MBSR Floor Yoga

This is the floor yoga guidance for the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program.

Transcript

Welcome to the floor yoga practice for the mindfulness based stress reduction program.

Taking this time to explore mindful movement is an important investment in your health and well-being as it strengthens the mind-body connection.

So finding a place in time where you'll be comfortable and not distracted,

Following along with the instructions on the recording.

Most importantly is to have self-care,

Listening to the body and not going beyond your limits.

If there are any movements or postures which are really not right for your body at this time,

Then feeling free to modify the movement or posture as appropriate or even just following along in the mind's eye.

Doing the movements just in imagination has proven benefits as well.

So setting the intention as we go through the movements and postures to stay present,

Aware of what's arising in the body and in the mind.

There's no goal in this practice,

Not even a goal of relaxation.

Simply setting the intention to be aware,

Open and allowing experience to unfold and being interested and curious.

What really are the sensations,

Feelings and thoughts that arise as we go through the mindful movement?

So coming to a position on your back on the floor,

Lying with the arms at the sides and if it's comfortable for you,

Having the palms facing up.

It may help to tuck the shoulder blades under you a little bit.

The legs are relaxed,

Feet falling away from each other.

Aware of the whole body supported by the floor,

Noticing the front,

Back of the body and the sides.

Sensing the weight of the body,

The force of gravity and sensing the support of the floor,

Allowing the body to release into that support.

Then bringing the attention to the sensations of breathing.

Noticing perhaps the rise and fall of the abdomen or chest or perhaps the sensations of the air entering and exiting the nostrils.

Aware of the body resting,

Breathing and being supported.

Noticing,

Too,

Any thoughts or emotions,

The range of bodily sensations.

Just allowing it all to be.

Not attempting to have any specific or particular experience.

And when you're ready,

On and in breath,

Raising the arms slowly towards the ceiling and allowing them to continue as far as they will comfortably go,

Perhaps stretching above the head along the floor behind you.

So feeling the full length of the body,

Breathing and allowing the body to stretch,

Gently inclining the arms towards the wall behind you,

The feet towards the wall in front of you.

And when you're ready,

Bringing the arms up,

Slowly remaining present of the sensations of the arms throughout the movement and allowing them to come down on either side of the body,

Returning to the original corpse pose.

So now preparing for the pelvic rocking movement,

Bending the knees and bringing the feet up towards the buttocks,

Flat against the floor.

The arms can be brought out at 90 degrees from the body.

And on an exhale,

When you're ready,

Pressing the lower back into the floor and rocking the tailbone up off the floor.

And on an inhale,

Rocking in the other direction,

Pressing the tailbone into the floor and allowing the lower back to come up arching off the floor.

And at your own pace,

Rocking back and forth between these two positions,

Noticing the gentle tug of movement throughout the body,

Not holding any muscles in opposition to the movement and allowing the tilt of the pelvis to move the body as it will.

Feeling range of motion,

Aware of sensations as they are now.

And when you're ready,

Coming to stillness with the pelvis in a neutral position.

And on an exhalation,

Bringing the knees up towards the chest as far as is comfortable for you,

Wrapping the arms around the lower legs or perhaps behind the upper thighs.

And then if you like,

Rocking the body from side to side,

Back to front,

Or even in circles,

Creating a gentle massage to the lower and middle back.

And another option with this posture,

Coming to stillness,

We're going to,

If you are comfortable with it,

Bringing the head towards the knees.

So very gently rocking the head forward,

The chin towards the chest,

Almost peeling the head up from the floor,

Not lifting it all in one go,

Curling towards the knees and going as far towards the knees as is comfortable for you.

And today,

If that's just leaving the head flat on the floor,

Then that's perfectly fine.

And if the head is raised,

Noticing if the breath is being held and if so,

Allowing the breath to flow,

Holding only as long as is appropriate for your body at this time.

So when you're ready,

Allowing the head to slowly rock back to the floor,

Releasing the legs,

Straightening the legs out,

Being mindful of the movement of the legs,

And returning to corpse posture.

And now noticing sensations throughout the body,

This movement,

Some of the muscles have come into play,

Blood flow is more active.

Perhaps there were thoughts in the mind about that movement,

Something we could have done or should have done,

Didn't like,

Did like,

Just noticing what's here.

And now bending the right knee,

Bringing the right knee up to the chest,

Bringing the arms around to hug the knee once again at the lower leg or behind the thigh.

And exploring the range of movement in the knee and the hip.

So rotating the knee in small circles or larger circles,

Exploring the range of motion,

Staying well within your limits,

Especially aware of any issues or problems you have with hip joint and rotating in the other direction.

And then coming to stillness.

Once again an option with this posture is to curl the head forward towards the knee,

Gently,

Only as far as right for your body at this time.

And when you're ready,

Allowing the head to curl back down onto the floor,

Releasing the leg straightening out,

Allowing the arms to return to the sides.

With sensations in the body as they are.

Now bending the left knee,

Bringing the knee towards the chest and hugging the leg.

Exploring range of motion in the left leg,

Circling the knee in one direction and the other.

And if you like,

Curling the head towards the knee.

