Mindfulness Of Emotions

This is a 46-minute journey examining our emotions in a new way. In this, we look at the physical sensations arising from the emotions, bringing a new level of curiosity to them. As such, we can deal with emotions with much greater wisdom.

Transcript

Welcome to mindful yoga.

In this practice we are going to engage with the body as we undertake various gentle hatha yoga postures.

First of all take a spot on the ground.

A place where you're clear to reach your arms out if you want.

And where you'll have a bit of privacy for the next 45 minutes.

It helps to have a yoga mat or a blanket and some supports for your body if that's required for you.

Either some yoga bolsters or pillows.

Taking our position lying down in what's known as the corpse pose with our shoulders connected,

Our arms by our sides and our legs straight out.

Getting a sense of our body connected with the ground.

We can either for this practice have our eyes open or closed.

Whichever feels better for us.

Sensing those contact points with the ground including the heels,

The buttocks,

Shoulders,

The head and arms.

Feeling that support of the ground as it supports us in this practice.

Really getting a sense of being here right now.

When we are ready bring your arms out to the side straight out along the ground and bending our knee so that our feet are placed flat on the ground.

And when we're ready gently tilting our lower spine up away from the ground.

Holding it there and gently relaxing our back down and lower back til it's placed flat on the ground.

Gently tilting our hips as we do so.

Once again tilting our lower back up and gently pressing it to the ground.

Again all the while remaining within our zone of comfort.

We don't press ourselves too far but we want to remain in that zone of challenge.

Finding that edge of where we can get the most benefit.

Once again tilting up the lower back up with the buttocks still on the ground and gently lowering until our lower back is flat to the ground.

And gently raising our knees towards our head.

And we can grab a hold of our shins to help tuck in and pull those knees gently up towards our head.

Feeling a bit of a stretch in the legs and the back.

And to get a bit more stretch if we like,

Bring our head towards the knees.

Feeling that stretch in the back and gently lowering the head back down onto the ground.

And letting those legs get back down into the bent position with feet flat on the ground.

Feeling the body as it's experienced this bit of movement.

Feeling any blood flow,

Any increased heart rate,

Any relaxation.

Once again raising the knees towards the head and using the arms to help tuck them in to our chest.

And once again raising the head for that extra bit of stretch.

Holding there for a minute again staying within our zone of tolerance.

Just what feels enough.

And gently lowering the head back down.

And gently lowering those legs down into the position they were with feet flat on the ground and knees bent.

Now raising the right knee towards the chest and using the hands to give it a an extra stretch.

Bringing the head up to that knee.

Feeling that stretch along the right side.

Lowering the head and gently lowering that right knee.

And now doing the same with the left knee.

Bringing it forward towards the head using the hands on the shin to bring an extra little bit of stretch.

And adding to that by raising our head toward that knee.

And feeling the areas of the back that's getting a bit of stretch.

And gently lowering the head.

And then gently lowering the left knee as well.

Taking a position on our hands and knees.

Gently sort of rolling over and getting on our hands and knees from there.

When we're ready we arch our back up as high as our back can go.

And then gently lowering it till it sinks towards the ground as far as we can comfortably let that go.

This is known as the cat cow.

The cat pose being with the higher back and the cow being with the sunken back.

Raising our back up into the cat position with the back high.

Feeling any stretch we're getting there.

And then lowering into the cow position.

Feeling that chest and stomach stretch a little bit.

Once again bringing our backs high.

And then lowering back down with our back stomach coming towards the ground.

As far as we can make that go comfortably.

And then back into neutral position.

Now raising the right arm straight out.

And at the same time now taking the left leg and putting that straight out behind us.

If we can hold that with our balance.

Our right arm straight out and our left leg straight out.

Gently lowering both back into the kneeling position.

Now putting the left arm straight out and the right leg straight out.

And holding that position.

Feeling the sense of what is needed to keep balance here.

And also feeling the bit of work in the arm and leg.

And gently coming back down into the kneeling position.

Now taking again our position on our backs.

Now checking in.

Getting a sense of how the body is responding to this bit of mindful movement.

Getting a deep understanding of how the body responds when asked to do this bit of exercise.

Maybe getting a sense of increased blood flow.

What is the body calling for right now?

Right in this very moment.

When we have a moment.

When we're ready.

Placing our feet flat on the ground with our knees bent.

And our arms out by the sides.

And when ready lifting the hips up.

So that there is a somewhat straight line from the knees to the shoulders.

