Welcome,
I'm Danya.
Today's yin yoga practice is an invitation to open.
To create more space inside yourself.
Than you thought was there.
We tend to move through our days contracted.
Shoulders drawn in,
Hips held tight.
Breath shallow and small.
This practice is a gentle unfolding.
A chance to remind your body.
Of its own spaciousness.
If you have props nearby.
Keep them within reach.
Will begin in Half-Dragon.
Come to sit.
Extend your right leg long out to the side.
And draw your left foot in.
Toward your inner right thigh.
Or let it rest wherever feels natural.
There is no perfect shape here.
Take a moment before you go anywhere.
Feel the ground beneath you.
Let your sit bones drop.
When you are ready.
Begin to walk your hands forward.
Right over your right leg.
Or angled slightly.
To the inside.
Allow your spine to round softly.
Surrendering to the pull of gravity.
Rather than forcing the fault.
This isn't about reaching.
It's about yielding.
If your hips feel unbalanced.
Or your spine is straining.
Tuck a folded blanket or cushion underneath you.
Small lift can make all the difference.
Allowing the pelvis to tip forward and the fold to soften.
If the hamstring of your extended leg feels sharp.
Bend the knee gently and slide a bolster underneath the knee.
Let the leg be supported so the back can release.
Let your arms rest wherever they land.
There's nothing to grip.
Nothing to achieve.
You may wish to close your eyes once you have settled.
Feel the long side of your body.
The space between your hip and your shoulder.
Beginning to open.
Unfolding along the edges.
Wide.
Boundless.
Breathe in to the right side.
Of your ribcage.
As you inhale,
Imagine your ribs expanding like wings spreading outward.
Making more room.
As you exhale,
Suffolk.
Melts a little closer to the ground.
Make any sense.
The landscape of your right leg.
The long corridor of hamstrings.
The inner thigh.
The hip socket.
You're not stretching so much as tuning in.
Tissues.
Slowly open.
To reveal what they've been holding.
Notice sensation.
Without judgment.
Lingering at your edge.
The threshold.
Between effort and ease.
Let each exhale carry you a little deeper.
On your next inhale.
Gently.
Begin to walk your hands back.
Unroll your spine slowly,
Vertebra by vertebra.
Letting the head be the last thing to rise.
Once you're upright,
Bring both legs together and give them a little shake.
Roll your shoulders a couple of times.
And place your hands behind your hips for a little seated backbend.
Take a few breaths.
And prepare to move to the other side.
Extend your left leg out to the side.
Draw the right foot in.
Find a shape.
That feels right.
And when you are ready,
Begin to fold,
Hands walking forward.
Spine softening into a natural curve.
As you tune into sensations,
Notice if this side feels different than the right.
Perhaps tighter,
Perhaps more open.
Each side holds its own story.
Breathe into the left ribs.
Feel the expansion there.
Each inhale,
The ribs blooming open.
Imagine you are opening a window.
Fresh air moving into a stagnant room.
Breath circulating through spaces.
That have been sealed.
Let the wait.
.
.
Of your body drop down.
Feel the subtle lengthening along the left side of the spine.
The flash is slowly releasing.
The connective tissue.
Beginning to unwind.
Nourishing these structures.
Without effort.
Just the slow.
Patient work.
Of stillness.
Slowly.
Walk your hands back to center.
Roll up through this line.
Pause at the top.
Sit tall.
Take a few breaths in.
And let the effects of the pose settle into your body.
And come down onto your belly.
For a rebound.
Rest your cheek on the mat or make a soft pillow with your hands.
And close your eyes.
Feel the warmth that has gathered in your hips and spine.
Sense the tissues.
Slowly integrating.
The body finding its new shape.
Drinking in what was just offered.
Like soil.
After rain.
Absorbing what it needs.
Rest here.
Breathe here.
Simply notice.
When you're ready.
Extend your left arm out to the side.
At our own shoulder height,
Palm facing down.
And your right elbow.
And place your right hand near your chest.
Slightly into the floor.
And slowly begin to roll onto your left side.
Letting the weight of your own body open the chest and the front shoulder.
As we move into open wings.
You might keep your legs stacked.
Or bend the right knee and place the foot on the floor behind you.
If you'd like to go a little deeper.
Explore.
There's no.
Final destination.
Settle.
