Super Duper Dose Of Self-Care

This class video begins with a quote titled "Gratitude" by Melody Beattie to help set the theme and intention for practice. We then share qigong, wall yin yoga, myofascial release (massage), and a guided gratitude practice, all to gift ourselves a super duper dose of self-care.

This practice is particularly helpful if you're feeling depleted, have fluid retention in your legs, have jet lag, achy legs, and/or an achy low back. It is advised NOT to massage with the tennis balls if you are on blood-thinning medication, or over any recent cuts, bruises, or injuries.

Please have your mat set up perpendicular to a wall, and have 2 tennis balls, pillows, snuggly socks, and a snuggly blanket (or similar supports) ready for practice together.

Transcript

Halle! Welcome to our super duper dose of self-care. That we're going to share together today. This is a really helpful practice if you're feeling a little bit depleted, If you are on your feet a lot, Standing on your feet a lot, Or you've gone for a long run, A long walk, Long bike ride. Also, If you've been on a airplane flight, Like a long flight, And you've got some fluid retention in your legs, We are going to head towards bringing our legs up the wall. And so that helps to drain any fluid. Also a really gentle way to nourish your low back and balance. Your lower back. So we will share some qigong, Some yin yoga with some myofascial release today. So we need a couple of props. You might notice I have my mat set against the wall. I've got two tennis balls. Now if you have quite a massage ball collection at home you might like to also use, I've got a soft spiky ball. And then I also have a clean sock. I've put a tennis ball in a clean sock as well as we will massage our jaw. There's also a blanket here and a small cushion. So make sure you have those ready. And then we are going to start standing. Before we stand, I want to share a beautiful quote with you that is going to help us set our intention for our practice together today. It's by Melody Beattie. She says, Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough. And more. It turns denial into acceptance. Chaos to order. Confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast. A house into a home. A stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past. Brings peace for today. And creates a vision. For tomorrow. Thank you, Melody Beattie. We are going to take those wise words into our practice together today. We're going to infuse our practice with gratitude. Cultivating mindful attention towards our body, Our breath, Our heart, Our mind. We can allow any thoughts, Sensations, Emotions to arise when they do. And go when they're ready. And let us greet them all with kindness. Compassion, Gentle curiosity. Let's come to a standing posture together. You are welcome to sit in a stool or a chair if that's more accessible for you today. We're starting in our Ouija posture. So begin to soften. Open the joint. Feet shoulder width apart. Create a little space under your arms. Relax and open the joints. And begin to activate your Tai Chi pole. So this central meridian, This central channel of energy. We tuck the tailbone under a little, Tuck the chin in a little, Bring the tongue to rest on the roof of the mouth. And lengthen through your spine. Imagine a string pulling from the crown of your head. Allow your shoulders to soften and let your breath begin to sink down, Down, Down, Down into your belly. Let these slower, Deeper belly breaths help to quieten our nervous system and quieten our mind. We are going to infuse our practice with gratitude together today. Let us bring a smile to the face. Let that smiling energy shine through your eyes. Spread to your heart. Connecting you to that unconditional love in your heart. I invite you to gently turn your palms to face the earth. And let's share three drawing down the heavens together. So gathering Earth energy. Inhaling raise the arms up. Exhale, Wash down through centre. Inhaling up. Exhaling down. One more, Inhaling up. And exhaling down. Beautiful. Come to. You might notice I've taken my socks off. Come to your ball. I'm using a spiky ball here, A soft spiky ball. Now let me show you with my hands first. We're going to use our toes to try and Hold on to the ball. So I'm using a tennis ball. It's easier for you to see we're going to use our toes and start by trying to activate all those little muscles. In the feet. You can hold onto a wall if you need to or you might still be seated. So I am. Starting to wake up all the little muscles in my toes. And then sideways sweeps, So from one side to the other. You might be saying good morning toes or good evening toes depending on what time you're practicing. And then I'm going to come to stand sideways so you can see this a little easier. I've got the ball right at the base of my toes and I'm dropping my heel backwards. So I'm looking to feel stretch along the back of the calf and sometimes shifting your weight forward can help. You access that stretch. So let's take three breaths here. Remember in ancient Daoism they like to do everything in threes. That's the magic number. And then release and now we're going to If you need to hold on to