Welcome.
Thank you for joining me for this gentle yoga and myofascial week.
You'll want to have two blocks,
One therapy ball,
Like a tennis ball,
And two blankets.
So we're going to start in a seat.
You might sit on one blanket.
So that your hips are up a little higher.
Sometimes that can feel a little better in the spine.
Any comfortable position.
So you don't have to have yourself cross-legged.
You can have the legs in whatever position feels good to you.
So find a position where you can invite a nice tall spine.
Lengthen through your spine and soften your shoulders.
Hands where they're comfortable to you.
And you might gently close your eyes or softly lower your gaze.
And allow your hips and legs to be heavy.
Sinking into the support beneath you.
Lengthen through your spine all the way to the top of your head.
You So a slight lowering of your chin so you're lengthening the back of your neck.
Like the top back of your head.
Is reaching towards the sky.
Soften your lower belly and allow your inhale.
To expand the lower belly slightly.
If you would like,
You could place a hand on your lower belly.
Breathe in and out through your nose.
If you would like,
You can invite a soft Ujjayi.
The ocean breath.
Making your breath audible to you.
So breathe in through your nose.
Notice how long your inhale is.
And as you exhale,
Extend your exhale about two counts longer.
Notice how your body feels.
And if there's any tension and tightness in certain areas.
Notice.
How that feels.
Without labels.
Notice the sensation.
Just feel the sensation.
Whether it's tightness,
Tension,
Or even discomfort.
See if you can just be the observer.
And then notice if there's any sense of energy flow.
Or maybe the lack of energy flowing through your body.
Maybe notice that subtle change.
Like vibration or pulsing.
With your eyes closed and without moving your body.
Just that sense that you have a body.
Take another nice full inhale through your nose.
And exhale through your mouth like a soft sigh,
Let it go.
Gently open your eyes.
And for our first movement here,
We're going to get into the side body and neck a little bit.
And then we'll get into a little bit more into the spine.
So if you need to switch out your legs a little bit,
Please feel free to do so.
So hands wherever they're comfortable,
Maybe palms down on your legs.
Sit up nice and tall.
And as you inhale,
Take your side ribs.
Towards the side.
And let your head go towards the opposite shoulder.
And then exhale,
Return to center.
Inhale other side.
Exhale,
Return to center.
So do about three times on each side.
Move slowly with your breath.
So the full inhale,
Getting that stretch,
You should feel it.
On the side of your neck,
Your side body,
Near your ribs.
Exhale back to center.
Do one more on this side.
And then return.
And pause.
Notice sensation.
So now let's do three rounds of a seated cat cow.
If you want to come out of your seat and just come into table and do a traditional cat cow,
That's totally fine.
Remember,
This is your practice.
Inhale,
Draw your heart forward into cow,
Arching the spine.
Exhale,
Draw your navel to spine.
Rounding the spine for cat.
Inhale draw the heart forward for cow Exhale,
Navel to spine for cat.
Do one more.
Inhale Cow.
Exhale Cat.
So come back to a seat.
We've been sitting here a little bit.
Let's get into the neck first.
You're going to take one of your blankets.
And open it up on your mat so that if there's fringe,
It's at one end of your mat.
And then take the other folded edge.
And start to roll it nice and tightly.
About halfway.
So as you're rolling it,
Smooth out any of the wrinkles.
Smoothing out the wrinkles will make it much more comfortable.
So you're going to roll it about halfway.
And move the end of the blanket towards the end of your mat.
So you have about a foot.
Of unrolled blanket.
That's where your head is going to be.
Neck is going to be on the rolled blanket.
So come into constructive rest with your neck on the blanket.
Get any hair or fabric out of the way.
Keep your knees bent initially.
And make sure that your neck is comfortable on the blanket.
You should feel pressure.
But not anything sharp.
So with your head heavy,
It may or may not touch the unrolled part of the blanket.
If you have a shorter neck,
You might need to unroll the blanket a little bit.
If your neck is longer,
You might need to roll the blanket a little thicker.
So once you get in position,
Make sure your shoulders are not on the blanket.
If they are,
You need to unroll the blanket,
Maybe roll it a little tighter.
If your blanket is too soft and squishy,
You might benefit from using a towel like a bath towel.
Instead of if any soft fleece blankets don't work.
Once you're in position,
Neck feels like it's got pressure,
But it's not.
