Moving Meditation - Gentle Yoga Flow To Release Tension

This 40-minute gentle flow focuses on the hips, neck, and shoulders to help release tension in the areas we tend to hold it the most. Beginning in sukhasana, this accessible practice builds to a series of postures on hands-and-knees that peaks in downward dog before coming back down to the mat for supine releases.

Transcript

Welcome,

Arrive in a comfortable seat on your mat,

A Sukhasana seat with heels in line with one another.

Perhaps you'd like to cross your ankles or perhaps you'd like to extend your legs forward and long.

Sit up on some blocks or a cushion if you need a little bit of support.

Close your eyes and we'll begin to focus now on our deep,

Even breathing.

Inhaling through the nose,

Filling up the lungs,

Exhaling out the nose or mouth.

Inhaling again,

Then matching the length of the inhale on your next exhale.

Taking slow,

Controlled breaths.

Beginning now to move in some very gentle neck circles,

Drawing circles with the tip of your nose in one direction,

Up,

Around,

And back down.

Be mindful not to crunch the back of the neck as you circle.

And then reverse that motion,

Remembering to breathe as you gently circle the neck.

Pausing on your final exhale,

With your chin relaxing toward your chest,

Breathing down the back of the neck and between the shoulders.

Draw a line with your nose to look up on your next breath in,

And we're going to begin to circle out the spine.

Inhale,

Bring your heart forward of one knee or the other,

Circling through center and using your hands to support you as you get nice and round and circle to the back.

Inhale as you circle forward,

Exhale as you circle back.

Reversing that motion,

Just bringing some movement into the spine.

Checking in with all of these sensations.

One more breath.

Arriving back in neutral,

Go ahead and reach for a block like me.

We're going to fold forward over our seat.

Relaxing your third eye,

Either to the earth or to a block,

Maybe to your hands.

Root down through both sits bones and breathe into your hips,

Allowing them to soften a little more on your next exhale.

Gently roll up to a nice long spine from the tail through the crown of the head.

Walk your block with you over outside of your left knee.

Frame that knee with your hands and gently fold forward.

Now we're breathing down that right side body.

Relax through the shoulders.

Lengthen back out to your long spine and then take your left fingertips in line with your hip.

We're going to gently sweep that right arm up into a gentle side bend.

Lift your gaze inside that bicep and breathe in from that right sits bone all the way up through the fingertips.

Gently lift that arm up,

Both palms meet at center,

And then lower your palms down to your heart space.

Drop your wrists in line with your elbows,

Squaring up your shoulders.

Take a big inhale,

Interlace your fingers,

Press them forward in front of you,

Gently rounding through the upper back.

Continue to press forward and then on your next inhale,

Lift those fingers up toward the ceiling,

Getting long through your side body,

Keeping your shoulders down your back.

And if you need to let go of the lacing of the fingers,

That's fine.

And then exhale,

Bend the elbows,

Open your heart.

Inhale,

Lift those arms back up.

Exhale,

Bend your elbows,

Glide your shoulder blades toward one another.

Inhale lift and lengthen.

Exhale open.

Inhale lift,

Grow long,

And then relax both arms down at your sides.

We're going to switch the cross of the feet in front or switch the foot that's in front.

Bring your block back to center,

Hands on your knees,

Big inhale,

Sit up tall,

And exhale,

Hinge from your hips as you slowly come forward over your seat.

Third eye connects with the block,

Your hands,

Or the earth,

Allowing that gentle pressure on your third eye to awaken that relaxation response in your body.

Sending your exhalations to the hip where you're feeling sensation.

And breathe deeply.

Gently roll out your spine on your next inhale,

Find some length,

Take your block so it's in line with your right knee,

Walk your fingers over to frame that knee.

Take a big inhale to your long spine and exhale,

Bow.

Third eye connects with the block or the earth.

And this time we're relaxing down the left side body.

Make sure that left sits bone stays rooted.

And draw all of your attention back to your breath.

