Hip Vitality Yoga & Yoga Nidra

Join me for a beginner yoga practice designed to uplift your body from the ground up. We will practice asanas for hip mobility as well as stability to nurture your inner strength. This beginner-friendly sequence focuses on gentle stretches and strengthening poses to help you cultivate flexibility in both body and mind.

Grab your props (blocks, pillows, blankets) for more flexibility and comfort.

Whether you're new to yoga or seeking a practice to support your personal growth, this sequence is perfect for cultivating a sense of resilience and inner strength. Roll out your mat, hit play, and let's embark on this journey of growth together!

Transcript

Welcome to day number 11. We're starting a new cycle and again we will use blocks today. Today's yoga and yoga nidra focuses on the hips. So we will create a lot of prana in the hips, A lot of energy. And as always, We will follow with a nice, Sweet, Long shavasana using yoga nidra techniques. So let's get started. So place your blocks at the front of your mat and then come into Tadasana Mountain Pose, Your feet hip-width apart. Take a few deep breaths in. Remember to breathe slowly, Five seconds in, Five seconds out, Through the nose. Thank you. And then gently inhale, Rolling the shoulders up. Back and down and then settle into your feet, Pressing your two feet into the mat. Now inhale, Take the arms overhead, Exhale, Bend the knees, Come gently into your first fold, Fold either using the blocks or not. Then inhale, Hands on the two blocks into Tabletop and this will be one of our favorite poses today. Exhale into forward fold, Inhale bend knees and flat Let's settle into our first plank pose, Activating the core. Deep inhale, Push forward, Bend knees. And then exhale, Elbows narrow. Chest to the ground. Inhale, Gentle cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale onto all fours and exhale your first downward facing dog. So let's get comfortable here, Paddling the feet, Walking on this bath. And then keep your feet hip width apart. Inhale, Lift into your toes. And exhale, Press into the heels. Inhale, Look forward, Bend knees a lot. And then exhale, Walk it to the front of your mat into forward fold. Inhale, Hands on blocks. Tabletop. Exhale, Release. Forward fold. Inhale, Bend knees. Exhale, Roll up into standing. First, Sansalatation. Inhale, Arms come overhead. Exhale, Lift the knee. Grab the right knee with your two hands. We're gonna stay here, Just breathing. Inhale, Lengthen your whole body. And exhale, Pull the knee towards your chest. Remember, Nose breathing. And if it starts to get a little tough, Try inhaling through the nose. And exhaling through the mouth. So inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Pull the knee. Inhale lengthens. We're working on the flexibility of our hip joint today. Mobility, But also strength. Inhale last exhale now keep the leg up we're going to press kick the leg back and fold the forward the body forward into a warrior three you can use the hands on the blocks all right let's reverse inhale come back up into standing lift the knee And exhale. Press the leg back, Hands on block, Keep your hips square. Inhale, Lifting the knee. Exhale back and now stay here in warrior three. Now let's reverse the breathing. Inhale, Lengthen here. And exhale, Curl. Inhale, Kick the right foot back, Upper body parallel to the ground. And our big exhale, Rounding, Pulling the navel in, Nose to the knee. Inhale, Lengthen, Kick back. Exhale, Rounding nose to the knee. The standing leg, The left leg is slightly bent. Exhale. Curl. It's like a reverse crunch. Or a flipped crunch. Let's do two more times. Inhale, Kick back. Exhale, Rounding the back. Inhale last time. Exhale, Round. And now step back into plank. If you still can, Bend that knee. Yes, This hip is burning. Right, Then stepping back into your plank pose. And you are. Core is tight, The navel is pulling in, We're shifting forward on the inhale. Exhale, Knees down. And we'll lower down. Nice. Inhale, Lifting into cobra. We're getting warmed up here. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Elbows tight, Push back into downward facing dog. Nice, Walk it out. Give you a left leg. A little bit of a stretch here. And then stand with your feet hip width apart. Get settled in your down dog. Inhale, Lifting onto the toe mounts. Exhale, Release into the heels. Inhale, Bend the knees a lot, Look forward. And exhale, Walk it forward. All the way to the front of your mat. Forward fold. Inhale, Hands on block, Table top. Exhale, Release. Nice. Inhale, Bend knees. Exhale, Roll up into standing. Arms come overhead. Right leg to the center. Exhale, Lifting the left knee. Grab the left knee. Inhale now lengthen. Exhale, Pull the knee towards the chest. Inhale, Press the right leg into the ground. Exhale, Pull the knee. Inhale, Lengthen the crown of the head. Exhale, Pull the knee. Inhaling thin. Exhale. Pull the knee. Nice, So you know what's coming. So take a few deep breaths here. Getting used to. Balance work. This is great work for our deep hip muscles, Our intrinsic muscles, Those we cannot willingly activate so much. But we use them for stability and walking and running and jumping. And last time, We pull the knee. Big exhale. Now inhale, Lengthen that leg into some version of a warrior three. And exhale, Come back into standing. Inhale, Lengthen. And exhale, Slowly come back into standing. You can use the hands on the blocks now, Because we're gonna stay. In warrior three, Inhale, Lengthen that back leg. And exhale, Pull the knee towards the nose, Rounding the back. Inhale, Kick the left back, Left leg back. Exhale, Round. Now this is a lot of work for our right leg, But stay strong. Keep the knee bent. And stay