Yoga For The Nervous System | Slow Flow Practice

This gentle Slow Flow Yoga class invites you to move with your breath, soften tension, and reconnect with your body—without rushing from one pose to the next. Perfect for days when you need to unwind, reduce stress, or simply give yourself permission to move more mindfully.

In this practice, you'll enjoy a slow, grounding arrival, gentle neck circles and side stretches, a nourishing sequence to awaken the entire spine, Warrior I and Humble Warrior to build steady strength, deep hip opening in Pigeon Pose, gentle spinal twists to release lingering tension, and a relaxing finish that leaves you feeling lighter, calmer, and more at ease.

Whether you're new to yoga or an experienced practitioner craving a slower pace, this class offers space to breathe, reset, and simply be.

Transcript

Welcome to class. Find your way into a comfortable seat. And close your eyes. Meet yourself with your first breath. Of your practice. Inhale through your nose all the way to the top. And exhale to sigh it out. Let's do that twice more. Breathe in. Sigh it out. Breathe in. Sigh it out. Now sealing the lips. Breathe only through your nose and keep your breath even and calm. Drop your right ear toward your right shoulder. And slowly exhale as you roll the head down. Inhale to roll the head to the left. Exhale to roll the head forward and down. So you're doing these half circles with your neck. Inhaling to the right. Exhaling to roll the head forward and down. Continue on your own. Try to match your movement with your breath. If it's comfortable for you. You can start to make these into full circles. If it's too much on your neck, Then just stay with the half circles. Imagine you're drawing a big circle on the ceiling with the top of your head. Slow, Easy circles, Taking your time. If you're only going one direction, Start to turn your head the other way. Get a few in the opposite direction here. The next time your chin comes to your chest, Pause. Take your fingertips to find the floor on either side of your hips. Inhale, Flip the palms up as you lift your gaze. Lift up to look between your fingers. And exhale, Lower the arms and the chin back to the chest. Twice more, Inhale, Reach out and up. Exhale, Out and down. Inhale out and up. Exhale, Out and down. Leave your right hand on the floor. Reach your left arm up. And over into a side stretch. You might walk your right hand out a little bit here. Turn your gaze and look up underneath your left tricep and breathe into your left side body. And then rise back up, Lowering the left hand back down. As you bring your shoulders over your hips. Switching sides, Reach your right arm up and over, Side bend, Gaze up underneath your right tricep. And then slowly rising all the way back up. Inhale, Both arms up towards the ceiling. And exhale to fold forward over your crossed shin, Slowly, Gently, Bringing the hands down and taking a forward fold. Send your breath into your low back. Inhale. Exhale. Begin to pad your palms back in nice and slow, Rising back up to sit. And when you arrive. . . We'll take the hands back behind us. I'll turn myself on the mat to demonstrate. So the hands go back, The palms are down, Take your feet to the floor, Hip width distance. Then press into your feet, Lift your chest. Lift your hips. And begin to press into the heels, Bringing your hips to the height of your knees. Maybe drop your head back if that's okay on your neck. Breathe in. And sigh it out. Lower your hips slowly back to the floor. Step your feet one footprint forward. And then cross your right ankle on top of your left thigh. Flex the foot, Lift the chest, And then if you have the freedom to slide your left foot closer, Begin to bring it in. Keep lifting your chest and find a little movement side to side with your lower body. Starting to open up that right hip and glute. Now take your left leg straight. Sitting up nice and tall, Plant your right foot to the outside of your left thigh. Wrap your left arm around the front of your shin and take your right hand behind you, Coming into a seated twist. Look back over your right shoulder. Breathe into your belly, Your rib cage, And up into your chest. Unravel yourself from your twist. The right foot comes to the inside of the left thigh. Reach your arms up with a breath in and fold forward over your left leg. Janu Sirsasana pose. Drop the head down and breathe. Rising back up to sit. Walking the hands back in. Walking the hands back again and planting both feet. Cross the left ankle over the top of your right thigh. Flex the foot, Lift the chest. And then find that little bit of movement side to side. Straightening your right leg. Plant the left foot outside the right knee. Wrap the front of your left shin with your right arm, Squeeze the leg in, And take the left fingertips behind you. Inhale. Exhale. Gazing forward, Unravel yourself from the twist, The left foot to the inside of the right thigh. Reach the arms up with the breath in and forward fold over your right leg, Breathing out. Lift your head, Walk your hands back in. And as you come up, Straighten out both