Gently roll back out your spine on your next inhale,

Walk your right fingers over in line with your hip and sweep your left arm up into a side bend.

Bicep along the ear,

Lift your gaze if it's okay for your neck,

Otherwise keep your neck neutral.

Move a little deeper if you can.

And then lift both arms up at center.

Relaxing your left arm down,

Bringing your right hand to your left ear and guiding your right ear over toward your right shoulder.

We're breathing into the left side of your neck now.

And you can lift and lower that chin until you find a space where you're experiencing some sensation and you can use the exhale to relax a little more.

Lift both arms up on your next inhale,

Then we're going to switch sides.

So your right arm releases down,

Left hand comes to the right ear and guide that left ear toward your shoulder,

Maybe dipping or lifting the chin.

And just breathe down the side of the neck.

Inhale lift both arms up at center.

And then exhale,

Bend your elbows,

Open your heart.

Lift back up on your inhale,

Grow long,

Exhale,

Open.

Inhale lift and lengthen through the side body,

Exhale open through your heart and throat.

Lift up again on your next inhale and release your arms to your sides as you exhale.

Go ahead and transition to a tabletop position.

Knees under the hips,

Hands a little forward of the shoulders.

I'm going to bring my blocks to the top of the mat.

Find your nice neutral spine and we're going to inhale,

Drop the belly,

Lift the heart,

Lift the tail.

Inhale,

Exhale,

Pull up from the belly,

Round through the spine.

Inhale drop the belly,

Open up,

Exhale,

Curl in,

Get round.

Inhale open,

Exhale round.

Inhale open up,

Lift the heart,

Lift the tail,

Exhale,

Pull up from the belly,

Pull up between the shoulders and curl in.

Inhale open and exhale round.

Go ahead and send your hips all the way back to your heels.

Lengthen the fingers forward and come into child's pose.

Soften down the low back.

Allow your third eye to come to the mat or a block and breathe here.

Draw your belly to your spine.

Inhale,

Lift back to tabletop.

Walk your palms forward,

Shoulders over wrists,

You're in plank on your knees and exhale,

Bend the elbows.

Lower to the belly,

Shoulders down the back.

Inhale,

Cobra.

Exhale,

Melt back down.

Inhale,

Lift,

Plank on your knees.

Keep lifting from the belly to round through the spine and return hips to heels,

Extended child's pose.

Deep breaths here.

Inhale,

Lift to tabletop.

Walk your palms forward,

Shoulders over wrists and exhale,

Bend the elbows lower to your belly.

Guide the shoulders down the back and inhale,

Lift your heart for cobra.

Exhale,

Melt back down.

Inhale,

Plank on the knees.

Keep lifting from the belly,

Round through the spine,

Hips to heels.

Extended child's pose.

Arrive.

Breathe here.

Inhale,

Lift to tabletop.

And again,

Walk the palms forward,

Shoulders over wrists.

Exhale,

Bend the elbows lower down.

Inhale,

Lift for cobra.

Keep those elbows in at your sides.

Exhale,

Melt down.

Inhale,

Plank on the knees.

Keep lifting from the belly to round through the spine and hips arrive at the heels.

Child's pose.

Inhale,

Lift back to your tabletop.

And we're going to extend your left arm forward.

Get long through the side body and thread the needle,

Bringing the left palm under the right shoulder,

Left ear to the mat.

Right hand can gently press on the mat to support you or it can lengthen forward and long.

Let that shoulder open.

Relax a little deeper into this twist.

Bring your right palm back if you lengthen the arm forward and inhale,

Unravel.

Left arm lifts up to the ceiling and then lower that hand back down to the mat for tabletop.

Reach your right arm forward on your next inhale and just take your time.

Thread the needle.

Right palm under the left shoulder,

Right ear to the mat.

Keep the left palm planted or lengthen the arm forward.

Come back to your breath.

Walk the left palm back and then unravel on your next inhale,

Lifting the right arm all the way back up to the ceiling and lowering that hand back down for tabletop.

