After Work Yoga | Gentle Stretching To Relax And Release

Whether you’ve been sitting at a desk, running around, or need a reset after a long day, this class is your permission to slow down and just be. Perfect for all levels, this soothing practice focuses on slow, mindful movement, gentle stretches, and grounding breathwork to support your transition from work mode to rest mode. Unwind your body, calm your nervous system, and reset your energy so you can enjoy the rest of your evening with more ease and presence.

Transcript

Hello friends, I'm Laia. Welcome to this after work yoga stretch. This is an ideal class for the end of your day, Especially for those days when you might be more sedentary. Perhaps you've been sitting at a desk for a long time or standing for a long time or even commuting and driving. So we will spend most of the time on the earth, On the ground. That is why I am wearing comfy clothing and socks. So you don't have to have any special props, Just a yoga mat or sturdy surface and your precious self. Let's begin. Bring yourself to a comfortable seated position, Perhaps cross-legged or however works best for you and take a moment to even out the weight between your sitting bones as you lengthen your spine, Relax your shoulders down and lengthen your neck. You could soften your gaze down toward the earth or maybe close your eyes for a moment and let's just take breaths together. In through the nose, Out through the nose or the mouth. Again inhale through the nose, Letting the breath expand into the belly, The rib cage, The chest. Let it go. One more deep breath in, Long slow breath out, Letting yourself relax even if it's just 1%. On your inhalation lift your chin up, Open through the throat, Exhale lower your chin down to the chest. Inhale lift your chin up again, Exhale lower your chin down to the chest. One more inhale lift your chin up, Exhale lower your chin down to the chest. Stay here for a moment maybe in stillness or you could start to move your chin a little bit from side to side, Tracing your collarbones from shoulder to shoulder. Notice how that feels. Inhale deeply, Exhale completely. Pause the movement at the center, Inhale bring your neck back to neutral and on your exhalation bring the right ear to the right shoulder and stay here or extend your left arm out to the side. Noticing what happens if you rotate the arm one way or the other. Breathe in, Breathe out, Lower your hand down, Bring your neck to neutral, Deep breath in, Aligning, Breathe out. Now take the left ear to the left shoulder and stay or perhaps extend your arm out to the side and notice how that feels. Breathing in, Breathing out, Release the arm, Bring your neck back to neutral, Inhale and on your exhalation again lower your chin down to the chest. Stay here or this time bring your hands behind your head, Feel free to interlace them and draw your elbows down, Down, Down as you round your spine and curl in. Inhale, Take your elbows wide, Lift your chest, Open up, Perhaps gaze up a little. Exhale again, Elbows toward one another, Round your back and look down. Inhale to open up, Exhale to round. Inhale, Open up through the elbows, Lift your chest, Exhale twist toward the right side and stay here or release your left hand on top of the right knee and your right hand behind you on the floor or maybe on your hip. Breathe in to lengthen, Breathe out to maybe twist just a little bit more. One more breath here, Inhale, Exhale. Reach your right arm up toward the sky, Deep breath in, Exhale lean a little bit toward the left, Opening the right side body, Perhaps reach a little bit more through your right fingertips as you ground down through your right sitting bone. One more breath, Inhale, Exhale, Curl down as you take your right hand down toward the left knee. Cross the right arm over the left, Relax your head down and as you inhale lift your chest, Open your arms out to the sides. Exhale, Bend the elbows, Take your hands behind your head again. Inhale to lift the chest a bit, Exhale this time twist toward the left and stay here and release your right hand onto your left knee and your left hand behind you on the ground. Inhale to lengthen, Exhale maybe to twist a little bit more, Letting your breath be expansive, Letting yourself arrive as the movement awakens the body after stillness or stress, Whatever your day brought. On your next inhalation lift your left arm up, Reach and on the exhalation lean a little bit toward the right, Opening the left side body, Ground through the sitting bones, Lengthen all the way up through the left fingertips. Inhale, Exhale, Round your back and take your left hand down to your right knee, Taking your left arm over the right, Round your back. Inhale, Lift your chest, Take your arms out to the side. Exhale, Take your hands to the ground behind you, Press through the palms, Lift your chest and stay here or maybe lift your hips off the floor as well, Opening up to the front body just a little bit more. Inhale and on the exhalation, If