Welcome,
I'm Danya.
Thanks for joining.
Today's practice is an invitation to come home to yourself.
In a world that asks us constantly to reach outward.
To do more,
Move faster,
Stay connected.
This practice.
Asks you to drop down.
To become still.
To root.
We'll move through three deeply nourishing yin poses.
Each one drawing awareness deeper.
Into the body.
Quieting the nervous system.
And building a sense of inner steadiness.
Let's take a moment.
Simply to arrive.
Feel the weight of your body dropping downward.
The sit bones.
Making contact with the earth.
The hands resting in your lap.
Take a slow breath in.
Through the nose.
And a long,
Easy exhale out.
And again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Each exhale.
Imagine you are releasing.
The weight of the day.
Scan.
Your awareness through the body.
Noticing where there is ease.
Where there is tension.
What is present right now?
Without needing to change anything.
Just noticing.
Simply arriving.
Exactly as you are.
From here.
Will come into shoelace.
Begin by crossing your right knee over your left.
Stack the knees as closely as you can toward center.
Your feet will rest out to either side of your hips.
You can use your hands to draw the feet in closer or let them rest.
Wherever they land.
If the hips are very uneven,
One side floating high off the floor,
Slide a folded blanket or cushion beneath you.
The raised hip for support.
We want the pelvis.
To feel level and stable.
If the knees are stacked comfortably,
Wonderful.
There is any strain in the knees.
Simply cross the shins loosely in front of you instead.
This is an equally valid expression of the pose.
Now bring the arms into eagle.
Stretch both arms forward.
Then cross the right arm under the left at the elbow.
Bend the elbow and try to bring the backs of the hands or the palms to meet.
Lift the elbows slightly.
And draw them away from the face.
Feeling the broad opening.
Across the upper back.
Between.
The shoulder blades.
Across the rhomboids.
When you've found your shape.
Become still.
You may wish to close your eyes.
Feel the weight.
Of the crossed legs rooting you down.
Feel.
Crossed arms.
Drawing inward.
Breathe.
Into the upper back.
On each inhale,
Feel the shoulder blades gently spreading apart.
On each exhale.
Let the elbows drop.
A little lower.
The arms softening.
A little heavier.
Bring awareness to the outer right hip joint.
Unnoticed the sensation here.
Perhaps at the.
.
.
Slow 8.
Perhaps warmth.
Simply breathe into it.
And listen.
Shoelace works deeply into the outer hips and glutes,
The IT band,
The piriformis.
The hip rotators.
Eagle arms simultaneously opens the upper back and the space between the shoulder blades.
An area where so many of us carry stress.
And postural strain.
On an energetic level.
The deep compression and release in the hips stimulates the kidney and bladder meridians.
Associated in Chinese medicine with a sense of groundedness.
Security.
And inner strength.
You are simply here,
Rooted.
Still.
Presence.
And gently release your arms.
Slowly uncross the legs.
Make your way back to a seated position and then Place your left knee on top this time.
Crossing over the right.
Left arm crosses under the right in Eagle.
Notice how the shape feels on this side.
Each side of the body holds its own story.
Breathe.
Into your upper back.
Feel the left outer hip.
Grounding down.
Heavy and stable.
The base of the body heavy.
Like a tree.
With deep roots.
Let the breath be your anchor.
Whenever the mind wanders.
And it will.
Simply return.
To the sensation of breath.
Moving,
Through the body.
This.
Is the practice of grounding.
Not forcing stoners.
But returning to it.
Again.
And again.
And release your arms,
Uncross your legs.
And come onto your back.
Close your eyes.
This?
A zero rebound.
Fresh circulation floods back into the tissues.
Simply receive it.
Notice your upper back.
Perhaps there is warmth.
A gentle pulsing.
A sense of spaciousness.
Feel both hips side by side.
Notice any difference.
Let's the body.
Drink in the stillness.
The earth hold to.
Just rest.
Breathe.
And slowly make your way up.
To kneeling.
Today,
We have two options.
Full saddle or half saddle.
I want to guide you into the right choice for your body.
Half saddle is recommended if you have any sensitivity in the knees,
Hips,
Or lower back.
From kneeling,
Extend your right leg straight out in front of you.
Your left leg remains kneeling.
Heel beside the left hip.
And begin to lean back.
Onto your hands first.
Then forearms.
And if available.
All the way down onto your back.
For full saddle.
Bring both heels to the outside of both hips and lean back.
Only as far as feels sustainable.
Place a bolster or folded blankets beneath the spine if needed.
In both variations.
A deep stretch is normal.
Sharp or pinching pain in the knee joint.
Is a signal to back off.
Or add more support.
This is not a pose to push.
You find your version of the shape.
Close your eyes.
Feel.
The long stretch along the front of the thighs.
A deep opening through the hip flexors.
That corridor of tissue connecting the torso.
To the legs.
This is where we hold so much.
Tension,
Emotion.
The residue of long days.
Simply breathe into it.
Saddle is one of the most powerful poses in the yin practice.
It creates a deep compression and opening through the lumbar spine.
Stimulate.
The kidney and bladder meridians.
And stretches profoundly through the quadriceps.
