Yoga To Focus

This yoga practice is designed to help you manage your attention, improve focus, reduce overwhelm, and ground yourself in the present moment. We’ll focus on maintaining a steady breath pattern throughout the practice while moving through simple postures that bring awareness to the diaphragm.

Transcript

Welcome to today's practice. This is a slow flow yoga practice where we're going to be mainly focused on the breath. We're going to start with a breath count and try to keep this connection along the whole practice. This is a great, Great tool to really calm the mind and if you tend to have a mind that disperses a lot, This practice is for you. We will begin today's practice sitting in a comfortable position. If you need a pillow underneath your hips, Go right ahead and grab one, Make yourself comfortable. So we can start our practice, Which we will start by working on our diaphragm. So just take a moment to find this comfortable position, Soften your shoulders, Your neck, Your hips. Wiggling from left to right. As you wiggle left and right, Follow your inhales, Your exhales. Eyes could be opened or closed. Relax the jaw. Take one more breath as you wiggle from side to side. And as you exhale, Just stop the movement and feel and observe. Feel your breath coming in and out. Keep the lower belly soft so that when the inhale comes it expands the lower belly. And we're going to start to count the cycle of our breath. So as you inhale, Count at least four counts. On the top of the inhale, Hold the breath in for a second or two. And as you exhale, Exhale for the same count of four. Holding the breath out for a second or two. Stay connected with the breath count. It's a minimum of 4, But if it expands to 5, 6, 7, 8, Just allow it to do so. We're going to bring some gentle movement to expand our diaphragm. So as you exhale, Let's bring the right hand behind the shoulder blades. So it can be behind the shoulder blades or behind the back of your skull. Right hand will grab the elbow. Continue with the breath count of four and bring the chin a little bit closer to your chest. Keep the breath count nice and even. As you inhale for a count of four or more. Hold the breath in for a second or two. Exhale for the same count and hold the breath out for a second or two. Keeping the weight of your body soft down towards the ground. There's no extra curve in the lower back. Let's do two more breaths at your own rhythm. Don't rush it. Next time you exhale, Release the right hand far away from the hip but in the same line. And bring the left arm close to your ear. So your left arm could be here, Up close to the ear, It could be on your waist. Or it could be bent with the hand behind your skull. The right elbow could be really bent or just a little bit bent. And let's breathe here. Another position for the left hand could be palm of the hand facing back. And the hand. Touching your back body. Choose your position, Relax the neck. And stay connected with the same breath count. We're going to do two more breaths in this posture at your own rhythm. Stay with the breath count even as we change postures. So your next inhale is going to bring the left hand towards the left thigh or knee. Right arm is gonna push the floor come back to the center And the next time you exhale, We're going to take the hips back, Chin to chest, Curving the back. So move with your breath count. Inhaling, Bringing the hips forward, Opening the chest, Maybe the chin. And as you exhale, Same breath count will take you back. Stay with the breath count. If the exhales naturally become longer than the inhales, Allow that. And just stay really aware of the cows, The breath. You're going to do two more breaths at your own rhythm. And we will meet in the center with a straight back. Stay in with the breath count. We're going to go into the same stretch for our diaphragm, This time with the right hand. Stay with the breath count as we move into the posture. Right arm is going to go up and back. You can bring it behind the skull or behind the shoulder blades. Left arm, It's gonna grab it. Breathe here, Relax the hips down, Stay with the breath count. No extra curve on your lower back. And chin can come gently towards the chest. Keep your belly soft. And your mind fully focused on the breath and the count. Two more rounds of breath, Don't rush it. And your next exhale is going to invite the left hand in line with the hip but far away from it. On the right arm you can choose your position either stretching it close to the ear bringing it to the waist with the palm looking back just behind your back. Follow the breath count, Keep the right hip heavy. Taking two more breaths here. Bringing the right hand to the right thigh or knee, Pressing with the left hand towards the centre. Stay with the breath count, Don't lose it as we move. Next time you exhale, Hips are going to go back, Belly button to back, Chin to chest. Inhaling coming forward. Exhaling, Coming back, Really aligning the movement to your breath and the count. We'll do two more. And one more. Coming back to the center. Staying with the breath count. Feeling the quality of the energy in your brain now, Feeling your body. Taking a deep exhale, Releasing the breath count. And gently opening the eyes.