the wall, Please do. Now we're going to take long sweeps. So heel, Toe, Heel, Toe, Three times. And then the outer edge of your foot. Three times and then the inner edge of your foot three times. Now this time we're going to bring the ball just above. The arch of the foot. So if I show you my foot. Kidney one is here. This is where we're aiming to place the ball. So we place the ball at that level. Take a breath in, Push down. Breathe out, Release. Beautiful. Again, Breathing in and out. Breathing out. Again. Breathing out delicious and then let's take some circles. Now so circling around the heel three times in one direction and then three times in the other direction. Sometimes the ball can run away here. Good flour balance. Now we bring our heel directly above the ball, Take a breath in, Push down on the inhale. Exhale, Release. So breathe in, Push down. Exhale, Release. Again, Breathe in and out. And breathe out. Beautiful. Come to bring both your feet to the floor. Let's take a little pause. Notice how The foot you have given attention to is feeling. I started with my right foot. Thank you, Whitefoot. Good morning, Good evening. Perhaps you can feel some. Tingles Echo of the massage. Increased blood flow. And let's gift our left foot some love as well so again starting in the beginning you're trying to activate if you see my fingers it's like we're trying to lift the ball up. Our toes. So hold on to the ball with the toes. And then sideways switch. Waking up the toes sensation. And then remember we have. The toes I'll come sideways again so you can see the base of my toes above the ball drop your heel back and then if you need to shift your weight So you can feel stretch along the back of your calf muscle. Three breaths here. And then release. Beautiful long sweeps so from the toes to the heels. Forwards and back. Now if there's a particular point, Then we go to the outer edge that you feel needs some extra love. And attention. Then please give it some extra love and attention. And then inner edge. So if there's one direction that feels like you just need to sweep it, More than please do. Then we come again to kidney one. Just above the arch of the foot. So it's about two thirds up from the heel we've placed the ball. And then push as you inhale. Exhale, Release. So we're not dropping the heel back this time, We're just pushing directly down. On the inhale, Exhale, Release. Again, Breathing in. Breathing out. And they're nice. Little heel circles. One way three times and then the other way three times very good for our balance And then the ball is directly below the heel this time. We inhale, Push down. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Push down. Exhale, Release. And one more Inhale, Push down. Exhale, Release. Beautiful. Come to stand back on your mat. Just take a little pause, Feel into your feet. Send both your feet some thanks for all that they do. Feeling. All those little sensations. One more breath here. And let's all come down onto the mat together now. And have your two tennis balls within easy reach, Your clean socks. I like to have a cushion for the head. And a snuggly blanket nearby. Let me show you how I find it easiest to get the legs up the wall. So if we come to. Just bring our hips. As close to the wall as we can. Then we take a swivel and lean back on the elbows. Bring the legs up the wall. Now you can see my pelvis is still quite away from the wall at this point so I need to have a little caterpillar shuffle to get closer. If you need to get closer. So if you're not feeling any stretch along the back of your legs yet, That's a sign that you need to just caterpillar shuffle a little bit closer. Some people, I like a pillow under my head. Some people need to place a cushion under their pelvis and that helps them access this pose. I've got my balls nearby. And here we are! We're in Wall Caterpillar. Huh. So we're all looking to feel stretch along the back of the legs. So we're stretching along the bladder meridian. We allow gravity to help us. Allowing out. Feeling into our feet which may still be tingling from the massage. Draw your attention through the ankles, Your lower legs, Your knees, Your thighs. Allow your legs to begin to grow heavy. Gravity is. . . Working on our legs, Our legs are feeling heavy and sinking down into the hip sockets. Anchoring our pelvis to the floor. Begin to take some deeper belly breaths. You might like to rest your hands over your belly here. Slow, Deep belly breaths. Some people like to bring their arms up. Above their head. You're welcome to take that option if that suits you today or just have the arms by the side. We're going to spend precious time in each pose with our yin yoga stretches. Allowing the time to weave its magic. And slowly begin to help our connective tissue, Our fascia, Release. If you notice your mind wandering or becoming caught up in a stream of thought. That's okay, That's what the mind does. When you notice just gently and kindly. Redirect your attention back to the stretch. Along the back of the leg. And that sensation of your pelvis. Being supported. Your whole torso. Being supported by the floor. We are in a gentle inversion posture here. Which is gently energizing. So our