Welcome to this yoga sequence.
My name is Camilla,
And I'll be guiding you through this laying down yoga,
Which is a part of the MBSR,
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program.
So for this practice we will explore a sequence of gentle movements,
Mostly lying down,
With some movements on hands and knees.
And as we begin,
Perhaps remember that the intention here is not to achieve a particular posture or to stretch as far as you can.
The practice is to bring awareness to the body while it's moving.
To notice the sensation,
To notice the effort,
To notice the thoughts and reactions.
And to explore your own limits with curiosity and care.
Throughout the practice you're always invited to make a movement smaller,
Or to change it,
To rest,
Or to leave it out completely.
Let your own body be your guide.
And we're going to begin this practice by laying on our backs.
Allow the legs to extend along the floor.
The arms resting alongside the body.
Perhaps letting the feet naturally follow out from each other.
If closing the eyes feels comfortable,
Allow them to close.
Or keeping them softly open.
And for a few moments,
Simply notice the body lying here.
Feeling the points of contact with the floor.
The heels,
The back of the legs.
The pelvis.
The arms.
And notice the breath.
No need to change it.
Simply notice that the breath is already happening.
Notice how the body feels at the beginning of the practice.
Without needing to describe it as good or bad.
Just notice.
And when you feel ready,
Begin to extend the arms slowly up over the head.
If the shoulders allow,
Continue the arms back over the head.
Let them rest into the floor over your head.
There is no need for them to reach the floor.
Just stretch them over your head.
And at the same time allow the heels to reach gently away from the opposite direction.
Creating a sense of length through the whole body.
From the fingertips to the heels.
Just hold this stretch here.
Fingers moving in one direction,
Heels moving in the other direction.
Notice where you can feel this movement.
Perhaps in the shoulders,
The chest,
The ribs,
Abdomen,
Hips.
Or legs.
And notice your breathing.
Is it possible to continue breathing without forcing or holding?
And then slowly releasing the stretch.
Gently bringing the arms back alongside the body.
Letting the whole body settle.
And we're going to do that movement one more time.
So when you feel ready,
Gently let your arms slowly move up against the ceiling,
All the way up over your head.
Maybe coming all the way down to the floor over your head,
Stretching arms,
Fingers.
As far away from the body as possible.
And also letting the heels move away from you,
Activating the legs.
Heels are reaching away from the fingertips.
You don't need to go to maximum.
Just find your place where you can still be present,
Where you can still be breathing.
Feeling the stretch in your body,
The front body.
And slowly releasing.
Arms returning alongside the body.
Let the legs be soft,
Let the toes fall out to the sides again.
Just allow yourself to land down here.
Now we're going to bend our knees,
Placing the feet in the floor.
So knees are pointing up to the ceiling.
And feet are about hip width apart,
Allowing the arms to rest beside you.
Now bringing the awareness to the pelvis and the lower back.
And now very gently begin to let the pelvic move down to the surface under you,
Toward the floor.
You might notice the abdominal area engaging slightly.
The pelvis rolling.
And the lower back making a little more contact with the floor.
You don't need to press strongly.
Let it be a small movement.
Exploring.
Feeling.
The lower back against the floor.
And now slowly allowing the pelvic to roll in the other direction.
Creating a small neutral arch underneath the lower back.
And again,
Not forcing.
Simply exploring the movement of the pelvis and the spine.
And now gently move between these two positions.
The lower back moving towards the floor.
And then allowing the lower back to arch.
And then back to the floor.
Arching again.
Continue in your own pace a few more times,
Tilting the pelvic back and forth.
And notice the entire movement here rather than only the end position.
What sensations tell you that the pelvis is moving?
What happens in the abdomen,
The back?
And after the next movement letting the pelvic settle somewhere in the middle.
Finding the neutral position.
And just stretch your legs down into the floor,
Resting.
Feeling the effect after these pelvic tilts movements.
And now slowly bring one of the knees towards the chest.
And then bring in the other knee up as well placing the hands around the chins or the thighs.
Holding your knees close to your belly.
Allowing the head to rest on the floor.
Just lifting the knees.
And now if you feel comfortable with it,
Gently start to lift your head.
Lift your head up against the knees.
