Welcome to this heart-centered yin yoga practice.
In this practice,
We'll work through some yin yoga poses where we stay about 2-5 minutes in each of these poses to really get deeper into the layers of fascia,
Ligaments,
Tendons,
And to connect with your energy body and your emotion body.
This class is focused on opening the space of your heart front,
Back,
Sides,
All around 360 degrees.
For this class,
It will be helpful to prepare 2 yoga blocks if you do have them,
Or if you don't,
You're welcome to replace them with thick books,
Cushions,
Or even toilet paper rolls.
They work really fine.
And later on,
It might be helpful to have a bolster or any form of support.
So we're going to start by coming into a seated position and we'll prepare the 2 yoga blocks,
One higher for the back of your head at the tallest height and the second one at the second tallest height horizontally for the back of where your shoulder blades are between them.
And we'll turn to have your back facing the yoga blocks with your knees bent and start to use your palms to support you as you slowly lower down the back of your thoracic spine between your shoulder blades.
Let that gently rest on the very first block and use your hands to adjust the second block so that it comes right behind the back of your head.
And as you do so,
You'll feel a gentle opening in the front of the chest area,
Especially where the collarbones and where the ribcage area is.
It might feel a little tender or vulnerable.
Stay with that feeling.
And from here,
You're welcome to let the hands either rest on your body.
They can stay by the sides of your ribs,
Encouraging you to breathe and expand into the space of your intercostal muscles.
You might let the palms rest on the ground by the sides if that feels good.
Or you might let them rest on your belly or in any position that feels welcoming for you.
As for your feet,
You might let them stay with your knees bent,
Feet on the ground.
You might lengthen one or both legs out.
Or you might let your feet come together and gently let your knees begin to blossom apart.
This will open and create spaciousness in the inner groin area.
If this feels really tender,
You can also use your hands to gently massage and create some spaciousness,
Some opening in the inner groin area.
And once you find the shape that you'd like to settle in,
I invite you to gently and slowly begin to close your eyes.
Let every exhalation be a letting go,
A softening into yourself,
A deepening of this intimacy with you.
And let every inhalation be an opening,
An expansion,
So you can hear,
Feel,
See,
Touch the voice of your inner teacher,
Your heart.
In a moment,
I will go silent,
So you can enjoy the sound of your breath and hear the voice of your inner teacher,
Your heart.
Anytime you notice your mind wandering away,
Gently guide your mind back into your body,
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath,
Mirroring the expansion and contraction of your chest and feeling your lungs embrace your heart.
Last couple of breaths here,
Lingering in your supported fish pose,
Opening the space of your heart.
You're very welcome to linger here if this feels inviting.
If you feel ready to transition out from this pose into the next one,
Slowly and gently,
If you have your knees apart,
Let your hands guide the knees to like butterfly wings,
Gently flutter close.
Take a moment.
If your legs are straight,
Bend your knees and let your feet come back onto the ground.
So they're back in the starting position as we were.
And slowly with the support of your hands,
Roll off to the side and gently remove any blocks that might be in your way.
And let's take a moment as you lie on your back,
Noticing the sensations along the front of the chest,
The back of the heart.
If you let your knees flutter open,
Notice how it feels in the inner groin and thigh area.
Feel free to come into any rebound pose or position.
You might want to round your spine and hug your knees in.
You might want to let the knees fall over left and right,
Left and right.
Or you might simply enjoy staying here in stillness,
Noticing what has shifted for you.
Now,
Slowly and gently,
We're going to transition into the next pose.
We're going to try a pose called reclining eagle.
And you might be familiar with eagle pose.
And this is mostly done in a standing position,
Challenging our balance.
Today,
Instead,
We'll fly an eagle lying down.
So reach your arms up towards the sky and let your right hand come on top and your left hand come below.
We'll begin to cross both arms.
And the first option is to give yourself a nice hug.
You might simply touch the sides of your shoulders or underneath your underarms.
Stay with this option.
Or you might begin to hook the elbows and bring the sides of the forearms towards each other.
And if the palms can touch,
Let them touch.
Lengthen and reach the elbows away from your chest and feel the expansion in the back of your heart.
You're welcome to stay with this option.
You're also welcome to crisscross your feet.
So you let your right thigh come on top.
And if you can hook the foot,
The ankle around the other foot,
You're welcome to do so.
And we're going to linger here for a couple of breaths before transitioning to the other side.
Again,
You're welcome to linger here if this feels good for you.
Breathing space into the back of your heart.
If you feel ready to transition to the other side,
With the next breath in,
Let your arms gently flutter apart as if you're spreading your eagle arms,
Your eagle wings.
Release your right leg.
Take a moment as you open your palms up to the sky.