heart. Is aligned. In this pose the same level as the head. Nice. Inversions are involving our heart being aligned above our head. Or slightly in line with our head. Beginning to soften and surrender to the pose. If you are new to this practice, It can seem quite simple. But you might find you get some shakes in the legs. If you need to, You can always give your knees a little hug, Bring the knees into the chest and give them a squeeze. But as much as possible when we practice yin yoga. It's also a practice of patience and learning to be with. A little bit of discomfort so we don't want any sharp shooting stabbing pains, They're all risky pain that are signs that we need to modify or come out of the pose. So please listen to your body. Please take what you need and leave what you don't. These are all suggestions today. So from here, Let's take three more breaths. In wall caterpillar. Slow deep belly breaths. And then we are gently going to begin to bend the knees and bring the soles of the feet together. So we're coming into a wall butterfly. So a wall caterpillar into a wall butterfly. And this is where we take our tennis balls So I've got two tennis balls. I'm going to bring them into the fleshy part of my buttocks. So we don't want to put the balls on the bony part of our pelvis or our sacrum. I'm not sure if you can, I don't think you can really see them, But I've bought them either side of my sacrum. In the fleshy part of my buttocks. And they're at the same level. Now you might like to just hold the balls there and that's enough. If it's too tender you can take a blanket and put the blanket over the top of the balls and that will soften the balls a little so it's not too intense. A sensation for you. You also might like to join me in just Rocking. Your knees side to side a little bit. That will help you find some juicy spots. Now if you find a particularly juicy spot you might like to hold And take three breaths, So breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. By breathing out through the mouth, That is a purging breath. And she go. And then you might like to find another point. And sometimes the balls can slowly roll out to the side so you might need to You might even like to just choose another level. So you. . . Reach. Some different trigger points in the buttocks. If you are just holding the balls and not moving you would always would also like to gently move. The balls and reposition them so you get a slightly different effect. Release each time. With the ball placement. And again, Remembering if you find that juicy spot, You can take your purging breath, So in through the nose. Out through the mouth. Let's take three more breaths here. And then we release the balls. Slowly roll the pelvis back to the mat. And we're just pausing here in butterfly. For a few more moments. Noticing the echo. Of those tennis balls. Noticing how your body is. Feel in and around your hips. And can you notice some stretch? Through the inner legs. So let's take three more breaths here. And then slowly straighten the legs back up the wall again. So we are returning to our wall caterpillar. I need to shuffle a little bit closer to the wall again. Rolled away a little bit. So if you need to hug your knees to your chest You're most welcome to. Just taking a little rebound. Out of butterfly pose. And then we're going to come into a wall dragonfly. So we're all going to shoot our legs back up the wall and this time we're gently opening them wide. So opening them. Wide but Remember we're looking for 60-70% stretch, So don't force yourself. Into a any yin yoga pose. We're always looking for a Goldilocks position of not too much, Not too little, But just right. So when I come to. Wall dragonfly my feet quite like to roll out to the sides. Some people like to have their feet more neutral. And some people actually feel comfortable rolling their feet in. I find that. Doesn't work for me so well. So just choose the position of your feet and your legs. If the stretch inside the thighs is too much, You could bring your hands to the outside of the thighs to gently just support the legs a little bit. Or vice versa, If you're not feeling any stretch through the inner legs, This is our target area, Feeling stretch through the inside of the legs here, Then you could place your palms on the inside and add some weight. Or you might like to return your palms to your belly or by your side. And often as we hold this pose. You might notice that your feet, Your legs, Tend to release. And move a little. Off and down the wall a little further. We're holding our Goldilocks position. Surrendering to the pose. Feeling into the stretch. Running. Through the inside of the leg. So we are stretching our. . . Kidney. Liver and spleen meridians here. Allowing yourself to marinate in this stretch. Your legs up the wall in a wall dragonfly pose. Remember time is the magic ingredient of yin yoga. So as we hold the pose for a longer period of time, This helps to release the tension. Through the fascia. Our connective tissues. It's not so much a muscle stretch as. . . A fascial stretch. Let's take three more. Slow, Deep belly breaths here. At the end of your third breath. Let's all bring our palms to rest on