Begin in a reclined butterfly position with one hand on your heart.
And the other on your belly.
The bottoms of your feet come together.
If this is too much on your knees you can place pillows or blocks under your knees for additional support.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible as we relax and breathe deeply into our bodies.
The remainder of class.
Breathe deeply into your belly and allow your body to soften.
Surrendering to the earth below.
Become aware of where you may be feeling tension or resistance in your jaw.
Your shoulders,
Belly,
Or hips.
Throughout class today,
We'll move through and hold gentle postures that open up vulnerable parts of our bodies.
And I'll be here to guide you through letting go of whatever comes up in the moments of stillness.
If you've been struggling with letting go of anything,
Whether it's a job,
A relationship.
Guilt or regret about opportunities no longer available.
This class will help you open up to release even just a little bit.
Letting go doesn't have to be in the body.
It can be mentally or emotionally,
So give yourself the next 20 minutes.
To observe what comes up and be open to the possibility of releasing in order to create space for the new.
Slowly begin to bring your knees together.
And hug them into your chest.
Rocking gently.
From side to side.
And drop your knees over to the right and turn your head to the left as your arms fall out to the sides.
Finding deep,
Slow breaths here.
Slowly coming back to the body before we begin to move.
And allow yourself to be supported.
If you're feeling any tension in the body just allow.
Yourself to surrender and relax a little bit deeper here.
Gently twisting and opening up the spine.
Bring your knees back to center and drop over to the left.
This time,
Turning your head over to the right.
And just allow yourself to.
.
.
Release any of the toxins that may be coming up,
Whether it's in the mind or the body.
These gentle twists can be very powerful.
Be gentle and kind to yourself as we begin to open up the body and allow more to come up to be seen,
Acknowledged,
And loved,
And released.
Bring your knees back to center.
And hug your knees into your chest.
And then begin to lift the feet up to the sky and reach for the outer edges of your feet.
Coming into happy baby,
Bending your knees close to the body.
And feel free and young here with no worries.
Allowing the hips to gently open.
Maybe bending or straightening one leg or the other.
Just anything that feels good.
And bring the knees back into your chest.
Just roll onto one side of your body here.
Feel held and supported by the earth,
Feeling ease in your mind and body.
Slowly begin to push yourself up to a seated.
Position,
Taking your time to get here,
With your legs crossed,
Maybe a block under the hips.
Take a big inhale here and exhale,
Let it out.
We're going to begin with a breathing exercise to balance the hemispheres of the brain.
So lift your left hand.
And place your thumb on your left nostril to close.
Take a big inhale through your right nostril.
Then place your ring finger on your right nostril to close it.
As you exhale through the left nostril.
Inhale through the left.
Close the left.
And exhale through the right.
And inhale through the right.
And close the right.
And exhale through the left.
Inhale through the left.
Close the left.
And exhale through the right.
Do this a few more times on your own,
Taking the inhale.
And exhale in each nostril,
Then switching to the other side.
When in fight or flight or have experienced trauma,
The logical side of the brain shuts down and you're left with only the emotions with no way to fully process what is going on in a balanced way.
This breathing exercise helps calm and balance both hemispheres of the brain in order to come back to center.
So continue on.
This alternate.
Nostril breathing,
Nadi Shodhana.
The next minute or two.
Going at your own pace.
Breathing slowly in.
And out.
Finishing wherever you're at,
You can lower the left hand back down to your knee.
And just return back to your normal breath.
Appreciating and noticing the balancing.
Of your mind and your body.
Tuning everything external out.
And tapping into that feeling of calm and peace within yourself.
And begin to make your way onto tabletop.
We're going to come into extended gait pose.
So you're going to lift that left arm up.
And you're going to turn the right leg back behind you,
Extending that left leg.
And reach that left arm up and over your head.
Feeling that stretch along the entire right side of your body.
Or left side of the body.
Taking long,
Slow,
Deep breaths here.
And release the hand down.
We're just gonna switch sides,
So bring that left leg in.
And extend the right leg out.
And lift that top arm up and over your head,
Feeling that stretch all along.
The outside of that body from your fingertips all the way to your ankle and your toes.
Release your hand down and make your way back into tabletop.
We're going to come into child's pose next.
So you can bring your knees together or apart.
And extend your arms in front of you.
You'd like.
You can also place your arms by your sides with your palms facing up,
Just coming into this curled fetal position.
So whichever feels most safe,
Are comfortable for you.
Find that for yourself right now.
Going back to your breath.
Allowing any emotions and thoughts to arise.
And just breathe through them without attaching a story.
Or an identity to each and any of those thoughts or emotions.
Invite in stillness and space.
For new to come in as you let go of the old.
Allowing,
Nurturing.
And trusting yourself.
Slowly begin to make your way out of child's pose.
You're going to walk your hands forward and your knees a little bit back.
Bring your knees slightly apart.
And walking your hands forward a little bit more,
You're going to drop your chest down to the ground,
Keeping your hips in line with your knees.
So if you'd like,
You can place your forehead or your chin or if you have the flexibility in your shoulders.
You could even try to drop the chest down to the ground.
Closing your eyes and relaxing if you're feeling any tension here.
And slowly begin to slide forward onto your forearms and onto your belly.
You're going to bring your forearms forward,
Stacking them on top of each other,
And then gently placing your forehead on top.