And now slowly and gently,
We'll come on to the other side.
This time,
Let your left arm come on top and your right arm come below.
Give yourself a nice big hug.
You might stay here,
Rocking side to side.
Or you might come into eagle arms on this side,
Hooking the elbows,
Letting the backs of the forearms come towards each other.
And maybe if the palms can touch,
Gently let them touch.
If you wish to,
This time you can let your left thigh hook around your right one.
And maybe let the foot hook onto the ankle of your bottom leg.
Take a moment to notice what feels right for you and come into the position.
Once you've found the shape that you will linger in,
Exhale and soften.
Breathe that spaciousness into the back of your heart.
Again,
You are welcome to linger here if this feels good for you.
If you feel ready to release,
Gently spread your eagle wings.
Let every single feather begin to expand and spread.
Feel your full wingspan rest against the ground.
Unravel your eagle legs.
And let's take the next couple of moments to either linger in stillness or come into any rebound pose or position or any rebound movement that feels good for you for the next five to six breaths.
If and when you begin to feel ready to transition into the next pose,
Begin to lengthen both legs along your yoga mat.
Take a moment to lengthen your heels away from you.
Now we're going to stretch the sides,
The lateral areas of where your lungs and your heart are.
We'll start by bringing your feet as close together as possible.
Imagine you squeeze your thighs towards the midline.
And now maintaining this connection between both legs,
Gently begin to slink both of your legs all the way towards your left side,
Forming a crescent moon shape with the side of your body.
And if it feels good for you,
You're welcome to also reach your hands,
Your arms overhead,
And let them also gradually begin to arch over towards your left side.
You might use your left hand to hold on to your right forearm,
Wrist,
Or hand to give it a gentle tug.
You might also cross your right leg over your left and gently push away to add a little bit more sensation along the whole of the right side of your crescent moon shape.
Notice how you feel in this asymmetrical position.
You're welcome to stay here on this side if it feels really nourishing for you,
Breathing space into the right side of your body.
If and when you begin to feel ready to transition over to the other side,
Gently and softly release,
Taking a moment as you come back into the center.
I like to pause in the center to notice what I have shifted.
You might do the same if that feels good for you.
Maybe one side feels longer than the other.
No worries,
We'll rectify that in a moment.
When you feel ready,
Slowly slinking your legs to the opposite side,
To the right side this time,
And then if you wish,
Reaching your arms overhead,
Letting your right hand hold on to your left forearm,
Wrist,
Or maybe your hand,
And perhaps even crossing your left leg over your right and gently pushing the feet away from you to create that beautiful crescent moon shape of your body.
As much as possible,
You want to keep your hips on the ground to keep it a side stretch,
So you're really working through the lateral flexion,
The whole sides of your body.
Similar to the previous side,
You are welcome to linger longer.
Breathe spaciousness into the left side of your body.
Feel it shine.
When you feel ready to release,
Gently and slowly in your own time,
Coming back through the center,
Taking a pause.
Feel free to move your body in any kind of movement,
Any kind of rebound position if you would like.
Or simply stay in stillness.
When you feel ready to join me as we transition into the next pose,
We'll flip around this time,
So instead of sunny side up,
We're facing down,
And we'll open your arms out in a T-shaped position,
So the palms face down onto the ground.
As the palms face down onto the ground,
Turn your head to look towards the left side,
And bend your left elbow so you place your left palm right underneath your left shoulder.
Your right arm is still at roughly your shoulder height,
Palm face down,
Connected to the earth.
Now we'll push through your left arm so that you roll and lie completely on your right side.
Here we're stretching and opening the chest area and the shoulder area of your right side.
You might stay here,
You might also bend your top knee and step it behind you,
Or you might even slink and lengthen that leg far away from you to add a groin and thigh stretch.
You might also float your left arm up towards the sky and gently reach it back,
Or maybe rest it just behind the back of your spine.
And as you linger here,
Exhale,
Softening and releasing the weight of your head,
Your shoulders,
Your body down through the earth.
Inhaling,
Feeling all the spaces that are expanding.
Now gently and slowly we're going to transition to the other side.
If you have your left hand behind you,
Gently reach it up to the sky and gently place it in front of your chest,
Connecting you with the earth.
If you have your left leg behind you,
Gently let it glide and rest on the right leg before you roll and lie back on your belly.
Here you can take a moment,
You can let the ends come back into a T-shape,
You can rest them by the sides,
Or you can even stack your palms,
One on top of the other,
Forming a pillow for your head to rest on for a couple of moments.
And when you feel ready,
We'll transition on to the other side.
Let the palms come back into your T-shape as you turn and look towards your right palm this time.
Bend your right elbow and place your right palm right underneath your shoulder as if you're going to prepare for cobra pose on this side.