Fairly comfortable.
Relax your arms,
Straighten one leg and then the other.
As you do so,
You might begin to feel a stretch in your neck.
The head might come up a little bit off the blanket.
Just relax.
Relax your feet and legs.
Let your hips be heavy.
Relax your back.
And soften into your shoulders,
Letting them drip towards the mat.
Soften your arms.
Maybe palms up.
You can have your arms wherever they're comfortable for you.
Probably just slightly away from your body so that you can soften into the shoulders.
And as we lay here,
Breathe in through your nose.
And a soft sigh out your mouth.
So that you relax the jaw.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale softly,
Let the jaw relax.
So just soft sides.
Close your mouth to inhale through your nose.
Exhale,
Release the jaw.
And then after a few of those,
If you prefer to just breathe in and out through your nose,
You can go back to that breath.
And maybe an occasional sighing out the exhale when you feel you'd like a little more release.
Or to encourage.
Body to relax a little bit deeper.
Notice where you're holding the most tension.
And on your next few exhales.
See if you could breathe into those areas.
And encourage those areas to soften.
Our body has a tendency to.
.
.
Hold into familiar holding patterns of tension.
So send a little more love.
Light and energy into those areas.
Encouraging those areas to release.
It's okay to let go.
Pad is heavy.
Relax.
See if you can invite a little more.
Soften.
Like your body's getting heavier.
Like you're surrendering into gravity.
No need to hold on to anything.
Just let go.
So a variation option,
You can always just stay right here.
Or Take an inhale.
And as you exhale,
Ever so slightly turn your head to your right.
So you're getting a little more pressure to the right side of your cervical spine.
Breathe here.
Couple breaths.
Slowly on your next inhale,
Bring your head back to neutral.
And then exhale a slight turn of the head to the left.
Getting a little more pressure on the left side of your cervical spine.
Let the head be heavy.
On an inhale,
Slowly bring your head back to center if you were doing that variation.
Take a few more breaths here.
And then thoughtfully bend one knee and then the other.
Bring your arms in a little closer to your body.
You might shift your hips slightly and then roll over.
Keeping your head on the blanket initially.
And then use your hands and arms to press yourself slowly back up to a seat.
And paw.
Notice sensations.
So with that rolled blanket,
You can sort of roll it the rest of the way and sort of out of the way for the time being.
Notice what you're feeling.
At any time during this practice,
If you feel thirsty,
Drink some water.
If you feel you've had a big release,
Good time to drink some water as well.
And then come to a seat.
We're going to move into a twist that affects the whole spine,
Including the neck.
So if you can sit in some semblance of a cross-legged position.
If you prefer,
You can sit your hips on the edge of a blanket.
Take an inhale,
Lengthen through your spine.
And as you exhale,
Twist to your left or right.
I'm going to twist to my left.
So twisting to.
.
.
Like say you're twisting to your left.
And then turn your head.
To your right and look slightly down towards that front shoulder.
You might have one hand behind you and the other hand on the opposite knee.
So lengthen through your spine as you inhale.
Exhale.
It's like you're wringing out your whole spine.
The neck is looking in the opposite direction that your torso is twisting.
So make sure you don't go too far,
Because we're going to hold here for about five minutes.
If you've found you've gone too far.
Just unwind a little bit.
Use the hand behind you for support,
Maybe on fingertips or the palm of your hand.
And he also likes them.
Exhale,
Twist.
So think of elongating through your spine.
And your gaze is slightly down.
Chin to chest,
But just looking down in the direction Maybe one knee or in the direction of your front shoulder.
What you might be looking for.
Maybe a few feet away from your knee on the floor.
Lengthening through your spine.
And then see if you can sort of soften into this twist.
You can have that front arm.
With the hand on the knee.
You can have it straight or bent,
Whatever feels most supportive and comfortable to you.
So we never want to force our way into any twists.
We really don't want to force our way into any pose.
Observe your breath.
Notice what you're feeling.
Again,
You should feel movement.
Some tightness or pressure or tension.
Maybe some tension,
But nothing like a sharp sensation.
Spine is nice and tall.
So you're not collapsing.
Or rounding the spine.
See if you can soften.
That shoulder,
That front shoulder that your gaze is in the direction of.
Notice any thoughts that arise,
Just observe them.
Notice if any resistance arises.
