This is a beginner Yoga practice using blocks and a yoga belt to gently stretch your hamstrings. You can use anything else for props as well or simply use your surroundings. Hamstring stretches can be intense, so please be mindful. We will end with a long savasana using yoga nidra techniques.
Meet your Teacher
Bischofsmais, Germany
Transcript
Welcome everyone to day 13. Today we'll be focusing on our hamstrings, Stretching and mobilizing the back of our legs and the whole back line. So we will be again using our two blocks. And something new, Which is a belt strap. Or anything similar you can get your hands on. Let's get started. So arrange your props at the front of your mat. And then come into standing. Into mountain pose, Tadasana, Pressing your feet into the mat and rising through the crown of your head to the sky or ceiling. Then take a deep inhale, Lift the shoulders up. Back. And down, Bend the knees some, Take a deep inhale, Stretch the arms overhead, Lift the chest a little, And then bend the knees, Coming into our first Hamstring check. Forward fold. And they might be a little tight, Maybe. A little sore from the hip practice we've been doing. Then just notice what's going on. Inhale, Lifting into tabletop. And again, Exhale into forward fold. Then inhale, Bend the knees a lot, Hands flat on the floor. Stepping back into plank pose, Just staying here for a few deep breaths. Inhale, Shifting the weight slightly forward. Exhale, Pressing the heels back. Just two more times. Inhale, Crown of the head moves forward. Inhale, Back. And then, One more time, Shifting the weight forward. Big exhale, Heels back. Then inhale, Weight forward, Knees down on the ground. Narrow the elbows, Scratching the ribcage with your elbows. Shoulders stay away from the ears. Here we are. First Chaturanga on the floor. Inhale, A little Cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Lift onto all fours. Exhale, Press back into downward facing dog. Walk on the spot, Just mobilizing the ankles, Knees, Let's stay in down dog, Pressing the hips back and up, Chest moves towards the floor. Then inhale, Climb onto toe mounts. Exhale, Heels back. Inhale, Bend knees a lot. Remember, We want to start hopping a little as we walk. Forward. And maybe at some point we'll hop forward. Forward fold. Inhale, Tabletop. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Bend knees a lot. Exhale, Roll up into standing. Inhale, Arms overhead. Come onto your left leg. Exhale, Right knee comes towards the chest. Grab your right knee, Inhale. Release a little. Exhale, Pull the knee towards the chest. One more time, Inhale. Exhale, Pull towards the chest. Perfect, Now we've been working on this move. So. . . You know the kick back move in the hip practice. So we want to grab that belt. So this is part of the practice. Leaning forward, Kicking that right leg back. And here we go with our belt. Right knee comes back up. So the bell is a sling. If possible but it works in any other way as well. So we want to get our foot in there. Right below the screen. The toe mount. And this is nice and easy. So the purpose is we can stretch the leg a little more while we stay lifted in the chest. We don't have to bend and collapse forward while grabbing our foot. So big inhale, Roll the shoulders up, Back and down. So you're fully into the asana with the upper body. Now let's experience here what we can do with that. Right leg here. Inhale, Bend the knee. Exhale, Stretch the leg. As much as it is available to you. Inhale, Bend. Exhale. Grits. Right, And notice something would have to give If I would want to grab. My big toe. With my fingers there's at least 20 centimeters that my arms would be too short right so the strap is just what we need. So we don't hurt our back in this practice. We can still practice. Aww Nicely long and straight spine. Shifting the crown of the head towards the sky or ceiling, Pressing the feet down while we work on the hamstrings. Now stay here. Now grab your belt with the right hand. Let go of all the rest, Doesn't matter. And now inhale. The leg walks to the outside. I know this hip is burning. Just one more time to the center. Exhale and inhale, Oven open. You are fully focused now. Exhale, Come back to center and then step the right foot back into lunge. Low lunge, Just Wiggle it out. Shifting the weight front and back. Nice. Now get onto that back knee. And get your blocks ready. So here we are, Hands on block, Deep hip stretch, Inhale, Lift the chest. And now exhale, Shift the weight backwards. Hamstring stretch for the left side. You can pull the toes towards the nose, Then inhale. Hip stretch. And exhale, Hamstrings, Left side. Stay with your hands on your blocks, Arrange the blocks so that they are comfortable for you. So you can lift the chest here, Get the air in, Open the lungs, And exhale, Release. Nice, Two more times. Inhale, Lift the chest. Exhale, Sitting back, Hamstrings. Nice. