Welcome to Yin Yoga with Mindfulness Meditation.
I'm Lisa McCaskill and I've been teaching Yin Yoga with Mindfulness since 2010.
If you find this practice useful,
You might choose to go to my Insight Timer page and make a small donation in appreciation.
Today's practice is a great one to do to start your day.
If you're not familiar with Yin,
We'll be in one pose for several minutes.
If you experience any numbness and tingling or sharp shooting pains,
You'll want to come out of the pose and just enjoy the mindfulness practice.
We'll begin by doing Butterfly Pose.
You can practice Butterfly Pose seated or lying down.
If you're seated,
Extend your legs out in front of you,
Bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet together so that your legs form a diamond shape.
You can stay here,
Upright,
Or fold forward and allow your spine to round and head to drop.
Maybe your hands come together in prayer position out in front of your feet or perhaps your hands and arms rest gently on your legs.
If you're practicing the reclining version,
You'll bring the soles of the feet together to a comfortable place and let the arms relax by your sides.
You might also choose to close the eyes to let go of visual stimulation.
Now take a moment and consciously relax all the muscles in your legs.
Soften your shoulders and relax your jaw.
Notice what it feels like to be in the shape,
Identifying where the sensations are in your body.
And now we'll gently shift the attention to the breath.
Feeling the breath,
Move in and out of the nose.
Noticing the temperature of the air on the way in and on the way out.
Maybe something feels slightly different or maybe it all feels the same.
There is no right or wrong.
Shift your attention down into the body and feel the places that expand and contrast as you breathe.
Now see if you can lengthen your breath,
Following it with your attention all the way down to the lower abdominal region,
The yin energy center of the body,
And all the way back up and out the nose.
The longer the breath,
The calmer the mind.
Continuing to notice the movement of the body with the breath and the temperature of the air through the nose.
It's common for the mind to wander away and entertain itself with more exciting thoughts than the breath.
When you notice that you've drifted and your attention is no longer with the breath,
Your mind is planning,
Dreaming,
Remembering.
Gently let go of the thought and come back to the breath without engaging in judgment or criticism.
Accepting and working with your mind exactly as it is in this moment.
We'll continue to stay in the pose for about another minute,
Focusing on the breath,
Moving down to that lower abdominal region and back up.
And now we'll slowly come out of the pose.
If you're seated and forward,
You'll gently use your hands to walk yourself back up.
And then wherever you are,
You'll bring the knees together.
Extend the legs out and gently move them side to side.
And now you'll take this peace and quiet that you've cultivated in your practice today and everything that you do.
Thank you for practicing with me.
It was an honor.
Namaste.
