Yin And Shavasana Practice - More Impeccability...

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 11/27/24.

Transcript

I'm Lisa.

Welcome to Yin and Shavasana.

And if you're newer to yoga,

If you're newer to the platform,

To me,

Welcome.

Welcome back.

This is a slow contemplative practice that I offer here today and on Wednesdays this time.

We're going for a little stretch maybe.

We're listening,

We're feeling into how we are in this moment.

And so that's kind of what the scoop is.

With all of that said,

If the body wants to stretch,

That's available too.

But know that we're collecting all sorts of props from around wherever we are.

We don't need anything yoga,

Branded yoga.

We need something maybe that we can move in,

Be comfortable in,

And lots of pillows or cushions,

Things from the couch.

My couch is right here.

So finding whatever it is that you need to bring the ground closer to you,

Period.

If you're practicing from bed or a chair today,

Know that all of the options are also available for you.

This practice is for every body,

Period.

So with all of that said,

Feel free to pop into the chat to ask,

To suggest whatever is going on with you.

I'm happy to be helpful.

I know that's not for everybody,

But know that that is an option.

Well,

Hello,

Lisa from Maryland.

Welcome to my namesake.

So all right,

That's what we talked about.

Some props,

Gathering those things in.

Towards the end,

Another guided meditation.

You can take rest if you would like.

Maybe something to keep the body warm or to block out the light.

Whatever it is that makes your shavasana that much more cozy so that all of the dropping in can be happening.

Or whatever,

Whatever it is that your journey is taking you on today.

All right,

Grabbing some props.

Something that you can move in.

You don't need the mat.

You don't need the things.

Again,

Collect what you have.

Thank you in advance for your donations.

Always super grateful.

I know money goes in a lot of directions these days,

So always appreciate it when it comes my way.

I think that's about it.

That's the housekeeping Oh,

Just recently added audio variations of these classes on or in my Insight Timer library,

So know that you can find those.

Again,

Donations,

But free for everybody.

Not in the plus library or whatever.

It is just in the accessible to everyone.

All right,

That is that.

All right,

Whatever you have,

Please gather it in.

Maybe turning off the volume on the phone or whatever it is that might be an interrupter.

Find a comfortable place to be.

Again,

If you want to be upright seated,

Find whatever it is that supports you there.

Maybe move over and lean up against something.

Whatever it is,

Find how you would like to,

I don't know,

Drop in.

Maybe this is the first time that you're pausing today or the first time that you're moving today,

So find whatever seat,

Whatever shape your body wants to be in with the least amount of effort for you.

Maybe you close the eyes.

Maybe you soften the gaze.

Again,

It's all personal here.

What is it that your experience is needing in this moment?

Using the breath to notice what the body is needing in this moment.

If you can take that full breath,

Maybe you're situated in the way that is sustainable.

Checking in with what the body might be communicating to whatever part of you that's listening.

Without getting pulled into a direction of past or future or the story,

Allow the parts of the body that might be speaking loudest to be acknowledged,

To be seen,

And coming back to the breath.

How can the breath best support that acknowledgement?

And perhaps checking in with the breath even more now,

Allowing the felt sense of the breath,

The physicality of the breath to be known.

Maybe sensations or fill in the blank of how the breath is able to be there for you in this moment,

In an intentional way.

And perhaps you stay with the body,

The breath,

And that acknowledgement,

And that sustainability of the breath.

And perhaps you move on and ask,

How is my mood or my spirit,

All of the above?

How am I today?

How am I in this moment?

My mood or my spirit,

All of the above.

How am I today?

Notice if the breath can help support those findings,

That sense of inquiry.

A few more full breaths bringing everything back into the center.

Maybe we call it center,

Whatever that might mean to you.

Full breath in.

And long,

Audible,

Open mouth exhale if that's available.

Letting something be swept,

Be excused.

Letting that go.

A couple more breaths just like that.

Bringing yourself back into that sense of wholeness,

Completion.

Sweeping out what might be straggling behind that might not be yours.

Full breath in,

And long,

Luxurious,

Sweeping exhale out.

When you're ready,

Slow motion,

Lowering your chin towards your chest if you're seated upright.

If the eyes were closed,

We can all blink them open,

But keeping the gaze lowered,

Or fuzzy,

Less focused.

