This gentle yin practice is perfect for when you physically feel exhausted and tired and mentally you just want to change your thoughts and spiritually you want to feel better.
So join me in an upright seated position,
Close your eyes,
Palms facing up in front of you,
Open to receive all the gifts of the practice ahead,
Becoming aware of your breath and the connection between your breath and your mind,
Noticing the connection between the breath,
The mind and the body,
Bringing the attention deeper into the breath as I instruct you through this breathing exercise.
So exhale everything out of your mouth,
Inhale,
Hold the breath,
Hold the breath out,
Hold the breath,
Exhale,
Hold the breath out,
Inhale,
Hold the breath,
Hold the breath out,
Inhale,
Hold the breath,
Hold the breath out,
One more round,
Inhale,
Hold the breath,
Exhale,
Hold the breath out,
And release,
And just pause and relax and release into this moment.
Flicker the eyes open,
Moving into our first posture,
We call it Caterpillar.
So you're going to extend your legs out in front of you and tap the legs a little bit and shake them a little bit just to release any tension,
And then release the feet,
Back is straight,
Arms are relaxed,
Take a deep inhale,
And gently exhale,
Coming forward,
Folding into this posture,
Allowing yourself to completely release,
There's no perfecting this pose,
It's only honoring your body and the point of resistance.
We're allowing the chin to tuck into the chest,
The head,
The neck,
And the shoulders to release,
And let go.
And honoring where you feel the sensation,
And that's what the experience is meant to be,
A sensation.
So if there's anything that you feel or know you're pushing or pulling,
Let it go and back off a little,
And take this moment to focus on what it is you wish to embody,
Maybe it's an emotion,
Maybe it's some affirmations,
Maybe it's an experience,
Maybe it's letting go,
Whatever it is that you're desiring physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally,
Put it into words or a word,
And allow yourself to sink deeply into that thought with the sensation,
And connecting it to your body,
Your mind,
And your spirit,
As I release you into a few moments of this experience.
If the mind wanders,
Use your word or affirmations or intention to bring the focus back to this present moment,
And noticing that there may be distractions,
Either in the mind,
Or sounds,
Movement around you,
Whatever it is,
Stay focused on your breath,
With your intention,
Take a deep inhale,
And gently roll up one vertebrae at a time,
Coming to an upright spine,
Making any micro-movements,
Shaking the legs,
Tapping the legs,
Whatever intuitively feels right for you.
Take your time honoring your body intuition,
And when you're ready,
Come into a wide leg stretch,
And when you get there,
Relax the feet,
So that the feet,
You can wiggle them,
Scrunch the toes,
And notice that the spine is straight,
Close your eyes,
Take a deep inhale,
And as you exhale,
Bow forward,
And can you do this by lifting your hands,
So that gravity is pulling you forward,
Allowing the head,
The neck,
And the shoulders to come towards the ground,
And feeling the gentle stretch in the legs,
The hamstrings,
The neck,
The shoulders,
The back,
And allow yourself to really release into the pose.
Again,
Looking for that point of resistance,
Not pain,
But the point of resistance,
Where you can feel the stretch,
And you know that to go further,
You would need to push or pull,
And once you settle into that point of resistance,
Go into long,
Deep breathing,
With the long,
Deep breathing,
That's what opens up the body to release,
Allowing you to go deeper into the stretch,
It happens magically,
The mind is not in charge of it,
It's a connection between the body,
The mind,
The spirit,
The nervous system,
And allow yourself to enjoy this magical experience,
Using that intention that you set,
That focus,
Just stay grounded,
And relax into long,
Deep breathing,
As I release you into this pose.
If your mind wandered,
Bring it back with your intention,
Your affirmation,
Your focus,
And connecting that to the breath,
To release and relax into the body.
Start to deepen the breath,
And as you take a deep inhale,
Come up,
Rolling up one vertebrae at a time,
Bending the knees,
And bringing the legs together,
And then stretching them out in front of you,
Bouncing the legs,
Or tapping them,
Whatever intuitively feels comfortable for you.
And right for you.
When you're ready,
Bring the soles of the feet together,
Coming into this beautiful butterfly pose,
Wiggle your way into it,
You can have your heels close to your sit bones,
Or far away,
Listen to your body intuition,
And maybe move it around a little bit to see what suits you today.
And once you feel as though the pull and the stretch in the upright position is appropriate for you,
Take a deep inhale.
And as you exhale,
Tuck your chin into your chest,
Rolling forward,
One vertebrae at a time,
Relaxing into the pose,
And letting your hands fall wherever your body intuition is calling for.
And notice,
Can you turn the palms facing up to receive,
To receive that intention that you set,
To receive the affirmations,
The word,
Whatever it is you're looking to receive,
Embody today.
