Mindful Yoga for MBSR

I'm very happy to invite you to participate with me in this comprehensive Mindful Yoga Meditation for the MBSR Course. This is a track that consists of an introduction and three 15 minute sections of movement.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided yoga session produced by Kalyana Center for Mindfulness.

This CD is part of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program taught by Eva.

It can also be useful for anybody who wants to be introduced to and guided in mindful yoga.

This practice combines simple stretches with relaxation.

By doing this practice regularly,

You are nourishing and strengthening your body and you are actively participating in taking care of your health and well-being.

Please follow the instructions as best you can and only do what your body is capable of doing.

Refrain from overstretching or forcing yourself into a position that is not appropriate for you at this point in time.

With these mindful yoga movements,

You are always working and experimenting with your limits.

You will notice that your ability to do certain movements will change quite soon if you practice regularly.

So please do only what feels right for you at any given moment and be kind and gentle with yourself.

The best attitude is not trying to achieve anything.

Just doing the movements to the best of your ability is enough.

Pay careful attention to how your body feels in each moment during the session and see if you can accept it just as it is,

However it feels at any given time.

If a posture is not adequate for you,

Please skip it and imagine yourself doing it.

Even that has a positive effect on your body.

As you are following the instructions and doing the different postures and stretches,

You may feel all kind of sensations.

Pressure,

Tension,

Pulling,

Tingling,

Burning,

Pins and needles maybe,

Or numbness,

Coolness maybe,

Heat or shivering,

Vibrations,

Subtle energy flows and maybe more.

Just feel all the sensations that are arising without judging them,

But with accepting your experience as it unfolds.

Be also aware when there is aversion or a pulling away from the experience,

When you don't like doing it.

And see if you can overcome the dislike by simply continuing to be present with the sensations,

With the aversion,

And be aware of the constant change of your experience.

Every day it will be different.

Be curious and open to what it brings you today.

Remember to breathe through the nose and down into the belly if possible,

And see if you would like to have your eyes open at times and closed at other times.

This CD has four tracks.

This introduction.

And it might be helpful to listen to it also to remind you how to approach each session.

Then there are three tracks,

Each with about 15 minutes of yoga,

So you can adapt it to the time available to you.

If you have time to rest a little longer at the end of the CD,

Please do so.

Now make sure your phone is on silent and you're not disturbed for the next 40 minutes.

I wish you a very beneficial and enjoyable session.

So let's begin by lying on the back in a comfortable position on a mat,

And allow your body to settle in what is called the corpse pose.

You're lying on your back with your feet falling away from each other,

The arms alongside your body,

And the palms open towards the ceiling,

Tucking in your chin a bit so that the neck is long,

And then relaxing the neck.

Feel your breath as it flows naturally,

Being aware of the movement at your belly,

Feeling how the abdomen is rising a little as you breathe in,

And falling a bit as you breathe out.

Then you're going to gently stretch the body.

Begin by pressing the feet away from you,

And on an in-breath,

Raise your arms up over the head onto the floor over the head,

And start stretching and lengthening the body,

And on an out-breath,

Bringing the arms back down by your sides.

Then you're going to do this again.

This time you're flexing the feet,

Pressing the heels away from you,

Drawing the toes in towards the body,

And as you breathe in,

Raising the arms up over the head onto the floor,

And lengthening and stretching as much as you can,

Stretching from side to side,

Moving your hips,

And breathing out,

Releasing,

Lowering the arms back down by your sides.

And for a few breaths,

Just being aware of how you're feeling and how the breath flows.

Remember to not compete with yourself or the image you have of what you should be able to do during the following exercises.

Just doing what feels possible and right for you in the moment is enough.

Now bring your knees up,

And you're bending them in towards the chest,

Taking hold of the knees with both hands,

And gently rocking the body from side to side.

You might also want to encircle the knees by holding each knee with one hand,

Being aware how the pressure moves to different parts of the body,

Feeling the massaging effect on the back,

Gently rocking and moving,

And if you are circling the knees,

Then also circle in the opposite direction,

And then bringing the feet gently down and stretching out the legs,

Relaxing,

Breathing,

Aware of any sensations you're feeling.

Now you're bringing the right knee up,

Holding it with both hands,

And stretching the left leg out,

Keeping this left leg flat on the floor and pressing the heel away,

Noticing how this feels.

Then stretching out the right leg,

Pressing the heel away,

And bringing up the left leg,

Holding it around the knee with both hands,

And feeling into this position.

Then you're lowering the left leg,

Stretching it out,

And bringing up the right knee again,

Holding it,

And this time you also lift your head and upper body towards that right knee,

Holding this position for a moment,

Then lowering the head,

Releasing the knee,

And stretching the leg out.