Bringing ourselves back into,

How am I here in this plane,

In this realm?

How can the breath support that?

And notice what words,

Or what stories,

What past,

Or future,

Might be jumping into this awareness.

No judgment,

Allowing the breath to offer some more stability for exactly what you're feeling.

No judgment,

Allowing the breath to offer some more stability for exactly the experience you're in.

Taking note,

That sense of inquiry.

When you're ready,

Blinking the eyes a few times,

And then lifting the gaze,

Coming back together,

Taking that moment.

And if you've been in a seat with crossed legs,

Or one side favored over the other,

Unstretch the legs.

If,

I think you know what I mean,

If you're in a specific shape where you could use a little stretch,

Extend the legs,

Moving your props to the sides,

And allow a seat with extended legs to happen.

Again,

If you're in bed,

Or in a chair,

Taking your variation of a little bit of a stretch,

You can be leaning up against something,

You can have your hands behind you,

A little pedal,

Or a walk with the feet.

And notice how you can stay in that And notice how you can stay in that softer inner experience,

As we notice the words,

These stories filtering in.

How can you come back to the breath to be in this moment,

Allowing the body to start arriving into this shape.

Another moment,

Pedaling through whatever needs to be moved.

How can the breath support this moment?

And then come back to stillness,

And perhaps you melt all the way down to your back here,

And find a full body stretch.

And so I like to have all my props also within reach,

But know when it's getting in the way.

So find a little bit of room so that you can come all the way down to your back,

A little bit of stretch,

Arms up overhead,

Toes,

Fingers reaching in opposition.

And especially for my hypermobile folks,

Allow things to be softly extended without force.

And really,

No force for any of us.

So stretch,

Reach,

Again,

What movements might feel empowering,

Awakening.

And then slow motion,

Bringing the arms down by your sides when you're ready,

And allow some stillness,

Some breathing into the back line of the body.

Maybe even if it feels accessible to you,

The backside of the heart.

And letting the backside of the heart be held by the earth or whatever you're resting on.

Maybe the eyes float closed.

If you need the knees to be bent and resting against one another,

That's always a great option.

But allowing yourself to be soft and almost borderless between the backside of the heart and whatever you're resting on.

Use the breath to guide you in this shape.

Another moment or two,

Feeling into maybe it's imagination.

Maybe you've moved on to the future,

But allow yourself the breath to remind yourselves where we are in space and time,

In this moment.

How can the breath be an anchor?

Full breath in,

And long breath out,

One knee at a time bends into the chest.

And without that big pull or squeeze into the center,

Allow the breath to be in the center.

And without that big pull or squeeze into the center,

Allow the arms or the hands,

Whatever you have here,

Just to rest.

Again,

Back of the heart,

Back of the skull,

Along the spine to the tailbone.

Everything softens and shoulders soften.

Another breath in,

Perhaps belly and thigh,

Chest meet.

And then let the breath out.

When you're ready,

Release whatever grip you have and gently roll over to the side,

However you want to get there.

And slow motion,

Pressing your weight upright,

Take some time and come back to whatever shape allows you to find some stability before we move on.

So coming all the way upright versus anticipating something that we land in.

So now from here,

Options are a plenty,

But I'm going to talk about supported butterfly.

Soles of the feet come together.

This can be again,

Bed,

Chair,

Floor.

You can have all of the things underneath your thighs to support the knees,

No matter how high they fly,

Allowing some support to be there.

Feet can be further away from the body.

It can be a lot less.

Feet do not less.

Feet do not have to touch all of the options.

Adding on to more options,

You're welcome to feel that out and to notice if you would like to stay upright,

To lean up against something,

To lay all the way back,

Maybe collect your pile of cushions,

Build a mountain and bring the ground up closer to you.

So find what it is that's calling to you and create that shape and notice the breath along the way.

Does the breath support a sustainable shape?

Can I hold this for some time as we use all of the support to get into the connective tissue,

The fascia,

All of the structures that hold us in place?

And again,

Hypermobile folks,

Remember more props the better.

So finding your way into whatever your supported butterfly looks like and allow the softness to rise to you.

And no matter your variation,

Take that same amount of time or the same steps to arrive in the body.

