Yin Yoga For The Spine

This full-length Yin Yoga class targets the spine and the connective tissues in the back, moving the spine in all six directions: forward, backward, side to side, and twisting. We practice seated neck stretches, seated twist, butterfly, deer, caterpillar, sphinx, child's pose, banana asana, reclining twist, and savasana.

Savasana music by RelaxingTime

Transcript

We're going to begin today's practice sitting. So make your way into a comfortable seated position. If it feels good to sit with your legs crossed, You can cross your legs or if you prefer you can come to Neely. Or to any seated position that you'll be able to stay in for a few minutes without feeling too uncomfortable. Support yourself with props if you need to. You might like to sit onto a block or a folded blanket. Or to place blocks or cushions under your thigh. And if it feels better for your back to lean against the wall, You could also use the wall to support yourself. Straighten your spine. Relax your shoulders and shoulder blades. And now tuck your chin in slightly to lengthen the back of the neck. Close your eyes. And bring your awareness to your breath. Follow the natural flow of your breath. Watch the air as it flows in and out of your body. And notice how your breath is flowing for you today. Is it fast or slow? Shall I woody? Is the breath flowing more into your belly or more into your chest? Just watch the breath exactly as it is right now. There's no need to think about why it's the way it is. Or to try and change anything. Just observe. In today's practice, We're going to be targeting the spine. And we'll be moving into postures which move the spine in all of the different directions. Forwards and backwards. Side to side. And twisting. Remember, In yin yoga, We always want to be at our edge. At the place where you feel like there's some intensity happening. But where you're not pushing or forcing anything to happen. And today we'll be holding most of the postures for two to three minutes. Giving us time to stretch into the connective tissues. Continue watching the breath. And as your awareness flows with the breath. Feel yourself coming right into your body. Right into the here and now. And let your awareness move into the whole of your body. And just notice how your body's feeling today. Observe any sensation. There may be places that feel comfortable and relaxed. There may be places that feel tense or uncomfortable. Just observe what's there. There's no need to analyse why anything feels the way it does. Just one. We'll continue with this attitude of observation as we move through the practice. Observing the sensations that arise in each of the postures. And just watching. We're going to start with some neck stretching So make sure that you're sitting comfortably. If you need to make any adjustments for your comfort. Make those now. And keeping your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. Just drop your right ear towards your right shoulder. When it feels like the stretch suddenly becomes more intense, Stop there. This is your edge. And just relax into the stretch Keep the shoulders relaxed. Relax any tension you can feel in the neck. And observe the sensations you feel in your body. Slowly bring your head back to the centre. And pause for a moment to observe how your body feels. To notice any effects from that stretch. And now let's go to the other side. Drop the left ear towards the left shoulder. Stopping when it starts to feel more intense. Relax. And observe. And slowly bring the head back up. And notice any feelings in the body. Any effects from the stretch. If you're sitting with your legs crossed, Just change the cross of your legs. So that you don't create an imbalance from sitting one way more than the other. So if your right leg is in front, Bring your left leg in front. Or if your left leg's in front, Bring your right leg in front. And now we're going to twist the neck. So keeping the shoulders relaxed. Turn the head to look over the right shoulder. Again, Coming to your end. That first point of intensity. And move your eyes towards the right. Keep the shoulders relaxed. And observe what you feel here. Slowly bring the head back to the centre. And pause to observe. And now twisting the head towards the left. Bringing the eyes towards the left. And bring the head back to the centre. Observe any feelings in your body. Any effects from this dress? We're going to twist the whole of the spine now. So if you're not already sitting with your legs crossed, Make your way into a cross-legged position. You can support yourself by sitting onto a block or a folded blanket. Or by putting blocks or cushions under the thigh. Make sure that your body is comfortable enough to sit this way for a few minutes. Take as much support as you need. And now begin to twist towards the right. Twisting from the hip. Through the waist. Shoulders, Neck and head. Coming to that place where you first start to feel some more intensity happening. And relax into the twist. Keep the shoulders relaxed. Keep the hips relaxed. And observe what you feel in this position. Slowly make your way back to the centre. Bring the upper body, Chest, Neck and head back to the centre. And pause here to observe any effects from the twist. To do the other side, Change the cross of your leg. So if your right leg is in front, Bring the left leg in front. Or if your left leg is in front, Bring your right leg in front. And begin to twist towards the left Turning the head to look over the left shoulder. And moving the eyes towards the left Scan your awareness over your body. And notice if there's any tension or gripping in the muscle. If you find any tension, Encourage those muscles to relax. And