Body Blessings Yin Yoga Practice

This is a yin practice that is an offering of blessings to the body, our "meatsuit" as my teacher says. Allow this practie to energize and ease you. I hope that you enjoy diving in and immersing youself in the practice of yin. These online offerings are in response to COVID-19 to allow us to be together even while apart.

Transcript

I invite you to find your way to a comfortable seated posture to begin.

When you arrive,

Allow your shoulder blades to draw together so heart can begin to crack open gently.

Draw your chin down towards your chest.

Allow the crown of the head to reach up towards the sky.

Allow the eyes to rest.

Gently turning the palms towards the sun.

Maybe the tops of the palms rest down on your legs or maybe they float in space.

You're invited to take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale out through the mouth.

Ahh.

Drawing the attention to the hands.

Noticing any sensation within the hands.

On the palms,

Fingertips,

The backs of the hands.

Perhaps you can feel the temperature of the air wrapping and weaving its way around them.

Perhaps if the hands are suspended you can feel the weight of the palms.

Maybe it feels like more than the weight of the palms.

The additional stresses that we carry with us over the additional love and endless care that we carry and nourish others with.

Whatever it is,

Let's take a deep breath in through our nose.

Exhale,

Sigh out through the mouth.

Let's do that again.

Deep breath in.

Exhale,

Sigh out through the mouth.

Let's go ahead and start to draw the pinkies together,

The outer edges as if you were receiving something in your hands.

Allow your shoulders to be soft.

Allow your spine to be long,

Chin still reaching down towards the heart.

And we'll open this yin practice through offering and receiving some body blessings.

I recently had some body work done and the therapist had opened with a loving kindness meditation and although it's second nature for me to incorporate that into my meditations,

My prayers,

But it felt new to me to open with that.

It was like a ceremony for a body of practice and body work.

How lovely that would be to incorporate into my teaching,

Offering my students this gift of spaciousness to feel blessed and feel seen.

So with your palms out,

Receiving these gifts and these gentle reminders that you already know deeply.

This body houses my soul and spirit is worthy of my love,

Worthy of my care.

This body that houses my soul and my spirit is worthy of nourishment and nurturing.

This body shows up for me every single day.

This body and this soul is deserving of abundance and love.

May we be healthy.

May we be safe.

May we be free.

May we be loved.

May we allow this time together to be a portal inward,

A portal into the present moment,

A portal into the gift of the here and the now.

Take another deep breath in through your nose.

Exhale out through the mouth.

Gently beginning to rub the palms together.

Perhaps a bit faster.

Creating some heat.

Five more seconds.

Gently bringing the palms and hands somewhere on your head or your face,

Somewhere where you can feel this connection of heat.

Beginning to drip your fingertips along the outskirts of your face,

Along your jaw,

Your chin.

Gently meeting the palms in the middle,

Bringing hands to heart center.

Taking a deep breath in through your nose.

Exhale out through your mouth.

Let's slowly make our way into child's pose.

Savor the transitions,

Knowing any tightness.

Perhaps coming to hands and knees first,

Bringing big toes to touch,

Sinking the hips back towards the heels and just beginning to come down onto elbows.

Let your head weight hang or rest down on blocks or pillows.

And maybe you'd like to bring the hands out just a bit further.

Notice what it feels like to turn the palms up towards the sun.

Maybe elbows stay bent.

Let your head weight hang or rest down on blocks or pillows.

Imagine if you had a weighted blanket and you just gently drape that across the low back and the hips.

Gently drawing the tailbone down,

Lengthening through the spine.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Gently drawing the tailbone down.

Beginning to slide the hips forward and down,

Making your way into sphinx,

Savoring the transitions.

There is no rush.

Foot is lifted,

Forearms down,

Maybe fingertips are spread or palms face the sky.

Shoulder blades hug together.

And breathing here.

Beginning to melt the heart forward and down and begin to extend the arms out,

Reach them long out in front of you.

And kisses the earth.

Palms come together as they reach out.

Getting a stretch perhaps through the shoulders.

Drinking in a deep breath in through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

Each breath we are taking in and each breath we release out is this dance of receiving and offering.

This is where you realize that you are really outside of the three.

You're going to bend the elbows,

Support your hips,

Face the sky,

Palms still touch.

Maybe palms or thumbs reach back towards the base of the skull,

Maybe towards the neck.

Maybe you'd like to bring the elbows a bit wider.

Maybe bring the palms back to the earth and bringing the elbows wide and using the palms as a pillow,

Just turning the head in one direction.

It doesn't matter which.

Let's bend the knees so soles of the feet turn up towards the sky.

A gentle rock of the knees side to side,

Rinsing the low back.

Lengthening the feet from legs to stillness,

Facing the sky.

Just rolling the ankles in one direction,

Flexing the feet,

Changing directions.

Slowly letting the tops of the feet meet the earth once again.

Bringing the right arm to the right to a half-teeth,

Palms slide down on the earth.

Right temple rest down.

Using your left palm on the earth to lift the heart and start to lean over on the right hip,

Turning the heart open to the left.

Left leg might stack up on top of the right ankle.

Maybe it drifts behind the right leg.

You're welcome to bend the left knee and left foot plants on the mat of the earth behind that right knee,

Yawning the heart open.

Left palm could stay as it is.

