Yin Yoga: Spine & Savasana Rebounds

This Yin Yoga class is for people with experience with Yin Yoga and understand the importance of listening in and caring for their own body, heart and mind. If you have any concerns, health issues, injury, areas of pain, please seek both medical advice and guidance from a Yin Yoga teacher before practicing.
Yin Yoga is intended to have interesting mild sensation-never sharp or strong. When getting into poses, the practitioner stops at the first sensation. Props: Blocks or bolster or pillows

Transcript

Welcome to our Yin Yoga class,

Moving Through the Spine and Shavasana Rebounds.

Let's start by coming to a comfortable seat.

You can prop your sitting bones if that is a nice way for you to sit.

You want to find a place where you can feel upright,

But not uptight.

Long through the spine,

Graceful,

Shoulders soft.

Your eyes can be closed or just unfocused a few feet in front of you.

As you feel yourself start to come into your body and arrive for your practice.

This is a beginner-friendly sequence that moves the spine in all directions.

It's good and important and feels great to move your spine in all the ways it's built to move.

We're incorporating shavasana after each pose as a way to focus on feeling in with curiosity,

Learning to embody the shapes,

And reconnecting with the principles of the practice.

It's funny,

Really,

In yoga we say a straight spine,

But what's really meant is an elongated spine with the natural curves intact.

So today we're going to take care of the health of our spine.

The joints in the spine move in every direction,

And the joints are meant to be moved or they atrophy.

So we're looking to move in our full range of motion,

But not forcing.

For the next minute,

Can you just bring your attention to your spine line,

Imagining the breath moving up and down the spine with each gentle inhale and exhale,

Softly up and softly down.

Imagine it as an energetic bath for your spine,

Just feeling the breath moving in your body.

And then with hands on your lap or at heart center or on your heart,

Let's commit to our presence for class today.

I vow now to pay kind and compassionate attention to my body,

Heart,

And mind.

I vow now to pay mindful,

Kind,

And compassionate attention to my body,

Heart,

And mind.

And let's move into our first shape,

Supported fish.

So place two blocks near the top of the mat on their lowest height,

Approximately a foot distance apart.

And you're going to lay down on your back to release your back body down onto the blocks.

So you might need to adjust them so that one of the blocks is below the middle of your head and the other between your shoulder blades,

But not too far down.

And let your body relax onto the support of the blocks.

If this doesn't feel right for you today,

If it feels too intense and not a place where you can soften,

Then you have the option to use a bolster rather than blocks,

Or placing the bolster on the blocks,

But then the block under the head would be at the middle height.

So take the time now to adjust and find your shape,

Letting your chest open to the sky and the shoulders open to the side.

Play with the arm positions to find one that is comfortable for you,

Shoulders open and relaxed.

In this heart opener,

Opening the heart,

Shoulders,

And chest.

Starting our spine movements by opening up through the upper body in this back bend.

Starting with the back bend for our movements of the spine.

Movement of the spine is critical for the physical and energetic health of our spine.

This is where our chakras are housed and this is where our spinal fluid is housed.

Imagine that you can bring your breath right into the spine line,

Flushing it with clear,

Bright light,

Fresh,

Clean air.

This visualization can really help you to land in the body,

Feel the breath,

Soften,

And open.

The joints in the spine move in every direction and they're meant to be moved in every direction.

You can keep your breath attention on the spine line or bring it into the heart,

Opening through the lungs and heart space,

Inviting curiosity and softening.

If your mind wanters,

It's great when you notice.

That is the gift of mindfulness,

That you can notice and bring it back,

Using the breath as an anchor or maybe noticing sensation in your body and letting your attention rest there.

Using a long inhale to bring your attention into the body and a long exhale.

We'll come out of this shape by engaging a bit through the core of the body,

Using the arms to come to the side body,

Moving the blocks so that you can lay on your back and rest in our first rebound of Shavasana.

In the rebound,

You find stillness and an opportunity to turn inward and feel the sensations in the body,

Letting the ground have you.

We're going to try to move slowly in all parts of the pose,

All parts of the sequence.

So moving with carefulness,

Roll onto your belly.

Coming to Sphinx pose by propping yourself up on your forearms.

Your elbows are approximately shoulder width and slightly forward of the shoulders.

The forearms can be parallel or they can be crossed in front of you with your hands at the elbow creases.

And you want to be neither dumping into the shoulders nor lifting them.

