Yin Yoga Practice For Hips, Legs And Feet

In this 35 minute Yin Yoga practice, we get into the hips, legs and feet. Have some water handy to drink, and perhaps a couple blocks and blankets. Make your space cozy. Always listen to your body and find variations as you need to.

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Namaste!
Pamela

Background music: "Gaia" by Chris Collins - IndieMusicBox

Transcript

Welcome everyone.

Thank you for joining me today for this yin yoga practice.

Today we'll be getting into the hips quite a bit.

We'll also get into the legs and the feet as well.

You might get a little bit into some of the rest of the body,

But that is our main focus.

So you may want to have a blanket out on your mat,

Making it a little cozier,

And maybe some blocks.

A bolster is just optional.

If you have one,

You might want to use it.

Make sure you have some water handy.

Water is beneficial to keep hydrated and also to rehydrate the tissues after our practice.

And that will also help you have the most benefits from this practice.

So let's get started.

Today we're going to start in butterfly pose.

Legs are wide,

Feet together,

And start to hinge forward from your hips with a long spine,

Slowly coming to your edge.

And then you might decide if you want some props,

Maybe some blocks.

I like to use them as little arm rests.

Find what feels best to you.

And we'll be staying in the poses today for just about three to four minutes.

And as you come into the pose,

You might bring your hands together and support your head.

That can feel really nice to have the head supported.

And as you come into the pose,

Just begin to soften the shoulders,

Relax your legs and hips,

Softening and releasing into this pose.

Notice your breath and any sensations,

Maybe in the outer hips.

And you might decide after some time that you want to come deeper into the pose.

Just an option to find a new edge,

Maybe lowering the blocks.

Or if you're just on your hands,

You might just move them further forward.

Always listen to your body and listen to your breath.

And as you're holding the pose,

You might just invite a sense of softness into the whole body.

We'll be here for a little longer,

A little longer.

Keeping your legs soft,

Hips relaxed,

Watch your breath.

And then gently begin to deepen your breath.

Take a nice full inhale,

Soft sigh of an exhale,

Let it go.

Take a nice deep breath,

Exhale,

Let it go.

And then on your next inhale,

Gradually bring yourself back up to a seat.

You might close the knees like a book,

Maybe come off the blanket and widen your feet,

Dropping your knees over to one side for some windshield wipers.

And then bringing the knees up and over to the other side.

You might do another one on each side.

This usually feels pretty good after coming out of a Yin pose.

This is a counter pose that we often do.

And our next pose is going to be square.

So bringing your feet more under your knees and the front shin,

Whichever one you're going to start with,

Parallel to the front of your mat.

And try to get the spine long.

So as you're hinging forward,

You're hinging from the hips.

If you feel like you're rounding the spine,

You might benefit from sitting up on a blanket.

So we don't want that flexion.

Sitting up on a blanket can really help keep that length in your spine.

So find the position that feels best to you.

Bring those feet out towards the knees.

And then we're going to use our hands and come into zipper.

So weave your fingers,

Starting with the baby toe and your little finger,

Weave your fingers into your toes.

So the right foot has the left hand and the left foot has the right hand,

Weaving the fingers in.

It's a little easier on the first hand.

But once you get it,

Then you've got that nice action in the toes.

And we'll hold here for a few seconds.

And then we'll come into the zipper.

So we're going to get that nice action in the toes and we'll hold here for just the first part of the pose.

Lean forward slightly,

Maybe not all the way that you might want to come initially.

Just having the hands on the feet here,

Starting to get into the feet and sensation.

Notice your breath.

It's so important to pay attention to our feet.

And then release one hand and foot and then the other.

And then slowly bring yourself a little deeper.

Find your edge of sensation.

You might use blocks under your arms,

Or maybe a block to support your head,

With maybe your hands gently supporting the block.

Again,

Soften into your hips,

Soften into the shoulders.

Find your variation.

Square really gets into the outer hips.

You might be feeling it more in one hip than the other.

Just being aware of which leg is in front.

Usually we start with our more comfortable side.

Watching your breath and soften into this shape.

Begin to deepen your breath.

Take a nice full inhale,

Soft sigh of an exhale,

Let it go.

And then gradually press your way back up to a seat.

Pause.

Set aside any props.

Lean back on your hands.

Widen those feet,

Knees bent,

And maybe one windshield wiper on each side before we go to the other side of our square pose.

So because we just did one side,

The opposite side is really our counter pose.

Again,

Pushing your feet in the direction of your knees.

And then this time we're going to use our hands,

Fingers,

And thumbs to give our feet a little massage.

Hinge from your hips,

Nice long spine,

Coming forward slightly,

And give those feet some love.

Listen to your feet.

What do they want?

Use your thumbs to get into the soles of the feet,

The arches,

Maybe squeeze the toes.

Find what feels good to you.

Anything that would feel good on your feet.

Just give them some love,

A little self massage.

This can feel really great.

Your feet will thank you.

And then release your hands from your feet and walk your hands forward.

Find your edge of sensation on this side.

Position the blocks or other props that you're using where it makes sense to you.

You may not go as deep on this side.

And again,

You might support your head with your hands or whatever makes sense to you.

Breathe here.

Notice your breath.

Notice sensations.

If you would like to go deeper,

You might reposition the blocks or your hands.

Just an option to come a little deeper if that works for you.

Soften into this shape.

Nice full breaths.

Whenever you feel you need to release a little more,

Begin to deepen your breath.

Nice full inhale.

Maybe soft sigh of an exhale.

Let it go.

A couple breaths like that.

Nice full inhale.

Soft sigh of an exhale.

