15-Minute Evening Yoga | Let Go And Find Space

After a busy day, gift yourself fifteen minutes on the mat to soften your body and mind. In this floor-based sequence, you'll be invited to get comfortable and experience the present moment just as you are, giving yourself permission to let go of what you no longer need and create space for rest.

No props or experience necessary. Come as you are, and leave relaxed, grounded, and ready for bed.

Transcript

Hi and welcome to today's evening session. So this is a practice that will be close to the ground and I invite you to let go as much as you can. The intention is not to do more but to do less in order to create space. So we'll start lying down on the back. And you can extend your legs and your arms if you want to, Coming into Shavasana. Or if you'd rather, You could place your feet flat on the ground, A little bit wider than your hips. And then let's let your knees rest over one another. So your legs are kind of making a tent shape. And then you can allow your hands to rest on your abdomen, Let your elbows fall to the side. Ground through your shoulders. And once you're ready, Just take a moment to move your head a little side to side, Massaging the back of your skull. And then bring your neck back to neutral and find stillness. Take a deep inhalation through your nose. Feel your belly expand. Exhale. Feel yourself relaxed over the air. Inhale. Feel yourself expansive. Exhale, Soften. One more inhale. Lego. Notice the back of your body. In contact with the surface beneath you. Let your entire body become just a little bit more grounded. As if it became slightly heavier. Recognizing that the earth will come to meet you and hold you. And healthier now. Open your mouth, Let go. Take a moment to maybe bring yourself. Back to the beginning of your day or to a point in the day that seemed significant. Just for a moment let yourself kind of watch the day as if it were a movie. In front of you. But instead of focusing on what happened. The actions and the events themselves. See if you can take a moment to consider how you felt through each moment. Deep breaths in. Let it go bringing yourself all the way to the present moment. Recognizing that all those things and all those experiences and all those feelings you had today from you right here. Right now. Can you let that be, You know? Breathe in. Breathe out. In your next inhalation. Sort of stretch your arms overhead. Maybe you interlace your hands and flip your palms away from you as you stretch, Stretch, Stretch. You could also leave the elbows resting on the side, Sticking your arms a little bit wider. And start to face your knees up toward the ceiling, Keeping your feet slightly wider than your hips, And press your tailbone down toward the ground so your spine grows a little bit longer. Inhale. Exhale, Sort of surrender both knees toward the left side. They don't have to go very far. Inhale, Come back through the midline. Exhale, Surround the knees toward the right. Keep your left shoulder as grounded as you can. Maybe start to look a little to the left. Inhale through center, Align the spine. Exhale, Take the knees to the left, Maybe your gaze goes a little to the right. In health center. Exhale, Take it to the other side. Stay with the breath, Stay with the movement, Slow it down, Breathe it. Breathe out. Last one inhale and exhale. Bring both knees back to center. Take a deep breath in. And on your exhalation extend both legs down to the ground. Extend both arms overhead, Give yourself a full body stretch, Deep inhalation. And exhalation. For your arms next to your body. Bring your feet flat to the floor. Knees facing up toward the ceiling. Notice if there's a deep arc on your low back, Press it down toward the floor a little bit. And you can stay here or on your next inhalation, Press through your arms and your feet and lift your hips up a little bit. Then on your exhalation, Lower your hips. Back down. Start to draw your right knee toward your chest. And perhaps you hug it in by catching over the knee or the shin. You could also bring your hands underneath the knee. Squeeze it in toward the midline noticing what arises. And if you wanted a little bit more sensation through the back of your right leg, Maybe you choose to extend your right leg and flex your foot. One more breath here, Inhale. Exhale, Lower your right foot next to the left, Arms underneath, Or next to your body rather, Palms face down. Inhale, Lift your hips back up. Now, If you want to, Maybe you wiggle your shoulders underneath. Bringing the arms under the body and interlace your hands as you press up a bit more. One more breath, Inhale. And with your exhalation first take your arms back out, Lower your hips if they lift it. And then start to draw your