Hello and welcome.
For this evening's practice you will want to have a bolster for sure,
Ideally one or two blocks and maybe grab your strap.
So having lots and lots of props with you to play around with in this restorative practice.
So to start grab any props that you'd like to sit on to and come to find a comfortable seated position,
Whatever that looks like for you.
You can elevate your hips as little or as much as you'd like.
Ideally strive to have your knees land below your hips so that you're able to tip your pelvis forward rather than rounding back but tip the pelvis forward so you can elongate your whole spine.
Stretch the crown of your head up toward the sky.
Soften and relax your shoulders away from your ears and either soften your gaze or close your eyes completely.
Settle into your body as you begin to settle into your practice.
Become aware of your breath.
Notice its slow subtle movements and draw your attention to your mind.
Take notice of any movements occurring there and invite a mantra into your practice today.
A simple mantra.
Less is more.
Repeat this mantra to yourself.
Less is more.
Less is more.
As you continue to repeat this mantra let its truth its essence seep into your bones.
Less is more.
And put this into practice straight away by allowing your body to soften in this shape.
Recognize that less is more.
Let go of any unnecessary tension that you might be holding on to.
Soften your hips.
Allow your legs to become heavy.
Relax your abdomen.
Soften your chest.
Melt your shoulders.
Let the weight of your arms hang toward the floor.
Soften your jaw,
Your cheeks,
Your eyebrows,
And your forehead.
Less is more.
Slow the movements in your breath.
Less is more.
Elongate your inhales and elongate your exhales until you equalize their lengths.
Take fuller,
Deeper breaths.
Less is more.
Take fewer breaths per minute but deeper,
More fulfilling breaths.
Less is more.
Keep this idea,
This mantra,
At the forefront of your mind.
Less is more.
And on your next breath,
Slowly open your eyes if you've closed them or refocus your gaze.
Release any props that you might be sitting on.
And take your bolster toward the bottom of your mat to about the bottom quarter and place it so that the long edge of the bolster is parallel to the short edge of your mat.
Just make sure that you have a block or two within arm's reach.
So just keep your blocks nearby.
And stretch your legs forward with the bolster behind you.
Bend your knees and plant your feet onto the floor and then slowly release both knees over toward your left.
So you're more than welcome to keep your legs as they are.
If you would like to,
You can take a block and place it between your knees.
If you want some extra comfort there,
You can also place a blanket or a towel between your knees.
So find a position that feels comfy for you there.
And then turn your torso to face toward your bolster and lay over your bolster so that the bolster lands onto your ribcage.
Stretch your left arm up above your head and then release your head either into your shoulder or you're welcome to take a block and rest your head onto the block if that feels more comfortable for you.
And then option to stay like this,
You're welcome to release your right hand anywhere that's comfortable.
So you can just rest it over your side.
You may wish to place your right hand onto the bolster.
If it feels comfortable for you,
You can stretch your right arm up overhead and stack your right hand over your left.
Soften your body completely in this shape.
Let everything become heavy.
Allow your weight to simply melt over your bolster.
Either soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Slow the rhythm of your breath and come back to your mantra.
This is more.
Put this mantra into practice in this shape by allowing your muscular energy to soften.
Have less engagement to create more relaxation and deeper restoration.
Return to your mantra.
Less is more.
Take five deep breaths.
On your next inhale,
Draw your right arm to your bolster if it's not there already.
Gently lift the weight of your head and neck away from your arm.
Sweep your left arm toward the left side of your mat and slowly roll your whole torso over to face the sky.
Reach your knees to face up toward the sky and release your seat to the floor.
And again,
Keep your ribcage over your bolster and reach your right arm to the outside to the right side of your mat as you relax your weight down.
So you're welcome to take a block and place it underneath your head on any height setting that you'd like to support your neck if that feels good for you.
You're welcome to release your head to the floor.
You're welcome to keep your knees bent.
You can walk your feet out wide and knock your knees together if that feels nice.
You're You can keep your arms out wide like this.