And holding this there.

Feeling the exertion being felt by the trunk and by the legs.

And also maybe by the arms in keeping a bit of balance here.

And slowly and gently lowering the hips down into neutral position.

With our buttocks back on the ground.

Once again checking in and noting how the body is responding to this.

Once again lifting the hips up.

Within our zone of comfort.

Just finding that physical edge.

That point at which it's just enough.

Not too much.

Holding it there.

Feeling the exertion and the stretch.

And gently bringing our hips back down to the ground.

Slowly.

Slowly.

And feeling the exertion as well as we lower ourselves slowly.

Maybe feeling each vertebra rolling back onto the ground.

As our hips come back into their place something around.

And once again lifting the hips up.

Feeling the exertion as we are creating sort of a straight plank from our shoulders to our knees.

And again slowly and gently lowering that back to the ground.

And again checking in.

Seeing how our body is responding to this.

Exactly what is going on in the body.

Can we bring that into our awareness?

Precisely how the body is responding.

Can we feel an elevated heart rate?

Perhaps we're getting warm.

Maybe our skin is dampening.

Maybe our breath has changed somewhat.

This is the difference in mindful movement as we continually check in and see how these movements work within the body and how the body responds particularly.

Now keeping the feet flat on the ground with our knees bent we place our hands behind our heads.

Perhaps with our fingers interlocked.

Or if we prefer we can have our arms straight out to the side.

Whichever feels better for this movement.

Now very gently and slowly we allow our bent knees to gently come over to the right with our shoulders still flat on the ground.

But allowing for a gentle spinal twist.

Again being extremely gentle with ourselves as we explore this edge,

This limit.

And feeling that gentle stretch in the back.

And if we want to extend how that stretch feels we can turn our heads over to the left increasing that stretch somewhat.

Raising our knees to neutral and our heads back up.

We now allow the knees to gently come over to the left.

And feel that edge,

That place where it's just enough.

And if we want to increase that at all we can turn our heads to the right to increase that twist.

Once again being extremely kind to our backs.

Just looking for that magic point where we've got a good stretch but we're not bringing ourselves to the point of pain or any risk of hurting ourselves in any way.

Bringing our heads back up to neutral and gently raising the knees back up to neutral as well.

Once again repeating allowing our knees to come over to the right.

Very gently feeling that edge and noticing whether that edge has changed for us since we've given this gentle stretch.

Turning our heads to the left if we need a bit more.

Feeling all of that gentle stretch through the spine in the back and the neck.

Returning our heads to neutral and bringing our knees back up slowly.

And once again allowing our knees to come over to the left slowly exploring what we refer to as that edge.

That place where we are in our zone of challenge but not overwhelming our body at all here.

And if you need that extra stretch turning our head over to the right and coming back to neutral.

And once again checking in how is the body responding to this bit of movement.

What are we sensing within the body right now?

Bringing our full attention and curiosity to the sensations within the body right now.

Now raising the right leg straight up and maybe using the hands on the thighs or calf to give it a little extra stretch.

And once again raising the head toward that to feel the extra stretch.

Lowering the head and gently and slowly lowering that right leg into the bent knee position.

Now doing the same with the left leg extending it to straight and then raising it towards the head and then using the hands to give it an extra gentle pull to get that extra stretch.

Feeling that stretch along the left leg and the back.

And bringing your head if we want to up to toward that knee toward that leg.

And getting a sense of that extra little bit of stretch.

Lowering our heads back down and gently and slowly lowering that leg down into the bent position.

And turning on our right side with our perhaps with our hands on our heads with our elbows on the ground.

Propping our heads up a bit we raise our left leg straight out and lift it toward the sky.

While it's straight out as high as we can go with comfort.

And gently bringing that back down.

Once again lifting that left leg up toward the ceiling.

Feeling that stretch within the inside of the leg.

Maybe noticing a little bit of exertion with regards to balance.

And slowly and gently lowering that left leg back down to neutral.

Now turning on to our left side.

Same position with our hands supporting our head.

And lifting that right leg straight up to the side.

And feeling that gentle stretch on the inside of the right leg.

Holding as long as we can.

And gently and slowly lowering that back down to neutral.

Once again raising that right leg toward the ceiling.

Straight out.

Holding it as long as we can.

As long as comfortable.

And gently and lowering that into the neutral position.

Now rolling onto our stomachs.

We feel the contact points of our stomach.

And the front of our body in connection with the ground.

And our toes.