Now you're lifting the left leg up,

Holding the knee with both hands,

The right leg is stretched out and you're pressing the right heel away,

Then lifting the head and the upper body towards this left knee,

Holding the position for a moment,

And when you're ready,

Lowering the head,

Releasing the knee,

And stretching the leg out.

Now you're doing this stretch again for each leg in your own time,

Being aware of any sensations you're feeling.

Now bringing both knees towards the chest and hugging them,

Moving them slowly in towards the chest and out a few times,

Breathing out as you bring them closer to your chest,

Breathing in as you move them away a bit,

Stretching out the lower back in this way,

Then bringing the knees close to the chest and lifting the head up towards the knees,

And holding this position for a moment,

Then lowering the head to the floor,

Lowering the legs,

And stretching them out,

Breathing and being aware of how you're feeling,

Relaxing,

Then you're bending both knees,

Keeping the feet on the mat,

Both feet and knees about hip width apart.

In this exercise you're working with the hamstring muscles.

The arms are by your sides,

The palms of your hands are facing down,

The chin is tucked in so that the back of the neck is stretched out,

Then you stretch the right leg up towards the ceiling,

Keeping the knee straight,

And flexing the right foot so that the sole of the foot points towards the ceiling,

Keeping the leg in this position for a moment,

Breathing freely,

Noticing how it is to maintain this position.

Where does the effort come from?

Where is the stretching taking place?

Keeping your face soft,

The arms and shoulders relaxed,

And then bringing the leg down,

Placing the foot on the mat.

Now bringing the left leg up,

Keeping the knee straight,

Flexing the foot of this left leg so that the sole is pointing towards the ceiling,

Holding the position for a moment,

Noticing where you feel the sensations,

Then bringing the leg down and placing the foot flat on the mat.

Now you're repeating this movement,

Bringing the right leg up,

Flexing the foot,

And if you want to,

You can hold the back of this leg with both hands,

Taking your breath in,

And with an out-breath,

You're lifting your head and upper body towards this right leg,

Holding the position,

Breathing freely,

Then lowering the head back down,

Bending the knee,

Releasing the leg,

The foot flat on the mat,

And placing the arms by the sides.

Then bringing your left leg up,

Flexing the foot,

Holding that position for a moment,

And again,

If you want,

Hold the back of this leg with both hands,

Lift up your head and upper body towards this leg,

Breathing out,

Holding the position for a moment,

Then you're lowering the head back down,

Bending the knee,

And placing the foot back on the mat,

And stretching out both legs,

Breathing freely,

Aware of any sensations triggered without judging yourself or your body,

Just noticing the different sensations,

Pleasant or unpleasant,

Being aware of how flexible your body is today.

Remember to never go beyond your limits.

If at any time you feel pain or strong discomfort,

Then either ease the position or come out of it.

So just lying for a moment,

Breathing,

Aware of how your body feels.

Now for the next practice,

You're bending your knees,

Feet are hip-width apart.

This time we work with tilting the pelvis forward and back.

By bringing your attention to the lower back,

You're noticing a slight hollow in the lower back,

A small part of the back that doesn't touch the floor,

Or not as heavily as the rest of the back.

Now the movement is to press the small of the back flat into the floor,

And you do this by pressing the small of the back down and bringing the tailbone up,

So the base of the spine is lifting slightly.

Taking a moment to feel this position,

The whole back is flattened,

The tailbone is slightly off the ground.

And then you go into the opposite movement,

Releasing and lowering the tailbone to the floor and arching the back.

You're keeping the buttocks down,

Keeping the shoulders down,

And you're hollowing the lower back.

And again,

Take a breath in,

And as you breathe out,

Pressing the small of the back flat onto the floor,

Lifting the tailbone slightly,

Holding the breath out,

And then breathing in,

Releasing the lower tailbone,

And arching the back so that there's a hollow in the lower back.

And the front of the body is open.

Again,

Breathing out,

Pressing the small of the back into the floor,

Tilting the pelvis slightly,

The buttocks contract.

Breathing in,

Lowering the tailbone,

And arching the back.

Now do this movement in your own rhythm a few times,

Aware of the different sensations that are triggered,

Slow,

Conscious movements.

Now next time you breathe out,

Hold that position,

The small of the back is pressed to the floor,

The tailbone lifted,

And this time,

When you breathe in,

You're going to start raising the back of the floor.

So you lift the buttocks,

You lift the spine,

The weight moves up onto the shoulders,

And the arms move up off the floor,

Up over the head onto the ground.

So in the final position,

You're balancing on the feet,

The shoulders,

The head,

And the arms,

But the whole back is off the floor,

The buttocks are off the floor,

And you breathe in this position.

This is the shoulder pose.

Keep holding the position as long as you can,

Slightly lifting in the hips,

And feeling what's happening for you.

