Mindful Yoga Sequence to Prepare for Meditation

This yoga practice is designed to prepare your body and mind for meditation, by enhancing flexibility and focus. You will explore four different poses and then combine them into a flowing sequence, linked with your in- and out-breath. You will stay grounded on the earth, and move through lunges, child’s pose, downward dog and a floor-based sun salute. Once the bell rings to close the sequence, you might like to lie down in savasana, or move into a meditation practice. If you are not familiar with the poses, there is a video version on lucydraperclarke.com. The sequence was recorded live in Johannesburg, and you will hear the sound of the iconic hadeda bird.

Transcript

So let's begin in a cross-legged pose,

With the spine up straight and the chin gently drawn in towards the chest,

The crown of the head opening and reaching up to the sky.

And begin by tuning into the breath,

Allowing it to sink all the way down into the belly.

And then flow out on the exhale.

So we take this opportunity to pause and then to soften.

Softening into the body,

But also a sense of softening the mind,

Releasing any specific expectations and simply finding ourselves here in this moment.

And then we can connect at the three levels of the body,

Heart and mind.

So begin by tuning into the sensations of the body,

Any strong sensations,

Maybe aches or more subtle sensations.

The feeling of the clothing against the skin,

The air as it flows in past the nostrils.

And next tuning in at the level of the heart,

So noticing any feeling tone that is with you in this moment.

It may be pleasant or neutral or unpleasant.

We're not trying to change anything.

Simply acknowledging what's here,

Realizing that like the breath,

A feeling will arise,

Will experience it and it dissolves away in its own time.

Next we get a sense of connecting with the head mind.

How busy are the thoughts right now?

Is there a sense of wanting to engage with them?

Or can we also let the thoughts just flow by in the same way that the breath flows in and flows out?

Breathing hands together at the heart and making this deep wish that from this moment we cultivate mindful awareness of the body,

Heart and mind,

Knowing it's for our own deepest wellbeing and for the benefit of all those whose lives ours touches.

So we'll take a simple yang sequence made up of four different poses.

Remembering that with the yang style of yoga,

We're moving the muscles in a rhythmic way,

Drawing blood into the muscles and then allowing them to strengthen and stretch as they begin to warm up.

So we'll begin and end each sequence in child's pose.

So moving on to your mat now,

Resting the sits bones back on the heels and reaching the arms out in front.

Allowing yourself to deepen the breath,

Aware of how the in-breath moves down into the belly,

But also into the pit of the stomach,

A sense of pressing against the sacrum.

And then on your in-breath,

Gently ease your way forward as if you were rolling over a ball,

Lifting the heart,

Lifting the gaze.

Then on the exhale,

Moving back,

Scooping the tailbone under towards the feet,

Elongating through the lower back.

Let your in-breath take you forward,

Lifting the heart and exhale,

Softening back.

So take this three more times,

Following your own breathing rhythm.

Releasing the spine start to open as the fluid flows along the spinal column and up around the brain,

Bringing a sense of balance and ease to the nervous system.

And after five repetitions,

We rest in child's pose,

Experiencing the moment of stillness and once again taking that pause,

That opportunity to soften.

On the next in-breath,

We move forward,

This time bringing the right foot between the hands.

On the exhale,

Deepen into your age,

Feeling the stretch through the front of the left thigh,

Maybe into the groin.

And then activate the buttock,

Squeeze the left buttock,

Sense of hugging the adapters.

And then on your next in-breath,

Bringing the hands to the knee.

On the exhale,

Softening in and a little more.

And then inhale,

Let the arms float up to the sky.

Exhale,

Shoulder blades draw down the back.

And inhale,

Imagine the arms begin from the waist and lengthen all the way up to the sky.

One more in-breath and then release,

Hands to the earth.

Inhale,

Knees together and exhale back into child's pose.

Take a moment to explore the stillness,

That moment of pause.

And on the next in-breath,

Bringing the left foot forward.

Exhale,

Exploring your age,

Just the minimum age,

A sense of curiosity as we start to feel sensation in the body.

And then squeezing in the pelvic girdle so the right buttock active,

The inner thighs hugging towards each other.

And once you feel stable,

Let the hands come onto the knee.

Exhale,

Deepening,

Allowing gravity to draw you down to the earth.

And then the next inhale,

The arms float skywards once more.

Shoulder blades integrate down the back.

And then reaching from the waist all the way up.

Let the heart open.

A sense of melting into the hips.

And then releasing the hands down either side of the front foot.

Inhale,

Knees together and exhale back into child's pose.

So taking that more with a flow now.

So we'll inhale the right foot forward between the hands.

Exhale,

Deepen,

Activate the pelvis and then inhale the arms all the way up and overhead.

Exhale melting down and release the hands back to the earth.

Inhale knees together and exhale into child's pose.

But finding that flow,

That rhythm with the breath.

Inhaling the left foot forward.

Exhale,

Soften and deepen,

Activate and then inhale all the way up into the sky.

Take time to ease into the pose on the out breath and at the end of the exhale bring the hands back down to the earth.

Inhale,

Knees together and exhale into child's pose.

So taking that twice more in your own time.

Inhaling the right foot forward.

Feeling your way into the lunge and then lengthening up into the sky.

Finding stability and balance by activating the pelvis,

The adductors.

Then releasing on the out breath and returning to home ground,

The child's pose.

Repeating with the left foot.

Melting in and then lengthening up.

Allowing the breath to support you.

And returning to earth.

And back home into child's pose.

So one more round in your own time using your breath to direct the pace of the practice.

And returning home.

Allowing the breath to deepen down into the belly.

