Gratitude & Release | Floor Yoga For The Waning Moon

Join me in this floor yoga practice, inviting you to pause, breathe, and let go of old patterns or habits, reflect on lessons learned, and express gratitude for the path travelled.
You won’t need any props, but blocks or blankets could be handy.
The waning Moon symbolises surrender, and it is your time to slow down, reflect, and prepare to release.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Laia Bove, Welcome to this class for the waning moon or for gratitude and release. The waning moon is the part of the lunar cycle that happens after the full moon. So it is the time that the moon starts to transition back into darkness. When it comes to our energy, Like I said, It's a spectacular time to pause, Let go of what you no longer need and be grateful for all the things that have been coming into your life. All you need is a yoga mat and your precious self, Maybe a journal if you like to write things down, And if you had any props that you like to use for the poses, That would be ideal today as well. Go ahead and bring yourself to lie down. And you can do that by stretching all the way out or maybe you bring your feet to the floor as wide as your mat and let your knees rest toward one another. Your hands could be on your abdomen or maybe on the side. But just give yourself a moment to get as comfortable as you can. And eventually find stillness as you soften your gaze or close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through the nose, Letting it expand into the belly, The rib cage, The chest. Sight Out! Two more like that, Inhale, Letting it expand into the body. Exhale, Letting yourself soften and relax toward the earth. Breathe in. Breathe out Take a moment to notice how you arrive into the practice. How your body feels. What's going on in your mind. And how the energy is moving through you and around you. Truly giving yourself a moment to pause. You don't have to improve anything or change anything. It's a time to rest, Recognizing all the effort that you've put in, Day in and day out. And finally letting yourself. Relax. Breathe in deeply breathe out completely In the next inhalation start to Stretch your arms overhead and they could stretch in any way that you'd like until they find the floor. You could also catch opposite wrist or elbows. Inhale, Allow the knees to face up toward the ceiling. The knees, Or the feet rather, Stay wide. And on the exhalation, Allow the knees to go a little bit or as much as you want toward the left. Inhale, Come back through center. Exhale the knees surrender to the right this time. In health center. Exhale, Knees to the left. In health center. Exhale, Knees to the right Inhale, Return to center. Heel-toe your feet until they're parallel with your hips now. Bring your arms next to the body with your palms down and press your tailbone toward the earth so your back is fully flat on the floor. Feel free to stay here or on your next inhalation, Press through your feet, Through your arms, Through the back of the head. And lift your hips and your chest up. One more breath, Inhale. And with the next exhalation, Let yourself slowly lower back down. Roll toward either side. Use your bottom arm as a pillow here and just get comfortable for a moment. Notice if you're holding on to any unnecessary tension and just soften toward the ground just a bit more. Breathe in. Breathe out. Start to press yourself up. Come into a comfortable seated position of your choice. Ground through the sitting bones, Lengthen through the spine. Inhale, Reach your arms out and up. Exhale, Draw the palms together in front of the heart. Inhale, Open your arms out to the side, Stretch through the fingertips. And on the exhalation, Rotate your thumbs back and your pinkies forward, External rotation. Inhale, Rotate your thumbs forward and down, Internal rotation. One more. Open up. Exhale, Rotate. Face your palms up. Inhale, Reach your arms overhead. Exhaling your palms together in front of the heart. Start to bring your Legs back behind you. Big toes together, Knees wide. And if you had a pillow here, You could bring it in front of you. And you can lean your upper body onto the pillow. Otherwise, Make a pillow with your hands and rest your forehead down. Just give yourself permission to soften toward the ground here. To recognize how you feel. And to let go a little. Consider something that perhaps has truly served you in this cycle or in this period or in this moment of your life. It's time now to let it go. Inhale deeply, Let it expand into the back body. Exhale completely. Maybe you make sound. Soften if it's 1% more. One more inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Press yourself gently up. Draw the knees gently toward one another. And sit on your heels. Begin to bring your arms behind you. And grab your right wrist with your left hand. Inhale. Exhaling your left ear toward the left