Sometimes it can be challenging to hold poses for an extended period of time.
It's a great opportunity to.
.
.
Be present and observe the mind.
Just noticing our tendencies.
Resistance.
To what we don't prefer.
And then go,
Oh,
There was a thought of resistance.
Just notice it and let it go.
Or just like,
Oh,
That was an interesting thought I just had.
And instead of following it with other thoughts of similar Just let it go.
So we've got just about another minute.
If you felt a release,
Maybe.
You just turn your head slightly more.
That's just an option.
And keep your gaze soft.
Cha-la-la Take a few more breaths here.
On your next inhale.
Slowly release.
Ugh.
Notice how you feel.
You might feel a little lopsided.
So if you need any movement before we come to the second side,
Feel free to find that.
You can switch your legs or just keep them the same.
It really doesn't matter.
And then we'll come to the other side.
Take a nice inhale.
Lengthen through your spine.
Exhale,
Twist in the other direction.
So twisting in the other direction.
You might let your head sort of go a little bit in that direction.
And then.
Head turns in the opposite direction,
Looking towards your front shoulder.
And slightly down.
Lengthen through your spine,
Nice and tall.
Find that position for your twist.
Keeping the spine long.
Just see if you can soften that front shoulder slightly.
Maybe the arm was straight and you just.
Relax a little bit.
Keeping the hand on the knee for a few seconds.
Just ease of holding the position.
Gaze again is slightly down.
And notice if one side feels quite different than the other.
Again,
Stay present.
And aware.
Notice what you're feeling in your body.
Be aware of your breath.
Keeping your breath smooth and easy,
Just breathing in and out through your nose.
And observing your mind.
And any thoughts that might enter.
Maybe notice when your mind becomes still.
That space between thoughts.
Twists are also great for noticing that pause.
At the bottom of your exhale.
And during that pause at the bottom of your exhale,
Notice the stillness in your mind.
Or the potential for stone.
Again maybe you've noticed a little release and your head might turn a little bit more.
Micro movements.
Only if it feels like you felt a release and that you it makes sense to go a little further.
About another minute.
Make sure you're still sitting nice and tall,
But softening that front shoulder.
Slowly on your next inhale,
Unwind.
Exhale,
Relax.
Notice how you feel.
So you can either stay seated.
Or if you want to come on to hands and knees and do a few rounds of cat cow.
Just sort of winding down.
Neutral position for that spine.
Cat cows can feel really nice after that.
Arching with you,
Inhale into cow.
Rounding into cats.
And I like doing it seated sometimes because I can have my hands on my knees.
And for cat,
I can sort of rock back a little bit and get a really nice stretch into the upper back and shoulders.
If you've never tried that before.
Give it a go and see what you like.
See if you enjoy that too.
And then make your way out of whatever position you were in.
And we're going to get into the upper back and also the chest.
So we're not using a roller today,
But we have blankets that we can roll.
So what we're going to do.
.
.
If you still have that rolled blanket.
You're going to roll it nice and tightly all the way.
So it's pretty firm and then turn it long ways.
We're going to sit in front of the blanket.
And our spine and head will be on the blanket.
And we'll just allow our.
.
.
Shoulders to drip towards the earth.
So sitting right in front of the end of your rolled blanket,
Lower yourself down.
Make sure your head is on the blanket.
If it's not,
Scoot your hips down a little bit more.
And make sure your low back feels okay here.
You might need to scoot your hips further down away from the end of the blanket.
Keep your knees bent initially.
Lift your arms up to the sky.
So feel your shoulder blades sort of move.
Up and away from that blanket.
And then slowly drop your shoulder blades down.
And open your arms out into maybe a T-shape or whatever position feels good to you.
And then once you're here,
You can either keep your knees bent.
Or slowly straighten one leg and then the other.
So this is a great gentle heart opener.
So just relax here.
Soften and release with each exhale.
Imagine you're surrendering into gravity.
And let go.
Another option here is to come into a supine butterfly.
So.
.
.
If you want to get into those hips a little bit,
You can bend the knees and bring your feet to touch and then just open the knees out wide.
Find your variation.
Arms wherever they're comfortable to you.
You might explore,
Like sort of do like that movement of making a snow angel.
And then stop when your arms feel like they're getting a good stretch too.
Soften into your shoulders and arms.
Relax and release into gravity.
Stay present with your breath.
