This yoga sequence is done mostly lying down or sitting,
So make sure that you have a comfortable yoga mat or a blanket at hand.
We will begin by lying down on the back.
If you can,
Turn off your mobile phones and resolve to take this time out without allowing external disturbances to interrupt this special time with yourself.
If you are battling with pain or you have not moved your body for a while,
Listen closely to your body and adapt the postures.
Feel free at any point to just lie down and attend to your breathing if any posture feels too painful or too challenging for you.
This journey is one of noticing the body with kindness and gentleness as you move.
You can experiment with keeping your eyes open or with closing them,
Noticing the difference in awareness as you do so.
We will begin with what is known as Corpse Pose.
Lying on your back with the legs relaxed,
The feet splayed out about a hip distance apart,
The arms relaxed on the floor a short distance away from your body,
And the palms of the hands turned upwards towards the ceiling.
If your lower back feels uncomfortable,
You can also place a rolled up towel or blanket just underneath your knees.
This is time to stay alert and awake to the body.
So take time now to anchor to the feeling or sensation of your breathing,
Whether you feel the breath at your belly,
At the chest,
Or at the nostrils.
There is no need to change the breath,
Let your breath be as natural as you feel it.
There is no better moment than this moment to be present to your breath as it is.
Expanding your awareness outwards now,
Become aware of your whole body lying here and breathing.
Notice how your body feels on the in-breath and with the out-breath.
Notice the different sensations in your body.
It is important to keep your mind and body safe.
It is important to keep your mind and body safe.
This is the most important part of the body.
This is the most important part of the body.
Notice how your body feels on the in-breath,
Learning to relax with awareness without falling asleep or going unconscious.
And now place both feet onto the ground with your knees pointing upwards towards the ceiling.
When you are ready,
On your in-breath you are going to be lifting both arms off the ground and moving them up to behind your head so that your arms and hands rest down or touch the ground behind your head.
As you do this you might notice the lower back curving off the ground slightly.
On the out-breath you are going to be bringing the arms up and again back down to the sides of the body and as you do so bringing the lower back down towards the ground and continuing this motion in your own way and your own time.
Using your in-breath to bring the arms up and back,
Using the out-breath to bring the arms up and back down by the sides of the body.
Notice any sensations of heaviness as you bring the arms up.
Notice the sensation or force of gravity as you bring them down.
You can also bring your attention to the movement in the spine and how it adjusts to allow you to move.
Feeling the sense of fluidity in your body as your arms move back up and move back down.
You can also bring the arms up and back down almost like seaweed being moved by the waves.
As you move remember that we are cultivating both interest and inquiry into the miracle of the body and its energy.
And now repeat the movement one more time with full awareness.
Bring the arms back down by the sides with your out-breath.
Dropping the legs down come back into corpse pose.
Relaxing the arms down by your sides,
The palms facing upwards and letting the legs lie in a relaxed position.
If you like you can take a nice deep breath in holding it in the lungs for a few seconds.
And as you exhale through the mouth feel the quality and texture of the breath.
If at any point you find that your mind is racing off there's no need to judge that.
Just practice using your bodily awareness to ground yourself in the present moment.
When you're ready placing your feet on the floor once again and resting your hands on the legs close to the knees.
On your next in-breath bringing the head and the shoulders up and as you do so noticing how the hands are facing up.
You can also take a deep breath in and out.
If you feel the body moving forward and you feel the body moving forward and you feel the body moving forward and you feel the body moving forward and you feel the body moving forward.
And so continuing with this movement inhaling bringing the head and shoulders up and exhaling bringing the head and shoulders back down onto the floor.
You might become aware of the sensations in your neck,
Head and shoulders as you lift up your hands.
If you're feeling the body moving forward and you're feeling the body moving forward and you're feeling the body moving forward you might become aware of the sensations in your neck,
Head and shoulders as you lift yourself up.
What does it take to move your body in this way?
What muscles are at work?
Can you notice the abdominal area and what is happening there?
Move at any pace that feels right for you feeling free to explore your limits and your boundaries.
Where is the furthest point you can stretch up to?
What does it feel like to hold the body up on the in-breath for a few seconds longer?
Can you notice if you're holding on tightly in any areas of the body where you don't need to?
When you are ready doing one more movement inhaling up and exhaling holding the position for slightly longer if you can and if you like taking one hand and feeling the abdominal area as you hold the pose and when you're ready on the out-breath just release and let go bringing the head and shoulders down onto the ground dropping the legs back down into corpse pose.