Walk your palms forward.

Bring the shoulders over the wrists.

And then lower down to the belly on your exhale.

Lightly tighten your fingers outside the edges of your mat.

Send the elbows to the ceiling and inhale.

Roll up the spine.

Exhale,

Melt down.

Inhale,

Roll up.

Exhale,

Melt.

A little rolling cobra here.

Again,

Inhale,

Stack the vertebra.

Head comes up last.

Roll up.

Exhale,

Soften down.

Inhale,

Roll up.

Exhale,

Melt.

And one more time.

Inhale,

Roll up that spine.

Exhale,

Soften down.

Hands under the shoulders.

Lift to plank on the knees.

This time we're going to bring the hips back over the knees.

And we're going to come into a half dog.

So walk your palms forward.

Melt your heart space down to the mat and let your third eye come to the mat.

If it doesn't reach the mat,

Just place a block underneath.

Maybe you want to bring your hands a little wider than the shoulders in a V shape.

But just let your heart space continue to melt.

Breathe here.

And then lifting from your belly more than you press with your hands,

Come back up to tabletop.

So walk those hands back.

And then we're going to go ahead and flip the right palm.

So bring the back of the hand to the mat so you're looking down at the palm.

Fingers point toward your knee.

And just start to circle out through that wrist.

Gently moving in one direction and then the other.

Maybe these are big movements or small movements.

Bring that palm back to the mat.

Circle it out a few times and then switch.

So flip your left palm so the back of the hand is on the mat.

And just start to make some slow circles through that wrist.

They might look like mine here.

And they might be a little smaller if your wrist is tight.

So just honor where you are.

Maybe you can bring your hips all the way back toward your heels.

And then go ahead and bring that palm back to the mat.

You can also make little fists here if your wrists are tender.

So find a comfortable tabletop.

And then we're going to send the right leg back behind us.

Toes point down.

That alignment keeps the hips level.

So peek back.

Take a look.

And then breathe into this beautiful long leg.

We're going to draw the knee toward the nose on your next exhale.

Inhale.

Lengthen back out.

Exhale.

Knee to nose.

Get round.

Pull up from the belly.

Inhale.

Extend that leg back.

Exhale.

Knee to nose.

Get round.

Bend.

Inhale.

Send that leg back.

Draw the knee toward your right elbow now.

And then give your hip plenty of space as you walk that foot forward.

And we're going to arrive in a low lunge.

Framing the front foot with hands on blocks if you have them.

So you can get nice and long through your spine.

Soft through your hips.

Front knee over front ankle.

Maybe even close your eyes.

Bow your head here.

Relaxing down the back of the neck.

And then draw a line with your nose to look up.

We're going to bring the hands to the front thigh,

Beginning to cultivate some balance.

And then sweep those arms up if you are up for it today.

Taking the full expression of the pose.

Keep the shoulders soft.

Slowly lowering both hands on your next exhale to those blocks.

And then lift from the labanda,

Your pelvic floor,

To send the left hip back over the knee.

Inch that right foot forward a tad.

And keep the sole of the foot on the mat as you gently bow down over that leg.

Stretching through the front of the shin and the ankle.

Gently lengthen back out to a long spine on your next inhale.

See if you can inch that right foot forward a little more and curl the toes back toward you.

Bowing back over that leg.

This is our half splits.

Roll back out to your long spine on your next inhale.

And slowly bring that right knee back over the ankle,

Returning to low lunge.

We're going to walk that right foot over to the right side of the mat.

Let the toes angle off.

Bring both hands inside that foot on blocks through the earth.

Breathe into your long spine and exhale.

Lower down.

Lizard pose.

You can stay on your hands if that's more accessible.

Or as I'm doing here,

You can bring forearms to a block.

Or maybe they come all the way to the mat.

Just let that hip open up.

Rocking to the outside edge of the foot if you like.

And then gently inhale.

Lengthen back out through your spine.

