Yin And Shavasana Practice - Deep Breathing & Body Awareness

Yin yoga postures are long held and passive in nature, practiced mainly seated or lying down. This gentle session will let us discover the meditative aspects of yoga through movement and guided rest. Props from around you are helpful but not necessary. Recorded live on Insight Timer 11/13/24.

Transcript

I am Lisa, Welcome to Yin and Shavasana and I am in a beautiful Colorado, I don't know, Autumn day. It's blue skies with snow on the ground and while it's a day it's still beautiful and I am so happy that I can share that with you through how I'm feeling about nature these days, How we're all kind of taking turns sharing what works for us. If you've been here in the last, Well ever, If you've been here at all we've been constantly talking about what helps us feel grounded, What makes us feel connected, What brings us back home. So that's part of what we're talking about here in the chat but also we'll be talking about that throughout class and so yes, Thank you for joining. Yin and Shavasana is a contemplative, Slow, Stretchy class, If you will, Where we rest a lot. Excuse my all the allergies to all of the things. So we use props, We use support, We, I have this glorious, Which if you can see with the sun, Look at these sunbeams coming in. Could we ask for anything better? Look at this glow. Anyway, This pile of stuff that I have behind me, I have all sorts of blocks, Block-like items, Cushions. No, You do not need to get anything for this class, For any yoga, Air quotes, Class. Something that you can move in, Some clothes that are bendy, Stretchy, And warm, Some pillows from your bed, Cushions from your couch, Whatever you have, Maybe a blanket, Maybe a beloved scarf. Allow yourself to build a nest of things that give you the support, Because not every day, Not every practice, Asana practices or meditation practice, Any practice, They're not the same every day. So allow yourself to have all of the things that comfort you, That surround you, That lift the earth up to hold you, And that's where we'll go from there. So gathering the things in as I'm knocking them over. And with that said, This class is for everybody, So if you need to be in bed, If you are in bed, If you are at work listening, You know, Whatever your scoop is, And whatever the boundaries of your body, So if I'm mentioning hands or feet, You know, And your experience is different, Know that those are interchangeable with the boundaries of your body. Yes. Thank you, Dora, For that donation. Thank you for those of you who are returning, For those of you are new, Or new to me, New to the platform, New to the practice, Welcome. Yeah, With all of that said, And then lots of yoga, Which, You know, Is what we are, Which is the practice of this experience. So allowing some of those lessons, Some of what I'm finding helpful, What is helping to ground me, What's, What I'm seeing is shared as well. So a little bit more chit-chat right now, Feeling the need for that, Need to hold space, And to hold each other. So allow community to be here for you as well. Yeah. Okay. And thank you, Thank you for your donations. I know lots of places are asking for money these days, So I appreciate you. And what else, What else? I'm here on Wednesdays, Already scheduled next week's, And I am uploading slowly, But also I am caught up to where I want to be, Audio variations, Audio versions of these classes. So yin and shavasana, If you are able to listen to the practice, That is something that's available for you for free on my free tracks, And then any talks, Anything going forward is being, You know, Hopefully being recorded and uploaded. So there you go. All of those things. What else? That's all the housekeeping, We have our stuff, We have permission to be exactly where you are, To grieve, To celebrate, To mourn, To all of the yes-ans. Like, It's a beautiful day, And so find, Find the rest, Find the support that you need. That was a big slump in defeat. Exaggeration with my body, If you couldn't see, But feeling into whatever's showing up for you here, And allowing that to be felt, Seen, Sensed within your boundaries, Within your parameters of safety, And you know, We're all working through what life is giving us, And life sure is lifing right now, Right? Okay, So with all of that said, Let's, I keep saying this, Is if we had not begun a long time ago, And I do have a new book, New to me book, That I'm so excited that I'm going to be sharing some passages from, As Diego's saying hi. Yeah, So no, We'll be talking about that towards the end as well. All right, Find a seat that is more comfortable to you than you were already in. So I'm sitting on my heels, I know that I'm going to scooch back and to sit on some cushions to make my experience less whatever it was, And then find the support that you need. So you do not need to be seated. I am coming to a supported seat so that I can feel a little bit more in tune as I'm guiding us into a practice where we arrive in our bodies. So that's where we're going. Wherever you, If you want to lay down, If you want, You're eyeing your your chair in the corner, Go sit in it. Find something that allows you to soften, To notice. Yeah, So create whatever that is. There is no right or wrong way. You don't need to be seated on a cushion with folded legs. You can be laying down, Letting the tears flow. You can be whatever it is that you need. Okay, And if the body wants the eyes to close, Allow that to happen. Some deep breaths here and checking in with that arrival. How does the body maybe need to move so that the breath can be a little more full, Like a yawn or a sigh. Noticing