Movement Meditation Yoga & Yoga Nidra

Today's practice is all about slowing down, reaching, lengthening, and stretching deeper as we delve into a journey of self-discovery and relaxation.

If you're new to yoga, this session is perfect for you. I'll guide you through easy-to-follow yoga poses, designed for beginners, to help you build strength and flexibility while connecting with your breath and inner self. This practice is all about finding tranquility and balance within your body and mind.

The highlight of today's practice is the rejuvenating Savasana, enhanced by the profound Yoga Nidra technique of the "circling of perception." This guided relaxation will help you release tension, reduce stress, and explore the depths of your consciousness, promoting a sense of peace and well-being.

Transcript

Let's start standing. Now ground your two feet. Heels, Outer arches and big toe mount into the ground. Then reach upwards. Through the crown of your head, Tadasana. Take a slow, Deep inhale. Palms come overhead and then cross the arms over. Close in front of your chest on the exhale. Inhale up. Keep rotating, Inhale out, Crossing the arms in front of your chest. Slow breathing in, Your rhythm. Slow breathing out. Flow in. And slow breathing out. And then slowly change side. So you start crossing your arms in front of your body. And then exhaling. Letting the arms down. To the sides. Inhale, Crossing up. Exhale, Arms fly down. Bit of shoulder mobility here, Greasing our shoulder joint to start with. Keep inhaling deeply, Raise the arms. And exhale, Lower the arms down. Then continue with the spine, Spinal rotation. Slowly start swinging the arms left and right. You might or might not include the head. That is up to you. You don't have to. So whatever feels good. If you get dizzy, You can also just stare at one spot. Thread in front of you and simply rotate the shoulders. So the arms fly up. And then maybe tap the back of your hip, So even. Where your kidneys are. Then slowly coming back to centre, Catch your breath. Deep inhale, Arms come up. Shoulder height and then exhale. Curl. And maybe even hug yourself. Inhale, Arms come wide and open, Chest to the floor. Front and then exhale rounding yourself so spinal mobility front and back extension. And contraction. Inhale, Open and exhale, Close the arms in front of the chest. See if you can include the hip into the movement, Bending the knees just a little to free up your hips. To inhale and exhale, Extending and rounding. And then let's do the side bends here, Continuing with the spinal stretch. Little bit of foam. Quicker one so keep both arms up in the air and just swing one arm to the side and up one arm to the side and up so rhythm is a little quicker here just so that we get warmed up Try to still breathe slowly. Through the nose. If that is still available to you, You might also breathe in through the nose. And exhale through your mouth. Wonderful. So let's get into our first sun salutation. Inhale, Raise the arms overhead. And then exhale, Forward fold. If you have your blocks available, Use those for your first table top. Inhale. Crown of the head reaches forward, Exhale forward fold. Then inhale, Bend knees, Hands flat on the ground, Step back into plank. Stay here. Pulling the navel in, Core work. On your next inhale, Knees down. And exhale chest to the ground. Inhale cobra. Exhale, Relieve the chest back down. Inhale up onto the knees on all fours, Tuck the toes, Exhale first down dog. Nice. Inhale, Come onto your toe mounds. Exhale, Pressing the heels back down. Then inhale, Bend knees, Look forward and marching forward to the front of your mat. Forward fold on the exhale. Inhale into tabletop. Nice. Exhale, Forward fold. We're getting warmed up slowly. Then inhale bend knees, Exhale rolling up into standing. Inhale, Raise the arms overhead. Extending the body in gravity. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Arms come overhead. Exhale, Bend knees, Forward fold. Inhale, Hands on blocks or shins. And tabletop. Exhale, Release, Forward fold. Inhale, Bend knees, Hands flat on the ground, Stepping back into plank. Pulling the navel in. And make yourself comfortable in plank. Inhale, Shift the head forward. Exhale, Push the heels back. Inhale, Weight pushes forward, Crown of the head starts. Exhale, Heels back. Inhale, Crown of the head to the front. Exhale, Heels to the back. Belly stays in. Your core is active. Inhale, Front. Exhale, Heels pushing back. Inhale. Push forward, Knees come down. Exhale, Chest, Chaturanga to the ground. Inhale your version of a cobra. Don't use the hands too much. Exhale, Release. Chest to the ground. Inhale, Push up, Again into cobra. And exhale, Release. Now breathing in to Cobra. And exhale, Chest to the floor. Breathing meditation. Inhaling up. And exhaling, Releasing the chest to the floor. One more time, Inhale, Chest comes up, Gaze to the front and exhale, Release back down. Then inhale onto all fours, Tuck the toes. And stay here for Cat Cow. So we. Inhale, Pushing the chest forward, Gaze forward. Exhale, Rounding the back, Navel pulls in. Inhale, Extend, Open the front. Exhale, Crunch and open the back. Inhale through the nose, Slowly opening the front. Exhale, Crunch slowly opening the back. Do this in your own rhythm. Remember, Five seconds in. And five seconds out. Inhale, Chest opens. Exhale the back opens Then come back into downward dog, Simply getting your knees up and pushing back in your heels. Inhale onto your toe mounts and exhale, Heels pushed down. Inhale again onto the toe mounts. And exhale, Heels down. Again, Inhale onto toe mounts. Exhale, Heels pressed down. Again, Inhale onto toe mounds. Great, And exhale. Stretching the calves. One more time. Inhale, Lifting. And exhale, Release. Nice. Then rolling forward, Curl. Forward into plank and then pushing back into downward facing dog again lift onto the toe mounts roll forward into plank and then push back from the hips into down dog. Again, Rolling forward into plank. And press back, Exhale. Into down dog. Inhale, Waving forward into your most beautiful plank. And exhale, Press back, Leading with the hips. Inhale, Roll it forward and exhale. Press back, Remember to breathe through the nose, Breathing slowly. Inhale, Rolling forward and exhale, Pressing back. Into downward facing dog. Then close your feet together. Inhale, Lifting the right leg up. As high as you can or want, Keeping the hips square. Exhale, Lower the right leg down. Inhale, Lift the right leg up, Hips stay square. And exhale, Lower down. Do this really slowly with purpose. And aligning your rhythm with your movement. And this breathing movement meditation. Then on the next exhale, Stepping forward into low lunge, Hands on the ground. And inhale, Lifting the arms up. And exhale releasing hands back on the ground. Use your blocks if you want to. Inhale, Lift the arms up into high lunge. Exhale, Hands back on your blocks on the floor. Inhale, Lifting up into high lunge. Exhale release and maybe on your block Inhale it. Open the chest. Exhale, Release. Nice. Inhaling up. And deep exhale, Release back down. Hands on the floor, Stepping back into plank. Big inhale here, Knees down. And exhale, Chaturanga, Chest on the ground. Inhale, Lift the chest up, Your version of a cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale pressing up onto all fours and exhale press back into. Your version of your downward-facing dog. Inhale, Coming onto toe mounds, Lifting the heels. Exhale, Pressing into the heels. And step your feet together, Lifting the left leg up. Exhale, Lower down. Inhale, Lift the left leg up and exhale, Lower down. Inhale, Lift the leg. Everything else stays where it is, Just focusing on breathing. And your left leg. Exhale down. Inhale it. Exhale down, Now curl, Bring the knee forward and stepping into low lunge. You might want to bring your block back. Underneath your hands and then inhale high lunge, Arms overhead, Opening the chest. Exhale, Release hands towards the ground. Inhale, Lifting up, High lunge. Deep breath in exhale full exhale down inhale lift Exhale, Release. We're taking all the oxygen in we can. Inhale, Hands rise to the sky. And exhale, Release. One more time, Inhale up, Enjoy taking all that air in. And exhale and letting everything out and go. Then step back into plank. Inhale, Knees to the floor. Exhale, Chest to the ground, Chaturanga. Inhale, Cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale onto all fours or knees and then pressing back into downward facing dog. Wonderful. Then inhale, Lifting onto the toe mounds. And exhale, Stretching the calves, Pressing the heels back down. Inhale, Bend knees, Look forward. And exhale coming into forward fold. Then get your blocks underneath your shoulders, Inhale into tabletop. Exhale, Release into forward fold. Inhale, Tabletop, Lifting. The crown of the head, Pushing the crown of the head forward, Exhale, Release. Another deep inhale, Stretch the crown of the head forward, The tailbone back. And exhale, Release. Nice. Inhale through the