shoulder. One more breath, Inhale Exhale. Release the arm, Bring your neck to neutral, Breathe in. Breathe out, Right hand grabs the left arm. Exhale, Bring your left ear to the left shoulder. One more inhale. And exhale. Bring your neck to neutral, Release the arms, Inhale, Lift your chin. Exhale, Lower the chin down to the chest and stay here or maybe interlace your hands behind your head and let yourself move from collarbone to collarbone, Tracing. From shoulder to shoulder with your chin. One more breath. And then slowly pause the movement at the center. Keep your hands behind your head. Inhale, Lift your chest, Stick your elbows wide. Open up. Exhale, Release the hands behind you. Interlace your hands behind the back, Lift yourself away from the knees, Breathe in. And as you breathe out, Start to bring the crown of your head to the floor. Perhaps your hands land on your low back and you draw the elbows toward one another or you keep your hands interlaced behind you and let them kind of lean forward toward the head. You can stay in stillness or move back and forth. One more breath, Inhale. And on the exhalation, Release the arms to the floor. Press through the palms and lift yourself up. Breathe in. Breathe out, Find a tabletop, Move your hips a little side to side. And now start to bring your right shin diagonally in front of your left leg. You can extend your left leg straight back for pigeon. Or you could bring your inner left thigh onto the floor for deer. There are different shapes, They bring different sensations, So consider what works for you. And then square the hips to the front, Lift your chest, Inhale. And on the exhalation, You could stay here. Or start to bring your elbows perhaps in front of you as you fold forward any amount. Breathe. Consider what in this past cycle are you grateful for? It can be people, It can be things, It can be things you've done, It can be places. Moment. Two more breaths here. Notice if your mind wanders, That's okay. And then slowly. Start to press yourself back up. And we'll switch sides, You can sweep your legs around, Left shin will come in front of you diagonally. And either bring your right inner thigh to the floor or maybe you extend your right leg behind you for pigeon. It's whatever works for you today. One's not better than the other. Inhale to lift the chest. And exhale again, Whether the knee is on the side or the leg is behind you, Maybe you stay there or maybe you start to fold. Breathe. Let yourself find a place where There's comfort. Space that you can soften into. Letting go of all the effort, Even if it's just for this next breath. One more full cycle of breath here in through the nose and out through the nose or the mouth. And then on the next inhalation, Begin to lower your left hip to the floor if it's not already there. Rise up and bring both legs around. Take a moment to shake them out, Wiggle them around And you could bring yourself to lie down to end today's practice, This waning moon practice, Or you can find a comfortable seat. If you'd like to journal today, This is the time to grab your journal and your paper. And either way, Just give yourself a few moments to find a comfortable seat or a comfortable lying down position in which you can soften into for the next few minutes. If you give yourself this time to rest, Maybe you soften your gaze or close your eyes. And I invite you to repeat within or out loud. I let go of what no longer serves me. With gratitude. And grace. I let go of what no longer serves me. With gratitude. And grace. I let go of what no longer serves me. With gratitude. And grace. Breathe in deeply. Breathe out completely. Let yourself rest. That this affirmation reverberate. Of the gratitude. Expand. So either consider or journal. What am I grateful for? And it can be something you choose to keep or something you choose to release. What am I grateful for? Can be big or small. What am I grateful for? Feel free to pause this video if you want to reflect or journal further. Otherwise try to bring yourself back. Into a comfortable seated position if you're not already there. Elongate your spine, Soften your gaze or close your eyes. And perhaps bring one hand to your chest and one hand to your abdomen. As you notice the effects of this practice, Not just the movement, But the breath, The intention. And I invite you to repeat within or out loud. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Deep inhalation. Let it go Release your hands when you're ready. Thank you, Rise open. I hope that you have enjoyed this class for the waning moon and to help you release and feel grateful for your journey. So return to this class, Not only on this part of the lunar cycle, But also when you just want to take some time to settle into the practice, Let go, And also be grateful. If you've enjoyed this class, I invite you to subscribe to the channel and please take care of yourself until we meet again.