you lifted your hips, Lower them back down. Bring your feet to the floor in front of you a little bit wider than your hips and let your knees move from one side to the other a couple of times. That is what your breath is like and the sensations that arise in your body. Breathe in, Breathe out. Next time your knees are on the right side, Allow them to remain there and draw your feet a little bit closer toward you, Finding a comfortable seat. Readjust whatever you need to readjust. Inhale, Reach both arms up and on your exhalation, Take your hands in front of you and allow yourself to stay or maybe melt your heart down, Down, Down and relax your head. One more breath here. Inhale deeply and exhale completely. On your next inhalation, Rise up, Lean back a little bit and extend your left leg diagonally out to the side. You can keep your knee bent which may allow your spine to grow a little bit taller or you can choose to extend through your left leg and also consider what you want to do with the left foot. Maybe it's flexed, Perhaps you let it relax. Inhale to lengthen the spine and exhale again. You could stay up or maybe you go a little bit forward. Perhaps your elbows find the floor but keep your spine long. A couple more breaths here. Last one, Inhale and exhale. On your next inhalation, Slowly press yourself up. Take your right hand next to your right hip behind your leg, Reach your left arm up, Breathe in and then stay here or press up, Lift your hips, Open up a little bit more, Finding a little bit of extension. Inhale, Exhale, Slowly bring yourself back down. Hands behind you, Feet in front, A little bit wider than your hips and just for a moment, Once again, Move your knees from side to side like windshield wipers and eventually let your knees drop toward the left side this time, Moving your feet slightly back so that you can find a more stable position. Bring your hands next to you or in front of you, Inhale to lift your chest and on your exhalation, If you find plenty of sensation, You can stay or maybe explore going forward and seeing what happens there. Wherever you are, Breathe. One more inhale and exhale. Press yourself up, Lean back a little bit and now extend your right leg diagonally out to the side. Take a moment to ground through the sitting bones. Consider if you want to keep your extended leg a little bit bent or more stretched. Breathe in and breathe out, Stay or once again go forward, Noticing what arises here, What you feel. One more breath and then slowly rise up, Left hand behind your left hip, Press onto it, Inhale, Take your right arm up and stay or press your hips off the earth, Lift them up, Stretch out, Deep breath in and on the exhalation slowly bring yourself back down. Bring your hands behind you and your feet in front of you, This time bring your feet parallel to one another, Plant them firmly onto the ground and take your hands underneath the shoulders. Your fingertips could face toward the feet or you could dial your hands back until you find what feels good on your shoulders and arms. Press down through the feet and the palms of the hands, Lift your chest up toward your thighs and stay here or on your next inhalation you can lift your hips off the floor, Keeping your gaze forward as your hips lift higher and higher and higher until they're in line with your knees and your chest. Maybe then your head goes back just enough to also be in line with the spine. One more breath wherever you are, Inhale and on your exhalation if you lifted your hips lower them down, Draw your knees wide, Walk the soles of your feet slightly toward one another, Maybe they touch, Maybe they don't. Keep your fingertips behind you or maybe bring your hands to your thighs or your shins, Inhale lift your chest and on your exhalation let yourself fold forward and down, Down, Down. If you had a block here you could bring it in front of you and let your forehead rest down. You can also make a pile with your hands and rest your forehead there or let your forehead float. Breathe into your back body, Inhaling deeply and exhaling completely. One more deep inhale, Long slow exhale. Slowly press yourself back up, Draw your knees toward one another and then slide your legs behind you as you bring yourself to hands and knees, A tabletop position. Spread your fingers wide as you place your hands underneath the shoulders or make fists, It's up to you and then bring your knees about hips distance apart underneath your hips. Take a couple of circles here with your hips around the knees and the shoulders around the wrists, Allowing the movement to be as small or as big as you want it to be. Pause at the center as you inhale and then on the exhalation switch the directions of the circles. Breathe. One more breath, Inhale and on the exhalation pause, Finding your tabletop position. Take a deep breath in and then as you exhale unite your big toes, Separate your knees and send your hips back toward the heels as little or as much as you want. Again you could bring your block