Relax and let go.
Notice if there are any expectations you might have as to how this should be.
Can you just allow your experience to unfold as it is as you notice with kind awareness?
And now bringing the knees up and resting the feet on the ground once again.
Take your right foot and now just cross it below the left knee with your right hand you're going to push that right knee away from you perhaps feeling a slight stretch in the groin and then placing the right hand behind the right knee see if you can pull the knee across your body.
Notice where you feel the sensations of stretch.
See if you can breathe with and allow the sensations to be as they are.
Explore your boundaries and your limits and when you're ready just releasing the knee and letting the knee flop back into its original position and then stretching the right leg up to a 90 degree angle.
If this is difficult it's fine to slightly bend the knee.
Now take both hands and clasp them together behind the right knee.
Feel the sensations that this elicits.
You can either stay in this position or move more deeply into the stretch by lifting up your head and your neck.
If there are areas of tension or tightness or you find this difficult see if you can bring some degree of equanimity into the pose by not judging what you find.
Simply notice and explore how you might be with the situation in a different way.
See if there's any more stretch in you or whether what's right for your body today is to just back off slightly.
Inhaling deeply and as you exhale slowly releasing your head and shoulders back onto the ground.
Keep the right leg up and when you're ready begin to rotate the foot.
If your eyes are open you can take a look at the foot from the position of lying down.
Feel free to change the direction of the rotation when you need to or to point and flex the foot if that feels right for you.
The important thing here is to feel into your own body.
Notice where the movement arises.
Is it just the foot at work or other muscles in the legs and body being engaged?
Just exploring this position and when you're ready to end breathing in deeply and slowly with awareness bringing the leg down.
There's no rush.
See if you can really slow down the movement and notice the sensations of heaviness,
The movement of your muscles.
Feeling into the wave of release as you raise the leg finally down onto the ground.
And now relax both legs down and resume the corpse position.
Corpse position is all about dying to the passage of time and being present to this moment as the only moment to feel and notice.
Take time to notice any difference between the left leg and the right leg.
Bringing the feet onto the ground again and the knees up to the ceiling.
This time taking your left foot and crossing it below the right knee.
Take your left hand and gently push the knee away from you.
Just noticing any sensations that this might elicit.
And then placing the left hand behind the knee and pull it inwards towards the body.
Explore what is a comfortable stretch for you today.
The right balance.
Not too much,
Not too little.
Can you find that for yourself?
And when you're ready just releasing the knee.
Now stretching that leg up to a 90 degree angle.
Take your hands and clasp them together and place them behind the left knee.
Feel the stretch in the back of the leg and any sensations that might be there to be felt in any other parts of your body.
Where are you holding on tightly where perhaps you don't need to be?
If you want to extend and explore your boundaries further you can also lift the head and shoulders up on your in-breath.
Hold this position.
Notice if as you do so there might be a tendency to hold the breath.
See if you can allow your breath to flow even if it feels harder to breathe in this position.
When you are ready to release the pose you can breathe in deeply and release down on your out-breath resting your head and your shoulders onto the ground.
Keep the left leg up and begin to explore now how the foot moves as you rotate the ankle.
Do you feel any sensations in your calves or your shins?
Your hamstrings?
At any point feel free to rotate the foot in the opposite direction.
Point and flex the foot and notice what it takes to do this.
Remember that an attitude of mindfulness is about non-striving so although you're extending and moving the leg you can also let go of any tension you are holding where you don't really need to be.
When you're ready to release the pose breathing in deeply and use your out-breath to bring the leg back down slowly onto the ground.
Take your time.
Feel the sensation of weight,
Of muscles tensing,
Of release as the ground supports the leg once again.
And now dropping the opposite leg down and once again just rest and notice.
There's no need to blank out or edit out the time in between poses.
Rather take this time to explore the capacity you have to notice and be present to the body as it relaxes.
Keep the legs straight out so that you're forming a perpendicular line.
Support your body a little by placing the right hand on the floor in front of your belly.
You can place a little bit of weight onto that right hand.
When you're ready,
Breathe in and lift the right leg up.
Suspend and hold the right leg up in that position.
You can listen to your own wisdom here and see whether you're able to extend the leg higher or whether what you need to do today is to back off.
And so noticing what it takes to hold the leg in this position.
What can you notice about your breath in this position?