what the body is telling you through sensations, Subtle or otherwise for those of us spoonies, It's laughable. How is the communication today? It's something we might ask. And letting the breath support the findings as you need the support. Drawing in a long breath and an even even longer exhale. Let the support be there for the body. This is part of the communication, Allowing the what is to be acknowledged, To be noticed and then supported with the breath. Perhaps checking in with the sensations of the breath instead of the story of why the body might be communicating what it is. Let the sensations of the breath be felt, Be sensed, Be heard. Let the creaks and the noises of the breath, The vibrations of the breath be noticed. Perhaps the boundaries of the breath in your experience. And again, Acknowledging what is. Perhaps staying with the breath, Staying with the what is-ness of the body and the breath and how they can be in support of one another. Perhaps you add on a little check-in with the mind, With the spirit, With the mood, Whatever language is calling to you to check in on. Maybe you're checking in on the crown chakra. If you're like, What? Don't worry about it. How can the breath support wherever you are in whatever you're noticing? There is again no right way, There's no more or less spiritual so creating this gauge within simply but not simple at all to check in with that capital S of that bigger you, The connection that thread woven in between us all, This experience of humanity. Checking in with that part of you and then notice how the breath can support the inquiry. A few more breaths here. This idea of noticing what is. Three more full, Deep, Full body breaths here, Allowing the rhythm of the breath to be felt, Sensed, Heard, Experienced. And each exhale becomes a little bit longer without any source of push or force. Maybe the last one here becomes even more audible than the exhale. And letting the breath come back to whatever natural rhythm is for you and allowing the inquiry to, Again, Not so simply letting the inquiry to watch the breath and the rise and fall of the breath, The chest, The belly, How the rib cage expands and contracts. Even if and especially if your breath is assisted here, Allowing that rhythm to be felt throughout the body in harmony, Which is allows us all to notice that harmony. Are we in sync? Can we align with the rhythm of the breath? And perhaps it can be slowed. Perhaps we notice if something can be done. And often, As we sit here and arrive at our breath, A few more moments. Oftentimes, We are stirring up the attachment to the I wish it was different, The dot dot dot narrative, The story, The true. And yet, Our breath is the harmony that we can start with. We can come back to that rhythm that allows the inquiry versus the reaction. Finding the tenderness in which we find our breath here to be the tenderness in which we offer to the rest of the body, The mind, The spirit, Our neighbors, Patience and grace, Tenderness. As we navigate the next right step here. Coming back to center, Allowing the breath to be breath to be felt, Perhaps a deeper breath once again. As you're coming back to your breath, Feeling into the entire body and lowering the chin slightly towards the chest, Blinking the eyes open and pause here in this in between this liminal space. And as we slowly navigate that weaving in of inner and outer experience, Slowly lift the gaze, Eyes blink a blink. And before we move, If you need to move your legs, Do so. However, We'll do a little bit of neck stretch here. So if you're anything, You'll see what I'm going to do. And then we'll talk about how to modify. So if you're seated, Like I am creating this long spine and and coming to that conversation, Or at least the witnessing of the conversation of breath, Can I can I breathe here? Can I take a deeper breath? And then that length that comes from the breath versus bracing the muscles and feeling all of this tension and this contraction, It's how can I breathe in with a little bit more peace in the body and sees what sees see what length comes from this inquiry. All right, That made sense. We're taking a breath and noticing if our spine gets longer with the breath. Notice though, If the chin wants to come up, If you're a hyper mobile folk, Or if you have spine stuff, Maybe notice if you can gently have the tail tucked a little bit underneath you. And that's where cushions come in handy, Leaving the knees a little bit lower. So don't get caught up in all of this. But these are, You know, If you're kind of doing the digging of well, How can I do that? DM me, Or type it in. And we can talk about that. So those are little bits of breathing some some length into the spine as we then bring the chin gently toward one shoulder, It doesn't matter what you start with, We'll be doing a neck stretch to both sides, And then pause. Again, We're not going over the shoulder, It's towards in the general direction, Maybe not even quite. But check in with all of the parts and pieces that might feel like they need to compensate. So soften a little bit of length. And maybe the crown of the head reaches. Maybe you two have been slumped over for some time, Or that's been your general deflation. All right, A little so we're looking for length versus cranking our head over the shoulder. One more moment here again, Breathing into length. Noticing what is versus Oh, I wish it was coming back to that peace and tenderness of breath. Big exhale, And then come back to center with that length. And then check in if you've leaned back or forward. Maybe you're supporting yourself in different ways. And remember, It doesn't have to be the same. So