Yin Yang Yoga To Open Chest & Shoulders

This is a 60 min yin yang yoga flow focusing on opening the chest and the shoulder region.
The class is a blend of Yin and Yang. We are starting with one yin posture to open the target area in a gentle and soft way. Then we transition into the yang part working the muscles in and around the chest and shoulders in a dynamic way. The class is finishing with a delicious yin sequence to dive deep into the chest and shoulder opening - releasing any residual tension.
The practice is suitable for all levels of practitioners.
See you on the mat my beautiful yoga friends.
Janice

Transcript

For our practice today, It would be good if you have a blanket. Start by taking a comfortable seat. If you want you can sit elevated on your blanket. Elongate through the spine, Relax your shoulders, Open your chest and then gently close your eyes. Bring your awareness inside. Focusing in on yourself. Your body. And your breath. Connect to the present moment by feeling the way the air takes as you're breathing in and out. One breath after the other. Keep your breath soft and relaxed. Breathing in and out of the nose and into the abdomen. We are beginning with one yin posture. Therefore keep the breath soft and relaxed. Still find a conscious rhythm of breath without forcing the breath, Without changing the breath. Feel your breath in your belly. Soft and relaxed. Take one more breath here. And then gently bow the head forward, Chin to the chest. Open your eyes, Lift your head. Move your blanket out of the way so that you can come onto all fours. Find into tabletop. And if you have sensitive knees, Maybe you want to use your blanket to support your knees. From tabletop, Walk your hands forward. Sink your torso to the ground, Forehead to the ground, Coming into melting heart. Check that your pelvis stays in line with your knees. Legs at width distance. You can have your hands a little wider, Maybe as wide as the mat. To make this posture a little more accessible for your shoulders You can either keep the forehead on the ground or you can turn your head to one side. Into stillness. Relax your body into this posture without forcing yourself to go deeper. Allowing the sensations to be there Just focusing on staying fully aware, Fully present with how this posture feels. And how those sensations change. Breathing in and out from your belly. Observing without attachment. If you have your head turned to one side. Turn it over to the other side now, Just to balance out the neck. Settle into stillness again, Holding here. Allowing the posture to unfold. Developing this feeling of letting go. So that the body can sink deeper into the posture without force. Hold here, Maintain the stillness. Take your last three breaths here. And then lift your head. And find into child's pose with your hands reaching back towards the feet. If the blanket is not disturbing you keep it here. Relax your shoulders Feel the effect of the posture. Reach your hands forward now. And start to deepen your breath. We are continuing with the Yang part of the practice. So find your deep, Steady rhythm of breath. Inhale lift your head. Exhale, Walk your hands over to the right. Lower the torso, Lower the head, Come into your side stretch. Inhale up. Exhale center and over to the other side. Opening the right side of the torso, Sending your breath into your rib cage. Inhale, Lift your head. Exhale, Walk into the center. Look forward. Inhale, Slide yourself forward, Cobra. Exhale move back child's pose legs together inhale forward cobra Exhale child's pose. Continue in your own rhythm. Inhale forward to cobra opening the chest. And exhale moving back into child's pose. Find your flow. Next time you come into cobra, Stay here, Reach the hands back now. If you want interlace the fingers to open the chest more. Lifting yourself higher with the strength of the muscles along the spine. Tops of the feet press into the ground. And now here Exhale, Release. Plant the hands outside of the mat in line with your shoulders coming onto the fingertips. Forehead on the ground. Inhale roll yourself up. Exhale back down. Inhale, Come up, Open the chest. Exhale release, Forehead down. Find your rhythm. Continue here. Rolling cobra. Lifting a little higher every time you come off Keep the shoulders down and back. Adding a twist now. Inhale over to the right. Exhale centre. Inhale. Exhale, Center. Continue twice more on each side. Warming up through the spine, Opening the chest and keeping the shoulder blades close together at the back. Back in the center. Plant the hands down in line with your chest. Inhale, Rolling up. Hold here, Cobra. Arms up and elbows point back. Push the heart forward, Shoulders down. Inhale here. Exhale release Transition into downward facing dog. And now is a good time to move the blanket out of the way. Find movement in your down dog, Bending one leg after the other, Lifting the heels. Relaxing the head and neck. And then find into stillness. Feed it with distance. Inhale lift the heel. Exhale turn the heels over to the right. Pelvis comes over to the right, Creating a side stretch for the left side of the upper body. Your legs can be bent here. Inhale center heels up. Exhale, Heels