And then slowly when you feel ready,

Begin to press your way back up.

Notice how you feel.

Set your props aside.

Often when we come out of yin poses,

There's a temporary and momentary feeling of fragility and vulnerability.

Might straighten those legs out.

Point and flex through your feet.

Going to come up onto a blanket and straighten your legs out.

And just notice how that feels to hinge forward.

Our next pose is going to be caterpillar.

So there's a variety of options here.

If hamstrings are bothering you,

You might roll up your blanket.

You can either roll it thick and place that under your knees.

This can feel really nice under the legs and can make it easier to hinge from the hips.

So you can either have it under your knees or under your hips.

And then a bolster sometimes is nice to have over the legs.

You might use your blocks like little supports.

And then you might just have your hands or arms on the bolster.

Hinging from your hips,

Come forward with a long spine.

And again,

You might support your head with your hands or a prop as you come into caterpillar.

If you decide the blanket under your knees is too much,

You might open it up and roll it from the other end,

Making a thinner roll to put under the knees.

And then you might choose to come back onto the bolster or reposition your props that make sense to you.

Another option is to use the blocks,

Maybe one between the lower legs and another block on top of that block positioned at whatever angle makes sense to you.

And that blanket also can be a little armrest.

Maybe supporting your head on the block.

If that seems you've gone too far,

Then back off.

You might just be using your hands for support and just keep your neck long and neutral rather than supporting the head.

Listen to your body.

Listen to your breath.

Caterpillar is so beneficial for the spine as well as the legs.

Keep your legs soft and relaxed.

Hips are relaxed.

Upper back and shoulders can be relaxed if you're using props to help support you.

Stay present and aware.

Observe your breath.

Anytime you feel you would like to release,

You might use that open mouth sigh of an exhale and just let it go.

Take a nice full inhale,

Soft sigh of an exhale,

Let it go.

And then start to make your way back up.

Set aside your props.

Remove any blanket from under your knees.

Set it aside.

And then we're going to make our way down onto our mat for some supine twists.

So we'll be coming into twisted root.

You might also like a blanket under your head.

Sometimes that feels nice,

Evening out the blankets.

So come into constructive rest.

Knees are bent,

Feet about hip distance apart.

And then cross your right leg over the left,

Knees close together like you're sitting in a chair.

Press into your foot and shift your hips to the right.

And then let your knees just sort of flop to the left and gaze softly to your right.

If the legs feel like they need a little more support,

You might place a block under that top leg's knee.

Find what feels best to you.

Legs and feet are relaxed.

Spine is relaxed.

Shoulders are soft and relaxed.

Let the arms be soft and heavy.

Maybe palms up.

And notice your breath.

The shoulders and upper back pretty much stays on the mat here or the blanket.

The right shoulder might come up a little bit.

That's totally fine.

Just make sure you feel comfortable here.

Twisted root is great for the spine as well as the hips.

And then begin to deepen your breath.

Take a nice full inhale,

Soft sigh of an exhale.

Let it go.

And then on your next inhale,

Slowly bring your knees back.

Uncross that leg.

Press into your feet.

Lift your hips.

Realign your spine.

And then other side.

Cross your left leg over the right.

Knees close together.

Shift your hips to the left.

And let those knees flop over to the right.

Again,

Maybe using a block under the knees.

Make sure it feels comfortable.

Arms where they feel comfortable to you.

And maybe your gaze goes slightly to the left.

Upper back and shoulders stay mostly on the mat or blanket.

Shoulders and arms are soft.

Spine is relaxed.

Hips and legs are relaxed.

And let go.

Watch your breath.

Observe sensation.

Be present.

Notice your breath.

Relax as much as you can into this shape.

Begin to deepen your breath.

Take a nice inhale,

Soft sigh of an exhale.

And then bring those knees back up.

Uncrossing your legs.

And draw those knees in towards your chest.

Give yourself a little hug.

And then when you're ready,

Roll over to one side.

If you want to put on socks or anything else warm that you might want for Shavasana.

Prepare your space for your final resting pose.

And prepare for Shavasana.

Make sure you feel warm enough and comfortable.

Invite your body to relax.

Be heavy and soft.

Widen your legs a little bit.

Maybe the arms a little wider from your body.

Relax the feet and ankles.

Let your legs be heavy and soft.

Notice your hips and maybe any energy or sensation there.

Let your hips be heavy and soft.

Notice your spine.

Visualizing space between each vertebrae.

Relax your low back.

Relax your middle back.

And soften your upper back and shoulders.

Invite your arms to be heavy and soft.

Relax your hands and fingers.

And notice the palms of your hands.

And maybe any sensation or energy there.

Let your head be heavy.

And relax all the muscles in your face.

Especially around your eyes.

And let go.

Gently bring your awareness back to being on your mat.

Notice your body.

Notice your breath.

And observe your mind.

Whenever you're ready,

Begin to make small movements.

Maybe wiggle fingers or toes.

Rotate wrists or ankles.

Whatever would feel good.

And eventually,

Whenever you're ready,

Bend one knee and then the other.

And consider rolling over to your left side to balance out the yin and yang.

And when you're ready,

Slowly press your way back up to a comfortable seat.

And pause.

Notice how you feel.

Thank you for joining me today.

The light in me sees and honors the light in you.

Namaste.

Remember to drink that water.

I'll see you next time on the mat.

Have a beautiful rest of your day.

Thank you everyone.

Reviews

In love with your Yin yoga practices! Bless you for sharing! ✌️

Hello beautiful 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺Thank you so much for the wonderful yin yoga practice 🍒I’m feeling sweet and relaxed 🌈have a blessed day 🙏Namaste