So you can play with the length of your arms here to find the right spot for you.

So if there's any tingling or sharp or electrical sensation in the shoulders,

You'll want to move your elbows further from the chest.

And you're going to accommodate your own body with respect to how wide the arms are and how far or close they are to the body.

You can even place a bolster under the armpits if you need that support to soften more.

The legs are together with the buttocks relaxed,

Unless that feels risky in the low back.

You can play with the width of the legs to find some relief if it's too tense in the low back or periodically tightening the buttocks to lessen the spine sensation.

Here we're lengthening the front of the spine and compressing the back of the spine in this back bend.

And it can assist in restoring the natural curvature in the low back,

The lumbar.

Let your body soften here.

And let's revisit and recommit to the three S's of Yin of how we come into the shape.

It's shape,

Stillness,

And stay.

So moving into the shape,

The purpose is to find your initial edge because with time in the shape,

Your edge moves closer.

And you're never pushing into intense,

Sharp,

Or electrical sensation.

Remembering our intention at the beginning to kindly and compassionately observe and care for body,

Heart,

And mind.

And then we commit to stillness,

Or I say still-ish.

Noticing any urge to move,

Any urge to fidget.

Is it an urge to fidget or is it a message from your body that you need to make a wise change?

So you assess.

Have you gone to a place that's risky or intense and you need to dial back?

Have you lost the edge and you need to go deeper?

And in either of those,

You make the decision,

Make the adjustment,

And recommit to stillness.

And then stay.

The third S,

We resolve to stay.

This is where the magic happens.

The benefits from Yin Yoga develop as you immerse yourself and soak in the shape.

Finding your shape,

Committing to still-ish,

Resolving to stay.

Noticing not just what's in the mind,

But in the heart as well.

Body,

Heart,

And mind.

What is going on right now?

Three more breaths here.

With loving care,

Lower down to your front body for forward shavasana.

You can use your stacked hands as a pillow for your forehead.

Or have your hands down,

Palms up under the hips.

Even bringing your right or left leg out in a little half frog leg to help release through the low back.

As you soften down to the ground,

Forward shavasana.

Not checking out,

But remaining curious as to the effects of the pose.

Ask yourself,

What am I feeling physically?

Physical sensations may feel like pressure or tingling,

Fluidness.

It might have a temperature component,

A feeling of movement or pulse,

Vibration.

Feel the physical sensations inside your body as fresh blood and oxygen come to those previously compressed areas.

Just noticing.

To come to our next shape,

Banana.

You're going to want to roll onto your back,

So push through the hands.

Scoop one arm under the other of the lifted chest,

Rolling onto your back.

Come to one side of your mat.

Shimmy over,

Off-center,

Over to one side.

With your legs together,

Move your feet towards the opposite side of the mat.

Shimmy your shoulders over to that side as well.

You're creating this nice C curve like a banana.

Elongated on one side of the body,

Compressed on the other.

Now giving your body this nice side bend.

You can have your arms overhead,

Maybe one hand holding the opposite wrist.

But if your arms aren't on the ground,

Either put a bolster or blanket under them.

Or bring your arms down by your side and find a comfortable place for them to rest.

Adjusting the amount of the curve so that you're at your initial edge.

Not pushing in too deeply.

And if there's any tingling in your hands,

That's why you want to make sure that they're propped or down by your side body.

And let's revisit our other three principles for coming into and being in your shape.

How you embody your shape in a way that honors your intention.

Listen,

Always listen to the needs of your body and your inner voice for guidance,

Patience and observation.

These are key principles of Yin Yoga.

This is what brings the depth and richness to the practice.

What brings it beyond the physical.

Getting more from your yoga.

Being willing to notice and be with whatever comes up,

Which brings us to kindness.

Be kind to yourself.

Practice with compassion rather than judgment.

So you're not analyzing or grading yourself.

There's no good or bad practice.

Just curiosity.

Every practice is valuable and an opportunity for self-discovery and for body recovery and rejuvenation.

Listen,

Patience and observation and be kind.

I love banana pose because it's not a way that we typically move our body in daily life.

And often our joints don't get the movement that they crave.

The spine has 100 joints and they're built to be moved.

They're meant to be moved.

Feel the elongation on one side of the body and the compression on the other.

Maybe even picturing what your skeletal spine looks like.

Using your breath to move.

