Hi,
My name is Melissa Kleehammer and I want to guide you through one yin yoga pose called benanasana or banana pose or crescent moon that is really wonderful for relieving low back tension.
I'm going to pair it with a breath practice called viloma where we're going to cut the inhale in thirds.
So these two,
The pose and the breath practice paired together creates a really enlivening and enthusiasm afterward.
So we're going to get started on the back.
I have a blanket,
A long folded blanket overhead.
That's if you've got some tight shoulders and I'll walk you through that when we get there.
But first,
Lay back on your mat so that you've got your heels on your sticky mat and then walk your upper body over to your left.
Okay.
And then for the arms,
If you know you've got really open shoulders,
You can go right ahead and grab on elbow to elbow.
For those who are less fortunate and tighter,
You're going to do hand to hand.
You might even do cactus or out in a T.
It's whatever works for your shoulders.
So you want the arms on the floor.
You don't want anything lifted and suspended in the air.
Okay.
Now we're going to walk the legs over to the left.
So this time you're keeping the right shoulder and the right hip firmly on the floor.
Okay.
To begin with,
Hook your left ankle over the right.
So we're just waiting down the right side,
Getting this initial stretch.
Now let's start to move into this practice.
First,
Just take a big breath in,
Big breath out.
Now I want you to divide that inhale in thirds.
So you're just going to inhale literally for one second and hold.
And then inhale for one second,
Hold.
Inhale for one second and hold.
And then release everything out.
And then try that again.
Inhale for one second,
Hold for one second.
Inhale for one second,
Hold for one.
Inhale for one,
Hold for one.
And then continue on your own.
A couple of things as we go through.
If it feels like you need more breath,
That doing this practice,
You're just not getting enough oxygen,
Release the technique and breathe naturally.
What I'm asking is difficult.
I'm asking you to stretch a very tight part of your body.
And then I'm asking you to expand it with your breath.
So you will feel some resistance.
That's very natural.
Now as we move along,
You could try crossing the right ankle over the left.
This will give you a bit more pull.
For some it could feel quite welcome.
For others,
Not so much.
So you pick your ankle crossing of choice and then come back to the technique.
And so you can continue inhale for one second and hold that way.
Or you could just do it naturally.
They don't have to be equal and even throughout.
Just do your best to inhale to one third of your breath capacity.
Hold briefly.
Inhale another third and hold.
And then inhale another third and hold.
We're going to stay here for a few more cycles.
Trying to relax your arms.
Relax your legs.
One more cycle.
Inhale one third and hold.
Inhale one third and hold.
Inhale one third and hold.
And then exhale fully.
We're going to uncross the ankles.
You're going to walk your body back to what feels like a straight line.
Release the arms a little bit from whatever position they were in.
Give a little bit of space there.
It feels like you need to adjust your pelvis,
Your spine of course.
Please do that.
And then we're going to make our way over now to the right.
So inchworm your upper body over.
Bring that blanket with you.
Okay.
And then you're going to walk your legs over to your right.
So this time around it's your left shoulder and your left hip that remain on the floor.
Now to begin,
Cross the right ankle over the left.
First side is always the hardest when you're trying to figure out what the techniques are.
Trying to stay with the intensity of the stretch.
Now the second side you have an idea of where we're going to go.
So pick up that veloma breath.
Now breathing into this tight left side.
Inhale for one third of your breath capacity and hold.
Inhale another third and hold.
Inhale one third and hold.
And exhale relax the shoulders as you smooth out the breath.
Continue on your own.
I'll offer a little more silence with this side.
Remembering drop the practice or the technique if it feels like you're just struggling or it's creating a little bit of anxiety.
Take a few natural breaths and then pick it back up when you feel ready.
But on every exhale you're trying to soften pretty much every part of your body except that tight left side.
Well you're trying to relax there but because it's so tight it's the last thing to relax.
You can try crossing the left ankle over your right.
See if your body has invited you in.
If not go back to right over left please.
Continue with this technique called the veloma.
This splitting of the breath.
I'm going to stay here for just a couple more rounds.
Try to soften around your pelvis,
Your shoulders,
Your fingertips.
Take two more rounds together.
Inhale one third and hold.
Inhale one third and hold.
Inhale one third and hold.
Once more by yourself.
Knees uncross your ankles.
Let your legs relax.
Begin to walk your body back over to what feels like a straight line.
Bring your arms alongside of you.
One at a time bend your knee.
Pause there and then pick up the feet from the floor.
One hand on each knee and roll your knees in a big circle.
A little massage here for the sacrum.
The thing with side bends is in the short term it creates a little bit of discomfort in the low back.
Go the other way but in the long run it releases the low back tension.
We just want to massage out the low back and the sacrum here a little bit.
Then feet to the mat.
Feet wide on the mat.
Turn them inward and we'll rest with hands on the belly.
Knees toward each other.
Just take a few really smooth breaths here.
Feeling a deeper capacity for inhale especially.
Just a new kind of spaciousness in your torso.
A new kind of comfort.
And then we'll walk our feet together.
Bring one arm overhead and roll on to your side and press yourself up.
Give yourself a minute sitting as tall as possible with minimal props.
Hoping that you feel longer yeah but ultimately more comfortable in your body.
A quick reset after these few minutes in this one pose.
Thank you so much for practicing.
Namaste.