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Stay here. And we want to now sit on our right heel, But if that is too tight or painful in your right knee, You can simply get your block below your left hand. But. . . And so we have our hips parallel to the ground while we come into this seated forward fold. Getting quite intense here. So once more, Lift, Inhale, Lift the chest and exhale, Release forward, Still pulling the toes towards the nose. Inhale, Lift, Exhale, Lower the chest down. Folding and bowing the whole head forward. Now again, Rising and lifting. Exhale and bowing. Nice. Inhale last time, Then we stay. Now exhale, Stay here. Just wherever you are and whatever is available to you nice take deep breath in through the nose. So, Balance-y, Stretchy practice today. Opening up the hamstrings, The back of our body. And then slowly lift back up. We're gonna come back forward into the hip stretch. Grabbing the block, Take it along with you. And now from here, Step back into plank. And stay in plank just for a little while. While we inhale, Pressing the weight forward. And while you exhale, Pressing the heels back. Inhale, Weight comes forward. Exhale, Weight comes back. One more time. Nice. Inhale, Front, Exhale back, Now last time shift the weight forward, Knees towards the floor, Narrow the elbows, Scratching the ribcage, Exhale to the ground. Inhale lifting into cobra, Exhale lower, Inhale onto all fours and exhale into downward facing dog. How do you feel? How do those legs feel? My left side's feeling pretty stretched. Alright, Then stay hip width apart, Inhale, Lift onto toe mounts. And exhale, Release into heels. Then inhale, Bend knees a lot, Look forward, Jump a little. As we come into forward fold, Lengthening the whole back of our legs. Then inhale, Lift into tabletop. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Bend the knees and exhale, Lifting into Tadasana Mountain Pose. Inhale, Arms overhead. Shift the weight to the right. Exhale. Left knee comes up, Grabbing that knee. And now first of all, Lift your chest, Get your back straight. Nice. Then inhale. On the exhale, Pull the knee towards the chest, Not the chest towards the knee. So no curving, No bending forward. Inhale, Release. Exhale, Knee towards the chest. Next pose is called. . . Grabbing the belt, Pose, So let go of your knee. Kick that left leg back. Hopefully the belt isn't too far away. And then come back up with your belt in your hand. Get into that sling. Falling is allowed. And then climb into that belt. So it might be different on one side than it was on the other. That's totally fine. So inhale, Bend the knee. Exhale. Stretch. Remember to stay lifted from the chest. Not to bend forward, Not to. . . Bow this time. Exhale. The chin is lifted. The gaze is lifted. The chest rises towards the stars. Nice. Inhale, Bend knee. Exhale. I guess I have your full attention in this pose. Inhale, Bend knee. Exhale, Lengthen the back of the left leg. One more time, Bend. Yes, The arms are working too. Exhale. Hands, Grab the belt with the left hand only. Open the right hand to the side. We're going to inhale and the left leg travels all the way to the side as much as you can. Exhale, Come back to centre, The chest, The gaze. Everything is oriented forward, It's just the leg that is opening towards the side. Great. Shall we do one more time, Just for fun? Here we go. Try to stretch the leg, Open the hips. And Come back to center. Bend the knee. Get rid of the belt and step back into lunge pose. Stay in low lunge and shift the weight front and back. Just enjoying solid ground under your fingers being held by the ground on your mat here. Then lower the back knee. Grab your blocks so that you can lift the chest, The chin and the gaze. Big inhale. And then exhale, Hips move back, Hamstring stretch, Right side. Inhale lift. And exhale, Release. So in our back line that travels from the toes over the sole of the foot, The ankle, The hamstrings, The lower back. Middle, Upper back, Through the neck, The head, The crown of the head, And all the way through or to the Eyebrows Oui. Store a lot of our stress. So the There's two ways of reacting to stress. One is the. . . Open up reaction, Like the big inhale you could call it. A frightened inhale and one is the protection of the organs in our belly. Be making myself small bowing curling in as we say the big exhale scare. And usually we have