strong in your hips. Inhale, Kick back. Exhale, Nose to the knee. Inhale, Lengthen crown of the head forward, Heel back, And now rounding the whole body. Can we do two more times? Before everything falls apart, Exhale rounding. Can you do one more time kicking back? And now exhale. Here we go. Let's come into plank. So all we have to do is bend this knee a little further, So the hands can reach the ground. Step back into plank. Here you are. Well done. Good job. Inhale, Shift the weight forward. Exhale, Knees down. And then bend the knees, Narrow the elbows. The floor. Inhale. Lifting into cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Press up. All force. Exhale, Press back into downward facing dog. Now walk it on the spot. Prana in both hips. Fire in both legs nice i think we're warmed up so keep your hips your feet hip width apart inhale Climb onto your tomahawks and exhale, Releasing to the heels. Then inhale, Bend knees a lot, Look forward and exhale. Forward fold, Inhale tabletop pose we know by now and exhale release, Inhale bend knees, Exhale roll up into standing, Arms overhead, And relax the arms. Nice! Can we do one more round? Inhale, Come up. Into standing, Exhale, Bend knees, Roll forward, Inhale tabletop, Exhale, Release down. Simply inhale, Bend knees a lot, Then step back into plank. Then on your next inhale, Bend knees onto the floor. Exhale, Elbows narrow, Keep the shoulders away from your ears. And here we are on the ground. Inhale, Lifting into cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale onto knees and exhale downward dog. We're staying here for a little while. So make yourself comfortable Walking on the spot. Now close your two feet, Left foot into the center and then your next big inhale, Lift the right leg all the way to the sky or ceiling and exhale, Release. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Lower, Inhale, Lift, Strengthen the hips, Exhale, Release, One more, Inhale, Lift, Keep the leg up here, Two deep breaths here, And three legged dog, Inhale through the nose, Stay strong, Release, Inhale through the nose, Stay here. And exhale and slowly bend the knee. We're coming into a pigeon pose. So we're landing with the full lower leg on the mat. Knee is bent. Foot as flex. Now we're using one block to sit on with our right buttock. Now the goal is to have the lower leg at some point parallel to the front of the mat but somewhere in between where you're comfy is fine. So find a position where you feel the deep stretch in your hip And you feel nothing in your knee and nothing in your ankle. So the knee is safe. Then climb onto your fingertips. Take a deep inhale, Stretch the chest forward and exhale, Wave it to the mat. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Wave it to the mat, Just slowly getting into the stretch here. The left leg is doing nothing, Just being. Being a leg. Lying on the mat. Exhale, Wave forward. Inhale, Come back up. Make sure you feel nothing in the knee. If you feel anything, Then bend the knee a little further. And if you feel nothing in the hip, Then maybe Stretch the foot forward towards the edge of the mat. Exhale, Now stay here wherever you are. Maybe coming into the center with your hands. Maybe you can come onto your elbows, Whatever is available to you. Some people lie flat on the ground. Wherever you are is fine, As long as you feel nothing in the knee. Nothing in your ankle. That is pigeon pose. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Remember to breathe. Through the nose, Nice and gentle. Then last deep breath in, Last deep breath out. Now let's come out of here. So climb back onto your hands so that you can control some weight at least with your upper body. Then climb onto your left toe mount. Release that right leg all the way back into three-legged dog. Here we are. Nice. Then exhale. Lower that right leg down and walk it on the spot. Wonderful. So. . . The right hip. Feels a little different now. We've strengthened and we've stretched the hip. Now let's move over to the left. So move that right foot to the center. Inhale, Lift the left leg. Exhale, Lower the left leg. Control and slow movement. Exhale lower. Inhale. Exhale, Lower. Can we do two more? Come on, Inhale, Lift. It'll go all easy and restful after this i promise then last time big inhale and exhale stay here two deep breath stay strong i know right hip is burning There's a lot of heat in that right leg. And then exhale, Bend the knee, Nose to the knee. We're climbing onto the mat with our lower leg. So lay the lower leg flat. Flex the foot, Bend the knee as much as you need so that your left knee isn't hurting. Then you can let the leg be. Right leg is relaxing. So see where you are here. Sit on your block with your left hip, And then climb onto your fingertips. Deep inhale, Exhale, Wave it forward, Bending the elbows sideways. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Bending the elbows, Waving forward. Inhale, Lift. Exhale lower, Nice So wherever you are, Remember. No pain in the knee, Nothing. Nothing in the ankle the only thing we feel is our fingertips maybe and the hip stretch so deep hip stretch exhale wave it forward now slowly last wave coming down and come maybe into the center maybe onto your elbows or wherever you are Maybe you can also use your block. And sometimes we'll be here, One elbow up, One elbow down, Whatever helps to get that stretch in the hip. So a few deep breaths here, Inhaling through the nose. Now we can all exhale through the nose. We're winding down a little already. And just before we fall asleep here, We'll keep that for our final resting pose. Slowly and gently climb back up onto your hands, Getting some weight into your hands so that you can lift your body back up. Climb onto