Find any comfortable place where you can lie down.
That might mean your knees are bent or you can have your legs straight,
Arms doing whatever,
It's all up to you.
Let yourself meet the ground.
Get heavy.
And let yourself just surrender to gravity.
Soften your shoulders.
Feel how your heart opens up a bit more.
Allow your head to be heavy and feel how your neck releases.
And notice if there's any gripping through your hips.
Soften that and you might even feel your low back soften.
Invite your breath to slow down.
And if you want to bring your breath even lower,
Bring your ring finger to touch your thumb on each hand and just gently press.
That will help to bring your breath lower into your belly which helps you to relax a bit more.
I know sometimes this time at the start of class can feel difficult or even boring.
That's okay.
This is you settling your nervous system.
So that you can be relaxed in the postures and potentially get a little deeper into the stretch.
So just settling our nervous systems before we practice is really great.
So it's going to allow you to really settle into the postures when that discomfort arises.
If you're meeting it from a place of peace and calm rather than forcing and pushing,
That's kind of where the magic happens.
It's kind of the whole point.
When you feel settled,
Release your hands,
Wiggle your fingers,
Your toes.
You can take a big stretch like you just woke up.
And then just make your way up to seated.
Give yourself a moment to settle into this.
Then we're going to come into our first yin posture.
We're going to come into a wide leg forward fold straddle pose.
So widen out through your legs.
If this feels like a lot through your hammies already,
Just bend your knees here.
You could even have your feet flat on the floor.
You could tuck some pillows underneath.
Sit up tall.
And this might be enough just sitting here.
If you want to forward fold it,
Then you can bring some support down underneath you and start to hinge from your hips.
You can rest your head on your hands,
Bend your elbows.
And you add as much or as little support as you want here.
If you're really bendy and you immediately get your forehead to the floor,
Enjoy it.
We're aiming for a stretch through the inner hips and through your thighs.
You might feel a bit through your back.
If you want less back and more hips,
Then just keep your spine a little straighter rather than rounding it.
You know the drill.
I set a timer.
And then once you're here,
Come back to your breath,
To inviting your body to soften.
And it's amazing how fast your jaw will get tight or your shoulders will get tight or you'll just tense.
Your job is to keep an eye on that,
Continue to soften.
Over time,
Your body might open up and you can go a little deeper,
Maybe a little lower.
The opposite can happen too.
And the sensation can grow and you might stay where you are or come up a little bit.
You're almost there.
Keep breathing.
Come on up.
You might need to use your hands to bring your legs back to center.
And do whatever you want for a second here to come back to you.
We're going to come into shoelace pose next.
So extend your left leg long out in front of you.
Bend your right knee and cross it over the left.
Heel,
Toe,
Heel,
Toe,
That foot further over.
You can stay like this.
You're going to get a little bit more through your hamstring of that straight leg if you keep it like this.
You can also bend that bottom leg so you're in full shoelace.
Keep your knees happy.
Keep your back happy.
You can play around with where your feet are.
Ideally,
You're not supposed to be sitting on this foot.
Easier said than done.
But choose the variation that works for you.
And then we're going to just stay upright to start and drop your head to your left.
So you're getting a stretch through your outer hips and through the right side of your neck.
So we layered in this little neck release to distract ourselves from what's going on in our hips.
Keep your head tipped to the left side and just bring your chin or nose down towards your left shoulder.
So you're letting your legs and hips kind of marinate in this shape.
And let them soften into it.
Keep your shoulders heavy.
Bring your head up to center.
And then you can stay just fully upright or you can lean forward a bit.
Now we're really just focusing on our hips.
They say the pose starts the moment you want to get out of it.
Take that with a grain of salt as well because,
You know,
If something feels painful or not right,
Listen to that.
But if it's just like,
Oh,
I can really feel this stretch.
Unfortunately,
That is kind of what we're aiming for.
A little bit of discomfort.
Right.
We don't go to the gym and say,
Gee,
That was such an easy workout.
You kind of want it to be that challenging level.
You don't want to be like doing a grueling workout every single day or lifting too much where it's not good.
But you want the appropriate level of stress so that your body adapts.
The same is true of our yin practices,
Right?
We don't want so little that we're not doing anything.
But we don't want so much that it's unbearable or providing too much discomfort.
So sometimes it's a hard line to walk.
Think of it like Goldilocks.
You want not too hot,
Not too cold,
Not too firm,
Not too soft.
You want that sweet middle spot.
Use your breath to keep your body relaxed and your mind focused.
Slow down your breath.
Come on up.
Unravel your legs.
And just take some time for you.
There's this man,
Polly Zink.
He's one of the yin yoga original people,
Whatever.
Big name in yin yoga.
And when he comes out of that pose,
He does like fully straight legs.
And it's pretty incredible to see.
But personally,
I'm not moving like Polly Zink.
I'm using my hands to bring my legs out of it.
It takes a minute to let your body readjust.
When you feel ready,
Straighten out your right leg.
Bend your left,
Cross it over.
Heel toe,
Heel toe.
Decide if you want to bring the bottom leg into it.
Don't be surprised if one side feels way different than the other.
Once you've got your leggies all settled,
Tip your head to the right.
Bring your chin or nose down towards your right shoulder.
And bring your head upright.
And choose whether you stay upright or tip forward.
Some of you know that I do Thai yoga massage.
Um,
That's really what I do full time.
And there is something magical that happens when you exhale.
So not only do we feel this in our own bodies when we're practicing yoga,
But I actually see and feel it in my clients' bodies.
When they exhale and they're really focusing on their body on the spot we're working on,
I literally feel the muscles relax.
