Slinky Spine & Spacious Hips: Prop-Free Yin Yoga (25 min)

This prop-free Yin yoga practice invites softness and spaciousness into the spine and hips through slow, supported floor poses.

The sequence begins with Half Wind-Relieving Pose, followed by a gentle spinal twist to encourage mobility and release along the back body. From there, you’ll explore Half Frog Pose, allowing the hips to gradually open and soften.

The practice concludes with Child’s Pose, offering a moment of rest and integration.

Moving slowly and staying in each posture for longer holds, this Yin session encourages deep relaxation, gentle stretching, and quiet attention to the body.

It is suitable for beginners and experienced practitioners alike.

Transcript

Welcome to this No Propsian Yoga practice. For this practice, We'll stay close to the ground and all of the poses will be either lying on the ground, Either belly face down or the back along the ground. So for today's practice, You'll need a yoga mat and we'll start lying on your back. As you begin to lie on your back, Slowly and gently, Releasing the whole weight of your body down to the earth. You can adjust your hair, Your clothing, Taking a moment to notice how it feels. As you stay here, Let's take a big exhalation through the mouth. Maybe you relax your hips, Your legs, Your shoulders, The weight of your head, Even your palms a little bit more. Now slowly and gently, We're going to come into the first pose of the day. We'll start by hugging your left knee towards your left shoulder, Coming into wind relieving pose. And we'll stay here in the Yin style, Meaning we'll hold the pose for a little bit longer. And see if you can keep the whole of your body, Especially the muscles in your body, Fairly relaxed. In this position, We're compressing and massaging the side of your waist, Your hips. Imagine you're flattening the whole of the back against a yoga mat. If it feels good for you, You can gently and slowly let your eyes close. You're welcome to linger here if this feels good. If and when you begin to feel ready to join me as we transition into the next Yin pose, We're going to guide your left knee with your right hand over towards your right side, Coming into a gentle spinal twist. Now in this spinal twist position, You might keep your left shoulder on the ground while you keep your left knee floating, Or you might keep your left knee on the ground and let your left shoulder float up, Whichever feels best for you. And as you linger in this position, You can also adjust how high your left knee is, Either closer to your chest, At the height of your hip, Or even lower. Another nice option might be to lengthen that leg out, But only if it feels good for you. And for the arms, They can be in a T-shaped position, Cactus arms, Your elbows can bend so your hands can rest on your chest, Or your arms can be by the sides. Whatever feels good for you. We're going to stay here for a couple more breaths. If you want to also stretch your neck, Then look away from your left knee. Similar to the previous side, If this feels good, Feel free to linger in this position. If and when you begin to feel ready to join me as we transition out from this position, Follow your left knee so that you roll and lie completely on your right side, And then turn so that your belly faces down while your left knee is touching the ground. So we come into a half frog position, With your left knee touching on the ground, And your right leg in a regular long position along the yoga mat. There are a few options, You might stay with the elbows on the ground, So you come into a backbend, Or you might even come slightly higher up, Whatever is accessible for you. If this feels quite intense, You can also gently and slowly relax your head down, On towards your palms, Or on towards your stacked fists. We're going to stay here for a couple of breaths in this half frog position. As you linger here, See if you can soften your shoulders down. Feel the spaciousness in your left hip and groin area. You're welcome to linger here in this half frog if this feels nourishing for you. If you feel ready to transition out from this position, Slowly start to roll, Slide your left leg behind you. You can stack your palms one on top of the other, Letting your forehead rest on top of the palms in crocodile pose, For the next three to five breaths. And when you feel ready to come to the other side, We'll once again roll so that you lie completely on the back of your spine, And take a moment in this supine position with your legs out, Arms by the sides of the body. When you feel ready, We're going to hug this time your right knee towards your right shoulder. Gently guiding your knee to the shoulder, And as you exhale, See if you can relax the whole of your body, Especially your shoulders, The weight of your head, The whole of your hips, The back of your spine, The whole of your left leg along the yoga mat. If it feels good for you, You can let your eyes gently close. Similar to the previous side, You are welcome to linger here if this feels good, Massaging the right outer hip area, The digestive organs. If and when you begin to feel ready to transition out from this pose, Gently guide your right knee away from your right shoulder, And then slowly using your left hand, Guide it all the way so that you roll and come into a gentle spinal twist, Moving your right knee to the left side. Similar to the other side, You can either keep your right shoulder tethered to the ground, While likely your right knee will stay away from the ground, Or your right knee can touch down and the right shoulder can float up, Whichever feels best for your outer bum and thigh, Your spine, As well as your pec muscle here that's connected to the shoulder. And you can also adjust how high your right knee is, Either close to the chest, At the height of the hip, Or slightly lower than the hip. And once you find the position that feels good, Stay in that position and feel free to choose the option for your arms, Either in a T, Cactus arms, Maybe the elbows can bend and the palms can rest on your body, Or on your sides of the ribcage to feel the rise and fall of your breath, Or maybe you let the palms simply rest by the sides of the body. As you linger this position, Notice if you're holding any unnecessary tension in any specific parts of your body. And with your exhale, Could you gently release that unnecessary effort? What if the poles were holding you? Feel that. Similar to the previous side, You are welcome to linger here if this feels good for you. If you feel ready to transition out of this pose, Slowly let your body roll so that you lie completely on your left side, And then turn your belly so that it faces towards the side where your right knee is open up. Feel the side, And now we come into the half rock position on the other side with your right knee bent, Open up to the side. Same options as before, Maybe you stay with your elbows on the ground, Maybe you prop up into a slightly higher position, Whatever feels right for you. And we're going to settle in into this half rock position. Once you've found that right shape, When you find the right position, You can also stack your hands into fists and let your head rest down on towards your fists, Or use your palms or your knuckles to support either the forehead or your third eye, Connecting with that space between the eyebrows, Whichever feels best for you. You're free to linger here in this half rock position if this feels nourishing. If you feel ready to transition out from this pose, Gently release your right leg, Let it slide, And then once again, If it feels good for you, You can stack your palms one on top of the other and let your forehead rest on top of the palms. We have one final pose to come into before we conclude this practice. Slowly at your own pace, Pushing yourself up, Coming into a wide knees child's position, Letting your knees come wide, Sitting your bum towards your heels. The first option is to gently begin to fold forward, And if your forehead doesn't quite reach towards the ground, You can stack your hands into fists and let your head rest on top of the hands. You can also stack the hands using them as palms, So they are like a tiny cushion and you let your head rest down. If your forehead can touch down on the ground, Feel free to reach the palms out and let your head touch down onto the ground. We're going to linger here for a couple more breaths. With every exhale, See if you can let your bum begin to sink and yield towards your heels. Soften your chest, Let your forehead reach towards the earth. You're very welcome to stay here if this feels good. Feel free to linger for as long as you wish in your child's pose, Restoring your body, Mind and spirit. If you feel ready to slowly rise up to conclude today's practice, Gently and slowly with the next inhale, Walk the palms closer towards your knees. Either come into a cross-legged seated position or hero pose, And let's take a moment in this seated position. Aligning all seven of your chakras from the crown to the root. Checking in with the different spaces of your body. And then with both palms uniting them in front of the heart, Letting your head bow down towards your heart, Taking a moment to center in this gladness and gratitude for everyone and everything that made it possible for you to be here and practice yoga today. Thank you so much for joining me in this yin yoga practice. I hope you enjoyed this practice and looking forward to seeing you in the next one.