move the body as it needs coming back to length as you come back to center. And then once again, Shoulder, We're going towards in the general direction of and you will notice pretty much straight away which side is different, Which they're both totally different. So allow that to be what is breathing in length through the crown of the head. Where might you feel the melting away of tension, Even if it's in the mind's eye. That softness, Let the bracing let it melt away. One more moment here with length and softness. Yes. And then with the length in the crown, Bringing the crown of the head length and coming back to the center. Let's roll out the shoulders a little bit towards the back one at a time. Without force without any bullying or I don't know anything less than tender or kind. All right, And then both at the same time. A little bit of movement. All right, Coming back to center. I immediately just dropped my head forward. So coming back to that length that we've felt little string feeling into the length, Whatever your length is, Perhaps you're lying down today, Feeling the length of the spine, Perceived, Actual, Whatever it is, Coming into that breath, How can the breath expand, Especially sometimes when we feel so contracted. And it's not necessarily about lengthening and stretching and finding all these inches of length, Millimeters, It's about the breath, The spaciousness of the breath. All right, So with that, Let's do one last thing here. If you need to move your legs like I do, Please do. Stretch them out. Excuse all of the body sounds. The belly says what the belly says. Coming back to center, Lengthening up. Again, It doesn't matter what shape you're in here. Finding more length in the spine. If you are upright, This is an option where you'll interlace the hands behind the head, Thumbs at the base of the skull, Ensuring that you're longer, Right, Through the spaciousness, Through the crown, Elbows open wide-ish. Again, Don't get caught up in it. If you're here, Cool. We're not leading with elbows, Though, Is the point of this. I don't open up all my shoulder joints. Don't do that. So finding what works for you. Gentle inhaling of length and then with the head as if you're pressing your entire hand into your face and you're trying to avoid that touch, That boop of the nose. Gentle press into the hands. Lift ever so slightly with the chin. So it's the barely any movement. Gentle press and lift at the same time. And if you're still like, Wait, What? Gentle press into the hand. Leave it at that. And it's press and release. Gentle movements. Notice if there's tension or if you have lots of stuff. Keep the hands down and you can do this laying down on your back with a thin cushion, Finding that length and that gentle press as if somebody's gonna touch your nose. Oh my goodness. And then you're moving your entire skull back, Right? A few more times here. And this does help with the head drop. It helps to, Well, In my body, It is helping with my dropping of the head to read, To whatever, To phone, To computer, To life, To drive. And then also building some strength in the back of the neck. Right? Which a lot of us are lacking. So little bits. You can do this in your vehicle at a stoplight. A little bit of press and lift. A couple more times until you're done, Done, Done. And then release. A little bit of noodley arms. Wiggle, Wiggle, Shake. Okay. Releasing some of that tension here. Let's come to supported fish and more to come. So if you know the shape that we're making, Allow yourself to maneuver that way. I am going to guide the rest of us in. So two block, Block-like items, Two cushions. It doesn't matter. You'll see where I'm going and then you will be able to grab what you need. But we do need some space. So finding a little bit of move, Moving all of the things out of the way. Because mostly it's just a couple of cushions and we need, Wow, This is a lot today. I needed all the support. Alright. So we're finding two, Let's see, We'll come in from this way. I will take one block. Okay. How do I want to say this? I had shifted gears. So let's come back to center. I am going to take two block-like items. One will be for underneath my head. You might need something different. This is my variation and again we'll talk about modifications. The second block will be between my shoulder blades and it will either be long-wise, Right, So vertically or horizontally. Doesn't matter which you get to choose and it can be a thin cushion. It doesn't have to be a block. And cork blocks, Which I'm using, Are very very dense, Very hard, And it can have a totally different experience than my foam blocks. So know that as well. Alright. So I will be choosing, Let's say horizontally today, And it'll be going in between the shoulder blades for bra wearing peoples. It'll go along bra line. So you can get into that a couple of different ways. You can place it on the floor and eyeball it. Coming down elbows at a time and chin tucked and finding that spot. And I know it will be trickier for you to see and harder for those on the audio, But finding that spot, Keeping chin tucked, Protecting your neck here, And allow some length, Tailbone slightly tucked. And then from here, This is where the second block or cushion will be as we slowly lower the head and allow that to support you, Ensuring that it's not wobbly, That it's not going to fall, That your head is stable and securely held. And again, The height of these should be lower than higher than what I'm having. So no higher than a block or so to drape the body over for this supported fish shape. And of course every body is different, But kind of gauging from the center