Hello,
My name is Nina and today we will dedicate some time together to the body parts of the hips.
And the lower back because sometimes we might notice some tension there whether it's because of certain sports we are exercising or too much sitting or certain postures and movements that are not maybe very beneficial in order to be relaxed in that area so we'll do a short sequence join me.
In order for the sequence to be a little bit easier and depends,
I would recommend to have one block available.
Alternatively if you don't have a block at home you can also use a bigger cushion.
Okay,
So to get started,
Let's lie down on our backs.
With the soles of the feet on the mat.
The head is relaxed or find that point where you can relax the head and the arms open to the side of the body with the palms facing.
First of all,
Take a moment to settle into this.
Position that may seem easy.
Have a good day.
However,
I want you to take some time to really settle here and to feel your body.
So let's start by feeling the sounds of the feet.
Place them in a way that you don't have to hold the muscles so that you can relax the big muscle here and also the hip flexor.
Then do a little check in on your lower back and on your glutes,
On your big bum muscle.
And I want you to relax here.
And to follow your natural curve of your spine and of your lower back.
Now just for a moment bring some attention from your navel.
Down to the spine.
So it's almost like you are pushing your lower back a little bit down.
Now we'll do that a little bit more.
So you're consciously pushing down but without tensing the body.
So all the shoulders ahead is relaxed.
And now we go the opposite way.
And you are arching your lower back doing consciously a little cry.
Let's try not to exaggerate but to really feel the touch of the lower back with your yoga mat or with the ground.
So you keep moving to those two positions.
Of arching which is this position.
And flattening where you gently push your lower back down.
Try to work relief from the abdominal and not from any tension in the lower back,
Because we want to release that tension.
You can also close your eyes if that feels good and safe for you.
And very gently as if you have water flowing over you,
You're moving through those two.
Positions of arching and flattening.
Make this as effortless as possible.
So obviously your abdominals are automatically activated here in the movement,
But try not to use them to initiate the movement.
And keep breathing.
You just do this a few more rounds.
The neck,
The head,
The shoulders all over time.
Very good.
And then you can gently,
Gently come back to the center,
To your neutral position,
Which is individual to everyone.
Then gently bring one leg after the other into your neutral position.
Hug your knees and roll a little bit from side to side.
Gently giving your lower back a massage.
Then you just come back to center.
Ideally,
Come into cross-legged position and come into your four-footed stance here.
Let's just do a couple of cat and cows movements to warm up the spine.
Shenzhi,
Breathing here.
Curving the booty.
Opening the body.
Let's do that one more time.
Come back to center and find gently into your first downward facing dog.
Prioritize the back please,
The length of the back and you may want to bend your legs.
So it's way more important to bend your legs and to have the spine straight than vice versa.
Try to relax your head.
And have that feeling of pushing away with the hands from the mat,
Expanding the back and bringing the bum a little bit higher.
From here,
Bring the right leg up and try to leave the hips square for the moment.
Come into a plank.
Hold your knee just for one second on the right arm.
Release the right knee behind the right.
Let the hips sink,
Expand the left leg to the back.
Take a deep inhale to expand and find the length in your body.
And with your exhale,
Gently release down.
Yeah,
So you can choose depending on your level and your stretch and how that feels in the right hip and in the right hip muscle now if you want to stay here at the top.
Or if you want to go down onto the forearm.
Or if you want to go all the way down.
Please do not choose that all the way down position if you would be having a curve in your back.
Try to stay straight and choose the position.
We will hold here for a few breaths.
To release the right hip.
Hip flexor and glute muscles.
Trying to exhale to release all the way down into the position into the mat.
Relax your jaw.
And the full relaxation in the muscles can also happen when you're here.
So you take a deep inhale finding space.
With your exhale you try to relax more into the right hip.
Good.
Now you can hold this position up to your liking up to three or five minutes.
And if you needed to work with a block here,
You could use,
I will show you on the other side,
You could use that block.
Come back into your downward facing dog.
And move the position a little bit.
Let's bring the knees down for a moment and go into child's toes.
The arms relaxed in front.
Let the head drop.
Relax your lower back.
Good.
Take a few.
Press here for yourself to Relax.
And then you can gently come back up.
I will show you the other side now with the use of a block or with a cushion.
So from here we come into our downward facing dog again.
We are bringing the left leg up.
Try to leave the hips square consciously.
If you want to go more into the hips,
Of course,
You can open this,
But be mindful and conscious about that movement.
Coming to your plan,
Touching the left arm just for one second.
Release the left knee behind the left wrist.
The right leg expands backwards.
Again,
You're taking a deep inhale,
Finding length.
Now,
If you wanted to work with the block,
Bring the block or the cushion here,
So you're not.
.
.
Yeah,
So the idea is that you're not falling to the left,
But that you stay stand-centered.
And that also you're not shifting too much to the right.
You want to be really stable here in the middle.
Take a deep inhale for length with your exhale.
Again you choose how deep you want to go into the position.
If you have the feeling that the block is either too high You can remove it and instead work with something more flexible like a cushion or a blanket.
And if you have the feeling that you need The block higher,
You can obviously change.
Depending on you.
No matter where you are,
Try to have length in the spine.
So really from here,
From your tail all the way up the spine to the neck and the head.
Few more breaths,
Try to relax in the left side.
And also the right hip flexor is as relaxed as possible Again,
You can stay here up to three or five minutes if you want.
And then we are coming back into our downward facing dog.
Feel free to move through the position,
Walk the dog.
Hold your downward face and dog lengthen the spine,
Relax your neck.
Fantastic.
Bring the knees gently down.
And sit on your heels.
Take a moment with the hands in your lap.
Close your eyes.
Let your body connect all the way down to the mat and to the ground.
And at the same time connect upwards from the top of your head to this.
Finding maximum length one more time.
And then you can bring your hands in front of your heart.
Taking another inhale with me.
To help.
Exhale.
Let your head drop gently to the fingertips.
And that you may want to go in front of yourself to thank yourself.
Namaste.