Letting the breath to flow.

And when you're ready,

Returning the head to the floor and straightening the leg,

Aware of movement,

Slowly coming to corpse pose.

Aware of the sensation of muscles that have been contracted and are now relaxed.

Exploring the range of sensations throughout the body.

We will be transitioning to a position on all fours for the next posture.

So being aware of all movements of the body,

Coming onto one side,

Pushing against the floor to come to a seated position.

And then turning over onto all fours on knees and hands.

The hands below the shoulders and knees below the hips.

The back is flat in this table pose.

If you have any problems with your wrists,

It may be more comfortable to be supported on your fists.

If not,

Extending the fingers,

Providing a broad support for the body.

And we'll next be doing the cat and cow postures,

Alternating between them.

And like the pelvic rocking that we were just doing before,

We'll rotate rocking back and forth in synchronization with the breath.

So when you're ready,

On and out breath,

Bringing the middle of the back up,

Arched like a frightened cat,

Allowing the head and tailbone to point towards the floor.

And on an in-breath,

Allowing the back to sag,

Bringing the head up and tailbone up.

And then rocking back and forth between these two positions in your time on an in-breath and out-breath.

And when you're ready,

Coming to stillness with the back flat and the pelvis in a neutral position.

The next posture is a balance pose.

So you may want to have the eyes opened,

Selecting an area on the floor or on the wall in front of you to anchor your focus.

So stretching out the left leg behind you,

As straight as is comfortable for you at this time.

And supporting the body with the two hands and the right knee.

And if you like,

Raising the right hand off the floor and stretching the arm out straight in front of you.

If that's not possible or comfortable,

Then remaining with just the left leg in the air.

And feeling this gentle stretch diagonally between the right hand and the left foot,

Allowing the body to elongate along this plane.

Bringing the breath to flow freely.

Only holding the posture as long as is appropriate for you.

And if you haven't already,

Slowly bringing the hand and knee back down.

Returning to table position.

And now stretching out the right leg.

And once again,

Raising the left hand off the floor as well,

If that's appropriate for you.

Stretching the left arm out,

The right leg.

Allowing the body to elongate.

Noticing the muscles that come into play in balancing the body.

Noticing how dynamic the activity of balancing is.

And seeing perhaps if there is muscles in the face or shoulders that aren't necessarily involved in supporting the body.

Allowing those to release to the extent possible.

Bringing the posture only as long as is appropriate for you.

And when you're ready,

Bringing the hand and knee down.

Returning to table posture.

And if you like,

We can take a quick rest here.

Bringing the hips and buttocks back towards the knees.

Bending forward,

Allowing the body to drape over the thighs in child's pose.

The arms can either be out in front of you on the floor or resting on either side of the body with the hands towards the hips.

Another option is to fold the hands one on top of the other in front of you,

Resting the forehead on the backs of your hands.

And just breathing,

Feeling the body supported in this posture.

And when you're ready,

Coming once again to corpse pose,

Lying on your back.

Aware of movements of the body as you transition from one pose to the other.

And now bending the knees,

Once again bringing the feet to the floor towards the buttocks.

And we'll be doing the bridge pose.

So it may be helpful to bring the heels as close to the buttocks as is comfortable.

And then pressing the feet against the floor using the hips and thighs to raise the hips up off the floor.

The body is supported by the feet and is resting on the shoulders.

Raising the hips as far as is comfortable for you.

And another option can raise the arms up off the floor,

Stretching them up above the head resting on the floor behind you.

Feeling the openness of the chest in this position,

Allowing the breath to flow deeply.

Using any muscles not involved in the support of the body to release.

Breathing and aware of sensations.

And then if the arms are above the head,

Raising them,

Bringing them down to the sides.

And then rounding the back,

Pressing the vertebrae into the floor from the upper vertebrae down to the middle back,

Finally bringing the hips down.

Resting and breathing.

And then when you're ready,

Moving into this position again,

Raising the hips off the floor as high as is appropriate.

And if you like,

Raising the arms off the floor,

Resting above the head on the floor behind you.

Feeling deeply aware of the body in this position.

And now returning the arms to the sides of the body on the floor,

Rounding the back and pressing into the floor coming down vertebrae by vertebrae until the hips reach the floor.

And with the feet still on the floor,

You may want to bring them closer together for the twist posture.

The arms can be behind the neck,

Folded as if you're gazing up at the stars or out in a 90 degree angle from the body.

And allowing the knees to fall to the right with the feet in contact with the floor,

Aware of the movement through the range.

Going as far as is comfortable.

And if possible,

Allowing the knees,

The thighs to be supported by the floor on the right side.

And then turning the head gently to the left.

Resting in this gentle twist.

And when ready,

Bringing the knees up off the floor,

Turning the head to face forward.

And then allowing the knees to settle on the left side,

Turning the head to the right.

And maintaining awareness through the movement,

Bringing the knees back up and turning the head to face straight up towards the ceiling.

Returning the arms to the sides.

And now straightening the right leg.

And keeping the right leg as straight as is possible,

Raising it slowly up off the floor,

As high as is possible for you at this time.