there. Alright. Knees can rest together, Arms can be open wide, Lots of words for especially first-time folks who haven't been here. So find what works for you. If this is a lot, You're like, Oh no, Pop into the chat. I'm happy to help. If you, If this is not accessible and you're on your back, You can drape an arm over the chest to find a shoulder opener. And then feeling into when it's time for you to switch. If you're on your back here in the supported fish, You're welcome to extend the legs if you have room. And creating that softness and opening up of the heart space here. Checking in with what is. And ultimately how can the breath best support where you are, Where your nervous system is. How can we practice the coming back to center, Whatever center is for that day. Breathing into whatever prop is touching, Allowing all the muscles in the neck, And the shoulders, In the back, And the glutes, Everything starts to soften. Tension and gripping, Bracing, Contraction. We know where that goes. We know how that feels. What if we start to and continue to sprinkle into our practice that work from the inside of spaciousness, Of grace, Tenderness of breath, Reconnection to spirit. What does that feel like? What does opening the heart what does taking a deeper breath what does pausing feel like in the face of fear of challenge And a reminder this is not dismissive or a bypass. This is the work that we do within each breath that only we can gauge as if there is a benchmark of growth in our spirit. We come back to remembering. That is the air quote work here is pausing long enough to remember Remember the release of the gripping, The pause before words are exchanged. How does that feel within the body, In the mind's eye, In the imagination here. Another few breaths in the shape. Many more within this inquiry. One more full deep body breath exactly as you are, Allowing everything to be as it is and full exhale letting what is be breathed out for a moment. As we come back to the bodies wiggle the toes if the legs are extended. One knee at a time bends bringing knees bent, Feet where they started. Maybe knees rest against each other for a moment while we transition from the shape to whatever we're transitioning to. So remember that we have ourselves in these all the words just left my brain, Vulnerable shapes. So we take a lot of time and a lot of breaths to release them especially if this is newer to you we're not popping in and out. We use all of these props to support ourselves, To remember to breathe, To do all of the things. Another full breath. Start to guide the elbows by your sides remembering to tuck the chin and gently prop yourself up on the elbows. Chin comes towards the chest and from here you can either scooch out of the way with chin towards the chest or you can scooch your props out of the way and we'll all come down to our backs flat. So making sure that you have some space honoring the spine for all of its hard work as I'm scooching across the floor. Hands can rest on chest and belly, Knees rest against one another and as we started checking in with the crown of the head and the tail in opposition finding more spaciousness between the vertebra maybe the chin tucks slightly so the crown is what's reaching versus the chin. Breathing into the hands if they're on the body or just feeling into the expansion of the ribs and then the softening back as the breath leaves. A couple more moments here through the breath through what is check in with where you're already gripping or if you're gripping in response it's all good information and then separate the knees one knee at a time comes in towards the chest hugging in the chest but not a squeeze so allowing the weight to be in the hands or whatever is resting on the knees the shins the feet shoulders towards the earth let that just be weight versus control. Coming back to that idea of what we think we're in control of. Another breath or two here and as you exhale slowly release the feet towards the earth and come into a full body stretch reaching fingers and toes the opposite directions a little bit of reaching out of the waist reachy reach coming into opposition of sides maybe so right hand left leg grow long and don't don't hurt your brain over it and then opposite left see I'm not gonna hurt my brain other sides right foot left arm reach reach and then switch so maybe allowing the brain to have a little extra pep in that step here reach reach and come back to center arms come down by your sides and now simply just be in the body allow everything to rest down shoulder shoulder blades palms can face up toes roll open maybe you take up more space if you have room feeling what it's like to not only be back into the body to be back into center but to take up space a lot of us have witnessed the shrinking down of our communities so how can we open back up take up more space I'll all while noticing our breath keeping ourselves safe throughout through our own internal peace tenderness kindness taking up spaciousness a few more breaths taking up space feeling this expansion of spirit that's your experience in this moment big exhale and then gently rolling to one side or the other and pressing your way up taking your time noticing the spaciousness bringing it with you and coming up for a brief moment or two before we come back down so this time we'll take up some space here and without sacrificing all of the opening that we've been doing in the heart let's a couple of options here you can come into a child's pose whatever child's pose variation if you are you know what's going on another variation you can come into is a supported meaning resting on something open leg stretch