Welcome to your yin yoga practice.
Before we begin just take a moment to make sure that
You have everything you need for your practice today.
If you like you can do this morning
Practice in bed as you wake up or if you prefer you can practice on a mat.
If you're in a
Cooler climate make sure you have a blanket to cover yourself with during the relaxation
At the end.
You may also need to support your body with props in some of the postures.
You
Can use cushions or pillows or a folded blanket to support yourself and perhaps blocks if
Those are available to you.
Yin yoga is a passive practice where postures are held for
Several minutes to stretch into the connective tissues.
These tissues are delicate and can
Be injured if they're stretched too forcefully or intensely.
It's good to be able to feel
That something is happening but you should never be forcing a stretch or pushing yourself
Into a position and you never want to be feeling any physical pain as you practice.
Pain is
A signal from your body that the position that you're in is not safe or beneficial for
You.
So if you do feel any pain at any time come out of the pose.
You can come into a
Resting position until the next posture or you can move back into another posture from
The class that you didn't experience any pain in.
If you have any injuries or health conditions
Make sure to consult with your doctor before starting a new practice.
Yin yoga can have many benefits for health and recovery but it's important that your body is
Suitably recovered that the stretches will benefit the tissues and won't potentially
Make the injury worse.
So do please check with your doctor first for your safety.
As this is an audio session I will talk you in and out of the postures verbally but if at any
Time you are unsure of a posture and you don't know if you're in the right position you can
Always pause the recording and do a quick internet search to bring up a picture.
I've
Included names for all of the postures so that you can easily do this if you need to.
We're going to begin the practice lying in shavasana.
So make your way onto your back
And come to lying with your legs a little wider than hip distance apart
And with your arms at your sides with the palms of your hands facing upwards.
We'll be here for a few minutes so if you want to support yourself here you might like to take
A pillow or a rolled up blanket under your knees or under your feet or a pillow under your head.
This is a practice for the morning time and if you like you can even do this in bed
And allow yourself to slowly wake up as you move through the postures.
But even though this is intended as a morning practice you can also do this practice at any
Time of the day if that works better for you.
So now just bring your awareness into your body
And feel the feeling of your body lying upon your mat or your mattress.
Feel into your body and notice how your body's feeling this morning.
There's no need to analyze or think about anything that you feel,
Just observe whatever sensations are there.
Observe any feelings that arise as your body slowly wakes up this morning.
And now bring the awareness to your breath and notice how your breath is flowing this morning.
Follow the flow of your breath.
Watch the air as it flows into your lungs.
Watch your chest gently expanding with the inhalation.
And follow the breath back out again as you exhale.
Observe the way the breath is flowing for you right now.
Notice if your breath is fast or slow.
Notice if it flows more into your chest or more into your belly.
There's no need to think about it too much,
Just observe the breath however it is flowing for you today.
We can usually feel the breath flowing into the chest and into the abdomen with each inhalation and exhalation.
But the breath can also be felt all over the body each time you breathe in and out.
Notice the very subtle movements that happen throughout your body with every breath.
Can you feel the breath flowing into your arms and your hands,
Into your legs and your feet,
Into your face?
As you breathe,
Feel the breath flowing into every part of your body.
Feel the breath entering into your hands and your feet,
Into your chest and into your belly.
Feel the breath entering into your hands and your feet,
Into your face,
Into your internal organs,
Energizing every cell of your body with fresh oxygen as you begin the day.
And if you like,
You might like to visualize golden rays of sunlight entering into your body with every breath.
Welcome the morning sunlight into your body.
Breathe the golden sunlight into every cell.
And now slowly bring your breathing back to normal.
And we'll begin with our first posture of the day.
We'll come into a yin version of the wind releasing pose.
So bring the legs together and then keeping the left leg straight,
Bend the right knee to bring the right knee in towards your chest.
Take your hands around the right leg just below the knee and relax the legs,
Relax the right thigh,
Relax the left thigh,
Relax the feet,
Relax the shoulders.
Observe the sensations you feel in your body here.
And slowly release the right leg back to straight.
Take a few breaths here to observe any effects from that posture.
And we'll do the left side.
So bending the left knee now,
Bring the left knee in towards the chest.
Take hold of the left leg just below the knee and relax into the posture.
Remember,
In yin yoga,
We always want to be at our edge at the point where we begin to feel like there's something happening.
But where it's not so intense that we can't remain in the posture for a few minutes.
And we never want to be forcing the posture or pushing ourselves into a huge stretch.