nose, Tabletop. Exhale, Release. One more time. Inhale, Tabletop. And exhale, Release. Very nice, Then close your feet, Prepare for chair pose, Utkatasana. And stay here with both knees closed. Hips back and down and simply inhale, Raise the arms overhead. Exhale, Bring the hands back down to the sides of your knee. Deep inhale through the nose, Arms come up. Stay in chair pose. Exhale, You lower the hands back down. Inhale last time. Exhale, Hands to the knee and then standing up with your next inhale into Tadasana Mountain Pose. Exhale, Arms come down. Inhale, Arms up. Let's side stretch. Cross your left leg behind your right leg and then lifting the left arm up and lean over to your right side. Simple side stretch. Inhale, Extend the left arm up. Exhale, Bend sideways a little further. Breathe slowly, Inhale, Lift and extend. And exhale, Bend a little further. And slowly release, Get the feedback parallel. Then inhale, Right arm rises, Right leg crosses behind your left. And again, Inhale, Extend. Length, And exhale, Lengthen that whole side body. Inhale, Extend and reach. Exhale, Bend. To the left. Inhale, Extend and reach. Exhale, Bend and stretch. On the next inhale, Raise the arm up. Exhale, Arms back parallel. Let's do some balance here. Inhale, Both arms come up overhead and with the exhale raise the right knee up towards the chest. Inhale, Lift the arms, Keep the knee where it is if you can and exhale, Arms come down. Focus on one spot just in front of you. Pressing the left foot into your mat. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale, Lower the hands back down. Right knee stays up. And with the last exhale, Lower everything back down. Then switch sides. Inhale, Lift the left knee to the chest. Exhale, Release, Tap the foot down. Inhale, Keep the knee up if you can. Simply lower the arms down on the exhale. Inhale, Arms overhead. Focus on breathing through the nose. And even if this is a very exciting pose, We're in balance and we're moving. Try to slow your breathing down. Slow your movement down. Focus on pressing the right foot. Right into the mat. Right below you. Grounding your foot, Connecting with gravity. Then one last time, Inhale, Raise the arms overhead and on the exhale, Stepping the left foot down. Inhale, Sitting back again in your chair pose and this time let's get ready for a new adventure. Inhale, Come up on your toe mount, Still staying in chair. Exhale, Heels back down. You might want to use the arms too. It is actually getting easier to keep the balance because you can use the arms as counterbalance. So inhale, Raising on the toe mounts. Still staying in chair. And exhale. Heels back down into safety on the floor. Then inhale stand up and exhale forward fold. Grabbing your blocks, Inhale. Reaching the forehead forward and exhale, Release. Then inhale, Bend the knees, Hands flat on the floor into plank. Strong core, Then inhale, Knees down, Chaturanga, Elbows tight. Inhale, Lifting the chest. Cobra and exhale, Release. Inhale, Come up onto all fours, Pressing back into downward facing dog. Inhale onto the toe mounds. And exhale. Release. Stretching the calf. Then, Stepping the feet together, Inhale, Lift the right leg up. Exhale, Bend the knee, Nose to the knee and we're coming into a warrior one. So anchor your back foot, Then inhale, Come up into standing and stretch the front leg. Exhale, Bending the front knee towards all five toes. Inhale, Stretch. Exhale bend, Keeping the arms overhead, Simply being here in this warrior exploration. Make sure that your back foot is at ease that you are fine with these. Angle of your back foot, So you can explore here with your breathing. And with the warrior pose. Then on your next exhale, Bend the front knee a lot. And step back into plank pose. Knees on the floor, Exhale Chaturanga, Elbows tight. Inhale, Lift the chest, Cobra. Exhale, Release and roll over all fours back into downward facing dog. Inhale, Lifting onto toe mounds. Exhale, Heels back down and step the two feet together. Inhale, Left leg rises. And exhale nose to the knee stepping forward. Back foot anchors. 