under your forehead or make a pile with your hands and rest your forehead down. You could also take your forehead to the earth and extend your arms forward or even back toward your feet. Inhale deeply, Exhale completely. One more breath here into the back body, Deep inhale. In your next inhalation start to press yourself up, Draw your knees toward one another and remain seated on your heels. As you lengthen your torso and relax your shoulders down and away from the ears. Take a deep breath in and a long slow breath out. Lift away from the heels and on your inhalation sweep your arms straight forward and up. Face your palms forward and on the exhalation bend your elbows to the sides opening up to cactus arms and gently press your hips forward. Keep your chest lifted. Breathe in, Breathe out. Release your arms down, Down, Down and back and you could grab one wrist with your hand extending the arms there or perhaps you interlace your hands and extend your arms bringing the wrists together. Inhale to lift your chest, Exhale press your hips gently forward. Keep your heart lifted instead of collapsing at the low back. Take a couple more breaths here. If you're catching a wrist maybe you switch to the other one for the last couple of breaths. Inhale, Exhale. Release the bind, Inhale reach both arms up, Exhale bring your hands to the ground. Shift your weight forward, Maybe move your knees slightly back and slowly lower down to your abdomen. Make a pillow with your hands for a moment, Rest your forehead down and bend your knees. You could sway your legs from side to side, You could crisscross them. Inhale and exhale. Extend your legs behind you and begin to press your hands underneath your shoulders. Squeeze the elbows straight back, Inhale lift your chest for cobra, Exhale move your hips to one side and the torso to the other letting yourself sway a little from side to side. Noticing how you feel, Breathe in, Breathe out. One more inhale and on your exhalation pause at the center and slowly bring yourself all the way back down. Make a pillow with your hands and remain here. This time bend your right knee as if you were bringing your heel toward your right glute and for many of us this is plenty of sensation but if you wanted to keep your left hand as a pillow and then take your right arm around you and catch the pinky side of your right foot and press your heel a little bit more toward the glute very gently. One more breath. If you grab your foot very slowly release it without letting it slingshot. Bring your right hand to make a pillow, Extend through both legs, Inhale, Exhale. This time bend your left elbow or your left knee rather and you can stay here or maybe you reach around with your arm grabbing your foot and draw the foot toward the glute a little bit more creating different sensation. One more breath. Slowly release your left foot, Hands underneath your shoulders, Inhale, Press through your palms, Lift your chest for cobra. Exhale, Bring your hips back, Remain in tabletop so bring your hips and your knees in line with one another and walk your hands forward now. Your forehead could come down to the floor, Maybe it's your chest or your chin. Breathe here. One more breath, Inhale and exhale. Slide forward bringing your torso all the way down to the floor, Hands underneath your shoulders once again, Inhale, Press up, Lift your chest for cobra, Exhale, Bring your hips back. Now you could stay in tabletop or maybe you rather tuck your toes and send your hips up and back for downward facing dog, This inverted V position but from wherever you are just take a moment to find stability. Inhale deeply, Exhale completely letting go of a little bit of tension anywhere you notice it. Now from tabletop or down dog, Depends on what you rather do. Inhale, Take your right leg behind you, Float your toes, Exhale, Bring your right foot between your hands. It can come on its own or maybe you grab your ankle with your hand and you take your foot there. Lower your left knee down to the ground and frame your right foot with your hands or maybe take your hands onto your right thigh and lift your chest up. Inhale to back away from the stretch a little, Exhale to surrender the hips even more forward. Draw your right hip back and your left hip forwards, Lift your chest, Breathe in, Breathe out. One more inhale and on the exhalation take your hands down to frame your right leg and slide your right leg back once again. Maybe you're in tabletop, Maybe you find yourself in downward facing dog. Inhale, Exhale, Left leg up and back in whatever pose you're in, Breathe in, Breathe out. Draw your left knee to the chest, Left foot between the hands with help or without, Right knee down to the ground. Take a moment to arrive onto your low lunge, Notice how it feels on this side and choose your variation. If you get wobbly, Can you let yourself be wobbly? Can you let yourself embrace what's happening right here right now? No matter how much you got done today or how little, Can you be proud that you