the outside of the thighs. So we help take some of the weight of our legs as we lift the legs up and slowly close them like a book. Ha and we're back to our wall caterpillar. Some people like to rock their legs side to side here. Or again there is the option to Hug your knees into your chest if that feels good. Just taking. A few moments to feel the echo. Of that. Stretch. Through the inside of the leg. Our next pose we're going to use a tennis ball in a sock. So if you haven't already got a tennis ball in a clean sock, Start doing that now. We're going to bend our right knee. And take our right ankle to rest above our left knee. Now for some people, It ends up, They end up with their right ankle dislocated. Below the left knee depending on how much movement you have in your hips. We're looking to feel sensation and stretch in the hip and a little into the thigh. Now, If you're not feeling any sensation yet, You could join me with bending your left knee and drawing it away from the wall. So I now have a figure four. With my legs. Some people prefer to bring their legs closer together, So it's almost like you've crossed your legs. We're looking to feel stretch into that hip, That right hip, That right buttock area. So have a play with do you have your knee out with space or do you like to have your knee sitting on top of your left knee, So you've crossed your legs. So again, The option is your right ankle resting above your left knee or closer together and having your knees come together. I'm going for the knees closer together option today. And then we take our tennis ball and we're going to begin to massage our jaw muscle. Your masseter muscle runs from, It's your main jaw muscle. And we're going to roll the ball I have a microphone here, It makes it a little trickier, But we're rolling the ball up and down. So from the edge of your jaw up to the cheekbone. We'll take three rolling sweeps just like we did with the legs. And then we can take the ball to any particular areas, Juicy points, Those trigger points. And you can roll, Do little circles with the ball or you might like to just hold the bowl, Or some people like to pin and spin so they find a juicy spot. Pin it and then twist, So spin. And then release and again pin and spin. So there is a reciprocal relationship between our hips and our jaw tension. So if we can release tension through the jaw. This can also help us release tension through the hips. We're also stretching through the hips. The right tip at the same time. So this is really beneficial if you're someone who Bruxate suits. Clenches your teeth at night time. Going on and releasing through your jaw. Again the options you might still be rolling if that feels good. Or little circles or just holding. Remember, You can use your purging breath again. So breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth if you find a particularly juicy spot. Then we're releasing the massage on the jaw. But we're staying in the pose. For another minute. And now we can begin to relax. Feel that stretch through. The body. Through the hip. The right hip. And let's take three breaths here together. And then to safely come out of the pose, If you have your left knee bent, Straighten that one first and then unpretzel the right leg. Hoowee! That's a strong one. That's more a 70%, Isn't it? So again, Taking any option you need, You might like to hug your knees to your chest again, Or rock your feet a little side to side. Or just keep your legs straight up the wall in stillness. In wall caterpillar. Noticing how different the pelvis feels, The hips feel. Just taking that gentle curiosity to the body. When you're ready let's swap sides. So this time I have the tennis ball over the other side ready to massage my left Masseter muscle. Let's bend the left knee. And bring the left ankle to rest above. The right knee. For some people, It's a little lower down, Depending on their hip. Range of motion today. And then if you're not feeling any stretch yet, You could bend your right knee. And that will work. Increase. Stretch then we also have the option to Remember, We can have a figure four position. Where our left ankle rests above the right knee or we can bring the knees together. So it's like we've crossed our legs a little. And that will increase. The stretch into the left hip for some. Or you might again prefer to keep a figure four. So whichever option suits you best. I'm going to go a little bit halfway today. And then take your tennis ball again and we roll from the bottom of the jaw up to the cheekbone three times those long sweeps. And then you might like to pin and spin. Or take little circular massage motions or even some people like to roll under the cheekbone particularly where that masseter muscle is inserting and release there. So I'm going to pin and spin. For a little bit. And use my purging breath. Today. And maybe some more sweeps. Or you might like to take some little circles. Or you might find one particular juicy spot and just hold that point. So sometimes we can have trigger points that shoot up towards the head into the eye. Into the teeth with this one. Let's take three more breaths here. Last one. So release the tennis ball off to the side. We're just going