And push through your right hand so that you roll completely on your left side.
Feel that intimacy and that connection with the earth.
From this connection,
If you wish to,
You can bend your top knee,
Your right leg,
And set the right foot right behind you or even slide that right leg far away from you to create a gentle twist in the hip and your lower body area.
You might stay like this or you might float your right hand up to the sky,
Reaching it back or bending the elbow and gently let the palm rest behind either your lower back,
Mid-back or towards the left palm.
Every exhale is a letting go.
Every inhale is an allowing of the spaciousness of your heart.
On this side,
You are welcome to linger as well if this feels good.
If you feel ready to transition out from the pose,
If you have your right arm behind you,
Let it shine and connect with the sky.
As you exhale,
Place the palm in front of your chest.
Reaffirm and feel the earth.
From here,
Stack your right leg on top of your left if it is not already and slide and roll so that you lie back on your belly.
Feel the whole of your body connect with the earth.
Stay either in the T-shaped arms with your arms by the side or you can stack your palms once again,
Resting one on top of the other as you let your forehead or your chin rest on your palms.
Now from here,
Gently and slowly,
We will push to transition into the next position,
Coming into an all-force position for melting heart pose.
In melting heart pose,
We let the palms come right underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.
Start by walking the palms slightly forward and release your chest down towards the ground.
You might let your forehead come down to the ground if that feels good for you.
Or you might let your chin come down and rest against the ground if that doesn't crank up your neck.
Whichever feels more accessible for you.
And in this position,
We want to make sure that your hips are right above your knees.
You're welcome to linger here if this feels good for you.
If you feel ready to transition from this position,
Slowly use the support of your palms to push yourself up.
And now we widen the knees apart and sit your palm towards the heels.
This is where the yoga bolster will come in handy.
If you do have a yoga bolster,
You're welcome to lay it out long right in front of you.
And this will become a support right underneath your chest so that you can rest on top of it.
And if you don't have a yoga bolster,
You're welcome to use cushions or any form of support.
As we slowly begin to drape your body over the bolster and you can turn your head to face towards one side or rest your forehead on the bolster if that feels good for you.
Whichever feels more inviting.
From here,
If you'd like to transition a little bit deeper,
You're welcome to if it feels accessible for you to gently glide the bolster away and lengthen the palms away from you but reach the palms up towards the sky to open and stretch the inner arms and the shoulder area as you let your forehead touch down on the ground.
Slowly and gently prepare to release by flipping your palms back to touch down on the ground.
Walk your palms so that you come into a kneeling position.
As you sit into a variation of hero pose,
We'll wrap up this practice with one last stretch for your arms,
Shoulders and your chest.
From here,
Stay in this kneeling position as you reach your arms out at the height of your shoulders.
We'll let your left hand reach upwards towards the sky and your right hand reach down.
Bend your left elbow so the left palm either comes behind the back of your head,
Your neck or the back of your shoulders tapping the back of where your heart is.
For the right hand,
Either rest it behind the back of your sacrum,
Your lower back,
Mid-back or your upper back and if the fingers can clasp,
Let them gently begin to clasp.
Reach your left elbow up towards the sky as you relax your right shoulder down to the earth.
Soften your face.
Breathe spaciousness through the whole left side of your body all the way from your waist,
Your ribs,
Your armpits towards your left elbow and see if you can soften your right shoulder,
Your heart,
Your lungs.
In your own time,
When you feel ready to release,
Gently let the hands spiral and we'll try the other side.
Now this time,
Let your right hand float up to the sky and your left hand float below.
Let the right palm either support the back of your head,
Your neck or the back of your shoulders and the back of your left hand either rest behind your sacrum,
Your lower back,
Mid-back or your upper back and start to reach the fingertips of one hand towards the other.
Start to lengthen your right elbow up to the sky and relax your left shoulder down towards the earth.
Notice if your neck or your chin is tipping forward.
See if you can lean back as you let your head gently rest against your right forearm or elbow.
Feel the spaciousness in the right area of your lungs,
Your heart,
Your waist all the way up until your right elbow and relax your left shoulder down.
Soften through the whole of your left side.
When you feel ready to release,
Very slowly and gently let the fingers,
If they are clasped,
Let them unclasp and let your palms gently unravel.
Take a breath in and as you breathe out,
Let your hands,
Your arms,
Your wings of your heart gently release.
Let one palm come right in front of your heart,
The other palm come to rest on your belly.
Take a moment to close your eyes acknowledging your breath,
Your heart,
Your spirit and slowly and gently letting your eyes blink open.
Thank you so much for joining me for this heart-led practice.
I hope you enjoyed this practice and looking forward to seeing you in the next one.