So notice the shifts that you can make or the lifting up of the body that you can take to find that sustainable breath.

And maybe asking,

How am I here?

If we're feeling into a not sustainable breath,

That's where we add,

Subtract,

We come out to reassess the shape.

The shape is not the goal.

Notice if we can be using the breath to be our guide.

Notice if the breath can sweep some of those perhaps unnecessary comments that start to bubble up those,

As we discussed last week,

Those agreements.

But unwittingly we have signed up for.

So coming back to the four agreements,

As I had referenced,

That impeccability with our word,

Which starts from within.

So some of those comments,

That commentary,

The chatter,

We can start to notice what's a habit.

And using the breath to feel into versus the more mental chatter,

Which will always be there.

Using those nourishing,

Supple,

There.

Using those nourishing breaths to allow the body,

Again,

To melt into whatever you're resting on.

The breath supporting.

Noticing another moment or two here.

Noticing when things get quiet or still.

Noticing when the words flood into the mind.

Using the breath almost as if we're sweeping.

It doesn't go away,

But we're sweeping some of that excess,

At least to the side for the appropriate time to think those thoughts.

How can we come back to this moment honoring how can we come back to this moment honoring this experience?

Impeccability with our word.

Those nourishing breaths.

Holding space for the countless times that we begin again.

Let's take three more full,

Meaningful breaths.

Exactly where you are in this supported butterfly or whatever shape you've taken.

Without moving,

Changing,

Shifting,

Allow the breath to completely nourish and sweep.

And when,

Don't get caught up in the counting of the breaths,

But when you feel complete here,

Without moving,

Allow awareness to be in the center of you,

Whatever that means.

And then bringing hands to the thighs,

Slowly bringing the soles of the feet to the earth.

Let the knees rest against one another.

And always,

Depending on how you're feeling,

Rest against one another.

And always,

Depending on what you're resting on.

So if you're on a bunch of stuff now,

You'll keep the chin tucked,

Bring an elbow,

Slide things out of the way,

And support yourself coming back down to your back.

So if that's available,

Keeping the knees bent,

Let's all come down to our backs.

Knees stay bent.

And notice when you come all the way down,

If a little bit more space between the vertebra can happen.

So I'm not really going anywhere,

But I'm walking my,

With my chin tucked,

Walking my shoulder blades away from my hips,

And then lying back down.

And it feels a different type of stretch for me here.

Notice if that makes a difference.

And again,

Knees can rest,

Eyes can rest.

Take up a little bit of space if that feels good for arms.

Maybe the feet come wider.

Back to the breath.

Back to ushering out the words that might not be needed in this moment.

Sweeping out what isn't kind,

What isn't true,

The future,

The past.

And using the breath to re-anchor,

To come back to that center of view,

What you know to be true,

Underneath it all.

Another breath or two,

Coming back to that full sweeping,

What feels nourishing in this moment.

Coming back to that full sweeping,

What feels nourishing in this moment.

Maybe you're taking a stretch already.

Maybe you're saying,

Oh,

This stillness is not for me.

Honor that,

But also notice that,

As we then all come into a big stretch,

Extending the legs,

Feeling into the hips,

Maybe where sensation was or is during that last shape.

Maybe one side goes long and then the other,

Arms and legs in opposition,

Whatever feels right to you.

And then from here,

We'll transition into banyanasana,

Which of course is my favorite.

Coming back to center,

Big full body stretch,

And then arms come up and over to the right.

We're still on our backs here.

Hips slide just gently over to the left,

Leaving the legs in that same general shape as the arms,

General direction.

You'll notice that your left elbow is probably in the sky.

So bend it,

Bring it all the way down,

Soften the shoulders into where they need to be,

And perhaps cross the left ankle over the right,

Just depending on all of your variations.

Notice where you can soften,

Feeling into the side body stretch on both sides,

Using the breath to create that sense of inquiry once again within the breath.

Notice if the words tend to fill in those spaces.

Maybe you arrive at the sensations of the breath to give the mind something to do here for a moment.

Two more breaths,

Exactly as you are,

Feeling into the expansion of the ribs.

Contraction,

The softening back into center.

Two more of those.

Sweeping clean,

Anything that keeps you stuck in that last breath.

Full exhale.