to hold the stretch for another minute. Allowing your jaw to relax, Your shoulders to relax. Feeling that stretch into your left hip. Let's take three more conscious breaths here together. The end of your third breath. Let's slowly straighten the right leg, If it's bent, And then unpretzel the leg. Whew. Yep, Can feel that one today. So you might like a little rock and roll in the hip sockets by rolling the feet one way then the other, Or you might like to hug your knees into your chest again. Just taking a few moments of rebound. Before we are then going to come into our final wall pose. So this time we're going to use both our tennis balls again. And we're going to come into a wall squat. So. . . We all need to just shuffle up the mat a little bit. We bend our knees. Bring our feet onto the wall and just let yourself shuffle up a little bit away from the wall. I've got my two tennis balls still with me. Now your feet position. Some people might find that their knees tend to knock in a little bit when they come into the wall, So just We can all look quite different in a wall squat. And ideally we all want to feel a juiciness in the groin area, So in the hips. We want to feel like we are opening through the hip joints. So some people like their feet out wide. Some people prefer their feet a little closer together. So just take a few moments to find your Goldilocks position of mind. For your feet. And then we want to. . . Be holding this pose for quite a few minutes. So again we're looking for 60 to 70 percent stretch into our hip sockets with this wall squat. We're also aware of having stretch through the perineum, So the base of the pelvis, Once you've found your Goldilocks position we're going to take our tennis balls and this time we're going to place them under our upper shoulders. So I've got my pillow here. Just moving it away a little bit and I'm going to come to place a tennis ball in that fleshy part of my upper shoulder on one side and the fleshy part of my upper shoulder on the other side. So we want them to be at the same height if possible and we're beginning to feel Um, Sensation, So a tenderness from the tennis ball. In our upper trapezius muscles and a little bit into our levator scapulae muscles. Or levator scapulae, Depending on how you like to pronounce it. Oh, So it can be quite juicy. Let's take three purging breaths to start. See if you can allow yourself to melt over the tennis balls. So try not to react to the placement of the balls. Be with the placement of the balls. So just learning to be with that little bit of discomfort. Again, If it's too strong, You could place a blanket over the top of the balls, Or if it's just too strong, You don't even need to add the balls in there today. If you're not feeling very much. With the balls at the top of the shoulders and you'd like to feel a little bit more you could take your arms out to the side Take a breath in. And then wrap yourself up in a hug. That will increase the stretch with the tennis balls there. Increase the sensation. So each time you breathe out. We're allowing ourselves to melt over the tennis balls. Releasing with each out breath. That little bit more. And then we can swap. Arm position. So inhale, Open the arms wide again. Exhale wrap yourself up in a hug this time with the opposite arm on top. We get a slightly different sensation with the tennis balls. And again the ancient Taoists like to do everything in threes so we'll take one more opening of the arms wrap yourself up in a hug again swapping the arm position and this time just a little rock. Side to side. Releasing through. Upper trapezius muscles. And a little bit into our levator scapulae. Insertion. Maybe even a little bit in to your upper rhomboids And then let's release. We're going to take those tennis balls away. Hmm. We're holding for another minute here. In our wall squat. Feeling into the tingles of the shoulders. The stretch in the hips and the perineum. Surrendering to this pose. Is wall squat. For a few more moments. Let's take three more conscious breaths here. And then we can all slowly draw our knees up towards our chest. And give ourselves a little rock and roll side to side massage of the low back. Mm-hmm. Thanks Slowback for all that you do. And then we are going to just find a comfortable position so moving up away from the wall, I'll guide you through a gratitude practice. So this is where you might like to get your snuggly blanket and snuggle yourself up in it. I'm going to sit because it's easier for me to guide the practice seated. So just take. . . Few moments to find your position of comfort. For our guided gratitude practice. Make sure you're nice and warm. And then we will share our Three more conscious breaths. So this time we're going to take a beak. Face stretching yarn together so opening wide And then a big inhale through the nose and sigh it out. Hmm. And this time, Big breath in through the nose, Out through the nose. Relaxing, Awake. And alert. Please remember there's nothing you need to achieve. Or accomplish. During this guided meditation. This is your time. You're welcome to follow my words. Or allow them to sit gently in the background. Just let your breath settle now. Let your breath breathe