And checking in,
Before I release you into your stillness,
Checking in that you're at the point of resistance,
Not the point of pain,
Not the point of pushing or pulling,
But a point of resistance.
And allow your breath to go deep,
But yet gentle.
Relax into the pose.
Start to deepen the breath.
Very gently tuck the chin into the chest,
Rolling up one vertebrae at a time.
And bringing the knees to touch.
You can hug the knees in,
Listen to your body intuition,
Or maybe extend the legs out in front of you and bounce the legs or tap them.
This is your practice.
Honor that body intuition,
That little voice,
That all-knowing.
And when you're ready,
Join me in tabletop.
And in your tabletop,
Honor your body intuition with some cat,
Cow,
Or maybe a downward dog,
Whatever suits your body's needs,
Your body intuition.
And take those micro movements right now.
And then coming to a neutral spine,
Stepping the right foot on the outside of the right hand,
And gently allowing yourself to release and move into that magical expression of lizard.
Take a moment to feel into the pose.
And once you feel that point of resistance in the right hip area,
Tuck the chin into the chest,
And allow the head,
The neck,
And the shoulders to release.
Drop into long deep breathing.
If the mind wanders,
Bring it back to that focus,
That intention,
Affirmation,
What it is that you choose to embody,
To gain from your practice today.
Use the breath with the connection of that focus.
Begin to deepen the breath,
The inhale,
And the exhale,
And very gently start to release the pose.
And bring your right foot over towards the left side,
Preparing to come into your pigeon pose,
And do this very mindfully and gracefully.
The more gentle you move into the pose,
The more you connect your body,
Mind,
Intuition.
The deeper you go into the connection between the body,
The mind,
And the spirit.
And take your time,
Allowing yourself to come to your point of resistance in your pigeon pose,
To release and let go.
Checking that you're honoring that point of resistance,
And not pushing or pulling,
And checking in that you're being gentle and kind with your internal voice.
Using the focus with what it is you wish to embody,
The affirmation,
The intention.
Use the breath to go deeper,
Release into the pose.
Begin to deepen the breath.
And start to gently roll up one vertebrae at a time,
Very mindfully and gracefully.
And then coming over onto your right hip,
Swing the left leg around,
Taking the left foot on the outside of the right thigh,
Clasping your left knee.
Take a deep inhale,
Straight back.
And then hooking the right elbow around the left knee,
And twisting over towards the left.
Enjoying this counter pose,
This preparation,
At the same time,
Release from the pigeon pose you were just in.
And inhale,
Swinging over towards the right,
Twisting in the opposite direction.
And coming forward,
Moving back through your tabletop.
Make any micro-movements you need to here.
Maybe it's a downward dog,
Some cat-cows.
Maybe it's just stillness.
Listen to that body intuition.
And when you're ready,
Inhale,
Stepping the left foot on the left side of the left palm.
And very gently,
Mindfully,
And gracefully,
Coming into your lizard pose on the left side.
Making micro-movements until you feel that point of resistance.
And once you can feel and honor the sensation of that point of resistance,
Tuck the chin into the chest,
Allow the head to bow forward.
You're being supported by your palms and the earth beneath you.
And just allow yourself to release into the pose.
No pain,
No pushing and pulling,
Just that sensation of the point of resistance,
Where you can breathe and relax into it without feeling as though you need to jump away from it.
So if you need to adjust to find that point of resistance,
Honor your body.
The pushing and the pulling is not going to benefit you if you think it might.
Yet the point of resistance will bring you that release physically,
And that mental surrender,
And that connection then to the spirit.
So allow yourself to relax into the pose using the breath,
Your intention,
Your affirmation,
Whatever it is you wish to embody,
And release into the pose.
Start to deepen the breath as you prepare to come out of the pose,
And very mindfully release the pose.
And bring the left foot over towards the right side of your mat,
Moving very mindfully,
Gracefully,
And gently into your pigeon pose.
And do this as though it's a moving meditation.
This honors the body,
Mind,
And spirit.
It connects you to your intuition,
And helps you to release and let go.
And when we surrender and we release and let go,
We make room to receive what our soul or spirit desires.
So relax into the pose,
Completely surrendering.
Start to deepen your breath.
Begin to gently push up,
Moving with purpose,
Releasing one vertebrae at a time.
And as you roll over onto the left hip,
Take the right foot on the outside of the left thigh.
And with a straight back,
Hold on to your right knee,
Close your eyes,
Take a deep inhale.
And then take your left elbow around your right knee,
Twist over towards the right.
And very gently exhale over towards the left,
In the opposite direction,
Twist it out.
And inhale back to center.
Release the legs,
But bring them into a cross-legged position.
Bring the right shin in front first.
And just come into this seated pose,
Straight back,
Hands are on top of the knees.
Take a deep inhale.
And as you exhale,
Tuck the chin into the chest,
Fold forward very gently.