If you feel you need to come out,

Then slowly begin to lower the spine back onto the floor,

Lowering the arms back down by your sides,

But maybe you can stay a little longer in this shoulder pose.

You decide when it is enough,

Either holding it longer or maybe doing it twice.

Now coming out of it,

Lowering the spine,

Lowering the back down,

Lowering the arms back down by your sides,

And stretching out your legs.

Relaxing.

Allowing the body to rest.

Maybe feeling a wave of relaxation that spreads through the body as you let go of any effort.

Noticing how the body feels right now.

What kind of sensations you feel and where you feel them.

Now for the next exercise,

You're turning around,

And you're going to come up onto your hands and knees.

Mind your back,

Bend your knees,

Roll over onto your side,

And come up on your hands and knees for the cat position.

Your hands are positioned under the shoulders,

The arms are straight,

And the knees are positioned underneath your hips.

Now for the first movement,

Let the middle of the back sink down towards the floor,

Pressing the buttocks away from you so that the tailbone is high.

Lengthening the arms by pressing the hands into the floor,

Lifting your chest,

Lifting the head,

And breathing freely.

This is the first position of the cat.

The head is up,

The chest is open,

The arms are straight,

The middle back sinks down,

The buttocks are pressing away,

And the tailbone is high.

Then the opposite movement is lowering the head down,

Moving the tailbone and the buttocks down,

Arching the back up towards the ceiling,

Pressing the spine up between the shoulder blades,

Releasing head and neck,

The arms stay long,

The elbows straight.

Moving up your head and shoulders,

Lowering the middle part of the back,

Pressing the buttocks away from you so that the tailbone is high.

You might notice that it is natural to breathe in when you're lifting your head like that.

Then breathing out,

You lower the head,

Arching the back,

Tucking in the tailbone,

Breathing in,

Lifting the head again,

Lifting the shoulders,

Lowering the back,

Pressing the buttocks away from you and the tailbone is high.

And now you do this movement a few times in your own rhythm.

Slow,

Conscious movements.

Now,

Coming to the end of this movement,

You sit up,

Back onto your heels,

Or kneel up for a moment to ease out the wrists,

Maybe by rotating the hands,

Aware of how you're feeling.

Then you're coming back onto the hands and knees when you're ready.

And the next movement is the stretching cat,

And it involves some balancing.

So now you lift the head and focus the eyes on a point about three feet in front of the body,

And keep your eyes fixed on this focal point during the following position.

Now you're raising the right leg off the floor,

Stretching it out behind you.

You're letting the right hand take the weight off the body and stretching the left arm out in front of you.

Your eyes are focused on the point in front of you.

The head and chest are up.

The right leg is out behind,

And the left arm stretched out in front.

Then lowering the knee to the floor,

Lowering the hand,

Lowering the head,

Tucking the tailbone in,

And now arching the back up towards the ceiling.

Then lifting your head and find your focal point again,

Raising and stretching the left leg up behind you,

And the right arm in front of you.

Then lowering the knee,

Lowering the hand,

Lowering the head,

Arching the back,

And you will find it natural to breathe out in this position,

And to breathe in when you lift the head and stretch out your leg and arm.

So do this movement a few times in your own rhythm.

Then lowering the buttocks to the heels,

Placing the head on the floor,

And resting your arms behind your body,

The back of your hands on the floor,

And letting the body rest.

Or you can also keep your arms in front of you and rest your head on your arms if that's more comfortable.

Being aware of your breath,

Relaxing,

Feeling all the different sensations that have been triggered by this stretching cat pose.

Now reach behind the back and take hold of the right wrist with the left hand.

Lift your head,

Lift the chest,

And bring yourself back to kneeling or sitting on your heels.

Release your hands and stand up.

Shake out your arms and hands,

Shoulders,

Legs,

And stand relaxed.

Now you're standing with your feet positioned under the hips,

The big toes very slightly in towards each other.

Taking a moment to feel how the weight of the body is distributed on the feet.

And if you find that you tend to have the weight too much towards the outside or the inside,

See if you can make a readjustment.

So you can feel the weight of the body evenly distributed on both feet.

Then moving the awareness up to the knees and making sure you're not locking the knees,

So the knees are soft without being bent.

Being aware of the buttocks,

Making sure the muscles in the buttocks are relaxed.

Paying attention to your belly,

The belly is soft,

The shoulders are relaxed,

The chin is slightly tucked in so that the neck is long.

The face is soft,

The eyes and mouth are gently closed.

Then taking a moment to feel this standing posture,

The feet firmly connected to the ground.

And now on an in-breath,

Begin to open the palms out to the sides and raise the arms all the way up the sides and up over the head.

And at the end of the inhalation with your arms up,

Holding the breath in for a moment,

Lengthening upwards.

And when you're ready to breathe out,

Turn the palms out to the sides and slowly begin to lower the arms back down by your sides again.