45 degree ish. Then inhale, Lifting into warrior one, Stretch the front knee. And exhale, Bend. So inhale here. This should be easy and then exhale, See how far you can go into this deep hip stretch. Inhale lengthen, Exhale bend the left front knee. Arms stay up, Chest stays open, Gaze is up and the Your chin. Is lifted. Nice, Explorative, Breathing, Movement yoga. We're working with our prana, Our life force, So we're sending oxygen. Into every cell of our body. Last big inhale. And then exhale, Hands back on the floor, Stepping back into plank. Then bend knees on the floor, Exhale Chaturanga, Elbows tight. Inhale into cobra, Breathing through the nose. Inhale up onto all fours. And big exhale into downward facing dog. Inhale, Lifting onto toe mounts. Exhale, Heels pressing down, Then lifting the right leg on the inhale. Exhale, Nose to the knee. No warrior here, Pigeon pose. So bend the front knee. And then if you have your block with you, Sit with your right buttocks on your block. To make it a little bit easier on the knee for you. And then slowly wave yourself back. Into this deep hip stretch. Maybe you can. . . Bring. Your hands a little wider to go a little deeper. And make sure that you are flexing your front right foot. To protect your knee. Now you can slowly try if you can bring your Lower leg a little further forward. Position that we want to strive towards, If there is a position to strive towards. Would be to have the lower legs parallel to the front of your mat. But it fits. In an angle. That's totally fine. Most important is that your knee is safe. And that you feel the deep hip stretch. Deep in your eyed butts. You can lower down maybe onto hands or elbows or even arms. Blocks if they are available to you. And just release into the stretch. Still breathing deeply through the nose. Remember, Five seconds in. Five seconds out, Then stretch it all the way back into three-legged dog. Bring the right leg up over you. And then first of all, Petal. Walking on the spot, Feeling into both legs. The right leg will feel a little weird and the left one will hurt. Want to do the same. So inhale, Lift the left leg up. Exhale, Bend knee, Knee towards the nose. And then put your lower leg down on the floor on your mat. Sit with your left buttocks this time on your block so that it is comfortable for you. And first of all, Ease into. . . The so-called pigeon pose, Deep hip stretch. So you can keep your hands below your shoulders. You exhale into the stretch and lower down. You inhale, Lengthen. And make sure that your front foot is flat, So you're pulling the toes towards your knee. And that your knee is totally fine with the pose. You might slowly want to walk a little bit further towards the front. Off the mat with your foot or just stay where you are. Then exhale, Come back. Towards the position where you can. Hang in there for your few deep breaths. Remember to breathe. Through the nose and this should be a comfortable pose where you Feel like you can stay here for a few deep breaths, No pain. No big stretch, Just a release deep in your hip. So whatever stretch we do, We should always be able to come out of the stretch without having to force. Or shift the weight too much so that we are still in control of the pose, Whatever we do. Then lift the left leg up into three-legged dog, Come back into down dog. And now walk your two feet. Now both legs are happy. Both hips have. Had that deep stretch. And so we can slowly come. Down on the ground. So in whatever way you sit back come into sitting and vegana. Simply. Have a big exhale here. No boats. Just our half shoulder bridge. Bringing the feet above our hips. Letting all the blood flow back to our hearts. And we remember to breathe deeply through the nose. Maybe slowly counting to five in our head. And slowly breathing out through the nose. So if that is available to you, You can come up onto your elbows. Lifting the hips into the hands. Shifting the weight from the hips into your elbows. Making sure the neck is at ease. And no way it is. Either on your head or your neck. And slowly release, Take your time. To safely get back. Onto the ground Maybe rolling down. Slowly. And we are guessing. Into our final resting pose. So maybe hug your knees in one last time. And then grabbing your right knee and stretch your left leg out. Switch and change sides, Grabbing the left knee, Stretch the right leg out. Just one more release here for the hips. And then slowly come into Shavasana. Stretch both legs out. Stretching your hands out next to your body. Palms are facing upwards. Make sure your head is in line with your spine. And remember to breathe deeply through the nose. Into the belly. The chest. And the sides. Counting to five on the in-breath. Counting up to five on the out breath. So this Yoga practice focusing on breathing. Created all this wonderful prana, The life energy. In our body. Blood filled with oxygen pumping and floating through our body. So