Feeling that energy centre,

The lower tantyena.

And then taking the third pose of our practice.

As we inhale forward,

Lift the sit bones up into the sky for downward facing dog.

So tucking the toes.

So the same way that you activated the pelvis for the lunges,

Now activate the shoulder girdle.

So feeling the base of the thumbs pressing down.

And then rolling with the arms so that there's space around the neck,

The armpits almost turn to face each other.

And then squeezing with the adductors.

Once the shoulders feel steady,

We can lengthen the spine up into the sky.

The knees can be bent.

The intention here is to lengthen all the way out through the tailbone.

And then let your next in breath bring you forward and down.

And exhale back into child's pose.

Take a moment.

Take a breath.

And repeating our down dog four more times.

Inhale lifting.

And this time allowing one heel to return to the earth and then the other just feeling that sense of walking in,

Lengthening through the hamstrings,

The calves.

And then bringing the knees back to the earth and sitting back into child's pose.

Take a breath.

Soften.

Our next round,

Inhaling up,

Tucking the toes,

Lifting the tailbone into the sky.

And feeling how the breath as it draws up into the belly invites a lengthening through the spine.

And softening to the heart.

Allow gravity to invite the heels towards the earth.

And then returning back to home ground,

To child's pose.

And our final round of downward dog.

Inhaling up.

And this time staying there for five breaths.

So feel that squeezing in with the shoulders but also hugging in with the adapters.

A sense that the body is squeezing towards a midline which can allow it to lengthen out through the tailbone.

And after five breaths,

Returning home,

Bringing the knees to the earth,

Forehead down on the earth or a cushion.

And the arms either reaching out in front or curled back beside the body.

And the fourth pose in our practice is a grounded sun salute.

So taking a deep in breath.

And on the out breath,

Sliding the hands back to the knees.

And on the inhale straightening up,

Lifting the body into the sky.

And on the exhale taking cactus arms,

Squeezing the shoulder blades together,

Spreading the fingers wide and taking a deep curve in the lower back.

Inhale lengthening skywards.

Exhale pushing the heels of the hands out and away.

Sending the hands come down next to the thighs,

Sitting back on the heels and then reaching the arms forward.

So taking that four more times,

A deep in breath.

And then exhale the hands back to the knees.

On the inhale coming all the way up,

Standing on the knees,

Lifting the arms.

And then exhale into cactus arms,

Curling the lower back,

Exploring that sacral lumbar curve.

Inhale lift and exhale the arms back down to the thighs.

Sitting back on the heels,

Reaching the arms forward and scooping the tailbone under as a counter pose for the lower back curve.

Twice more,

Take a deep in breath,

Bringing hands to the knees.

Inhale all the way up,

Lifting the heavy air in the palms of the hands.

And then exhale,

Squeezing shoulder blades,

Bending the elbows,

Moving the tailbone out and back.

Inhale.

Exhale pushing the heels of the hands away,

Feeling the sensations right through to the fingertips.

And sitting back on the heels.

Tailbone scooping under for the counter curve and reaching the arms forward.

And taking it for fifth time,

Guided by your breath.

And returning to home,

Our child's pose.

So we've taken four different poses and we can now link them together for a floor based sun salute.

So again we begin in child's pose.

On your first in breath,

Draw the heart forward,

Drawing breath into the belly,

Lifting and opening the gaze.

On the exhale,

Soothing your body back into child's pose.

The next time you move forward,

Let the right foot come between the hands,

Deepen into the lunge.

Inhale,

Floating up to the sky.

Exhale,

Allowing gravity to deepen the experience and then bringing the hands back to the earth.

Inhale the knees together and exhale into child's pose.

Inhale moving forward,

This time the left foot comes between the hands.

Sinking into that experience of sensation,

Activating the buttock,

The adapters,

Inhale lifting up.

And taking the full out breath to deepen and then to release.

Inhale knees together and exhale to child's pose.

This time as we inhale we move forward,

Tucking the toes,

Finding downward facing dog.

Using the shoulder girdle,

The deltoids,

Finding length all the way through the tailbone.

Take a long inhale,

Allow the exhale to invite the heels towards the earth.

And then inhale the knees back down and exhale into child's pose.

A deep in-breath here.

And on the exhale bring the hands back to the knees.

Inhale standing,

Reaching into the sky.

Exhale cactus arms.

Inhale lengthening up and pushing heels of the hands out and away.

Reaching back on the heels and returning once more into child's pose.

And you can repeat this sequence as many times as you like,

Gauging the length of your own practice.

Again,

This time as we inhale we move forward,

Tucking the toes,

Finding length all the way through the tailbone.

Inhale knees together and exhale to child's pose.

And on the exhale bring the hands back to the knees.

Inhale and exhale.

And on the exhale bring the hands back to the knees.

Reviews

a new option for my morning yoga. thank you!

A gentle guided meditation of 4 postures developing into a flow. I found this ideal as a morning practice, moving from awareness of how one is in the moment to moving into strengthening and stretching throughout the body, returning to child’s pose in between the different postures. A centred gentle and grounded flowing practice. Thank you.

This is a lovely practice. Doing movement before meditation is so helpful. Thank you and I loved the bird sounds!

This was wonderful. Thank you for sharing this practice. I will use it again. Namaste.

Loved the flowing sequence..I too had to YouTube to figure out 4th pose..this will be a regular sequence for me now..thank you.

Really good! Grateful 🦋

Lovely, short, grounding. Thank you.

Thank you for this gentle, mindful practice. For me, it’s just the right length to settle in for a meditation.

Thank you. I love including movement before I sit down to meditate.