Hello friend,
I'm Laia.
Welcome to this yoga class that you can do on your couch,
On a chair,
Or even on your bed.
Perfect for when you're perhaps binge watching a show and you want to take a little break and move your body and take care of yourself.
Look,
I'm not judging,
It happens to all of us.
I think it is important to acknowledge that and to take care of ourselves,
Even on times when we are a little bit less physically active.
So for this yoga class,
All you'll need is a comfy surface beneath you,
Whether that's a couch,
A chair,
Your bed,
Or even the ground is absolutely up to you.
Let's get started.
So bring yourself to a comfortable seated position,
And you could lean on the backrest behind you,
But I invite you to lengthen your spine and relax your shoulders away from your ears instead,
If that feels good for you.
Soften your gaze down or close your eyes,
And just give yourself a moment to notice how you arrive.
Taking a deep breath in through the nose,
And out through the nose or the mouth.
Do that again.
Inhale to expand the breath into the lungs.
Exhale to relax.
One more deep breath in.
Let go.
Ground through your sitting bones,
Lengthen your spine,
Inhale.
Exhale,
Bring the right ear to the right shoulder.
Notice the space that creates on the left side of the neck.
Inhale back through center.
Exhale,
Take the left ear to the left shoulder,
Opening the right side of the neck.
Back to center as you breathe in.
Breathe out,
Lower your chin down to your chest.
Inhale,
Lift your chin up,
Open through the throat,
Gaze up toward the ceiling.
Exhale,
Bring your neck back to neutral.
Ground through the sitting bones,
Lengthen the spine,
Inhale.
Exhale again,
Bring the right ear to the right shoulder.
This time,
Stay here,
Or bring your right hand over the head and toward the left ear.
You could also extend your left arm out to the side,
And perhaps you play with lifting and lowering your chin a couple of times.
One more breath.
Inhale,
And exhale.
Bring your neck back to neutral,
Release the arms.
Inhale to lengthen.
Exhale,
Now bring the left ear to the left shoulder.
And again,
You could stay here,
Or take your left hand over the right ear.
And the intention here is not to pull,
But simply to add a little bit of weight,
Which may shift the sensation.
And that's how you can also notice what you want to do as you extend your right arm.
Maybe it's lower,
Maybe it's higher.
How does that shift the sensation?
Breathe.
One more breath.
And then slowly release the arm,
Bring your neck back to neutral.
And on your inhalation,
Lift your shoulders up toward your ears.
Exhale,
Roll them back and down.
And you can do that with the arms dangling,
Or perhaps you start to use the elbows as well.
So as you inhale,
Your shoulders lift up,
And as you exhale,
They roll back and down.
Do that a few times at your own pace,
Utilizing as much of range of motion as works for you right now.
And depending on where you are,
It may also depend on the space that you have.
Pause and then shift directions with the circles,
With your shoulders,
Your elbows.
Notice what your breath is like.
And then slowly pause the movement,
Relax your arms.
If you've been sitting in the same way,
I invite you to shift how you're seated.
So maybe stretch your legs out for a moment and roll your ankles.
And as you do so,
Also take a moment to roll your wrists one way,
And then the other.
One more breath,
Inhale.
And as you exhale,
Find whatever seat you'd like.
Again,
If you've been sitting cross-legged,
Consider crossing the opposite leg in front.
If you don't remember which leg you crossed in front,
That's totally fine.
Lengthen through the spine,
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Reach your arms out to the sides and all the way up on your inhalation.
And on the exhalation,
Grab the right wrist with the left hand and lean a little bit toward the left.
You could stay here or lower your left hand down to the couch and stretch a little bit further.
Let your gaze goes up toward the right if you want.
Back to the center.
As you inhale,
Grab your left wrist with your right hand,
Find length.
And on the exhalation,
Now lean the other way and stay there,
Or perhaps release the wrist and lower the arm down to maybe go a little bit further or to find more stability.
Breathe.
One more inhale and exhale.
Back to neutral.
Stretch both arms up,
Breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Surrender your hands to our opposite wrist or elbows,
Framing your head with your arms.
Maybe your wrist rests atop your head.
And just take a couple of breaths here,
Lifting your chest as much as feels good for you.
Let your shoulders relax away from the ears.
One more breath,
Inhale.
And on your exhalation,
Release the arms,
Taking your left hand to your right knee and your right hand next to you,
Or perhaps you slide it behind your back,
Or you could even use the back of the couch or the chair to help you twist.
Notice a spiral of energy beginning at the tailbone,
Moving up through the torso,
The shoulders,
The neck,
All the way up to the crown of the head.
One more breath.
And then slowly come back to center.
Inhale,
Reach your arms all the way up.
Exhale again,
Surrender your hands to our opposite wrist or elbows.
Perhaps your arms rest atop your head.
Breathe for a moment in through the nose.
Side out.
One more inhale.
Deep breath in.
And on the exhalation,
Now take a twist to the left,
Taking your right hand to the left knee or leg,
And your left arm could be on your hip or on the couch,
Just helping you twist a little bit further if that serves you.
Breathe.
One more breath.
And slowly bringing yourself back to center.
Take a moment to move your spine side to side,
Or maybe wiggle from one sitting bone to the other.
And then slowly bring yourself back to stillness.
Maybe you rest your hands on your lap or your knees,
Or maybe you bring one hand to your belly and one hand to your heart.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in through the nose.
Let it go.
Notice how you feel after a little bit of movement right here on your couch or the chair or the bed.
Notice how you feel physically,
Mentally,
Energetically.
And repeat within or without,
Thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you.
Once you feel complete,
You can open your eyes.
I hope that you have enjoyed this couch yoga and that you tune into this class anytime that you feel like you have been sitting for too long or inactive for too long and you want to take a little bit of a break.
Thank you so much for practicing with me and I will see you again soon.
Take care.