so we're looking for whatever hip stretch that wants to be if you're listening today you're like stretching the hips in my mind do it so find what works for you if you want to be in a child's pose remember knees can be together that you don't have to have knees open wide that's all of the variations are available so if whatever situation is calling to you do it arms can be down by your side they can be crisscross you can bring all of the props towards you and rest forward here upright remember it's it's like a little prop elevator it's bringing everything up to you whatever variation whatever shape you're taking allow it to expand on spaciousness versus punching and crunching to get into whatever shape you your your ego mind is saying ooh let's do this allow it to be rewound into what what is in this moment you honor the body with that tenderness of breath through whatever shape you're taking in this moment so whether you're whatever you're doing ever shape you've taken allow the breath to be the guide to be the reminder of connection of tenderness of spaciousness whatever shape you're in another breath or two here if you are in a child's pose slowly gently bring yourself forward maybe you pause and a little exploration if you are seated in that open leg stretch or whatever stretch you've come into we'll all take a seat for for a moment here whatever leg shape comes to you so if you were in the straddle maybe not a caterpillar anyway not a straddle stretch so find a little bit of movement that reminds the body of the spaciousness of oh I I can move the body I can come back in I whatever methods of somatics you might use whether it's tapping or mudra or you know all of the different variations coming back to the body so remembering this moment realizing it and then let that work its way up so maybe hips now and you support yourself maybe it's one at a time and again with the shrinking down with the contraction with the making ourselves smaller to feel safe you know our bodies echo that our bodies so remembering in our safe spaces that we can open that we must open that we must find that tenderness so lubricating the joints and finding the mobility that is for you is a must and letting that and then maybe a little movement walking side to side so I'm not spinning or twisting I'm just a little bit of allowing my spine to be like a spiral staircase and feeling that lift that length gentle letting it be fluid and then maybe just going to head gently one side looks over at a time still leading with the crown of the head looking over one shoulder towards one shoulder than the other and then maybe you just think of length here crown of the head reaches in opposition and then feeling the mind open even more letting the mind be open and soft and receptive as you slowly melt into whatever shape you want to take for Shavasana for our deep rest allow for comfort for warmth whatever suits you here and then coming back to dropping back in letting the mind be open the spirit be soft and light the body be rested so whatever shape that needs to be whatever cushions are required blankets are required scarves are always required and then feel the body become just a little bit heavier supported the breath starts to arrive aligning with the softening with the peace from within the heaps we notice what is and we still rest we must rest permission always granted to soften even further to rest even more deeply into this moment of surrender surrendering in all the ways that we think we have control especially with our thoughts let the breath soften the edges and boundaries of all thoughts allowing that perception of control to dissipate the softness to be remembered the breath continues to expand and contract softening around the edges as the breath guides us home again and again a universal home that universal connection of all beings in these times of rest and reconnection we are practicing and fortifying this sense of ahimsa of nonviolence of homecoming from within as one of my teachers talks about in conflict it's mostly caused because someone some ego wants something done their egos way and it's a clash of egos when we come back to breath and we we counter anger with kindness we counter frustration with patience how can we practice with others if we're not practicing with self reconnecting with what is and taking up space anyway taking another breath anyway it all starts within one breath at a time allow the body to be felt once again the breath supports this homecoming as you're coming back connected supported perhaps more regulated allowing this spaciousness to be felt as you move the fingers and toes and then blossom open into that full expression of you expanding fingers and toes arms and legs maybe the eyes start to blink open as you reach in all of the directions and then come back to center eyes soften once again as you roll on to one side or the other and pause here in this moment of grace and softness and remembering coming back to this space of home again and again one breath at a time the importance of liminal space which is any space the in between space it's all space so the beautiful precious moments of our life can we take up space with love with connection with peace and again moving one breath at a time as you're ready gently press your way up to a seat eyes remain closed hands come to the heart and Anjali mudra and let's simply bow the heads forward to community large small communal universal which room remember we are all connected through love through breath to which we say a hearty thank you thank you friends thank you for being here

Reviews

Amazing as always! Thank you Lisa for adding all these practices 🙏✨