Slowly come to bring your spine to that quote straight position.

Coming out of the C-curve.

Finding Shavasana rebound on your back.

Committing to presence.

Finding yourself relaxed yet alert.

Ask yourself,

What is my emotional state?

You may find yourself surprised by what comes up.

As you make space for all kinds of feelings that may have been repressed or just hiding around the corner.

You may feel contentment,

Relief,

Joy,

Grief,

Bliss,

Sadness,

Fear,

Love,

Happiness,

Anxiousness.

Or if at first it's hard to notice them that specifically,

Maybe you're simply going to label your emotional content as pleasant,

Unpleasant,

Or neutral.

And as you practice more,

Your ability to recognize and name all your emotions will increase.

Welcoming them all.

When you're ready,

Shimmy to the other side of the mat and again bring your feet to the opposite corner.

Moving the shoulders over to make that nice banana curve.

Noticing on this side if it's better for you to have arms up or down.

Find your shape and then settle into this gentle practice.

A time of stillness and quietude.

This is time to spend with yourself.

Getting to know yourself in a curious and loving way.

Being here with the breath,

Here with the body's physical sensations,

Here with whatever emotions arise.

And noticing your state of mind.

If it's changed from when you first got here.

Perhaps less busy.

Breathing softly in and softly out.

Noticing if you're holding on anywhere.

Often I find myself gripping through the glute area.

Can you soften there?

Or anywhere else that you might be hanging on.

See how slowly you can move as you bring yourself back to your neutral Shavasana rebound.

Notice if you've engaged anywhere through the body.

And see if it feels okay to let the ground hold you rather than you holding yourself.

And notice now what is the state of your mind.

This is a great opportunity to examine the movements of the mind.

Does it feel calm or agitated?

Does it cast backwards to memories?

Or reach forward to planning or imagining scenarios?

Making stories?

Getting to know yourself by noticing how your mind moves.

It loves having an object.

Can you invite it to make the object of its interest your breath and your body?

Now we'll move to twisting the spine in a one-legged supine twist.

So bringing your right leg hugged into your chest.

And then bring that leg across the body.

And you can even lift right up onto the bottom hip.

Notice if your top leg or your shoulder feels like they're hanging in an uncomfortable way.

And if they are,

You can place a bolster or a blanket under either or both.

It feels nice to let your arms open to the side.

Or some people like to have the opposite arm overhead.

Your head can look towards the raised arm,

Which will bring more sensation towards the spine.

Or looking away from that arm,

It brings the sensation more to the shoulder.

So if your head is pointed towards the same direction as the top knee,

It's more shoulder sensation.

Or if it's more away,

Looking the opposite way,

The sensation will be more towards the spine.

Approaching your shape here with a sense of patience,

Gratitude,

And contentment.

If your knees are tucked higher towards your chest,

Even though you're in a twist,

It will feel a little bit like a forward fold.

And if your knees are lower than hip level,

It might bring a little arch into the low spine.

And both are fine.

Enjoying this twist,

Knowing that it's important to move the spine in all its directions and its full range of motion to keep it healthy.

Feel yourself soften the longer you stay in the pose.

And just notice where in your body you feel sensation.

Feel yourself quiet inside as you carefully unwind onto your back.

Coming again to our rebound in Shavasana.

This is where the benefits integrate in your body.

Let yourself marinate in all the feels.

Let this be a time of coming home to yourself lovingly.

Bringing your left leg towards your chest and hugging it in.

And then bringing it across the body,

Coming up onto the right hip.

Arms wide like a T.

And make whatever adjustments and supports you require so that you can completely let go into this shape.

Twists help to relax the tension in the muscles and the meridians of the body.

And just by laying here,

You're massaging the internal organs.

Reclining twists are especially calming for the nervous system as well.

So they're great to sequence towards the latter part of Yin sequence.

With openness here,

Let time in this shape make its magic.

As you surrender,

Returning to your breath and body attention.

And allowing yourself to notice also any emotional content that arises.

Without judging or analysis.

Breathing into all sensations.

Physical,

Mental and emotional.

Carefully breathing into this shape without engaging the body.

Let the breath soften you.

With mindful movement,

Bring yourself again returning to Shavasana rebound on your back.

Not checking out,

But remaining curious about the effects of the pose.

This Yin sequence with a rebound in Shavasana after each pose really gives you the opportunity to develop your curiosity.