got here? On your inhalation maybe you back away from the stretch and on your exhalation you surrender into it. One more breath, Inhale and exhale. Frame your left leg, Take it back next to the right. Inhale, Shift forward, Maybe you find a knee plank or a plank, Breathe in, Breathe out, Lower knees, Chest and chin to the floor. Inhale, Lift your chest for your cobra. Exhale, Big toes together, Knees wide for child's pose. Deep breath in through the nose, Long breath out through the nose or the mouth. One more, Breathe in, Breathe out. On your next inhalation, Slowly rise, Surrender either hip toward the floor and start to bring yourself to lie down on your back. Take a moment to let your body adjust to being face up on the floor and then bring your arms next to your body with your palms down as you press your feet onto the earth, Knees face straight up toward the ceiling. Feel free to stay or on your next inhalation lift your hips up and off the floor. Press down through the feet, Lift the chest a little bit higher, Inhale. And on your exhalation, If you lifted your hips slowly lower them all the way back down. Breathe in and as you breathe out cross your right leg over the left as if you were chilling having tea. You could stay here or maybe you lift your left foot off the floor taking your knees toward the chest a little bit and perhaps your hands help add a little bit of weight that there's plenty of sensation or you could slide your hands to the outsides of the legs, Perhaps the ankles or the outer feet and draw the feet away from one another. Stillness or movement are both suggestions that you can choose from. One more breath and then slowly release the feet. Feel free to keep your legs crossed, Open your arms to the sides, Inhale and on the exhalation surrender your knees a little bit to the left or all the way. If you had props to support you, You could use them here. Ground into your right shoulder, Maybe look to the right. One more breath and then slowly returning to center. Realign your hips and cross your knees. Take a moment here, Breathe in, Breathe out. This time cross your left leg over the right and you could stay here or maybe you lift your right foot off the floor drawing the knees toward the chest. Your hands could help add a little bit of sensation and weight. You could also slide the hands toward the ankles or the outer feet and draw the feet away from the sitting bones. Breathe. Where can you relax a little bit more? You've done everything you needed to do today. You did what you could with what you had. Can you now soften and rest? One more breath and with the exhalation release the feet. Feel free to keep the knees crossed as you return your right foot to the floor. Open your arms to the sides, Inhale and on the exhalation start to surrender your knees toward the right as little or as much as feels good for your twist. Maybe your gaze goes over to the left a little. One more breath. Inhale deeply into the left lung. Return to center and cross the knees if they were crossed and just hug both knees to the chest for a moment. Let yourself sway side to side or simply give yourself a hug and if it feels appropriate maybe you give your shoulder a kiss and if it feels odd you do it twice. Lower your head back down and perhaps let yourself stretch out. It's getting comfy, Getting warm or you could also choose to end the practice in a seated position. The point is to just give yourself a few moments to let the practice sink in, Be embodied. So whatever you choose just let yourself be here. Letting go of any movement, Of any intention. You've done everything you needed to do. Now rest. You have extra time today. I invite you to remain in stillness for three to five more minutes. If it's time for you to move on with your evening, With the rest of your day take one more breath in stillness, In through the nose, Deepest breath you've taken all day. Truly let it go. Whether you're lying down or seated, Start to bring movement back to your fingers, Your neck. Come up to a comfortable seat and if it resonates with you bring one hand to your heart and one hand to your abdomen as you lengthen through your spine and take a moment to notice how you feel after this after work practice to help you settle into your evening, To release stress. So what has shifted physically, Mentally, Energetically? And can you take this moment to consider something you're grateful for that you did today? It can be small, It can be simple, But let yourself repeat within or without, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Deep inhalation, Sigh it out. You want to feel complete, Release your hand and let your eyes open once again. I hope that you have enjoyed this yoga class for after work and that it helps you create a demarcation after your busy day so that you can find relaxation, Release stress and get good rest. I look forward to practicing with you again soon. Have a great evening.

Reviews

Great practice, thanks 😊

EXACTLY what I needed - thank you so much!