Especially first thing in the morning,
Our bodies are usually a bit more stiff after being asleep all night.
So we want to be very gentle as we start to wake our bodies up.
Now slowly release the left leg back to straight.
And take some breaths to observe how your body feels after that posture.
Now let's bring both legs up together.
Bend the knees and bring the knees in towards the chest and clasp the hands around both legs.
Relax the legs.
Relax the feet.
Relax the arms.
Relax the arms and the shoulders as much as is possible whilst still holding the pose.
And observe.
Observe the sensations you feel in the posture.
Notice what your body feels as it slowly begins to awaken for the day.
There's no need to think about why anything in your body feels the way it does.
Just observe and feel.
And slowly release the legs.
Bring the legs back to straight.
And take a few breaths here to observe any sensations,
Any effects from that posture.
We're going to come into reclining pigeon pose.
So from here bend the knees and bring the feet to the mat,
Keeping the feet and the knees at hip distance apart.
Now bend the right knee and bring the right foot to rest on the left thigh.
Keeping the right knee pointing out towards the right.
Bring the right ankle into a right angle.
And if you're already feeling some sensation here,
And this is giving you enough intensity,
You can remain here.
Otherwise bring the right hand between the legs and clasp the hands behind the left thigh.
Lifting the left foot.
And gently draw the left thigh in towards you until you reach your edge,
When you start to feel some more intensity.
And relax into the posture here.
Observe what you feel.
We often associate yin yoga with the evenings,
As the night time is considered to be a yin time,
Where the mornings and the daytime are considered to be more young.
But first thing in the morning is a great time to practice yin yoga,
Because the muscles are usually cold after being still for the night,
So we can easily stretch into the fascia.
And beginning the day with yin yoga gives us the opportunity to release tension from the night,
And to feel more relaxed in our bodies for the whole of the day to come.
We're going to stay here for one more minute.
We're going to stay here for one more minute.
If your left leg is lifted,
Bring the left foot back to the mat,
Keeping the right foot on the left thigh.
From here we're going to move into a twist.
This one is usually called twisted roots.
So now slide your right leg all the way over the left leg,
So that the right thigh crosses over the left.
If you have the flexibility,
You might like to tuck the right foot behind the left ankle,
Or otherwise just keep the foot on the outside of the left leg.
Bring the left hand to the outside of the right thigh,
And bring the legs all the way down to the left.
Keep the left hand on the right thigh to help anchor the legs down,
And open the right arm out towards the right.
If your right shoulder lifts up,
You can place a block or a pillow under the shoulder for support,
And relax into your twist.
Just scan over your body now,
And see if there are any areas that you can relax a little more.
Is there anywhere where the muscles are clinging?
Your thighs?
Your shoulders?
Are your feet relaxed?
It's when the muscles are relaxed that we can stretch more deeply into the connective tissues.
So continue to observe,
And encourage any areas of tension to relax.
We'll just stay here for a few more breaths.
And now slowly make your way back out of the twist.
Bring the right arm to your side.
Take the left hand to the outside of the left leg,
And push the legs back up.
Unwind the legs,
And bring the feet back to the mat or the mattress,
Keeping the feet at hip distance apart.
And just allow the knees to drop together here,
And take some breaths to observe your body.
To observe any sensations or effects from those postures.
Now we'll do the other side.
So bring the knees back to facing upwards,
And bring the left foot to rest on the right thigh,
Making a right angle at the left ankle.
You can stay with the right foot on the left thigh,
You can stay with the right foot on the mat,
Or bring the left hand between the legs,
Lift the right foot,
And take hold of the back of the right thigh.
Gently draw the right leg towards you until you reach your edge,
And relax into the posture.
Notice if there are any places that you can relax a little more.
Perhaps the hips,
The thighs,
The shoulders.
And we'll just stay in this one for a few breaths more.
And we'll just stay in this one for a few breaths more.
If your right foot is lifted,
Release the foot back to the mat,
And release your arms back to the sides of your body.
And we'll come into twisted roots on this side now.
So cross the left leg all the way over the right,
Perhaps hooking the foot behind the right ankle,
If that's accessible for you.
Take the right hand to the outside of the left leg,
And push the legs all the way down to the right,
Keeping the right hand on the left leg as an anchor.
And open the left arm up and out to a diagonal angle,
Looking over the left shoulder if that's comfortable for your neck.
And relax into the twist.
If there are any places that feel especially tight or uncomfortable,
You can use the breath to help encourage those areas to release.
As you inhale,
Breathe into those tight or uncomfortable places.