Each exhale an invitation to soften and release a little bit more.
You shoulders dripping towards the earth like melted butter.
Take a nice inhale through your nose and exhale,
Sigh it out,
Let it go.
Thoughtfully bring your arms in a little closer to your body.
If you're in supine butterfly,
Bring those knees back up.
And then whatever white makes sense to you,
You might sort of roll off the blanket to one side.
Back to a seat.
Set your old blanket aside.
Notice sensations.
So have a tennis ball handy.
And then come down onto your back.
We're going to lay just flat on our back for a few moments.
And just sort of.
.
.
Notice what you're feeling from that last pose with your legs straight Flat on your back and just pause.
Notice sensation.
Notice how your shoulders feel.
Do you feel any difference?
And then from the laying down position,
We're going to get into our hips.
We're going to put the tennis ball under the right glute.
So just sort of shift to one side to place the tennis ball under the right glute.
And then straighten your right leg.
Bend your left knee.
Push into that left foot so your left hip is lifted up off of the mat.
So make sure the ball is in a position,
Might move a little bit or adjust the ball slightly.
So it feels like the ball is sort of on the.
.
.
Back corner of the glutes.
On soft tissue,
You shouldn't feel like your sits bone.
Pressing against the wall.
And then we're going to hold.
You can move a little bit more.
Towards the right with your left knee coming across your right leg.
To sort of increase the pressure.
Or you could sort of back off a little bit to decrease the pressure.
So find where it feels good to you.
If it's too much,
Lower your left hip to the mat.
And you can just stay there.
If you want to have a little more.
Take that left knee across.
So once you're in that position,
If you would like,
You can relax your arms.
You could gaze slightly in that direction.
Like towards the right if that's the side you're working on.
Or you can just have a neutral nap.
Find what feels best and most comfortable to you.
And let your hips and legs be heavy.
If it's too much to hold this position with the knee left knee bent and the hip raised.
Another option that's handy.
To take your blanket.
And sort of put it under that hip.
So that you can rest your hip on that blanket.
But it's a little higher than your other one.
I'm going to do that.
It's more comfortable.
Relax your glutes.
Relax that right leg.
If you can,
Relax both legs.
Just keeping that left knee bent.
I find that blanket under the hip really helpful.
Highly recommended.
Imagine your glute melting over that tennis ball.
Inviting your body to relax and release a little bit deeper with each exhale.
Notice if your glute feels like it's going numb.
Got about another minute left.
If you need to,
You can sort of back off of those.
Pressure.
Letting your left knee go more up instead of over the thigh if you need to.
If your head is turned to one direction,
Slowly bring your head and neck back to neutral.
And then sort of rock off of that ball.
Remove it.
Move any blanket out of the way that your other hip was on.
Straighten both legs out.
Just hold the ball or set it aside.
And notice the difference between your right and left.
The side you've done,
The side you've not done yet.
Might feel uneven.
And then we'll do the other side.
So laying on your back.
Rock over so you can place that tennis ball under your other glute.
Bend your opposite knee,
Lifting that hip up,
Maybe positioning that blanket strategically there so you have some support.
So same thing on this side,
Relax as best you can.
If you want more pressure,
Take that opposite knee across.
You might turn your head slightly in that same direction.
Just letting the neck and head be relaxed.
Keep her back and shoulders relaxed.
Hips heavy and soft.
Finding your variation.
One side you might want more intensity than the other.
You might need more.
Your folded blanket under that hip.
Or just taking that knee across more.
Or less.
Let your body be heavy and soft.
Inviting those glutes to melt over the ball.
So staying present.
Observe sensation.
And notice if any resistance in the mind arises.
And we can have discomfort.
But suffering usually results.
From resistance.
So if you notice resistance arise.
Again,
Just.
.
.
Recognize it.
And then let it go.
So if your head is turned one direction,
Slowly bring that head back to center.
Pause.
And then rock off the ball.
Come off of any blanket,
Push that aside.
Straighten both legs out.
Set the ball aside and pause.
Notice sensation.
Notice sensation in your hips.
Notice if your hips feel lower.
Or more connected to the mat.
Noticing the energy flow.
Thoughtfully bend one knee and then the other.
Draw your knees in towards each shoulder.
Getting a stretch into the low back.
Or you can come into a happy baby pose,
Whichever you prefer.