the two patterns somehow in our bodies. So there is a part that closes the front but there's also a part that keeps you in that constant fight against the imaginary Tiger. Then stay here, Releasing that back line in this forward fold. And you are all safe now so whatever is still there stressing you Just let go and grab your right block. Put your block underneath your right hip to sit back comfortably. And now take a big inhale, Stretch the chest and exhale, Release it all forward into that seated one-legged forward fold. And so when we prepare for bed, Prepare to sleep at night. A good way to prepare us to Practice a forward fold as this signals your body. You can let go now of your pain. Big inhale, Scare. And release the tension in the body and this gives your nervous system the hint to also switch from the active nervous system, Which is called the sympathetic nervous system, Into the more passive nervous system, Which is the parasympathetic nervous system. All right, Let's get out of here somehow. So I want to climb back onto into that hip stretch and from here get the hands back on the floor. Stepping back into your plank pose. Here we are, Shifting the weight forward on the inhale and shifting the weight back on the exhale. Weight forward on the inhale. Weight back on the exhale. One more time you can do it. Weight forwards, Knees come down, Exhale, Narrow your elbows and then lift into your inhale. And exhale. Then inhale into all fours. Exhale into downward facing dog. Now inhale into your toe mounds. And exhale, Release. Nice. Then bring your left foot to the center. Climb your right foot onto your left. And we'll stay in this three-legged dog variation. Nice. Then Change side, Get the right foot. To the center, Walk it there, And then climb your left toe onto your right heel. Stay in downward facing dog on three feet. Nice. Then release the feet, Come back, Hip width apart. And bend the knees a lot and walk or jump forward into your forward fold. Nice! Now grab the opposite elbow, Bend one knee, And then the other. And just swing the upper body into the direction the upper body would naturally go when you bend one knee. So you might ask. . . In order to release all this tension, Why can't we just stretch? Why do we have to do all these? Poses. That we need to work through in yoga. Why do we have to go through all this tension again? And the answer is that our muscles It's much easier for our muscles to let go. After they've been contracted. So the play of contraction and decontraction or contractions. And relaxation. Is something that is much easier to do than just to relax at will. And that is why yoga is such a great way. We work usually in isometric or eccentric contraction. So we work the muscle, But then we also tell the muscle to release and let go. And then release the arms, Climb onto your two blocks into tabletop. Exhale, Release. How are these hamstrings doing? Inhale, Bend knees. Exhale, Roll up into standing. Last time, Standing. Inhale, Arms overhead. Enjoy having two feet on the ground. Exhale, Release. Uh-oh, It's coming. Don't worry, Don't get afraid. Exhale, Inhale into tabletop. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Bend knees, Look forward. Climb back into plank pose. And here we go, Last time. Knees down, Shift the weight forward. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale it. And exhale, Release. Inhale, Your push up. Exhale, Push back into downward facing dog. Then lift the right leg up, Stepping forward into low lunge. And here we go, Walking towards the center into that wide straddle pose. Feet are parallel. In that pose. Either on your fingertips or grabbing your blocks. We come from this version of a tabletop into forward fold. So slowly inhale lifting, Tabletop, And exhale release. Inhale, Lift. And exhale, Release. So again, We work the muscles actively first before we passively just relax into forward fold. So stay here. Maybe grab your ankles. Maybe swing the hips a little and just ease into that relaxation. Of the hips, The hamstrings. The head and neck can relax. Deep inhale. Into the chest. The sides and the belly. And again exhale and if that is available today for you Breathe deeply through the nose. Then we're going to be doing something Extremely exciting. We're gonna move with our hands towards the left foot, Coming into low lunge on the left. Now step the right foot forward and sit back. Nice! So from here we're going to simply lie back And as we lie here, We're going to grab our belt. For some more hamstring stretch lying on our back. So step into the belt with your right foot. This is one of the most relaxing hamstring stretches. So the left