And to experience and understand the profound effects of rebound.

And I know you're really comfortable,

But we are going to move a little bit to come into our next shape.

But let me guide you there.

In fact,

You can even try to move with your eyes closed if that feels okay for you.

So rolling to your side body,

Use your top arm moving like molasses.

To push down,

Slowly come up to a seat.

With your legs out in front of you.

Hands on your lap.

We're going to stay here for a few breaths before we move into Caterpillar.

It might feel counterintuitive to come up to a seated position after the long releases with Banana and Supine Twist.

But this next shape of Caterpillar is very calming and soothing.

And a great way to end the spine sequence with this rounding of the spine.

So letting your back round as you start to fold forward.

Allow a gentle rounding,

But not so much that there's a crunching in the diaphragm.

And let your body come forward to wherever is within your range of motion with the back rounding.

And you're welcome to have your head on a bolster.

Or relaxed into your hands if your hands are on your elbows,

On your legs.

You can even rest the torso on a bolster if you want that support.

If you have sensitivity or low back pain,

Injury,

Sciatica,

It can be helpful to prop under the sitting bones.

Or you can prop under the knees if you have tight hamstrings and you want a bit of relief there.

And if you have very strong sensations in the low back or any kind of low back disorder,

You can have the alternate shape of legs up the wall.

This creates a nice stretching of the legs and the entire spinal column.

And assists in balancing the qi flow in your body.

Forward folds like this can relax and calm the mind and body.

And it's a great place for drawing your attention inward.

When you think of the natural curves that are in the spine,

It makes sense that in order to exercise the back,

It would be to round it.

Especially when we have such a sitting society,

This is a great pose even on its own at the end of the day.

If your mind wanders,

Just smile gently and invite it back to your mat and the feels in your body.

Remembering our principles of shape,

Stillness and stay,

Self-listening,

Patience and observation,

And kindness,

Approaching your practice as a dance and not a fight.

Soft breath,

Soft mind,

Soft heart.

In your own way,

Find your way now again to Shavasana,

Our final resting shape.

As you lay down,

Have some distance between your legs and also between your arms and torso.

Finding a place that's comfortable for you.

And then stay to gain the full benefits and full effect of your practice.

With an attitude of restful awareness,

Conscious,

Not asleep.

Our final shape of Shavasana is the final rebound.

Nice and long.

The rebound after a pose is as important as the pose.

It's during the rebound that we most clearly feel the energy flow in our bodies.

The rebound can manifest as physical sensations,

Emotions,

And thoughts and insights.

The rebound is the enchantment.

Observing the mind state,

Noticing physical release or sensation,

Notice the overall quality of being,

Your mood or emotion.

Resting in neutral space,

You can curiously observe.

Kind observation,

This common thread throughout our practice.

Being curious will help to keep you from drifting away.

You're not looking to fall asleep.

You're seeking a state of calm attentiveness,

Where from the safety of your mat,

You can get to know yourself.

Using your curiosity about physical sensation,

Your curiosity about thoughts and emotions,

As ways to stay present,

Engaged in your practice,

Engaged in your life,

Getting to know yourself,

Here and now.

Coming back to attention on the breath with the inhale,

Internally saying,

Breathing in,

I am here now.

Breathing out,

I soften in presence.

Breathing in,

I am here now.

Breathing out,

I soften in presence.

As you bring your attention back to life,

Start to move through the fingers and the toes,

Perhaps rolling through the wrists and the ankles,

Trying on an overhead stretch,

Or stretching out long on one side,

Then long on the other.

When you're ready,

Rolling onto your side body,

Still feeling in your practice,

Still feeling the benefits.

Noticing how you feel differently,

Perhaps,

Than when we started our practice together.

Use your top arm to push up to come to a seat.

In a seated place,

Letting the effects of the practice embed themselves.

Let the goodness settle into your body and stay with you as you move on throughout your day.

Breathing them in,

And picture yourself taking these feelings with you off your mat,

Out to wherever you move to next,

And may you know your own goodness and let it shine brightly.

Namaste.

Reviews

A wonderful practice with very easy to understand cues that spark a very mindful practice. Namaste 🙏🏻

Hello beautiful 🌸🎀🌸🎀🌸Thank you so much for the wonderful yin yoga session 💛it gives me love, smiles and glimmering energy 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste

Thank you so much for this beautiful practice. 🌸🙏