And then thoughtfully release.
Roll over to one side and slowly press your way back up to a seat.
And pause.
Drink some water.
We're going to do one more pose for the cow.
With our rolled blanket.
So taking your blanket,
And just like we did at the beginning,
We're going to roll it halfway.
So nice and tightly roll that blanket.
Smoothing it out as you go,
Rolling it halfway.
You'll want your blocks handy.
And then coming to a kneeling position.
We're going to place the rolled blanket at the crease of our knee.
You might need.
To have one hand down and one hand on the blanket.
To sort of push the blanket there.
And then sit your hips down.
So that your hips are going towards your heels and you're compressing the blanket with your hamstrings and calves.
Some of you might be able to sit upright like this and it might be totally fine to hold for five minutes.
Some of you might need hands on the mat or blocks.
So you're up a little bit higher.
If you would like,
You can come down onto forearms on blocks.
You might be here to start.
And then when you feel a little bit of a release,
See if you can bring yourself up a little bit higher.
So you might inch your way up.
Using the blocks under your hands,
Moving the blocks a little closer to your knees or towards the blanket on either side of your legs.
Let your hips be heavy.
Do your best to relax the calves.
This is one of my favorite poses to release the calves because we also get into the hamstrings a little bit.
We didn't do an assessment pose of downward dog earlier.
We're going to come into down dog after this pose though.
And just sort of.
.
.
Have an idea of how your down dog usually feels,
And then notice how it feels after you come out of this pose.
So if you're.
.
.
Elbows or forearms are on the block.
You might even support your head with your hands if you're not able to come up.
Deeper.
Or if you can come up a little more,
Maybe the blocks move a little more.
Bit closer.
Towards the direction of your feet.
Still maybe a little weight on there.
Locks,
Or maybe your weight.
Is completely on the blanket and you can just relax your hands on your thighs.
Some people find that very comfortable.
My calves are super tight,
So I like to use the blocks usually when we're holding it for extended periods of time.
Find what feels good to you.
And notice your breath.
Sometimes this can feel uncomfortable in ankles.
You could also roll a towel.
Or a blanket just very thinly and place it.
Under the ankle.
Sometimes that feels a little bit better.
Bringing your torso up a little bit more.
If you haven't already,
See if you can get a little more pressure.
Onto that blanket.
A little more compression.
Onto those calves.
Soften the calves.
Notice your breath.
You might close your eyes.
And just tune in to sensations in your body.
Maybe bringing yourself up a little more if you felt like there's been a little release.
Less than a minute to go.
Maybe take a few inhales through your nose and exhale,
Sigh it out your mouth.
Let it go.
Two more.
And then thoughtfully press your hands into the blocks or your mat.
Lift those hips up.
Remove the blankets.
Table pose.
Move your hands slightly forward on your mat.
Tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back for downward facing dog.
Notice how this down dog feels.
You might bend one knee and then the other.
Lifting your hips up and back.
You might bend your knees a little or a lot.
Dropping your heels towards the floor.
Matt,
Notice your cat.
Notice your upper back and shoulders.
And then thoughtfully lower your knee.
If you feel you need any other pose before Shavasana,
Feel free to find that.
Maybe drink some water first,
And then make your way into your final resting pose,
Shavasana.
Maybe legs a little wider,
Maybe arms a little wider.
Maybe place one of your blankets over your hips.
Maybe a blanket under your head if you prefer as well.
Invite your whole body to be heavy and soft.
Feet relax.
Legs roll out.
Hips heavy and soft.
Relax your whole back.
And visualize space between all your vertebrae.
Soften your shoulders and arms.
Allow your head to be heavy.
Soften 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.
When you feel ready.
Begin to make small movements,
Wiggling your fingers,
Your toes.
Whatever would delight you.
And eventually bend one knee and then the other,
Maybe giving yourself a little hug.
And then roll over to whatever side feels best to you today and support your head with your bottom arm or a blanket.
And pause there.
And then use your hands and arms and press your way back up to a comfortable seat.
Maybe keeping your eyes closed.
And with appreciation for your awareness and your focus.
Bring your hands together at your heart in Anjali Mudra.
The light in me sees and honors the light in each of you.
Namaste.
Thank you so much for joining me today for this gentle yoga and myofascial release.
Hope you enjoyed that practice.
Drink some water.
And let me know how you feel.