let's use this energy, Let's use this prana. To send the energy through every little cell of our body. You will now circle your awareness. Through your body. I will name every part of your body. And you simply focus on that body part sending that prana that life energy into that part of your body. While you do that, Simply lay still. Keep your eyes closed. And listen to the sound of my voice. We start on the right. Right hand thumb. Second finger. Third, Sing. Bingo! The fifth finger. Palm. Back of the hand. And rest. The right forearm. Elbow. And opera on. Your right shoulder. And armpit. The right side of the chest. Waste? And groin. The right pie. And me. Knee pit. Lower leg. And the right ankle. You are healed. The sole of your foot. The top of your foot. And the right big toe. Second toe. 3rd toe fourth toe and the fifth little toe. Feel your entire right side. Feel the whole right side. Then move your awareness to your left. Your left hand thumb. And second finger. Middle finger. Left ring finger. And the pinky finger. Left hand palm. And back of the hand. Your wrist. And forearm. Your left elbow. Opera on. And shoulder. Your armpits. And left side of the chest. Your waist? And hip. And groin. The left thigh, And me. Your knee pet. Left lower leg. And ankle. You'll heal. Soul of the foot. And top of the foot. The left big toe. And second toe. Third toe. 4th toe and your fifth pinky toe. Feel the entire left side. Feel your entire left side. Move your awareness to the back of your body. The right heel. The left heel. Right car, Left car Right knee pit. And left knee pit. Right by. And left by. Right buttock. Left butter. The lower back. The middle back. And the upper back. Move your awareness into your entire spine. The entire spine. Right shoulder blades. And left shoulder blade. Neck back of the head. And top of the head. The whole back of your body. The whole back of your body. Now move your attention to the front. To your forehead. Right temple. And left temple. The right eyebrow. And left eyebrow. The center point between the eyebrows. The center point between the eyebrows. Your right eyelid. Left eyelid. Your right eye. And left eye. Right ear. Left ear. Your right nostril. And nostril. The right cheek. Left cheek. Nose. And tip of the nose. Your upper lip. And lower lip. Both lips together. Your chin. And jaw. The right clavicle. Clavicle. The right side of your chest. And the left side of your chest. The upper abdomen. Your navel? And the lower abdomen. Your right groin. The left groin. And the pelvic floor. Feel the whole front of your body. The whole front of your body. Then feel your whole right leg. The whole left leg. Both legs together. The whole right arm. The whole left arm. And both arms together. Feel your whole back. And your belly. The chest, Feel your whole upper body. Your whole face. And the whole head. The entire body. The entire body. The entire body. The whole right leg. The whole left leg. Feel both legs together. The whole right arm. The whole next arm. And both arms together. Feel the whole back. The belly? The chest. The whole upper body. Feel your whole face. And your whole head. The whole body. The whole body. The hole. Body. The whole right leg. The whole left leg. And both legs together. The whole right arm. The whole left arm. Both arms together. The entire back. The belly. Your chair. And the whole upper body. The whole face. The whole head. The entire body. The entire body. The entire body. Feel the prana present. In your whole body. Energizing each cell. With its energy. Then slowly take a few deep breaths. Again remember. To inhale through the nose counting to five. And exhale through the nose counting to five. Remember this deep breathing. During your day. To be able to calm your mind and focus on the present moment. And slowly remember where you are. And that you are practicing Shavasana. Lying down on your back on your yoga mat. And then slowly. Open your eyes. Look around you. And start by moving your feet and hands. Wiggling the toes, Maybe stretching a little. Hugging. The knees in and then. Somehow find. Your way up into seated, You might sit on your block, Getting back into gravity, Feeling your sitting bones connected with the floor. And then center yourself. Again, Breathing deeply. Inhale, Arms overhead. Close your hands in prayer. And join the two thumbs with your forehead. The chin and your chest. Thank you so much for joining. I hope you're feeling energized. And happily present. Have a wonderful day. See you all tomorrow.