left knee into your chest this time. Maybe let yourself stay here. Maybe let your leg extend a bit and catch anywhere. The back of the leg. Notice where you can create a little bit more space right now. And it could be physically, Mentally, Emotionally. Stay attuned to what's going on within you. One more, Inhale. And on your exhalation, Lower your left leg next to the right. Open your arms to the sides or overhead, It's up to you. Walk your feet a little bit wider and then gently move your knees side to side for a moment. One more breath. Now this time allow both knees to go toward the left. Keep your feet fairly wide here. And you could stay letting the knees stay away from one another, Or you could cross your left ankle over the right knee. And that may intensify the sensation, Especially on your right leg. So just be mindful and consider if you truly want that or if you're just doing it because you think you should. Again, Less, Less, Less. Create space. One more breath, Inhale. Thanks. If you crossed your ankle over the knee and cross it, Come back to center, Breathe in. Breathe out, Take your knees toward the other side. Notice how this side feels, Keep both shoulders grounded. And again, Maybe you cross the ankle over the knee, Maybe you don't. Both sides might need some time. Different things. Honor yourself as much as you can. One more cycle of breath. Once you feel ready, You cross your foot over the knee. Move it out of the way, Draw both these back. Toward the center, This time lift your feet off the floor and give yourself a hug. Again, Your hands could be underneath the knees or over the shins. And you can keep your knees narrow to the center line or you can bring them a little bit wider as if you were taking the knees toward the shoulders. Let yourself sway a little side to side. Or if you rather, You can bring your hands onto your kneecaps and extend your arms a little bit so your fingertips are facing down toward your toes. And then sort of take tiny circles at first with your knees as if you were drawing them on the ceiling. Stay with your breath. And then switch directions with the circle. Perhaps this gives your low back a little bit of a well-deserved massage. But of course, If this does not feel good, Skip it. One more breath, Inhale. On your exhalation, Stop the movement, Give yourself a hug, Maybe lift your head up toward the knees, Squeeze in. And then slowly. Lower yourself back down. Now cross your right knee fully over your left as if you were kind of hanging out having tea, Yeah? And you could stay here and simply draw the knees toward the chest if you want to bring a little bit more sensation into your hips. Start to draw the feet away from each other and your hands could catch your shins or slide down maybe toward the ankles or even toward the outsides of the feet. But notice if your right foot is really high up and your left foot is really low down, Try to even them out a little bit more. Breathe into whatever sensations you become aware of. And only stay for as long as you want to. One more breath, Inhale. And on your exhalation, If you lifted the feet far from your glutes, Release them and cross your knees. Maybe you'll widen both knees for a moment, Taking a couple of circles with your knee. In opposite directions. And then take a deep breath in as you squeeze in. And cross your left leg over the right this time. You can stay here, Drawing the knees in, Or maybe you start to separate the feet. And catch anywhere along the shin, The ankle, Or the outer feet. Breathe deeply. One more, Inhale. And on your exhale, If you caught the feet, Release them. And cross your knees, Press your feet onto the ground, Knees face up, Arms next to your body. And as you inhale lift your hips up for a moment, Opening up to the front body. And with your exhalation, Let your hips lower back down. Maybe let yourself roll toward the side. Coming into a seated position, Or if you'd rather, You could absolutely stay lying down, Especially if maybe you're getting ready for bed. But if you come into a seated position, I invite you to elevate your hips a little. You could sit on a block or a cushion or a blanket. Rest your hands on your lap or your knees. Roll your shoulders back and down. And just give yourself a moment to notice. The space. Space between each inhale and each exhale. Space within you as you breathe in and out. The space between one thought and the next. Taking this moment as an opportunity to be grateful. For those spaces in between where you can just be. Inhale, Fill up your entire body. Let it go this time. Once you're ready, Start to open your eyes once again. Move a little bit if it serves you. And I hope that you have a restful evening.

Reviews

Lovely wind down before sleep. Thdnk you.