On your next inhale,

Uncross the ankle,

Come back to center in your full body stretch.

Extend,

Maybe feeling into what sensation is happening where,

Without too much examination,

Again into past or future.

Acknowledging what is.

Back to center,

Big breath in,

And then exhale,

Banana to the left with the upper arms,

Upper torso,

Hips slide to the right,

Softly,

Maybe a crossover with the right ankle.

And then exhale,

Banana to the left,

With the upper arms,

Upper torso,

Hips slide to the right,

Softly,

Maybe a crossover with the right ankle,

Bending the right elbow,

Softening,

Breathing into both side bodies again here,

So we're not crunching into the side,

We're angling towards,

We find space,

And then reach up and over,

Like we're reaching up and over the moon.

Using the breath to feel into those spaces where we might need to adjust.

Finding nourishment with the breath versus beholding or gritting.

Honoring ourselves from the inside,

Honoring ourselves from the inside,

With each breath coming back to what's underneath the labels,

The culture,

The society,

What's expected.

Stripping all of that away,

Coming back to that impeccability,

That truth.

Another breath or two on this side.

When it's time for you,

On across the ankle,

In slow motion,

We're going to inhale to the center,

Again,

Stretch and pedal through the sides,

Acknowledging what sensations might be available,

What sensations might be available,

What aren't,

How the fingers and toes might feel,

Wiggling them into sensation again,

Especially if it's colder where you are.

When you're ready,

Lower the arms down by your sides with care,

With caution,

And pause here,

Taking up some space with the arms and legs.

Once again,

Taking up some space,

Owning the space that you take up without apology,

With your full chest,

With your full breath.

With your full breath.

And this,

Of course,

Brings us to that second agreement,

Not taking anything personally.

Because when we are truthful with ourselves,

We know nothing that can put,

Be put upon us is true,

Is it ours?

That work with impeccability of our own word,

That svayaya,

The self-study,

Self-study,

We have seen,

We have been reconnected,

And opinions and assumptions cannot be laid upon us.

Reconnecting to the truth,

To your breath,

To the space that you're taking up here,

Feeling into the back side of the heart once again,

That softness,

That divinity,

Honoring that capital S self here and now.

Full breath in,

And long breath out,

Bringing awareness back into the body,

Wiggling the toes,

And from here,

Options,

It doesn't have to be pretty.

We're going to roll over onto our bellies,

Or you can come up to a seat to come over to your belly.

If you're in bed,

You can come up to a chair,

Or you can come up to a chair,

To come over to your belly.

If you're in bed,

In a chair,

You get to take the options that work for you.

So for me,

I'm going to come up so that I'm not muffled on my belly,

But I will talk us through what we'll be doing on the flip side.

All right,

So coming to resting the forehead onto the backs of the palms,

They can be stacked on your belly,

Allowing everything once again to melt into the earth,

Or whatever you're resting on,

Letting the head rest,

That chin slightly tucked,

So the chin isn't jutting up and crimping into the back of the neck.

So find the space of rest here on your belly,

Connected to the earth from the core of you,

The softness of boundaries melting away.

Full breath,

Re-centering,

Reconnecting,

Because the breath is what we know to be true in this moment,

Especially if we're in the grips of taking something that's not ours.

Personally,

How do we know what is true?

We come back to the breath,

This moment,

Slowing it down.

If you would like to add from here,

Amazing.

If you would like to stay in this shape,

Amazing.

So perhaps,

If you're adding on,

We will add in a little bit of shoulder.

So you can keep the left hand under the head and extend the right arm to the side,

As if I'm laying flat on my belly,

Head supported,

Arm out.

You can bring the left arm down,

You can bring the right ear down.

Lots of options from here.

If you are not that hypermobile friend and you feel strong and secure in that shoulder girdle,

Would like a little bit more stretch,

Left fingers can come underneath the left shoulder and you can take it slow motion,

Rolling over onto that right extended arm,

Using the breath as the guide.

Where does the breath stop?

Where does it catch?

Where is it telling you,

Please pause,

Stop,

Back off,

Or continue?

So starting to listen to what we know is true,

What someone doesn't have to tell us is the stopping or starting point,

Which is a practice in the listening,

In the regulation,

Because it's not just all breath and yoga.

