Good evening,
I'm Lucy and welcome to Twilight Tranquility and Stretch.
For tonight's practice you may wish to have a yoga strap or a bathrobe belt but it's not essential if you don't have one,
You can do the stretches using your hands.
Tonight's practice can all be done in bed so you might want to make sure that you're all ready for your good night's sleep.
Teeth brushed,
Comfy pjs on so you can get into bed and stay there after this practice is finished.
We're going to start in a child's pose so coming to a kneeling position on your bed bring your big toes together and your knees wide.
Taking one or two of your pillows bring them between your knees and melt your upper body forward so they rest on the pillows.
If it's comfortable to do so turn your head to look to one side and I'll let you know when to turn to look the other way so that both sides of the neck get a stretch.
Your arms could be wrapped around your pillows or lying comfortably next to them,
Do what feels good to you.
You might also want your duvet or blanket over your back so that you can be warm and snug.
Starting to tune into your breath,
Just watching the natural flow of each inhale and each exhale,
Not doing anything to change it just yet,
Just watching the natural flow of your inhale and your exhale.
Then starting to let your breath soften and move deeper,
Maybe even taking a few rounds in through your nose and out through your mouth and giving yourself permission to put the thoughts from the day to one side and step fully into this moment here and now.
Turning your head to look the other way,
Noticing if that movement has created any thoughts,
Releasing and letting them go and coming back to your breath,
Your longer slower deeper breath and knowing that however your day has been,
It's done with now and not thinking ahead to tomorrow,
Just being with your body and your breath.
We'll take a few more rounds here,
Feeling your inhales travel all the way down your spine to the base of the back and then releasing all the way back up on your exhale,
Breathing all the way down your spine on your inhale and releasing on your exhale.
And starting to come out of child's pose,
Coming back to kneeling,
Take a few rolls into your shoulders,
A few rolls forwards,
Maybe a few rolls back.
It would also feel good to move your neck here,
Taking the head from side to side,
Rolling the chin across the chest,
Releasing any tension that may have stored in the upper spine during the day.
And then moving your pillows out of the way,
Come to lie on your back and find your yoga strap or belt if you have one.
Bringing your right knee in towards your chest,
Place the ball of your foot into the strap,
Press your heel up towards your ceiling using the strap to help you stretch out the back of your leg.
If you don't have a strap or belt,
Just using your hands and interlace your fingers behind the back of the thigh or calf to help you draw your leg in towards you.
It doesn't matter if your leg doesn't go fully straight or if your knee is a little bit bent,
But keep lifting through your heel rather than your toes as this will help activate the back of the leg,
Help stretch it out.
Visualise your inhale and exhale again,
Moving in and out,
Not getting attached to any thoughts from the day,
Anything that may be floating across the mind,
Just letting them go.
Release and hug your right knee back in towards your chest and using your left hand,
Guide your knee over towards the left for a twist,
Your right shoulder relaxing down towards your bed,
Maybe your right arm reaching away and turning to look towards your right hand.
Only doing so if that feels comfortable for your neck.
Notice how this twist feels for your lower spine,
Maybe noticing your breath into the side ribs.
Smooth,
Easy breaths,
Visualising the journey of your inhale and the journey of your exhale.
And then releasing your twist,
Coming back onto your back.
Let your right leg slide out long and bring your left knee in towards your chest.
Wrap your strap around the ball of your left foot and again it doesn't matter if your knee is a little bit bent,
But pushing up through your heel as if you're trying to touch the ceiling with your heel rather than your toes.
Let any rigidity in the back of your body,
Your shoulders,
Your face,
Start to soften and melt away,
Feeling any strain or stress starting to soothe.
Taking a few more rounds of breath here and noticing if it feels different with the left leg reaching towards the ceiling than it did with your right,
Just being curious,
Not trying to think of reasons why this may or may not be.
We have two sides of the body,
Two sides of the brain.
We feel different side to side in poses.
Gently start to release and hug your left knee back in towards your chest.
Using your right hand,
Guide your left knee over towards the right for a twist,
Your left shoulder still relaxing down towards your bed.
Maybe you reach your left arm away and turn to look towards your hand.
Again,
Noticing any differences on this side,
Noticing how the outside of the left hip feels,
How the left knee feels,
How the left shoulder feels.
And gently release,
Coming back onto your back and take a deep breath in the centre.
How do you feel now?
What physical sensations are present for you right now?
If the mind has been feeling busy,
Where has it been going to?
What thoughts have been travelling across the mind?
Noticing without any judgment,
Without any criticism,
Just with curiosity,
Releasing them and letting go.
I invite you to bring your legs into a butterfly shape next.
They're bending into the knees and bringing the soles of the feet together so that the knees open out towards the sides.
The legs might look like they're in a diamond shape and you may wish to bring a cushion under each knee to give them some extra support so that they can fully relax into this stretch.
Then bringing your hands to rest on your tummy.
We're going to start a short breathwork exercise of four,
Eight breaths to help us relax even further.
You'll be breathing in for a count of four and exhaling for a count of eight.
I'll talk you through the first few rounds and then let you have a few rounds on your own.
I'm taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath for now.
Breathing in all the way down towards the tummy.
And fully releasing on your exhale.
And then breathing in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Taking a few rounds on your own.
Your own pace,
Your own count.
Taking one more round.
And then gently releasing your count.
Gently releasing any awareness of the breath.
Let it go back to normal.
Let your legs stretch out long and take any wriggles,
Stretches,
Shoulder shuffles that feel good to you.
I'm going to leave you here so that you can continue to get comfortable for a tranquil night's sleep.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