You may want to press into the floor with the lower back,

Supporting the movement.

And an option here is to reach up with the hands,

Grabbing around the leg either behind the thigh or below the knee.

And if you like,

Once again,

Curling the head off the floor,

Bringing the forehead in the direction of the leg.

And this is an opportunity also to circle the foot in one direction and the other,

Just exploring whatever feels right for the body right now.

And then releasing the leg and returning the head to the floor if you've raised it.

And keeping the leg straight and being aware of the movement,

Allowing the leg to return back to the floor.

And then bending the right knee,

Bringing the right foot against the floor,

Straightening out the left leg along the floor.

And then raising the left leg,

Aware of movement,

Reaching around and holding the leg.

Noticing perhaps the difference in range of motion between the two legs,

Difference in the leg's ability to straighten out.

And noticing too,

If there's a mood in the mind to want to force one side to be the same as another or as good as another.

And if so,

Just being aware.

Raising the head towards the knee if you like,

Circling the foot.

And then aware of all movements,

Returning to corpse pose.

Just seeing sensations throughout the body,

The feeling of resting and being supported after exertion.

And when you're ready,

Turning over onto the left side with the body straight,

The left hand can be underneath the head,

Supporting the head,

Raising it off the floor to some amount.

And the right hand can be in front of the stomach with the palm on the floor supporting the body.

And then keeping the leg straight,

Raising the right leg off the left leg as far as you can,

Staying well within your limits.

Letting the breath flow.

Aware of muscles in the legs and back supporting the leg.

And then with awareness,

Allowing the leg to come back down until it's lying against the left leg.

And then once more,

Raising the right leg,

Keeping it straight and raising only as far as you're able.

Breathing,

Aware of what's here.

And when you're ready,

Allowing the right leg to come down,

Resting against the left.

And maintaining awareness of your movements,

Turning over onto the right side,

Supporting the body with the left palm on the floor in front of the belly,

The right hand supporting the head,

And straightening the left leg and raising the left leg.

And when you're ready,

Bringing the leg down slowly.

And then raising the left leg again,

Noticing range of motion,

Differences between the right and left sides.

Aware of sensations and breathing.

And then allowing the left leg to come down slowly until it's supported by the right leg.

And then when you're ready,

Turning onto the front,

Prone in a corpse pose,

Lying on your stomach.

Can turn the head to be supported on either one cheek or the other.

And if that's not comfortable for you,

An option is to fold the hands under the forehead,

Supporting the head straight on.

And in this position,

Or with the arms at the sides,

Raising the right leg off the floor,

Keeping it straight,

Pushing into the floor with the lower belly and core muscles,

Raising the leg only as far as is appropriate,

Breathing,

And allowing the right leg to return to the floor.

And now straightening and raising the left leg,

Supporting the position with the pelvic muscles and belly,

Breathing.

And aware of the motion,

Allowing the left leg to return to the floor.

And now we're going to do a supported cobra pose.

So the arms can remain at the sides,

Or you can bend the arms and have the palms on either sides of the shoulders on the floor.

And then curling the head back,

Raising the shoulders off the floor,

Just to the degree possible.

Raising the head,

Breathing,

And then returning the head to the floor.

And once again,

Raising the head and shoulders off the floor,

Feeling contraction in the back muscles,

The core,

And then when ready,

Returning to the floor.

And now turning over onto the back to corpse pose,

The arms at the sides,

Palms facing up,

Feet falling away from each other.

So once again,

Bringing awareness to the sense of the body being supported by the floor in breathing.

Feeling the entire body,

The back of the body and contact points with the floor,

The front,

Possibly a sense of coolness or warmth,

The head and shoulders,

Arms and hands,

The chest,

Stomach,

Legs,

And feet.

Present for the sensations of the body,

Present for the sensations of breathing.

Being aware of the mood in the mind.

Feeling that you've made this time,

This investment in your wellbeing and health.

In a few moments,

The bells will ring indicating this practice period has come to a close.

And perhaps setting the intention to bring the sense of awareness into whatever activities follow.

Thank you.

Reviews

A brilliant practice: mostly able to stay in the moment with concentration. Feeling good now! 🙏

Thank you, I was able to let go of my ‘yoga ego’ and listen to what my body needed.

Excellent gentle yoga! ❤️🙏❤️

What I really love about this is that my body and mind feel more in tuned with each other and that even though the exercises and positions were very simple ( i'm saying this is a person who doesn't do yoga) it's made me more aware of what my body can and can't doI personally find it really interesting the things that I struggled with definitely something I would do again and something I recommend

Excellent exercise. Good instructions, nice voice

Thank you!📿 🙏🏼

This is a brilliantly designed & described gentle start to yoga or as the MBSR mindful yoga movement. The pacing & description is exceptionally good. Much gratitude x

What I needed this morning.

Wonderful flowing practice. Gentle guiding voice and pace. Thank you

A primer in gentleness and self-care. Thank you

Excellent thank you!
So grateful for the mindfulness training.
I find it very beneficial and worthwhile.
Namaste 🙏🏻

Very nice. Wish there was some gentle background music.