Good morning,
I hope you had a restful sleep.
Our intention of this practice is to energize and mobilize the mind and the body with a focus on your upper back and neck.
We are going to start with three pranayamas or breath work and then move into a mindful yoga practice.
And for this,
We will use the breath to bring energy to our muscles and our joints while giving them a nice stretch to relieve any tension that has been built up.
Our pranayamas will start with three part breathing to bring oxygen all the way into our system,
Wake up our mind and body.
Then we are going to move into alternate nostril breathing for some balance and finally 4-7-8 breathing for relaxation and focus before we start some movements.
So let's begin.
Start by sitting up in a comfortable position.
So support your low back so your spine is soft and straight.
But we want to think about the movement of air in and out of our body and allow the breath to move freely through the entire lung.
And this starts with a comfortable and open posture.
Our three part breathing will bring air into our full lungs,
Filling from the bottom into our belly,
Then up into our lower chest and finally into our upper chest.
On the exhale,
Allow the breath to release from the upper chest,
Then from the lower chest and finally from the belly.
Let's take a deep breath in through our nose,
Fill the belly,
Hold,
Fill the lower lung,
Hold,
Fill the upper lung and out.
Great.
Again,
Into the lower belly,
Lower chest,
Upper chest and out.
Into the belly,
Lower chest,
Upper chest and out.
Once more,
Into the belly,
Lower chest,
Upper chest and out.
Awesome.
I feel better already.
Alternate Nostril Breathing.
Place your left hand on your lap and with your right hand,
Bend the second and third finger in towards your palm.
We are going to place our right thumb over your right nostril and take a deep breath in through the left nostril.
Cover the left nostril with your fourth finger,
Release your thumb and the breath out your right nostril.
Keeping the fourth finger over the left nostril,
Inhale through the right nostril,
Release the left nostril and fourth finger,
Cover the right nostril with the thumb and exhale.
Great.
Let's do this two more times.
In through the left nostril,
Out through the right,
In through the right,
In through the left,
Out through the right,
In through the right,
Out through the left.
Bring your awareness back to your posture.
For our 4-7-8 breathing,
Move at your own comfortable pace.
We are going to take a deep breath in through the nose for a count of four,
Hold it for a count of seven and then control the exhale for a count of eight.
This will bring in balance and relaxation into our system.
Go at your own pace,
Breathe and hold as much as you feel comfortable.
Try to get the rhythm in.
Let's start,
Breathe in through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold for a count of seven,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Release for a count of eight through the mouth,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
And again in through the nose for a count of four,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold for a count of seven,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Release through the mouth for a count of eight,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Wonderful.
We'll do once more in through the nose,
Count of four,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold seven,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Release eight,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Wonderful.
Nicely done.
Let's move into some gentle yoga for the neck and the upper back.
Before we begin this practice,
Let's just remember that the breath in yoga is our life force.
Remember that every cell in our body breathes.
The air we breathe in,
We are not just connecting to the space and the people around us,
But we are bringing in strength and life and the energy that we need to live.
And it is inherently healing to breathe.
Start with the head in a neutral position.
Make sure you're comfortable,
Spine straight,
But relaxed.
Pillow behind the back if you need it.
Gently inhale through the nose and as you exhale,
Drop the left ear to the left shoulder.
Breathe in,
Bring the head back to neutral.
Breathe out,
Bring the left ear down to the left shoulder.
With this,
You want to keep the shoulder heavy.
You want to bring the ear down,
Don't bring the shoulder up.
Let's try that again.
Breath in,
Drop the left ear to the left shoulder,
Opening up that right side.
Breathe in,
Back to neutral.
Breathe out,
Left ear to left shoulder.
Great.
Head back to neutral.
We're going to do this on the right side.
Breathe in,
Right ear to right shoulder,
Opening up the left side.
Breathe out.
Breathe in,
Head to neutral,
Right ear to right shoulder,
Breathe out.
Right shoulder heavy,
Opening up the left side.
Once more.
Breathe in,
Head to center,
And out,
Right ear to right shoulder.
Let that shoulder just drop to the earth.
Head to center again.
Let's move into some rotation.
Head center,
Deep breath in.
Turn and look over your left shoulder.
Keep the right shoulder as squared up as you can.
Feel the right side open up.
Breath in,
Head to center.
Breath out,
Rotate to the left.
You might feel that stretch all the way down the right side of your back.
Once more.
Breathe in,
Rotate all the way to the left.
Look over your right shoulder.
Feel that nice stretch.
Head back to neutral.
Breathe in.
We're going to go to the right.
All the way.
Look over your right shoulder.
Breathe out.
Hold.
Breathe in,
Back to neutral.
Breathe out.
Turn and look over your right shoulder.
Good.
Breathe in,
Head to center.
Breathe out,
All the way over your right shoulder.
And let's just hold here.
Draw your breath in.
Drop the left shoulder,
Drop the right shoulder,
Open up the left side.
Good job.
Let's open the front and the back of the neck and shoulders.
Shoulders are comfortable.
Head is center and neutral.
For this movement,
We are moving both the neck and the shoulders together.
Start with a breath in.
And as you breathe in,
Tilt the head forward,
Roll the shoulders forward towards the heart.
Stretch through the upper back.
Exhale,
Head up,
Extend,
Look up at the sky,
Roll the shoulders back behind you,
Open the palms forward,
And open the front of the chest.
Breathe in,
Tilt chin to your chest,
Roll the shoulders forward towards the heart.
Stretch through the back.
Breathe out,
Head back,
All the way up to the sky,
Open the shoulders,
Roll them back,
Palms open,
Chest open.
Once more.
Head forward,
Roll the shoulders towards the heart,
Breathe in,
And exhale,
Head all the way back,
Open the shoulders,
Open the front,
Palms open.
Nice stretch through the front of the neck and the chest.
Great.
One last set of movements here to get us ready for the day.
Nice deep breath in,
Arms up over your head,
Head up towards the sky,
Breathe in,
Palms together,
Breathe out,
Arms all the way down,
Drop the shoulders,
Drop the elbows.
One more.
Breathe in,
Arms up,
Arms up,
Stretch all the way up to the sky,
Head up.
And from here,
Just bend all the way to the left,
Open the right side,
Head back to center,
Breathe in,
And out,
Exhale,
As you bend to the right,
Open the left side.
Breathe in,
Back to center,
Breathe out to the left,
Open the right side.
Breathe into center,
Breathe out to the right side.
Breathe into center,
Stretch,
Stretch,
Stretch,
Stretch,
Stretch all the way up,
Palms out,
Arms down,
Back to your lap as you exhale,
Hands end on your lap.
Nice deep breath in,
All the way out,
And you're ready to start your day.
You get a wonderful day,
Everyone.