Can you perhaps detect when the mind needs to get out of the pose before the body needs to?
Can you allow all sensations or emotions to be there?
Boredom,
Fear of intensity,
The need to escape.
If you want to explore this further,
You can use your right hand to feel which muscles of the legs are working to hold the leg in this position.
And now pointing and flexing the foot and exploring the mechanisms of your muscles more closely.
There's no need to analyze what you find,
Just feeling into the sensations.
Take a deep breath in and use your out breath to slowly release the leg down.
Move yourself back into corpse pose and allow your weight to be received by the floor beneath you.
Once again taking time to just rest here.
If you like taking some time to open up to the experience of sound,
Just noticing and receiving the sounds around you.
And now with awareness turning onto the right side with your left leg resting on the right.
This time you can place the left hand in front of your belly with a little weight on it.
When you're ready use your in breath to lift up the left leg and to hold it there as you feel the sensations of your body.
Let your breath help you explore and stay present to the sensations.
You can lift your leg up higher if it feels appropriate for your body.
If there are sensations that are unpleasant see if it's possible to just breath with them or whether what you need to do is to back off a little.
If you find yourself judging or condemning yourself for what you can or cannot do you can just notice that as thinking and come back to feeling into your body.
Rotate the suspended foot in circles now moving from the ankles.
Notice where you feel that in the leg.
If you like you can also be playful and point and flex the foot a little.
See if you can allow the expression on your face to be light and soft.
This doesn't have to be hard or serious work.
And now breathing in and using your out breath to just slowly float the leg down again onto the opposite leg and rolling back onto your back in corpse pose.
Be present to each breath.
Be aware of the passage of your breath as it moves through you.
When you're ready with awareness you're going to be turning over onto your belly.
Make yourself comfortable and rest on one cheek.
Notice the sensations of the floor beneath you.
We're going to be moving now into a form of a pose known as the cobra pose.
Lift your chin slightly off the floor and now stretching out your left arm up and in front of you off the floor and extending the right leg upwards.
Feel the diagonal stretch through your body.
Feel the sensations right into the left fingertips and the right toes.
See if you can let the flow of your breathing help you keep balanced in this pose.
Notice any sensations that might be there pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
And when you're ready take a deep breath in and slowly relax yourself back down.
Place one cheek back down onto the floor.
Take time to rest and to feel the effects of the pose in your body.
Notice how at any point your body can feel a number of different sensations.
Even if the body is in stillness you might notice a variety of sensations pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
When you're ready we're going to work the opposite side of the body.
So once again lifting the chin slightly off the floor and this time stretching your right arm up and off the floor extending right into the right fingertips and lifting the left leg up.
Once again notice if you can feel the diagonal stretch through your body.
As you hold the pose notice what's happening to your breathing.
Often when we hold the pose we can forget to breathe or find it harder to breathe.
So stay in this pose for as long as it's right for you.
And when you're ready to release just gently move the arm and the leg back down onto the ground and relax onto the opposite cheek.
Remember that the time of stillness between poses is as valuable as the movement.
This is the time to check into the residue or the effects of each posture.
When you're ready and with awareness you're going to move from your belly onto your back.
Notice what it takes to move into this position.
When you're on your back you're going to put the feet onto the ground and place the knees close together.
When you're ready you're going to drop the legs towards the left so that your left leg is on the ground and your right leg is on top of the left.
Spreading the arms now in a horizontal line across the body turn your gaze towards the right hand side of the body.
Take time to feel the sensations in the spine and being aware of your spine's capacity to twist in this miraculous way.
If you notice any areas of tension or tightness see if you can just breathe with them as they are.
When you're ready to change position you're going to lift the knees up again and this time dropping them towards the right hand side of the body.
So you're resting the right leg onto the floor with the left leg on top of it.
This time turning your gaze towards the left hand side.
Feeling the twist in the body,
Feeling the movement of your breath.
Taking time to just be.
And in your own way now finding your way back into corpse pose.
You can ask yourself the question where is my mind right now?
Can you catch yourself when your attention is out of this room and into the future or the past and cultivate the art of just being here now?
Slowly coming up now into a seated position.
Sitting cross-legged with the hands on the knees we are going to rotate from the hips in circles.
Allow the breath to move in as you rotate forward and out as you rotate back.
You can let your circles be small or wide.
You might find that this varies every time you practice as every day the body might feel different in some way.
You can change direction at any point breathing in as you move forwards and breathing out as you rotate back.
