Hello and welcome to this yoga practice.
For introspection and slowing down.
We are going to begin our practice in a seated position,
But you may want to have a bolster or a couple of pillows nearby for this practice.
So just bringing yourself into the moment.
Bringing yourself.
Into your body.
Just checking in.
With how you're doing and how you're feeling today.
Begin our practice with some alternate nostril breathing.
So take your right hand,
Use the ring finger,
Close the right nostril,
And inhale through the left.
Plug the left nostril,
Exhale through the right.
Inhale through the right nostril.
Then close the right nostril and exhale through the left.
That's one round,
We'll do that again.
Inhaling through the left.
Plug the left exhale through the right.
Inhale through the right.
And exhale out of the left.
Just continuing with this alternate nostril breathing.
Noticing how the breath moves past your forehead between your eyebrows.
And imagining that as you inhale and the breath moves from side to side,
That it's clearing your mind.
Getting rid of any mental chatter.
Getting rid of any mental gunk.
Anything that's in your mind.
Any fogginess,
Fatigue.
It's all being washed away with that breath as it passes from side to side with our alternate nostril breathing.
Completing this round of breath.
And when you're done,
Just letting your hand float down onto your thigh.
Taking a moment to breathe equally through both nostrils and just notice any shifts or changes.
And when you're ready,
We'll open up our neck by tipping the left ear down towards the left shoulder.
And if you'd like,
Right hand can press down towards the ground.
Option here to take that left hand,
Rest it on top of the head,
Not pushing or forcing,
Just letting the weight of the hand open up the neck just a little bit more.
Breathing down low into the belly.
And just feeling the neck soften over time.
And switching over to the other side.
Should be left hand reaching down towards the ground.
And if you'd like,
Your right hand can rest on top of your head.
Just letting the weight of the hand Open up that neck a little bit further.
Breathing slow and low and noticing how the muscles of the neck respond to those deep breaths.
Gently releasing the top hand.
Coming back to neutral,
Interlacing your hands behind your head.
And tucking chin to chest.
So opening up the back of the neck once again,
Letting those hands rest and be extra weight to open up the neck if that feels okay.
But never pushing or forcing.
Taking a big deep breath here.
Then releasing,
Letting the hands float down,
Lifting the head back up.
We're going to move into our first Ian position,
A hip opener,
Cow face pose.
So if you were sitting on any props,
Slide them off to the side.
We're gonna take our right leg underneath us,
Crossing the top leg over.
So we're working towards this kind of shoelace position where we have our feet going back towards opposite hips and working on stacking one knee on top of the other.
Ensuring that both bony landmarks of our hips and our glutes,
That we're really rooting down through both of them,
Not letting that right or left hip creep up.
Sitting here in stillness.
Breathing into the hips.
And just taking little bit of time here to not only send that breath down low but to gaze inward.
What's happening within you?
What are you feeling today?
Maybe noticing what's in your heart.
There are no wrong answers.
Making note.
What your heart is experiencing today.
And breathing down low into the belly.
Knowing that if the mind wanders,
That's okay.
It's totally normal.
Just recognize that your mind has wandered.
And gently guide it back to the moment.
To your breath and your body.
Just transitioning into the other side now.
The top leg becomes the bottom leg.
Bottom leg becomes the top leg.
Drawing your heels towards opposite hips,
Working on stacking the knees on top of one another.
Settling into a space of stillness and ease.
Allowing the breath to remain slow and low.
And this time gazing inward but checking in with your body.
What is my body telling me today?
How is my body feeling?
What signals is it sending me?
What does my body have to say today?
Taking a few more moments here.
Just breathing and being with your body.
Listening to what it has to tell you.
And then transitioning out of this cow face pose,
Moving into wide legs.
This is where you may want to grab a bolster or a few pillows.
Taking the legs out wide.
Elongating the spine,
Hinging at the hips and folding forward.
You may be able to just lay flat on your props or maybe you stack a few pillows on top of one another to bring it up towards you.
Just settle in here.
And as you do,
Noticing the breath.
In your back.
So as you inhale,
Feeling the breath move.
From the low back up towards the crown of the head.
And then exhaling,
Feel the breath fall from the crown of the head back down to the low back.
Just letting your breath cascade up and down your back.
Almost like an ocean wave.
Breath moves in,
Breath moves out.
Breath moves up,
Breath moves down.
As you're breathing,
Maybe reflecting on an area of your life.