I feel it under my hand or whatever I'm using.
There is magic in a slow,
Deliberate exhale.
So wherever you're feeling this,
Imagine sending your breath into it like it's a lung.
Imagine that area expanding as you breathe in.
And softening,
Relaxing as you breathe out.
There is magic in breathing out slowly with intention.
Come on up.
You can unravel your legs normally,
Or maybe you do the big sweep.
Straight legs somehow,
I don't know how that works.
And we'll give our outer hips a bit of a break.
And we'll get into the inner hips now.
So a few options for this one.
If your knees are a little bit more sensitive,
Then you can lie down on your back.
Feet together,
Knees wide.
If you want one that's a little bit more,
I guess,
Sensitive for the knees,
That's not a great way to describe it.
It's a bit of a deeper stretch,
But it can be a little tricky on your knees.
You're going to come to hands and knees.
Widen out through your knees,
Probably a bit wider than your mat.
And then you can keep your knees in line with your hips.
You can have your toes pointed out or in.
Now,
My knees personally feel fine here,
But some days I'll tuck blankets or pillows under my knees.
Or you can turn so you've got the support of your mat under your knees.
And this can be a little bit of work just hanging out here.
So if you want,
You could put a cushion under your torso so you can actually relax into this.
So this is called frog pose.
If you'd rather something like a wide-legged child's pose,
Do that,
Don't let me stop you.
Some people are quite open through their hips and they can just basically lie on their stomachs here.
That ain't me.
Rest your head any way you'd like.
And feel that stretch through the inner hips and thighs.
Just make sure your knees are comfy.
You don't really want to be stretching your knees.
And this isn't about continually widening out your knees.
It's about finding some peace and some stillness.
Wherever you are.
And just feeling that stretch through your inner hips and thighs.
You made it.
Come on up.
You can use your arms a lot here.
And just slowly guide your knees back in.
Just take a breather wherever you are.
Now I'll give you some options for this next shape.
Option one,
Again a knee-friendly option,
Is to lie down on your back.
Place your right ankle over your left thigh.
You can stay here.
Or I like to rest my left foot on something.
That way you're getting the benefits of like pulling your leg in without using your arms.
If you want to make it more intense you can scoot closer to whatever your foot's resting on and hang out there.
The aim is to feel a stretch through your right hip.
Option two is a pigeon pose.
And it's nice to have some extra support here.
So for this,
Hands and knees.
You can add a pillow or a cushion just underneath you here.
Step your right foot over it.
Crawl your right foot over to the left as far as you want.
Sit your hip down onto whatever you're using.
The more you bend this right knee,
The less intense it will be through your hip.
So if you've got like a 90-degree bend in your knee,
That's going to be the most intense,
Where your shin is like parallel to the short edge of your mat.
You can stay up.
You can fold down.
I like to rest my head on something.
If you've been to this class before and you want to layer in any of those arm variations,
Go for it.
Let yourself soften here.
Let yourself be supported by your props so you can fully relax.
You've got it.
Just a little bit longer.
You made it.
Come out of this shape any way you'd like.
If there's a graceful way to come out of it,
Let me know.
And just lie down or rest or whatever.
Okay,
Let's do this second side.
Whoo-hoo.
Okay,
As gracefully as you can.
Make your way to the second side.
That's your left side.
Now,
It's worth noting that it.
.
.
It's worth noting that all this hip work can bring up feelings.
And this has been a very hip-heavy,
Hip-centered class.
So the idea is that we kind of push our feelings down and we kind of sit on our feelings all day.
And when we actually take time to tune into our hips,
And not just to like give them a good stretch physically,
But your mind is naturally drawn there because there's such a big sensation.
You're sending your breath there.
You're sending your awareness,
Your energy,
And,
You know,
The physical stretch.
All into places that we don't really think about all day long.
Places where old feelings kind of live and our body stores them.
Sometimes this is when your body gives you a big release,
Like lets that emotion go.
So if you find that old thoughts are popping up,
Old memories,
Tears,
Feelings,
Whatever.
If they are coming up,
That is normal.
It's actually a good thing.
It's a release.
But it's also not something that you need to make sense of.
It's not something that you need to process.
Oh,
This is where it's coming from,
Whatever.
Of course,
Talk therapy is beneficial.
But that's not what this is.
This is you letting your body let that go without having to explain or rationalize anything.
You are just here to feel.
And then if you let yourself just feel it and let it pass rather than holding it on or pushing it away,
That's when your body really allows it to go.
So there is some magic to this practice.
It's a very body-centered release.
And sometimes that feeling of release doesn't happen till later.
It used to happen to me a lot when I would attend classes.
I'd be walking home and just start crying.
That's just kind of the magic of it.
Things moving through your body,
Energy,
All of that.
You don't need to explain anything.
You don't need to hold on to it or push it away.
You get to just feel it,
Ride the wave,
And let it go.
And what a relief that is.
It's not yours to hold on to anymore.
You made it.
You've come on out of this.
Bend or lie on your back,
Sorry.
Then bend your knees.
Lift your legs up and drop them to your right side.
You can look to your left,
Maybe extend your left arm.
And just take three slow breaths in your twist.
And when your three are done,
Switch sides.
Take about three more breaths here.
Come on back to center.
Any last movements or postures that you're craving.
And then just rest.
You've done enough.
Stay and rest as long as you'd like to.
Otherwise,
You can place your hands someplace meaningful for you.
And send a heartfelt thank you to your body,
And to our yoga practices,
And to you for carving out this time in your day to do something really sweet for your body.
Thank you so much for being here with me.
Peace.