go over to the left. Pelvis over to the side. Keep your arms strong, Spine long. Inhale center, Heels up. And exhale, Release the heels to the ground. Inhale here. And then exhale seeing the chest down as if you wanted to bring the chest towards the thigh. Crown of the head is going into the direction of the ground and you're opening the chest, Your shoulders here. Finding this arch in the spine, The middle and the upper back. And on your next inhale, Wave forward into plank pose. Draw the core in, Press the ground away with your hands. Inhale here Exhale knee stress chin. Inhale cobra Exhale down. Regular down. Lower core drawing in, Spine long and straight. Start walking your feet forward now, Taking as many steps as you need. Feet together. Inhale sweep your arms forward come up to standing arch back Exhale hands go to the heart. Flowing through a Syrian Namaskara variation. And now here. Exhale. Inhale, Reach your arms up, Arch back, Hips push forward. Exhale fold all the way forward Inhale right foot back. Exhale, Knee down, Untuck the toes, Sit deep. Inhale open your arms, Open your chest. Exhale hands down, Step to plank. Inhale here. Exhale knees, Chest, Chin. Inhale cobra Exhale down. Hold four breaths. Inhale right foot forward Exhale, Left knee down, Untuck the toes. Inhale open the chest. Exhale, Hands down, Left foot forward, Fold. Inhale come up, Arch back, Arms in line with the ears. Exhale, Hands to the heart. Hold here one breath Inhale, Arch back. Exhale fold. Take your time. Inhale left foot back. Exhale knee down. Inhale open arch back Exhale, Blink. Inhale here. Exhale knees, Chest chin. Inhale cobra Exhale, Down dog. Hold for one. Inhale left foot forward. Exhale right knee down. Inhale open. Exhale, Right foot forward fold. Inhale, Come up, Arch back. Exhale, Tadasana, Hands at the heart. 1 breath. And we go again. Inhale, Arch back. Exhale, Fold. Inhale right. Exhale knee down. Inhale open. Exhale, Plane. And now here. Exhale, Knees, Chest chin. Inhale cobra Exhale down, Hold for one. Inhale right, Exhale left knee down. Inhale open lengthen. Exhale, Step the left foot forward, Fold deep. Inhale, Come up, Arch back. Exhale, Hands to the heart. Stay here, One breath. Inhale arch back. Keep looking forward. Exhale fold forward all the way. Inhale left foot back. Exhale knee down. Inhale open Exhale, Hands down plank. Inhale. Exhale, Knees, Chest chin. Inhale cobra, Shoulders down. Exhale down dog. For one. Inhale left. Exhale right knee down. Inhale open your arms open your chest exhale right foot forward fold Inhale, Come up, Arch back. Exhale, Hands to the heart. Stay here. Deep, Steady breath. Step your feet mat widths distance. Heels can turn slightly in. Hands go to the hips. Inhale reach your left arm up and over side stretch. Exhale center. Inhale right arm up and over. Exhale center. Continue with your side stretches in your own rhythm of breath. Focus on finding links. Maintaining the stable foundation through the feet, The legs and your lower core. If you want to intensify, You can also have the opposite hand in front of your body not touching your body. Working more on strengthening the muscles in the core, The side core. Inhale is there to find length. The exhale brings you back into the center. One more on each side. And then arrive again in the center and swing your arms from side to side. Loosely swing them also lift the heels here Twisting the spine. Relaxing the whole body. Slow the movement down. And then step to the top of the mat, Feet together, Hands at the heart. Inhale, Reach your arms up, Arch back. This time stay here and work yourself deeper into this back bend using your breath. Keep looking forward for focus. Inhale for length. Opening the front. Exhale, Engaging the muscles along the spine. Inhale center. Exhale release the hands bring the hands to interlace behind the back inhale here look up Exhale, Fold forward. Legs can be bent. Reach your sitting bones up. Crown of the head towards the ground. Lengthening the back of the leg And also reaching the hands and arms away from the back to intensify the stretch for the shoulders. Inhale lift up halfway open the arms bring all your weight into the right foot lift the left foot up warrior three. Keep the left side of the hip rotating down. Keep the shoulder blades drawing together at your back to keep your chest open. Inhale here. Exhale, Step it back high lunge. Inhale, Alms. Right hand reaches for the left wrist. Lean yourself over to the right, Finding a side stretch along the left. As if you wanted to pull the left arm out of the shoulder. Inhale, Send our both hands up. Exhale release hands to the ground. Right foot back plank. Inhale. Exhale, Knees, Chest, Chin or chaturanga. Inhale cobra or up dog. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Hold here. Taking deep conscious breath. Look forward. Step or jump to the front. Feet together. Inhale come up to standing go straight into your standing back bend Push the hips forward. Arms stay in line with your ears. Find length and openness along the front of the body. Engaging the muscles along the backside of the body, Along the spine. Inhale up into the center. Exhale release the hands interlace the fingers again inhale here link Excel fold. Take your time. Only go as deep as it feels good in your body. And focus on reaching the hands and arms away from the back to find that stretch in the shoulders. On your next inhale, Come up halfway, Open the arms, Airplane arms. All the weight into the left foot. Pick the right foot up. Warrior three. Maintain the openness in the chest, Right side of the hip rotating down. Stable core, Stable center. And now here. Exhale high lunge. And how arms are. And then left hand reaches for the right wrist. Come into your side stretch over to the left. Elongating the whole right side of your torso into the chest into the shoulder all the way into the arm into the fingertips Inhale center, Both hands up. Exhale, Release. Step to plank. Flow through your vinyasa. Inhale here. Exhale lower. And how come through. Exhale, Move back down. Take a pause here. Feeling your body and feeling your breath. Inhale reach your right foot up. Exhale bend the leg. Reaching the knee high, Opening at the hip and also opening at the chest. So turn your chest over to the right. Left shoulder is gonna dip down, Right shoulder is gonna come a little up. Inhale, Straighten the right leg, Square your chest, Your hips. Exhale, Step the right foot forward in between the hands. Lower the left knee down, Untuck the toes. Bring the hands towards your thigh. Lift your torso. The hips deeper, Engage the muscles in your legs, The left glute muscle. Come into a back bend here. Either hands stay on the thigh or reach your arms up. Whatever feels better for you, Whatever gives you more stability in your backbend. And how for length. Exhale to engage the muscles along the spine. And how up. Exhale release hands to the ground Push the hips back and come into half split. Right leg straight, Right foot flex. If needed you can also keep a mild bend in the right leg. If you want to go deeper fold your torso forward. Come back up and into your low lunge. We're doing a second round. You can repeat the variation with hands on the thighs. You can reach the hands up. Or if you are sitting quite low and you can bring the hands to the ground. Come into the back bend here walking the hands further back as you deepen the back bend. Experiment with bending the left leg in to bring the sole of the foot to the back of the head. Find your variation. Decide for yourself what works for you, For your body today. Take deep conscious breath wherever you are. Slowly come out of the posture and find your way back into three-legged down dog. Bend the leg again. Either stay here or flip over into wild things. If you are in Wild Thing, Push the hips up, Open the chest, Right hand reaches forward. Inhale here Exhale slowly come back out meeting in downward facing door. Either stay here or flow through vinyasa. Decide for yourself. Take a few centering breath here. Now we're coming over to the other side. Inhale, Left foot up. Exhale, Bend the leg open at the hip. Also open at the chest. Turn your chest over to the left. Look towards the left. Opening the front of the body. Ending stretch in the shoulders. Inhale back into the center square your chest and your hips legs straight And exhale, Step the left foot forward. Right knee down and hug the toes. Lift your torso, Hands go on to the left thigh. Sit low, Engage the muscles in the legs to find your stable foundation. For the first round hands can stay on the thigh or you reach the arms up and back. Coming into your backbend. Keep your lower back long. Open the middle and upper part of the spine or open your chest. Inhale center. Exhale, Hands to the ground. Come into half split as your counter posture. Your leg could also be slightly bent. If you want to go deeper, Fold forward. Remember to flex your left foot to engage the muscles in the left leg, Protecting the hamstring. Lift out of the posture. Come back into your low lunge. And decide on your variation. Three options. Hands on the thigh for support. Hands reaching up and back. All fingertips can come to the ground. Sit deep, Walk the hands further back. And then bend the right leg in to bring the sole of the foot to the back of the head. Choosing the variation that works for you while you can still breathe in your deep steady rhythm. Slowly come back out. Ground down through the hands and find your way into your three-legged down dog. Bend the left leg, Stay here or continue to go further into wild thing. Push the hips up. Take deep, Steady breath even here. Last inhale. Exhale, Transition to downward facing dog. Inhale move forward to plank Exhale, Lower all the way down onto the belly. And tuck your toes. Release the forehead. Hands in line with your chest, Maybe a little more forward. Inhale, Lift your head, Lift your chest, Come up into cobra. Hold here. Arms up and elbows point back. Opening the chest on the inhale. Drawing the shoulder blades closer together at the back on the exhale. Keep looking forward. Hips stay on the ground, Tops of the feet press into the ground. Inhale, Unfold the shoulders. Exhale, Release yourself forward and down. Make a pillow with your hands look forward or to one side. Take deep, Steady breath. Stay fully aware, Fully present. We're coming into