And repeat the movement.

Feel how the sides of the body are opening as you raise your arms.

The lungs expand,

Holding the breath in a moment when the arms are all the way up with the fingertips pointing towards the ceiling,

Lengthening up.

Then turning the palms out,

Breathing out and slowly lowering the arms by your sides again.

Now do a couple of rounds like that yourself.

Slow,

Conscious movements.

Feeling the expansion as you breathe in and raise the arms.

And feeling the release as you breathe out and lower the arms.

And then let your arms rest by the sides and breathe freely.

Now the next practice is a balance pose.

Open your eyes and look at a point on the floor in front of you or on the wall.

Make sure the breath is flowing and the feet are steady on the floor.

Then transfer the weight onto the left foot.

And now lift the right foot and place it on top of the left foot.

Keep breathing,

Gently focusing on your focal point.

And when you feel steady,

Maybe you can bring your hands together in a prayer position in front of your chest.

And if you're feeling very steady,

Bring the joined hands up over the head into the final position.

Breathing,

Focusing.

And when you're ready to come out,

Slowly lowering your hands back down in front of the chest.

Placing the right foot back down on the floor.

Releasing the arms and resting them down by the sides,

Letting the breath move into its own rhythm.

Then you transfer the weight onto the right foot.

Lifting the left foot and placing it on top of the right foot.

If you feel unsteady,

Keep your arms by your sides.

And if you can,

Bring your hands up together in front of your chest.

And if you feel very steady,

Bring your joined hands up together over the head into the final position.

This is the one-legged prayer pose.

When you're ready,

Come out of the position,

Bringing your arms down,

Putting the left foot down,

And standing for a moment on both feet,

Breathing.

Then you can repeat this posture in your own rhythm.

Doing it slowly in a relaxed way.

Remember it is not about achieving,

But about exploring your body and enjoying what it can do,

Rather than judging what it can't do.

Now one more practice from the standing position.

This practice helps to strengthen and stretch the sides of the body.

Stand with your feet a bit further apart,

About a foot and a half.

Then you're clasping your hands in front of your body and turn the palms face down towards the floor.

As you breathe in,

Raising your arms up overhead and really stretching up.

The palms are now facing up towards the ceiling.

And breathing out,

Moving the hips to the right side and leaning the body to the left side.

Holding the breath out for a moment and breathing in,

Bringing the body to center,

Stretching up towards the ceiling with your hands,

Lengthening the spine,

And then moving your hips to the left and leaning the body to the right side,

Holding for a moment.

And again,

Breathing in,

Bringing the body to center,

Stretching up,

Hips moving to the right,

Body moving to the left,

Holding for a moment,

Breathing in,

You stretch back up to center,

Breathing out,

Hips are moving to the left and the body is bending over to the right.

Moving back up to center,

Lowering your arms,

Bringing the feet back in towards each other,

And standing for a moment with your eyes closed,

Noticing how you're feeling after this practice.

So for the last practice lie down on your back,

Taking a moment to breathe and just feel your body.

Then bend your knees,

Feet flat on the mat,

Both feet and knees hip width apart,

And bring your hands in under your head.

This final practice is a spinal twist.

Begin by taking a breath in and breathing out,

Allow your knees to come all the way over to the right side.

Really release the legs,

The feet,

And feel your body in this position,

Breathing naturally.

Taking another in breath,

Bringing the knees back up to center,

And moving them over to the left side.

Feeling your body in this position.

Then you do this movement again,

Breathing in,

Bringing the knees back to center,

And moving them over to the right side,

And this time move your head over to the left.

Relaxing in this posture.

Then moving your knees over to the left and your head turns to the right.

Relaxing.

Breathing freely.

See if you can release the buttocks,

The thighs,

The legs,

And feet.

Let the elbows rest on the floor,

Releasing the arms,

Keeping your hands under the head.

If you find that this is too strong on your shoulders,

You could stretch out the arms to the sides with your palms open to the ceiling.

And now move over to each side one more time in your own rhythm.

And to end this yoga session,

Stretch out your legs.

Bring your arms down alongside your body,

Breathing freely.

If you feel like holding your knees and rocking again,

Please do so.

Or just lie here,

Relaxing,

In the corpse pose.

Breathing.

Aware of your breath at the belly.

Aware of how it feels in your chest.

Aware of your general well-being.

If you have time,

You might want to cover yourself and relax a little longer.

And if you have to get up now,

See if you can keep a general awareness of your body as you're moving through your day.

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🌷🎀🌷🎀🌷Thank you so much for the wonderfully yoga🌺🎀🌺it gives me so much ☮️and sweetness 🗺️happy holidays 🕉️

Very relaxing mindful yoga. Easy to follow and very restorative. Namaste 🙏🏼