a bit, Feeling into the hips. Hamstrings, The upper body. Maybe release the head and gnat. Notice where your weight is. It is in your feet. Is your weight in the balls of your feet, The toes, The heels? Kind of play with that a bit. Let the knees be bent. Let the upper body release. Deep breath in. What can you let go through the shoulders? To the head, To the mind. And then slowly bend the knees, Bring the body back up to a flat back and rise to standing. Okay, Good. Bring the feet back together. Shake out those legs. Keep the body a little release. Let go. So we're a little bit more connected into the body, Grounding through the feet. Keep the feet about shoulder distance apart and lift the arms up into the air. Bring the hands together just lean off to one side just opening up to the side of the body inhale through center exhale over Hmm. Good. Just swaying from side to side. Feeling into the side of the body. Let's pause for a breath on each side. Ground through the feet. Try not to lock the knees and just take a big breath through the side of the body. You'll notice my elbows are a little soft, So they don't have to be really straight. Inhale, Come up and through and do the same thing on the other side. Just a nice deep breath there. Opening. Email come up. Now feet closer together, Lengthen through the body and exhale. Take the arms wide, Bend the knees, Fold down over the thighs. Feet together, Forward fold and just noticing how that feels. You can come up to a little flat back, Lengthen through the spine and then fold the belly over the thighs, Knees are bent. Yeah. Inhale, Raise it. Okay, Reach up, Lengthen for a moment, And then exhale, Just fold back forward again. And just let the body kind of feel into the hamstrings, The hips. Release the head and neck. Inhale a little far back. Exhale, Fold forward. Let's just come up one more time here. And exhale, We're gonna fold. Good, Just breathe there. Hmm. Let go through the head and neck. Release through the shoulders with the spine. Draw towards the earth with the vertebrae, With the crown. Let the knees be bent, Support the low back. Feel the hips and hamstrings. Ah. All right. Now from here, Going to keep the hands at the floor. So knees are bent. Just going to take your feet a little wider. You're going to sink your hips down. Now if you have hard knees, You can just bring your elbows to your knees and kind of pause here. Or you can bring yourself right down to the floor if you want. Or you can come into a little squat. Feet flat or hands on the floor, Whatever works for you. You can have yourself kind of leaning forward if you need to. Grounding through the sit bones, Lifting through the crown, Just opening up those inner thighs a bit. This is beautiful. You know, Sitting a lot. Getting a little deeper into the low back or if we've been even even standing a lot this is great if you've been standing all day it's really opens up the sacrum the lumbar spine Oh. A couple deep breaths. And again, You can do this right on the floor with the feet right in front of you as well. From here, We're going to come right down onto our seat, So however you want to get there gracefully. All right, We're going to slowly wind ourselves down onto the floor here. So bring your hands behind your knees and slowly roll down onto your back. Just notice how it feels for your back to meet the floor here. Keep the feet flat on the floor for a moment. Let the knees just fall together and bring your hands to your belly. Feel your shoulder blades ground. And just feel into the breath again. Notice how you're feeling through the body, Through the face, The shoulders, The hips. The knees, The feet. All the way through the back of the body, The spine. Rips. Your belly. Okay. Notice the rhythm of your breathing. We're just going to do a little bit of movement here just for the back of the body, Especially if we've been sitting a lot today. We're going to ground through our feet. We're going to bring our hands alongside the body. Now, If you have a block nearby and you want to put something between your thighs, You can. So it just kind of helps to support the pelvis with the inner thigh muscles. We're going to ground the arms to the floor, Ground the feet to the floor. Exhale, Ground the low back and kind of tuck the tailbone. And then inhale, Lift the hips up into a little bridge. Okay, Exhale, Let's roll down. And inhale, Let's just relax. Okay, Exhale, Ground the low back, Press through the feet, Inhale, Lift the hips up. And exhale, Come down. And do one more like that. We'll hold at the top though. Inhale, Relax. Exhale, Ground to the back. Inhale, Lift the hips up. Paying attention to that lift, Lifting through the glutes, Through the. . . The pubic bone pressing through the feet. You can ground the shoulders, The elbows towards the floor. You can have your hands by your hips if you want. You're just resting down, But just really activating through the back of the body, Especially if you've been sitting a lot today. It's really good for the spine, For the hips. The hip flexors, Deep breath. Notice if the knees are falling way apart. Try to use those other thighs a little. Hold for as long as it feels right for you. Come down