We're slowing the systems down,

Breathing in.

Let's take one more breath here,

We're not holding for very much longer.

And if you have opted out,

You can cross one arm over your chest,

If you're laying on your back for a moment or two,

If that feels appropriate.

If you have rolled over,

Slowly come back down to earth,

Both shoulders down.

And then let's bring the arms down by your sides,

And let's bring the left ear to the earth,

Or forehead supported by hands.

But if you have the ear down,

It's a little bit of a neck stretch,

Creating some more space in between the chin and the shoulder,

Find that softness.

Allow everything to melt for another breath or two.

When you're ready,

Bringing forehead back to center,

Create that centering again.

So letting the head rest,

Forehead down,

Either on hands or not.

And then perhaps adding on.

So every side is And then perhaps adding on.

So every side is different,

We've talked about they are not twins,

It is perhaps a distant cousin from side to side.

So maybe you add the left arm out,

Right hand still supporting the head or fingers underneath the shoulder.

And allowing that line of energy,

So keeping the wrist in line with the shoulder versus,

Well,

It can be lower than,

Let's not go higher than.

And then pausing here,

Maybe you start to roll over,

Using the breath as the north star,

When does it shift?

Can we be in the moment to notice?

Gotta add on to notice when things get spicy,

When things get personal,

Especially if you're around other human beings.

Let's take another breath or two here on this side of the shoulder stretch.

And if you're on your back,

Again,

You can be crossing the shoulders.

And if you're on your back,

And if you're on your back,

Again,

You can be crossing one arm over or the opposite arm over and breathing into that gentle shoulder stretch or wherever you're feeling you need.

And allow the breath to guide you.

All right,

So depending on where you are,

If you have rolled over,

Bringing both shoulders down to the earth and coming back to center.

If you took that neck stretch,

Let's bring the right ear down,

Arms down by your sides,

Space in between the chin and the shoulder,

Creating the breath.

Maybe you stay back into center with forehead resting on palms and create that sense of now,

This moment,

What is true here?

And notice all the words like,

Ooh,

Pick me.

So coming back to the breath,

What do we know underneath all the words,

All of the learning?

What can we unlearn by listening more deeply?

All right,

So coming back to center,

If you did take that neck stretch,

Pause here,

Allow everything to realign.

And whatever that means to your body,

Because really,

So options here,

If a child's pose sounds accessible to your body in this moment,

Take a child's pose that feels accessible.

So maybe you're saying,

Well,

What is that?

It can be many things.

So you're on your belly and I won't go there because my mic is there and I will be muffled.

So pressing up however you need.

Big toes can touch,

Knees can be open wide,

And then we can walk the torso forward.

You can have a mountain of things in front of you.

Knees can be together,

Arms can be down by your sides,

You can take all of the options.

You can opt out and be on your back and bring the knees into the chest,

Finding a little bit of a stretch on a counter-stretch,

If you will.

Use the breath to know where the body might appreciate that fuller breath,

A little stretch,

Perhaps.

Perhaps a coming back to this moment again and again.

If you're in your child's pose,

Notice the breath and the body before we move on.

Shifting forward into more of a tabletop and then shifting the seat down onto the earth.

If you're on your back,

You're welcome to stay there.

You'll see.

You'll make your choice.

So finding,

As I'm moving my leg out of the way,

We will extend our legs now.

Find,

Again,

The seat that works for you.

A straddle stretch,

Drag and fly.

If you'd like to lean up against something,

You're more than welcome to for stability,

For strength.

All the things that we've been talking about.

We've been talking about how we can move forward.

We've been talking about how we can move forward.

We've been talking about for stability,

For strength.

All the things.

If you need a little cushion underneath your seat,

If it's colder,

For whatever reason.

Again,

You never need a reason,

But keeping something that you do put underneath you squishy.

So this cushion might look a little thicker,

But it really does squish down,

Especially over the years,

Which gives me a little more padding and comfort.

You can roll a towel,

A blanket underneath the knees if you'd like some support.

Find what works for you and making the shape your own.

Again,

Always feel free to ask.

Keeping it kind and appropriate,

As always.

And then finding how your body,

It's almost like a sigh,

The arriving in that,

Oh okay,

I can I can breathe here.