knee is bent. Now see if you can stretch the left leg out while you still stay here. With the right leg almost straight or maybe still bent. Whatever is available to you. Now breathe deeply, Inhaling, Releasing a little. And exhaling, Coming a little deeper into the stretch. And now you can work your foot here like a steering wheel. As we have three hamstrings. A center, A right and a left one. And you can check which one is tightest. Usually it's the inside. The 1 That's. . . Is on the inside of your thigh so you might want to turn that leg out a little. And come into your hamstring stretch here. Nice, Then bend the knee. Keep the knee bent, Set the foot to the mat, Change side, Step into the belt with your left leg. And before you start. . . Working the left leg. Slowly slide the right foot. Out. Stretch the right leg. And see what you can do here. Inhale, Bend the left knee. Exhale, Stretch. And you can also drive sideways. You might notice your leg. Comes in, Rotates in, So you want to help it rotate out. And still feel where it is. Tightest and help your body. Relieve that tension there. Inhale, Bend. Exhale, Stretch. Inhale, Bend. And exhale, Stretch. Nice and stay here exploring just a little bit more Deep inhale. Exhale and then bend the knee. Get rid of your belt, Stretch both legs out and we'll just stay here in final resting pose. Feel into both legs. You should feel light and easy. Relaxed and soft and just amazing. So place your arms alongside your body and dive into Shavasana. Find your most comfortable position. Allowing your legs to extend. And rest. As your arms settle by your side. Close your eyes, Gently. And take a few moments. To settle into a state of stillness. After the state of activity. Take a deep breath to inhale through your nose. Filling your lungs with fresh air. And then exhale slowly. Through your nose. Letting go of any tension. Inhaling deeply. And exhaling. Letting everything go. Allow this breath to anchor you in the present moment. Then move your awareness. And to your legs and to your feet. And feel the prana, The energy created during the practice. In your toes. And your arches. And your heels. And slowly move your attention up and down. Through both legs. Noticing any sensation in your calves. And knees. And then continue this journey. Through your thighs and into your hips. Notice your hamstrings. And the subtle sensations. In your hamstrings. Imagine the back of your legs Melting. Into a soft warm Send. Imagine yourself lying on a warm sunny day on the beach Notice the back of your legs. Melting. Into this soft sandy surface. Imagine a gentle warm breeze moving around your nose. Picture the ocean. And the energy of the waves Picture a lush forest at the edge of the beach. Tall trees. Swaying gracefully. With their leaves rustling. And as you breathe, Visualize this natural energy. Flowing through your body. Just as the waves. Move onto the shore. Sense the fluidity and strength of nature infusing into your legs, Your upper body. Your head. And into your entire body. Notice. Your physical body. And all its sensations. While you can imagine. Lying on the beach and being surrounded. By the vitality and strength of nature. Imagine your consciousness merging with the expansive energy. Of the Universe. Envision the vastness of the cosmos. And sense a deep connection. With the natural world. With the beach. The warm sand. The waves of the ocean. The trees, And the wind. Feel the unity between your being and the energy that flows. Through the universe. Allow the imagery. Of the ocean. The gentle breeze. And the cosmic energy to envelop you. Feel a profound sense. Of peace. And unity. As you rest in this shavasana. Bask in the feeling. Of release. And the connection with the universe. Acknowledge the unity. Between your inner self. And the vastness of nature. Carry this sense of connection with you. As we transition now back into your day. Um Take a deep inhale, Open the eyes. Look around you in the room. With your next deep inhale, You might want to stretch. The arms and legs. Just waking your body back up. And you might feel really tired now so You want to or can, You can also stay here. Or continue with your day but moving really slow. And enjoying to be in that passive mode, That parasympathetic mode. Then roll onto your side, Lifting the weight up, Making yourself a comfortable cross seated position. Then lift the chest, The chin, The gaze, Come into seated. Take a big inhale, Arms overhead, Join. The hands into prayer. Thumbs towards. The forehead. The chin. And the chest. Namaste. Thank you so much for joining. Have a wonderful rest of your day. And I'll see you all. Tomorrow.
