Yin Yoga To Release Tension & Quiet Your Mind 15 Minutes

A little space to slow down, take a breath and come back to yourself. Join me for this 15-minute Yin Yoga practice, with gentle, longer-held stretches and time to settle into stillness. This is your invitation to step away from the doing, soften into your body and give yourself a pause. Move within a range that feels comfortable, and let this time be yours.

Transcript

Hello everyone, Welcome to your Yin Yoga video with me, Jax, And we have our special guest today here, Miss Mercy. Today is going to be a little appetizer because I have a five day course coming on Insight Timer, Five Days to Better Sleep. Yin Yoga is one of the best ways to let go of any tension before bed. So that's what we're going to do today. We're going to let go of some tension and just feel good in our bodies. If you haven't already, Please roll out your yoga mat. Please come join us in a seat and we're going to do a little bit of breath work and we're also going to do a little stretching for our neck. So I want you to find a comfortable position just sitting up nice and tall, Hands on the knees, Or rest them wherever feels best. We're going to take a big inhale, Get nice and tall, And then exhale, Drop your chin down towards your chest. We're going to inhale, Bring that right ear over towards the right shoulder and then just pause here. Always an option to keep that left hand on the knee, Or you might start to walk your fingertips away from the body, Just doing whatever feels best. I want you to take two deep breaths here, Just breathing into the sides of the neck. Just letting that tension go with every exhale. If that left hand was away from the body, Go ahead and bring it back onto the knee. Big inhale breath. And then as you exhale, Chin back down to the chest. Other side. Inhale, Left ear is going to come over towards that left shoulder and pause. Once again, The same thing here, Option to keep the hand on the knee. Maybe you walk it away from the body, But I just want you to focus on that whole right side of the neck and just think about releasing any of that gripping, Any of that tightness, Any of that tension. You got two more breaths here. If the right fingertips are away from the body, Go ahead and bring them back in. Bring the chin back down to the chest, And then we'll slowly lift our chin up. If there's any other movements you feel like taking, Maybe stretching the arms or wiggling the fingers, Go ahead and do anything that feels good. And then we're going to go ahead and come into our first yin posture. So we're coming into butterfly, Everybody. Soles of the feet are going to come together like so, Knees spread out nice and wide. Big inhale breath, Reach those arms up nice and tall. And then as you exhale, Hinge from the hips as you fold, Hands come down towards the floor. Now when you get there, Just take a moment to settle in. You might move your article of clothing around. You might move the neck. Take any little last wiggles and fidgets. And then we're gonna start to find some stillness here, Everybody. So our target area is going to be those inner thighs. So I want you to bring all your awareness to your inner thighs. And as you exhale, Just softening any tension in between the legs. And then because we're here in this forward fold, We're also just gonna soften the low back. So on your next exhale, Think about releasing all those muscles in your low back area. When it comes to yin yoga, We're moving out of the muscles, We're getting into the deep, Deep layers of the body, Your connective tissue, Your ligaments, Your joints, And your bones. So start to bring that awareness now to the middle of your back. And as you exhale, Just soften in all those muscles around the middle of your back. And then finally, Just getting to the tops of the shoulders, The top of the spine. And as you exhale to release those muscles, Can you just let your exhale be a little bit longer than your inhale? So every inhale, You're just bringing a deeper level of awareness to your body. And every exhale, You're just letting all that tension go. I'm going to go quiet for this last minute. We'll hold these poses anywhere from two to three minutes and there will be pockets of silence just so that you can have a moment to yourself. I'll see you on the other side of this one. If the mind starts to get distracted, That's okay. The mind is going to think and analyze and plan and ruminate. It's just what the mind does. So for these last three breaths here, Just an invitation to get out of the mind and get into your body. Allow it to soften, Allow it to be passive. Two more breaths. And let's inhale together and then exhale slowly and gently start to restack the spine and neck is going to come up fast. Nice okay let's go ahead and take this left leg out nice and long for me everybody now i'm going to give you two options in a moment we're going to fold forward over this left leg if you'd like to keep the right knee bent this is going to be really great you're still going to get into that inner thigh and you're going to hold if you're like me and mercy we got tight quads we got tightness up on top of that right thigh so we're actually going to bend the knee and take it to the side remember if this feels too much to keep this knee bent like so you're just going to keep it just like we had it. Let's inhale, Reach both arms up, And then we're gonna fold. Remember, When it comes to yin yoga, Less is more. So me, I'm already feeling a stretch in my hamstrings and my quad, Like this, So I'm gonna pause here and fold. Now, Even though I could go all the way down, I don't want to, Because in yin yoga, Less is more. Palms up to the sky can also feel really nice here, If that's in your practice, To help you fold, And hello, So right now, We really want to think