your toe mounts and then come back into plank. Yes. Get that block out of the way, Shift back into down dog, Three-legged dog here, Lifting the left leg. And exhale, Lower down. Nice. Then inhale, Bend knees, Look forward. This time we'll simply walk forward halfway. Halfway to the middle of the mat, Feet hip-width apart and turn out so your feet have a v-shape. We just sit here in Balasana yogic squat. Now if that is not available to you, You can of course use your blocks. To sit on. Whatever hide you need. Or you can also use your blocks to support your heels if you don't have the flexibility in the ankles, But we'll always try to be here at some point, Because this is the flexibility in the ankles and also in the hip joint that we need. So being here in Balasana, Is our goal. Then deep breath in, Lifting the chest. Breathe out, Joining the hands into prayer, And now push against the inside of your knees with your two elbows. So this should feel really nice and stable now. Inhale, Lengthen the chest forward a little bit, And exhale, Sink deeper into your hips. You can close your eyes. All you need to do is breathe here. Inhale, Lengthen into the chest. And exhale, Lowering into your hips. Inhale lengthen and exhale lower into the hips. Nice. Now try deep breath in through the nose. Maybe narrowing your throat a little bit, Creating that. Oceanic breathing. As if breathing through a tiny hole in your throat. Creating that sigh. Ujjayi breathing. Then we're gonna get our hands back onto the mat and simply get the knees down onto the mat. We're climbing back into child's pose. So kneel down, Opening the knees, At least met with a path, And then slowly get down onto the floor. Lower your forehead down on the mat into child's pose. So rest here. And just enjoy. Breathing. Into the hips. Allowing your hips to open. Allowing the lower back to open. Allowing the shoulders to relax, The neck. Just breathe through the nose. So child's pose is a very comforting and safe pose. We're connected with the earth. So you save here. Slow breathing through the nose. Slow exhale. There with your next inhale slowly climb back up Don't worry, We're just changing. To lying down onto the back. So. . . Get your legs somehow towards the front of your mat. And then slowly roll down into lying down. Get your feet above your hips straight away. And let the blood flow from your feet, Your calves. Your knees and thighs into your hips. Your upper body towards your heart. Quite well. Start a new cycle through the body. Replenished with oxygen. Rejuvenating a whole body. So all this prana that we have created now Let's use this during Our final resting pose. Where our body can shift the prana. Into every cell. Then bend the knees. Around the back. One last time contracting the front of your body and then slowly lengthen one leg after the other. Into final resting pose. Into Shavasana. Find your most comfortable position. If you have pillow or blanket around you. You might also use Start to cushion and cover yourself. And then close your eyes. And take a few deep breaths. And settle into the present moment, Into this sweet Final. Resting pose. Close your eyes. And keep them closed. Bring your attention to your body. And feel the points of contact between. The back of your body. And your yoga mat. Feel your heels. Back of your thighs. Buttocks. Back. And back of your head on your mat. Notice the sensation of your breath. As it flows through your body. Inhale deeply. Through your nose. Feeling your belly rise. And exhale slowly through your mouth Letting go of any tension. Breathing deeply. Into the belly And as you exhale, Release all tension from head to toe. Inhale deeply. And as you exhale. Let everything go. Imagine a warm, Golden light. Surrounding your hips. Visualize this light gently penetrating the muscles. Releasing any tightness or tension. Picture your hips becoming light. Warm. Spacious. And free. Allow this warm sensation. To spread through your entire pelvic region. Bringing a sense of ease. As if your hips were floating. In warm water. Consciously relaxed. Your hip joint. Imagine your right hip joint gently rotating. Releasing any tension. Feel the soothing sensation. Then imagine your left hip joint. Gently moving. Rotating. And releasing all tension. Feel the warmth. Soothing sensation in your left hip joint. Let them sense the liberation and openness. In both hips. And then move your attention to your right ankle. Right calf. Me. Thigh and hip. And relax your whole right leg. Feel a sense of warmth. And relaxation spreading through. Your entire right leg. Then bring your awareness to your left foot. Left ankle. Calm. Me. Thigh and tiptoe. And relax your entire left leg. Feel a sense of warmth. And relaxation spreading through your whole left leg. Now allow your entire body to relax. Imagine a wave of tranquility moving. From the crown of your head down to your toes. Feel every muscle joined and organ. Bathing in a profound state of Relaxation. Relish the sensation of openness. In your hips. And the overall tranquility in this Shavasana. Whenever you're ready. Gently begin to deepen your breath. Bringing awareness back to your body. Then slowly move your feet, Move your hands. Look around you, Remember where you are. And then take a deep inhale. Stretch your body out. And roll onto one side where you can bend. Press up into sitting. Again, Use one block to sit on to help. Yourself, Find yourself back in gravity. Take in one deep inhale here and sitting. And exhale, Wonderful. Inhale, Arms overhead, Exhale, Join the hands into prayer, Connecting the thumbs with the foreheads. The chin. And the chest. Thank you so much for joining, Have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll see you all tomorrow. Bye.