you. And I invite you to Become aware of the space. Between your closed or lowered eyes. It's like a field of darkness. Perhaps there's some muted shapes or colours there. We're not looking for anything, Just simply resting our attention in this space with relaxed eyes and a soft gaze. And I invite you to Draw your attention to sound. Starting with sounds from further away. We're just listening. Allowing sounds to come and go without resistance. Drawing your attention closer by. Perhaps you can hear the subtle sound of your breath. Just your natural breath. Allow the sounds to help call you into the present moment. And I invite you to. . . Pay further attention to the breath, Not only to the subtle sounds. Associated with your breath but also sensations. Associated with your breath. Feel the gentle rise and fall. Of your chest and your belly. Each time you breathe in and out. Just your natural breath. We're going to allow our breath to join us. With our grateful body scan today. So I invite you to do that. Draw your attention all the way down, Down, Down to your toes, To your feet. Where we started massaging earlier in the practice. Begin to feel into your toes. Into the soles of your feet. The tops of your feet. Your heels, Your ankles. Feeling all through your feet. As you feel the flow of your breath. And thank your feet. Thank you feet for all that you do. Helping me to balance. To stand. Walk. Connect to the earth. As you feel into your feet, Sending your feet thanks. And feel the flow of your breath. Begin to draw your attention from your feet, Up your legs, Up your lower legs, Your knees, Your thighs. Feeling into your legs. Where we've been stretching together today. Feeling into the legs. And into your hip sockets. All around your pelvis. As you feel into your legs and your hips, Feel the flow of your breath. Begin to thank your legs and your hips for all that they do. Allowing you to walk. Stand, Run, Perhaps skip, Maybe dance. Thank you, Legs and hips. Thank you very much. Breathing in, Direct your attention to your legs and hips, Filling them with gratitude. Drawing your attention up to your torso now. All the way out. All the way up the spine, The rib cage, To the tops of the shoulders. Where we were just massaging earlier. Begin to feel into your torso. Become aware of all the life-supporting organs nestled inside your torso. As you feel the flow of your breath. Breathing consciously. With gratitude. Directing gratitude to your torso. All those life-supporting organs inside. Thank you torso, Thank you organs. As you feel the flow of your breath. Your life sustaining breath. Flowing in and out of your lungs, Nestled in your torso. And I invite you to begin to become aware of your arms, So your upper arms, Elbows, Lower arms, Wrists and hands. Let's send them some gratitude as well. We were also using them in our practice together today. They allow us to hug and to hold. Thank you arms. Thank you hands. Feeling the flow of your breath and into your arms and your hands, Filling them with gratitude. And drawing your attention up. The neck to your head, Your skull. Becoming aware of your head. Your jaw where we were massaging earlier today. The eyes, Your face. Feeling all around your head. Becoming aware. Of your head. Your jaw. Your jaw, Allowing you to talk. To sing, To laugh, To smile. To chew food. All those sensory organs nestled in the skull, Your eyes allowing you to see, Your nose to smell. Your tongue to taste, Your ears to hear. Feeling into your skull. Filling your skull with gratitude as you feel the flow of your breath. Your brain nestled inside your skull. Opening your awareness to your whole body now. Sending thanks. To your whole body. Thanks and acknowledging. Your body as you feel the flow of your breath. As we come towards the end of this practice today, I invite you to join me. In dedicating its value and its virtue. And sending kind thoughts. So as we breathe in, Saying silently to yourself, May I be filled with grace and gratitude. As you breathe out, Picture. . . Another and send them kind thoughts. So may you be filled with grace and gratitude. May I be filled with grace and gratitude. May you be filled with grace and gratitude. May we all be filled with grace and gratitude. May all beings all over the world be filled with grace and gratitude. We can slowly start to wiggle fingers, Wiggle toes. You might like to gift yourself another knee squeeze or hug. And then when you are ready If you are not already seated we can come to a comfortable seated position together. Drawing our palms. In front of our heart. In a prayer position. Take a little bow of the head and then continue to draw the base of the thumbs, So the palms, Up between the eyebrows to our middle dantian. As a gesture of honor, Respect, Even more gratitude, Compassion. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to yourself. And to the practice we've shared together today. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I hope you found that practice helpful. If you did, I urge you to share it with anyone else. Or who you think might find it beneficial. So. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I look forward to practicing with you again. Thank you.