And then slow down and allow the circles to become smaller and smaller until you find your way into the center point.
When you're there take a deep breath in and slowly with awareness exhale.
And breathing in again one more time holding the breath in the chest for a few seconds longer and slowly releasing the breath through the mouth.
And now just sitting and feeling your body.
Allowing your awareness to full and surround and bathe your body just like air.
Sense all of your body breathing.
The body is whole and complete in this moment.
Stretching both legs out in front of you now.
Take your left foot and bring it into the top of the right leg.
Inhale and bring the arms up into the air and stretch up into the fingertips.
As you do so angling your body over the left leg.
On your out breath dropping down over the leg clasping as far as is comfortable for you.
Whether it's at the knee,
The calf or the toe.
It doesn't really matter how far you can reach.
Remember that different people have different ranges.
Mindfulness is about bringing acceptance to how it is in your body.
So see if you can sense what is a comfortable stretch for you.
See if you're able to release a little bit further or deeper on any out breath.
And now inhaling and with awareness bringing yourself up.
Stretching the left leg out and shaking both the legs a little.
And now taking the right foot and placing it into the top of the left leg.
When you're ready on an in breath stretching the arms up into the air.
Feeling the space in the rib cage and on the exhale coming down over the left leg.
See if you can find a place where your body feels comfortable to stop and to dwell.
See if you can notice any sensation of letting go as you breathe out.
Notice where you feel the sensations of stretch.
And when you're ready with awareness bringing yourself back up and coming back into a seated position.
Allow the spine to be straight,
The shoulders relaxed,
The chin pulled in slightly.
Take some time to just feel the sensations on your skin.
And now staying in a seated position bringing the hands onto the shoulders with your fingers placed in front of the shoulders and the thumbs placed behind the shoulders.
We're going to twist to the left on the in breath and to the right on the out breath.
And we're going to keep this movement going twisting left on the in breath and right on the out breath.
In yoga we learn to move while still feeling the stillness within us.
So notice if you can feel this within yourself as you dance with each twist and each breath.
Allow your body to guide you into a rhythm or pace that feels right for you.
Make sure that your elbows are back and that you can feel the chest open as you move.
Notice the sensations in the region of the chest,
The region of the heart as you move.
And now coming back to center with a deep in breath and exhale and slowly release the pose.
And once again taking a deep breath in,
Holding the breath for a few seconds and with awareness breathing out through the mouth.
Placing the hands on the knees now we're going to inhale while lifting the shoulders up and we're going to exhale while we bring them down.
So find again a pace and a rhythm that feels right for you inhaling as you bring the shoulders up,
Exhaling as you drop them down.
And you can experiment with allowing this movement to be slow or to be more rapid.
Notice any sensations of tightness or tension in the region of the shoulders and the neck.
Let the shoulders dance with each breath.
And ending off now with a deep in breath and holding the shoulders right up at the region of the ears.
And then slowly and consciously releasing the shoulders back down.
Sit quietly with yourself for a few moments feeling your breath.
And now bringing yourself back down onto the floor one more time coming into corpse pose.
Letting the legs be relaxed.
Allowing the arms to be splayed out by the sides of the body with the palms facing upwards.
You can release any sensations of tension in the neck by just rolling the head from side to side and then finding a comfortable place for it.
Lying here now and experiencing your body as it is.
Not how you think it should be but how it is.
Notice any subtle sensations.
The feeling of air on your skin,
The movement of the breath,
Any emotional tone that resides in the body.
Allow it to be held by your capacity to pay attention,
To be aware.
Take as long as you need to just rest the body.
Take some time to congratulate and to acknowledge yourself for this time you've taken to just be.
In taking this time you've allowed your body to release and you've taken time to cultivate your capacity to be with the shifts and changes,
Ebbs and flows,
The waves of life as they are.
The intention we set is to carry this quality of awareness into the moments of our lives so that we can relate to what comes up with equanimity and balance.
When you're ready to come up you can bring movement into the body by rubbing the thumbs over the fingertips and then rotating the hands and rotating the feet.
You might like to stretch the body into any position you need to be in today.
And then when you're ready,
Rolling onto your right hand side and just resting on the floor for a little bit longer.
Allow your whole body to be received and held by the floor beneath you.
And when you're ready to come up slowly with awareness pushing yourself back up into a seated position.
Taking a few more seconds with yourself.
Just being here now.