Keep your left hand on the mat or a block.

And then bring your right hand inside that thigh and gently rock out to the outside edge of the foot,

Applying gentle pressure to open the hip.

If you like,

You can lift your right arm up.

Coming back to the sole of the foot,

Back to center.

And then we're going to heel toe the right foot back around,

Bringing the knee underneath the hip.

Curl your toes under,

Walk your palms forward,

And send your hips up and back.

Then we're going to take our first downward dog.

Pedal through the feet a little bit.

Bend the knees a little bit to find that lumbar curve in the low back,

Getting nice and long through the spine.

Ears in line with biceps.

Finding stillness.

And breathing here.

Slowly lower your knees back down to the mat,

Taking your time.

Find tabletop.

Inhale,

Drop the belly,

Lift the heart,

Lift the tail.

Exhale,

Pull up from the belly,

Round through the spine.

Send the hips all the way to the heels and come into extended child's pose.

Just relax.

Lift back up to tabletop on your next inhale.

Then we're going to switch sides.

So when you're ready,

We're going to send the left leg back behind us,

Peeking back to make sure the toes point down,

Growing long from crown of the head through the heel.

And then on your next exhale,

Draw your knee to your nose,

Get round.

Inhale,

Send that leg back.

Exhale,

Knee to nose,

Curl in from the belly.

Inhale,

Send that leg back.

Exhale,

Knee to nose,

Get round.

And inhale,

Extend.

Go ahead and draw your knee toward your left elbow now,

And then heel-toe that foot around,

Giving that hip plenty of space.

And arrive in low lunge on the left,

Framing the front foot with your hands on blocks or the earth,

Growing long through your spine,

And just softening through your hips,

Front knee over front ankle.

Your back leg might look like mine here,

Or you might be at more of a right angle with the knee.

Just listen to your hips.

Soften as your body allows.

And then bow your head,

Close your eyes.

Lift your gaze back up,

Bringing your hands to your front thigh,

Finding your balance,

And then sweeping your arms up on Janayasana.

Keep your shoulder soft.

Keep your foundation strong.

Slowly lower your hands back down to frame the front foot,

And then gently rock that right hip back as you inch that left foot forward,

Keeping the sole of the left foot on the mat,

Gently bowing over that leg,

And then inhale,

Lengthen out to your long spine.

Inch that left foot forward a little bit more and curl the toes up and back toward you.

Bow over that leg on your next exhale,

And just relax into this hamstring.

Make sure that you don't lock your knee.

Keep it soft.

Inhale,

Roll back out your spine,

Find length,

And then re-bend left knee over the ankle.

We're going to move from our low lunge into our lizard pose,

So heel toe that left foot to the left side of the mat,

Toes angle off.

Both hands come inside the foot,

Get long through the spine,

And then if your body allows,

You can lower down to the forearms,

Maybe all the way to the forehead.

Listen to your hips.

Bring your hands back to the earth or the blocks,

Keeping your right hand under your shoulder.

Left hand comes inside that thigh and gently put a little pressure to rock to the outside edge of the foot,

Gently twisting to the left and lifting that arm up if that feels okay.

If not,

Just keep it on the inside of the thigh.

Soften a little more through that hip and then gently return to center.

We're going to give that hip a lot of space as we bring the knee back underneath the hip for tabletop.

Gently walk your palms forward,

Curl your toes under now and send those hips up and back.

Let's return to our downward facing dog.

Adjusting,

Finding a little movement and then settling into the shape.

Inhaling from fingers to hips,

Exhaling from hips to heels.

Now from your belly,

Gently inhale and ripple forward to a plank on your toes or lower to the knees like I am.

Gently lower all the way to your belly.

Shoulders down the back,

Inhale to cobra.

Exhale,

Meltdown.

Inhale,

Plank on your knees,

Gently round through the spine.

Bring the knees as wide as the mat this time.

Let the hips come to the heels for extended child's pose with wide knees.

