Welcome and thank you for joining this trauma-informed yoga class to support moments when nothing feels real,
Where you feel distant from yourself and you wish to feel a little more at home and grounded within your body.
There are no props required,
But you're more than welcome to include your own at any time.
Whenever you're ready,
I welcome you to start in a seated posture of your choosing,
Taking your time to arrive.
And as you get settled,
I offer a gentle reminder for you to move in your own pace and honor what feels right for you in each moment.
Knowing you can take breaks or end early.
You also don't have to explore anything you don't wish to.
This class is just a way to be in a supportive space.
There's no expectation to feel a type of way.
Or to drop completely into yourself.
I welcome you to honor your current state.
And know that simply being here is always enough.
To begin,
I welcome you to start with me with a gentle butterfly tap.
You might bring one hand to opposite shoulder,
Resting your palms,
And from here gently alternating tapping each shoulder.
Going at a pace and a rhythm that speaks to you.
This gentle exercise creates bilateral stimulation.
Activating both hemispheres of our brain.
This allows our nervous system to begin to settle.
Gently returning to ourselves.
Knowing that if you'd rather remain still here,
That's welcome too.
And here for a few more moments.
You're welcome to continue this as long as you like,
Or maybe you gently release your hands.
From here you might choose to join me in a gentle seated twist.
Bringing your left hand to your right knee,
Right arm reaches out behind,
Soft shoulders.
As you inhale,
You might lengthen in your spine.
And exhale,
Twist to your natural limits.
Honoring your body's available space.
And as you're ready,
Releasing to switch sides.
This time bringing right hand to left knee,
Left hand reaches out behind.
Finding your comfort.
Gently unwinding.
Exploring a moment of grounding,
You might choose to place your feet so that they're flat to the mat.
Or stay as you are.
Resting your feet and your hands.
Along the crown.
You might stay here or you might apply a gentle pressure with your feet or your hands.
Pressing into the mat.
Noticing this connection with the earth.
Is the surface supporting you?
And if stillness isn't supportive right now,
You could also explore movement.
Noticing the texture under your hands or feet.
Resting here a few more moments.
And staying here as long as you like.
Or you might choose to join me as we make our way onto our back,
Taking all the time you need to arrive.
Once you do,
You might have your knees bent,
Feet flat to the floor,
Maybe you bring them a little wider so your knees can rest together,
Getting as comfortable as you like.
Resting your hands anywhere that brings you the most comfort.
Maybe softening in your shoulders,
In your jaw.
Maybe resting here is enough for you.
Or you might choose to join me in a gentle practice.
To support coming back to the present moment.
There's nothing too perfect in this practice,
Just seeing what happens.
Going at your own pace.
And skipping anything that doesn't feel supportive.
Be exploring a 5-4-3-2-1 practice.
Exploring each of our senses.
Beginning with Saints.
So wherever you are,
I welcome you to find something in the room that you can gaze or look at.
It could be a spot on the wall.
An object.
Around.
Just allowing your eyes to rest here for one moment.
And maybe you just find one object.
Where you could take a moment and see if you can find five different things.
We'll be here for a moment.
Next,
You might choose to bring your awareness to what you can physically feel.
Four different sensations.
This could be the weight of your body on the floor.
The warmth of your hands.
The texture of the floor.
Or your yoga mats or your clothes.
There's no pressure to have to find four.
As many as feel supportive for these next few moments.
And moving on if you like to.
You might bring your awareness.
Toward three different things that you can hear in this space.
Maybe it's something close by,
Like your breath.
Or something a little more distant.
Maybe it's traffic.
Bird.
A humming sound from the fridge.
Just allowing each sound to arise.
You can stay here or maybe you shift your awareness to two things.
You might be able to smell in this current moment.
If nothing comes to mind,
That's okay.
Or maybe it's just the quality of the air around you.
Knowing you can explore any of the other senses if that feels more supportive.
And for our final scent,
I welcome you to notice one thing that you might be able to taste.
This could be a leftover taste.
Or maybe just the sensation of your tongue resting.
No need to try and find anything.
Just allowing something to arise if it does naturally.
You might choose to explore this practice further.
Where you might take a moment to come back to the room and space around you.
Perhaps with a deep breath.
You might take a moment to see if anything has shifted.
Even if it's very slight.
Knowing it's entirely okay if you don't notice anything.
Being here in this space is always enough.
If it feels supportive in your body to stay in this shape,
I welcome you to honor that.
Otherwise,
If you'd like to continue,
I welcome you to draw your knees to your chest.
Maybe holding behind your thighs or over your shin.
And you might choose to stay here.
Where you could explore a gentle cooling practice.
So as you're ready,
You might place your hands on your knees.
With a gentle in-breath,
Gently pressing your knees away from you.
This doesn't need to be a big movement.
You might allow your feet to grow heavy.
And on your next out breath,
Drawing your knees back to your chest as much as feels comfortable.
And moving through a few rounds of this in your own time and pace.
You might choose to simply explore this movement.
Or you might notice how your body makes contact with the ground.
Maybe any gentle shifts as you make this small movement.
And here for a few more moments.
Welcome to stay here longer.
Or you might find a good stopping point.
If you'd like to continue on,
I welcome you to join me as we bring our legs up.
Finding legs of the wall pose.
So you have several options here.
You might simply allow your legs to rest up like I'm doing.
You might rest on top of a bolster for a little bit more of an inversion.
This is supportive for your nervous system to have your hips higher than your heart.
Or maybe you rest your legs along a wall.
Or on a chair or couch.
Or finding another grounding shape that brings you the most support.
And taking a moment to settle in.
Allowing these next few moments for complete rest.
Knowing that that doesn't have to mean remaining still.
You're always welcome to fidget or move or adjust to a different pose altogether.
And for these next few moments knowing there is nothing to do.
No one to answer to,
Nothing to plan.
Just being here.
We'll be here for about one minute and I'll be here to guide you out.
You're welcome to stay here as long as you like.
If your body is asking for more in this pose,
You're more than welcome to honor this.
Otherwise,
You might gently lower your feet down.
Maybe noticing the sensations in your legs as you do this.
And then rolling to one side of your choosing.
Maybe you use your arm as a pillow or an actual pillow.
Allowing ourselves to awaken and resettle.
As you're ready,
I invite you to join me in a comfortable seat of your choosing.
Taking all the time you need to arrive.
And resting your hands anywhere that feels most supportive.
Maybe you rest them on the floor.
Noticing the connection with the earth.
Where you place them in your lap.
Or you could bring both hands to your heart space.
Connecting with yourself if that feels comfortable.
Taking a moment here to honor that you arrived here to practice.
You showed up for yourself.
And you took time for self-care.
Your hands can remain where they are or you might choose to bring them to prayer center to close our practice.
Sometimes we might feel frustrated at our symptoms,
Which is entirely okay.
But I welcome you to also honor how much your body does to protect you.
And feeling distant from yourself is one way our bodies do this.
We don't need to rush into embodiment or place high expectations on ourselves.
With support.
Compassion and time.
We can gently come back to a grounded and supported place.
You are so worthy of returning to yourself in your own time and pace.
If your eyes are closed,
I welcome you to slowly bat them open.
If they aren't open,
Coming back to the room and space around you.
I thank you for joining me for this gentle trauma-informed practice.
Hopefully you're able to feel a little more grounded,
Supported.
Or at the very least,
Were able to take a moment to yourself.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
And from my vulnerable heart to yours.
Take care.