You don't need to go to a certain height.
Feeling your body.
The abdomen,
The buttocks.
And slowly come back down.
Let your head come down into the floor.
Let your knees stay holding onto your knees close to your belly.
And we're going to do this lift one more time.
So when you feel ready,
Holding onto your knees still and slowly lift your head up against the knees.
Rolling together your back.
Feeling what is happening.
Against the knees.
Still breathing.
And slowly lowering the head and the shoulders back to the floor.
Releasing the legs also down into the floor.
And just feeling the effect here,
Feeling the effect after this movement.
And now we're going to bend the right knee and bring the right knee towards the chest,
The left leg remaining in the floor.
Holding your hands around the knee.
And gradually drawing it towards you.
Notice the sensation in the hip.
In the lower back.
Notice your breath.
Allow the breath to continue neutrally.
And if it feels appropriate,
Now gently lift the head,
The upper shoulders and bringing your face towards the knee.
Notice the effort,
The sensation.
The breathing.
And slowly lower your head.
Lower your knee.
Rest for a moment.
And we're going to change sides.
So now we're going to bend the left knee and bringing it towards the chest.
Right leg remaining in the floor.
Holding around your knee drawing it gently towards you and notice the sensation here in the hip and the lower back And if it feels appropriate here,
Gently lift your head and the shoulders,
Bringing your face against the knee.
And again,
Notice the effort,
The sensation,
The breathing.
Slowly start to lower the back,
The head.
And the leg down into the floor.
Releasing the whole body.
And from here we're gonna transition over to hands and knees,
Standing on all fours.
So bending your knees and gently roll onto the side.
Take your time.
And from the side,
Gradually come over on your knees and hands to all fours.
Hands somewhere underneath the shoulders and knees somewhere underneath the hips.
Finding a position that feels stable.
Stable as a table.
And if the weight bearing Through the wrist and knees is uncomfortable.
You are welcome to modify.
You can put a blanket under your knees.
And here from all fours we're going to start to move in the cat and cow.
We're going to begin to cat pose,
Pressing lightly through the hands and allowing the back to round towards the ceiling.
The head gently released downward.
Rounding the back up to the seal.
Feeling the shoulder blades move apart here.
The back is widening.
And the abdomen perhaps drawing inward.
Notice this sensation through the whole spine.
And then slowly moving the other direction allowing the abdomen to soften towards the floor and the chest to gently move forward perhaps lifting the head a little bit only as feels comfortable for the neck.
Arching the lower back here.
Feeling the front of the body opening.
The spine moving in the opposite direction.
And now slowly moving between these two shapes.
Rounding.
And arching.
Inhale.
Arching into cow.
Exhale,
Rounding into cat.
No need to coordinate it perfectly.
Just let the movement and breath be at once.
Follow your own pace,
Moving between the arching and the rounding.
Can you feel the movement from the inside?
Where's your limits right now?
There's no need to think about how it looks.
Slowly coming to stillness.
Returning to the center,
Returning to the table pose where the knees are stable under the hips and the hands stable under the shoulders.
From here we're going to do some balance.
We're going to do the tiger pose.
So now bring your awareness to your stability.
Shifting your weight slightly from side to side,
Feeling your hands grounded.
And if it feels appropriate,
Slowly extend your right leg behind you.
Perhaps keeping the toes in the floor.
Or if you prefer if you're steady lifting your right leg behind you.
Pushing the heel away from you.
You can stay here if you want to,
Or if you want to extend the left arm forward.
So right toes and left fingertips is like dragging your part,
Reaching in opposite direction.
Finding your length.
Feeling the point contacts of the floor,
The right hand,
The left knee.
Feeling the center of the body.
Notice the balance.
Slowly bring the hand and the knee back to the floor.
And pause for a moment.
And when you feel ready we're going to shift sides.
So now we're going to extend the left leg behind.
Perhaps keeping the left toes in the floor.
Or if you prefer to lift the leg,
Push the heel away from you.
Feeling the balance.
And if you're steady maybe lifting your right arm forward.
So now right fingertips and left toes are dragging us apart.
Finding our link.
Notice the balance as a living process.
Small movements,
Small adjustments.