of your legs to the front. Flex, Point, Flex, And point. And then draw the knees into a bend. Cross the ankles. Maybe you can get into table pose like this. If not, Then just transition however it makes sense in your body. I like to cross the ankles, Roll over the knees. Spin the toes back and then adjust. Into tabletop pose. From tabletop pose, We're going to take some belly rolls. So on your breath in, The belly slopes down. But then send your abdomen left. Like you're flaring these left ribs out to the side wall. And then round and roll your spine up like cat pose. And then ribs to the right. And belly back to the floor. So that's one full circle. Take a few more, Tie it all together. You might find your head and neck move around with the flow. Allow yourself to just move your body uncensored, Just authentic movement nourishing your spine. Waking up your shoulders, Your chest, Your hips. And we've only been going one direction, So let's circle it the other way. Ribs to the right. Spine to the ceiling, Ribs to the left. Belly toward the floor. And then find your way towards what looks like a cow pose, Belly towards the floor. And then circle your hips back and around towards the heels. Forward to the right, Up towards the wrist. Big hip circles now. I've started these off counterclockwise, But you can. . . You can be going whichever direction you want. We'll switch it up in a moment. Go the other direction. And the next time you pull forward into that cow shape, Belly down, Lift your chest. Round your spine, Cat pose. Inhale, Cow. And exhale, Cat. Inhale cow. And exhale, Cat. Inhale for cow paws, Spread those fingers wide, Tuck your toes. For a downward dog, Pick up the hips, Put a little bend in the knees. Prioritize the length of your spine. You can pedal your legs into the floor if you want to. Shake out the head if you'd like. And then shift your gaze towards the top of your yoga mat. Take a step forward. With both feet. Put a bend in the knees, Grab opposite elbows, And let your body hang here in Ragdoll. Breathe in. Sigh it out. Breathe in. Sigh it out. Breathe in. And side out. Let your arms hang towards the floor. Put a bend in the knees and take a slow roll. All the way to stand. Arms are dangling, Head is heavy. Make sure to keep those knees bent as you roll all the way up to stand. Draw the shoulders back and down. I hope you feel energized, Awake. Warmed up. Bring your feet to inner hip width distance. And then step your left foot back. And turn the toes out on that back foot. We're coming into a warrior one. Bring your hands to your hips and square your hips forward. Press your left hip forward, Draw your right hip back. Draw your belly button back. And then reach your arms to the sky. And just stand in your power for a breath in. And out. I'm going to join the hands behind the back. Interlace all 10 fingers and just reach your knuckles back for a moment, Squeezing those shoulder blades. Fill your heart up. And then fold to the inside of your right knee. Humble Warrior. Knuckles lift and head drops. Let gravity and your next breath out draw you a little deeper. Release your hands down and come into pyramid. Start to straighten out your right leg. Lengthen your spine. Inhale and exhale, Forward fold. Pyramid pose, Head drops heavy. Breathe into the back of your right leg. Re-bend your right knee. Framing the foot with your hand. You may need to step the left foot back just a little for a lunge. Looking forward. And then leave your left hand on the mat and reach your right arm to the sky for a lunging twist. Breathe in. Breathe out. Release your right hand back to the floor and set your left knee down. Slide and drag this front foot, The right foot back. And bring it parallel to the floor first. Then bend the knee. Reach your left hand back. See if you can find that right foot with your left hand. And then kick into it. Three. Two. And one. Gently release, No slingshotting. Bring the left hand, Right knee down. And then keep your hips over your knees, Puppy. Walk those arms out in front of you. Melt your chest down. You can place your forehead to the mat or your chin. Breathe here. Shift forward, Come to your elbows. Slide your legs back, Settling into a sphinx pose. Tops of the feet on the floor. Lift your chest, Pull the floor with the palms, Open up your heart. And then widen the elbows so your chest can land. Slide the palms back to frame your heart. Cobra. Child's Pose. Press back. Big toes touch. Forehead to the floor. Fill your back body with an inhale. Soften a little exhale. Rising up, Taking a downward dog, Adho Mukha, Sanasana, Hips high, Thighs back. Gaze forward towards your thumbs and walk your feet there behind your wrists. Take a halfway lift this time. Long, Lengthened spine. Breathe in. And then forward fold, Let it go. Inhale, Rise to stand, Reach your arms up. Hands down to the heart, Exhale. Bring your feet inner hip width distance. Step your right foot back. Turn the toes out. About a 45 degree. Hands can come to the hips. You're squaring your hips forward, Bending into this front knee. Lift the low belly and reach through your