Where you could invite more ease in.
Is there an area where you're getting in your own way?
Causing more challenges for yourself.
And maybe just like that breath.
That dances up and down or that ocean wave that moves in and out.
What part of our life can we invite more ease and just let it naturally flow?
Maybe as you breathe,
Imagining every inhale does bring more ease into your life.
And as you exhale,
Letting go of.
.
.
Anything that's getting in your way.
And then slowly easing out of this position.
Just pushing yourself away from the floor or the props.
Coming back up to seated.
So transition into a supported bridge pose.
So coming down on your back,
Sliding the bolster or pillows under your knees.
Planting the feet on the ground,
Lifting up the hips,
You can slide those prompts right underneath your low back.
And settling into this supported bridge position.
Thinking about your shoulder blades,
Just letting them melt into the mat.
As the front line of the body opens up.
Under that gentle hug of gravity.
Breath is down low in the belly.
And you can feel that natural rise and fall of the belly with each inhale and each exhale.
Inhaling,
The belly rises and exhale,
Belly falls.
Chest softens and opens,
Shoulder blades melt into the mat.
And as you rest here,
Quietly contemplating to yourself.
What area of my life could I use a more open heart for?
Is there a certain aspect of my life that could really use more heart?
Or a place where I've closed my heart off and I feel ready to open it again.
As you breathe and focus on the rise and fall of your belly,
Maybe just contemplating this.
A part of your life.
Needs a little bit more of your heart,
Didn't it?
Beginning to transition from this position,
Sliding your props out from under your hips,
Moving into a twist.
So taking your pillows or your bolster between your knees and drop your knees over towards the right.
And you can tilt your chin over to the opposite side or just gaze up towards the sky.
Once you settle in here,
Letting gravity really do your work.
Breathing down into the belly and feeling that internal massage.
Feeling that internal churning with the breath and the twist.
And as you rest in this twisting position,
Quietly contemplating.
What are you ready to let go of in your life?
What in your life has served its purpose and now it's time to release it?
Just resting and letting gravity do your work as you breathe deeply into this twist.
Contemplating what in life is ready to be released for you.
Taking one more deep breath in this position.
Then transitioning slowly.
Over into the other side.
Keeping the props or pillows right where they are and just shifting your legs.
Over to the opposite side.
Maybe noticing if this side feels a little bit different.
It may or it may not.
Letting gravity continue to do your work.
Shoulder blades softening into the mat.
Breath is down deep in the belly.
As you rest in this position,
Quietly contemplating.
What new things am I ready to welcome into my life?
Is there something that you're welcoming in?
A new venture,
A new idea.
Change,
Shift in perspective.
What new thing are you welcoming into your life or ready to welcome right now?
Taking a few more deep breaths.
Noticing that internal churning and massage within.
And quietly contemplating what new thing you're ready to welcome into your life.
And slowly easing out of this twisting position.
And from here,
We will move into either a lying down shavasana.
Or a seated meditative position,
Your choice.
We'll be ending with a few minutes of meditation.
We'll begin by exhaling all of the air out of our lungs.
And then inhaling for a count of four.
Three.
Two,
One.
Holding for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhaling for three,
Two,
One.
Holding for three,
Two,
One.
Again,
Inhaling for three,
Two,
One.
Holding for Three,
Two,
One.
Exhaling four.
Two,
One,
And holding for four.
Three,
Two.
Repeating this box breath one more time on your own.
And after you complete all four points of that breath,
Just settle into a space of stillness and ease.
Allowing the breath to flow naturally in and out of your body.
And as you sit and rest and breathe,
Just make note.
Of any thoughts that come up in your mind.
Of any sensations you experience or feelings.
And don't linger on them.
You hear a noise.
In the background,
Maybe a dog barking.
You just think,
Barking dog.
Or if you feel a little ache in your hip.
Say tight hip.
Just noting whatever you're experiencing for these next few quiet moments.
As you breathe and be and just let yourself exist.
It's allowing every passing moment.
To bring you closer to a place of stillness and ease.
Giving yourself permission not to do.
But just to exist.
And when you're ready,
Just slowly begin to reawaken and return to the here and the now.
Maybe taking a big deep breath in through the nose and open mouth.
Exhale,
Sighing out,
Letting go.
Thank you so much for joining me for this yin yoga practice.
For turning inward,
Slowing down,
And being introspective.
I hope to see you again soon.