Maybe it reaches out in front and sending through the elbow.

Maybe it laces across the low back.

1 You You You Getting to Out of this so untangle the arm Untangle the leg rolling the body Resting back down You bring that right arm behind you palm faces up towards the sky And maybe turning the head the opposite direction so to the right And Just tuning into the breath here feeling the rhythm of the inhale And the rhythm of each exhale See if you can create more space in that right shoulder by drawing it down Just a bit away from the air You You You Begin to sweep that right arm all the way around as if you were tracing a half circle Around you Until it meets up in front of you and back down towards the left palm Turning the chin back down towards the earth Let's bring the elbows back in for Sphinx heart lifts And we reach the palms back by the ribs,

Let's press up into a gentle cobra inhale In through your nose exhale child's pose sink the hips back Back towards the heels Turning the palms up towards the side You You You Can aim to slide out of this let's head back into table for a moment hands and knees Just take little circles with the hip so maybe you dip them down and lean them back Rounding through the upper back Pressing and opening through the sides a spontaneous movement What would feel nourishing to this body this vessel right now right here I'm coming back into table allowing the hips to sink forward coming into cobra just for a moment Gently beginning to melt the heart down bending at the elbows Sweeping the left hand out to the left Sweeping the left hand out to the left Allowing the left temple to rest down on the mat right palm presses gently into the earth To lift your heart open to the right turning over on the right hip Maybe right leg steps on top of the left maybe it sways behind the left leg or bending at the knee right foot plants Right palm can stay as it is it might gently tiptoe out in front of you or loop back behind you Let's take a few more breaths resting here Beginning to unwind maybe lengthening out that right leg Unweaving the right arm and hand rolling back onto the belly Taking the left arm out and around behind you palm faces the sky bending right arm for a pillow as you turn your chin over to the left Taking deep breaths expanding as you breathe in through the rays Allowing the earth to receive you as you breathe out Allowing the earth to receive you as you breathe out Slowly make our way onto our backs savor the transition When you arrive on your backs take your legs out feet out wide as if you were going into savasana palms facing the sky shoulder blades roll together Each inhale we receive and with each exhale we offer Inhaling love exhaling love Beginning to dig your heels into the earth to draw your knees in towards your heart reaching for your shins or knees with your palms giving yourself a loving squeeze Maybe a rock from side to side Roll the knees together and roll the knees in a circle in one direction Maybe your palms come to the tops of your knees Expansion coming back in Moving even slower than what you are right now Running in the opposite direction turning the other way Hugging the knees back in towards the heart Touching a happy baby bending the knees reaching for the outside soles of the feet drawing the knees on the outside of the ribs the weight of the hands rests on the feet Body is heavy The tailbone relaxes down towards the floor Breathing in Breathing out Breathing out Breathing in Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Take one more breath here Exhale out Gently draw the knees back in together towards the heart and extend the legs up towards the sky bringing the palms down by your sides maybe even lift your hips and place the tops of the palms right underneath the tailbone just for a little support Breathing in Maybe flex the feet or roll the ankles beginning to the soft bend in the knees once again allow the feet to meet the earth Supta Baddha Phonasana or just Baddha Phonasana so if you have something that you'd like to support the spine with like a bolster pillow along the length of the spine you're welcome to or just as you are bringing the soles of the feet together knees gently tip wide apart Notice what it feels like to allow the palms to turn up towards the sky Nice and wide Taking up space Feeling the waves of the knees pull open the hips Breathing out Breathing in Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out Breathing out All your palms to come to the outside edges of your hips and thighs gently using your palms to guide your knees back up towards the sky Soles of the feet start to meet the earth once again and continue to walk the feet wide so knees can continue their journey inward as they gently tap together And rest down on the belly or heart space Savoring the transitions,

Sensations and release Breathing out Drinking a deep breath in through your nose Exhale out through your mouth See that again,

Deep breath in Exhale out through the mouth One more time,

Deep breath in Exhale out through the mouth Slowly bring the knees back up to neutral Digging your right heel down into the earth,

Begin to slide that out to the right Doing the same with that left heel,

Guiding it and sliding it out to the left Taking the right palm,

Facing it towards the sky and allowing the top of the palm to rest down on the earth out to the right Unfolding the left hand and left arm out to the left Hips roll open,

Shoulder blades hug together,

Shoulders come down and away from the ears Allow the head to be neutral The head is heavy,

Resting down Allow the eyes to relax The jaw to be soft This full body yawn open to receiving May this body be peaceful May this body be useful May this body and spirit find rest Take a deep breath in through the nose Exhale out through the mouth Slowly shifting into sweet svasana And just resting Inhale out through the mouth Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om With kindness and awareness,

Start to deepen the breath once again Om Very gentle rock of the head from side to side Let's take the feet together and bring the hands out back behind you,

Extending,

Getting nice and long,

Full body stretch And roll over to one side Into the fetal posture,

Stacking the shoulders,

Stacking the knees And recovering the transitions Using one hand to press yourself back up into a seated posture,

Just as we began Turning the palms back up towards the sun And the pinkies together The outer edges of the hands,

Open the fingertips wide,

Extend the elbows like you're offering a gift Take a deep breath in through the nose Exhale,

Sigh through the mouth May the world receive your love and your heart May the world replenish Just as much as you offer indeed From my heart directly into yours Namaste