Hip flexors,
And so us.
Those muscles that shorten with prolonged sitting and stress.
This pose also has a quieting effect on the nervous system.
A long hold.
Creates a settling.
That is deeply calming.
With each inhale.
Feel the chest and belly rising.
With each exhale.
Imagine.
The spine softening.
The lumbar.
Releasing its grip.
Settling a little heavier.
If you are in half saddle.
You may change side now.
Settling once again into stillness.
You are grounded here.
This is the practice of cultivating stability.
Which is not the absence of fluctuations in the mind.
But.
.
.
The ability to return.
Again.
And again.
To the ground beneath you.
I will guide you out.
My name is Ty.
Very slowly.
Make your way out of the shape.
Come onto all fours.
And move through a few cat cows.
Arching and rounding the spine.
Moving in any way that feels good.
And when you are ready,
Send your hips back toward your heels into child's pose.
Your forehead coming down to rest on the mat.
A block.
Or stacked hands.
The spine rounding gently forward.
The counter to all of the opening of the previous backbend.
Breathe into the lower back.
Feel it gently expand with each inhale.
Let your hips sink down.
Heavy.
And settled.
Rest here.
For a little longer.
From child's pose,
Slowly roll up to sit.
Then lower yourself carefully.
Onto your back.
We are moving into snail.
Spinal flexion.
That draws the body completely inward.
A beautiful closing shape.
For our grounding.
Turning all awareness inward.
Away from the outer world.
Toward the quiet center of self.
Draw your knees into the chest.
Take a little rock back and forth.
If this feels good,
Enjoy this playful spinal massage.
For a few breaths.
And when you are ready,
Using your hands to support your low back.
Slowly lift the hips.
And roll the spine up and over.
Allowing the feet to travel back.
Behind.
And beyond the head.
The feet don't reach the floor.
Keep your hands supporting your low back.
And let the legs hover.
You can also rest your legs on a chair or bolster.
Behind the head.
If there is any sensitivity in the net.
Keep the chin away from the chest and do not turn your head.
If snail isn't right for your body today,
Simply remain.
With knees hugged into your chest.
Or send your legs up into the air.
For a gentle inversion in waterfall pose.
Find stillness now.
Close your eyes.
Feel the whole spine gently opening.
Vertebra by vertebra.
Like a string of beads slowly laid out along the ground.
Each exhale invites a little more release.
Each inhale.
Creates a little more space.
Snail creates a deep,
Sustained lengthening.
Through the entire posterior chain.
From the sacrum.
To the base of the skull.
Stimulates the bladder meridian.
Along the full length of the back body.
And has a calming effect on the nervous system.
Gently shifting the body into a parasympathetic state.
Slowing the breath.
Unsettling the mind.
Notice the breath in this shape.
It may feel shallower.
Or even a little constrained.
Simply breathe.
Take in what the body will allow.
Slow steady breath.
Folded inward.
Cocooned.
Turned in towards self.
This is the deepest form of grounding.
The weight of the body heavy.
Supported on the earth.
As well as the turning of all awareness towards the inner landscape.
The quiet territory of the mind.
Rest here.
Just breathing.
And softening.
Very slowly,
Roll the spine back down to the mat.
One vertebra at a time.
Pausing with knees bent,
Feet on the floor.
Letting the spine settle.
And decompress.
Stay here or extend your legs long.
To come into Shavasana.
For a few minutes of non-sleep,
Deep rest.
Shoulders rolling gently open.
Arms resting a little away from the body.
Palms turned upward in a gesture of openness.
Of receiving.
Bands.
Your awareness to the entire body.
Scan down the front.
Face.
Throat.
Valley.
Thighs.
Shins.
Feats.
And up the back.
Heels.
Backs of the legs.
Low back.
Mid-back.
Shoulders.
Back of the head.
Exhale and soften.
Down the right side of the body.
And then down the left.
Let the body relax completely.
Into stillness.
Hole.
Body soft.
Restful.
At ease.
Take a long look.
Slow breath in.
And exhale fully.
Sensing the whole body.
As one unified field.
Of relaxation.
Spacious awareness.
Steady breath.
Notice.
The sounds around you.
Feel the air on your skin.
Follow the gentle flow of breath moving in and out.
And out.
Thoughts may come and go.
Like clouds.
Passing.
Through an open sky.
Simply let them drift by.
Feel the weight of your body.
Resting on the ground.
And feel the earth rising up.
To meet you.
Study.
Solid.
Completely reliable.
You have rooted deeply today.
The body has responded.
Releasing what it no longer needs,
Settling into its own natural steadiness.
Ross.
In this open awareness.
Spacious.
Quiet.
Take as much time as you need.
When you are ready.
Deepen the breath.
Let small movements return.
Roll to one side.
And make your way slowly back up to sit.
Take this moment.
To simply sit with what is here.
I hope.
You are feeling grounded.
Rested.
And ready to meet the world with a little more ease,
More rooted in yourself.
More steady in the face of whatever.
The day brings.
That groundedness you feel right now.
It was always there.
Yin simply helps you find your way back to it.
Let me know how you feel.
After this practice.
And what poses spoke to your body today.
I'll see you in the next one.