Into the shape.
It should feel juicy.
But nothing too bracing.
So the body can soften.
Feel the front.
Of the chest opening.
The heart space broadening.
The collarbones spreading wide.
Breathe here.
As you inhale,
Feel the lungs expand.
Like sails.
Filling with wind.
As you exhale.
Let your chest.
Shoulders sink.
A whole front body.
Notice the length.
Of your left arm stretching wide.
Fingers stretching.
Fingertips.
Alive with sensation.
Stay with your breath.
Let it move your awareness inward.
As the body opens outward.
Gently roll back to center.
Take a little pause.
Resting on your belly.
Breathe deeply.
Can you notice any difference between the left and right side?
One arm perhaps,
Heavier.
One shoulder more open.
There is no right sensation.
Simply notice.
Whatever you notice.
And when you are ready.
Move to the other side.
Extend your right arm out to the side,
Palm facing down.
Bend your left elbow.
Place your left hand near your chest and slowly Roll onto your right side.
Find your version of the shape.
Legs stacked.
Or the left knee bent behind you.
Whatever allows you to breathe fully.
And stay present.
And relax.
Bring awareness to your chest.
Into the sternum.
The ribs.
The soft skin over your heart.
Feel this space beginning.
To expand.
Physically.
But also deeper.
More profoundly opening.
Breathe into the front of the body.
Imagine each inhale.
Arriving.
Like light.
Flowing through the chest.
Illuminating what has been held in shadow.
On each exhale,
Releasing.
A slow unclenching.
Let your right arm be heavy.
Let your fingers soften and spread.
Stay with the ebb and flow of your breath.
Moving through you like a tide.
Filling.
And receiving.
Feeling.
And receding.
They don't have to do anything.
Accept.
Stay open.
Slowly.
Roll back to center.
And shift your weight back and come to rest in child's pose.
Hips toward,
Heels,
Arms long or resting alongside the body.
Feel the echo of open wings.
Settling through your back and shoulders.
Notice any warmth.
Any aliveness?
Any quiet hum of circulation in the tissues.
Rest.
Receive.
And you are ready.
Make your way onto your back.
Hug your knees in toward your chest.
Begin to rock gently from side to side.
Smile.
Easy movements.
Let the spine sway.
Perhaps some slow hip circles.
Moving in any way that feels good.
You Change directions.
Whenever you feel called to.
When the movement feels complete.
Reach for the soles of your feet or your ankles.
Or even at the backs of your thighs.
Whatever feels most natural and come into happy baby.
Open your feet.
So they hover just above your knees.
And gently guide your knees wide toward the floor alongside your ribs.
With the whole back.
Soften into the mat.
Let your shoulders drop.
Taking up space.
Head.
Close your eyes.
Feel the deep opening in the hips and inner thighs.
Sense the sacrum flattening on the ground.
The low back releasing its grip.
The spine long.
Party open.
You have spent this entire practice creating space.
Along the sides of the body.
Across the chest and shoulders.
Through the hips and hamstrings.
And here in this final shape.
You are wide open.
Or suck.
Like a flower fully turned towards the light.
Breathe into your belly.
Feel it rise with each inhale,
Soft and round.
And fall with each long breath.
Complete exhale.
To empty.
If you wish,
You can gently pull the feet down to feel more sensation.
Or Begin to slowly straighten one leg at a time.
Exploring a gentle stretch in the hamstrings.
Or simply raw.
Side to side.
Playful as a child.
Returning to the most natural movement of all.
When you are ready to come out.
Release the feet to the floor.
Knees still bent.
Pause here.
Feel the rebound.
Pulse of energy flooding through your hips and pelvis.
The quiet flow of circulation moving through freshly opened tissue.
This moment.
Is the practice integrating.
The body.
Receiving the benefits.
Of the deep stretches.
Enjoy this moment.
And everything.
Is still.
And fall.
Gently extend your legs long.
Roll your shoulders open and let your arms rest away from the body.
Palms facing up.
A gesture of openness.
Of receiving.
Close your eyes.
You have created more space.
Inside yourself today.
In your spine.
Your hip.
Your chest.
Your breath.
That nourishing spaciousness.
All yours.
Travels with you.
Carry this openness,
This sense of possibility.
With you into whatever comes next.
Thank you.
For practicing with me.
Namaste.