If you would prefer,
You can bend your elbows and rest your hands onto your ribcage.
So you can play around with all these different variations and options to find a position that feels really nice for your body.
Remember that less is more.
So choose a position that feels really nice for you without feeling any extreme intensity.
Just soften into a shape that really feels relaxing for you in this moment.
And then if you'd like to,
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Allow your weight to surrender down.
Be completely supported by your bolster.
Be completely supported by any other props that you're utilizing.
And in this position where your chest is lifted slightly and your ribcage is on an angle,
Can you deepen your breath?
Can you slow its rhythm even further to take fewer breaths over a duration of time?
Again,
Reinforcing this idea that less is more.
Return to your mantra.
Less is more.
Completely surrender to this idea.
Take five deep breaths.
On your next inhale,
Slowly bend your knees,
Plant your feet to the floor.
Release any props that you might have under your head.
And slowly and mindfully roll to your right side.
Reach your right arm toward the top of your mat.
Rest your ribcage over your bolster and either release your head into your right shoulder or place your head onto a block.
You're welcome to place a block between your knees as well if you'd like to.
Option to release your left arm by your side.
Place your left hand onto your bolster or if you'd like to,
You can reach your left arm up overhead and rest it into your right hand.
Allow your full body weight to melt toward the earth.
Wherever it's not needed,
Release muscular control.
Soften your body as you also soften your breath.
And keep your mantra at the forefront of your mind.
Less is more.
Come back to your mantra.
Less is more.
Take five deep breaths.
On your next inhale,
Slowly,
Mindfully,
Release your right hand to your bolster if it's not there already.
Ground down into your left hand to lift your right arm up.
Lift the weight of your head and your neck.
Slowly turn your whole torso as you lift your knees and point them up toward the sky.
Lay your ribcage back over your bolster.
Release your head either to a prop or the floor.
Option to take your feet out wide and knock your knees toward each other.
Option to keep your legs as they are.
Option to straighten the legs.
You can play around with any variations that you'd like.
You might want to draw the soles of the feet together and open the knees wide.
Just take any leg position that feels comfortable for your body.
And then you can choose to either bring your arms out wide into your chest.
A T-shape.
If you would prefer,
You can bend your elbows and plant your hands onto your ribcage.
Wherever you choose to be,
Just allow your body weight to completely soften.
As you surrender into this shape,
Come back to your mantra and remind yourself that less is more.
Give yourself permission to surrender into this idea of doing less.
Repeat your mantra.
Less is more.
Take five deep breaths.
On your next inhale,
Reach your left arm out in line with your shoulder if it's not there already.
Draw your right hand to your ribcage if it's not there already.
And then bend your knees and plant your feet onto the floor.
Slowly and mindfully roll over onto your left side.
And if you don't already have a block underneath your head,
Then place a block there.
So reach your left arm out in line with your shoulder above your bolster.
Rest your head onto your block.
And you're welcome to place a block between your knees if you'd like to.
And you can either rest your right arm by your side or rest it onto your bolster.
If you'd like to,
You can relax your hand over your head to release it to the floor.
So find the variation that you like best.
You might need to readjust your block however you need to to get really comfortable here.
And just surrender into this side-lying shape.
Let your body weight soften and melt into your props.
Let yourself be fully supported by everything underneath you.
If you'd like to,
Soften your gaze or maybe close your eyes.
Let go of any unnecessary tension that you don't need to support this shape.
Let your breath deepen and slow.
And come back to this mantra.
Less is more.
Come back to your mantra.
Less is more.
You have the option to stay exactly as you are.
Or if you would like to,
Then take your right hand behind your head.
Cup the back of your head with your hand.
And slowly roll your head,
Roll your torso,
Roll your right elbow open towards the right side of your mat to take a gentle twist.
Soften any tension that isn't necessary.
Surrender into this idea that less is more.
Take three deep breaths.
If you opened into a twist,
Slowly unwind it.
Draw yourself back to neutral.
Release your right hand down.