slowly come back to the centre. Bring the neck and the head back to the centre. And take some breaths to observe. Next we're coming in to butterfly pose. So bring the soles of your feet together. So that the knees come out one to each side. You can support the thighs here with blocks or cushion. And if it feels better for you, Sit on to a block. If sitting like this is already bringing you enough intensity, Remain with the back straight. Or otherwise, Now folding forward. Fold the upper body forward so that the head relaxes towards the feet. Stopping at that point where it suddenly starts to feel more intense. Relax the side. Relax the upper back and shoulders. Relax the neck and the head. Observe what you feel in this new position. Now take the hands onto the leg. And walk the hands up the legs to bring the spine back to straight. Make sure to move slowly. So as not to suddenly stress the tissue. And from here, We're going to come into dear place. Keeping the right leg as it is. Turn the left leg behind. So that the left thigh turns inward. And the lower leg and foot move back behind you. Making a right angle at the knee and at the ankle. You can sit onto a block or cushion here if you find that your thigh or buttock lifts a long way from the mat when you come into the position. And now turn your upper body to look over the right thigh. Keeping the spine straight and upright. Bring the hands or the fingertips to the outsides of the thighs. Relax the shoulders. And observe the feelings that arise in this position. If there are any places that feel tight or uncomfortable. You can always use the breath to help release the tension. As you breathe in, Send the breath into the titarium. And as you breathe out, Feel the exhalation carrying any tension away. Slowly coming back to the centre. Turn the left leg back inwards and bring the left foot back to meet the right foot. Bring the upper body back to the center. And take some breaths here to observe. And now let's go to the opposite side. Turn the right leg back around behind you. Making a right angle at the knee and at the ankle. And turn the upper body to look over the left side. Keep the ankles relaxed. This eyes relax. The shoulders relax. Sending the breath into any titarium. And slowly coming back to the centre. Turn the right foot back around and bring the right foot to meet the left. Bring the upper body back to the centre. And take some breaths here to observe. We're going to come back into Butterfly Night. So slowly fold back forward. Bringing your head towards your feet. Bring the hands to the outsides of the feet, With the palms of the hands facing upwards. To help encourage the shoulders to relax sending the breath into any areas of tension. Watching those places release with the exhalations. Slowly walk the hands up the legs to bring the spine back to straight. And now take the hands to the outsides of the thighs. And push the knees together. Bring the feet flat to the mat at hip distance apart. So that the knees face the ceiling and just rock the knees from side to side. Observing any effects from the posture. Next is caterpillar So bring the legs together straight out in front of you. If you find it difficult to sit with your legs stretched out in front like this, Sit onto a block or a folded blanket. And if it feels tight on the backs of your legs. Or your knees are lifting up off the mat. Place some support under the knees. A rolled up mat or blanket. So that you can just let the knees relax. You can stay sitting upright if this is already bringing you enough intensity. Or otherwise fold forwards over the leg. Finding your edge. And relax into the posture here. Rest the hands on the outsides of the legs with your palms facing upwards. Relax the neck and the head. Breathe into any tension. Although we're targeting the spine today. The fascia connects all over the body. And we often feel the stretches in other places too. In caterpillar especially, You're likely to be feeling some sensation in the leg. And you can feel sensation anywhere in the body. So continue to observe where you feel something happening. And now slowly make your way back up. Walk the hands in to bring the spine back to straight. And we'll take a gentle back bend as a counter stretch. So bring your hands behind you and turn your hands so that the fingers face back towards the feet. Push into the hands and lift the chest. Open the front of the chest and the shoulders. And if it's comfortable in the neck, Drop the head back. Otherwise keep the head and neck aligned with the upper body. And gently bring the spine back to straight. And now make your way down to lying on your belly. And we'll come in to Sphinx's poem. For Sphinx. Bring the elbows under the shoulders. And the forearms parallel to the edges of the mat. So that your chest is propped up by your arms. If this feels too intense for your back. Walking the arms forwards will lower the intensity. Or you can also fold the arms and rest the forehead onto the forearm. If this feels uncomfortable for you in the lower back Opening the legs can help to alleviate tension from the lower back. And you can either keep your head upright, Facing forward, Or relax the chin towards the chest. Check for any gripping in the thighs or buttocks. Keep the shoulders relaxed. Observing the sensations you feel here. To come out, Bring the hands under the shoulders and push yourself up onto your hands and knees. And from here we'll come into a white child's pale. Bring the big toes together and open the knees to the sides of the mat. Sit down onto the heels. And bring the forehead down to the mat. Stretch the arms out in front so that the hands stretch out towards the front corners of the mat. And