bow pose. Bend your legs, Hands reach for the tops of the feet, The ankles. On your next inhale, Lift up. Lifting the legs and the chest. Kick the feet back into the hands to lift higher. Try to lift your legs and your chest equal amount. And now here. Exhale release with control. Make a pillow again with your hand. Take your pause. Eyes fixed at one point or closed. Focusing the awareness in on yourself. You can let your breath become softer now, More relaxed. We are leaving the yang part behind, Slowly transitioning into the final yin part. To release your lower back, Bend your legs and bring the feet over from side to side. Find a little bit of releasing relaxing movement here for the lower back before we come into the in part Bring the feed back onto the ground. Open your right arm out to the side, 90 degree angle. Left hand in line with your chest. Roll yourself over onto the right side of the body. Find a variation for your legs that supports you here. If you want you can bend the left leg place the left foot behind the right leg onto the ground. The left hand can stay in front of you for support or can also come behind you. Make sure that you can relax the head onto the ground. To relax your whole body into this posture. You want to feel this posture in the right shoulder area, Maybe more on the front into the chest, Maybe more on the back into the shoulder blade. Feel free to close your eyes. Letting your whole body, Your whole being enter into the stillness. With your breath, Soft and relaxed. Breathing once again from the belly in and out. Take your last three breath here. And then slowly come out of the posture. Find your way back onto the belly. Take a moment here to pause. Maybe you want to open both arms out. Maybe you want to slide both hands down. Decide for yourself and rest there for a moment. Feeling the effect of the posture feeling the difference between right and left side. We are changing sides now. Open your left arm out to the side. And find your way into your posture, Into broken wings. Take your time to enter the posture to feel where you have your edge on this side. Listen to your body. Make this posture work for you. And find again into this stillness. Stillness of the body. Stillness of the breath and stillness of the mind. Take your last three breaths here. And then slowly come out back onto the belly. Relax here, Observe. Bring your hands now in line with your chest. Press yourself back into child's pose. Keep your hands reaching forward. Just taking a few breath here. Lift your head now, Walk the hands in. And we are repeating melting heart, The posture that we did in the beginning to open the class. If you have sensitive knees, Feel free to take your blanket again. Then from tabletop, Walk your hands forward, Maybe a little wider. Lower the chest, Lower the forehead. Again you can have the forehead on the ground. You could also turn your head to one side. You feel that you can go deeper you can also bring the chin onto the ground and look forward. Decide on your variation, Only going to your depth. To your level. Finding the relaxation in your upper body. Letting gravity pull your torso deeper. Letting go of control, Letting go of resistance. Fully surrendering yourself into the posture, Into the present moment. Take your last three breaths here. And then slowly come out of the posture and back into child's pose with hands reaching back. Relax here, Relax your shoulders and observe the effect of the posture. Bring your hands now in line with your chest. Press yourself up. Hips over to one side, Legs out in front of you. Check that you have enough space behind you. And then roll yourself back onto the ground. Hug your legs in towards the chest. Wrap your arms around the legs, Lift your head, Nose goes towards the knees. Take one last deep inhale here. Then exhale, Release, Come into Shavasana. Take whatever you need here to stay warm and to get comfortable. Make any last little adjustments. And then come into stillness Your eyes are closed. Your breath is soft. And your whole body fully relaxed. Check for yourself if there is any area in the body where you could be a little bit more relaxed. Why you can let go a little bit more And then let yourself arrive fully in the stillness. Feeling the ground underneath you holding you supporting you allowing you to feel safe. So that you can let go completely. Surrender yourself fully into the stillness. Surrender and let go. Bring your awareness back to your breath now. Take a few deeper breaths. And then bring movement back into the body. Begin with your hands and your feet. Wrists and ankles. Turning your head from side to side. Bring the legs together, Point the feet. Bring the hands together, Interlace the fingers, Reach the arms up over the head, Turn the palms out. Inhale here, Stretch. Exhale, Let go. Bend your legs, Step the feet in, Roll yourself over onto one side. With your eyes remaining closed, Come back up into your comfortable seated posture. Bring awareness to your posture again, Spine is long and straight. Chest open, Shoulders down and back. Bring your hands together at your heart. Gently bow the head forward, Chin to the chest. Or open your eye. Namaste. Thank you.