And as you exhale,
Feel the breath carrying some of that tension away.
Just a few more breaths here.
And slowly make your way back out.
Bring the left arm back to the left side of the body.
Take the right hand to the outside of the right leg,
And push the legs back to the centre.
Unwind the feet.
Take the feet back to the mat at hip distance apart,
And drop the knees back together.
Take some breaths here to observe.
And from here,
We're going to make our way up onto our hands and knees.
So bend the knees in towards the chest,
Roll over to one side,
And slowly make your way up.
Bring your knees under your hips and your wrists under your shoulders.
And we'll do a few cat-cow stretches here,
To wake up your spine for the morning.
As you inhale,
Relax the belly towards the mat.
Arch the chest forwards between the armpits,
And look up towards the ceiling.
And exhale to draw the belly in towards the spine.
Bring the chin to the chest,
Round the back.
Inhale,
Drop the belly,
Bring the chest forwards,
Look up.
Exhale,
Round the back,
Bring the chin to the chest.
Do a few more of these.
Now bring the spine back to neutral.
We're going to do some dragon poses.
If you have sensitive knees,
And you want to give your knees some extra support,
You could take a folded blanket under the knees.
And when you're ready,
Bring the right foot forwards,
And step the right leg forward.
And bring the left leg forward.
And bring the right leg forward.
Bring the right foot forwards,
And step the right foot in between the hands.
Making sure that the knee is aligned with the ankle,
And isn't coming too far forwards.
Turn the left toes under.
Lift the left knee,
And take the left leg back slightly.
Bringing the knee back to the mat,
With the weight just above the kneecap.
And relax into baby dragon.
Relax the hips and the thighs.
Relax the feet.
You're welcome to stay here,
If this is giving you exactly what you need right now.
Or otherwise,
Now make your way into dragon flying low.
Bring the right hand to the inside of the right foot,
And step the right foot out to the right edge of the mat.
Keep the hips and the thighs relaxed.
If you have the flexibility,
And it's accessible for you,
You might like to come down to rest on your forearms here.
Otherwise,
Stay on your hands.
From here,
We'll move into winged dragon.
So just let the right leg open out to the right,
So that you come onto the outer edge of the right foot.
Staying on your hands,
Or perhaps resting onto your forearms.
Sending the breath into any uncomfortable or tense areas.
And now bring the right foot back to flat on the mat,
And we'll move into twisting dragon.
Take the right hand onto the right thigh,
Keeping the left hand on the mat,
And turn the head to look over the right shoulder.
There's no need to force yourself into a big twist here.
We're just coming to that place
Where you start to feel like something is happening.
And slowly make your way back out.
Bring the right hand back to the mat,
And step the right leg back behind you.
Take your time to move slowly and carefully.
Bring the right knee back under the right hip.
And we're going to come into downward facing dog as a counter pose.
So now turn the toes under,
And lift the hips up into the air,
Releasing the head towards the mat.
Come up onto the tips of your toes
And press into your hands to lever your hips as high as you can.
Relax the neck and the head.
And now slowly begin to lower the heels towards the mat,
Keeping the hips lifted and the legs straight.
And exhale to bend the knees.
Bring the knees back to the mat,
Point the toes away,
And sit back onto the heels,
Coming into child pose.
Rest the forehead down to the mat,
Or support your head with a block or your folded arms.
Relax into the posture.
Take your hands to the mat and slowly come back onto your hands and knees.
And we'll prepare to repeat those dragon postures on the opposite side.
So now we're going to come into the dragon pose.
And we're going to come into the dragon pose.
And we're going to come into the dragon pose.
And we're going to come into the dragon pose.
And we're going to come into the dragon pose.
So now step your left leg forwards between your hands,
Making sure that the knee is aligned with the ankle.
Turn the right toes under and step the right knee back,
Taking the knee to the mat with the weight just above the kneecap.
Relax into the posture.
We usually have one side that's much tighter than the other.
So this side may be a completely different experience for you.
Observe whatever's happening for you here today.
Either staying here or making your way into dragon flying low.
Bring the left hand to the inside of the left foot
And step the left foot out to the left edge of the mat,
Staying on the hands or perhaps coming down to the forearms.
But remember,
You never want to go beyond your edge.
Keep breathing into any areas of tension.
And from here,
Moving into winged dragon.
Open the left leg out to the left,
Coming onto the edge of the left foot.
Continue to observe the sensations.
Keep breathing.
Bring the left foot back to the mat
And take the left hand to the left thigh for twisting dragon.
