Hello everyone,
It's Jax and welcome to your evening in yoga practice.
We got 20 minutes to get to the body.
We're actually starting off in butterfly,
So please grab any props you need.
Our target area is going to be the hamstrings.
So I want you to fold where you start to feel a little bit of a stretch in those hamstrings,
But nothing too strenuous.
Once you start to arrive in position,
Start by taking a couple of really slow,
Deep breaths.
And really help us transition into the evening.
To relieve any stress,
To let go of that tension.
We're gonna do a little bit of a cooling breath.
We'll inhale for four.
And then we'll exhale for six,
Kind of like you're blowing out a straw.
So give me a little.
Yeah,
Perfect.
That's going to be the exhale breath.
If your breathing pattern is different than mine,
That's okay.
The most important thing is.
.
.
You're just breathing.
And you're slowing down.
Let's take an exhale out the nose to prepare.
Inhale for 1.
Exhale out the straw for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale for four.
And exhale for six.
And then do three more rounds here on your own.
And then just let the breath be.
See if you can invite a little bit more softness into your body.
Really light your background.
Release any gripping in the thighs,
The calves,
The knees.
And just allow yourself to fold inward.
It's kind of like you're this weary traveler.
And you're just traveling the terrain of your body,
Your breath,
And your mind.
I'll let you know when we're finished with this posture.
Here for one more breath.
And then what body part do you start to activate to help you come out of this posture?
Maybe you're pressing into the hands.
Maybe you're bringing the knees up towards the chest.
We're going to come down onto our backs as a little rebound posture.
For me,
I like to come into restorative TP,
Knocking the knees together,
But if a mini shavasana is more calling to you right now,
You just take it.
The focus here is to just let all that work you did.
.
.
Get the benefits.
So this is our rebound posture.
Where all that hydration starts to pour into your body,
Your fascia,
Your connective tissue.
But instead of me talking about it.
I want you to feel it.
What do you feel?
In your body right now.
As you allow it to rest and recede.
Okay,
On to the next one everybody.
We have our half dragonfly here.
Left leg's gonna go out nice and long at a diagonal,
Right knee's bent.
I want you to pivot your chest over towards your left leg and then fold over that left leg.
Our target area is going to be the left hamstring.
And if you're in a fold,
It's definitely going to be the spine.
I like to place blocks underneath my hands personally.
You might put a block underneath your knee.
You might put a little bend in your knees.
Find a position that feels sustainable.
And comfortable.
Where you don't feel like you have to force or push yourself into the position.
And instead of you holding the pose,
Let the pose hold you.
You don't have to hold yourself up.
This is a practice.
And an invitation to just let go.
And to let yourself receive.
We're going to transition to our next posture.
The legs are going to stay the same,
But now our intention is going to be more into the side of your body.
Inhale,
Halfway lift.
And then you're going to take either your left elbow on top of your shin,
Your thigh.
You can place it on top of a block,
A bolster.
And then place your left ear on top of your left hand.
Now that right arm can either go over the head,
Or if that doesn't feel comfortable for your arm,
You can just always keep the right hand on top of the right thigh.
Our target area is going to be your lower back on the right hand side.
So enjoy the stretch.
Let yourself open.
And as we hold this posture here for a couple more breaths,
Where can you soften?
Physically,
Mentally,
Emotionally.
Let yourself be soft in the stillness.
When you're ready,
If your right hand was over your head,
Release it,
And then using the strength of your left hand,
Go ahead and lift your head up.
Let's take a mini Shavasana.
After that long,
Deep hold,
All that fresh blood flow,
All that circulation's coming into the body.
And as you,
The silent observer,
What are you observing as you lie here?
Staying on our backs,
Let's come into a really passive happy baby.
Lifting the legs up high into the sky.
Hands are coming behind the back of the thighs.
And then just allow your calves to soften down.
And just see if you can do less.
And yen.
The less you do,
The more you receive.
What a great practice.
A couple more breaths here.
We got the same sequence on the other side.
So this time,
Right leg is gonna go out nice and long,
Half dragonfly,
Bend the left knee.
Grab anything you need,
You can sit up on a blanket if the hips are feeling tight.
And then pivot to your right leg and just let yourself fold.
I'm always reminded here how gravity is the one that can do the work.
So instead of feeling like you have to hold yourself up,
Allow yourself to melt.
It's kinda like a popsicle on a hot summer day.
It's slowly gonna melt.
So same with you,
If you're feeling tense or if you feel like you're gripping or holding on at the beginning,
That's okay.
Physically,
Mentally,
Emotionally.
It just takes time.
To start with.
And we got time today.
All right,
Same posture with the legs,
But this time the intention is different.
Right hand under the ears.
Left arm can go over the head or stay on your lap.
You'll see that I put a bolster underneath my right elbow here at first.
If that doesn't suit you,
You can always bring the right elbow on top of the thigh,
The block.
Take a couple moments at the beginning to figure out your position.
I find that if you set yourself up at the beginning,
You'll feel more supported as the posture goes on.
I'll see you on the other side of this.
When you're ready,
Slowly start to emerge from this posture.
Let's lie on our back.
Take a couple of slow,
Deep breaths.
And as a silent observer,
Just notice.
What can you hear right now?
What can you feel right now?
Wherever you're at,
Take a slow deep breath in.
In a slow,
Deep breath out.
If you'd like to stay here and transition into Shavasana,
Please be my guest.
And just know that our practice has come to an end.
This is Jax,
And thank you so much for practicing with me today.
This yin practice is designed to help you release any tension before bed.
But please know you can come to this video anytime.
You want to release tension in the body and connect with yourself.
I'll see you at the next video.