anytime. Ah, Beautiful. Releasing down, Feeling that low background, Bring the knees back together, Rest the hands on the body. Oh. Let go. All right, Let's take our arms wide, And we're going to lift the hips up and shift them a bit to the right, And then roll our knees over to the left. And just open up through that right side. Maybe lift that right arm. I like to open my palm. Feel that length through the shoulder, Down the side of the ribs, Into the hip. Into the hip. And then just breathe there. Try not to pull or force the twist, But just allow the body to relax with each exhale. So inhale, We're nourishing, Expanding. Exhale, We're releasing. Letting go. Maybe the head rotates a bit towards that right side, But we're really drawing our focus down and in. Take your left hand to your body to help support or bring your focus inward. Now's your breath. Now's your focus. Good. With an inhale, Bring the knees back up to center. Bring that arm down and bring the hips back in line with the shoulders. Let the knees fall together. Let's just rest here. Feel the spine lengthen out along the floor. I'm gonna give you the spine a moment to neutralize, Getting the muscles a moment to relax there. Deep breath. Long exhale out. Beautiful, Arms wide again. Lift the hips a bit to the left, Roll the knees to the right, And just open and lengthen through that left side now. Head maybe rotates a bit that way. Arm reaches up. We're just opening through that left hip up through the shoulder. The side of the body. Deep breath. Deep inhale, Long exhale. And when you're ready, Inhale, Bring the knees back to center, Bring the hips back in alignment, Arms down beside you. Throw the knees up into the chest and let's just rock a bit over the back. Do some circles over that lumbar spine and the sacrum. A little massage. Beautiful. Now drop the left foot to the floor, Take the right foot up into the air, And let's just point and flex that foot a few times. Point, Flex. Point flag. This is good for the calf, Getting that blood, That fluid back down towards the heart. And then just reach to the heel, Flex the foot, Lengthen through the back of that leg. Relax through the upper body and then cross that ankle over your left knee. Feel that right knee draw away from your face. And then using the left leg, Draw that right foot towards you, Grab onto the shin, Grab onto the foot. Of that right leg and just externally rotate that right knee as you feel into the back of that right hip. You can stay still. I like to do just a little gentle side to side movement, Just feeling into tension that I hold in the back of my hip. Towards my sacrum. Just taking your focus there, Breathing there so that your body really receives the nourishment of the posture. Deep breath in, Long breath out. Drop that left foot down, Take that right foot back up into the air, Point and flex, Little circles if you want. Reach through that heel and then slowly lower that leg all the way down to the floor. Rest the heel, Shake out the knee. Just feel the warmth through the front of that right here. Releasing there. Bring that foot flat on the floor. Let's take the left foot up into the air. We're just going to point and flex here a few times. Feeling into the shin and the calf. Releasing tension. Through the leg, Help drawing the blood, Back up to the heart, Through this muscle. And then reaching through that heel lengthening through the back of that leg let the knee be soft as you extend and open the hamstrings. A deep breath and then slowly bring that ankle down onto the right knee. Keep that foot flat. Draw the right knee towards you, Bringing that left foot towards you. Grab onto the foot, The shin. Just feel an external rotation of the knee away from your face as you feel into the back of that left hand. Ye breath seer. Movement again if you like Right. If that feels complete for you, Just take a deep breath in. Exhale right foot to the floor inhale left foot back up circle that ankle Reach to the heel, Lengthen here, Take a breath in. And exhale, Lower all the way down. Rest the heels, Shake out the knee, Release through that foot. Just bring both feet flat on the floor, Take the feet wide and arms wide, And we're just gonna roll the knees from side to side. Just releasing through the front of the hip. Mmm. So you come onto each side, You'll just feel the front of that top hip gently open as that knee drops towards the floor. Feeling that rock across the sacrum. And again, Maybe pause for a couple breaths, Just kind of deepening in. You can let your head roll opposite to your knees. Hmm. Knees into the front of that hip flexor. Moving over to the other side and pausing there. Moving the head the opposite way Stealing into that left or the other hip. Hmm. Lovely. And bring the knees back to center. Bring the bottoms of the feet together. Let the knees open wide. Now, You can support your legs here a bit with your hands. You can always put blocks underneath the outer hips as well. If you need a little support, You want to do a little supported butterfly here. We're just releasing and opening. Bring the hands to the belly and just rest with the breath here. Winding down. And then the belly rise and fall. Just where your focus is, Feel