And slowly bringing the hand and the knee back to the floor.
Coming back to the center.
And we're going to gently make our way back to the floor again.
Back to the back.
So taking whatever route feels comfortable and supported for you.
Laying down on your back again.
I'm bending both knees,
So feet are in the floor,
Knees pointing up against the ceiling.
And we're going to move into a bridge pose.
So begin pressing through the feet.
Slowly allowing the pelvic to lift away from the floor.
Moving into bridge pose.
And as the pelvic rise,
Perhaps allowing the arms to travel up over the head towards the floor behind you.
So lifting the pelvic up,
Stretching the arms up over the head.
And lift as high as it feels comfortable.
The intention is not to make the largest bridge you can.
Holding it here,
Feeling the feet,
Feeling the legs,
The buttocks,
The shoulders.
Notice the effort.
And whether there is somewhere that you can soften right now.
Maybe the jaw or the face.
And slowly begin to lower the pelvic.
Let the arms travel back down alongside the body.
Stretch the legs down into the floor.
And just allow yourself to rest here.
Feeling the after effect after this bridge pose.
From here we're going to move into a laying twist.
So again,
Bend your knees.
Keep your feet into the floor.
Let your arms come out to the sides of the body like a T.
And then let your both knees gently fall over to the right side.
Not forcing and down to the floor letting them gradually sink down.
Gravity do what it does.
So knees are moving to the right,
Arms soft against the floor.
And if you want to,
You can turn your nose away from the knees.
So turn your face over to left shoulder.
Holding it here for a moment,
Feeling the rotation in the back,
The pelvic.
Notice the breathing.
Slowly let your knees come up to the center,
Let your head point to the center and gently let the knees fall over to the other side.
So allow them to now fall down to the left side.
Your arms rest like a T out from the body.
And if you want to turn your nose over against your right shoulder now.
So nose is pointing away from the knees.
Moving into the rotation the other way.
And again finding your own comfortable edges.
Explore it and just simply stay here for a moment.
And slowly start to return to the center,
Head and the knees.
Stretch your legs down into the floor.
And now bend your both knees so both legs are in the floor Feel how you're laying steady.
And from here slowly start to extend the right leg up against the ceiling.
The sole of the feet is pointing up to the ceiling.
The knee may be bent.
It doesn't need to be straight.
Simply feel the leg in this position.
Notice the sensations in the thigh,
In the calf.
Stretching your right leg up against the ceiling.
And now bring your hands behind the thigh or wherever it feels comfortable to reach without strain.
Gently supporting your right leg,
Holding on to it.
Notice your breathing.
The feeling in the leg.
And now if it's appropriate for you start to gently lift your head and your shoulders up against your legs.
There is no destination.
There is no need to bring the face all the way to the knee.
Just notice here.
What happens when you lift your head against your knee?
And notice your breathing.
Slowly come back,
Lower the head,
The shoulders.
Let go of your right leg.
Stretch the right leg down.
Into the floor.
And also stretch your left leg,
So both legs are stretched.
Resting here for a moment.
And we're going to change sides.
So now bend your right leg so right knee is pointing up against the ceiling.
And slowly start to extend the left leg up against the ceiling.
The knee can be bent,
It doesn't need to be straight.
Left foot,
Sole of the foot is pointing up against the ceiling.
Feeling the thigh,
The hip and the calf.
And now let your hands and arms support the raised leg.
So let your hands come behind the thigh or wherever it is comfortable for you.
Gently supporting the leg without pulling.
Feeling the back of the leg here.
And if it's appropriate,
Start to lift your neck and your back and your head.
The shoulders up against the knee.
There is no destination here and there is no need to bring the face all the way to the knee.
Just explore this movement.
Notice the breathing.
Observing the experience rather than the shape.
And slowly,
Slowly start to come down.
Both knees,
Both legs come down into the floor.
The head is coming down,
The arms resting next to the body.
And just feel the effect here after this movement.
And we're going to come over to our side.
We're going to come over to our left side.
Extending the legs.
And slowly begin to lift the top leg.
So if you're laying on your left now,
Start to lift your right leg up.
Only as far as you can without rolling backwards or straining.
Feeling the work here around the hip.