for support here you can place a block or cushion onto the heels if you're not sitting all the way back to the heels. And you can support your head with a block. Or by folding your arms and resting your head onto your forearms. Feel your body completely relaxing into the posture. Relax the side. The head. Feel the chest sinking towards the mat. Sending the breath into any areas of tension. Releasing with the exhale Slowly walk the hands in to come back up. And make your way down to lying on your back Our next pose is banana pose. So come to lying with your legs apart and your arms by your side. Now bring the right foot to meet the left. You can bring the ankles together or cross the right ankle over the left ankle. Find which feels best for you today. And now bring your upper body towards the left. So that the body comes into a curved banana shape. And bring the arms over the head Take hold of opposite elbows and relax the arms over the head. Relax into the posture. We're going to stay in these last few positions for a little bit longer. Observe what you feel as you relax into the pose. And slowly coming out. Bring the right foot back to the right corner of the mat. Bring the upper body back to the centre. Release the arms to the side. And observe. Let's do the other side. Bring the left foot to meet the right. Either bringing the ankles together or crossing the left ankle over the right ankle. Bring the upper body towards the right. Bring the arms up over the head. Taking hold of the elbows in the opposite way to last time. And relax into the posture. Slowly coming back out. Bring the left foot back to the left corner of the mat. Bring the upper body back to the centre. Take the arms back to the side. And take some breaths here. Observing any effects from the pose. Any sensations or feelings in the body. We're going to finish with a twist. So bring your knees into the chair. Bringing the ankles and knees together. And just shift your hips slightly over to the right. Now bring your left hand to the outside of the right thigh. And push the legs all the way down to the mat on the left. Keep your left hand on the right thigh to help anchor the legs down. Bring the right hand up and out to a diagonal angle. So that the hand stretches towards the top corner of the mat And if it's comfortable in your neck, Turn the head to look over the right shoulder. Otherwise keep the head looking straight up. Relax into the posture. Allow gravity to work through the resistance between your legs and your right shoulder. And surrender into the pose. Slowly coming back. Bring the left hand to the outside of the leg. And push the legs back to the centre. Bring the hips back to the center. And bring the hands onto the knees. And make some circles with the knee. Feeling the lower back massaging into the mat. And circle in the other direction. Now we'll go to the other side. Shift the hips towards the left. Take the right hand to the outside of the left thigh. And push the legs down to the mat on the right side. Keep the right hand on the left thigh and relax the legs and feet here. Bring the left hand up and out to a diagonal angle. And relax into the pose. Take the right hand to the outside of the right leg. And push the legs back up to the centre. Keeping the knees drawing in towards the chair. Bring the hips back to straight. And bring the hands to the knee. Make some circles with the knee. And some circles in the opposite direction. And it's time for our final relaxation in Shavasana. So make sure that you're warm enough. Your body temperature will drop, So put on some extra layers or cover yourself with a blanket. Especially if you're in a cooler climate. And make your way to lying on your back. With your legs apart. And your feet relaxing out to the corners of the mat. And with your arms at the sides of your body. With the palms facing upwards. If you like, You can support your knees with a rolled up mat or blanket. Or place a block or pillow under your head. And if it feels difficult for your lower back to lie with your legs straight. Another option is to bring your feet to the mat at hip distance apart and drop the knees together. And now relax into the pose. Feel your body completely surrendering into the mat beneath you. Scan over your body. And notice if there are any places where you still feel any tension or discomfort If you find somewhere, As you breathe in, Send the breath into that area. And as you breathe out, Feel the exhalation carrying tension away from that place. Repeat this several times. Scanning your body for areas of tension. And feeling the exhalation carrying that tension away. And now feel yourself completely letting go. Feel the whole of the body relaxing. Feel yourself surrendering into deep relaxation. Begin to deepen the breathing. As you prepare to reawaken the body. Start to make some small movements with the fingers and the toes. And with the wrists and the ankles. Bring the arms up over the head and give yourself a long stretch down the side. And now bend the knee. Bring the knees into the chest. Hug the knees and rock gently from side to side. Massaging the lower back into the mouth. And when you feel ready, Roll to one side and come back up to sitting. Come back to sitting with your back straight. And just take a moment to observe how your body's feeling right now. Feel into any sensations in the body. Without analysis or judgement. Just observe what's there. And to finish the practice, Just take a moment to acknowledge yourself for showing up to practice today. And to make a positive intention for yourself. For the rest of your day. And when you are ready. Slowly open your eyes. This brings us to the end of today's practice. Thank you for listening.