Perhaps you build a magical tower,

Bringing the earth a little closer to you.

You can find that long spine and then rounding forward onto said tower or maybe you have all of the things and you fold forward a little bit more.

Using the breath to know what might feel truthful.

What does the body actually need in this moment versus habits,

Culture,

What we're told to look like,

Feel like,

Act like.

How can we strip the personal,

The things that we're,

We've taken personal,

Made that our personality.

How can we strip that away and feel into our truth?

That's one breath at a time,

Listening deeply,

Unlearning,

Removing the poison from our own words on the inside.

Relearning how to speak,

How to be kind.

Using your breath to find grace.

Let's take another moment or two here.

When it feels like it's time for you,

Slow motion again,

Bringing the breath,

The awareness back to the body before we move,

Before we react,

Before we speak,

We come back to center.

The breath,

The awareness back to the body before we move,

Before we react,

Before we speak,

We come back to center.

Come back to breath.

If you're folded all the way forward with your mountain of goodies in front of you,

Slowly bring yourself up with hands,

Rebuilding that regal spine,

Crown of the head reaches,

And then move all the props to the side.

Pick a leg,

Gently bend that knee,

And then bring that leg towards the other one.

A little bit of movement again.

Perhaps you support yourself with your hands behind you,

Feet planted,

Knees bent,

And start to create a gentle sway,

Really slowly without locking out the shoulders or the elbows,

Creating softness.

You can do this on your back,

Feet wide and knees slowly swaying side to side,

And really,

Really taking that slow so the soles of the feet do shift side to side,

And then can you move with the breath here,

Lubricating the joints,

Feeling into how the hips might feel.

We've moved a little bit of spine,

Hips,

Upper body,

Just putting it all together,

Coming back to center,

Wiggle the toes,

Snap,

Crackle,

And pop,

And then find your way down to your back.

If you're not already there,

Create a little nest,

Something soft and supportive for a guided meditation,

A deep rest,

Whatever your shavasana wants to be today,

Which means that deep rest,

That feeling of dropping in and letting it all go,

And then of course I offer in more of our goodness,

Things in which we've talked about.

So finding that support,

Maybe a blanket,

Keeps you a little warmer or something to block out the light.

As you start to arrive in whatever shape you've taken or whatever's holding you,

Find a big,

That sigh we talked about,

That big sigh.

Letting something be audible,

Cuing the body to let go,

To arrive,

And we're releasing the the do wing.

The do wing.

Maybe doing a couple more breaths,

Intentional full breaths that remind the body,

That whisper to the brain,

This is time to be still,

To slow.

To listen.

When the body drops in,

Becomes heavier here,

And the core of who you are can oftentimes feel lighter,

Softer,

Even if it's the idea of becoming less armored.

Letting the breath support you here in this dropping in.

The body melts,

Releasing all gripping,

All contraction,

All fear.

The breath supports us in deep rest.

As the words fill the space,

That endless loop of mindless chatter,

When we notice is that moment of grace,

That softness,

We offer a small child,

That small self melds into that capital S self as we remember our own divinity.

Remember our own divinity and grace melts over us like the softest of blankets.

Letting the busy,

The chaos,

The noise to be seen for what it is,

Breath to self,

To truth.

Releasing the agreement of taking anything personally,

Making assumptions,

Taking this journey again and again,

Unlearning,

Listening more,

Speaking less,

Sensing in again to the boundaries of the body,

Sensing in again to the boundaries of the body,

And whenever it's resting on,

Using the breath to feel whole again,

Coming back into center each breath,

Remembering and letting go.

When you're ready,

In the soft experience,

Start to invite some movement into the fingers,

The toes,

The eyelashes,

Perhaps extend into that full body stretch,

Reaching,

Extending,

And then if it's time for you,

Rolling over onto one side or the other,

Pausing here in that seed shape,

Letting all of the teachings wash over us,

To settle in,

So that we take what we need and leave the rest.

When you're ready,

Gently press your way up to a seat,

Taking your time,

Eyes closed,

Hands gather in at the heart,

Anjali Mudra prayer,

And it is within this gesture that we bow forward and give much gratitude to our global community,

Give much gratitude to our global community,

Today and every day,

And give a hearty thank you.