Of your forearms into crocodile pose.
Just allowing yourself to rest here.
Taking long,
Slow,
Deep breaths,
Not having to do anything or to be anywhere.
Settling into the stillness of your breath.
Releasing all that isn't serving you on every exhale.
Slightly begin to make your way out back into tabletop.
You're going to bring your right shin forward.
So coming into pigeon or even deer pose.
So find the position that feels good for you if you're here in full-on pigeon.
Can extend that leg back or if you're in D or pose,
You can bend both of your knees and fold over that front leg.
If you decide to go into full pigeon you can pull that left hip forward and straighten out the back leg.
And just fold forward onto the ground.
Or if you have a pillow or a block,
You can.
Hang out there.
Finding the support that you need here.
We'll be here for the next minute or so.
So allow yourself to make these small adjustments in the beginning.
Finding that inhale and exhale.
Finding that rhythm with your breath.
Of exhaling everything that isn't serving you any longer.
And inhaling the newness.
Creating that new space within yourself to receive.
Forgiving anything in the past.
Letting it go and trusting that this is a new moment to be reborn.
To be a new version of yourself.
And surrendering to this and being open.
To the creativity.
And the opportunities to create something new as you let go of the old.
And slowly begin to make your way out.
Pushing yourself up.
Lifting the shin up and back into tabletop.
We're going to switch sides,
So bring your left shin or the opposite leg forward.
Coming into pigeon or deer pose,
Whichever feels best for you.
Lifting the chest forward.
And then folding over that front leg.
Always using props like a block under the hip or A pillow just in front of that leg to support you as you're folding forward.
Find that place of comfort of being held and feeling safe and supportive.
As you open up.
Your hips in this deep,
Deep stretch.
There any emotions that may have been holding on to in this area.
Just allow them to arise,
Greeting them with compassion and forgiveness.
Giving yourself all that you would give to any loved one around you.
And knowing these emotions are here to be acknowledged.
In order to be released.
So give yourself the space and this time to.
.
.
Fully let go and surrender.
Deeper into the earth,
Allowing it to support and hold you as you lay here.
And pigeon pose.
Slowly begin to make your way out.
Pushing yourself up.
Coming back into tabletop.
And then we're going to make our way onto our shins,
Coming into camel pose.
So take your knees about hip distance apart.
Lift your chest up.
If you'd like to double your mat or place a small pillow under your knees for more support,
You can do that.
Take your hands to your lower back.
With your fingertips facing down.
Bringing the elbows together as you lift the chin and the chest up,
Up,
Up,
And slowly back.
Gently squeezing the glutes and pushing the hips forward.
Very slight.
Allowing the heart to open here.
And gently coming down,
Sitting the hips onto the heels or maybe sitting on a block or a pillow.
Taking a moment here,
A big breath in and out.
Feeling the spine and the muscles in the front of the body begin to Relax a little bit.
And going here one more time,
We're going to lift the hips back up.
Place the hands on the lower back.
Lifting the chin and the chest up.
And bring it back maybe a little bit deeper this time.
If you'd like to reach for your heels,
You can do that as well.
Finding your breath here.
The point is to open up the heart and the front of the body.
So if this bothers the lower back,
Just come out a little bit.
And when you're ready Lower the hips down.
Place the hands on the tops of your thighs.
Roll the shoulders forward and back.
Take a deep breath in and out.
And then we're going to make our way onto our backs.
So however you get there,
It doesn't really matter.
Just going to lower onto the back.
And then you're going to hug your right knee into your chest.
Giving it a nice deep squeeze.
Feeling that stretch in the front of the hip flexor and in the hips.
And then switching sides,
Hug the left knee into your chest and release the right leg.
And wind releasing pose.
So just let it all go here.
Feeling the movement in your digestive system.
As we're squeezing and releasing here.
And hug the right knee into your chest.
And lift your legs up towards the sky.
Flexing your toes,
Taking a few deep breaths here,
Just reversing the direction of the blood flow here.
Bringing the legs and the feet.
Above the heart.
Switching directions.
Bringing fresh new blood into different areas of the body.
As you release the old,
You allow the new to come in.
And hug your knees into your chest.
Bring your forehead to the tops of your knees.
And then slowly release into Shavasana,
Bringing your legs wide apart.
Maybe your arms are going to be wide out or by your body or over your head.
So settle into the position that feels best for you here in Shavasana.
Taking the next few minutes.
To just surrender and fully let go.
In this open position,
Finding your breath.
Clearing the mind and just being.
Into,
Take a big deep breath and bring movement back into your body,
Bending your knees.
Stretching your arms over your head.
And eventually just making your way onto one side of your body.
Curling up here.
Enjoying this moment of calm and serenity within yourself.
Slowly push yourself all the way up to a seated position.
Legs crossed.
And just take a big inhale and exhale.
Taking a few breaths here.
Rolling the shoulders forward and back.
Up and down.
And just breathe.
Notice if there is any remaining resistance or contraction in the body.
Set your attention on it and breathe a few rounds with it.
Without trying to change or get rid of it.
Offer up acknowledgement and gratitude.
For the lessons it is teaching and has taught you.
Allowing any reaction or emotion,
Tears or shivers to unfold as needed.
Giving gratitude for it all.
Thank you for joining me.
You are courageous.
Supported.
And so,
So love.
Bring your hands to your heart center.
Namaste.