Turn the head to look over the left shoulder.
And take your time to come back out.
Bring the left hand back to the mat
And slowly step the left leg back behind.
And we'll come back into downward facing dog here.
So turn the toes under.
Lift the hips and release the head.
Push the hips up towards the ceiling.
And keeping that height in the hips,
Slowly lower the heels towards the mat.
If you want to stretch out the backs of the legs,
Bend the right knee and straighten the left leg.
Pressing the left heel down to the mat
And bend the left knee,
Straightening the right leg.
Do this a few more times.
And now bend the knees,
Bring the knees to the mat
And sit back into child's pose.
Take the hands to the outsides of the knees
And slowly curl the spine up to straight.
And next we're going to come into dragonfly.
So bring yourself to sitting with the legs apart.
Open the legs to a comfortable distance
Where you'll be able to stay for the next few minutes.
And if it's challenging for you to sit with the spine upright,
Sit onto a block or the edge of a blanket.
If the backs of the legs are tight,
You can also support the knees
By placing pillows or blocks under the knees.
Now take a breath in to lift the spine.
And exhale to fold forwards,
Releasing the head to the mat between the legs.
Keep the legs relaxed,
The thighs relaxed,
The neck and the shoulders relaxed.
And observe what you feel.
We're going to stay in the air for a few minutes.
We're going to stay in these last two postures a little longer.
So we've got two more minutes here.
Slowly walk the hands in to curl the spine back up to straight.
Take your hands to the backs of the knees
And bend the knees,
Bringing the feet to the mat.
And just rock the knees from side to side here.
Observing any sensations that arise after that posture.
And from here,
We'll come into Caterpillar Pose.
So now bring the legs to straight,
Keeping the legs together this time.
Again,
You can sit onto some support
If it's challenging for you to sit upright.
Or take some support under the knees
If the legs are tight.
Take a breath in to lift the chest
And exhale to fold forwards over the legs,
Coming to your edge.
And once you reach that edge,
Stop here and relax into the posture.
Using the breath to help encourage the release.
Observing the sensations that arise for you here.
Slowly curl back up
And bring the spine back to straight.
And we're going to come into a Back Bend here
As a Counter Pose.
So keeping your legs as they are,
Bring the hands to the mat behind you,
Turning the hands so that the fingers point back
Towards your feet.
Press into your hands to open the chest.
Lift the chest up towards the ceiling,
Feeling the whole of the front of the body opening.
And exhale to release.
And it's time for Shavasana.
So make your way down onto your back
And come to lying with your legs apart
And the feet falling open to the sides.
And if you'd like some support,
You could take a pillow under your head
Or a rolled up blanket under your legs or your feet.
And now bring your awareness to your breath.
And just watch the breath naturally flowing in and out.
Observe the chest gently rising and falling
With the inhalations and exhales.
And with every exhalation,
Feel the breath flow in and out
With every inhalation and exhalation.
As you breathe,
Imagine that your breath is like a wave
Gently flowing over your body.
As you breathe in,
The wave washes from your feet up to your head.
And as you breathe out,
With every exhalation,
Feel that wave washing away
Any remaining tension from your body.
Feel it washing away any thoughts or feelings
That you don't need to carry with you into your day.
Feel it washing away anything
That doesn't serve your greatest well-being.
And now gently let the wave go
As you permit yourself
These next few minutes of complete relaxation.
Very slowly,
Start to make some small movements
To reawaken the body.
Begin to move the fingers and the toes
Begin to move the fingers and the toes
The ankles and the wrists
And bring your arms up over your head
To give yourself a long stretch down the sides.
Bend the knees
And bring the knees in towards the chest.
Hug the knees
And rock gently from side to side here.
Feeling the lower back massaging into the mat.
And when you're ready,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Roll to one side
And come up to sitting.
Come to sitting with your back straight
And with your eyes closed.
Bring the palms of the hands together
In front of the chest
And just take a moment here before we finish
To make a positive intention for yourself
For the rest of your day.
What quality would you like to invite
Into your day today?
Would you like to feel peaceful?
Happy?
Inspired?
Relaxed?
Connected?
Take a moment to invite that quality into your day
And picture yourself moving through your day
Carrying that quality with you.
See yourself moving through all of the activities
You have coming up today
Embracing that quality.
See yourself flowing through your day with ease.
And see yourself carrying this quiet peacefulness
That you've cultivated during your practice
With you into every moment of your day today.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes
This brings us to the end of this morning's practice.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