arms. Breathe in. Breathe out. Hands behind the back. Catch and clasp all 10. Stretch long through those arm bones. Fill your heart. And fold inside your left leg, Humble warrior, Letting go. Release the hands, Dropping the hands down to frame that left foot, Start to straighten your left leg to your best ability. And then fold into the left thigh, Drop the forehead toward the knee, Maybe claim those arms out. I'm going to lunge forward, Slide the right leg back. And once you're lunging. Take the left arm to the sky, Lunging twist. Release the left hand down, Drop your right knee, And again, Slide this left leg back to a hover, Bend the knee. And reach your right hand back, Capturing the foot. Kick into your right hand, Three, Two. Too. And one table. To puppy. Once again, Climb those arms out. Drop the chest down, Feel into that backbend. Take three breaths. And then slide out again. Onto your elbows. Slide the legs back. Melt the hips down. We're gonna add on here. Let's take the right form and angle it in a little bit so it's sort of holding us up. Bend your left knee, Reach back and hold on to your left foot. Try to wrap your left hip back down and look forward. Now you can stay like this or take your fingertips and spin them out. And then around to wrap the toes. Coming into a deeper grip and a shoulder opener for three. Too. And one, Try not to slingshot this leg back, Release it gently. And then switch. Left forearm down, Right hand reaches back for the foot, Grab a hold, Wrap the right hip back toward the floor. Stay like this, Or spin the fingertips out and around, Right elbow towards the ceiling. Two. And one, Gently release. Bring that right leg down, That right forearm down. And then slide the elbows wide, Bring the palms back. This time Cobra or Upward Dog. So lift and straighten the arms maybe. Hover the knees, Breathe in. And down dog. Breathe out. From your Down Dog, Gaze forward, Step or jump to the top. Once again, Pull the chest ahead, Halfway lift. And then fold. Rise to stand. Inhale, Breath. Bring your hands to your heart, Exhale. Bring your hands to your hips. Big step back with your left foot. So we're gonna turn to the long edge of the mat here. Your wide stance, Feet anchored. Tall spine, Breathe in. And then take a hinge at your hips, Come down and fold. Prasarita Padottanasana, Drop the head. If you have an inversion practice, Sometimes this is a nice entry to tripod headstand. If your head can comfortably land onto the floor. You can use those hands on the mat, Elbows stay over your wrists. And maybe you lift the legs. And if you went upside down, You can slowly return your feet back. To the floor. And then walk your hands forward, Everyone. Come to a flat back. From the slap back, Walk yourself around towards the front of the room, Finding your lunge. And stepping back into down dog. Then bring your left shin forward for pigeon. And slide your right leg back. Crawl the arms forward to open up the left hip. Stay in your pigeon for a couple more breaths. Or climb up into your palms and because we bound to that back foot a few times. You might choose to bend your right knee, Reach back and hold the foot. You can definitely stay right here. Left hand stays on the floor supporting you. If you feel like more is available, You could kick back and see if this left arm could reach upwards towards the ceiling, Three. Me too. And one, Left hand gently back down. Release your back foot. Step back, Downward Dog. Switch sides, Right shin forward, Left leg back. Pause. And then drop down into your elbows. And climb back up into your hands. And as you arrive here, Bend your back knee, Reach back and grab that foot. Option again to stay here or to elevate your right leg. I'm sorry, Your right arm. And release. Returning your hands back to the floor. Step back, Downward Dog. Look forward and jump or step through to sit. Roll down onto your back. Massage your back into the floor, Side to side. Let's take both knees over to the right. We'll just set the left arm out to the left and do a supine twist. Bring your knees back up and drop your knees over to the left side. Bring the gaze back to center. And the knees back up one last time. Give yourself a big squeeze. And release into Shavasana. Take the arms and the legs out, Flip the palms up. Just receive the effects of your practice. This is where everything gets integrated. Those deep, Calm breaths you took. Helping to shift the nervous system into a healing state and to rest and to digest. Begin to notice your breath. Start to wiggle your fingers and toes and maybe stretch your arms overhead. When you're ready to, You can slide the feet to the floor. Roll over onto your right side using your forearm as a little pillow. And then pressing down to rise. All the way up. Have you come into a cross-legged seat like the one you began your practice in. And place one hand on your heart, One hand on your belly. Just offer yourself a moment of gratitude for carving time out to move your body. I hope this practice felt good to you. Please let me know in the comments below and I look forward to seeing you next time. Namaste.