about softening that body, Especially the back of the left leg and the top of the right thigh. And it takes time to be soft. When you plant a tree, When you put the seed in the ground, It is not going to grow into a big, Beautiful tree the next day. It's just going to take time. So same with our yin yoga practice. Every moment is just an opportunity to be a little bit softer. Release any of that gripping and it doesn't just mean physical. In yoga, Some of us come to the practice for the physical benefits, The emotional, The mental, The spiritual, Whatever draws you to the practice today. My invitation and my intention for anybody watching this video right now is to just be a little bit softer with yourself. Give your body and your mind a little bit more grace. Knowing that you don't have to always do everything. You don't always have to hold yourself up. Instead, Let the floor support you, Let your breath support you. And we're here for about another minute or so everybody I'll let you know we're coming on this one. Let's inhale together and then exhale slowly and gently using the strength of your hands, Try to restack the spine, Head and neck is going to come up last. Nice job, Everybody. Let's go ahead and go to the other side. So straighten this right leg out nice and long for me. Option to always keep this left knee bent. That might feel really supportive for you here. Or if you want to get into that quad, We're going to bend this left knee. Right leg is going to be nice and long. Let's inhale, Reach those arms up. And then exhale, You hinge from the hips as you fold. Once you find that sweet spot where you're like, Yep, That's me. Just let yourself fold. So we know to soften the muscles in the back of the leg and the top of the thighs. We know to soften the muscles in the back as well. You know that you are the silent observer just experiencing your breath and your body moment by moment. So for this one, I'm just going to go quiet. I'll see you in a couple minutes. Just breathe. As we hold this posture for a couple more breaths, Just a reminder, Thoughts are just thoughts. Noises are just noises. It's the power that we give them that makes them matter. So what are you giving your attention to for these final three breaths? And let's take a big, Deep breath in. And then as you exhale, Slowly and gently start to unravel, Allowing that head and neck to come up last. And we're going to come onto our backs, Everybody. So if you need to use those legs and arms to help open everything up wide, We're going to come down onto our backs. And we're going to end with a couple of twists, Everybody. So just lying down onto your back. No rush to get there. When you're ready, Go ahead and bring both knees into the chest for me. And then we're just going to drop both knees over towards the right side of the room. Hands can be on the body. You can bring your arms out into a T. And then your gaze can be up towards the ceiling or over your shoulder. We won't be here that long. These twists are just here to help us release any little bit of tension we might be feeling. So once again, Soften your shoulders. Soften your hips. About five more breaths here. An invitation to just make your exhale a little bit longer than your inhale. You Let's inhale together. And then exhale, Bring both knees back into the chest. And then just other side, Everybody just let both knees drop over to the left. And then same thing here, Eyes open or closed, Hands can rest wherever. But just coming back to that intention of yin, To be passive, Non-reactive. There's a time and a place to do and achieve and get things done. And then there's also just a time to rest and be. So just let yourself be here. Five more breaths. We'll inhale together, And then exhale, Bring both knees back into the chest. We're gonna curl up into a little ball, Everybody. So bring your forehead towards your knees, Give everything a big squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze. And then Shavasana. Let your legs go out nice and long. Let your arms go out nice and long. And we'll do a little bit of breath work before we go into stillness, Everybody. I want you to take two slow, Deep breaths in through the nose. Big open mouth exhale. Two more. Last one. And then just keep that sigh in your face. Soften your eyes and all the muscles behind your eyes. Soften your jaw. Maybe you squeeze your shoulder blades together one last time just to let go of any tension as you soften your belly, Your thighs, Your knees, And your calves. And for these last couple moments here, Just let yourself rest and I'll come get you at the end. Slowly and gently hearing the sound of my voice, Start to take a couple of slow, Deep breaths in. Danny Arguetty. And just feeling the whole body resting here. After all, That's what the five day course here on Insight Timer is all about. It's all about rest. So even though our yoga practice has come to an end here on the mat, Just know that you have so many resources available for you to help you on your journey to sleep. Let's go ahead and bring both knees into the chest, Everybody. We'll roll over to your left hand sign, Lift yourself up, And let's come into a final seat as we bring our practice to a close. So when you get there, Eyes open or closed, Hands can rest wherever, But I just invite you to gently bring a hand to the heart as you close down the eyes. Just taking a moment to feel that heart underneath your hand. Steadiness of your breath, Beating of your heart. And we'll end our class with a little bit of loving kindness. So may you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease. And may all beings everywhere be happy, Healthy, And live with ease. Thank you all so much for coming to this video. I hope to see you soon at our five-day course from me and Mercy. We'll see you all soon. Peace.