Perhaps out through the waist and the center of the body.
And slowly come down with the right leg.
Resting for a moment.
We're going to lift it one more time.
You can hold on to your head if you want to support your head.
And slowly start again to lift your right leg.
Notice the sensations around the hip,
The side of the leg,
The center of the body.
Holding it for a few more moments.
And slowly,
Slowly come down with the right leg.
And rolling over to the other side,
So now rolling over to lay on your right side.
We can do the same now lifting the left leg so make sure that you're steady maybe support your head and when you feel ready lift your left leg now up to the side exploring this movement,
This lifting holding it for a moment.
Slowly come down.
We're going to do it one more time,
So make sure again that you're supported,
That you're steady.
When you feel ready,
Start to lift your left leg up against the ceiling,
Feeling the side body of the left side.
The hip area,
The thigh area,
What happens in the belly,
Exploring it holding it for a moment.
And then slowly start to come down.
And roll over directly to your belly.
So we're going to come into prone position on our bellies.
Starting to just feel the front body here,
The front body against the floor.
Let the side of your face rest down.
Just feeling the contact with the floor.
And we're going to start to lift our legs here.
Bringing the awareness first to the right leg.
Keeping the leg long and gently start to begin to lift a small distance from the floor.
Lifting the right leg.
May only be a centimeter or two just lift the leg tiny tiny Notice the work through the back of the leg,
The buttock,
The lower back.
And slowly come back down again.
We're going to repeat it one more time on the right leg.
So when you feel ready,
Start to gently lift your right leg only a few centimeters.
Up from the floor and notice what is happening in the back,
In the buttocks,
In the leg,
In the back.
Hold it for a few moments,
Continue to breathe.
Slowly come down.
And we're going to change sides.
So now let your right leg rest and start to lift your left leg.
Notice the left side,
Lifting it a few centimeters.
Holding it for a moment here,
Feel your back.
Feel your belly.
Feel your buttocks.
And slowly come down again.
We're going to do it one more time on the left side.
When you feel ready,
Start to lift the left leg up one more time.
Just a tiny bit from the floor.
Lift it up.
Explore the sensations.
Where can you feel it the most?
Notice that you're not holding the breath.
Allowing the breath to flow.
Slowly come back down again.
Let the other side of the face now rest down into the floor.
Just let yourself be heavy for a moment.
And now let your arms rest alongside the body.
And gently lengthening through the crown of the head.
We're going to start to,
If it feels appropriate,
Lift the head and the upper chest a small distance from the floor.
It's like a little cobra pose.
Keeping the back and the neck long.
The arms may shift slightly.
Feel the muscles here of the back working.
The shoulders,
The back of the body.
Holding it here for a moment,
Liftening the chest,
Shoulders and face.
Soften the buttocks,
Soften the legs,
Just lifting with your back.
And now slowly lowering the back to the floor,
Letting the whole body release.
And from here,
Directly roll over to your back,
Taking your time.
And come over to your back.
Extend the legs.
Let your arms rest next to your body,
Alongside the body.
We're moving into the final rest.
The Shavasana,
Lying on our back,
Simply resting.
Let your feet just fall out to the sides of the body.
Let your arms rest on the sides,
Maybe palms facing up.
Just feel your body here after moving.
What can you feel in your body right now?
Maybe some warmth,
Tingling,
Pulsing energy.
Or perhaps nothing.
Notice the whole body is breathing.
And notice the mind as well.
Whatever is present.
Mindful movement is not about creating a particular state.
It's an opportunity to meet the body as it is,
Moment by moment.
Through movement,
Through stillness,
Through ease.
And through effort.
For a few moments,
There is nothing more to do.
Simply laying here,
Breathing.
Aware.
And when you feel ready,
Begin to invite a little bit of movement back into the fingers and the toes.
Maybe circling the wrists and the ankles.
Maybe stretching the body the way the body is asking to be stretched.
Maybe bending your knee And gently rolling over to one side,
Coming into a side rest.
And from this side rest gradually making your way into sitting.
And once seated,
Notice the body,
Notice the breath.
How you're feeling in this moment.
Take some time here to thank yourself for this practice.
Thank yourself for giving yourself this time.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