And slowly and mindfully,
Plant your feet onto the floor,
Lift your knees to face the sky,
And roll over onto the opposite side.
So sweep your right arm over your bolster and reach it toward the right side of your mat in line with your shoulder.
Relax the weight of your torso,
Your rib cage over your bolster,
And then release your head onto a block.
You're welcome to place a prop between your knees.
You're welcome to add some more cushioning under your hips if you'd like,
Or under your head.
And then you can relax your left arm by your side.
You can rest your hand onto your bolster.
If it feels nice,
You can reach your arm over your head and relax your hand above your block.
You can play around with any of these options.
Find the most relaxing variation for yourself.
And then allow your body to soften and melt into this shape.
Let go of any unnecessary tension anywhere in your physical body or your emotional body.
Let your weight become heavy and feel fully supported by your props.
Deepen your breath.
Soften your mind.
Surrender to your mantra.
Less is more.
Come back to your mantra.
Less is more.
You have the option to stay exactly as you are,
Or if you would like to,
Take your left hand behind your head and cradle the base of your skull in your left hand.
Slowly and gently,
Turn your torso,
Your left elbow,
Open toward the left side of your mat.
Spiral and open into a twist.
And then soften into that shape.
Come back to your mantra.
Less is more.
Take three deep breaths.
If you opened into the twist,
Slowly draw your torso and your left elbow back toward the side of your mat.
Very mindfully,
Slowly and gently,
Press down against the floor to lift the weight of your torso off of your props.
Move your props to the side of your mat.
And catch a hold of your strap.
Make a wide loop into it.
And once you have that loop,
Have it so that the tail of the strap is facing toward you for easy adjustments,
And then place it over your head.
And slide it up your back so that it's just underneath your armpits,
Right around your shoulder blades.
Have a block within arm's reach and come to lie down on your back.
And place the block between your thighs so you can decide how wide you would like that block to be.
Typically,
It would be good on its medium or smallest height,
But it depends on your block.
It depends on the width of your own hips,
But you want it to roughly draw your hips to be hip-distance apart,
To draw your legs to be hip-distance apart.
And then draw your knees in toward your chest and take your strap over your shins,
And then tighten it a lot.
Keep the strap underneath your armpits and tighten it until it feels really taut.
And when you relax your legs completely,
The strap will hold them in place.
And then when you find that tautness,
Relax your legs.
Completely surrender everything.
So allow your props to support you.
You can rest your arms into any position of comfort.
If it feels good,
You can close your eyes.
And simply surrender into this shape.
Allow yourself to be held here.
Feel held by your props.
Let every muscle in your body soften.
Allow your breath to soften.
And allow your mind to soften with it.
Come back to your simple mantra.
Less is more.
Take five deep breaths.
On your next inhale,
Either loosen your strap or hug your knees in close with your chest.
So that you can slide the strap out from around you.
And release the block as you release your feet to the floor.
Slide the strap out from over your head.
An option to either just release your legs out long,
Or if you would like to,
You can take your bolster and place it underneath your knees.
Walk your legs out roughly as wide as your mat.
Relax the weight of your whole torso into the floor.
Release your arms by your sides.
Soften your shoulders away from your ears.
Lengthen the back of your neck.
And close your eyes.
Let your weight melt into the floor.
Slow the rhythm of your breath.
And keep returning back to your mantra.
Less is more.
Slowly deepen your breath.
Slowly move your fingers and your toes.
When you're ready,
Bend your knees.
And place them onto your bolster or onto the floor.
And slowly roll over onto one side.
Press the mat away from you to rise up to sit.
And use any props that you would like to to get comfortable in your seat.
Create length in your spine.
Close your eyes.
Soften your body.
Soften your breath.
And repeat your mantra.
Less is more.
Less is more.
Where can you soften?
Where can you give yourself permission to let go?
How can you give yourself permission to do less in order to receive more?
Less is more.
Draw your palms to meet at your heart.
Bow your chin to yourself.
And fully acknowledge that less is more.
Namaste.