your body, Your breath. That opening through the inner thighs, Bring the hands to the outside of the thighs and slowly draw the legs back together. Bring the knees up into the chest, Knees wide. Opening a little bit more deeply through those inner thighs a little happy baby so you can keep your hands on your knees and just rock a little side to side here you can take the feet up in the air hold on to the backs of the knees where you grab onto your ankles, Your feet or your big toes. And just rock here a little side to side. So just meet yourself where you are. You don't have to get hands to the feet. What feels helpful in your body? Where can you find that? A little edge of comfort here. We're not looking to strive. We're looking to wind down. Just feel that rock over the back, A little playfulness. With the legs through the heart space. Ease the gentleness. Whenever that feels complete for you, Just bring the legs back down to the floor. Stretch the legs out along the floor. Give the knees a little wiggle feel that release through the hips maybe it gets up into the upper body a bit you might shake out your hands maybe your head and neck a little, Just release, Release, Release. A little sound if you want and then just let the body fall into stillness. However that line is for you. Hands might be wide. Hands might rest on the body. Legs, Just let the legs fall, Let the ankles, The feet relax. The shoulder blades ground into the floor and relax the back of the head. Just allow yourself to now fall into stillness. Feel the body breathe. Notice how you're feeling. Is the connection through the body, Your physical body, Your energetic body. How is your mind? Just relax the muscles of your face. Let your head feel heavy. Relax the forehead, Relax the jaw. Feel the muscles of the neck. Just relax the neck. Let the head feel heavy. Tops to the shoulders, Shoulders away from the ears. Relax through the. . . Shoulder blades, The shoulder joints, The collarbone. And down the arms, Feel the upper arms resting, The elbows heavy. Relax your forearms, Your wrists, Your fingers. Feel the palms of your hands. Bring your awareness into the heart space, The center of the chest. Feel the breath moving through this space. Drawing the focus downward into the belly. The belly rises with the inhale, Falls with the exhale. With each exhale, You feel your back settle even more towards the earth, Even the space of the back that isn't touching the floor. Feel your hips get heavier, The glutes grounding even more, Relax. Steady. Feel your hip bones, Your thighs. Relaxing the inner thighs, The outer thighs. Amsterdam. Relax your knee. Snores in the knee. Calves, Feeling the shins, Feeling the calf muscles. Ankles, Let your heels feel heavy. Just relax your feet, Your toes. Nothing to do, Nowhere to go. Feel your body. Resting, Winding down. Stillness. Surrender. Relaxation. While you relax. Bring in a few gentle tones. Vibration. You to receive with. You you you Feel your body. Stay resting as long as you need. Your breath. Peace to mind. And when you feel ready, Gently begin to deepen that breath. You're weak in the body. Give me a little stretch. Maybe I'll just slowly. . . Pick yourself up and make your way. To sleep. Never. Is next in your day. Notice. Where you are how you are. The connection inward. Calmness. Serenity. Keep a resonance. Know that from this place connection you can meet whatever comes next. So rolling over to one side if you haven't yet. Causing in that awareness. Peace. Calmness that you've cultivated, Winding down. Maybe. Sitting up to your seat for a moment, If you like. We're staying where you are. Pausing hands on heart, Hand on belly. Resting your hands on your legs, Whatever feels right for you. Acknowledge how you are now, How you're feeling. Your state of being. Maybe reflecting a bit on that sensation of coming. Home to yourself. Here you are. Calm, Centered, And present. Bring both hands to your heart. Bow to yourself in gratitude. Say thank you for showing up and taking this time for yourself today. Winding down, Turning in. Gratitude for each other for joining in this practice here together. Bring your hands into your heart. Maybe just sending a little. . . Light and love out into the world today, That others may feel that sense of winding down. When they need calm and peace in their lives. And I'll share the sound of Aum to close. If you feel like joining with me, Please do purchase or simply receive. Om. You to bring our awareness back outwards from the palms together for a moment. Bring your palms over your eyes. Just feel gentle warmth and darkness of the palm. Slowly open your eyes. Bridge your inner world back with your outer world, Giving your face a little wash. Bringing your hands to your heart. Thank you, Mind, Body, And spirit for this practice today. And I thank you for sharing yours. Namaste. Thank you for taking this time. You for joining me. Receiving. And being. With yourself. We deserve you well. Is come back and enjoy it again anytime. Remember to take time to pause and wind down. Life feels busy. Overwhelming. You just need to. . . Let go of the day. Thank you again. Be well, Stay connected, And I hope to see you again very soon. That's a love.