Hey,
Mama,
Thanks for choosing a time that feels best of service for you to practice yoga together.
Now take your time to find a comfortable and supportive way to practice on your mat.
Feel free to use any props like blankets,
Bolsters,
Pillows,
Or blocks to support your practice today.
Let's begin.
Just find ourselves in a comfortable way to sit.
And so this practice is going to be just a short practice focusing on allowing whatever is coming up for you and also to alleviate any stress that a longer yoga practice might add.
So starting here with some movement and breath,
You're welcome to close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Let's inhale,
Reach the arms up and around the sky.
Find some length here.
Take a few breaths just reaching your palms up.
Take a breath in.
Exhale,
Release your palms back down and around.
Inhale reach palms up and around the sky.
Take a few breaths here reaching up.
Exhale the palms back down.
Then let's just try one breath,
One movement.
Inhale reach the palms up and around.
Exhale palms float back down.
Letting them touch.
Inhale reach palms up.
Exhale palms fall down.
And see if you can do this really with a sense of control rather than gravity allowing to guide the practice.
Exhale using your strength to reach your palms up.
Exhale strength to let your palms slowly meet down.
And doing this here at your own pace.
And if it requires more than one breath at a time,
Get that.
Take a few breaths as you travel your arms up and letting the breath go.
Letting the breath come in and letting the breath go.
Letting the arms come down.
Just noticing your breath here.
Go ahead and do this one more time.
Inhale reach palms up.
On an exhale let the palms float back down and around.
And just taking the palms,
Reaching them back up to sky.
Take the right palm back behind you,
Left hand over to the right knee.
Getting a little twist here.
Inhale back through center.
Reach the palms up.
Exhale left palm comes down behind you.
Right palm crosses over to left leg.
Little twist through the heart space.
Inhale back through center.
Reach the palms up to sky.
Go ahead and let the palms float down right on top of the shoulders so elbows are nice and wide.
And just take big circles with the elbows.
Getting them forward and up and down and back.
So it's kind of an awkward movement with your wing almost.
Just starting to open up through the shoulders.
Inviting whatever is coming up for you in this moment into the practice.
Trust me there's no use in shutting it out.
Welcome it with open arms.
Allowing yourself to feel.
Then maybe going the opposite way with your elbows.
Go ahead and bring your palms,
Reaching them back up towards the ceiling.
Let your right hand fall down by your right hip on the floor.
You can walk out a bit further.
Left hand reaches up and over towards the right.
Let your hips be heavy.
Allow your breath to guide this posture.
Exhale smoothly come up reach the palms up to sky.
Exhale this time really with control.
Let the left palm come down and meet the mat.
Right palm comes up and over.
So maybe just in between the left and right you notice the difference in letting the right palm fall down and really allowing yourself to drop into this pose on the left.
Feeling strength.
Feeling openness through the right side of the body.
Inhale nice and strong.
Reach your palms up to sky.
Roll your wrists around.
Go ahead and bring the palms down to heart center.
We're going to find our way standing up on our knees and if that doesn't feel comfortable maybe bringing a pillow underneath the knees to set them down on.
And as you stand up on the knees go ahead and bring the hands to the hips and just gently up guiding the hips forward.
Nose are wide maybe heart lifts forward.
Maybe shoulders start to draw together through the back side of the body.
Create space.
And if it would feel good to bring your palms right on the small of the low back feel free to do that.
Maybe fingers face up towards the ceiling pressing gently into your back and hips.
Getting a nice stretch through the palms through the wrists.
Chin can turn up towards the sky or maybe you touch the chin and towards the heart.
And your breath.
See if you can start to breathe if not already in and out through your nose.
Go ahead and come back to a neutral spine.
Bring the hands back to the hips.
We're going to find supported side plank from here by taking your right hand all the way down to the mat on the right side.
Left foot's going to go up long pivot and plant.
Left arm's going to reach up to sky.
Peel open through the heart.
Check in with the neck.
It would feel good to let the head hang.
Let it hang.
It would feel nourishing to look up at the left hand.
So using your strength go ahead and bring your left hand to your hip.
Put a soft bend in that right elbow.
And we're going to start to drop the left knee down and come all the way back up on our knees.
Maybe bringing the hands to the hips.
Standing back up on the knees.
Inhale reach the palms in front of you this time reaching them up to sky.
Exhale palms touch heart center.
This time letting your left palm meet the mat with control.
Slowly going down bringing your right hand to your right hip.
Sliding the right foot out long pivot and plant.
So left knee is like a kickstand on your mat.
Right arm reaches up to sky.
Vasti Stasana supported side plank.
Really just opening up through the chest.
Now with control allow the right palm to come down to your right hip.
Soft bend in the left elbow draw the right knee down on the mat.
Inhale to come back up on top of your knees standing up both hands to hips.
Take a breath in through your nose.
Exhale sigh out through the mouth.
Go ahead and tuck the toes under and sink the hips back down on the heels.
Now if this is too much you can walk your hands forward on your thighs or knees or even in front of you on the mat.
This is a really big opener for the feet all the connective tissue in the feet.
Breathe into this.
Allow yourself to feel and to name what you're feeling and then to choose your response.
Slowly untuck the toes.
We're gonna sit back on the heels and then bring your hands back behind you.
And by the outsides of your feet to start and just turn the heart up to meet the sky or to touch as if you're touching the ceiling.
So chin might turn up,
Chin might stay tucked in towards the heart.
It's just a slight back bend through the heart space.
You can walk your hands back further.
Other blades might come together.
Take some deep nourishing breaths here.
Go ahead and gently come back up,
Reach the palms up and around the sky.
Find length,
Exhale,
Palms touch,
Heart center.
Let's just find our way into a comfortable seated posture to find an active rest.
And if you have the time and space where you feel like lying down would be of service and finding any props that would feel good,
Feel free to head there.
And so once you find your space,
Really find a moment to tense your muscles.
So tense your fists,
Tense your face,
Tense your shoulders,
Tense your glutes,
Tense your feet,
Your legs.
Feel a sense of tension and allow yourself to feel this.
Notice tension.
Take a few breaths here,
Really holding this,
And take a deep deep breath in through your nose.
Exhale,
Sigh and release.
Allow your muscles to soften.
Allow yourself to sink into a state of relaxation,
Even if just for a moment,
Noting what it is to experience.
And so taking your palms to baby,
Allowing yourself this moment to savor this connection that you have.
Find yourself to honor this body that gives you the strength to nourish another life.
Honor this mind that gives you the resilience to show up,
To be human,
To be present.
Take another breath in through your nose.
Sigh out.
And from my heart to yours,
Namaste.