Bring the hands out in front of you.
And allow the head,
The neck,
And the shoulders just to release,
Feeling this gentle stretch through your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your back.
And if it calls to you today to go deeper,
Walk the hands as far out as the point of resistance feels comfortable for you.
And if it's just a gentle release,
Honor that.
Stay focused on that intention that you're seeking to embody today.
Stay focused on that.
At the same time,
Staying connected to the breath.
Very gently,
Start to roll up one vertebrae at a time.
Extend the legs out in front of you.
Make any intuitive micro-movement that you feel drawn to today,
Whether it be tap,
Tap,
Tap,
Or maybe it's massaging your legs.
Maybe it's bouncing the legs out.
Listen to your body intuition.
Honor that.
Maybe it's bending one knee and the other.
Maybe it's rolling the other knee.
Honor the intuition that you have the connection to.
And then when you're ready,
Take the left shin in front of the right and come to an upright spine,
Straight spine.
Tuck the chin into the chest,
Coming forward very gently,
Mindfully,
And purposely.
And honoring where you are ready to release into the pose,
Honoring your point of resistance,
Keeping the focus on that positive intention.
Start to deepen the inhale.
And very gently,
Roll up one vertebrae at a time,
Coming to a straight spine.
And pausing there for a moment.
And then coming over onto hands and knees again,
One more time into tabletop.
If you need to make any micro-movements,
Please do.
But know that when you're ready,
You'll be pushing back into child's pose.
And honor your body's intuition.
Maybe the knees will be very far apart.
Maybe they'll be closer together.
Maybe the arms will be lifted.
Maybe the elbows will go down.
Very mindfully move into it with purpose,
With loving-kindness,
With what it is you wish to embody today.
And take your time.
And when you arrive to that point of resistance,
Just relax into the pose.
Start to deepen the breath.
And when you're ready,
Tuck the chin into the chest,
Rolling up one vertebrae at a time,
Coming to an upright spine,
Very gracefully and mindfully.
And when you're ready,
Rolling over onto your sit bones and coming down onto your back.
Taking the knees into your chest,
Hug them in,
Massage your lower back.
And if it feels right for you,
Take a deep inhale and exhale out of the mouth.
And when you're ready,
Extend your legs out.
Rest them on the ground.
Pause there a moment.
And then very gently,
Start to take your left foot over towards the left side.
And start to move your right shoulder and body,
Upper body,
Towards the left.
We're coming into banana.
And when you're ready,
Bring the right foot up and over on top of the left ankle,
Crossing it over.
Extend your arms above you.
And take hold of the right wrist as you reach up and over towards the left,
Coming into this beautiful banana shape.
Close your eyes.
Relax into the pose.
Stay focused on that intention,
What it is you wish to embody today.
Notice if your mind wanders,
To bring it back.
Go back to that intention.
The word,
The affirmations,
Whatever it is you wish to embody.
Deepen the breath.
And start to release the pose,
Release the hands,
Release the feet.
Come back into a straight alignment.
Pausing there a moment.
Make any micro movements,
Wiggles,
Whatever you need to do before we go over to the other side.
And when you're ready,
Walk your right foot over towards the right.
And very gently start to walk your left foot over to meet it.
Then cross the left foot over the right.
Lift your arms up and over.
And take hold of the left wrist with the right hand.
Relax into your banana.
And allow yourself to completely release and let go.
Stay focused.
Stay focused on the intention that you set.
That affirmation.
Start to deepen your breath.
Purposefully and mindfully start to release the pose.
Bringing the knees into the chest,
Hug them in.
Massage the lower back.
In yogi's choice,
You can come into a happy baby.
Or you can release into your savasana,
Whichever serves your body-mind intuition today.
Whatever you need.
Honor.
Honor the choices.
And if you're in happy baby,
Enjoy it.
Maybe you're still,
Maybe you're rocking from side to side.
And put a smile on your face if you're in happy baby.
Allowing that intention,
Affirmation,
Whatever it is that you're desiring to embody,
Allow it to connect from your heart to the smile on your face.
When you're ready,
If you haven't already,
Tuck the knees into the chest one more time if you were in happy baby.
And when your body intuition is ready,
Release down into savasana.
Just completely release and let go.
Start to bring the awareness back into your body by wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Take any movements that your body intuition is calling for.
And then bring the knees into the chest.
Rolling over to one side,
Pausing there a moment.
And then very gently pushing up,
Coming into an upright position.
Take your time coming into this straight spine.
Keep the eyes closed and bring the hands together in prayer pose in front of the heart.
And press your thumbs into your heart center.
Honor yourself for taking the time to practice today.
At the same time trusting what it is you wish to embody is already here,
It's happening,
It is yours,
Receive it.
I honor the light,
The love,
The peace,
And the joy in you.
We'll close our practice together with Namaste.