All of those support points in connection with the ground.

Now with the right leg.

Lifting it backwards towards the sky.

Straight out.

As high as we can go.

You can have your arms by your sides or straight out depending on which is better for you.

And gently lowering that right leg back down to the ground.

Now with the left leg the same.

Taking that leg back towards the ceiling.

And getting as much of a stretch on that as we can.

Maybe feeling a bit of stretch on the forward side of the left leg.

Holding it there.

And gently bringing that back down to neutral.

And once again with the right leg doing the same.

Raising that up toward the ceiling.

Getting a stretch there.

And gently lowering that right leg down to neutral position.

And once again with the left leg.

Raising that toward the ceiling.

Trying to keep it straight.

Seeing how much of a stretch we can get on that left leg.

And gently lowering that leg down to the ground.

Into a neutral position.

And just getting a sense of how the body is responding to this bit of gentle movement.

Seeing if we can sense any blood flow.

Any aches or pains or places of relaxation and comfort.

Maybe some pleasant responses to the gentle stretching.

Now while on our stomachs,

Gently raising our heads up to look forward.

And as far back as we can go within our zone of comfort.

We want to be gentle with our necks.

So looking up.

Finding that edge for which we can feel a gentle stretch.

And slowly and gently lowering our heads back down to neutral.

Once again,

Lifting our head up towards the ceiling.

Getting as high as we can go and feeling that stretch in the front of the neck.

Being really kind to ourselves with this gentle movement.

Really respectful of our own selves.

Just showing ourselves some compassion with regards to how far we're going to push ourselves.

Now gently turning ourselves onto our backs.

And finding our places on the mat.

In a lying down position.

Maybe with our feet shoulder width apart and our arms by our sides.

And now just getting a sense of how this bit of gentle movement has landed for us within the body.

Getting a feel for this sense of body sensation and how that is resonating for us.

Getting a sense of the heart rate,

Noticing if we sense anything different there.

Maybe a sense of how the legs feel.

Really giving a close examination of the sensations within the legs.

Is there any soreness or discomfort?

And can we be with that just the way it is without wishing it to be any different?

And bringing our attention to the sensations in the arms and how our arms might feel after this bit of exertion,

This bit of hatha yoga.

Can we be with this just the way it is?

These sensations arising just the way they are.

Getting a sense of how the sensations feel within the trunk of our body,

The chest,

Stomach,

And back.

What can we sense within the trunk of our body?

Breathing carefully,

Noticing with our mind's eye all the sensations occurring within the trunk of our body.

Do we sense an elevated heart rate?

What are we noticing about our breathing?

Can we feel the heart and lungs nourishing the body?

Getting a deep sense by a way of awareness,

How this is landing for us in the sensations of the trunk.

Also,

Feeling those contact points,

Shoulders of the ground,

The buttocks of the ground.

All of the sensations that can be felt here within the trunk of the body.

Including within that sensations of the shoulders and head.

And noticing any sensations that are speaking to us from there.

Do our cheeks feel flush?

What is occurring at the shoulders and the head?

Now giving you a moment to pause and cast a wider beam of awareness over the sensations of the body as a whole.

And just watching that as we will.

Just giving ourselves a few moments to scan our bodies.

Watching carefully the sensations that are arising for us right now.

And noticing how our bodies might be feeling different right now than they were before we started this mindful hatha yoga.

Holding these sensations carefully in our awareness,

Gently.

But with a great deal of curiosity.

Knowing that this sensation has never been felt this way in this moment,

Ever before.

CO Prospects Just noticing what it's like to be here right now in this body as it expresses itself to us this way.

Just noticing what it's like to be here right now in this body as it expresses itself to us this way.

Just noticing what it's like to be here right now in this body as it expresses itself to us this way.

Just noticing what it's like to be here right now in this body as it expresses itself to us this way.

Just noticing what it's like to be here right now in this body as it expresses itself to us this way.

Bringing our attention back to the sensation of breathing.

And gently bringing back some gentle movement,

Maybe into our hands,

Into our feet.

And when we're ready,

Gently opening our eyes and taking in this room around us.

And just noticing what it's like to be here,

What it's like to be still here.

When you're ready,

Bending the knees,

Placing the feet flat on the ground.

And allowing them to tilt over to one side.

And then using your arm to prop yourself up into a sitting position.

Keeping with us here this knowing of our body sensations.

And taking that with us throughout the day.

So that we can anchor into this moment whenever we want.