Soften through the hips and take some nice deep breaths here.

Allow your belly to just expand between your thighs.

Walking both palms over to the right side of the mat,

Stacking the left palm on top,

Softening down that side body.

And if you'd like to slide the right hand out from underneath the left,

Lightly tent the fingers in line with the shoulder and just turn your head to the right,

Deepening the stretch down the left shoulder.

Send your right palm back forward and then walk your hands over to the left side of your mat.

Stack your right palm on top and just relax down the right side body all the way down through the right hip.

Stay here or take your left palm out,

Lightly tenting the fingers,

Elbow toward the ceiling and just turn your head to the left,

Deepening the stretch in the right shoulder just a little bit more.

And then send that left palm back forward,

Walk both palms through center and relax a moment.

You can bring your palms together,

Drop your thumbs down your neck,

Walking your elbows forward a little.

And if you can't bring your palms together,

Just relax your fingertips down your shoulders.

Get a nice tricep stretch here.

Send your arms back forward and then from your belly,

Gently roll up your spine.

Come on to one hip or the other and send your legs straight forward and long for staff pose.

Plant your hands under your shoulders,

Gently flex through your feet.

Lift your arms on your next inhale and then hinge from your hips on your exhale.

Gently fold forward over your legs.

Hands either frame the legs or rest on the shins,

Ankles or the feet.

Using each exhale to move a little deeper into your fold.

Lead with your heart to rise up on your next breath in and we're going to move into deer pose.

So bring your right shin forward,

Just bend your left knee out to the side.

Bring a block forward and then gently fold over your seat.

Relaxing through your right hip and just like at the beginning of the practice,

Allow your third eye to rest on a block or the earth.

We're just moving a little deeper into the hips now.

You are welcome to take full pigeon pose if that is in your practice here.

But whatever hip opener you choose,

Just relax.

Rising up on your next inhale and then just sweep your feet over to the other side so the left shin is in front now.

Gently fold forward and arrive in either deer pose or you may extend that right leg back for full pigeon.

Lead with your heart to rise up on your next breath in.

Remove your block if you used one and return to the top of your mat.

Knees bent,

Feet planted.

Plant your palms under your shoulders and guide your hips toward your heels.

Getting round through the upper back,

Letting the chin come to the chest.

Softening through the shoulders.

And then lower to your forearms.

Come all the way onto your back.

And we're going to come into reclined cobbler's pose.

Soles of the feet together,

Knees open to the sides.

One block under each knee.

Right hand to belly,

Left hand to heart.

Close your eyes and just be present here.

Bring your hands to the outside edges of your thighs,

Draw your knees in,

Hug them into your chest and then make some nice circles on the low back for a moment.

Extend your arms in goal post and let your knees relax over to your right.

Turn your head over your left shoulder.

Gentle reclined twist.

Put a block under your knees if you need that support and relax down the spine.

Draw your knees back to center on your next inhale and exhale,

Relax them over to the left.

Gaze over your right shoulder.

Gently wring out that spine.

Inhale,

Bring your knees back to center.

Relax your feet down to the mat and we're just going to extend ourselves out nice and long for Shavasana.

Relax your arms at your sides,

Palms face up.

Allow your feet to gently fall open toward the corners of the room.

Close your eyes.

Take a big breath in through the crown of your head and exhale,

Send that breath down the body,

Relaxing every muscle along the way.

Another big inhale now into your third eye and exhale,

Let it go relaxing completely into the mat beneath you and let's just be present here for a few moments in our final relaxation.

Taking your time to gently wiggle fingers and toes locking your feet up,

Bending your knees and slowly rolling to one side and pressing yourself up to a nice comfortable seat.

I'm going to sit up on my blocks here.

You're welcome to do so as well and bring your backs of your hands to your knees thumbs to forefingers,

Close your eyes lengthening through the spine as you inhale rooting down through your seat on your exhale.

Bring your palms to heart center breathing in and exhaling to bow forward.

Namaste