Thanks for joining me today.
I'm Pamela.
You'll maybe want to have a couple blocks,
Just optional.
As well as maybe a soft surface like a blanket or a rug.
Or even just your yoga mat.
Come to a comfortable position.
And bring the soles of your feet together.
Make a diamond shape.
With your legs.
If you have blocks,
You might want them handy.
This is called butterfly pose in yin,
And you should feel the sensation of stretching your outer hips,
Not the knees.
Take an inhale,
Find some length through your spine.
And as you exhale,
Slowly start to hinge from your hip crease.
Maybe staying on your hands.
Or using your props.
Like little arm rests.
Maybe on the medium or tall setting.
So you can relax a little bit easier into the upper back and shoulders.
You might just stay here.
Or maybe come onto your elbows on the block.
Making a little support with your hands to rest your head.
Find what feels good to you.
At any time,
Feel free to adjust the position of your props if you would like to go a little bit deeper.
So in yin practices,
We want to relax and soften into the pose.
And yet coming to your edge of sensation,
So you're feeling a stretch.
Probably in your outer hips,
Maybe one more than the other.
Find your position.
Take an inhale,
Lengthen through your spine.
And as you exhale,
Soften into this shape.
Some of you might want to just stay on your hands.
Or some of you might want to use.
One or two blocks.
To rest your head on.
Notice your brow.
If you would like to go a little deeper,
Just an option.
Maybe lower.
Your upper body,
Like you're sinking into gravity.
Rather than trying to.
Go deeper.
It's almost like you're releasing resistance.
So you're just allowing your body to be a little heavier.
Maybe going deeper,
Maybe not.
And soften a little bit more.
Take a nice full inhale through your nose.
And exhale,
Sigh it out your mouth,
Let it go.
Slowly on your next inhale,
Press your way back upright.
Set your blocks aside if you are using them.
Maybe take your hands on your outer knees,
Bring the knees back up.
You can lean back on your hands,
Widen the feet,
And do a few.
Windshield wipers for a little counter pose.
Sometimes that can feel really nice.
And then we're going to come into another one for the hips.
And I'll offer a few variations for this one.
The first option is coming into square.
Where your front shin is just about parallel with your mat or blanket.
And you're making sort of a triangle shape with your legs.
Feet are out towards the opposite knees.
Rather than close to your hips like in a cross-legged position.
And whichever leg in front works for you.
So this is option one.
Or shoelace.
Shoelace sometimes gets a little bit deeper.
But sometimes can make the knees a little cranky.
With that front leg just taking it across,
Sort of like Gomukasana or Cow Face Legs.
This can be quite sensational.
May not have to come very far forward to feel this.
So I'm gonna stay in shoelace.
Notice which leg is on top or in front.
Take an inhale,
Lengthen through your spine.
Exhale,
Slowly start to walk your hands forward.
Relax your feet and ankles.
Soften into this shape.
Again,
Option for using those blocks like armrests.
Or even as a support for your head.
Find what works for you.
The sensation of stretch will probably be.
In the outer hip of the front or top leg,
Maybe both.
Not your knee.
Maybe close your eyes or find a soft gaze down in front of you.
And once again,
Tune into your breath.
Invite your exhale to be a little longer.
So your inhale might be four or five seconds.
Exhale might be six,
Seven seconds,
Maybe even longer.
Find what feels best to you.
Allow your legs and hips to be heavy.
Invite your lower body to soften and release.
Soften your upper body into your shoulders and upper back.
Just enough action.
In the arms.
To support yourself.
But inviting some softness.
And at any time,
Feel free to sigh out your exhale.
Those soft sighs are an invitation for your body to let go of stress,
Tension,
Tightness.
You can also add a little bit of head or neck movement if that feels good.
Listen to your body.
You Begin to gently deepen your brow.
Take a nice inhale through your nose and exhale,
Sigh it out your mouth.
Let it go.
Slowly make your way back.
Set your blocks aside.
Maybe lean back on your hands and slowly straighten one leg and then the other.
You might point and flex through your feet.
Or windshield wipers again if you prefer.
And when you're ready.
Other side.
So again,
Either square.
Making that triangle.
Front chin fairly parallel to the mat or blanket.
Feet going towards the opposite knees.
And then you would just hinge forward like before.
Or shoelace.
So I'm going to do shoelace on this side as well.
And if the bottom knee feels like it needs some support,
You could always put a block or a blanket under it.
If the top knee is complaining a little bit,
Sometimes a little support.
From a blog can be helpful there as well.
Find your variation,
Maybe have those blocks handy.
Inhale to lengthen through your spine.
Exhale to start coming forward.
And it's okay if the knees aren't right over each other.
You can have one knee up,
One side can feel quite different.
So just find what works to you.
Make sure your knees are okay.
Relax your feet and ankles.
Soften into your legs,
Soften into your hips.
Lengthen through your spine and exhale,
Soften into the shape.
Injuring from your hip crease.
Either staying on your hands or using those blocks.
After a minute or so you might find you can go a little deeper or you might just stay in the same position.
Notice your breath.
Any movement into the head and neck.
Find what your body needs here.
Each exhale an invitation to soften.
And let go.
Feeling that sensation in your outer hips,
One probably more than the other.
Letting the muscles sort of release their hold of the bone.
Inviting the bones to sink towards the earth.
Begin to gently deepen your breath.
Take a nice inhale through your nose,
Exhale,
Sigh it out your mouth.
Let it go.
Slowly press your weight back up.
Set aside your props.
Straighten one leg and then the other.
Maybe point and flex through your feet.
And then we're going to come into one more pose.
It's called caterpillar.
And it's sort of like the opposite of what we were doing with our legs and it can feel really nice,
Sort of like a counter pose too.
Sitting with your legs out in front of you.
Bring up lock and place it between your lower legs.
It can be on the medium setting.
Or the tall setting.
Now,
If your hamstrings are really tight,
You might want to roll a blanket.
And place it under your knees so that you can get into the upper back and soften there.
If you really want to just focus on your hamstrings,
Maybe you just leave the legs as they are.
A little bend is totally fine.
So positioning the blocks.
Maybe one on top of the other.
In whatever position works for you.
Take an inhale,
Lengthen through your spine.
And exhale,
Slowly walk your hands towards the direction of your feet.
You can stay here.
Or maybe position the blocks.
One hand might be useful to angle the block.
And rest your head on that block.
Maybe both hands support the ball.
With the head supported,
I find it easier to soften into the upper back and shoulders.
And again,
Focus on your breath.
You can rest your arms on your legs or whatever makes sense to you.
You can also just have the hands on either side of your legs.
You Relax your feet and ankles.
Soften into your breath.
And breathe into your upper back,
Feeling and inviting an expansion in your upper back and shoulders.
And then just invite a softening as you exhale.
You you Stay present with your breath.
Begin to gently deepen your breath.
Take a nice inhale through your nose.
Exhale,
Sigh it out.
Let it go.
Set your props aside.
Maybe some windshield wipers.
Feet wide,
Dropping the knees over to one side and then the other.
And then come into any comfortable position.
Notice how you feel.
Drink some water.
Wishing you a deep,
Restful night's sleep.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
